...Futility of International Environmental Governance The increased frequency of irregular climatic events, among which are violent hurricanes, whirling tornados and record-breaking temperatures has resulted in an amplified concern in the changing climate. “Certainly, this is no coincidence; extreme circumstances often serve to galvanize public attention.” These rising trends of environmental awareness have superseded individual societies. Resultantly, there have been countless efforts of working towards pragmatic solutions to environmental concerns by means of global governance as an international collective. “The distinct characteristics of global governance lies in the assumption that the effective handling of problems is no longer the exclusive responsibility of government but of joint activities by governments, international and supranational institutions.” This understanding of global interconnectedness has incited the creation of numerous organizations, institutions and international environmental initiatives, specifically the Kyoto Protocol. However, environmental impediments have not seen notable improvements and can be attributed to the flaws of global environmental governance. Firstly, contributing to the failure of environmental policies is the ineffective structure of the Kyoto Protocol. Furthermore, with the rise of globalization, neoliberal ideals have prioritized market successes at the detriment of the environment and international environmental initiatives. Lastly...
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...Let’s talk about social government policies in the economy. Social government policies aim to improve human welfare and to meet human needs for education, health, housing and social security. For example, The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is considered a social policy. The NEPA is a national environmental law that the U.S. established promoting the enhancement of the environment and to regulate activities that have an environmental impact in the United States. January 1st 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the NEPA which then proceeded to create the Council on Environmental Quality which would analyze the environmental impact of federal actions. The legislation during this period concerned primarily first-generation pollutants in the air, surface water, groundwater, and solid waste disposal. Air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone were put under regulation, and issues such as acid rain and global warming were also concerns. In surface water, the contaminants of concern were bacteria, suspended and dissolved solids, nutrients, and toxic substances such as metals. Finally, solid waste contaminants from agriculture, industry, mining, municipalities, and others were put under control. The NEPA goes through a series of actions before making a...
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...Online Discussion 1: Environmental Policy under a Parliamentary System As we learned in last week’s lesson, the Canadian system of government can pose challenges to the setting of environmental policy. Let’s explore this issue in our discussion this week by considering the following questions as well as any ideas relevant to this issue that you think of as the discussion progresses. You do not need to address all of these questions in a single post - in fact, it is probably better to limit each post to one or two well argued points. Do you think our federal-provincial system of government makes it impossible to pass effective environmental legislation? Would you change anything about the division of powers between the federal and provincial/territorial governments in order to improve the design and implementation of environmental policy in Canada? Is environmental policy superior in the United States (can we learn any lessons from their approach including things to avoid)? Can you find any examples of successful provincial/federal cooperation on environmental policy implementation in Canada? Finally, do you think that we are in for a new era of environmental policy cooperation with the election of a new government this fall? Post 1: Hi Kristen, In addition to your extensive research on the comparison of both the US and Canada’s differences in environmental policy, I have done some research myself and have read an interesting article that discusses lessons from America...
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...Barriers Paper Problem Concerns about water pollution are generally focused towards sources that are highly visible and chemically oriented. However, the greatest causes of water contamination and quantity abuse in the United States come from agricultural production (United States Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 2012a), which is defined as a nonpoint source that pollutes with nutrients. In 2011, nine of the top ten corn and soybean producing states were located in the 2 Midwest (United States Census Bureau, 2012), making this region the largest agricultural region by volume produced in the U.S., and thus prone to environmental problems with alarming consequences. In order to meet production demands while bound by constrained budgets, farmers often turn to unsustainable practices to ensure a yield. These include irrigating their fields with groundwater (the water from natural basins underneath the ground), applying excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus as fertilizer, and plowing the land in a way that reduces quality of soil structure (United States EPA, 2012b). All of these factors directly result in the rapid depletion of water resources in the Midwest, and the toxic nutrient pollution of surface waters such as lakes, rivers, and streams (United States EPA, 2012c). Entire freshwater ecosystems are being literally suffocated by nutrients, such as Phosphorus, which support the growth of toxin emitting harmful cyanobacteria algae (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...
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...Fossil Fuel vs. Renewable Energy: Which is More Environmentally Safe? Cassandra Bohaychyk ENG-122 Professor Welsh June 23, 2013 Fossil Fuel vs. Renewable Energy: Which is More Economical and Environmentally Safe? While both have vital uses in the U.S, oil energy and renewable energy are pitted against each other as the main focuses of resources in the U.S environmental policy because each has an effect on the environment. Renewable energy is constant and can be found all over the nation, but may be costly in different ways. Fossil fuels may be a natural resource but are a one-time use that could eventually become obsolete, and could also be costly. Demonstrating in this research is a plethora of information leading to the outcome of the U.S environmental policy, and whether fossil fuels or renewable resources are best for the environment. Fossil Fuels include coal, petroleum (oil), and natural gas are concentrated organic compounds created from remains of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago formed into biomass. The refining and consumption of these resources have a massive impact on the environment and will eventually be exhausted. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), fossil fuels meet around 82% of U.S. energy demand. According to the Institute for Energy Research, oil is the “transportation fuel” that makes all modern modes of transportation possible and moves both people and goods around the world. Once the products of...
