Deck 17: State and Local Environmental Issues

Question 1

In order to implement policies that encourage a socially efficient levels of recycling in firms that use virgin materials, the goal would be to achieve equality across industries and materials in terms of

A)marginal recycling costs
B)marginal tax rates
C)marginal cost of virgin materials
D)marginal emissions

Answer 1

A

Question 2

One way to reduce materials intensity in the production of goods is

A)a shift away from the consumption of tangible goods, but toward services
B)reducing the amount of packing in consumer products
C)increasing online billing and payments
D)all of the above

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The European Commission adopted a mandatory directive electronic and electrical equipment requiring producers to assume responsibility for their e-waste throughout the lifecycle of the product.This is an example of a

A)producer fee system
B)producer take back program
C)producer deposit refund program
D)consumer deposit refund program

Answer 3

B

Question 4

California has been a lead state in the area of policy innovation, exemplified by

A)the initial banning of the pesticide DDT
B)tradable emissions permits to control airborne emissions
C)principles included in the Strip Mining Reclamation Act
D)ideas included in the Toxics Release Inventory program

Question 5

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a ________ portion of the solid waste that is produced in the United States.

A)relatively large and growing
B)relatively large and shrinking
C)relatively small and growing
D)relatively small and shrinking

Question 6

The use of virgin materials can be reduced by

A)increase the overall rate of materials use (TM)
B)increase the rate of reuse (r)
C)decrease the overall rate of recycled materials use (RM)
D)all of the above

Question 7

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) includes trash or garbage from homes, businesses and institutions.Over the past last 50 years, the amount of MSW that is recycled has

A)decreased dramatically
B)remained relatively constant
C)increased slightly
D)increased dramatically

Question 8

The largest impairment to water quality is now non point source pollution and ________ programs are paramount for controlling these emissions.

A)federal
B)state
C)municipal
D)international cooperative

Question 9

The materials balance equation can be written in all of the following forms except

A)TM = VM - RM
B)VM = TM - RM
C)VM = TM ( 1- r)
D)TM = VM + RM

Question 10

Environmental federalism refers to

A)whether environmental regulations should be established at a national level
B)whether environmental regulation enforcement should be decentralized
C)the establishment of the EPA in the 1970s
D)whether all states and municipalities should be subject to the same effluent standards

Question 11

With regard to air pollution, states have the responsibility of establishing State Implementation Plans (SIPs) which are

A)plans to set state standards for ambient quality
B)state agencies that have been created to monitor interstate pollution
C)plans of action toward attaining national ambient standards for air quality
D)plans to lobby the federal government for more stringent interstate standards

Question 12

Regulations to control mercury emissions from power plants have been in contention for well over a decade at the _______ level

A)federal
B)state
C)municipal
D)international

Question 13

Because states compete to attract businesses, some believe that there will be a 'race to the bottom' resulting in lax state policies regarding environmental regulation.Most empirical evidence to date suggests that

A)state policies are indeed more lax than federal policies
B)the 'race to the bottom' has not taken place
C)states have not produced their own environmental policies
D)businesses do not consider state policies when deciding where to locate

Question 14

________ content standards require that all materials-using products manufactured or sold contain some specified percentage of ________.

A)Maximum; recycled material
B)Minimum; recycled material
C)Maximum; virgin material
D)Minimum; virgin material

Question 15

Many states have enacted their own Superfund laws to supplement the federal actions included in the

A)National Contingency Plan (NCP)
B)Clean Air Act (CAA)
C)Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
D)Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)

Question 16

'Takings' problems refer to the use of eminent domain which allows the US government to take property from private citizens for a public purpose while providing just compensation.In contrast, a regulatory taking does not involve a physical taking of the property but may

A)reduce the value of the property due to restrictions on its use
B)transfer ownership temporarily to the EPA
C)distribute ownership shares to government agencies
D)eliminate the ability to sell the property

Question 17

Federal water-pollution law, incorporating technology based effluent standards, works through

A)a permitting system
B)CAFÉ standards
C)a single stream recycling system
D)a pay as you throw (PAYT) system

Question 18

Voluntary recycling programs began in the______ and the first one was in _________.

A)1970s; Oregon
B)1950s; California
C)1950s; Oregon
D)1970s; California

Question 19

The US Constitutional does not allow for

A)state environmental policy to preempt federal environmental policy
B)states to develop specific policies where the federal authorities remain silent
C)decentralized actions to protect the environment
D)state enforcement of federal environmental policies

Question 20

In the most recent past, most of the US urban solid waste was disposed ___________.This practice has become a prime environmental concern.

