ENVR 1402 - CH. 24

_____________ laws start as "bills," which are introduced by a member of Congress. These "bills" are often drafted by congressional staff in consultation with interest groups.

Federal, Statute, or Statutory

What is the first step in the policy cycle?

Identifying a problem

What is the purpose of the Clean Air Act?

- To identify, monitor, and reduce air contaminants - To identify and regulate seven major air contaminants - To provide the first nationally standardized rules in the United States for air pollutants

The U.S. Supreme Court is ________.

- composed of nine justices whose job is to judge whether a law is consistent with the U.S. Constitution - the court of last resort for appeals for both federal and state court systems

The Clean Power Plan was proposed in 2014 to ______; it was overturned in 2018.

- create jobs in the clean power sector - reduce carbon emissions from power plants

The first goal of the Clean Water Act was to identify and control ________.

- end-of-the-pipe discharges from factories - point source pollutants - discharges from sewage treatment plants

How do single-interest groups work to shape public policy to suit their agendas? Elite, rich, powerful groups ______.

- manipulate public opinion with advertisements - buy influence in governmental agencies

The term environmental policy relates to the ________.

- official rules and regulations concerning the environment that are adopted, implemented, and enforced by some governmental agency - general public opinion about environmental issues

Under the Trump administration ______.

- renewable energy research was cut by 72% - fossil fuel regulations were cut

What does NEPA do?

- It directs federal agencies to take environmental consequences into account in decision making. - It authorizes the Council on Environmental Quality. - It requires an environmental impact statement to be published for every major federal project likely to have an impact on environmental quality.

Revisions to the Clean Air Act require the EPA to monitor ______ in addition to the original criteria pollutants.

carbon dioxide

A recent revision to the Clean Air Act requires that we monitor the greenhouse gas _______________ ________________ that comes primarily from the combustion of fossil fuels.

carbon; dioxide

Which statement below accurately reflects the minority opinion in the U.S. Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission? The minority opinion was that ______.

corporations were not meant to be part of the we in "We the People," and thus are not directly protected by the Constitution

Which of the following tenets align with the precautionary principle?

- People have a duty to take steps to prevent harm. - Before using a technology, process, or chemical, people have an obligation to examine alternatives, including the alternative of not using it. - Decisions should be open and democratic and must include the affected parties.

What are some of the challenges in implementing a cost-benefit analysis?

- Some values and needs are not comparable. - Policy makers often prioritize personal rewards such as status, money, or reelection over societal goals. - Often there is insufficient intelligence, data, or models to follow in order to calculate actual costs and benefits.

Select the accurate statements below that reflect the status of the precautionary principle in the European Union and in the United States.

- The European Union adopted the precautionary principle as the basis of its environmental policy. - American firms generally oppose the implementation of the precautionary principle in the United States.

Identify possible paths for the passage of a bill through Congress in the United States.

- The Senate and House pass a similar bill, but it is changed in committee. They vote again and pass the bill to the president, who signs it into law. - A president rejects a bill passed by Congress; Congress overrides the vote with a two-thirds majority and it becomes law.

What does the Endangered Species Act do?

- The act provides rules for protecting endangered species and their habitat. - The act provides a structure for identifying and listing species that are vulnerable, threatened, or endangered.

Which of the following are actual examples of lawmakers trying to weaken or ignore the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)?

- The passage of the "Healthy Forest Initiative," which eliminated public oversight and citizen appeals in many logging projects - The proposal by the Bureau of Land Management that new coal-bed methane wells would not require environmental review - The 2005 Energy Bill, which exempts companies from NEPA requirements in many situations on federal land

Most major organizations have lobbyists in Washington; which of the following are large lobbying groups?

- American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) - National Rifle Association (NRA) - Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)

Which of the following books were especially influential in the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s in the United States?

- Barry Commoner's Closing Circle - Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

The 1970s were an important decade in environmental policy in the United States because the ______.

- Clean Air Act was created - Environmental Protection Agency was established

What new, final clean air regulations did the EPA issue in 2016?

- Clean Power Plant Rule - Mercury and Air Toxics Standards

Select the statements below that accurately describe the "public comment period" of proposed federal rules.

- Comments on proposed laws can be by mail, by e-mail, or in person at a regional hearing. - Comments are collected before a proposed rule goes into effect.

