Environmental Policy

A nation's fertility rates increase when women gain better access to educational opportunities

F

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are one of the criteria pollutants that the Clean Air Act requires EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for

F

City sustainability programs have been not so successfully pursued in less developed places, compared to highly educated, wealthy places or cities on the West Coast, according to Portney (2018)

F

During the first two speeches of the State of the Union, President Trump mentioned the word 'security' more than former president Obama

F

European countries lagged behind North American countries in terms of ISO 14001 certification

F

For the first time since the 107th Congress, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology heard from more industry witnesses in the 111th Congress than from any other sectors including academia, government, etc

F

In 1790, George Washington delivered the first State of the Union message by having a written report sent to the Congress in NYC

F

In 1957, the US introduced nuclear weapons to North Korea

F

In GIS, 'land cover' is usually a description of how people utilize the land and socioeconomic activity

F

In the US, total emissions of air pollutants have increased since the 1970s with increased population, energy consumption, miles traveled, and gross domestic product

F

More than 1300 congressional testimonies of scientists about climate change from 1969 to 2007 show more variance than consistency in terms of their views on climate change

F

Since enactment of the 2008 Lacey Act Amendment, the prices of lumber and hardwood plywood imports to the US from suspected illegal source countries have decreased, according to Prestemon (2015)

F

Sustainable production can be understood as a private business matter or a marketplace imperfection rather than a serious public problem, according to Press and Mazmanian (2018)

F

The Millennium Development Goals are international development goals for combating poverty, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and so on that were established in 2000 by the target date of 2020

F

The concept of environmental security demands using the military model of states, conflict and territorial security to environmental problems

F

The nine US cities studied in Portney (2018) show substantial consistency in the extent to which cities seem to take the goal of sustainability seriously

F

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created by executive order of President George H.W. Bush

F

US government does not support the outcome of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development

F

The half life of uranium 238 is approximately 700million years

F (4.5 billion years)

Out of all the achievements and innovations of the EPA, the risk-based, substance-by-substance regulations of hazardous chemicals in particular were more successful

F (Limited success)

In the case, Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, the court declared that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are not air pollutants and must not be regulated by the EPA

F (P151)

Through the ten regional offices of EPA, state-level interaction with the EPA generally creates confusion and friction rather than mutual trust

F (P52)

It took about ten years from the Public Health Service's recommendation of 10 ppb in 1962 before the EPA finally limited arsenic in drinking water to 10 ppb

F (nearly 40 years)

The AB 32 of California gives authority to the US EPA in overseeing its implementation

F (not the EPA, but California Air Resources Board, p.46)

Carbon monoxide is the air pollutant that most frequently exceeds EPA standards

F (ozone)

From the early 1970s through the early 2000 the divergence on environmental issues between Republicans and Democrats has decreased, not increased

F (p.125)

In general, Democrats tend to favor decreased spending on the environment and Republicans favor increased spending

F (p.131)

As implied in the policy cycle model, the history of environmental policy in the US is one of steady improvement in human relations with the natural environment, according to Kraft & Vig (2018)

FALSE

Two documents, Forest Principles and Chapter 11 'Combating Deforestation' of Agenda 21, are the first pieces of legally binding hard law on forests.

FALSE

Former President Obama approved construction of the Keystone XL Project

FALSE (P380)

What are the two things that can be accepted as proof of legality under the EU Timber Regulation?

FLEGT license and CITES per document

One enduring rationale for giving the federal government so much authority in environmental policy is that states face inherent limitations in environmental policy. Explain why the federal government is still important in terms of enduring federal dependency. Show comparison with Canada.

