At the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Governor Walker pointed at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a federal function that should be handled at the state level. Here's why he is wrong:
Imagine two paper mills that produce toilet paper, one in Marinette, WI and the other in Menominee MI. Wisconsin, with its long tradition of care for the outdoors, has strong restrictions on discharges of pollution into rivers. Michigan, with its long history of automobile manufacturing, is much more lenient. Because the cost of cleaning the waste output is higher on the Wisconsin side of the river, a 20-roll pack of toilet paper from the Wisconsin plant costs $12.98, while the same pack from the Michigan plant costs $9.98.
The cleaner Wisconsin plant will go out of business, while the polluting Michigan plant will double its output (and pollution).
Environmental protection cannot be left to the states because each state shares its water and air with its neighbors.
(Submitted to GB Press Gazette 24 Feb 2017)
