22) Juanita and Sam attend a beach party and notice that much more trash has washed up on the
beach than what used to wash up when they were young. The water doesn’t appear nearly as
clear, and there seems to be fewer small water creatures living in the shallows. An afternoon at
the local library convinces them that one major cause of this change is the new factory nearby.
After some discussion, they decide their next step should be ________.
A) identifying the problem
B) identifying the cause of the changes
C) talking to a local environmental group about solutions
D) lobbying their elected representatives to complain about the problem
E) picketing the guilty factory
23) The entire environmental policy process ________.
A) includes more steps than the average citizen is able to accomplish alone
B) can be accomplished by anyone acting alone
C) is accessible only to wealthy individuals
D) can be completed only by the major political parties
E) can be completed only by paid political lobbyists
24) The World Bank was established in 1944 to ________.
A) provide ease of banking for multinational corporations
B) fund economic development for all countries, rich and poor, including dams and irrigation in
the poorest countries, for the poorest peoples
C) fund international projects for developed nations, including dams on international rivers,
multicountry irrigation projects, and the spraying of herbicides and insecticides
D) fund international environmental studies of issues such as pollution and global warming
E) help weak governments by loaning money to heads of state for spending on their preferred
goals
25) Critics of the World Trade Organization ________.
A) charge that it gives too much money to environmental causes
B) complain that it frequently worsens environmental problems
C) complain that it shapes environmental policy by establishing unfair international laws
D) say that the international taxes that it regulates are burdensome to smaller countries
E) charge that the WTO’s subsidy policies unfairly target poor people
26) As society becomes more affluent, which of the environmental qualities tend to improve
first?
A) biodiverstity
B) access to clean water
C) reduced waste generation
D) reduced carbon emissions
E) air quality
27) “Free riders” ________.
A) use economic externalities to their advantage
B) are a necessary element in neoclassical economics
C) is a name that cyclists use to self-identify
D) are a problem that occur when solutions to environmental issues are based on voluntary
measures
E) are a problem in public transportation
22.5 True/False Questions
1) The OPEC countries, by being affluent and already having a very hot climate, are in the
forefront of the efforts to avert climate change.
2) Historically, Canada has always followed the lead of other countries in creating and enforcing
environmental laws.
3) Regulation of pesticide use is the sole domain of the federal level of government.
4) Earth Day began as a local Canadian event, but now is a worldwide celebration of
environmental protection.
5) In some countries, marketable emissions permits can be bought, sold, and traded among
polluters, allowing industry to manage who is allowed to pollute.
6) A House of Commons bill affecting environmental policy would be introduced by a
government agency such as CEPA.
7) Lake Erie has recovered from the worst of its pollution.
22.6 Essay Questions
1) What is the main goal of environmental policy? How does environmental policy address the
tragedy of the commons and externalities (concepts that were discussed in earlier chapters)?
2) Was the 1992 Canadian Environmental Assessment Act effective? Why? In 2012, changes to
this act brought in strict time limits for environmental impact assessments, leaving it to the
discretion of the authority to decide which members of the public can and cannot attend the
proceedings, and, whenever possible, downloading the responsibility for the assessment to the
provinces. What is the significance of the 2012 changes?
3) How does the 1985 Fisheries Act protect the environment? In 2012, the act changed,
removing habitat protection from all but economically important fish species. Apply the
knowledge you gained from earlier chapters to predict what the 2012 changes to this act will do
to the act’s effectiveness.
4) Define and discuss the command-and-control and the market-based approaches to reducing
environmental impacts.
5) Discuss the relationship between politics and science in the context of environmental policies.
6) The Tijuana River watershed demonstrated a transboundary problem. Explain what this means
and then discuss the organizations that oversee international environmental law. This law can be
conventional or customary. How do these two types of law differ?
7) Compare marketable emission permits and green taxes. What are the pros and cons of both?
8) What is a subsidy? Describe the role of subsidies in natural resource management in Canada.
Give examples.
22.7 Scenario-Based Questions
Read the following scenario and answer the questions below.
Canadian wetlands provide a multitude of ecological, economic, and social benefits. They
provide habitat for many organisms and are nurseries for many saltwater and freshwater fishes
and shellfish. Wetlands also hold and slowly release floodwater and snow melt, recharge
groundwater, act as cleansing filters, recycle nutrients, and provide recreation. As of 2004,
Canada had 1.2 million square kilometres of wetlands or 14% of its total land mass. This is also
14% of the wetlands in the world. Since the European discovery, it has lost over 24 million
hectares of wetlands to agriculture or urbanization. Nearly 15% of the loss is due to urban
development, with the rest being due to agriculture and silviculture (predominantly logging).
Southwestern Ontario experienced the greatest loss. Wetlands near urban areas were drained and
became the sites for houses and later businesses. Environment Canada is charged with
administering these areas and overseeing the implementation of the Canadian Wildlife Act, the
Migratory Birds Act, and the Species at Risk Act. These acts and Environment Canada work to
restore wetlands and their animal inhabitants and to prevent the loss of existing wetlands where
possible or feasible. However, under the controversial changes to the Fisheries Act introduced by
the Conservative government in 2012, wetlands and small rivers without species that can be
viably fished will no longer be protected by federal regulation and enforcement. This move was
sharply criticized by the scientific community and even by past Conservative fisheries ministers.
1) In Canada, wetlands are primarily considered to ________.
A) be important because they provide many valuable ecosystem services
B) be useful to develop for economic purposes
C) be important only for recreational purposes
D) belong to the owner of the private property, to be developed or not by the owner
E) be useful for fisheries
2) Wetlands in Canada ________.
A) increased because of vigorous wetland restoration projects
B) increased because of natural causes, such as floods and hurricanes
C) decreased because of natural causes, such as floods and hurricanes
D) decreased because of human development
E) stayed about the same over the past 40 years
3) There has been legislation designed to encourage protection of wetlands, ________.
A) and there has been increased funding to implement the proposals
B) and funding levels for implementation of proposals has been steady
C) but the 2012 changes reversed this trend
D) however, funding for proposals is nonexistent
E) and a system of green taxes is in place to fund the needed work
4) Wetlands ________.
A) globally have a total area similar to that of Canada’s landmass
B) globally have a total area similar to 14% of Canada‘s landmass
C) in Canada will have the same protection as they had before the 2012 changes to legislation
D) in Canada are no longer being destroyed
E) are no longer a critical habitat to many birds, because they can easily adapt to the conversion
of wetlands to farmland or to cities
5) Many of the species in the wetlands are endangered; these species would come under the
________.
A) Accommodation Act
B) Preservation Act
C) Health Act
D) PHAC
E) Species at Risk Act
6) The loss of wetlands was most pronounced in Southern Ontario because of ________.
A) climate changes
B) a drop in the level of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario
C) a large increase in agricultural land
D) a large increase in the population needing more land on which to build
E) the droughts that plagued this area since the Europeans came
7) Today, a loss of 24 million hectares of wetlands in Canada would be unthinkable because
________.
A) conservation acts and political pressure from outraged citizens would prevent this from
happening
B) we have not had a drought for a long time
C) Lake Ontario is not dropping very much any more
D) there is no longer enough fill to eliminate that amount of wetlands
E) too many birds would live in the cities once occupied by the wetlands, creating health hazards