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...Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, having met at Stockholm from 5 to 16 June 1972,having considered the need for a common outlook and for common principles to inspire and guide the peoples of the world in the preservation and enhancement of the human environment, Proclaims that: 1. Man is both creature and moulder of his environment, which gives him physical sustenance and affords him the opportunity for intellectual, moral, social and spiritual growth. In the long and tortuous evolution of the human race on this planet a stage has been reached when, through the rapid acceleration of science and technology, man has acquired the power to transform his environment in countless ways and on an unprecedented scale. Both aspects of man's environment, the natural and the man-made, are essential to his well-being and to the enjoyment of basic human rights the right to life itself. 2. The protection and improvement of the human environment is a major issue which affects the well-being of peoples and economic development throughout the world; it is the urgent desire of the peoples of the whole world and the duty of all Governments. 3. Man has constantly to sum up experience and go on discovering, inventing, creating and advancing. In our time, man's capability to transform his surroundings, if used wisely, can bring to all peoples the benefits of development and the opportunity to...
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...Pollution has been and is still a major problem in the world. There are different types of pollution, which are water and air pollution. Air pollution includes different types of poisonous gases that change the characteristic of air. The United States and Kenya are affected by pollution; for example, in New York City and Nairobi where there is traffic noise and emission from vehicles, sewage overflows, plastic bottles and bags. Even though both cities are affected by pollution, the methods applied in managing and handling air pollution are different. Despite pollution being a major issue in the world, the United States has greatly improved after the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (Clean Air Act Amendments 1990). United States Environmental...
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...Running head: COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES AND GOVERNMENT POLICIES 1 Competitive Strategies and Government Policies ECO 365 COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES AND GOVERNMENT POLICIES Competitive Strategies and Government Policies Companies are becoming more competitive over the course of time. As the population grows so do new company’s aiming to be successful. For a construction company, this is especially true. Current businesses and new businesses want growth and the construction 2 companies are who make the physical structure of the business happen. Included in this paper, is a discussion of how horizontal mergers, government policies and regulations related to externalities, and business decisions by management affect the construction business entirely. The construction industry has been a result of a lot of change in the past few years. The construction industry consists of small business to the very large corporation. A small business in the construction industry can be considered a simple handyman business. A large business in the construction industry can be considered a new commercial builder. With the limited barrier of entry the construction industry has been threaten by new companies entering the market. New companies entering the marking have posed a threat in which causing the existing construction companies to have a strategic plan to prevent from closing their doors. With a strategic plan in place the existing construction companies will have the tools needed to...
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...‘The failures of environmental multilateralism demonstrate the need for a World Environment Organisation.’ Critically evaluate this claim. One of the main challenges that face environmental politics today is a significant lack of integration between the global governance structures that address ecological matters. The international trade system has some of the most powerful institutional actors, such as the World Trade Organisation, where legal rules are supported by a dispute resolution body, trade sanctions, as well as the power to authorise other retaliation tactics when a country does not comply with a ruling (Eckersley 2003.) In contrast, the existing multilateral framework for environmental politics provides a fragmented, and incoherent arrangement to govern some of the most important ecological issues. Organisations like the United Nations Environmental Programme, for example, are supported by voluntary member state contributions, and lack the financial foundation, as well as the legal mandate to express sound environmental policy-making. As quoted by Eckersley (2003), “judged in terms of size and teeth, we might regard the WTO as a large tiger and MEAs as a ragged collection of small cats” (pp. 2.) This paper makes the case for a reorganisation of environmental governance, with the specific transformation of UNEP into a World Environment Organisation (WEO.) A WEO is argued to be able to provide an authoritative voice and force to issues of the global commons...
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...Risk Management Environmental risk assessment and environmental risk management may sound similar, but they are two vastly different terms. Environmental risk management is far more political and involves policy makers. On the other hand, environmental risk assessment is scientific, and relies on data recorded by scientists and their research. There is an established tension between the two, and this tension can vary, depending where you are. Historically, the United States and Europe have adopted different models of regulation. Americans have a reputation for being self-assertive and having a complex series of checks and balances, which calls for more “adversarial trial procedures”, than European countries, when it comes to environmental regulations. (Kelman). The United States formally believed that risk assessment and risk management should be separate processes, in their respected fields. This was until the National Research Council published a report that argued to combine the two processes, stating that this would generate continuous feedback from all actors involved. This report received considerable attention on the academic and non-governmental risk community. In Europe however, quite the opposite happened. They originally the two were considered the same area, with a focus on determining the criteria for the process, while accounting for social values. In 1998 the Royal Commission for Environmental Pollution pushed for separating risk assessment from risk management...
