Much of the business community stopped opposing strict environmental law by the mid-1990s.

Evidence

A third reason for the legislative stagnation that persisted during much of the 1990s was the failure of many of those within the regulated community or within environmental organizations to appreciate the business community’s shift in attitudes toward environmental law that had begun to take hold by the mid-1990s. Representatives both of industry and environmental organizations wrongly presumed that economic interests harbored a natural antipathy toward strict pollution control and resource preservation laws. While perhaps an accurate premise in the 1970s and much of the 1980s, it was no longer true as the century was coming to a close. Indeed, for much of the economy, quite the opposite was true. — Richard J. Lazarus, The Making of Environmental Law, 712

Categorization

• XREF: Contradicts both the book’s own earlier ch14 business-funding narrative and the reader’s default Business-vs-environment assumption — a nuancing counterpoint. — connects to: Ecotourism and recreation businesses formed new economic allies for environmental law. — Richard J. Lazarus, The Making of Environmental Law, 724; 1990s Supreme Court decisions systematically raised barriers to citizen environmental standing — Richard J. Lazarus, The Making of Environmental Law, 596; Business interest groups oppose policy changes less often than mass-based groups do.

Broader Connections

• Business interest groups oppose policy changes less often than mass-based groups do. #corroborates (0.75)