Environmental politics and the coal coalition
A history of environmental politics and coal is presented. Since the late nineteenth century coal has been essential to the industrial economy of the United States. But air pollution from burning coal damages health and property, and strip mining despoils the natural environment. As industry mushroomed after World War II, the social costs of air pollution and strip mining emerged as national problems, and by the late fifties public health officials, conservationists, and sportsmen began to call for federal regulation. Pressures mounted for federal rather than state control, for stringent health criteria, expensive technological solutions, and, by the 1970's, constraints on industrial growth. The coal industry resisted, concerned with the costs of cleanup and the need for larger, centralized systems to deliver ever more energy in what would become a crisis situation. Meanwhile, the coal industry was being absorbed by mergers with larger industries, including petroleum, electric utilities, railroads, steel, and equipment manufacturing; large commercial banks with energy interests and interlocking trade associations and government advisory councils provided a cohesive framework for political opposition to escalating regulation. By the 1970's environmentalists had also formed national coalitions. As the issues became more complex and highly technical, the conflict shifted from the legislative to the administrative arena. The result has been a degree of regulation and interface between business and government unimaginable in the Eisenhower era. Using both government and interest-group sources, the author documents the significant changes in both social values and the pluralist political process over two decades of reform.
- OSTI ID:
- 5961156
- Resource Relation:
- Related Information: Ebvironmental History Series: Number 2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
COAL INDUSTRY
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
USA
ECONOMIC IMPACT
IMPLEMENTATION
INTEREST GROUPS
OWNERSHIP
POLITICAL ASPECTS
POLLUTION REGULATIONS
REVIEWS
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
SURFACE MINING ACTS
DOCUMENT TYPES
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
INDUSTRY
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
LAWS
MINING LAWS
NORTH AMERICA
REGULATIONS
017000* - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Legislation & Regulations
294001 - Energy Planning & Policy- Coal