Chapter 17 and 18 Analyzing Environmental Risks and Impact of Environmental Policy

How does specialization for producing a particular number of goods and services impact the environment?

It benefits the environment because the economy can then focus on making products from available natural resources.

The _________ worldview puts man first and declares human beings as superior to all other living and non-living things in the environment.

Western

The __________ worldview is defined as a worldview that sees humans as dominant over nature and feels natural resources should be used for the benefit of humanity.

Western

What are the two environmental worldviews?

Western Worldview Deep Ecology Worldview

Why is asbestos considered an environmental hazard?

its fibrous structure causes lung damage.

What is the point where the marginal benefit equals the marginal cost of pollution called?

optimum amount of pollution

__________ means that they live and feed off of a host organism.

parasitic

_______________ are dangerous parasites like hookworm, tapeworm, roundworm, and heartworm.

parasitic worms

____________ are toxicants that resist breaking down in the presence of environmental factors, like sunlight, temperature, and moisture.

persistent toxicants

________________ are physical processes that occur naturally in the environment. These include natural disaster events such as earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, blizzards, landslides, and droughts.

physical hazards

What are the 4 types of environmental hazards?

physical, chemical, biological, cultural

As the amount of pollution released goes down, the marginal abatement cost tends to go _____

up

___________ are chemicals that stimulate overactivity in the immune system. When you are exposed to these, your body goes into overdrive, triggering an immune response to try and get rid of the it.

allergens

A virus was transmitted from Bob to Julie. What is this called?

an infectious disease

__________ has long been used for insulation in buildings, but its good insulating properties also make it dangerous. When it is inhaled, the fibrous structure of this mineral makes it stick in your lung tissue, and the rest of the body then produces an acid to fight it.

asbestos

Pneumonia, strep throat, Lyme disease, and many intestinal conditions are caused by ____________

bacteria

Why did the concept of environmental justice originate?

because certain communities were overly burdened with environmental concerns

Why are environmental taxes often implemented?

because economic theory suggests that it will reduce environmental harm in the least costly manner

Why is a tornado considered a physical hazard?

because it is a naturally occurring physical process in the environment

Why does bird flu spread rapidly?

because of altered bird migration routes.

Why was environmentalism established?

because of the need to protect the environment from hazards and pollutants

Why did the discipline of environmental ethics emerge?

because people became concerned with a growing population misusing natural resources

Why are POPs like DDT still an issue despite the US signing the Stockholm Convention?

because the US still sells DDT to other countries where it hasn't been outlawed

Why do those working for environmental justice care about bus lines?

because they want people to be able to get to their jobs

Why did the First National People of Color Leadership Summit adopt the second part of the Environmental Justice principle at their meeting in 1991?

because they wanted to make sure that everyone had the right to determine policies that protected their environments

Why are the 1960s said to have been the start of environmental law in the United States?

because this was a time of increased awareness and concern about the environment and the threats to its health

__________ hazards, also known as social hazards, result from your location, socioeconomic status, occupation, and behavioral choices

cultural

Environmental _________________ can be defined as the process of evaluating the ways humans go about making choices that impact the natural environment.

decision making

What is risk management?

decisions used to minimize risk

_____________________ regulatory approach works toward preventing environmental problems by legislating what is permitted

command and control

___________________ are biological pathogens that cause or spread disease

disease-causing agents

___________ are any illness-causing conditions that affect an organism's body

diseases

Human-made chemical hazards include many of the synthetic chemicals we produce, like:

disinfectants, pesticides, plastics

The ______ component of environmental planning is the current status of the natural environment. This component will take into consideration the existing state of the area to be developed. This may include evaluating the existing uses, features and natural resources of the land, as well as existing infrastructure and buildings.

first

Bob Smith is an ecologist and is very interested in a new chemical. But he is concerned about the potential toxicity of this new chemical. What should Bob do?

he should perform a dose-response curve

Low toxicity means a _____ LD50 because it takes a large dose to kill 50% of the population. Likewise, high toxicity means a _____ LD50 because it takes a much smaller amount of toxicant to kill 50% of the study population.

high; low

An _________________ regulatory approach aims to reduce environmentally-harmful pollutants by offering inducements to polluters who limit their emissions

incentive-based

An example of environmental planning is __________________, which is the process by which industries share services, energy and by-products to decrease costs and improve the environment.

industrial symbiosis

What did the following did the Stockholm Convention address?

international use of persistent organic pollutants

What differentiates a virus from bacteria?

viruses are not living cells, whereas bacteria are

A person with a strong __________ worldview favors economic, industrial and technological growth and would be concerned with the deterioration of the environment only if it negatively impacted the lifestyle of human beings.

western

______________ are diseases that jump from animals to humans

zoonotic diseases

What are the 7 categories of toxicants?

