Chapter 31. Chapter 31: Environmental Policy
Why are environmental policies sometimes needed at a national or even international level?
Guiding Question 31.1
Why are environmental policies sometimes needed at a national or even international level?
Why You Should Care
We have already seen in earlier chapters that environmental problems are “wicked” problems with complex causes. If air pollution levels over a city are above safe levels, then who or what is the cause? Can the problem be fixed simply? Often the answer is “no,” so solutions require changes to laws, taxes, or regulatory standards that only a national or federal government can carry out.
Still other problems have causes that stretch across borders and impact other nations. Those problems can only be addressed by international changes and therefore require input from many countries. The bigger the problem is in terms of size, the more likely it will have a national or international solution.
Test Your Vocabulary
Choose the correct term for each of the following definitions:
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Plan that allows room for altering strategies as new information comes in or the situation itself changes. | |
| Pollution that is produced in one area but falls in or reaches other states or nations. | |
| An emissions trading plan that set upper limits for pollution release; producers are issued permits that allow them to release a portion of that amount and they can sell or trade permits they do not need to use. | |
| Course of action adopted by a government or organization intended to improve the natural environment and public health or reduce human impact on the environment. |
1.
Tuna is such an important commercial fish crop that there are regional international bodies to limit overfishing in open ocean areas. These tuna-regulating bodies seek to stop which of the following?
| A. |
| B. |
| C. |
| D. |
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