CH 11 QUIZZ
Forests occupy about what percentage on the US land area?
33%
Human population is expected to surpass _____ in 2050 and _____ in 2100.
9 billion ___ 11 billion
Projection
An analytical technique that uses historical data to make estimates of future numbers.
No US state provides subsidies to support fossil-fuel exploration. This is a matter for federal policy only.
FALSE
The Earth's climate has changed naturally in the past, therefore humans are not the cause of any current global warming.
FALSE
Which of the following is NOT a way that Courts shape environmental policy?
Issue budget requests for agencies
Which is NOT one of the main factors that impact changes in environmental policy, according to Vig and Kraft?
Pressure from governments of our key trade partners in Asia
The US federal government provides some financial support for overseas fossil-fuel exploration by US companies
TRUE
President Ronald Reagan strongly opposed a federal role on energy policy and favored reliance on the "free market."
True
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) creates the legal and policy framework for the proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund) primarily addresses abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.
True
When is an environmental issue most likely to be considered an important by a majority of the American Public?
When a major catastrophe occurs
The ______ theory of policy making emphasizes the formal and legal parts of governmental structure.
institutional
Group theory
portrays public policy as a product of continuous struggle among organized interest groups.
Kingdon's model illustrates how three independent "_______" of activities related to problems, policy proposals, and politics can converge and bring a public issue onto the agenda.
streams
Approximately how many states, along with Washington D.C., have renewable portfolio standards RPS)?
29
According to information cited in Chapter 8 in Vig and Kraft, about how many "job years" can be created for each megawatt of solar photovoltaic power?
30
225. The US federal government provides approximately $________ in annual national subsidies that support fossil-fuel exploration.
5 billion
What percentage, approximately, of the world's population currently resides in cities?
54%
What percentage of global GHG emissions do cities generate (or are largely responsible for)?
75%
The EPA concluded that CO2 "lifecycle: emissions from oil sands (often called tar sands), like the oil that would flow through the proposed Keystone Pipeline, crude would likely be about ______________ greater than emissions from non-oil-sands crude oil.
81%
What was the effect of conservation efforts and scientific discoveries, and several prominent books and news articles that highlighted the implications of these discoveries, in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s?
A public demand for more governmental action to protect natural resources and prevent environmental degradation, new organizations were created to protect the environment, and reforms were passed , especially in the late 1960s and 1970s
Why was president Obama reluctant to push new environmental regulations during his first term?
After the economic collapse at the end of the Bush Administration, Obama place emphasis on economic recovery and jobs and did not want to risk any short-term negative impact or arguments with particular businesses that might be hurt by such policies (even if they would have overall long-term economic benefits).
According to CH.2 of Kraft's book Environmental Policy and Politics, what is the biggest source of water quality problems in rivers and streams?
Agricultural activities that release nutrients, pesticides, and suspended solids.
Which is NOT a reason for understanding that states can play a positive role in US env. policy?
All states have far more financial resources to devote to environmental issues.
Which statement 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.
Which article of the Constitution directs the president to "faithfully execute the laws?"
Article II
Which city requires an energy inspection as part of its building codes?
Austin, Texas
During the tenure of which two presidents did the EPA try to "reinvent" environmental regulation though the use of collaborative decision making involving multiple stakeholders, public-private partnerships, market-based incentives, information disclosure and enhanced flexibility in rulemaking and enforcement?
Bill Clinton and George W. Bush
Which of the following is not a fossil fuel?
Bio-alcohol
Which of the following gases is most responsible for the greenhouse effect?
Carbon Dioxide
Which greenhouse gas appears to act as Earth's "thermostat"?
Carbon dioxide
Congestion pricing and tolls require motorists to pay for the use of the roads and can be adjusted so people pay more at certain times of the day in order to reduce air pollution and traffic jams. Local or state governments that have toll roads are using which policy tool?
Charging fees
George HW Bush threatened to boycott the Rio Earth Summit (the UN Conference on Environment and Development) in June 1992 unless other countries dropped their insistence that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change included binding targets and timetables for rich countries to reduce GHG. This highlights which Presidential role?
