Term
| How did environmentalism change in the wake of Silent Spring? |
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Definition
1. Number of environmental organizations and membership increased.
2. Government agencies proliferate
3. Deep ecology
4. Green Parties
5. Environmental justice movement |
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Term
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Definition
| A type of environmental philosophy that is highly biocentric. Deep ecology philosophy states that all living things are equal and the destruction of a species may affect other species. This is because all living thing are interconnected through a complex web relationship. |
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Term
| What are common characteristics of the “environmentalism of the poor” in the developing world? |
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Definition
1. Depend on external support
2. Confrontational
3. Protection of residential/ workplace
4. Protection of community identity
5. Greater political voice/ social justice
6. Female leadership |
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Term
| What characteristics do all environmental disputes have in common, according to Judith Layzer? |
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Definition
Nearly all environmental policy disputes are, at heart, contests over values.
Environmental policies disputes define problems and characterize their solutions in terms of science, economics and risk. |
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Term
What social and political factors facilitated the creation of the Environmental Protection
Agency and the passage of the Clean Air and Water Acts? |
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Definition
| Expanding industrialization after World War II lead to the implementation of the Clean Air Act. The environmental protection agency was passed by President Nixon in 1970 due to the increased salience of the impact of humanity on the environment. |
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Term
| How effective have the Clean Air and Waters Acts been in controlling pollution? |
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Definition
| The Clean Air and Clean Water Acts have helped reduce pollution however, they have been accused by businesses and legislature as being too strict with their standards. Critics also claimed that the cleanup that has been accomplished cost far more than necessary because regulations were poorly designed and haphazardly implemented. |
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Term
| What was at stake in the Love Canal controversy? |
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Definition
| The Love Canal controversy began when residents began noticing several birth defects in their children and called in the EPA to test the area. The EA performed testing and informed the residents they were living on a toxic waste dump. |
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Term
| How was the Love Canal controversy resolved? |
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Definition
| Residents developed a coherent sense of community and banned together to increase pressure on state and government officials to move them. Media coverage increased salience of the controversy and then politicians began to respond and help evacuate the residents. Scientific studies later proved that the Love Canal had no adverse health affects but residents still wanted to move out. |
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Term
| If one were to examine the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from the perspective of environmental justice, what would one conclude? |
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Definition
| One would conclude that there are some areas in environmental justice is not as strong as others. |
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Term
What problems faced the residents of the Dudley Street Neighborhood, and how were these
problems addressed? |
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Definition
| The Dudley Street Neighborhood was a run-down area of Boston in which a lot of dumping and pollution took place. Houses were boarded up and many residents purposely burned their houses down so they could leave the neighborhood. The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI) was formed to fix the neighborhood. The DSNI consisted of the citizens of the Dudley Street Neighborhood who organized massive clean-up parties and held committee meetings on how to revive the neighborhood. |
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Term
| Why is the Dudley Street Neighborhood case so famous? |
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Definition
| The Dudley Street Neighborhood case is famous because it was the first case in which the residents had successfully completed an urban revival and gained political and media attention. |
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Term
| What is at stake in the ANWR debate? Who has prevailed thus far, and why? |
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Definition
| The ANWR debate was a controversy over drilling for oil on the Coastal Plain of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The debate pitted proponents of natural resource extraction against advocates of wilderness protection. Those who supported the natural resource extraction were anthropocentric and believed it would lead to job creation; they are cornucopians Those who advocated wildlife protection were biocentric and believed that the environment was sensitive and beautiful. The wildlife conservation advocates have prevailed thus far because drilling is still not allowed in the ANWR |
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Term
| What is at stake in the battle over livestock grazing on public lands? Who has prevailed thus far, and why? |
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Definition
| The livestock grazing battle occurred between ranchers and environmentalists. The ranchers did not want to let their livestock graze on public lands due to hire costs. The environmentalists believed that livestock grazing on the land was destroying the Western range. The ranchers have prevailed thus far due to the fact that the environmentalists have not been able to provoke widespread public outrage over the issue. |
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Term
| Why are many environmentalists concerned about beef production? |
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Definition
| Environmentalists are concerned about beef production because cows are not sustainable. They emit large quantities of methane and other greenhouse gases. Their manure contributes to groundwater pollution. Chemical pollution also occurs when the corn is grown to feed to the cows. |
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Term
| What is an externalized cost? |
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Definition
| An externalized cost is a negative impact associated with an economic transaction which concern people outside of those transactions. Neither the buyer nor the seller feel the negative impact of the costs. |
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Term
| What is an example of an externalized cost? |
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Definition
| Factory pollution which can have a negative impact on the surrounding community. |
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Term
| What was at stake in the spotted owl controversy? How was the controversy resolved? |
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Definition
| The spotted owl controversy took place between loggers and environmentalists. The loggers believed that more trees should be cleared to help improve industry and the economy. The environmentalists believed that the trees should not be cut because they were home to an endangered species, the spotted owl. The controverrsy was resolved when laws were implemented that controlled logging. Timber production decreased but it did not prevent new jobs from being created. |
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Term
| What is the greatest threat to the spotted owl now? What management options are under consideration to cope with this threat? |
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Definition
| The barn owl is the biggest threat to the spotted owl now. Planned extinction of the barred owl and relocation are options under consideration to cope with this threat |
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Term
| Be able to describe (in a very general way) the prevalence of mass extinctions of life on Earth, and the likelihood and likely causes of another mass extinction in the near future. |
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Definition
| The previous five extinctions have been caused by climate and atmosphere changes and ecological stressors. Another mass extinction is likely if extinction of endangered species occurred, or if climate changes or highly elevated atmospheric CO2 occurred. |
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Term
| What is happening to Arctic ice, and why? |
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Definition
| It is melting because humans are performing activities such as burning fossil fuels and clear-cutting forests which are causing green houses gases to be emitted into the atmosphere causing global warming. |
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Term
| How, and how effectively, have the New England fisheries coped with the “tragedy of the commons”? |
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Definition
| The New England Fisheries have promoted small-scale fishers and prevented excessive industry concentration by issuing permits which has reduced overfishing and increased fish catch sizes. |
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