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E&E Exam 1 QUESTIONS WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS. ALREADY
GRADED A+
What is the most fundamental assumption of human behavior re: politics? -
CORRECT ANSWER -Rational actors act to maximize their own self-interest
What are some of Harden's examples of tragedy of the commons? - CORRECT
ANSWER -Overgrazing of public lands in US
Overfishing Overuse of national parks What does Harden recommend to overcome the tragedy of the commons? General
concept and specific strategies - CORRECT ANSWER -Mutual coercion -->
defined as mutually agreed upon by the majority of people affected Need this to create taxes or coercive laws
Harden thinks the pollution problem is a function of what? - CORRECT
ANSWER -Overpopulation
Policy process - what are the stages? it is used as a means to achieve what? -
CORRECT ANSWER -Get issue on agenda
Shape the issue (via interest groups, lobbyists) Formulate decision Implement policy Evaluate legitimacy Used to achieve collective action Environmental legislation during most of 19th and 20th century was (choose)
active/inactive? What was the exception? - CORRECT ANSWER -Inactive - few
political actions taken Exception was public lands
Theory of Dramatic Change - 3 process streams - CORRECT ANSWER -John
King Dramatic change occurs when 3 streams converge 3 streams: problem, policy, politics
- Problem generation, policy formulation, political action
What drove the shift in the policy stream in the 1960s? Re: state vs. federal involvement
- CORRECT ANSWER -New support for federal involvement due to Civil Rights movement Increased awareness due to disasters, Rachel Carson
Who wrote Silent Spring? - CORRECT ANSWER -Rachel Carson
What drove the shift in the political stream in the 1960s? Re: political parties -
CORRECT ANSWER -Political parties were competing to be the party of the
environment in response to backlash from Vietnam war
What is considered the birth of the environmental movement? - CORRECT
ANSWER -Sierra Club mobilizing against new dams in the Grand Canyon after
regretting their decision to allow Glen Canyon Dam
What happened in order to create Glen Canyon dam? - CORRECT ANSWER -
After Hoover Dam, 2 dam proposals made at Dinosaur National Monument and Glen Canyon Environmental movement/Sierra club knew more about Dinosaur so moved to protect that -- allowed Glen Canyon if they wouldn't build one at Dinosaur
What happened with Sierra Club & Glen Canyon? - CORRECT ANSWER -Sierra
Club lost tax exempt status Congress banned dams in the Grand Canyon in 1968
What are the 3 reasons that E&E issues stay on the agenda? - CORRECT
ANSWER -Strength of public opinion
International attention Problems persist - hard to regulate public goods What does the American public generally think of environmental issues? -
CORRECT ANSWER -Thinks govt is doing too little, but salience of issues is
very low Public opinion is strong enough to keep issues on agenda but not strong enough to shape public opinion
What defines a public good? - CORRECT ANSWER -Nonexcludable - available
to one, available to all Nonsubtractable - use of good by one person does not diminish another person's use
What are the policy preferences of privatizers? How should we punish violators? -
CORRECT ANSWER -Privatize public resources as much as possible -->
decentralize down to local and state govt Take violators to court
What are some potential criticisms of privatizers? - CORRECT ANSWER -Private
companies tend to act in own best interest Tragedy of the commons No allowances to promote equity
What are the roots of unconventional ecologists/grassroots groups? - CORRECT
ANSWER -Definition of sustainability by Brundtland
People question whether this is too broad
What are the 4 types of unconventional ecologists? - CORRECT ANSWER -
Local user groups, deep ecologists, eco-feminists, eco warriors
What are some potential criticisms of unconventional ecologists? - CORRECT
ANSWER -Having extremists makes rational views look more feasible + beneficial
Having extremists can alienate moderates/potential supporters
What are the policy preferences of green taxers? - CORRECT ANSWER -We
need government and markets to work together for optimal outcome/address externalities and tragedy of the commons 2 options: tradeable permits or effluent charges
Tradeable permits - CORRECT ANSWER -Set a quantity of pollution, auction off
permits, can trade between companies depending on need