Chief diplomat
This "cousin" of cost-benefit analysis does not attempt to assign dollar values to potential benefits but instead assumes they will occur and looks for the cheapest way to achieve them.
Cost-effectiveness analysis
183. President George Bush's first budget proposal sought to change the EPA budget by what amount?
Decrease of $500 million
Why did the Kyoto Protocol (which will be replaced by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement) emphasize the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by developed countries?
Developed countries have historically been the source of most of the GHG emissions.
Which agency has primary responsibility for implementing environmental laws in the USA?
Environmental Protection Agency
Which evaluative criteria addresses whether a policy has a fair process or policy outcome?
Equity
Which of the following is not a types of "Market Failure" relevant to environmental policy
Excessive taxation
Federal cabinet departments and major agencies such as the Department of Interior, the EPA, and the CIA are found in which branch of government?
Executive
Most environmental laws depend entirely on the Executive Branch, headed by the President, for implementation and thus do not depend heavily on the states for implementation.
FALSE
Reagan and George W. Bush both attempted to rescind or weaken environmental protections as part of their deregulation policy, and were successful in altering the structure of environmental legislation adopted in the 1970s.
FALSE
Scientists can't predict the weather more than a few days in advance, so they can't possibly predict the climate of the future.
FALSE
Under President Bush, and to date under President Trump, the US grew substantially closer to being a global environmental leader.
FALSE
Very substantial and widespread agreement exists that environmental harm will result if environmental policies are based on alternatives to traditional command and control regulation - such as market-based incentives, information disclosure, public education, negotiation, stakeholder collaboration, and public-private partnerships.
FALSE
All of the energy consumed in the US and in most other nations is derived from fossil fuels.
False
Energy use isn't impacted by market forces
False
Environmental mediation and collaborative decision-making have been determined to be inherently useless.
False
The US govt. maintains the National Parks to protect certain unique wilderness areas. Which of the following describes the type of policy tool being used in this situation?
Government management
How did President George W. Bush move US environmental policy?
He formally withdrew the U.S. from the Kyoto Protocol by announcing his administration would not forward the treaty to the US Senate for possible ratification, He proposed a natural energy policy that revolved around increased oil and gas drilling, and He sided with industry and economic development over environmental protection.
What does superfund give the EPA the authority to do?
Identify parties responsible for inactive or abandoned hazardous waste sites and force clean up, Clean up sites, and Require sites to be identified and ranked according to their priority for cleanup
Problem definition
Involves defining and measuring the scope of a societal problem, political influence on how the problem is framed, and conducting or reviewing research that documents a societal problem.
How did the EPA seek to demonstrate the range of coral plants and justify the new rules, including the clean power plan?
It calculated the amount of preventable deaths and ailments as a result of coal plants and placed an economic value on the avoidance of these.
Why do many of the most promising energy policy initiatives occur on the state and local levels?
It has been easier to build consensus on the local level than the federal level, There is no interest in federal energy policy & Lobby groups shut down any energy bills in the federal government
According to CH. 2 of Kraft's book Environmental Policy and Politics, what did the EPA's water quality inventory indicate as the highest priority for state water officials?
Leaking underground tanks.
How was the United States able to make improvements in energy conservation in the 1970s despite the limitations that congress placed on energy policies that President Carter attempted to create?
Lower economic growth rates, more efficient industries, and an increased demand for energy efficient cars
Which of the following is not a prominent category of Presidential powers, or activities, with regard to environmental policy?
Personal Policy Adjudication - arguing for administration policy before Supreme Court in person
What impact did the western expansion of the USA in the late 19th century have on environmental policy?
Policies were created that allowed citizens to convert land into farm land, and people who benefitted from policies that let them create farms and utilize the land expected those policies to always be there and some people argue today that these expansionist policies should remain in place.
Capacity-building tools
Policy design tools that governments use to invest in trading programs for their own staff or for the public.
Which of the following criteria for analyzing a potential environmental policy examines how government officials will likely appraise the acceptability of a particular alternative or solution?
Political feasibility
Which of the following policy analysis criteria is used if the acceptability of a particular alternative to interest groups, the general public, or politicians is a concern?
Political feasibility
The United States saw an increase in environmental legislation in the 1970s due in part to pressure from environmental groups. This represents what type of rationale for government intervention?
