Chapter 7 - Environmental Policy

Question 1

shale gas

Answer 1

natural gas trapped deep underground in tiny bubbles dispersed throughout formations of shale, a type of sedimentary rock. shale gas is often extracted by hydraulic fracturing

Question 2

hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking or fracking)

Answer 2

a process to extract shale gas in which a drill is sent deep underground and angled horizontally into a shale formation; water, sand, and chemicals are pumped in under great pressure, fracturing the rock; and gas migrates up through the drill pipe as sand holds the fracture open

Question 3

policy

Answer 3

a rule or guideline that directs individual, organized, or silicate behavior

Question 4

public policy

Answer 4

policy made by governments, including those at the local, state, federal, and international levels; it consists of legislation, regulation, order, incentives, and practices intended to advance societal welfare

Question 5

environmental policy

Answer 5

public policy that pertains to human interactions with the environment. it generally aims to regulate, reduce use, or reduce pollution to promote human welfare and/or protect natural systems

Question 6

tragedy of commons

Answer 6

the process by which publically accessible resources open to unregulated use tend to become damaged and depleted through overuse. coined by govett hordin and widely applicable to resource issues

Question 7

free rider

Answer 7

a party that fails to invest in controlling pollution or carrying out other environmentally responsible activities and instead relies on the effects of other parties to do so. examples include a factory that fails to control its emissions gets a “free ride” from those that do

Question 8

polluter-pays principle

Answer 8

principle specifying that the party responsible for producing pollution should pay the costs of cleaning up the pollution or mitigating its impacts

Question 9

revolving door

Answer 9

the movement of powerful officials between the private sector and government agencies

Question 10

vested interests

Answer 10

a direct interest (from an individual or interest group) in some condition or policy change due to the prospect for personal or financial benefits even if this counteracts the common good

Question 11

legislation

Answer 11

salutary laws

Question 12

regulatory taking

Answer 12

the deprivation of a properties owner, by means of law or regulation, of most or all economic uses of that property

Question 13

national environmental policy (NEPA)

Answer 13

a u.s. law enacted on January 1, 1970, that created on agency called the council on environmental quality and required that an environmental impact statement be prepared for any major federal action

Question 14

environmental impact statement (EIS)

Answer 14

a report of results from detailed studies that assess the potential effects on the environment that would likely result from development projects or other actions undertaken by the government

Question 15

environmental protection agency (EPA)

Answer 15

an administrative agency charged with conducting and evaluating research, maintaining environmental quality, setting standards, enforcing those standards, assisting the states in meeting standards and goals for environmental protection, and educating the public

Question 16

customary law

Answer 16

international law that arises from long-standing practices, or customs, held in common by most cultures

Question 17

conventional law

Answer 17

international law that arises from conventions, or treaties, that nations agree to enter into

Question 18

convention (treaty)

Answer 18

a treaty or binding agreement among national governments

Question 19

north american free trade agreement (NFTA)

Answer 19

a 1994 treaty among canada, mexico, and the u.s. that reduced or eliminated boundaries to trade (such as tariffs) among these nations. side agreements were negotiated to minimize the degree to which protections for workers and the environment were undermined

Question 20

united nations (U.N.)

Answer 20

organization founded in 1945 to promote international peace and to cooperate in solving international economic , social, cultural, and humanitarian problems

Question 21

world bank

Answer 21

institution founded in 1944 that serves as one of the globes largest sources of funding for economic development, including such major projects as dams, irrigation, infrastructure, and other undertakings

Question 22

world trade organization (WTO)

Answer 22

organization located in geneva, Switzerland, that represents multinational corporations and promotes free trade by reducing obstacles to international commerce and enforcing fairness among nations in trading practices

Question 23

European Union (EU)

Answer 23

poltical and economic organization ceated after WWII to promote Europes economic and social progress, as of 2013, the EU consisted of 27 member nations

Question 24

nongovernmental organization (NGO)

Answer 24

an organization not affliliated with any national government, ane frequently international in scope, that particular mission for a political cause

Question 25

command-and-control

Answer 25

a top down approach to policy, in which a legislative body or a regulating agency sets rates, standards, or limits and threatens punishment for violation of these limits

Question 26

interest group

Answer 26

a small group of people seeking private gain that may work against the larger public interest

Question 27

subsidy

Answer 27

a government grant of money or resources to a private entity, intended to support and promote an industry or activity

Question 28

green tax

Answer 28

a levy on environmentally harmful activity and products aimed at providing a market-based incentive to correct for market failure

Question 29

permit trading

Answer 29

the practice of buying and selling government-issued marketable emission permits to conduct environmentally harmful activities, under a cap-and-trade system, the government determines an acceptable level of pollution and then issues permits to pollute. a company receives credit for amounts it does not emit and can then sell the credit to other companies

Question 30

emission trading system

Answer 30

a permit trading system for emissions in which a government issues marketable emission permits to conduct environmentally harmful activities, under a cap-and-trade system, the government determines an acceptable level of pollution and then issues permits to pollute. a company receives credit for amounts it does not emit and can then sell the credit to other companies

Question 31

cap-and-trade

Answer 31

a permit trading system in which government determines an acceptable level of pollution and then issues parties permits to pollute. a company receives credit for amounts it does not emit and can then sell the credit to other companies