In your opinion, what are the greatest strengths and weaknesses of the
system of government in the U.S. with respect to protecting the environment and
ensuring environmental justice for all?

Hi gothabillygirl,

You asked for an opinion, and so I assume you are not looking for
links to statements by environmental justice advocates.  (I can look
up a few links if you need them; you can ask me for them in a request
for clarification.)  Rather, I assume that you want a considered
opinion from a Researcher.  I hope that my opinion will be
satisfactory.

The greatest strengths of the system of government in the U.S. with
respect to protecting the environment and ensuring environmental
justice for all, I think, are the facts that the president, senators,
and congresspersons are democratically elected, in particular by
different subsets of the population.  The office-holders and
candidates must be responsive to different sets of environmental
concerns.  A president must respond to environmental matters across
the nation; a senator must be especially concerned for environmental
issues in his or her state; while a congressperson will need to take a
more local view.  In this way, all kinds of environmental issues,
whether they affect the country or one community, can make onto the
federal government's agenda.

The greatest weaknesses, in my view, all relate to the size of the
system of government and the need for money to master the system
successfully.  It is expensive to support campaigns for the House,
Senate, and Presidency.  It is expensive to convince all of the
necessary government decisionmakers, both legislative and executive,
as to which policies to implement or oppose.  It is expensive to take
disputes on environmental issues through the administrative and legal
systems.  And in general, corporations have the most money, and do not
place protection of the environment above preservation of their
businesses and profits.  So the policies they advocate, which will
likely fall short of protecting the environment and ensuring
environmental justice for all, will tend to get a disproportionate
hearing in the federal government.

- justaskscott-ga

So concise!  Thank you so much.  It was just what I was looking for.

The main weakness in the USA (and most of the rest of the World) is a
high pecentage of the populous and higher percentage of the shakers
and movers think it is ok to lie for a "good" cause. Lies, half truths
and false inference are so bad, it is conceded to think even the
smartist of us know how to insure environmental justice. There is also
a wide spread on how much sacrifice we should make on behalf of
persons who will be born next year, next decade, and next century.
This lying also is bad for non-environmental descisions.  Neil