Political reasons
What is the focus of the Endangered Species Act?
Protection of individual species
The National Park Service (NPS) issues a limited number of backpacking permits at some parks to help protect the land from overuse. What type of policy tool is this?
Rationing
Which president was the first to come to office with an anti-environmental-regulation agenda?
Reagan
Carbon capture and sequestration is a technology that
Reduces additions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere by collecting them at the point of emission, or from the air after emission, and storing them from active circulation in the carbon cycle.
One of the earliest and most visible economic incentive programs involves __________. Ten states, covering 30 percent of the population, have such programs in place.
Refundable taxes/deposits on beverage containers
Some worry about potential carbon taxes because depending on how it is implemented, it could be a ________ tax; that is a tax in which all individuals have the same rate of taxation regardless of income.
Regressive
How do federal, state, and local governments influence decisions about energy policy?
Regulation of by-products, Tax subsidies, Provision of services, & Energy R and D development
What did the EPA conclude that the new 2013 standards for cars and gasoline would accomplish?
Require oil refiners to remove additional sulfur from gasoline, Reduce harmful pollution and thereby help to prevent premature deaths and illnesses, and Reduce emissions of a range of harmful pollutants and maintain science based national ambient air quality standards to protect public health
Which is not a product evaluated by the Energy Star Program?
Roads
Which of the following is generally considered the most regressive tax?
Sales tax
Scientific uncertainty and complexity regarding a problem's ____________ can create an obstacle for creating effective environmental policy.
Scope, Impact, Severity, & Time frame
Which is NOT a specific policy objective in the Convention on Biological Diversity?
Set specific targets and percentages for conservation land to be set aside in each state
Environmentalists and advocates of sustainable development almost always prefer preventive measures than paying to clean up a problem because they believe such measures preventing more severe and perhaps irreversible consequences, and are often economically more advantageous.
TRUE
Hydraulic fracking requires 2-10 million gallons of water per well per fracture, which raises concerns about the depletion of water resources.
TRUE
In policies that include Tradable Development Rights (TDRs): each parcel of private property that is developed must be offset by preserving a forested parcel elsewhere
TRUE
One of the greatest challenges facing US environmental policy is the need to shift from a pollution control mode that reacts after damage has occurred to one that anticipates potential problems and attempts to prevent them.
TRUE
Presidential environmental must usually be grounded in statutes passed by Congress, and Congress also determines the budgets and spending limits of all executive agencies.
TRUE
Vig and Kraft highlight that, in some ways, the EPA functions as an umbrella organization implementing a set of fragmented programs that operate under separate laws and budgets.
TRUE
If a state government encourages business to buy solar panels by allowing them to deduct the interest payments on their taxes, it is using which policy instrument?
Taxing and spending
What agency is responsible for the administration of federal public lands?
The Bureau of Land Management, The Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service & The Forest Service
What is listed in Ch. 2 of Kraft's book Environmental Policy and Politics as the beginning of contemporary policy on air quality?
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970, because they focused on human health and national standards for protecting it.
Which administration attempted to achieve environmental policy goals primarily through collaborative decision making?
The Clinton Administration
According to CH. 2 of Kraft's book Environmental Policy and Politics, has there been an improvement in air quality in the USA?
There has been an improvement because of the Clean Air Act and the EPA, but more work needs to be done because many communities remain exposed to air that is sometimes unhealthy.
What is a potential weakness of the command-and-control approach to environmental regulation?
There is not sometimes not enough monitoring of compliance because it is difficult and costly to do so
Why is it usually easier for environmental policy to be enacted by state and local governments?
There is, on average, less rigid partisanship at the state and local levels than the federal level. Also, state and local governments have more political and practical opportunities for creativity and innovation.
In general, how did traditional resource constituents -- those that had been using land or natural resources official owned or managed by the federal government -- react to some changes in resource protection policies of the late 20th century?
They did not like the policies because three saw their access to resources jeopardized
What is the role of the courts when it comes to environmental policy?
They serve as a gatekeeper, and decide who has the standing to sue in cases relating to environmental policy, as well as setting standards for review of cases relating to the Environment.
