Federalism and the Environment

Federalism plays a big role in legislation relating to the environment, and for the most part, positively influences the environmental policy-making process. Essentially, federalism is a balance between two different levels of government; in the United States, they are the federal and state governments. When it comes to the environment, a “one size fits all” solution is rarely ever achievable; therefore federal policies are not always relevant to every individual state. Policies serving to regulate pollution, wildlife hunting, land exploitation, etc in Alaska cannot possibly apply the same ways in New York. Often times, when federal legislation regarding the environment is passed, it is not tailored to each state, and becomes inefficient economically, as well as environmentally. Federalism helps to strike a balance so states can have, in a way, personalized environmental policies. While the federal government manages and funds national parks, ideally, states should be able to regulate their own environmental responsibilities as they are "closer" to the issue.