Federal government is still important because a good deal of the most innovative state-level activity has been at least partially underwritten through federal grants, which serve to stimulate additional state environmental spending. Many states continue to rely on federal funding or technical assistance for some core environmental protection activities such as GHG reductions, inventories, risk assessment projects, and so on. In contrast, in Canada, because central government grant assistance and regulatory presence is extremely limited, provinces have proven less innovative than their American state counterparts. (p.51)

This is a California State Law that fights climate change by establishing a comprehensive program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all sources throughout the state. As the first program in the US to take a comprehensive, long-term approach to addressing climate change, it requires California to reduce its GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. What is the official title of it?

Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 or Assembly Bill (AB) 32

In classifying the US Presidents in terms of their influence on environmental policy, Vig set up six criteria to examine and evaluate several indicators. Which of the followings is not included in those six criteria? a. Political communication b. Appointments to key positions c. Priority given to environmental programs in the president's proposed budgets d. Legislative success e. Executive orders and other actions by the president f. Support for or opposition to international environmental agreements g. Environmental agenda

A

Which of the following is not true about nuclear form? (a) International cyberinfrastructure such as GLORIAD is used more for nuclear fission research than fusion (b) In a broad sense, it is a form of biomimicry (c) The energy released by fusion is three to four times greater than the energy released by fission (d) Fusion is the fusing of two or more lighter atoms into a bigger one

A

Which of the following is not true about the Lacey Act? (a) It defines as prohibited the importing and trafficking done in violation of any foreign law, in addition to the violation of federal or state conservation laws (b) Because of this law, US might be in the position of enforcing the foreign conservation law more vigorously than a foreign country that is lax in enforcing its own laws (c) It was originally passed in 2008 to protect wildlife from trafficking (d) It has long been one of the most powerful tools for the US agencies fighting wildlife crime

C

As we read in Chapter 1 of our textbook, President Richard Nixon signed this as his first official act of 1970. One of its key provisions was to set up procedural requirements for all federal government agencies to prepare environmental impact statements. What is the name of the US environmental law

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 was awarded to both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Al Gore. What was the recognition of the Nobel Committee for the prize? Explain it from the perspective of environmental security. Discuss how it was different from President Obama's State of the Union in 2015

Nobel Committee recognized the possibility that climate change may intensify linkages between the environment and conflict as it forces people to migrate or amplifies competition for natural resources. It noted that there may be increased danger of violent conflicts and wars, within and between states. In recognition of this, Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to both Al Gore and the IPCC in 2007. Obama's 2015 State of the Union characterized it as a present-day threat demanding immediate action, whereas the Nobel Committee had seen climate change more as a possible future risk, which represents a shift in considering the urgency of the issue

This refers to the military doctrine that using the threat of nuclear retaliation prevents another state from going to war. As it has been a central element of American security policy since the Cold War began, North Korea also argues that it is their international political strategy. What is it?

Nuclear deterrence

What is the name of a global mechanism to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development? Tobin (2018) wrote that sufficient financing for it is uncertain. Do not use abbreviations

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD)

Following is a part of recent news article from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). "A report released... by... the Analysis Group concludes the market-based RGGI has not only been a major climate success, but in the last three years alone has helped grow participating states' economies by $1.4 billion while adding 14,500 years of full-time employment in the region." What is RGGI?

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

Aarhus Convention is considered as having been influenced by the Principle 10 of Rio Declaration

T

Advisory Group on Greenhouse Gases (AGGG), was established after the 1985 Villach meeting, was eventually replaced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

T

Because people are packed densely in cities, more land outside cities is left undeveloped

T

Climate attribution science has now developed to the point where it is possible to quantify the part human-caused climate change plays in many types of extreme weather

T

Command and control approaches have resulted in better environmental practices in businesses and industry according to Press and Mazmanian (2018)

T

Death rates fall before birth rates, according to the demographic transition model

T

Environmental conflict resolution approaches are becoming more common in environmental policy

T

For the first time since Gallup asked the question in 1994, a majority of Americans opposed nuclear energy in 2016

T

Former President George W. Bush officially withdrew the US participation in the Kyoto Protocol in 2001

