New milestones in environmental policy will most likely deal with long-term issues.
Explain how major environmental policies came about.
Major environmental policies came about as a result of environmental disasters that drew the attention of the media. Events like the oil spill in California and the fires along the Cuyahoga River drew the attention of the media and helped raise public awareness of environmental issues. Increased public awareness led to the federal government enacting policies to monitor water conditions and assess the environmental impact of business and industry.
Compare the conservation efforts of the National Wildlife Refuge System to the Pacific Region Coastal Program.
Both the National Wildlife Refuge System and the Pacific Region Coastal Program are programs that provide habitats for wildlife. The National Wildlife Refuge System occurs throughout the country, while the Pacific Region Coastal Program is focused on conservation efforts along the Pacific Coast. The Pacific Region Coastal Program is focused on restoring wetlands and forests for use as a wildlife habitat, while the National Wildlife Refuge System is focused on retaining areas for wildlife habitats.
Explain why pollution prevention is undertaken as the first strategy in minimizing environmental risk.
Environmental risk can be managed by a number of strategies. The first employed is to prevent pollution at its source because this strategy eliminates the need to dispose of waste, restore habitats, or remediate contamination. In situations where pollution prevention is not possible or practical, then other strategies become important. Minimizing the amount of waste generated and properly disposing of the waste that is generated is one strategy, as is avoiding habitat damage.
Explain how the cap and dividend policy could help reduce carbon emissions over time.
A cap and dividend policy involves issuing permits to industries that contribute to overall carbon emissions. These industries would have a limit to how much they could contribute to carbon emissions, and each year the number of permits would decrease. This would force industries to adapt to changes in carbon emissions and reduce the overall amount of carbon emissions over time.
Did you find these answers helpful?