What is the role of federal agency officials when it comes to land and other natural resources owned by the Federal Government?
To both protect and exploit natural resources
What was the purpose of the first air pollution statutes that were enacted in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?
To control heavy smoke and soot from furnaces and locomotives
Why was the Sierra Club formed?
To preserve natural resources and public lands so that they can be used for recreational and educational purposes instead of economic exploitation
Why was there gridlock regarding national energy policy in the 1990s?
Too little concern, and too little consensus, among the general public about energy, Agreement among energy produces regarding a path forward, & too many competing interests
Which federal law authorizes premarket testing of chemical substances and allows the EPA to ban or regulate the manufacture, sale, or use of chemicals presenting and "unreasonable risk of injury" to health or the environment.
Toxic Substances Control Act
What is a challenge associated with the relationship between EPA and the states?
Transboundary pollution across countries and across states, Need to ensure that local interests do not exert pressure that weakens important environmental protections established by the federal government, and States and localities largely depend on federal research and support.
A problem with the Endangered Species Act is that it was designed to focus on individual species rather than the ecosystems of which they are a part.
True
Agencies, environmental groups, and scientists can help promote citizen involvement and collaborative decision-making by assisting the public in understanding the data being produced and by facilitating discussion of what the information means.
True
As a result of the 1970 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 1970 some businesses and individuals in the West saw their historic access to public lands and waters jeopardized by new demands for preservation and recreation and by a different set of policy actors who were unlikely to acquiesce to the old distributive formulas.
True
Which of the following is not one of the key criteria, as outlined in Ch. 4 of Vig and Kraft, that analysts should use when seeking to analyze, or categorize, how Presidents address environmental issues?
Undergraduate Education (i.e. major field)
Does the partisanship of our government and the polarized positions the parties hold harm the development of comprehensive environmental policies?
Yes, there is evidence that there is a partisan division when it comes to environmental issues, which affects what policies can be passed.
199. Possible health concerns that can arise from arsenic contamination in a water supply include?
a. Blindness b. Lethal kinds of cancer c. Paralysis d. Death
Which of the following is an example of ways that the U.S. has made progress towards reducing GHG emissions?
a. By 2016, 20 states had official GHG emission reduction targets. b. Oregon has committed to eliminating the use of electricity from coal-fired power plants by 2035. c. California passed legislation in 2015 requiring utilities to generate or purchase half of the power they sell from renewable sources by 2015. d. Many states have set renewable energy standards. e. In the North east, The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, operates as a mandatory, multi-state, market-based carbon emissions-reduction program
Chapter 7 of Vig and Kraft highlighted which of the following as examples of state-level policy innovations that have added to the effectiveness of the EPA?
a. California and New Jersey led in developing hazardous "right-to-know" laws in the 1980s, which led to the EPA's nationwide Toxics Release Inventory b. More than 50% of states have passed renewable energy mandates c. At least 24 states have passed tax credits for renewable energy d. California has led in regulating GHG emissions and in promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy
Which of the following is a true regarding Cap-and-Trade and pollution taxes?
a. Cap-and-trade establishes a total quantity of allowable pollution, taxes generally do not. b. Cap and trade generally allows governments a more reliable method to reduce the total quantity of pollution by a specific amount than taxes. c. Pollution taxes are simpler and less expensive for governments to create. d. If set at the correct level, pollution taxes will impact corporate and consumer behavior and lead to less pollution. e. Pollution taxes can be established in revenue neutral fashion, by reducing other taxes.
Compared to other nations, the U.S. federal government
a. Holds some of the lowest taxes on carbon emissions in the industrialized world b. Relies primarily on excise carbon emission taxes on the state level c. Holds a gas tax to finance highway maintenance
Reasons to enact a carbon tax in the USA arguably include:
a. It could have less negative economic impact, on an economy wide basis, than reducing GHG emissions through regulations alone. b. It would lead to greater energy efficiency. c. It would lead to increased use of wind and solar energy. d. It has not proven to have negative impacts in the countries or location that have one.