T

Hawaii's Environmental Court jurisdiction is more different from than similar to Vermont's

T

In 2015, Chinese government announced plans to abolish the one-child policy

T

In the 20th century, human population tripled globally

T

Judges shape environmental policy in how they interpret laws

T

Ronald Reagan signed the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1987

T

The 2008 Lacey Act Amendment can be said to be the world's first domestic law banning the trade of illegally sourced wood products

T

The Rio Declaration (on Environment and Development) is a document produced at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit

T

The US EPA was created in 1970 by then President Richard Nixon

T

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission is cited as an example of regulatory capture by many people

T

The US has a dual court system, with different cases starting either in federal court or in state or county court

T

The rate and speed of extinction of marine species is faster than anyone has predicted, according to marine scientists

T

US federal financial support to states to support environmental protection efforts has generally declined since the early 1980s

T

With the onset of the agricultural and industrial revolution in the late 18th century, an unprecedented growth in urban population took place over the course of the 19th century

T

Public opinion data in recent decades has found that citizens have a considerably higher degree of trust and confidence in the public services and regulations from their state governments than the federal government

T (P38)

Tourism industry has played an active role in seeking strong environmental programs designed to maintain natural assets in many states

T (P53)

According to Kraft (2018) 1, Congress has been more influential than the White House in the formulation and adoption of environmental policies

T (p.122)

According to the Stern Review (2006), avoiding deforestation is one of the most cost-effective ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally

TRUE

The International Tropical Timber Agreement of 1983, 1994 and 2005 is the only international commodity agreements with a conservation mandate, according to Humphreys (2008)

TRUE

The atmosphere remained unmanaged commons until 2005, according to the lecture in week 1

TRUE

The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970

TRUE

This publication was reportedly the first report to show that race was the single most important factor in determining where toxic waste facilities were sited in the US. It was published by the United Church of Christ's Commission for Racial Justice Race in 1987. What is the title of the publication?

Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States (1987)

This is a part of recent news article. "The remaining 11 members of the TPP met in Japan this week, with the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying her government would "to do our utmost to amend the ISDS provisions of TPP". What do the TPP and ISDS stand for? Spell them out.

Trans-Pacific Partnership, investor-state dispute settlemen

What are 3 options for dealing with spent nuclear fuel?

direct disposal, reprocessing, export

An Avoided Deforestation (or REDD) project to conserve forests that were under threat of clearance might displace deforestation to another space outside the project's boundary. What is the greenhouse gas thus emitted called? It refers to the unanticipated increase in emissions outside an avoided-deforestation (REDD) project's accounting boundary

leakage

In his televised speech on April 18, 1977, President Jimmy Carter declared that the energy crisis during the 1970s was the _ _ _ _ , warning of an energy policy of fossil fuel dependency

moral equivalent of war

As one of several sources of environmental law, this is judge-made law that guides and informs subsequent court decisions involving similar or analogous situations. What is it?

precedent

In dealing with the 'Tragedy of the Commons,' Elinor Ostrom highlighted this concept in response to central government or market system. Through her extensive empirical studies, it is based on the finding that local users in many locations all over the world have organized themselves to vigorously protect and, in some cases, enhance their common resources .What is the concept called?

self-governance

The courts determine who does or does not have the right to sue. What is the one-word legal term meaning capacity of a party to bring suit in court?

standing

Following is a part of recent news article. "Zecco Marine was assessed a total penalty of $9,512 for the unauthorized modifications to the marina. Zecco will pay $2,378 of the penalty and will conduct a SEP in lieu of the remainder of the penalty." What is the SEP? Explain how it is different from the two most common actions ordered by a court. You must give three examples of it.

