How Predictable Are Laws?
16th July 2026
of complying with the National Environmental Policy Act, better known as NEPA. NEPA is what requires projects to perform years-long, thousand-plus page environmental impact studies before construction can begin, and suing a project for an insufficiently detailed environmental study is one of the chief ways environmental groups are able to slow down or stop projects they don’t like. And NEPA’s influence goes beyond federally funded projects: NEPA also influenced the creation of many similar laws, both at the state level (such as California’s CEQA) and in countries around the world.
None of these effects of NEPA, however, were envisioned when the law was written. NEPA was seen primarily as an (aspirational) statement of US environmental policy, which was to “encourage productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment, to promote efforts which will prevent or eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and welfare of man; [and] to enrich the understanding of the ecological systems and natural resources important to the Nation.” The provision that requires environmental impact statements was added last minute as a way to try to give some teeth to these high-minded but somewhat abstract ideals, and received virtually no attention at the time.
Modern laws are quite predictable, since they were made by idiots for morons.
July 16th, 2026 at 13:57
It’s simple: Bureaucracy is like a virus; it’s primary function is to continue to grow and replicate. Logic is toxic to bureaucracy, so it’s the first thing that is wiped out. More rules, more abstract rules, more paperwork, more review staff, more management staff, more support staff, more buildings and vehicles and computers, and eventually more firepower to ensure the domination of any opponent.
California used to have a lot of natural gas. They flared it all off many years so that they could get to the more profitable petroleum. Now the petroleum that’s left is so heavy and thick that it has to be heated in order to pump it out. The environmental regulations won’t let them burn that crude to generate steam, so natural gas is needed. The Kern River Gas Pipeline was constructed to move natural gas from North Dakota to southern California. One of the compressor stations used to transport gas is in Nevada. There’s a lengthy road that accesses the property out in the desert. It was paved because the state didn’t want any dust raised if a vehicle drove to the plant. That road has the world’s only known “turtle fence”. There is a fence that is almost entirely buried along each side of that road. Why? Well, the state decided that there might be desert tortoises in the area. (“Might” meaning that no one has seen any ever.) They were afraid that if someone had to go to the compressor station late at night, they might not see a tortoise crossing the road and might run over it. (A lot of “mights”: they might exist, it might be dark, the plant might need emergency service, and the driver might be legally blind.) There are tunnels under parts of the road for those tortoises and a fence to keep them off the road, even partially buried to keep them from digging under. No one has yet determined how the tortoises are supposed to navigate to the tunnels, but since they don’t seem to be there, it hasn’t been a problem to date. The fence has to be regularly inspected and reports filed to maintain compliance.
If that hurts your brain to think about, you might not belong in a government bureaucratic position.