One drawback of a higher carbon tax in the United States would be ________________.
a. It would require tremendous resources to create and collect, while it remains uncertain if it would have a substantial impact b. It would threaten the livelihood of the entire energy industry c. It would be the most expensive means to combat climate change, according to nearly all experts d. It would be felt especially by the poor unless steps were taken to offset this impact
A federal tax on energy or carbon emissions has the potential to
a. Negatively impact lower-income Americans - unless b. Aid in balancing the United States federal budget c. Significantly reduce greenhouse emissions d. Increase the installation of solar and wind energy systems, potentially adding jobs in the green energy sector
What is a feature of environmental policy and politics at the state level that is often different from environmental policy and politics at the federal level?
a. Often more public support and bottom-up policy. b. Often more focus on protection of common pool resources c. Interest groups often more willing to work together to solve problems than at federal level d. Procedure available in about 24 states that enables citizens to draft laws for direct approval by the voters if the sponsors of the measure gather enough signatures (ALL)
Which of the following is considered by Courts to be a source of environmental law in the USA (and thus the basis for deciding a case)?
a. Precedent: judge-made law that guides and informs subsequent court decisions with similar situations b. Constitutions (federal and state) c. Statues (federal, state, and local) d. Administrative regulations (especially if statute/law is vague) e. Treaties (signed by president and ratified by the Senate) (ALL)
The policy-making stage in which public needs are selected for consideration by a legislative body of government is ____________.
agenda setting
Cities that use "visioning" exercises to get citizens to think about what they desire for future development, parks and sustainability in their community are using _____ to compare policy alternatives.
an ideal situation
Cleaner air and reduced GHG emissions are not the only consideration when policy makers examine mass transit options. Being stuck in traffic imposes ________ on drivers because they could be doing something more productive with their time.
an opportunity cost
The principle of judicial review allows the Supreme Court to
assess the constitutionality of congressional acts.
A ______ 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.
cap and trade
When it comes to taxing carbon emissions, the USA
has the equivalent one of the lowest tax rates on carbon emissions among industrialized nations.
Evaluative criteria
important factors that policy analysts use to assess the proposed policy alternatives. They are also used to analyze the impact of the policy after implementation.
The supremacy clause, stipulated in Article VI of the Constitution, holds that
in a conflict between federal and state laws, the former will override the latter.
187. Most of the actual drafting and review of public policy legislation in Congress, including environmental legislation, takes place
in committees
During the _____ stage of policy making, legislators rely on policy analysts to develop and study possible alternatives for them to consider.
policy formulation
The policy-making stage during which money is spent, regulations are adopted, and the policy is carried out is called ___________.
policy implementation
Many individuals argue that the US Congress should enact binding national regulations to control GHG. Some in the Obama administration ruled out this option using the criterion of ________, because the proposal would be "dead on arrival" in Congress.
political feasibility
Clean air, like education, is often cited as something that benefits more than just the person breathing the clean air; it benefits society in a number of other ways such as lowering health care costs. This is called:
positive externality
Kingdon argues that the separate but interdependent ________________ flow continuously through the political systems and impact the policy agenda and the types of solutions that are put forward and chosen.
problem, policy and politics streams
A ______ tax is one in which the rate of taxation is higher for individuals who earn higher incomes.
progressive
The _______ theory of policy making draws heavily on economics to explain the actions of voters and also of elected officials as attempts to maximize self-interest.
rational choice
When examining policy alternatives, one should examine _________, which refer to how well the policy has worked in a state, pilot test, or other smaller-scale attempt to implement it.
real-world or parallel situations
Risk Analysis
refers to the policy analysis method that assesses the potential for harm that might result (to people or to the environment) if potential hazards should occur.
Providing direct payments to individuals to assist them buy solar panels is an example of:
subsidizing
Group theory
the policy-making theory that posits that policy making occurs in a pluralistic way through a dynamic struggle among a variety of policy actors, interest groups, government officials, and the public.
The primary assumption of elite theory is that in shaping public policy
the values and preferences of the general public are less influential than those of a small group of experts or leaders.
In 1900, the global human population was about 1.6 billion. What is it today?
About 7 billion
IN 2013, the FWS reported that approximately _________ species of plants and animals in the US were listed as threatened or endangered?
1500
In what year was the first scientific paper published showing how significant increases in atmospheric CO2 could increase temperatures on earth.