-carcinogens -mutagens -teratogens -allergens -neurotoxins -endocrine disrupters

What are the 5 types of indicator bacteria?

-e. coli -total coliforms -fecal coliforms -fecal streptococci -enterococci

What year was the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants convened?

2001

Dale subscribes to the Deep Ecology worldview, whereas Jack is supportive of the Western worldview. How do their opinions compare with one another?

Dale avoids activities that have a negative impact on the environment, where Jack advocates for technological developments to benefit human beings.

The _____________ worldview is defined as a worldview that sees humans are just one species and all forms of life have intrinsic value and the right to exist.

Deep Ecology

The _____________ worldview sees humans as being on an equal level with other species, as opposed to being superior to them.

Deep Ecology

What does it mean when a disease-causing agent is parasitic?

It lives and feeds off of a host organism

How does a child's metabolism make it more susceptible to toxicants?

It speeds up both the absorption and processing of toxicants.

Why was Silent Spring important?

It synthesized a diverse collection of information for the general public.

The cornerstone of environmental law is the ________________________ (or NEPA). This is the U.S. environmental law that established a nation-wide policy promoting the protection of the environment.

National Environmental Policy Act

This act of 1969 was formed to encourage a harmonious relationship between the nation's citizens and their natural surroundings with the goal of preventing destruction of the environment.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

What is the U.S. environmental law that established a nationwide policy promoting the protection of the environment?

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

____________ hazards come from ecological interactions between organisms. Viruses, bacterial infections, malaria, and tuberculosis are all examples

biological

Grass has been subjected to toxicants. Several cows have eaten lots of the grass and ingested the toxicants that were in the grass. Those cows then die, and a vulture comes and eats pieces of the cows, ingesting all the toxicants. What has just happened?

biomagnification

Referring to the North American birds of prey, why were the eggs so thin?

biomagnification of DDT

___________ hazards can be both natural and human-made chemicals in the environment.

chemical

The __________________ involves controlled laboratory experiments to understand the toxicity and effects of a substance. The tests involved in the study tell scientists how toxic a substance is, what effects it has on the organism and how much of the substance causes these effects.

dose-response curve

_______ is found in your colon, and it helps you absorb nutrients from your digested food that you can't take up on your own.

e. coli

How would you describe a person who protests outside a company known to pollute nearby waters?

ecocentric

What is a biological hazard?

ecological interactions b/w organisms

Why is risk management difficult?

economic benefits often outweigh health costs

_________________ is the philosophical discipline that considers the moral and ethical relationship of human beings to the environment.

environmental ethics

____________________ involves understanding the impacts of environmental and human-made hazards and protecting human health and ecological systems against these hazards

environmental health

An ___________________ provides an analysis of the environmental impact of a proposed action - such as a proposal to build a coal-burning electric power plant.

environmental impact statement

The _____________________ (or EIS), which is a document required for any actions that may significantly impact the environment.

environmental impact statement

_______________________ is the collection of laws and regulations pertaining to air quality, water quality, the wilderness, endangered wildlife and other environmental factors.

environmental legislation

___________________ is the process of evaluating how social, political, economic and governing factors affect the natural environment when considering development.

environmental planning

____________________ are the guidelines put in place to manage human activities for the benefit of the environment.

environmental policies

__________________ are defined as an approach to environmental protection that utilizes taxes connected to pollution emissions and waste production. This is an example of the ___________________ regulatory approach.

environmental taxes; incentive-based

The term _______________________ can be defined as collective beliefs and values that give people a sense of how the world works, their role in the environment, and right and wrong behavior toward the environment.