Effluent charges - CORRECT ANSWER -Set a price for pollution based on
certain quantities of discharged pollutants How do you determine amount of pollution removed (effluent charges)? -
CORRECT ANSWER -Get rid of as many units where it is cheaper to remove
than pay, stop when it is cheaper to pay than remove
What are some potential criticisms of green taxers? - CORRECT ANSWER -
Environmental groups dislike putting a price on nature Companies will shift cost onto consumers Could create barriers to entry Effluent charges are problematic because people do not like raising taxes
What group did the majority of the class support? - CORRECT ANSWER -Green
taxers What are some characteristics of the president's power in environmental issues? -
CORRECT ANSWER -National constituency
Vast array of offices that works directly for him or her Limited formal tools --> need Congress to propose legislation What are some characteristics of Congress' power in environmental issues? -
CORRECT ANSWER -Power over budget and legislation/proposal
Fragmented Members are individual entrepreneurs Usually need presidential approval
Gridlock - CORRECT ANSWER -Incremental change, slow decision making
What happens in the later 1970s in regards to environmental policy? What was the
exception? - CORRECT ANSWER -Reagan takes office, environmental issues
take backseat Alaska is exception
Alaska + public lands -- what happened? - CORRECT ANSWER -Alaska
becomes state in 1959, start selling off lands to developers, huge parcel of land Carter intervenes - gives some land to native Alaskans, some to be considered for protection Carter gets involved using Antiquities Act to create national monuments Alaskan privatizers mad --> federal overreach Environmental groups mad --> want more Becomes fight between environmental groups and privatizers, parties begin to align with these two sides 1980: Congress passes Alaska Lands Act, largest land act in history, half to national parks, half to development Compromise because of impending Reagan How did Reagan approach environmental policy? What interest group did he represent?
- CORRECT ANSWER -Sagebrush rebels/privatizers Cut staff, budget, proposed changes in legislation Congress rejected budgets, forced appointments to resign, but some damage done
How do you characterize the Republican party? - CORRECT ANSWER -Alliance
of wings - Main Street, Wall Street, Easy Street, Bourbon Street United around preference for less involvement by federal government
Massachusetts vs. EPA (2007) - CORRECT ANSWER -Massachusetts sue EPA:
you should regulate GHG Has standing bc rising sea levels would affect Mass coast Goes through courts, appeal to Supreme Court Mass says that EPA is required to regulate "any air pollutant reasonably anticipated to endanger public health or welfare" SC rules in favor of Mass, EPA does have authority to regulate GHG under CAA and should be doing so What are the steps/framework to achieve significant change according to Repairing
Paradise? - CORRECT ANSWER -Coalitions pursue change
Expand sphere to engage public Create certain conditions to make that happen Positive framing Supportive economics Scientific justification Institutional commitments
Weberian bureaucracy - CORRECT ANSWER -Hierarchical, specialized labor,
neutral from politics
Agency capture theory - CORRECT ANSWER -Agencies are too responsive to
narrow interests that they are supposed to be managing or regulating
Iron triangles - CORRECT ANSWER -Top is bureaucrats, right is interest groups,
left is Congress Leads to biased policymaking, benefits all 3 parties Triangle describes the relationship among these 3 What is the one place that Teddy Roosevelt said all Americans should visit? -
CORRECT ANSWER -Grand Canyon
What is the iron triangle for Glen Canyon damn? - CORRECT ANSWER -Bureau
of Reclamation, hydropower industry, members of Congress from Southwestern states
How did the river change before and after the dam? - CORRECT ANSWER -
Seasonal flows --> daily fluctuations Warm water --> cold water Full of silt and sediment --> clear water, no sediment
How is the downstream ecosystem altered? - CORRECT ANSWER -Water
quality and beaches erode away Species and vegetation --> leads to several endangered species
Cultural sites get washed out Recreation altered --> easier/safer to raft
How is upstream ecosystem altered? - CORRECT ANSWER -Creation of Lake