1896
In approximately what year was the EPA created, and who was the US President?
1970; Nixon
In what year did the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) impose an embargo on the sale of their oil, leading to a quadrupling of world oil prices?
1973
About how many US states have created official GHG emission reduction targets?
20
About many states employ Renewable portfolio standards (RPS)?
29
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires that environmental impact statements (EIS) be conducted for proposed development projects. Which statement choice defines an EIS?
A detailed and systematic study of all environmental effects of a proposed action
Ethical analysis
A difficult and relatively infrequent type of policy analysis that systematically examines conflicts and concerns about policy alternatives from the standpoint of values and rights
What is a carbon tax?
A policy that requires industries to pay taxes on emissions that exceed an established yearly quota.
What is ecosystem-based management?
A shift in emphasis toward principles of protecting habitat and maintaining biological diversity
After the IPCC issued dire warnings on climate change and the EPA took action in the form of new rules and regulations, what moderated the effects of the rule changes and helped shift energy policy in the United States?
A wide agreement on the new rules and regulations that boosted the use of renewable energy
According to CH.2 of Kraft's book Environmental Policy and Politics, what have comprehensive federal studies discovered about acid precipitation?
Acid precipitation can harm the health of individuals with respiratory problems and adversely effect aquatic ecosystems, forests, crops, and buildings.
Which of the following best describes the sequence of the policy-making process as presented by Kraft?
Agenda setting, policy formulation, policy implementation, and policy evaluation
At its basic, how does the human population growth affect the environment?
By increasing the demand for resources and by increasing the production of waste, such as emission of pollution.
This federal law regulates motor vehicle emissions and fuels and 1990 amendments to it included regulations ought to limit acid deposition, to phase out CFCs, and to regulate major sources of toxic and hazardous air pollutants
Clean Air Act
What have recent IPCC reports show about climate change?
Climate change is already occurring and having serious, widespread effects globally.
Which US president proposed a broad energy tax based on the heat output of fuel, or BTUs (essentially a carbon tax)?
Clinton
Which of the following is not a form of renewable, or "green" energy?
Coal-burning
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
The "tragedy of the commons" refers to the situation in which individuals attempt to maximize their use of ________ without regard to their degradation or depletion.
Common pool resources
Which federal law authorizes the federal government to respond to hazardous waste emergencies and to clean up chemical dump sites through use of a fund of money supported by taxes on the chemical and petroleum industries.
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund)
What was not listed in CH.2 of Kraft's book Environmental Policy and Politics as a harmful health issue associated with exposure to toxic chemicals?
Congenital heart disease
Which of the following has (and indeed has had) the greatest potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the United States in the near term?
Converting all coal power plants to ones that use natural gas or to solar or wind energy.
What is the primary (and controversial) biofuel that the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 mandated an increased use of?
Corn-derived ethanol
This decision-making tool studies the expected outcomes of a policy proposal while also calculating the expected financial impact.
Cost-benefit analysis
What aspects of President Reagan's political agenda helped the reevaluation, reversal and/or weakening of many environmental policies during his administration?
Cutting back on the role of the federal government, Shifting more policy responsibility to the states, Relying more on the private sector and Reducing the scope of government regulation.
Which term is used in cost-benefit analysis when discussing the present value of future benefits, such as cleaner air or reduced amounts of climate change?
Discount rate
Which environmental agency holds responsibility for implementing policy in the following issue-areas (and sometimes developing regulations when authorized by federal law): air and water pollution, pesticides, radiation, solid waste, superfund, and toxic substances?
EPA
How are estimates of the costs and benefits of environmental rules made?
EPA economists estimate the costs of compliance with environmental regulations as well as the potential economic benefits, from, for example, reduce health care costs.
Which of the following is the best definition of sustainable development?
Economic growth that is compatible with preserving natural resources and environmental systems and achieving social goals
TV and radio public service announcements telling people of the dangers of using pesticides represent what form of government policy tool?
Education
The policy instrument of ___________ refers to government attempts to convey important information to citizens in order to influence their behavior.
Education
Which of the following criteria looks at the achievement of goals in relationship to the costs to achieve them?