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...IBM Global warming is a term that we have become very familiar with over the last decades. Gradually, it is disturbing human living conditions and because societies’ lack of environmental protection responsibility, more damage is forecasted to take place. Rising temperatures are expected to raise the sea level, change climate conditions, alter desserts and forests, water supplies, crop yields, harm many ecosystems of animals and threat human life. Throughout the world, there is naturally caused pollution, but the majority of the world’s pollution is caused by humanity. In the United States, as well as many other industrialized countries, the greatest source of contamination is the industrial community. At the peak of the Industrial Revolution, industries efforts were focused on profitability and how much product they push out of the assembly lines. Environmental protection was not a priority in comparison with maintaining high levels of production. Protecting the environment is a costly and a real matter to any business, but it is the ideal outcome to find that balance where companies protect the environment while still remained profitable. In the United States there is no better example of environmental conscience and profitable as International Business Machines (IBM). IBM leads the United States as the ‘greenest’ company and second globally according to The Daily Beast (2011). For over forty years IBM has committed to set the trend for other companies to follow by staying...
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...Renewable Energy Robert Keith Clark ENG122 Prof. Sabine Meyer May 5, 2013 America’s future with renewable energy Only a very small percentage of the energy from the sun reaches the earth. However, one hour of that sunshine provides enough energy to power the entire world for a year (National Geographic, n.d.). As America moves forward into the 21st century, U.S. environmental policies need to do more to encourage green renewable energy technology thus reducing dependence on foreign oil, while focusing on environmental concerns, and helping to ensure that the United States remains a world leader. Methods Initial research for this project began with a look at U.S. government statistics and websites. However, as the research continued the Ashford library became a valuable source of information. This research paper is a combination of scholarly journal articles and other reliable articles from reputable news organizations. Some of the data came from teams of scientists and other international organizations that collect and organize data about renewable energy and environmental issues. One source that was particularly useful was America’s Energy Future (2009); the book was written by the Committee on America’s Energy future, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Research Council. Even though the information contained in this research project came from reliable sources, the information reported has been...
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...Environmental Legislation For each of the terms and pieces of Legislation, that contain an *, you are to write an index card. The term or Law is on the front of the index card, and the definition or description on the reverse side. Legislation Quizzes will begin on Monday October 1, 2012 *Conservation – “Controlled Use”, “Scientific Management” of natural resources. “Greatest good for the greatest number of people. *Preservation – Remaining wilderness areas on public lands should be left untouched. *Restoration – To bring back to former condition (former natural state/condition), active restoration seeks to reestablish a diverse, dynamic community at sites that have been degraded. *Remediation – Most often used with cleanup of chemical contaminants in a polluted area. *Mitigation – Repairing/Rehabilitating a damaged ecosystem or compensation for damage. Most often by providing a substitute or replacement area; frequently involves wetland ecosystems. *Reclamation – Typically used to describe chemical or physical manipulations carried out in severely degraded sites, such as open-pit mines or large-scale construction. Environmental Legislation/Agreements NAME | Abbr. | Description | Atomic Energy Act | | The act establishes a general regulatory structure for construction and use of nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons facilities. Unlike most environmental statutes, it does not permit citizen suits and affords only limited opportunities for suits by public interest...
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...pollution to live on earth. Environmental policy is a broad issue, mostly because of the socio-political dimensions of the issue. This paper presents an environmental policy analysis with the focus on clean water and air issues. It discusses existing environmental policy and problems and contradictions related to them. It also discusses the main stakeholders and the need of stakeholders and public to participate in environmental policy making and assessment. Finally this paper provides some recommendations on environmental policy implication. Definition of the Problem It is not an easy task to define environmental problem. The issue is too complex and broad to summarize it in several sentences. Some people believe that environmental policy refers only to human relationships to nature; they understand that much environmental policy deals with human health concerns (Kraft & Furlong, 2009, p.341). Putting environmental policy even at a broader context, it can be defined as government actions that affect environmental quality and the use of natural resources (Kraft & Furlong, 2009, p.342). There is no doubt that environmental issues are global issues. Entire world is facing important environmental problems that need to be addressed at both state level and collaborative international level. United States alone is “the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels” (www.cia.gov). Besides that air pollution in the United States resulting in acid rains;...
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...Overview of Previous Work Wendy Stockley, Environmental Manager for Hondaís twoOhio-based automobile manufacturing plants, was about to be visited by Mr. Suzuki, the most senior environmental official from Honda headquarters in Japan. The company had recently taken a strong interest in certification under the new ISO 14000 environmental management standards. Suzuki had asked Stockley to evaluate the environmental practices of the Ohio plants in light of the ISO standards. In particular, he was interested in whether lean production practices, the cornerstone of Honda’s high-quality manufacturing operations, were helping to achieve environmental performance or whether they were a hindrance. Although the manufacturing plants of other automobile companies in the United States had explicitly designed their environmental policies around federal and state regulations, Honda had tried to design policies that followed from, and were integrated with, its lean production philosophy. These policies were generally more flexible than traditional approaches and focused more on the end goal of efficiency than on meeting regulations. Stockley hoped to find the Honda approach better adapted to the ISO 14000 standards because of these characteristics. To respond to her charge, Stockley had gathered data on the environmental management and performance at the two Ohio-based Honda plants, East Liberty and Marysville. She had also obtained data from her associates on the plants’ general productivity...
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