environmental worldview

________________ studies compare groups of people who have been exposed to a certain hazard to a group of people that has had no exposure. These studies often span long periods of time (some studies are decades long), and over that time, they measure any deaths or other health problems that occur.

epidemiological

What is the Guillette study an example of? a. unethical science b. risk management c. epidemiology d. dose-response curve

epidemiology

________________ is a large-scale comparison among groups of people to determine causes, effects, and patterns in human disease

epidemiology

_______ is a toxic heavy metal that can cause damage to major organs like your brain, liver, kidneys and stomach. It also causes mental retardation, anemia, and hearing loss. It is found in homes in old pipes and paint.

lead

Some chemical hazards occur naturally in the environment, like the heavy metals:

lead and mercury

Environmental ____________ is a collection of many laws and regulations aimed at protecting the environment from harmful actions.

legislation

The _____ is the cost associated with eliminating one unit of pollution.

marginal abatement cost

______________ is the increase in satisfaction received from a unit increase

marginal benefit

What term describes the change in total cost due to producing one additional unit of a good?

marginal cost

What level of doses do toxicologists use on lab animals?

much higher doses than you would experience in nature

___________ are mutation-causing chemicals. When organisms are exposed to a them, it literally mutates their DNA, leading to cancer and other disorders

mutagens

______________ is defined as the land, air, water, living organisms and natural resources of the earth that produce value to people.

natural capital

This type of toxicant is often used in chemical weapons, and causes slurred speech, loss of muscle control, and death.

neurotoxins

What is the precautionary principle?

new actions should not be taken until we understand their ramifications

Why is it difficult to assign responsibility for product safety?

pollutants and products do not obey national or international boundaries

Amoebas and sleeping sickness are examples of diseases caused by ___________, as well as some common gastrointestinal ailments

protozoa

__________ are also small, unicellular organisms. They can live in all different types of environments and are able to move around really well.

protozoa

_______ is a colorless and odorless radioactive gas that seeps into homes from rocks, soil and water underneath. It is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., coming in just behind tobacco smoke.

radon

Jamie is a scientist who has tested the dose and response of a new drug on mice. She's established a reliable dose-response curve. When recommending dosages for humans, how will Jamie extrapolate her data?

recommend lower doses for humans just to be safe, since the tests were on animals.

_____________ is the measurement and comparison of the risk involved in an activity or substance

risk assessment

The _________ component of environmental planning is vision. This involves setting goals and measurable objectives and takes into consideration the rules, regulations, laws and needs of society.

second

A retail company emits a level of greenhouse gases below the legal limit. This qualifies the company to apply for a very low-interest loan from the government. What is this type of incentive called?

subsidies for pollution control

__________ are chemicals that cause harm to unborn babies.

teratogens

Teratogens cause birth defects during development in the womb. _____________was used in the 1950s as a sleeping pill and to prevent nausea during pregnancy, but turned out to be a very harmful teratogen. Even a single dose is powerful enough to cause severe birth defects in children.

thalidomide

What is the approach of many businesses in the United States which causes an introduction of products into the market that have not been thoroughly tested?

the 'innocent until proven guilty' approach

What is bioaccumulation?

the build up of a toxicant in the tissue of organisms

What is the ED50?

the effective does for 50% of the population

What is a threshold dose?

the minimum amount needed for a response to occur.

Which of the following best describes trade liberalization?

the reduction of barriers on trade between nations

What does a low LD50 mean?

the toxicant has a high toxicity

What did Dr. Guillette discovered about alligators in Lake Apopka?

their hormones were being disrupted by DDT

How do tradable permits impact the market?

they allow all companies to either curb their emissions or purchase permits from others, which helps curb total emissions

The _______ component is implementation. This involves putting the vision into action and considers the materials, personnel and technology that may be needed to carry out the plan.

third

What is the purpose of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)?

to provide a thorough analysis of decisions made by federal agencies relevant to the environment

After a federal agency prepares an EIS, where is it submitted?

to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

What are persistent organic pollutants?

toxicants that remain in the environment for long periods of time

What are persistent toxicants?

toxicants that resist breaking down in the presence of environmental factors