supplemental environmental project. It is different from the two most common actions ordered by a court (mandatory compliance with environmental law and punitive monetary penalties) in that it is an alternative payment in the form of projects or activities. It is an environmentally beneficial project which a violator voluntarily agrees to perform as part of a settlement of an enforcement action. It is not required by law, but goes beyond what is required by law. It is also a relatively new policy, compared to the other common court actions. In return, EPA agrees to reduce the monetary penalty that would otherwise apply as a result of the violation(s). Examples include environmental restoration, environmental education and the establishment of green space such as parks

In general, this is defined as the average number of children a woman would have assuming that current age-specific birth rates remain constant throughout her childbearing years. Simply put, it is an estimate of how many children each woman will have in her lifetime. When its value is 2.1, it is commonly used to characterize replacement-level fertility. What is it?

total fertility rate

What is the name of a social theory that argues that continued modernization is necessary for ecological sustainability? For example, it says that economic globalization contributes to a greening of many global production and consumption processes by the export of green practices?

Ecological modernization

The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies."Of what is that the definition? Who or what made the definition?

Environmental Justice - Environmental Protection Agency

We discussed several similar but different definitions of 'international regime' this week. Write down the definition that has the most inclusive scope of participants in international regime.

'Sets of implicit or explicit principles, norms, rules and decision making procedures around which actors' expectations converge in a given area of international relations' (Krasner 1983

''How can countries achieve economic development?' This is still a hard question, and one of the possible clues might be in looking at how today's wealthy countries have become rich. Adopting a historical approach, Chang (2007) finds that the economic development of now wealthy countries differed from the procedures that they recommend to poorer nations. According to Chang (2007), how did the rich countries become rich? How do they maintain their status as economic superpowers? What does he mean by 'kicking away the ladder'? Provide examples of Britain and the US

According to Chang (2007), economic powers of the past two centuries—Great Britain and the United States—succeeded because they did not let the free market reign, as opposed to their common advice for developing countries. From the days of Alexander Hamilton, the US used tariffs to protect infant industries—by keeping prices on imports high, the tariffs made domestic products more attractive, giving domestic producers a chance to develop. Hamilton recommended two things for an infant industry to turn into a genuine manufacturing power. The first was cheap raw materials, the second protection from foreign competition. During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln raised tariffs to a full 50%, where they stayed the world's highest until 1913, when Teddy Roosevelt's defection from the Republican Party led to a three-way split and Republican defeat and the anti-tariff Democrats (of that day) dropped them to 25%. Great Britain adopted a policy of almost unrestricted trade in the mid-19th century, only after using tight restrictions on imports to become the world's leading industrial power.Western states have been consistently "kicking away the ladder from which they have climbed" by deterring developing countries from using protectionist measures which have been beneficial to them, and sometimes still are. Chang (2007) tries to clarify that trade barriers and state intervention were instrumental for the emergence of competitive industries in nearly all developed countries including his home country, South Korea

Traditional command and control regulation has been generally successful in improving environmental quality since the 1960s. However, critics have long argued that ongoing conflicts over environmental policy raise deeper questions about the need for reform. According to chapter 15 of our textbook, how are the new approaches that environmental policy scholars call for different from traditional 'command and control' regulatory systems? List three examples that the chapter describes

Although the traditional command and control approach has shown positive results, many environmental policy scholars have advocated new forms of smart regulation because the old ones are economically inefficient and often inappropriate for specific local conditions. The difference of new approaches from old ones is that they utilize more flexible, less intrusive and more cost-effective methods for reducing pollution and addressing other environmental problems. Especially many economists have advocated market-based regimes that maximize economic efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Examples include, but are not limited to, 1. cap and trade systems, 2. voluntary collaboration and self-policing programs, and 3. local and regional sustainability planning

In spite of attacks by some businesses and other opponents, Andrews (2018) argues that there is hope for the EPA. What is his basis for hope? For example, he says that the scientific foundations of the EPA's decisions remain largely intact. Explain another basis of hope by discussing coalitions between environmental advocates and businesses that would pursue green growth. How does it relate with the EPA?

Andrews (2018) argue that there is still hope for the EPA in coalitions between some environmental advocates and businesses that would prosper in a greener economy. His point is that the EPA's regulations are an important element of the coalitions. Some leading businesses have identified ways in which good environmental management can be good business and in cooperation with some environmental organizations are positioning themselves to prosper in a more environmentally sustainable economy

Long-answer question. 4 points. Describe what urban heat island is and explain why it happens by citing Grimm et al. (2008)1. Also explain how heat island cooling strategies can incorporate the smart growth principles

As Grimm et al. (2008) wrote, urban heat island (UHI) effect means that cities tend to have higher air and surface temperatures than their rural surroundings, especially at night. It is often weak during the late morning and throughout the day and become more pronounced after sunset due to the slow release of heat from urban infrastructure. Urban-rural temperature differences are often largest during calm, clear evenings. This is because several characteristics of urban environments alter energy-budget parameters and can affect the formation of the UHI. These include land-cover pattern, city size (usually related to urban population size), increased impervious surfaces (low albedo, high heat capacity), reduced areas covered by vegetation and water (reduced heat loss due to evaporative cooling), increased surface areas for absorbing solar energy due to multistory buildings, and canyon-like heat-trapping morphology of high-rises. Rural areas cool off faster at night than cities, which retain much of the heat stored in roads, buildings, and other structures. As a result, the largest urban-rural temperature difference, or maximum heat island effect, is often three to five hours after sunset. Answers about the relationship with the smart growth principles will vary. Heat island cooling strategies can incorporate these smart growth principles. For example, planting trees and vegetation and promoting parks and open space throughout developed areas can simultaneously result in mixed land uses, more attractive communities, and preserved natural beauty

2. Which of the following is not true of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)? (a) It is also known as Earth Summit (b) US, Canada and European countries emphasized sovereign rights to utilize natural resources (c) It had a plan to include negotiations on a forest convention on the agenda (d) It failed to produce a global forest convention

B

Which of the following is not generally considered as a cause of illegal logging? (a) Poorly implemented trade rules (b) Indigenous people's life style c) Weak law enforcement (d) Growing demand for timber and paper

B

Which of the following is not true about 'smart growth'? (a) It was partly a response to the urban growth control measures of the 1960s and 1970s. (b) It tends to oppose development so much as it seeks to create more sustainable communities. (c) It seeks to rejuvenate existing developed areas to avoid sprawl. (d) It tends to favor multistory shop-houses and high-rises.

B

Which of the following is not true about the destruction of tropical forests, according to Tobin (2016)? (a) Developing countries insist that they should be permitted to extract their resources just as Europeans and Americans did in the past (b) As forest certification began as a mechanism to address tropical deforestation, the majority of certified forest is in Latin America (c) One of the causes is poverty (d) Growing populations are also one of the causes (e) More than a quarter of the prescription drugs used in the US have their origins in tropical plants

B

As a type of energy tax, then President Bill Clinton proposed this in 1993. It was proposed to levy a broad-based tax on the energy content of fuels as a means of promoting energy conservation and addressing climate change. What is it?

BTU tax (energy tax)

List three thematic or issue areas of the Rio Conventions from the 1992 Earth Summit.

Biodiversity, climate change and desertification

Derthick (2010) lists 'the arrogance of power' as one of the five weaknesses or defects of the federal government. What did Derthick mean by that? How is it checked and balanced in the context of 'compensatory federalism'? Give an example of what Washington State did for the Hanford nuclear reservation.