Environmental cases are sometimes hard to bring to court because the environment, and the nonhuman organisms in it, currently do not have legal ______ in the U.S. legal system. Thus, someone must be able to show they (people, groups, or corporations) were harmed by the environmental degradation for the case to stand.

standing

Originally setup to be funded by the corporations that created the massive contamination, the Superfund is now funded by _________________

taxes or taxpayers

How has the funding for Superfund cleanup changed over time? The funding came from ______.

the industrial producers of hazardous waste but now comes from taxpayers

More countries are signing on to international environmental protection conventions because ______.

they realize the scope of problems is larger than they can handle alone

How did the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill influence policy? The spill alerted the public ______.

to the impacts of oil spills, further raising the public's concern for environmental protection

Even though they are still threatened by many factors, sea ______________ populations in the U.S. are either stable or slowly increasing primarily due to the Endangered Species Act.

turtle

It is ______ for EPA funding to change under different presidential administrations.

very common

The precautionary principle states that ________.

we shouldn't initiate an activity before fully understanding the risks associated with it

Riders or amendments to bills are commonly added ______ because there will be no further debate to amend or debate the wording.

when the bill is in conference committee

Place the following steps regarding how federal laws are enacted in order beginning with the bill proposal on the top and the signing of the law by the president on the bottom.

1. A bill is proposed and referred to a committee 2. The public may have an opportunity for comment 3. Bill language is revised and sent to the House of Representatives or Senate 4. A conference committee reviews language to align bills from the House and Senate, and they confirm the final bill 5. The bill is signed by the president

The ______ in the United States saw the passage of more than 27 major federal laws for environmental protection, the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

1970s

Approximately how many people think that acting on climate change is a priority, according to a Pew Research Center global survey from 2016?

77%

Why is the concept of legal standing especially important in environmental law?

A person or group must show they have personally suffered from environmental degradation to have legal standing.

President Trump hiring a corporate leader from the oil and gas industry to head the Department of Energy is an example of regulatory _________________; one intention behind this was to change environmental policy.

capture

Policies that serve the public interest in the United States, such as environmental rules, generally come about by ______.

civil action

The legislative statutes that regulate relations between people, or people and corporations, fall under ______ law. The customs and court decisions based on these laws are called ______ law.

civil; common

How are common law and civil law related? Civil law is ______.

clarified in common law as customs and previous court decisions that establish precedents

In a cost-benefit analysis, ______ are treated objectively by assigning each of them standard values.

competing concerns

The role of the Supreme Court is to ______.

determine if a law is consistent with the U.S. Constitution

Regulatory capture occurs when a president hires someone who is antagonistic to an agency's mission as the head of that agency, with the intent to ______.

dramatically change U.S. policy

There are some groups that criticize the Endangered Species Act because protecting animal habitats often means restricting ______.

drilling and mining

Many of the recent examples of lawmakers attempting to weaken or ignore the NEPA deal with _________________ development on federal lands in the west. (Use just one word for your answer.)

energy

An analysis required by provisions in the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970, determining the effects on the environment of any major program that a federal agency plans to undertake, is called a(n) ____________ ________________ statement.

environmental; impact

The judicial branch can establish environmental case law as it ________.

examines the body of legal opinions built up by many court cases or case law

Most ______ come under the jurisdiction of cabinet-level departments such as the Departments of the Interior and of Agriculture.

executive agencies

A climate survey conducted in 2015 in 40 countries showed that 77% of people support regulations to curb ______________ gas emissions.

greenhouse

Which statement below accurately summarizes the majority opinion in the U.S. Supreme Court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission? A majority of the Supreme Court justices ruled that ______.

laws that limited corporate and union spending on political campaigns were unconstitutional

A group working to further the interests of genetic engineering firms like Monsanto wrote part of a bill in 2013 exempting such companies from judicial review, exemplifying the influence of ______ in federal environmental legislation.

lobbyists

The Clean Water Act aimed to ______.

make U.S. waters healthy enough to support fish and shellfish populations that can be consumed by people

The Trump administration proposed changes to the ESA in order to ______.

make it easier for fossil fuel development on public lands

Even though the monetary cost of health benefits far outweighed the costs to industry, Andrew Wheeler as head of the EPA overturned a ___________________ limit for burning coal. This contaminant is associated with asthma attacks, heart attacks, and neurological damage to children.

mercury

Most often the key to political power, and subsequently policy making, is ____________

money or wealth

Which statement below accurately describes the changing view of how the needs of human health, economic stability, and ecosystem health overlap? These needs were ______.

often viewed as contradictory, but are increasingly being viewed as overlapping

The establishment and regulation of national __________________, monuments, and forests lies with the executive branch of the U.S. government.

parks

A plan or statement of intentions and rules outlining acceptable behaviors or accomplishing some end is known as a(n) __________.

policy

Many American companies balk at having to follow the _______________ principle in order to sell their products in the European Union.

precautionary

Today many view environmental policy as serving the needs of human health, economic stability, and ecosystem health at the same time. In the past, it was thought that ______.

protecting the environment and human health would surely come at an economic cost

The purpose of two important 2016 air pollution regulations under the Clean Air Act is to ______.

reduce emissions of mercury and fine particulates

Government regulators are often people that worked in the industries that they oversee, and regulators often leave for jobs in industry. This can lead to perceived and actual conflicts of interest and cozy relationships. The effect is often called a(n) "______."

revolving door

Amendments attached to bills in conference committee, often completely unrelated to the bill to which they are added, are called _____________________

riders

Before a trial can start, the litigants must establish that they have legal _________________, or a right to stand before the bar and be heard.

standing

Which of the following is an actual quote that famously sums up a widely held belief about the size of government?

"Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."

Which of the following goals are included in the Superfund Act?

- Allow the Environmental Protection Agency to try to establish liability - Address the remediation of orphaned sites - Address emergency spills

An environmental impact statement is required to have which of the following elements?

- Alternatives to the proposed action - A statement of positive and negative environmental impacts of the proposed activity - Purpose and need for the project

Identify widely-held beliefs about the proper size and/or scope of government.

-The government should be as small as possible so as to let the "free market" find solutions to problems. - We need the government to protect the environment and provide basic services.

Which of the following is an example of a legislative rider?

Adding an amendment to eliminate critical habitat for endangered species onto a veteran's health care bill

What are some common air quality concerns that the Clean Air Act protects against?

Airborne sulfuric acid Airborne metal such as mercury Coal smoke

Select the best definition of the term "legal standing."

An established right to stand before the bar and be heard

EPA funding and enforcement activity has risen or fallen under each president. Select the presidents below under which EPA funding and enforcement declined.

Bush and Bush Reagan

The 1969 Santa Barbara ocean oil spill and the burning industrial waste on the Cuyahoga river were significant in getting the ____________ ______________ Act passed in 1972.

Clean Water

The ________ and ________ are to natural resources what the Environmental Protection Agency is to pollution.

Department of the Interior; Department of Agriculture

The ____________ Species Act provides rules for protecting endangered species' habitats in order that they can recover.

Endangered

The _____________ __________ Act is the strongest law for protecting biodiversity in the United States, and has been successful at protecting and increasing the numbers of creatures such as the sea turtle.

Endangered; Species

True or false: Once a president declares a piece of land as a National Monument or Park, it permanently maintains that designation.

False

From the standing of wanting to successfully add a rider or amendment to a bill in the United States, when is the best time to do so and why?

In conference committee, because the bill goes back only for an up or down vote but no further modification

How is industry affected by the government?

In ways that both support business and make business more complicated

What is the "public comment period" concerning proposed federal rules?

It is the period of public comment on a proposed rule before a proposed rule or plan is enacted.

Which statement correctly describes the "revolving door" between industry, lobbyists, and governmental regulators?

It means workers move back and forth between industry and government, making impartial oversight of industry unlikely.

What branch of government establishes environmental policy by hearing cases and determining whether they violate written or customary laws?

Judicial

What is the practice of talking to or otherwise trying to influence members of Congress to vote in your favor on a particular topic?

Lobbying

Which of the following statements accurately describes how many corporations have changed their views regarding pollution?

Many companies now see that cleaner, more efficient practices are good for profits and the environment.

A recent example of how lobbyists influence or even write bills occurred in 2013 when the company ______________________ was exempted from judiciary review regarding work with genetically engineered crops; this rider was tucked into a huge bill that continued the funding of the federal government.

Monsanto

Match the following groups associated with environmental protection to the correct department.

National Park Service - Department of the Interior U.S. Forest Service - Department of Agriculture Occupational Safety and Health Agency - Department of Labor

What is lobbying?

Persuading elected representatives to vote in your favor by visiting their offices, talking directly with them, and using personal contacts

Which of the following examples demonstrate public decision making as the driver of policy formation?

Public citizenship and action

Rachel Carson's book ____________ _____________ was pivotal in making the public aware of the dangers of pollution.

Silent; Spring

What is NEPA?

The National Environmental Policy Act

What happened to the Clean Power Plan proposed by the Obama administration in 2014?

The Trump administration overturned the plan.

What cycle is presented in the figure?

The policy cycle

What is often at the root of environmental policy?

The protection of the fundamental right to an environment adequate for health and well-being

How has the focus of the environmental revolution changed over time?

The shift in focus has been from forcing violators to obey the law to prevention and collaborative methods that help everyone.

Where do federal (statute) laws in the United States start?

They start as legislative proposals called "bills," introduced into Congress.

What is the goal of the Superfund Act?

To generate a large pool of money to help remediate abandoned toxic sites

True or false: Many environmental policies aim to protect the widely held fundamental right to an environment adequate for human health and well-being.

True

One of president __________________ first orders was to reverse protections for the newly-protected Bear's Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in order that they be utilized for mining coal and uranium.

Trump's

Lobbying groups in Washington ______.

are numerous and wide-ranging