A)through recycling
B)through incineration
C)in landfills
D)in other countries

Question 21

The ability of a municipality to send solid waste to a landfill is affected by

A)weather
B)taxation
C)the scarcity of sites willing to accept these wastes
D)recycling programs

Question 22

Refer to the figure above.If the labor market works efficiently and workplace standards are managed such that each firm manages risk individually (there is not a set standard) then

A)the wages in high exposure jobs will be lower than those high exposure risk jobs
B)the wages in high and low risk jobs will be equal, which is inefficient
C)the wages in low exposure risk jobs will be higher than those in high exposure risk jobs
D)as long as the labor market is competitive and participants have knowledge, the labor market will compensate workers experiencing higher risk with higher wages

Question 23

Refer to the figure above.In the graph above, the vertical axis (Axis) would be labeled

A)$
B)time or distance
C)units of reduced health risk
D)abatement units (metric tons, dissolved oxygen, parts per million)

Question 24

Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring (1962), documented ecosystem damage caused by

A)the experiences of Love Canal, where homes were exposed to hazardous waste
B)a chemical spill in the Elk River in Charleston, West Virginia
C)the chemical spill in Bhopal, India
D)DDT, a popular pesticide

Question 25

Refer to the figure above.In the graph above, Curve B would be labeled

A)Marginal Control Costs (of reducing the levels of exposure)
B)Marginal Benefits (of higher or lower health risks when exposure changes)
C)Marginal Demand Curve (for reduced health risks)
D)Marginal Willingness to Pay Curve (for reduced health risks)

Question 26

A tax on virgin materials charged to all manufacturing firms would

A)lead to decreased recycling
B)lead to increased recycling in a way that would not satisfy the equimarginal principle
C)lead to increased recycling in a way that satisfies the equimarginal principle
D)lead to uncertain results with no guarantee of satisfying the equimarginal principle

Question 27

Recent technological change in chemicals has led to the development of chemicals that involves the production and use of substances using extremely small particles called

A)radioactive waste
B)nanotechnology
C)ubiquitous
D)chlorofluorocarbons

Question 28

Refer to the figure above.If a common standard for workplace exposure were set at r₁

A)Firm 1 experiences efficient control but Firm 2 experiences a risk that is too high
B)Firm 1 experiences efficient control but Firm 2 experiences a risk that is too low
C)Firm 1 experiences efficient control but Firm 2 experiences a risk that is too high
D)Firm 1 experiences a risk that is too high but Firm 2 experiences efficient control of risk

Question 29

During the 1950s and the 1960s there was no strong ______ environmental policy.During the 1970s control began with initiation of __________ environmental policy.

A)federal; federal
B)federal; state
C)state; state
D)state; federal

Question 30

Which of the following affect a firm's incentive and ability to replace virgin material in the production with recycled materials?

A)technology available to sort materials for recycling
B)the transportation of materials to be recycled
C)the reprocessing recycled materials
D)all of the above

Question 31

The policy environment governing hazardous and toxic substances is

A)the sole responsibility of the EPA
B)subject to federal laws, state and local public agency advocacy and public opinion
C)straightforward with a long and consistent history and precedent
D)not overseen by the EPA because most toxic substances are not released to the natural environment

Question 32

In the decision of whether or not to regulate a chemical, the question of which party has the responsibility of providing information to decide a chemical's safety level is called the

A)toxic substances control act
B)burden of proof
C)'catch 22'
D)balancing decision

Question 33

Many object to the balancing approach for regulating chemicals because

A)scientific results are often too weak to show benefits and costs clearly
B)matters of life and death are moral issues, and should be treated as such
C)politicians, not economists, should determine the values that society places on outcomes
D)all of the above

Question 34

The TSCA differentiates between _______ and _________ chemicals, regulating the latter more stringently than the former.

A)solid; liquid
B)metal based; non metal based
C)existing ; new
D)industrial; household

Question 35

Trying to reduce the amounts of hazardous material that are in need of disposal by either recycling residuals back into the production process, or by shifting technologies and operations so that the amount of residuals generated by firms is reduced is known as ________.

A)waste reduction
B)recycling
C)chemical treatment
D)CERCLA

Question 36

Refer to the figure above.In the graph above, Curve A would be labeled

A)Marginal Control Costs (of reducing the levels of exposure)
B)Marginal Benefits (of higher or lower health risks when exposure changes)
C)Marginal Demand Curve (for reduced health risks)
D)Marginal Willingness to Pay Curve (for reduced health risks)

Question 37

If acceptable levels of exposure to chemicals were determined by 'balancing', regulators would attempt to

A)balance the demand for chemicals with the supply of chemicals
B)balance the price of chemicals with the cost of producing chemicals
C)balance the costs of controlling the chemicals with the damages that the chemicals caused
D)all of the above