By the 'arrogance of power' Derthick means the observed reluctance of federal government to consult state governments. The federal government does not routinely and systematically inquire into what can be learned from state-level experience. Both national legislators and administrators often proceed with limited regard for the consequences of their actions for state governments. In spite of the theory of American government, checks on the federal government issuing from the states are hard to find in modern times. Yet, environmental protection provides a good example of state power checking federal power. For example, Washington state threatened to sue the federal government over a failure to meet deadlines for cleaning up the Hanford nuclear reservation, which is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site. Harford is the subject of a pact signed in 1989 by the Washing State Department of Ecology, the US Department of Energy, and the EPA

Which of the following is not one of the public proprietorial claims made against forests, according to Humphreys (2008)? (a) Forests are, in some respects, a global common (b) In many developing countries indigenous peoples and local communities have traditional tenure rights over their forests (c) Legal protection should be provided for financial investment on forests (d) Forests are a sovereign national resource of the state

C

Following is a part of recent news article from UC Berkeley School of Law and UCLA School of Law. "The most controversial aspect of EPA's New Source Performance Standard is EPA's inclusion of CCS in its BSER determination for new coal plants." Spell out the CCS and BSER. What do they stand for?

Carbon capture and storage, best system of emission reduction (p.180)

According to Obama administration, it established the first-ever national standards to limit carbon pollution from power plants. Issued by the EPA in June 2014, it is a set of proposed rules that set state-specific goals based on each state's power-plant GHG emission rates, and included flexible guidelines for state plans to achieve the goals. In 2017, however, EPA started the process to repeal it and change EPA rules. What is it?

Clean Power Plant

As we've seen in the last few weeks, the record of environmental policymaking for the 1970s is remarkable, compared with actions taken since then. The National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act were all signed into law in the 1970s. What can explain the consensus in and the relatively better productivity of the Congress on environmental policy in the 1970s, according to Kraft (2018)?

Consensus on environmental policy could prevail in the 1970s because the issues were new and politically popular, and attention was focused on broadly supported program goals such as cleaning up the nation's air and water rather than on the means used (command-and-control regulation) or the costs to achieve them. There was also little overt and sustained opposition to these measures. (p.126)

Interview with Julian Simon, the author of 'The Ultimate Resource,' that we saw in class last week, showed cornucopians' belief that there is no such thing as a limit for humans. Which of the following is not along the same line of his logic? (a) It is a misconception that humanity is running out of natural resources (b) As a particular resource becomes more scarce, its price rises temporarily (c) This rise of price creates an incentive for people to discover more of the resource, ration and recycle it and, eventually, develop substitutes (d) Nonhuman parts of nature are valued for their ecosystem goods and services as well as for humans' resources {e) Mathusian thinking that human population is a drain on natural resources proved to be wrong

D

Which of the followings is least related to explanations for how the states have become 'new heroes' of American federalism? (a) Environmental policy in many states is stimulated by direct democracy (b) Many states gained access to more revenues through expanded taxing powers (c) Many states experiment with new organizational arrangements to meet evolving challenges (d) Passivism by state courts and state attorneys general create alternative routes for policy adoption

D

According to O'Leary (2016), which of the following is not one of the major sources of environmental law? (a) precedent (b) constitutions (c) statutes (d) appellate court decisions (e) customs (f) administrative regulations

E

Lecture this week suggested multilevel governance can be a better alternative to decentralization as a conceptual framework for discussing the increasing role of state government in the US environmental policy. Explain why it can be by mentioning a distinction of developed vs. developing countries and international activity of a state government agency. Take an example of South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Driven by many different factors such as democratization, multi-political party system and so on, decentralization in reality has been mostly going on and discussed in the context of developing countries. Thus, it becomes a question whether it is appropriate to consider state vs. federal governments of the US, a developed country through the lens of decentralization. Also, transnational activities of governing authorities at various levels, among others, are highlighted in multilevel governance, while decentralization tends to focus on the transfer of authorities and resources from the central to local government. For example, the international MOU signed between California state government agency, South Coast Air Quality Management District and its counterpart Metropolitan Air Quality Management Office of Greater Seoul, Korea can be better explained by multilevel governance than decentralization in the US

International regime theories exist to explain what plays a critical role in creating, operating or weakening international regimes. Unlike traditional explanations such as hegemony or foreign pressure, Haas (1989)1 argued that a knowledge factor is a determinant, describing the roles of epistemic communities in the Med Plan. According to Haas (1989), is his conclusion generalizable? If so, by using what examples did he say?

