Government Policy and Practice (Local And National)

Government action has proven necessary to the green revolution for the simple reason that market forces are not enough to effect change. For instance, it is cheaper to wash your car at home than to bring it to a professional car wash that will recycle the water and treat it to prevent the release of harmful chemicals into the soil and surface water. Similarly, it was cheaper to buy leaded gasoline than unleaded, when leaded was available. The behavior of the market would not change that: government intervention was necessary to gradually phase out leaded gasoline. Phasing out home car washing is less simple, but it has been done in areas with water shortages, and in many U.S. states, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ...