Public Policy Chapter 11: Environmental and Energy Policy

What is the best definition of sustainable development?

Economic growth that is compatible with natural environmental systems and social goals

T/F: The EPA is directly answerable to Congress.

FALSE

The EPA is a(n) __.

Independent executive agency

The seven major statutes that were enacted in the 1970s focused on:

Pollution control and protection of human health

What is a carbon tax?

A policy that implements a higher tax on gasoline and other fossil fuels to curb their use

What is ecosystem-based management?

A shift in emphasis toward principles of protecting habitat and maintaining biological diversity

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969

All of the following: Focused on regulating the PROCESS of making local decisions to protect the environment. Required developers to conduct an environmental impact statement. Was enacted because states were not protecting the environment sufficiently.

Which best describes a cap-and-trade program?

An emissions-control policy and market incentive that limits an industry's emission allowance and allows it to purchase emission permits from other lower-emitting industries

In the U.S., relating to almost all kinds of environmental policy, there is ongoing tension between environmental interests and _____ interests.

Business/economic

Which of the following policies is considered a market incentive?

Cap and trade

Environmental policies such as the Clean Air Act, Water Pollution Control Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and Toxic Substances Control Act (and others) tended to emphasize which policy tool?

Command and control regulation

With regard to environmental policy formulation, in the 1970s, ____ was the norm in the U.S., while ____ was the norm in the 1980s and 1990s.

Consensus; disagreement

____ refers to a policy approach to manage natural resources by looking more broadly at the diversity of wildlife, natural resources, and pollution issues that affect a wider area.

Ecosystem management

Developing alternative energy is likely to be an effective policy option to reduce carbon emissions. However, alternative energy is costly to develop yet produces less energy (than fossil fuels) for the investment. Which evaluative criteria would reflect this high cost-to-benefit ratio?

Efficiency

T/F: The environmental policy-making process in the United States was initially marked by unproductive gridlock but has resulted in much progress and policy development in recent years.

FALSE

T/F: The seven major statutes that were enacted in the 1970s focused on the protection of ecosystems and biodiversity.

FALSE

_____ are two of the most frequently proposed policy options for future natural resource policies.

Imposition of user fees and reduction of resource subsidies

The Clean Air Act amendment of 1990 provided for the use of buying and selling of pollution permits to combat acid rain. What type of policy instrument does this describe?

Market incentives

What is meant by "multiple use" when discussing natural resource policy?

Natural resources should be managed in a way that encourages economic development but also protects the environment.

Which best describes the recent history of environmental policymaking in the U.S.?

Period of incremental policy change followed by high level of regulation

The three primary areas of focus for environmental policy are described by which of the following statements?

Pollution control, resource conservation/ management, and energy policy

______ is defined as economic growth that is compatible with natural environmental systems and social goals.

Sustainable development

T/F: A cap-and-trade program is an emissions-control policy and market incentive that limits an industry's emission allowance and allows it to purchase emission permits from other lower-emitting industries.

TRUE

Which statement best summarizes the effectiveness of U.S. environmental policies enacted over the past 30 to 40 years?

They have had mixed results: while point source pollution has declined and urban air quality has improved, other conditions have not improved.

Which statement best summarizes the effectiveness of U.S. environmental policies enacted over the past 30-40 years?

They have had mixed results: while point source pollution has declined and urban air quality improved, other conditions have not improved

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970, for the first time, developed

Uniform air quality standards for the entire U.S.

With regard to environmental policy formulation, in the 1970s, ____ was the norm in the United States, while ____ was the norm in the 1980s and 1990s.

consensus; disagreement