Environmental Science - Test 2 - Chapter 2 (Brias)

What is a centrally planned economy?

When the government decides what is made, how it is made, and who gets what

What is a free market economy?

Individuals decide what is made, how it is made, and how much is made

What is a mixed economy?

Both government and indiviuals play roles in economic decision making

Compare and contrast goods and services

Goods are manufactured materials & products that consumers and businesses buy or sell, Services are the work that someone or a company does for others as a form of business

Explain how supply and demand works

Supply is the product offered at a given price, Demand is if people want to buy it. If demand is low, the seller will drop the price of the product, if demand is high the seller will raiser the price.

What kinds of "services" do ecological systems provide?

Water & air purification, making cycle nutrients, and serving as containers and cycling centers for the wastes produced by economic activity

What is the economic assumption of Internal Costs and Benefits?

When economists assume that costs and benefits only affect buyers and sellers directly involved in transactions

What is the economic assumption of Short-Term Effects

When short-terms costs and benefits are given more weight than long-term cost and benefits

What is the economic assumption of Endless Resources?

When economists do not consider that resources can run out

What is the economic assumption of Growth?

When economists assumed that continued growth is required to keep employment high and maintain social order

How do compainies benefit by offering sustainable products and services?

They can keep up with demand

What are the three goals of modern-day environmental policies

To protect environmental quality, protect natural resources, and ensure that resources are shared fairly

Name five individuals and groups that help make environmental policies.

Citizens, organizations, businesses, ethics, government

What roles does science play in making environmental policy?

Environmental policy requires input from science. It provides information and analysis needed to indentify, understand, and devise potential solutions for problems

How do environmental catastrophes tend to influence environmental policies in state and local governments?

Depending on where the area is, the policies differ. If an area is catatrophe-prone, it'll have a strong environmental laws, but if an area doesn't have as many catastrophes the environmental laws are weaker.

How is the Legislative branch involved in environmental policy?

They propose a law (aka a policy)

How is the Executive branch involved in environmental policy?

(Presidential), approves or vetos the policy. If approved it becomes a law (Includes the senate)

How is the Judicial branch involved in environmental policy?

Interprets or enforces the law, listens to complaints from citizens or businesses about the law

From the 1780s to the late 1800s, people thought the amount of land and resources in the West was ____

endless

People ____ natural resources in the West from the late 1800s through the mid-1960s

overused

The ........ condition of Ohio's Cuyahoga River during the 1950s and 1960s helped make more people aware of environmental issues.

polluted

How did Rachel Carson's Silent Spring help change US environmental policies?

It awakened the public to the negative ecological and health effects of industrial chemicals and pesticides such as DDT

What laws were made during the first period of US environmental policy?

"The Land Ordinance of 1785", "Northwest Ordinance (1787)", "Homestead act of 1862", and "The General Mining Law (1872)"

What laws were made during the second period of US environmental policy?

"Forest Reverse Act of 1891", Soil conservation laws of the 1930s, and "The Wilderness Act of 1964"

What laws were made during the third period of US environmental policy?

The Release of Silent Spring, "Emergency Conversation Work Act (1933)", "National Environmental Policy Act (1969)", "Earth Day (1970)"

What two federal actions marked the modern era of environmental policy?

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

What were the outcomes of the NEPA being signed into law?

An agency called the Council on Environmental Quality being created AND the requirement of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) being prepared for any major federal action that might affect the environment

What is the EPA responsible for?

Conducting and evaluating research, monitoring environmental quality, and setting and enforcing standards for pollution levels. It also educates the public and assists states in meeting federal standards.

What act arose from the Tijuana River pollution problem?

The Clean Water Act of 1977

What does the World Trade Organization (WTO) do in environmental policy?

Imposes financial penalties on membernations that do not comply with its directives. Also promotes free trade and enforces fair trade

Using a __________________approach to environmental policy, a government sets rules and threatens punishment for violations.

Command and control

Green taxes let _______decide how best to reduce pollution.

companies

Critics of _________systems say that giving companies permission to pollute will not solve environmental problems in the long run.

cap and trade

A local government that gives rebates to residents who buy water-efficient toilets is using a ________ as a policy tool.

Financial Incentives

Explain how a cap-and-trade system works

Using a cap-and-trade system, a government determines an acceptable amount of pollution and issues permits that allow polluters to emit a certain fraction of that amount. The permits can be bought, sold, and traded among companies, utilities, and industries.

What causes an equilibrium to increase? What causes it to decrease?

It increases due to a decrease in supply or in increase in demand. It decreases due to an increase in supply or a decrease in demand.

What is an example of an external cost?

Depleted natural resources

What is the environmental policy process?

Identify the problem, Identify causes, Envision a solution, Get organized, gain access, Help a solution become policy

During which part of environmental policy is lobbying used?

Gaining Access

The Land Ordinance of 1785 gave the rights to...

Manage unsettled lands

What is the purpose of an EIS?

To make the government or any businesses starting a new project evaluate the environmental impact of it

What is the difference between an internal cost and benefit and an external cost and benefit?

An internal C&B affects buyers and sellers directly involved in transaction, while an external C&B involves parties other than a buyer or seller

The most common critique of the ______ system is that companies competing in a free market will produce better solutions at a lower cost than the government can.

cap and trade

What was become a driving force in encouraging corporations and businesses to pursue sustainability goals?

Changing consumer values

Environmental economics agrees that economies are unstable if...

resource is not made more efficient

The executive branch of the U.S government includes

Agencies that monitor the enforcement of laws

What is an example of a transboundary problem?

Air pollutants are emitted in one nation may travel on wind current far across the globe