Efficiency
The ______ theory of policy making focuses on the role of experts and leaders in formulating public policy.
Elite
A potential federal subsidy that would only be given to individuals who put more than one hundred solar panels on a private might raise concerns about the _________ of the policy.
Equity
Because national governments assert an exclusive right to act in global environmental politics, cities, states, and provinces always play insignificant role in addressing environmental problems.
FALSE
What is the term for the procedure available in 24 states that enables citizens to draft laws for direct approval by the voters if the sponsors of the measure gather enough signatures?
Initiative
During the later years of the Obama administration, the Democratic Party controlled the presidency and Senate, while the Republican Party controlled the House of Representatives. As a result, gridlock occurred, and it was difficult for the policy-making process to enact policies to address important issues, including environmental legislation. Which policy-making theory might attribute this failure to the formal way our government is structured and the procedures for how bills become law?
Institutional theory
What are some of the effects of sprawl?
Loss of farmland and billions of gallons of water
The Clean Air Act amendments 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
Which state has a dime deposit on containers, opposed to the conventional nickel deposit?
Michigan
President Reagan deserves credit for supporting and signing which global environmental treaty?
Montreal Protocol
Which best describes the recent history of environmental policy-making in the US?
Much policy-making activity in the late 1960s through 1970s followed by a long period of gridlock and incremental changes
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.
According to CH. 3 in Kraft, what factor determines what environmental and natural resource policies are created?
Nature of the issues, Demand, Decision making, and Perception of Impacts
When the Environmental Protection Agency adopts regulations that force power plants to take into consideration the actual costs to deal with pollution and the health problems it causes, what type of market failure is the EPA addressing?
Negative externality
Which president signed the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) and saw their administration establish the EPA?
Nixon (Republican)
Which creative thinking tool begins with an analysis of the status quo as a baseline?
No-action analysis
Which government office is in charge of monitoring how other agencies, including the EPA and Department of Interior, conduct cost-benefit analyses?
Office of Management and Budget
Why are effective international environmental policy agreements often difficult to create and implement?
Only nations signing the agreement are required to comply, Compliance is not automatic, No international organization has the ability to enforce the agreement & Each national operates in the bests interests of its sovereignty
Which of the following is not listed in CH. 2 of Kraft's book Environmental Policy and Politics as a category the EPA puts contributions to air pollution under?
Opportunistic sources
What term is defined as "judging the success of programs that have already been approved and have been implemented and, especially, determining whether and how they affect the problems to which they are directed?"
Program evaluation
Which of the following is not a market mechanism, or way to apply market principles, that can be used to address environmental problems
Prohibition on certain activities
The EPA uses ________ to determine the level of chemicals and other pollutants that can be present in water and still be considered safe to drink.
Risk evaluation
Which is not a method governments have used to influence decision making on energy use?
Shutting down all major emitters of greenhouse gases
Why did environmentalists denounce President George W. Bush's positions on climate change?
Significant scientific evidence suggested that Bush's position wasn't valid.
Which is not one of the environmental successes achieved during the Obama administration?
Significantly increasing the use of fossil fuels
The most powerful figure in the House of Reps is the
Speaker of the House
Who has the primary role in enforcing the standards of the clean water act?
States
President Obama took a largely top-down, command-and-control approach to air pollution and viewed the EPA as one of his most powerful tools for fighting climate change.
TRUE
President Reagan's budgets had large impacts on the EPA, which lost about one-third of its operating budget in the early-1980s.
TRUE
While Congress has failed in recent years regarding climate change policy, who has succeeded in implementing policy?
The EPA and a number of local, state, and city governments
Why has the Green party, which advocates for environmental issues, faced so many challenges in the national elections?
The U.S. electoral system is, in general, structurally biased against third or minor parties
Kraft indicates that the most significant thing that the Clinton Administration did in terms of domestic USA environmental policy?
The administration began to shift the environmental agenda towards sustainable development and integrative policy action
What was found in a study of the costs and benefits of the Clean Air Act and its later amendments?
The benefits massively outweighed the costs.
Adjustment Costs
The economic, social, and political costs of transitioning to practices that conform to the proposed or agreed upon global environmental policy.
What did new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards passed in a 2007 during the George W. Bush administration improve?
