Deck 15: Federal Air Pollution-Control Policy

Question 1

The role of the EPA in a cap-and-trade air quality program

A) is to keep track of emission permit trades.
B) monitor emissions.
C) reduce the number of discharge permits.
D) all of the above.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In order to understand whether pollution control policies have been effective, a __________ analysis examining what emissions were compared to what they would be if policies had not been pursued must be performed.

A) pre-test/post-test
B) with/without
C) before/after
D) today/tomorrow

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Refer to Figure 1. Federal mobile source air pollution control policies have focused almost exclusively on

A) emissions per mile.
B) total quantity of emissions.
C) number of vehicles.
D) average miles traveled.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

New source bias is justified on the basis of

A) efficiency.
B) that it costs more for older sources to retrofit than for new sources to adopt technology.
C) cost.
D) all of the above.

Question 5

The Clean Air Act of 1970 introduces ____________ over air-pollution matters introducing uniform ambient standards, technology based effluent standards, and stricter emissions standards for automobiles.

A) state control
B) federal control
C) municipal control
D) U.S. Army Corp of Engineers control

Question 6

Primary standards that were established in the 1970s CAA are concerned with

A) levels of pollution that threaten the public welfare.
B) levels of pollution that threaten the public health.
C) efficiency standards that equate marginal damages with marginal abatement costs.
D) thresholds.

Question 7

In setting national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), the 1970 CAA set two levels of standards for criteria pollutants:

A) federal standards and state standards.
B) state standards and municipal standards.
C) primary standards and secondary standards.
D) technology-based effluent standards and ambient quality standards.

Question 8

The 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments differentiated between areas labeled ____________ and _______________.

A) PSD areas; nonattainment areas
B) Prevention of Significant Deterioration Areas; attainment areas
C) urban areas; rural areas
D) new industrial development areas; PSD areas

Question 9

A with/without analysis of the impact of the 1990 Clean Air Act reveals that several categories of air pollution have__________ as a result of the legislation.

A) stayed the same
B) increased
C) decreased
D) experienced indeterminate change

Question 10

Annual expenditures for air pollution control in the U.S. have ______ since the 1970s.

A) decreased
B) increased
C) remained steady
D) fluctuated

Question 11

The US new car certification program is a type of

A) technology forcing standard
B) technology based effluent standard
C) fleet turnover ratio standard
D) stationary source control standard

Question 12

National emissions for major air pollutants in the U.S. have _______since the 1980s.

A) decreased
B) increased
C) remained steady
D) fluctuated

Question 13

When a with/without analysis reveals increased levels of ambient air quality, we can be assured ______________.

A) that the amount of money spent on air pollution control bought the highest possible impact.
B) that we would have better air quality without the policy.
C) that the change in air quality is a result of the policy.
D) all of the above

Question 14

The CAFE standards in the U.S. were originally introduced in order to

A) reduce petroleum imports into the U.S.
B) reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses in the U.S.
C) be a limit to domestic polluters.
D) help consumers save on gasoline expenses.

Question 15

In the United States SO₂ program, emissions permits are tradable and managers of a particular plant can

A) emit at or below the plant's allowable level and hold on to any excess permits
B) emit below the plant's allowable level and sell off any excess permits
C) emit above the plant's allowable level and purchase permits to cover the excess emissions
D) all of the above are allowable options

Question 16

New source bias is defined as

A) not allowing old sources to increase production so that new sources can enter the market.
B) holding older sources of pollution to stricter standards than new sources.
C) not allowing new sources into the industry for fear of increased emissions.
D) holding new sources of pollution to stricter standards than existing sources.

Question 17

Thresholds are levels of pollutants

A) below which the cost of abatement is zero.
B) below which the EPA cannot detect emissions.
C) below which damages are minimal or non-existent.
D) below which the source of the pollutant cannot be detected.

Question 18

In the last 50 years, air pollution problems have become more serious due to

A) the scale of airborne emissions.
B) the variety of airborne emissions.
C) the diverse set of damages caused by airborne emissions.
D) all of the above.

Question 19

The purpose of a cap-and-trade program would be to

A) increase nitrogen oxides and decrease sulfur oxides.
B) reduce mercury emissions.
C) increase organic compounds.
D) all of the above.

Question 20

Because new car certification programs can only control emissions from new cars, the federal government required that states with severe air pollution problems initiate programs that inspect individual cars. These programs are called

A) warranty programs.
B) inspection and maintenance (I&M) programs.
C) old car certification programs.
D) best management practices. Difficulty Easy

Question 21

The CAFE program is a requirement that

A) people live within five miles of a coffee shop
B) all cars achieve a certain mileage per gallon
C) cars produced by each manufacturer on average attain a certain mileage
D) only trucks achieve a certain mileage per gallon

Question 22

According to some principles of behavioral economics, the "energy-efficiency gap" implies that

A) consumers are more likely to favor trucks over cars
B) consumers often will not buy fuel-efficient vehicles that will save them money in the long run.
C) consumers react quickly to perceived mileage differences among cars
D) consumers have no way of knowing about mileage differences among cars

Question 23

Some of the reasons that the energy efficiency gap exists is

A) consumers have a high discount rate for future savings in energy costs.
B) consumers may believe that the future energy and cost savings are uncertain.
C) consumers may lack access to the credit or liquidity required to purchase new energy efficient cars.
D) all of the above.

Question 24

Except for carbon dioxide, from 2008 to 2017 total emissions of all major air pollutants in the United States have

A) increased
B) decreased
C) not changed
D) not been measured

Question 25

Even though the purchase of a new, more efficient car could save a consumer money in the medium to long run, consumers have shown reluctance to make the investment and this is called the

A) behavioral economics.
B) energy efficiency gap.
C) rebound effect.
D) discount rate.

Question 26

Automobile tailpipe emissions have been enforced primarily through

A) a cap and trade program
B) a new car certification program
C) higher gasoline taxes
D) requirement to shift to electric vehicles

Question 27

The primary way the U.S. is addressing the climate impact of vehicles is through

A) the national CAFE programs
B) laws requiring cleaner cars
C) laws to lower average speed limits
D) laws to restrict the purchase of trucks

Question 28

The first successful cap and trade program in the U.S. was

A) the program to reduce SO₂ emissions
B) the program to reduce CO₂ emissions
C) the program to reduce particulate matter emissions
D) the program to reduce volatile organic compound emissions

Question 29

The primary means for controlling major industrial air pollutants in the U.S. has been

A) prohibition of certain airborne pollutants
B) a moral approach to reduce airborne emissions
C) emissions charges (taxes)
D) technology-based emissions standards

Question 30

Because of the existence of the energy efficiency gap, many economists recommend _________ to reduce mobile source emissions.

A) increased taxation on gasoline
B) stricter CAFE standards
C) decreased taxation on new vehicles
D) all of the above

Question 31

The EPA's power to institute policy to control greenhouse gas emissions was confirmed by

A) the state legislature of California
B) the U.S. Supreme Court
C) automobile manufacturers
D) state departments of environmental protection