Haas (1989) implied that his analysis of regime creation and interest recalculation is generalizable. Other contemporary environmental regimes that he used as examples included: The 1987 Montreal ozone protocol to protect the stratospheric ozone layer was completed after a similar ecological epistemic community became influential in the UNEP secretariat and well-represented in the U.S. delegation to the Montreal meetings. Collective policies for the control of European acid rain were adopted in the 1979 Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution after atmospheric scientists were consulted about the origins of regional acid deposition

This is a part of recent news from the University at Buffalo. "It was essential that Kapoor Hall, as a LEED-designed building, achieve a sense of community: Where shared space helps create a smaller environmental footprint." What does the LEED stand for? Explain what it is, including the name of the organization that developed it.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, it is a certification program in the private sector, in which new or existing buildings can be granted silver, gold, or platinum status. It is a suite of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes and neighborhoods. It is based on a voluntary standard for the construction of high-performance, sustainable buildings encouraging numerous examples throughout the country

Vig (2018) wrote how the Reagan presidency was antienvironmental, compared to the environmental decade of the 1970s. However, as we discussed last Thursday, his environmental policies caused unintended consequences such as membership increase in environmental groups. In what way did Reagan actually strengthen environmental forces in the nation? Explain what the Congress did in response to Reagan's attacks on environmental policy with specific example

Paradoxically, the backlash against Reagan strengthened rather than weakened key environmental statutes, thus reinforcing the policy cycles. For example, because of the widespread public opposition to weakening environmental protection, US Congress passed a series of amendments to existing laws such as Superfund, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Water Act. These laws mandated stricter regulatory timetables and enforcement. Congress also investigated activities of Reagan appointees, especially Anne Burford, then head of the EPA and James Watt, then secretary of the interior. As a result, Burford was forced to resign and Watt left office in 1983

It is well known that policy gridlock in Congress can have negative consequences. But Kraft (2018) discusses how there can be some positive effects as well. What are the possible positive effects of policy gridlock in Congress? Do you agree or disagree? What are the reasons for your agreement or disagreement?

Policy gridlock in Congress has had some positive effects. It often has stimulated innovative environmental policy change at the state and local levels, which in turn may illustrate the political feasibility or effectiveness of new policy directions. It has pushed executive agencies to alter administrative decision making in creative ways to compensate for the lack of new congressional directives. It also means that multiple parties in policy disputes are more likely to turn to the courts to resolve disagreements, which may lead to decisions that facilitate environmental policy reforms even in the face of intense partisan conflicts. (p.123-124) (Answers will vary for the rest of the question - Do you agree or disagree? What are the reasons for your agreement or disagreement)

Portney (2018) provided the result of an assessment to examine how many different sustainability programs and policies each of the largest US cities had implemented. Name the three cities at the top of the list

Portland (OR), San Francisco (CA), Seattle (WA)

The International Court for the Environment (ICE) Coalition seeks to establish a specialized forum for transboundary environmental disputes. Their argument is that an ICE will become the principal court addressing two main issues -access to justice and scientific understanding. Explain how the 1992 Rio Declaration can be the basis or rationale for the ICE's mission of addressing the two issues. What are the implications of the Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration

Rio Declaration, especially its principle 10 serves as a basis or rationale for the ICE's two-fold missions. The principle states that 'each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities.' Public access to environmental information is a critical part of the ICE's mission for 'scientific understanding.' As for the other mission, access to justice, the principle 10 also emphasizes 'effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy' for realization of environmental justice. Considering the impact of Principle 10 on the ICE's missions, we can see that the Rio Declaration laid the foundation for transparency based on the access to information and accountability through access to justice.

