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Chapter 6: Down the Rabbit Hole

THE ENVIRONMENT vs. GROWTH
Society must limit social costs, but who is
responsible—states or the federal government? Texas
has sued the federal government, challenging its ability
to take over the state’s air pollution authority. Texas
claims the government is impeding its legal rights and
has asserted that the Environmental Protection
Agency’s (EPA’s) actions violate the Clean Air Act.
Presently the federal government requires power plants
to obtain greenhouse-gas permits from the federal
government (instead of the state) before building new
facilities or making modifications to existing ones.

There is a tradeoff between a clean environment
and growth. For example, policies under President
Obama neglected growth when the EPA required power
plants to install maximum achievable control
technology to reduce mercury emissions and other trace
gasses forcing many coal-fired plants to shut down.
There is no right or wrong here—but it is a choice
society has to make—and choices always come with
opportunity costs. An opportunity cost is that which you
give up in the best choice when you make a decision.
For every unit of gain toward a cleaner environment,
the opportunity cost increases by a multiple as we get
closer to a perfectly clean environment.
Shortly after taking office, President Trump
signed an executive order nullifying Barack Obama’s
climate change efforts in an attempt to revive the coal
industry. Mr. Trump stated that the United States had
no intention of meeting the commitments of his
predecessor. In a meeting he had with coal miners he
commented “C’mon, fellas. You know what this is? You
know what this says? You’re going back to work!”

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