Deck 11: Environmental and Energy Policy

Question 1

Which level of government typically makes environmental policy?

A) state
B) local
C) Policymaking is shared across all levels.
D) federal

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which level of government is typically involved in implementing environmental policy?

A) state
B) federal
C) local
D) all levels implement policy evenly

Answer 2

A

Question 3

When was the "environmental decade" of federal legislation?

A) 1960s
B) 1970s
C) 1980s
D) 1990s

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The EPA is a(n) ______.

A) government corporation
B) cabinet department
C) independent executive agency
D) regulatory commission

Question 5

What is one of the most controversial natural resource policies?

A) Endangered Species Act
B) Wilderness Act
C) National Forest Management Act
D) Pollution Prevention Act

Question 6

What did new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards passed in a 2007 energy bill improve?

A) controls on greenhouse gas emissions
B) the fuel efficiency of automobiles
C) the price of gasoline, by lowering gas taxes across the country
D) automobile emissions and traffic congestions, by raising gas taxes across the country

Question 7

A ______ program is an emissions-control policy and market incentive which might give away and/or sell through auctions various credits for the right to release greenhouse gases, which could be bought and sold by coal-fired power plants, oil refineries, and manufacturers.

A) proactive policy approach
B) cap-and-trade
C) CAFÉ standard
D) carbon tax

Question 8

The seven major statutes that were enacted in the 1970s focused on ______.

A) pollution control and protection of human health
B) protection of ecosystems and biodiversity
C) protection of natural resources by strengthening protections of endangered species
D) development of stronger energy policies that were designed to clean up the air

Question 9

A(n) ______ is a detailed and systematic study of all environmental effects of a proposed action.

A) environmental impact statement
B) cap-and-trade plan
C) regulatory analysis
D) environmental protection analysis

Question 10

What is ecosystem-based management?

A) utilizing local ecosystems to better serve human needs
B) prioritizing the natural environment over human needs, assuming most human needs can be accomplished through a stable and healthy ecosystem
C) a shift in emphasis toward principles of protecting habitat and maintaining biological diversity
D) the process of restoring ecosystems that had been previously damaged by earlier policy decisions

Question 11

What have recent IPCC reports claimed about climate change?

A) The rate of climate change has slowed, and it is likely we have many more decades until significant changes are observed.
B) Climate change is already occurring and having serious, widespread effects globally.
C) New data suggest that climate change is nowhere near as serious as originally thought, and concerns should be limited.
D) Climate change has actually reversed its course, and the climate is stabilizing back to the long-term average.

Question 12

Which of the following agencies has primary responsibility for implementing environmental laws in the United States?

A) Department of the Interior
B) Department of Natural Resources
C) Council on Environmental Quality
D) Environmental Protection Agency

Question 13

The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970, for the first time, developed ______.

A) a set of strict regulations focused solely on coal emissions across the United States.
B) uniform air quality standards for the entire United States.
C) market incentives for industry to reduce harmful emissions.
D) an agreement industry and the government about how to address declining air quality.

Question 14

Which statement describes the nature of the seven major environmental statutes enacted in the 1970s?

A) They were a diverse set of public policies.
B) The statutes as a group were focused on issues of pollution related to use of energy.
C) The statutes were developed by environmental agencies.
D) Each of the statutes could be described as broad and far-reaching in scope and lacking focus.

Question 15

The three primary areas of focus for environmental policy are described by which of the following statements?

A) air quality, land quality, and water quality
B) environmental protection, stewardship, and development
C) environmental impact assessment, government management, and pollution control
D) environmental protection or pollution control, natural resource, and energy

Question 16

During what period in U.S. history did the conservation movement lay the groundwork for modern environmental policy?

A) the 1960s
B) the Second World War
C) the colonial period of the 18th century
D) the late 19th and early 20th centuries

Question 17

Which administration attempted to achieve environmental policy goals primarily through collaborative decision making?

A) the George W. Bush administration
B) the Reagan administration
C) the Clinton administration
D) the Carter administration

Question 18

Which best describes the recent history of energy policymaking in the United States?

A) not much activity until the mid-1980s followed by a period of significant policymaking activity that continues today
B) policy stalemate from the 1970s through the 2000s
C) period of incremental policy change followed by numerous significant policies enacted in the 1990s
D) period of incremental policy change followed by high level of regulation

Question 19

The environmental problems of Love Canal, New York, are often referred to as a catalyst in the passing of what law?

A) Toxic Substances Control Act
B) Clean Water Act
C) Clean Air Act
D) Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act

Question 20

What is the primary biofuel that the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 mandated an increased use of?

A) switchgrass
B) soy-derived biodiesel
C) vegetable oils
D) corn-derived ethanol

Question 21

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.

A) consensus; disagreement
B) disagreement; consensus
C) partisanship; cooperation
D) state leadership; federal leadership

Question 22

With regard to climate change policy, many conflicts arise regarding how the various policy proposals affect different groups of citizens now and in future generations. This relates to ______.

A) ethical and equity concerns of policy
B) political feasibility
C) cost-effectiveness of policy
D) effectiveness of policy

Question 23

Define sustainable development.

Question 24

Explain the cap-and-trade policy tool.

Question 25

What is meant by multiple use when discussing natural resource policy?

A) Natural resources should be managed in a way that encourages economic development but also protects the environment.
B) Natural resources must be used multiple times before being disposed of.
C) One regulatory policy should cover multiple natural resources, such as wetlands, fossil fuels, timber, and others.
D) Economic development should use multiple natural resources.

