Contrast of two terms

Q: Were the two experiences--1970-1973 and 1983-1985--uniquely different?

MR. RUCKELSHAUS: Very different. The problems were much different. The agency had greatly matured over the ten year interval. That was both good and bad. Some of the excitement had gone, although there was enough excitement surrounding Anne Burford's departure to keep everyone enlivened; but nothing like the early days. In the early days we were full of self-confidence, probably a lot more self-confidence than the facts warranted. Some of that had gone. But healthy skepticism, even self-doubt, is fine in a regulatory agency. I think you have to be careful not to become know-it-alls.

I think the agency was better able to deal with problems confronting it when I returned than when I started, simply because the staff had accumulated an awful lot of experience dealing with the issues. The people in the agency also had a better appreciation of the enormous impact their decisions had on the society; an impact not only on the environment and on public health, but also on jobs and on the economy. When you decide that a substance should be banned or that money should be spent for a particular cause, those affected are honest-to-God, live people whose jobs and livelihood you may influence. This is something which must be taken into account in making judgments. I think there was a much deeper appreciation for such complexities in 1983 than in 1973.

NEXT: Education v. advocacy >>

Contrast of two terms

Local Navigation