Environmental Science Environmental Policy and Law 2

Question 1

The Montreal Protocol (1987) was designed to address:

Accepted Answer

Depletion of stratospheric ozone caused by chlorofluorocarbons and other halocarbons

Answer

The Montreal Protocol phased out the production and use of ozone-depleting substances (CFCs, HCFCs, halons), allowing the ozone layer to begin recovering.

Question 2

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) operates primarily by:

Accepted Answer

Regulating and restricting international trade in specimens of endangered plants and animals

Answer

CITES classifies species into three appendices based on threat level and regulates (or bans) international trade in listed species and their products.

Question 3

The polluter pays principle in environmental economics holds that:

Accepted Answer

Those who produce pollution should bear the costs of managing it and its effects on society

Answer

The polluter pays principle (PPP) requires that the costs of pollution prevention and remediation be borne by those responsible for the pollution, internalizing the externality.

Question 4

U.S. EPA's Superfund program (CERCLA) was established to:

Accepted Answer

Clean up the nation's most hazardous abandoned waste sites and assign cleanup costs to responsible parties

Answer

CERCLA (1980) created the Superfund to finance cleanup of contaminated sites and empowered EPA to hold potentially responsible parties (PRPs) liable for cleanup costs.

Question 5

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is most accurately described as:

Accepted Answer

A systematic process to evaluate the environmental consequences of a proposed project or policy before a decision is made

Answer

EIA is a decision-support tool that identifies, predicts, and evaluates the potential environmental effects of a proposed development, informing decision-makers and the public.

Environmental Science Practice Test

Environmental Science Practice Test

Environmental Science Environmental Policy and Law 2