Exercises: Major U.S. Environmental Laws
Match each U.S. law with its main goal: (a) Clean Air Act, (b) Clean Water Act, (c) Endangered Species Act. Goals: protecting listed species and their habitats; limiting…
Match each U.S. law with its main goal: (a) Clean Air Act, (b) Clean Water Act, (c) Endangered Species Act.
Goals: protecting listed species and their habitats; limiting air pollutants; regulating discharges into surface waters.
What does CERCLA, also called the Superfund law, do? State who can be required to pay for cleanups.
What does CERCLA, also called the Superfund law, do? State who can be required to pay for cleanups.
What is the purpose of RCRA (the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act)? Describe the "cradle-to-grave" idea in one sentence.
What is the purpose of RCRA (the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act)? Describe the "cradle-to-grave" idea in one sentence.
The Clean Air Act directs the EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for six "criteria pollutants." Name three of them and explain how setting standards leads…
The Clean Air Act directs the EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for six "criteria pollutants." Name three of them and explain how setting standards leads to cleaner air in cities.
A factory in Texas dumps wastewater directly into a river from a pipe. Explain how the Clean Water Act applies, including what a permit is. Then explain why runoff from…
A factory in Texas dumps wastewater directly into a river from a pipe. Explain how the Clean Water Act applies, including what a permit is. Then explain why runoff from farms is harder to regulate than a pipe.
Bald eagles were listed under the Endangered Species Act, and their numbers rose from a few hundred nesting pairs in the 1960s to many thousands today. Explain two ways…
Bald eagles were listed under the Endangered Species Act, and their numbers rose from a few hundred nesting pairs in the 1960s to many thousands today. Explain two ways the law and related actions, such as the DDT ban, helped. Then state one criticism that landowners sometimes raise about the Act.
Emissions of sulfur dioxide from U.S. power plants fell a great deal after the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments introduced a cap-and-trade program. (a) Explain how…
Emissions of sulfur dioxide from U.S. power plants fell a great deal after the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments introduced a cap-and-trade program.
(a) Explain how cap-and-trade works and why it can lower the cost of cutting emissions.
(b) Evaluate its effectiveness for reducing acid rain, and name one limitation.
(c) Compare this market-based approach with a rule that requires every plant to install the same technology.
An old industrial site in New Jersey is contaminated with heavy metals. The company that owned it went bankrupt. (a) Explain how CERCLA can still lead to a cleanup,…
An old industrial site in New Jersey is contaminated with heavy metals. The company that owned it went bankrupt.
(a) Explain how CERCLA can still lead to a cleanup, including the role of the Superfund trust fund and "potentially responsible parties."
(b) Explain how RCRA aims to prevent similar sites from being created in the future.
(c) Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these two laws together, such as speed, cost, and fairness.