Environmental Science 2-2: US Environmental Policy

Chapter 2-2: United States Environmental Policy

Multiple Choice

A resource that the Earth or people can replace is a(n)

• Economy

• Renewable Resource

• Nonrenewable Resource

• Scarcity

Multiple Choice

Energy Star and Fair Trade Certified are both examples of

• ecosystems

• ecolabeling

• non-market values

• market failure

Multiple Choice

When demand for a product is low, the producer will

• raise the price and drop supply

• raise the price and the supply

• drop price and raise supply

• drop the price and the supply

Multiple Choice

Cutting down a forest, only considering the monetary gain or loss, but not the value of the forest as a whole is an example of

• non-market value

• market failure

• selfishness

• environmental policy

What is Environmental Policy?

• Policy: A formal set of general plans and principles for addressing problems and guiding decision making

  • Environmental Policy focuses on interactions between people and the environment

• Modern Environmental policy aims to achieve the following things

  • Protect Environmental Quality

  • Protect Natural Resources

  • Ensure that Resources are shared fairly

What is Environmental Policy?

• Environmental policy is formed from government interactions with citizens, organizations, and businesses

• Requires input from science, ethics, and economics

  • Science gives information and analysis that identify problems and possible solutions

  • Ethics and economics help in assessing solutions for how practical they are

Environmental Policy in the United States

• The United States is a good focus for understanding environmental policy worldwide

  • Has pioneered many environmental policies that have been used as models in other countries

• The policy involves all three branches of the government, as well as Individual States

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is not a goal of modern environmental policy?

• Protect the Environmental Quality

• Protect Natural Resources

• Ensure that Resources are shared Fairly

• Repopulate endangered species

Multiple Select

Select all the groups involved with shaping Environmental Policy.

• Government

• Businesses

• Citizens

• Organizations

Drag and Drop

​

Placeholder

is the formal set of plans and principles for addressing problems and guiding decision-making.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Policy

government

The EPA

The Executive Branch

The Legislative Branch

The Judicial Branch

The Legislative Branch

• Made up of Congress

  • The House of Representatives and The Senate

• The formation of policy begins when a proposed law is introduced to the legislative branch

  • can enter either the House of Representatives or the Senate

• The bill is voted for in both houses of Congress

  • If passed, it is sent to the executive branch

The Executive Branch

• Legislation passed by Congress is either approved or vetoed by the President

  • If Vetoed can be reworked by Congress for another pass

• Once passed, the proposal becomes a law and is assigned to an executive agency to enforce it

  • Environmental protective Agency

  • U.S. Forest Service

  • Natural Resources Conservation Service

The Judicial Branch

• Consists of both the lower courts and the Supreme Court

  • Cases have to work their way up before being heard by the Supreme Court

• Review laws to ensure that they are being applied

  • Make sure agencies comply with laws

  • Make sure laws do not overstep their boundaries and infringe on people

State and Local Policy

• The state and local levels of government are capable of creating their laws that can influence environmental policy

  • Laws can not overide the Constitution or other Federal laws

• In general, states that have experienced environmental catastrophes have more strict environmental laws.

Multiple Choice

The Executive branch of the United States Government includes

• The House of Representatives

• The President

• The Senate

• The Supreme Court

Multiple Choice

If people feel a law is unjust/overstepping its boundaries, where should they first go to try and have it overturned?

• The Senate

• The President

• The House of Representatives

• The Supreme Court

• The Lower Courts

Multiple Choice

True or False: Only the Federal Government can enact environmental policy.

• True

• False

History of U.S. Environmental Policy

• United States Environmental Policy is divided into three historical periods before the Modern period

  • The policy was related to the perceptions and goals of the nation

The First Period

• 1780's - late 1800's

• Laws primarily dealt with the management of public lands and the westward expansion

  • Conditions in cities were cramped and crowded, so more room was needed

  • The Homestead Act of 1862-Citizens could claim 160 acres of public land and buy it for $16 after five years

• The West was seen as an endless resource

The Second Period

• Late 1800's - Mid 1900's

  • As more and more people spread west, natural resources began to be overused/exploited

  • People began to want to preserve environments

• Forest Reserve Act of 1891

• National Park Service was created in 1916

• Soil Conservation Laws in the 1930s

• Wilderness Act of 1964

The Third Period

• The mid-1900s - Late 1969

• Increased Pollution started to affect more people due to the growth of industry

• Two Events in triggered a major shift in public views toward environmental policies

  • Silent Spring (1962) by Rachel Carson revealed the effects of widely used chemicals like DDT on birds

  • The Cuyahoga River became so polluted that the water would catch fire and burn for days

Multiple Choice

During which period did policy form that would lead to the creation of the national park system?

• The First Period

• The Second Period

• The Third Period

• The Modern Period

Multiple Choice

The first laws in U.S. Environmental Policy did what?

• Banned the Use of Chemicals like DDT

• Dealt with the management of private land

• Promoted Settlement of the West

• Promoted the Protection of Endangered Species

Modern U.S. Environmental Policy

• Many of the laws first enacted in The Third Period continue to be refined as we learn more

• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

  • Signed by President Nixon in 1970

  • Requires that any significant federal action that could alter the environment have an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) before starting

    • A publically shared Evaluation of how a project could affect the environment

  • Involved Citizens in the policy before it was passed

Modern U.S. Environmental Policy

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

  • Founded by President Nixon in 1970 due to the shift in understanding that environmental problems tend to be interrelated

    • Created an overarching branch to deal with all environmental issues that previously worked independently

  • Conducts and evaluates research, monitors environmental quality, and sets/enforces standards for pollution levels

Modern U.S. Environmental Policy

• The Clean Water Act of 1977-Created Federal Restrictions on what could be released into water systems

  • Was previously handled by State and Local Levels

• Post 1980 There has been some backlash to how laws have been handled

  • Many feel that some laws are too strict and put too much burden on businesses/individuals

    • Has led to multiple refinements of the laws over time

The Tijuana River Continued

• In 1990, The United States and Mexico agreed to build a water treatment plant On the United States side of the river

  • Due to the high cost of the facility, the entire plant could not be built at once and would be opened in stages.

    • Heavy metals and bacteria would not be able to be removed until the second stage

  • Citizens filed a lawsuit to encourage the EPA to use a temporary treatment option using algae ponds that could help remove some of the toxins

    • While the EPA agreed to do so and settled out of court, it never did

Multiple Choice

Which federal government creation led to the use of Environmental Impact Statements?

• The Clean Water Act

• The Environmental Protection Agency

• The National Environmental Policy Act

• Superfunds

Open Ended

Create a formal non-numbered name for each of the three historical periods of Environmental Policy in the United States. Include an explanation for why you think your name option fits.