Powell and tourist system Burying of lots of canyons underwater Sediment settling to bottom What was the result of various groups pushing change re: dams and the Grand
Canyon? - CORRECT ANSWER -Grand Canyon Protection Act
Improve the values for which the place was established -- natural, cultural resources, visitor use
How does an agency take action in general? - CORRECT ANSWER -Mandate to
make policy Considerable discretion Notice and comment rulemaking
What happens if action affects environment? - CORRECT ANSWER -Governed
by NEPA - any action by a federal agency or also a state or private action if it involves federal money Notice and comment rulemaking can lead to NEPA analyses 95% requests excluded, 4% get environmental assessment, 1% get Environmental Impact Statement
EIS statements - CORRECT ANSWER -Assess range of alternatives to plan,
including no action Evaluate each, select preferred action Provides written record, can take agency to court if they don't do preferred action
EIS for Glen Canyon - CORRECT ANSWER -Looked at alternative flow regimes
- max hydropower (status quo), modified hydropower, minimal impact Did NOT look at removing dam Preferred alternative was reducing daily fluctuations, simulating seasonal flows + artificial flows, make decisions by adaptive management
What happened? - CORRECT ANSWER -Numerous flow experiments
Ephemeral affects Still experimenting, still controversial and parties pushing for dam removal
What are the 3 types of courts? - CORRECT ANSWER -Trial, appeal, supreme
Supreme Court rules for Lucas - compensate if someone loses 100% of their value Attempt to define takings, narrow definition, continuing controversy over property rights Lucas as a signal that courts shifting to skepticism of environmental groups
What happened in 1990s and 2000s to environmental groups/courts? - CORRECT
ANSWER -Environmental groups had overused the courts
Courts became a lot tougher More Republican judges Late 2000s: enviro groups have lost 15 straight NEPA cases Exception: FOE v. Laidlaw
Friends of the Earth v. Laidlaw - CORRECT ANSWER -Waste company dumping
into river Violated water permits 18 times, but stopped by time of the case Appeals in favor of Laidlaw SC rules for FOE - has standing for community, need to prevent future non-compliance
Rapanos v. US (2006) - CORRECT ANSWER -Rapanos was developer
Wetlands controversy - CWA says you can use navigable waters w/ permit Are wetlands navigable wetlands? Claim: water is infrequent Court ruled for Rapanos, but didn't allow for precedent Still working with wetlands regulation
R.I.S.E. v. Kay - CORRECT ANSWER -North carolina
Evidence of more dumping in minority communities Environmental justice No evidence of intent to give them unequal protection SC rules for Kay
Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA (2014) - CORRECT ANSWER -Mixed
support for the EPA EPA can regulate some carbon controls Sometimes air pollutants = GHG, sometimes not It does not require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to include greenhouse gas emissions every time the Act uses the term "air pollutant."
State of West VA et al. v. EPA - CORRECT ANSWER -EPA passing regulation
on new and existing coal fired power plants Destructive to West VA industry Ongoing - 2016
Alternative dispute resolution - CORRECT ANSWER -Seeks resolution w/out
litigation
Voluntary, all parties involved can withdraw All parties agree to an outcome Some outside party assists Slower but more durable Facilitation, mediation, arbitration
Ozone depletion - CORRECT ANSWER -Ozone blocks UV rays
CFCs (aerosols) deplete ozone 1985: ozone hole discovered 1987: Montreal Protocol
Evolution of environmental law - CORRECT ANSWER -1970s: hard look,
environmental groups successful, command and control, top down regulation 1980s: soft glance, Sagebrush rebels, Reagan administration, bipartisan consensus falls apart 1990s: cold stare (exceptions though), grassroots, sustainable development, party divergence
One Earth One World - CORRECT ANSWER -Possibility for new era of
economic growth based on policies that sustain and expand environmental resource base Poverty is a major cause and effect of global environmental problems
Opposition to Orthodoxy - CORRECT ANSWER -Shift from old sustainable
development (scarcity/limits to growth) to new sustainable development - growth, economic development Promises to defuse tensions between environmental protection and economic growth
Top 3 cases - article - CORRECT ANSWER -Mass v EPA, Chevron, Rapanos
