4/25/14

This weekend's homework is as follows:

12A:  Continue researching/developing your investigative/experimental plan as you see fit (unless you did not submit the research/plan due today - then you need to turn it in ASAP).

12CD: Study the Important Environmental Laws/Treaties/Protocols handout distributed in class today and prepare for the assessment on Monday. Complete Review Assignment 5B. Study.

Remember that the APES Review Session will be taking place tomorrow from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm at Murry Bergtraum High School. Also, SoF is hosting its annual roof garden clean-up from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm. Extra credit will be awarded for participation in either.

Important Environmental Laws/Treaties/Protocols

I.               Agriculture

a.    Federal Environmental Pesticides Control Act –1972

                                     i.     All pesticides must be registered in US gov. before sale

b.    Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA)—1996

                                     i.     Pesticides need to be monitored for the safety of infants and children in regards to pesticide residues leftover in food

II.             Land use

a.    Antiquities Act (1906)

                                     i.     Establishes penalties for disturbing archaeological sites or relics on public lands

                                   ii.     Gives President the right to designate landmarks and areas of “historical/scientific interest”

b.    Wilderness Act (1964)

                                     i.     Legally defined “wilderness”—area of land left w/o human manipulation or presence

·      Established Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and U.S Forest Service

III.           Mining/Resource extraction

a.    General Mining Law (1872)

                                     i.     Allows companies to dig/prospect for materials on public lands, and purchase land if deemed valuable

b.    Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (1977)

                                     i.     Established protocols that regulate surface mining and proper ways to reclaim surface mining areas

IV.           Fishing

a.    Maguson Fishery Conservation & Management Act (1976)

                                     i.     Allows federal government to regulate fish in federal waters by reducing bycatch, rebuilding overfished fisheries, and protecting fish habitat

V.             Pollution

a.    Air Pollution Control Act (1955)

                                     i.     First legislation passed by U.S. that identified air pollution as a problem/hazard

b.    Clean Air Act (1963—amended in 1967, 1977, 1990)

                                     i.     created to control levels of air pollution—governed by the EPA

                                   ii.     assesses air pollution created by transportation and & industrial sectors

                                 iii.     assigned levels to acceptable acid rain, ozone depletion, and toxic air pollution

                                   iv.     assigned new levels of acceptable gasoline pollutants—primarily lead, NOx, SOx levels

c.     National Environmental Policy Act (1970)

                                     i.     Established the EPA in the U.S.

d.    Montreal Protocol (1989)

                                     i.     agreement between international countries to stop using CFCs and other ozone depleting gases

e.    Kyoto Protocol (1997, 2001)

                                     i.     Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas (although primarily CO2 b/c it’s the most biggest problem) emissions by 5% of the 1990 levels.

f.      Clean Water Act (1972)

                                     i.     Set water quality standards for pollutants/contaminants in surface waters

                                   ii.     Allowed EPA to set wastewater standards for industry

g.     Safe Drinking Water Act (1974)

                                     i.     Established U.S. standards for safe drinking water

h.    Ocean Dumping Ban Act (1988)

                                     i.     Bans dumping of sewage/industrial waste into ocean

i.      Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 1976

                                     i.     Prohibits dumping of solid waste

                                   ii.     Makes municipalities responsible for managing municipal/nonhazardous solid waste, especially in landfills

                                 iii.     Product manufacturers are responsible for product from “cradle-to-the-grave” of a product (product needs to be manufactured and disposed safely through its production system)

j.      Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, Liability Act (CERCLA—aka “Superfund)-- 1980

                                     i.     Companies have to “pay to cleanup” if they dumped toxic waste—made companies responsible for dumping hazardous waste

                                   ii.     Allots money into a “fund” to help pay for contamination sites, if a guilty party couldn’t be found

k.     Toxic Substance Control Act (TOSCA)—1976

                                     i.     Allows EPA to track chemicals used in the U.S., and ban as deemed necessary if a risk is assessed

VI.           Biodiversity Protection/Conservation

a.    Endangered Species Act (1973)

                                     i.     Protects and implements plans to ensure the survival of plants and animals and their habitats

b.    The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) 1963

                                     i.     Makes trade of endangered species illegal

c.     Marine Mammals Protection Act (1972)

                                     i.     Grants federal protection to all marine mammals