President Trump's 2018 budget proposal includes a $54 billion increase for the military and 28% reduction in foreign aid. Asked how cuts to the State Department's budget might affect the US defense and its activities around the globe, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney said "make no mistake about it, this is a hard-power budget, not a soft-power budget. That is what the president wanted and that's what we gave him."2 Discuss whether Mr. Mulvaney used the concepts of hard vs. soft power correctly based on what we covered this week. Define smart power and discuss how it is different from soft power. Explain how science is related to soft power.

Smart power can be defined as the combination of hard power and soft power strategies. It involves the strategic use of diplomacy, persuasion, capacity building, and the projection of power and influence in ways that are cost-effective and have political and social legitimacy. Soft power, as opposed to hard power relying on the traditional methods of sticks and carrots, means the ability to attract and co-opt, or the ability to shape the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. Science is one of the major sources of soft power.

Many environmentalists seem to argue that over population is the underlying problem with social unrest such as conflict for natural resources. However, there are also people who argue that population decline may well make the world less, and not more, secure. Explain how population decline can increase challenge to global stability and security.

The countries at greatest risk are in the developed world, where birthrates are falling and populations are aging. Many have already lost significant human capital, capital that would have helped them innovate and fuel their economy, man their armed forces, and secure a place at the table of world power. Reduced human capital can lead to military instability, which can also result in extreme options such as nuclear or chemical weapons, etc. Relative demographic decline may well make the world less, and not more, security

Regardless of which party controls Congress, the appropriations process has been used in two different ways to achieve policy change. One is through changes in the level of funding, either a cut or an increase in spending for programs. What is the other way, according to Kraft (2018)? Discuss an example of it from the 104th Congress, which was aimed to weaken the EPA. Did the President Clinton approve the bill in the end?

The other one is riders. For example, in the 104th Congress, seventeen riders were appended to the EPA appropriations bill in 1995 among many other provisions in an attempt to prohibit the agency from enforcing certain drinking water and water quality standards and to keep it from regulating toxic air emissions from oil and gas refineries. President Clinton vetoed the bill.

Environmental peacemaking integrates natural resource management in conflict prevention, mitigation, resolution, and recovery to build resilience in communities. What is the rationale for the argument of environmental peacemaking both as a theory and practice that it can foster the process of peacemaking in conflict regions? How does it relate to the concept of sustainable development

The rationale for environmental peacemaking is that the common dependency of mankind on natural resources and a healthy environment facilitates cooperation between societies and nations. Therefore, it can foster the process of peacemaking in conflict regions. It also draws upon the three pillars of sustainable development - economic, socio-cultural and ecological sustainability

What is the first major federal environmental program that moved away from the traditional command and control approach toward a softer, gentler self-reporting, and cooperative framework? It was created by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act

Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)

This is part of President Trump's speech to the UN General Assembly on 9/25/2018. "...United States will provide no support in recognition to the International Criminal Court. As far as America is concerned, the ICC has no jurisdiction, no legitimacy, and no authority. The ICC claims near-universal jurisdiction over the citizens of every country, violating all principles of justice, fairness, and due process." However, the ICC's jurisdiction is limited to four categories of offenses—genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression. Explain how the crimes linked to environmental destruction qualify as crimes against humanity.

Wiping out forests, contaminating rivers, and seizing indigenous lands are crimes that not only affect the environment and local communities, but also all human beings. For example, land grabbing, large-scale land acquisitions that happen without the consent of communities that rely on those lands for their survival, has great social consequences and forces entire communities to abandon their homes, leaving farmers hungry. If people refuse to leave, they're forcibly moved. A number of human rights violations were committed during a series of land seizures in Cambodia that forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. Forced population displacement destroys entire communities and leads to instability or even war. The ICC Prosecutor has sent a clear message that such offences may amount to crimes against humanity and can no longer be tolerate