Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 Summary and Analysis

In Chapter One, Rand introduces the history of the EPA, or Environmental Protection Agency, and explains the many reasons he believes they are doing more harm than good, including their massive budget, abusive regulations, and vague definitions that result in criminal offenses, such as their vague definition of "wetland". Rand discusses this portion of the Clean Water Act in detail to explain how this vague term causes problems for landowners. He introduces cases he will cover in detail in later chapters, those of John Pozsgai, who was fined over $200,000 for moving topsoil on his own land, and John Rapanos, who was prosecuted for polluting wetlands, even though his land was twenty miles from any navigable waterway. The Sacketts won their case, but only after fighting all the way to the Supreme Court. Rand also mentions those companies...