● Throughout the course, it’s become evident that the impact humans have on Earth is major and harmful. The current path we’re walking on is unsustainable; however, people all over the world are fighting for the Earth.
● Policies play a large role in helping to protect the Environment.
○ International policies are harder to enforce than domestic ones, but the UN is taking steps and treaties between countries are being signed.
● In the United States, laws about protecting land weren’t thought of until 1872. Most acts and laws put into place during this time encouraged the use and profit off of land and natural resources.
○ President Theodore Roosevelt is said to have created the Golden Age of Conservation. He applied numerous environmental laws, reserves, conservations and national parks.
● Environmental Protection Agency by Nixon
● Chief of the United States Forest Fires created by Theodore Roosevelt
● Clean Air Act of 1963
● Clean Water Act 1972
● National Environmental Policy Act of 1970
● International Environmental Protection Act of 1983
● Pollution Prevention Act of 1990
● Environmental Education Act of 1990
● Non-governmental organizations, such as Greenplace and Wildlife Fund, help protect the environment too.
● Population Growth
● Water shortages
● Biodiversity loss
● Air and chemical pollution
● Ocean acidification and pollution
● Cap and Trade Policy: provides economic incentives for lowering pollution output.
● Command and control laws: attempt to place limits on the use of resources and species; however, they are hard to enforce due to other variables.
● Green taxes: the idea of putting taxes on activities and actions that harm the environment, such as a pollution tax.
o Taxes can be implemented on consumption rather than taxes on income.
o The goals are to make change, use the funds for restoration, and correct and reduce pollution.
● Market permits: can be bought and then used in exchange of releasing a certain amount of substances into specific environmental outlets.
o This makes it an advantage to reduce pollution output.
● Globalization: the ability to communicate, connect, and travel to other places worldwide.
o Many organizations such as the World Bank and the UN work on a global level.
● Montreal Accord of 1978
● Basel Convention on The Control of the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste of 1992
● Kyoto Protocol of 1997
● Paris Agreement of 2016