13.        While nearly everyone would agree in principle that certain efforts to preserve the
natural environment are in humankind's best interest, environmental issues always
involve a tug of war among conflicting political and economic interests. For this reason,
and because serious environmental problems are generally large in scale, government
participation is needed to ensure environmental preservation.
      Experience tells us that individuals (and private corporations owned by
individuals) tend to act on behalf of their own short-term economic and political interest,
not on behalf of the environment or the public at large. For example, current technology
makes possible the complete elimination of polluting emissions from automobiles.
Nevertheless, neither automobile manufacturers nor consumers are willing or able to
voluntarily make the short-term sacrifices necessary to accomplish this goal. Only the
government holds the regulatory and enforcement power to impose the necessary
standards and to ensure that we achieve such goats.
      Aside from the problems of self-interest and enforcement, environmental issues
inherently involve public health and are far too pandemic in nature for individuals to
solve on their own. Many of the most egregious environmental violations traverse state
and sometimes national borders. Environmental hazards are akin to those involving
food and drug safety and to protecting borders against enemies; individuals have neither
the power nor the resources to address these widespread hazards.
      In the final analysis, only the authority and scope of power that a government
possesses can ensure the attainment of agreed-upon environmental goals. Because
individuals are incapable of assuming this responsibility, government must do so.