During the past decade federal courts have become an important forum for many environmental conflicts. In the early 1970s environmental groups initiated many of these cases, putting government agencies charged with enforcing environmental regulation on the defensive. By the beginning of the 1980s business interests had assumed the offensive, especially at the appellate levels, placing government agencies squarely in the crossfire of the two groups. Federal judges tended to treat the opposing interests even‐handedly, although the plaintiff in a case tended to have an advantage. It appears that environmental groups will be pressed into assuming the offensive once more as federal agencies reduce their enforcement efforts under the Reagan Administration.
Pollution control today is a favorite topic for campaign promises by American politicians. If the present public interest in the environment and problems of overpopulation continues, it may one day replace motherhood as the single safest subject for political rhetoric. Everyone, including polluters, is against pollution. But once that philosophical belief has been passionately embraced, the problem of achieving this highly desirable public policy goal remains. On that subject many politicians and all polluters are much less articulate. So many different opinions exist as to the best method for achieving air pollution control, water pollution abatement, and sanitary, efficient solid waste disposal, that one begins to understand why it is that little progress has been made despite the seemingly universal belief in a clean environment.
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