Environmental Planning Flashcards
What is the dominant land use in the US?
Agriculture
How many acres per land year does it take to provide food for one person in the US? How does that compare world-wide?
25 acres per person per year in the US. World-wide the average is 7 acres per person per year.
What causes global warming?
Increased levels of carbon dioxide and methane, also called greenhouse gases, in the atmosphere.
What is the total acreage of national forest in the US?
191 million acres
This book discusses the Sierra Club v. Morton, Secretary of the Interior (1972) case where the Sierra Club attempted to block the development of a ski resort in the Mineral King Valley in the Sequoia National Forest.
Should Trees Have Standing by Christopher Stone 1972
What is the largest reservation in the US? How large, and where is it?
Navajo reservation; 16 million acres; Covers areas in Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico
Indian Reorganization Act of 1934/Wheeler-Howard Act
Secured certain rights to Native Americans & Alaska Natives. Returned land management to Native Americans and included provisions to create an economic foundation for its residents
What federal agency is responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources? What are some of the major programs it oversees?
US Department of the Interior; National Park Service, Native American programs; US Fish and Wildlife; Office of Surface Mining; Bureau of Reclamation (water resource management)
What is the term that describes areas of sand, gravel, fractured rock, limestone, or karst formations that hold groundwater and from which significant amounts of groundwater can be extracted?
aquifer
What is the average water consumption for routine household activity?
50 gallons per day per person, but could increase to 120-150 per person per day depending on how water consumption is calculated and whether lawns are being watered.
What is the main threat to water?
Nonpoint source polution
What percent of US waterways do not meet the drinkable or swimmable standards of the Clean Water Act?
40%
What are the key six pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act?
nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur dioxide, ozone, particulates
What two weather features affect air quality?
temperature, wind speed
What is a standard maximum noise standard used by many communities?
65 decibels
What federal transportation legislation mandated FHWA to develop noise standards for mitigating highway traffic noise?
Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1970. Also, NEPA provides broad authority and responsibility for evaluating and mitigating adverse environmental effects including traffic noise
According to the FHWA, what are some examples of noise abatement measures for highways?
traffic measurement such as alternative truck routes, reduced speed limits, and traffic signal timing; buffer zones, vegetation, noise insulation on buildings, and highway relocation
This report proposed a plan that would foster settlement for the west and conserve scarce water resources
Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United States by John Powell
This person founded the Sierra Club
John Muir
When was the Sierra Club founded?
1892
What president was a staunch supporter of the early conservation movement?
Theodore Roosevelt
What is the Inland Waterway Commission
A commission formed in 1907 to encourage multi-purpose planning in waterway development, including navigation, power, irrigation, flood control, and water supply
Who was America’s first professionally trained forester and the first director of the US Forest Service?
Gifford Pinchot
Who formed the US Forest Service?
President Theodore Roosevelt
In what book did the author coin the term “greenway”?
William Whyte; The Last Landscape
This book is about the harmful effects of pesticides on animals, plants, and humans.
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson 1962
When was the US Geological Survey established, and for what purpose?
1879 to survey and classify all public domain lands
What as the first National Wildlife Refuge?
Pelican Island, Florida 1903
When was the National Park Service formed?
1916
What is the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California?
Established in 1927 to bring water from the Colorado River to southern California
What is the Civilian Conservation Corps?
Created in 1933 to conserve the nation’s natural resources. It provided work for unemployed youth
What act regulated the use of the range in the West for conservation purposes?
Taylor Grazing Act of 1934
What is the Columbia Basin Project?
A project in the 1940s. A regional plan for irrigation, electric power generation, and flood control in the Pacific Northwest, similar in scope to TVA
What is the largest concrete structure in the US?
Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River
When was the first Earth Day?
April 22, 1970
What is the common name for Earth Resources Technology Satellite? What is its purpose?
LANDSAT
The Satellite was launched in 1972 to acquire high-resolution images of the earth’s surface to identify, evaluate, develop, and conserve the planet’s natural resources
This planning technique separates ownership of land from right to develop the land. The easement of the land is held by a government agency or a nonprofit organization.
Conservation easement
For this conservation planning tool, the right to develop is purchased, often by a governmental agency or nonprofit land trust.
Transfer of Development Rights
Some states require these environmental reviews for large developments that are likely to have regional effects
Development of Regional Impact
US Reclamation Act of 1902
Created a fund from the sale of public land in the arid western states to supply water there through the construction of water storage and irrigation works
This act allowed the construction of water storage and irrigation works in order to supply water through the sale of public land in arid western states
US Reclamation Act, 1902
This act made the preservation of soil erosion a national responsibility
Soil Conservation Act, 1935
What federal department administers the Soil Conservation Act?
US Department of Agriculture
What act prohibited development, settlement, road building, and al forms of mechanized transport within the boundaries of wilderness areas?
Wilderness Act 1964
National Environmental Policy Act
Established a broad national framework for environmental protection. Required Environmental Impact Statements for every federal or federally funded project based on an environmental assessment.
What act regulates air emissions?
Clean Air Act, 1970
What are the requirements for National Ambient Air Quality Standards?
Standards for air quality. Areas that do not meet the standards are know as “non-attainment” areas and are required to develop strategies to achieve complaince.
What is primacy under the Clean Air Act?
Primacy means states have the primary responsibility to enforce compliance with air pollution emissions.
What agency was created to enforce environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act?
Environmental Protection Agency
What legislation permitted states to develop coastal management programs to meet established minimum federal standards?
Coastal Zone Management Act, 1972
Who administers the Coastal Zone Management Act?
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
What states may participate in the Coastal Zone Management Act?
Any state that borders the Atlantic, Pacific, or Arctic Ocean; the Gulf of Mexico; Long Island Sound; or any of the Great Lakes
What legislative act sets standards for industry and water quality standards for surface water contaminates.
Clean Water Act, 1972
What does Section 404 of the Clean Water Act do?
Protects wetlands and requires a permit for depositing fill material in wetlands
What system was put in place by the Clean Water Act to control water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge pollutants into water bodies?
National Pollution Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES)