Question 38

Refer to the figure above.The marginal damages curve slopes upward because

A)higher risks are associated with higher marginal damages, such as negative health effects
B)the cost of controlling damages increases as the risk of exposure increases
C)total damages increase as the risk of exposure increase
D)the technology used to control the damages varies along the curve

Question 39

Single stream recycling refers to

A)water pollution control programs that focus on single bodies of water
B)recycling of contaminated water with release into a single stream
C)a system of recycling that returns all recycled material to a single user
D)a system where recyclable items are collected from consumers in a single container and sorted at the recycling facility

Question 40

Hazardous and toxic materials have characteristics that present unique challenges for monitoring and control, such as

A)they are found everywhere in the modern economy
B)the sheer number of them leads to difficulty in being informed about the levels of danger
C)the quantity used can be very small, leading to difficulty in monitoring
D)all of the above

Question 41

When the precautionary principle is introduced into the regulation of chemicals it

A)introduces caution into public decisions where substantial damages may be unknown
B)re-examines where the burden of proof should lie
C)scrutinizes serious threats that involve irreversible damage regardless of scientific certainty
D)all of the above

Question 42

The primary regulatory approach to regulating toxic emissions has been to use technology based effluent standards.All of the following are technology based effluent standards except

A)Best Available Technology (BAT)
B)Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT)
C)Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT)
D)Most Often Applied Technology (MOAT)

Question 43

Each of the following is a primary pollution control statute for toxic emissions in the US except

A)Clean Air Act (amended 1970, 1977, 1990)
B)Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (1986)
C)Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPS) (2001)
D)Clean Water Act (amended 1972, 1977)

Question 44

Environmental justice is

A)a particular way of examining the distributional effects of pollution and contamination
B)a program to compensate minorities and the poor for exposure to environmental hazards
C)part of CERCLA legislation that holds polluters responsible for natural resource damages
D)a specific bill associated with the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act that allows citizens to sue industrial polluters on behalf of the government

Question 45

When the economics of pest resistance are examined, it becomes clear that

A)those who are attempting to eliminate pests will overuse pesticides and contribute to pests becoming resistant
B)those who are attempting to eliminate pests will be incentivized to use the socially efficient amount of pesticide
C)those who are attempting to eliminate pests will be incentivized to underuse pesticides because the elimination of pests is a public good
D)those who are regulating pest elimination have are interested in increasing resistance to pesticides in the target population

Question 46

In managing the regulation of hazardous waste, federal policy has been aimed at two problems

A)storage of current wastes; transportation of current wastes
B)clean up of previous disposal sites; storage, transportation and disposal of current wastes
C)transportation and disposal of current wastes; clean up of previous disposal sites
D)transportation and disposal of current wastes; clean up of current storage sites

Question 47

The reason that increased costs waste disposal is often an ineffective way to reduce hazardous waste is

A)competition in the waste removal industry keeps prices below effective incentive levels
B)hazardous waste is often not subject to disposal as it never leaves the firm premises
C)hazardous waste removal firms are not subject to regulations
D)firms are unmotivated by disposal charges and do not search for ways to reduce the quantities of waste requiring disposal

Question 48

Hazardous waste generation in the US

A)is spread fairly evenly across the states
B)is concentrated in the industrial Midwest
C)is concentrated in oil and gas producing states (Alaska, Texas, the Dakotas)
D)is not spread evenly throughout the United States

Question 49

The establishment of Brownfields sites

A)encourages developers to consider theses sites by relaxing potential liability associated with previous contamination
B)allows for funding assistance to assess or ameliorate contamination problems on the site
C)distinguishes the difference between Superfund sites and sites where light to moderate contamination is suspected or confirmed
D)all of the above

Question 50

A 2005 EPA survey reveals that the majority of hazardous waste is disposed of through

A)burning
B)injection wells
C)recovery during recycling operations
D)off site disposal facitlities

Question 51

The major US law that has established a liability provision for the damages done to US natural resources is

A)the National Contingency Plan (NCP)
B)the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)
C)the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
D)the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act

Question 52

Policy makers have begun to regulate toxic emissions by 'moving back up the line' and encouraging waste reduction.All of the following are effective incentives to encourage waste reduction except

A)emissions charges
B)deposit refund systems
C)increasing transparency about the release of toxic materials
D)regulations that dictate particular technology choices for firms using toxic substances

Question 53

As a part of the National Contingency Plan (NCP, the National Priorities Plan (NPL) is a state-federal effort to earmark a list of ranked sites for clean up that have experienced hazardous pollution.The priorities are established by taking into account

A)types of hazardous material at the site
B)quantities of hazardous materials at the site
C)the possibility of human exposure to the site and the materials
D)all of the above