The fuel economy of light trucks and cars
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The largest independent agency with strong regional offices reporting to the President.
Which of the following is not true of the "innovative cap and trade system" that the US government established during the President George HW Bush administration?
The pollution reductions proved to be far more expensive to the economy as a whole than traditional cap and trade regulations to reduce sulfur pollution
Kraft notes that a key ay to judge true public preferences towards environmental issues is:
To ask whether people will actually act on their environmental opinions.
What contributes the most to the United States' stockpiles of radioactive waste?
Used fuel rods from nuclear power plants
In the 1970s and early 1980s, the federal government passed a number of acts to control pollution.
Wetland Up-River Degradation Act
The Senate tactic of holding the floor for hours on end until an unwanted piece of legislation is dropped or amended is known as
a fillibuster
An executive order is
a presidential decree that has the force of law but has not been approved by Congress.
According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, a $25-per-ton carbon tax report would:
a. Reduce emissions of greenhouse gases b. Yield benefits for U.S. residents of an uncertain magnitude c. Raise over $1 trillion dollars in revenue for the U.S. government d. Reduce emissions of GHG at less cost than command and control regulation
201. Air pollution from coal-fired power plant includes:
a. sulfur dioxide b. nitrogen oxides c. particulates d. mercury e. carbon dioxide (which contributes to climate change)
Committees that are convened to reconcile differences between Senate and House versions of the same bill before sending the bill to the president are known as
conference committees
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
Some local governments sometimes hire nonprofit organizations to provide some park services that other government provides, such as maintenance of trails. These are examples of ____.
contracting out
Administrative feasibility
deals with the likelihood that an agency or department can implement a policy well.
The GEF (Global Environment Facility)
distributes funds to developing countries for projects that address global environmental concerns, including those associated with implementing certain treaties.
A(n) _____is a detailed and systematic study of all environmental effects of a proposed action.
environmental impact statement
When presented with a bill, the president can act in all of the following ways EXCEPT
exercising a line-item veto, whereby the president agrees to certain provisions of the bill, but crosses out others.
Environmental regulation
government requiring certain activities be done and, if they are not, assessing penalties.
Evaluative criteria are
important aspects of the policy proposal on which you will make comparisons.
The earth's climate...
is changing due to natural processes and human processes.
A city that encourages citizens to serve on a community sustainability advisory panel so that they will develop greater awareness and engagement is using ____ policy tool.
learning
Not every state has laws that require motorcyclists to wear helmets even though they have been shown to reduce the severity of injuries in the event of an accident. States without these laws have weighed the criterion of ________ more strongly than effectiveness.
liberty/freedom
Operational measures
observable ways to define a problem
Paul Portney argues that "wise regulations are those that" .....
pass a kind of commonsense benefit-cost test
The Montreal Protocol helped to
phase out of chlorofluorocarbons and several other chemicals that harm the ozone layer.
Courts utilize ______ as background and foundation in order to make a current decision.
precedent
Policy analysts can estimate the value of a human life through _________.
sensitivity analysis
The negative impacts of divided government on environmental policy may include
slowing down the legislative process, diluting legislation as a result of efforts to achieve consensus, and a failure to enact important legislation.
Market incentives
taxing or imposing fees to encourage consumers or companies to change behavior
Technical feasibility
the availability and reliability of technology needed for policy implementation.
Policy gridlock often occurs due to
the checks and balances set up by our Constitution, high levels of partisanship with strong lobbying, and the complexity of problems.
One major concern regarding decentralization of the policy-making role from the federal to the state level relates to __________.
the differing levels of policy capacity among different states as well as different levels of interest and ability to create, implement or enforce effective environmental policies
Who is generally the most influential person in the Senate?
the majority leader
Market mechanisms as tools or instruments of policy are defined as
those that rely upon the laws of supply and demand to influence the behavior of individuals or corporations.
186. In order to secure ratification of a treaty, including an environment treaty, the president (almost always) must gain the approval of
two-thirds of the Senate
The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970, for the first time, developed:
uniform air quality standards for the entire US.
A president's chance for legislative success is improved in all the following situations EXCEPT
when Congress is in the hands of the opposition party.
