APES legislature

Montreal protocol (1989)

• ^{international agreement to phase out CFCs because they deplete ozone layer.}

• ^{highly successful}

• ^{transitions to HCFCs (have high global warming potential)}

kyoto protocol

• international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions y 5% below 90 (?) level by 2012

  • developing countries has no emissions reduction target

  • never ratified in US

• has not successfully reduced greenhouse gas emissions

endangered species act

• a wildlife service can list species as endangered or threatened

  • promote safety of species

  • purchase land to protect it

  • create recovery plans for species

convention on the international trade of endangered species (CITES)

• international agreement

• aims to protect trade of over 35,000 species

• countries may seize illegal wildlife and fine violations

clean water act

• focusses on protecting and or restoring chemical, physical, biological properties of surface waters

• permitting system to keep point sources of water pollutants from discharging above acceptable levels

• established acceptable concentrations of diff. pollutants

Safe drinking water act

• EPA must set MCLs(Maximum Contaminant Levels) for 77 different pollutants in both surface and groundwater

clean air act

identifies six key criteria air pollutants that the EPA must set, minter, and enforce emission levels for:

• SO2

• NOx

• PM10 and PM2.5

• lead

• carbon monoxide (CO)

• ozone (O3)

resource conservation and recovery act (RCRA)

• tracks use of hazardous waste materials from “cradle to grave”

• allows EPA to set list of hazardous waste and requires industry to monitor and dispose of hazardous waste properly

• requires landfills to have a RCRA permit and may require more secure landfill cap or leachate collection system

comprehensive env. response, compensation, and liability act (CERCLA)

• “Superfund Act”

• tax on highly polluting industries like petroleum and chemical

• funds from tax go to cleaning up old hazardous waste sites

• sites receiving this funding= superfund cites

  • Brownfields are sites that don’t quite get Superfund status, but still receive federal funding to be cleaned up