Unit 2

In recent years, several companies have presented themselves as "going green." What are the benefits of operating a business in an environmentally sustainable way?

Running an environmentally friendly business helps you reduce your impact on the environment and preserves natural resources. Recycle by shredding excess paper - you could recycle this commercially or invite staff to take it home for their compost or mulch heaps. Promoting your environmentally friendly methods can set your business apart from your competitors and attract new customers who want to buy products and services from an environmentally friendly business.

Do you think it is possible to have benefits of the Agricultural and Industrial revolutions without the environmental costs? Explain.

No, because of the mass amount of fossil fuels used during the Industrial Revolution.

Suppose you are developing a survey to determine the non-market value for an ecosystem service in your community. Describe the ecosystem service and list three questions you would ask on the survey to help you determine its value in your community.

An ecosystem service would be provisioning services which are the products obtained from ecosystems such as food, fresh water, wood, fiber, genetic resources and medicines. Questions: Is there local farm markets? What kind of water do you have? Well or city water? Is there a lot of deforestation near you?

How is environmental science different from ecology? In what way is ecology part of environmental science?

Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with their environments, while environmental science is the study of how the natural world works, how it affects us, and how we affect our environment. Environmental science is a scientific discipline with a principal objective to research the relationship between nature and mankind. Therefore, they both have different elements on how the study of environment problems and the purpose of sustainable development models.

Compare and contrast green taxes and subsidies.

Green taxes are a penalty given to a company that's damaging the environment. A subsidy is a cash grant or other reward given to a company to encourage and promote environmental friendliness.

Compare and contrast the first and third periods of U.S. environmental policy.

In the first period you dealt with more management, while in the third period you dealt with cleaning up the problems.

Why can the year 1970 be considered the first year of the modern environmental policy in the U.S.?

President Nixon signed the United States National Policy Act (NEPA) into law on New Years Day, 1970.

Describe the environmental policy process.

The environmental policy includes 7 steps; identify the problem, identify causes, envision a solution, get organized, gain access, and help a solution become a police.

As the new head of the EPA, you are charged with developing a plan to reduce water pollution caused by oil spillage from commercial and recreational boats by 25% within the decade. What policy approach(es) would you pursue? Explain.

The policy approach I would use would be the Spill prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) which help facilities prevent a discharge of oil into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines.

One of the provisions of the Clean Air Act is restrictions on the amount of sulfur dioxide (a primary air pollutant forms acid precipitation) that can be released from industries (like power plants); for the industry, this means installing expensive equipment called scrubbers. Make a list of potential benefits of such equipment and their costs--be sure to brainstorm any non-market values that may be involved, and include any externalities that you can think of (externalities are "side effects" of a business activity that are not reflected in the cost of the good or service--these side effects are "felt" by other people, groups, etc. not necessarily associated with the business). How are such cost-benefit analyses important as decision and policy making tools?

The potential benefits~ •Can handle flammable and explosive dusts with little risk •Provides gas absorption and dust collection in a single unit •Provides cooling of hot gases •Compact; can often be retrofitted into existing collection systems •Corrosive gases and dusts can be neutralized The cost could be up to $1000 per ton of carbon dioxide. Some. non-market values that could be used is the scientific value. Externalities: Cleaner air accrue to all people living in the nearby area. Cost-benefit analysis provides policymakers with more complete information for decision-making purposes.

Suppose you make your living catching crabs in the Chesapeake Bay. You, like everyone else, are free to set as many traps as you like. As more traps are set, fewer crab are caught and soon catches are too small to support each family. A meeting is planned where you and other fishermen will present possible solutions to this problem. How is this an example of a "tragedy of the commons"? How do you propose to restore the fishery?

This is an example of a "tragedy of the commons" because everyone needs the crabs to survive but the crabs are decreasing in population. To restore the fishery would be limiting fishing season, size requirements, and the amount available to catch per time period, allowing the population to gradually increase.

Why are international environmental laws necessary?

To help control environmental issues that involve more than one nation, called transboundary problems.