Texas, being a very conservative and right-wing state, has long had problems compromising and working with the federal government and when it comes to environmental policy , this is no exception. . Texas state Republicans tend to frequently clash with federal Democratic leaders, and this has been particularly visible in recent years. The state of our environment is a national problem and it has gotten to the point where federal law must step in when it comes to regulating how each state deals with issues of air quality, air pollution water and land and resource conservation, to name but a few. little. It seems that when it comes to issues related to the environment, the states and federal government cannot agree. In the past, the emphasis was on meeting minimum federal environmental standards, but states are moving toward more aggressive policies. Although each state can choose to manage this policy in the way that it sees most beneficial, it is an issue that affects the entire country and should be treated as if it were as important as any other . Individual states often become catalysts for others to adopt their regulations, rather than using the federal government as an example, but it is important that these catalyst states are pointed in the right direction first. Before the 1970s, environmental policy was not the most publicized issue today. After the Santa Barbara oil spill in 1969, the environmental movement really took off. The federal government took charge and paid more attention to environmental policy than in the past. While states still have a lot of power when it comes to...... middle of paper ...... nation and deciding how best to compromise. While each state must be aware of the environmental needs that are The most important thing to address is that environmental policy must be beneficial to all. This means that Texas and the federal government must learn to work together more effectively. “As is often the case in environmental policy, environmental outcomes occur at a pace inconsistent with political agendas: furthermore, a multitude of potentially confounding variables make it difficult to correlate collaborative governance processes with environmental outcomes. » (Biddle) It is crucial that Texas abandon its “Don’t Tread on Me” mindset for the greater good of our environment. Selfishness has no place here. Without any compromise, the destruction of Texas' environment could very well impact other states and become a landslide effect across the country..