Question 26

What is collaborative decision making as a policy strategy?

A) An approach where in which government works closely with industry to develop and implement policy.
B) An approach where in which government works independently of the needs or desires of industry.
C) An approach where in which the federal government works with state and local governments to develop policy.
D) An approach where in which the federal government works with other national governments to find policy solutions to global environmental issues.

Question 27

What is ecosystem-based management?

Question 28

Which answer best describes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)?

A) a large cabinet-level department with numerous local offices reporting to the president
B) a department of each state government that reports to the federal executive branch
C) the largest independent agency with the thousands of employees and an administrator reporting to the president
D) the largest entitlement program of the U.S. government regulated by the Congress

Question 29

Environmental 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?

A) privatization
B) subsidies to business
C) market incentives
D) command and control regulation

Question 30

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 the financial impact of proposed environmental regulations on a business
B) a detailed and systematic study of wetlands impacted by a proposed action
C) a detailed and systematic study of whether development projects have been implemented according to EPA guidelines
D) detailed and systematic study of all environmental effects of a proposed action

Question 31

Explain the collaborative decision-making approach.

Question 32

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 ______.

A) mandates that agencies engage in policy analysis before they make decisions
B) required developers environmental impact statements
C) states that its enactment signified the beginning of the modern era in environmental policy
D) all of these

Question 33

Which statement best summarizes the effectiveness of U.S. environmental policies enacted over the past 30 to 40 years?

A) They have led to significant improvements in the environment and have improved the quality of our natural resources.
B) Surface water quality has improved across the board, while air quality remains poor.
C) They have had mixed results: While point source pollution has declined and urban air quality improved, other conditions have not improved.
D) The Superfund cleanup efforts have been much more cost effective than expected.

Question 34

With regard to U.S. energy policy, most experts would agree with which statement?

A) The United States has developed a strong energy policy since President Obama took office.
B) The Bush administration supported significant development of alternative sources with support from Congress; this has stalled due to the current recession.
C) The United States has no real cohesive energy policy; individual and corporate decisions in the marketplace dictate energy patterns and use.
D) The United States has had a strong energy policy implemented by the EPA since the early 2000s.

Question 35

What is a carbon tax?

A) A policy that implements a higher tax on gasoline and other fossil fuels to curb their use.
B) A policy that requires industries to pay taxes on emissions that go beyond an established yearly quota.
C) A tax placed on oil companies to fund the development of renewable energy sources.
D) A proposed plan to monitor the carbon emissions of individual households, much like electricity meters, and adjust property taxes higher with higher emissions.

Question 36

How did the EPA demonstrate the danger of coal plants and justify its new rules?

A) 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.
B) It calculated the amount of greenhouse gas emissions these plants were producing and convinced policy makers and the public that new rules and regulations would drastically curb these emissions.
C) It did not need to justify the new rules, as there was little to no resistance against them.
D) It exposed dangerous and rampant safety violations at coal plants, which was enough to shift public opinion in favor of the new rules.

Question 37

Which of the following policies is considered a market incentive?

A) carbon tax
B) renewable energy subsidies
C) cap-and-trade
D) raising fuel economy standards

Question 38

The Clean Air Act 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?

A) market incentives
B) public education
C) privatization
D) subsidies

Question 39

Why were the 1970s considered to be the environmental decade of federal legislation?

Question 40

What is the best definition of sustainable development?

A) shunning economic growth for the sake of improved ecosystems
B) economic growth that is compatible with natural environmental systems and social goals
C) an approach to policy that tries to mitigate the conflict between economic pursuits and environmental protection
D) a purely economic strategy to ensure the viability of companies and industries over time

Question 41

Why evaluating the success of natural resource policies is not easy?

Question 42

Identify the most recognized of the natural resource policies in the United States.

Question 43

Explain the carbon tax.

Question 44

Where did both the Obama and Trump administrations stand on the automobile fuel efficiency standards?

Question 45

Identify the greatest challenge for the future of energy policy.

Question 46

Why do all discussions on climate change now focus on mitigation and adaptation responses?

Question 47

Explain how scientists link climate change to energy policy. Discuss why climate change policy is considered an ethical issue by many individuals. Finally, explain two policy proposals that have been considered to reduce use of fossil fuels and the economic and political feasibility issues of each.

Question 48

How does collaborative decision making and planning aspires to resolve conflicts over local and regional natural resource issues?

Question 49

Discuss the features of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

Question 50

What is an environmental impact statement and what is it used to assess?

Question 51

Choose one of the seven key environmental statutes developed in the early 1970 and explain what its purpose was.

Question 52

Provide an example of a natural climate solution.

Question 53

Provide an example of a market incentive policy.

Question 54

What are some of the provisions of the Paris Agreement?

Question 55

What are some of the arguments made by the extreme critics of climate science?

Question 56

Discuss the environmental policy options that are favored by critics of command-and-control regulation.

Question 57

What is the most common basis for judging whether public policy action is needed or how well it is doing?

Question 58

Define the term "intergenerational equity" and explain how it relates to climate change and energy policy.

Question 59

How has policy action at the state and local level increased political feasibility?

Question 60

Discuss the evolution of U.S. environmental policy over the past 50 years. How has U.S. environmental policy changed over the years (use the following time periods: pre-1960s, mid-1960s to 1970s, 1980s to early 2000s, and currently)? Why have these changes occurred?