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Questions tagged [environmental-policy]

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Policy affecting the Environment, or the ability to sustain an Ecosystem.

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2
votes
1answer
29 views

Why aren't we seeing carbon taxes in practice?

(I originally posed this question under economics -- https://economics.stackexchange.com/questions/33267/why-arent-we-seeing-carbon-taxes-in-practice -- where the consensus seems to be that in ...
10
votes
2answers
236 views

How do the “save the bees” popular initiatives in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg differ?

A popular initiative for biodiversity in Bavaria was signed by 18.3% of the eligible population. The minister-president from the conservative CSU supported the proposal and accepted it in its ...
15
votes
1answer
354 views

Trump is revoking California's Clean Air Act exemption. Does this automatically affect the 13 other states that use California's standards?

President Trump is reported to be revoking California's Clean Air Act exemption. Trump tweeted on September 18, 2019 that he was doing so. Since 1970, California has restricted automobile emissions ...
5
votes
1answer
195 views

Why would China restrict the imports of plastics for recycling?

In the past couple of years, China has triggered a crisis in recycling programs worldwide by changing their import laws: Historically, the U.S. has shipped about half of its scrap plastic and ...
7
votes
1answer
296 views

What's the difference between AOC's Green New Deal and Sanders' Green New Deal?

Both Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders have revealed a sweeping plan to inact environmental policies that would, among other things, attempt to slow the progress of ...
4
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2answers
363 views

Why is neither methane nor fracking mentioned in the Green New Deal?

Background The Green New Deal cites the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 ºC in the first paragraph establishing the issues and effects of the current, and likely future, of global warming. ...
-11
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1answer
254 views

Why are governments spending so much resources on fighting forest fires? [closed]

It has been recently reported that: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (July 31) called in the military to fight forest fires that have been raging across vast expanses of Siberia for ...
-1
votes
1answer
192 views

Why can we have human rights declared by ECHR but no environmental “rights”?

I have recently read that in the European Union where I live, plastic in biowaste is a huge concern because when supermarkets get rid of fruits and vegetables which are packed in plastic it is "too ...
46
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9answers
12k views

What is the fundamental difference between catching whales and hunting other animals?

I read this article and it seems like activists from cultures without a long history of whaling are inconsistent in their criticism of Japan for its whaling. Many cultural cuisines like rabbits, cows,...
12
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2answers
784 views

How does the EU Emissions Trading Scheme account for increased emissions outside the EU?

If a third country (say China) is not beholden to the same emissions trading scheme, market forces should push steel production into the countries where costly emissions credits are not needed and ...
1
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1answer
78 views

Governmental emission reduction targets and carbon offsets

Multiple states within the United States and other counties have emissions reduction targets. This morning, I listened to a story where the university of California San Francisco achieved their carbon ...
0
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2answers
83 views

Comparative Environmental Policy/ Executive Orders

For a paper, I am currently trying to compare Executive Orders by Trump within the first year of his presidency and Bush's first year of his first presidency concerning environmental issues. My ...
4
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0answers
201 views

Are farmers in the Great Plains aware of the Dust Bowl? [closed]

I'm curious if farmers in the Great Plains are aware today of the history of the Dust Bowl, including its causes. Are there any surveys or polls on the matter among farmers, like there are (also among ...
75
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13answers
20k views

Why does the Green New Deal push for green energy but not for nuclear energy?

It seems strange to me that that the new green deal wants clean and renewable power from solar and wind energy yet oppose nuclear energy. I have been googling experts’ consensus on nuclear energy and ...
2
votes
2answers
166 views

Government collects environmental protection charges. Why?

I am reading up on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs). I have learned that for every project an EIA is to be done after a careful assessment which includes screening, scoping, impact prediction, ...
29
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4answers
4k views

How would a libertarian model address widely spread negative externalities (such as CFCs)?

I understand the concept in libertarianism that if corporation A dumps toxic waste in a river and downstream of this river corporation B bottles this water for consumption, that corporation B has had ...
1
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2answers
159 views

Public policy for air pollution in India

Pollution in New Delhi is constantly on national headlines. The last piece of legislation done relating to air pollution, as far as I could tell was in 1980. If I am not wrong, the ministry ...
3
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1answer
124 views

Does the U.S. House of Representatives have the power to block drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)?

In December 2017, a U.S. federal law opened part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska to oil and gas mining (see article by Randy Showstack, 27 November 2018, EOS). This decision ...
8
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5answers
735 views

Reasons given by free market advocates against a carbon tax?

I see people who like free markets have two main reasons why: one due to the efficiency, the other due to the freedom, or a combination of both. For the people who value efficiency, why not support a ...
9
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1answer
126 views

Who has pressed for the “2020 global sulphur limit”

In 2020 the maximum allowable sulfur limit in marine fuels will be only 0.5 %, compared to 3.5 % now. This will probably lead to pains in the industry, because the world's refineries haven't extended ...
1
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4answers
398 views

How would a privatized society deal with disputes over flows of air and water? [closed]

In a society based around private property rights, original appropriation, with no state, are there any proposed methods for dealing with disputes that involve flows of air and water? (So "Muh EPA!" ...
37
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12answers
16k views

Why is there so much focus on producing less CO₂ rather than investing in technology to recycle it?

There are endless debates about climate change and CO2 reduction. The US decided to withdraw from the Paris agreement, although there are no legally binding requirements. Also, this article argues ...
7
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1answer
112 views

Is there a US national plan for increasing renewable energy sources?

According to Wikipedia, there was a plan called New Energy for America: New Energy for America was a plan led by Barack Obama and Joe Biden to invest in renewable energy sources, reduce reliance ...
6
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1answer
185 views

Why was Grand Staircase-Escalante never upgraded from a Monument to a Park?

Historically many U.S. national monuments were upgraded to national parks after a few years, e.g. Grand Canyon (monument 1908, park 1919), Jackson Hole (monument 1943, park 1950) or Glacier Bay (...
-1
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1answer
110 views

Are electric cars powered by coal-based electricity any benefit? [closed]

Are there any viable alternative fuel sources other than (dirty) coal, that would make electric cars really that much cleaner? Heard a report that countries around the world are setting deadlines ...
4
votes
1answer
168 views

Was Germany's decision about Glyphosat in November 2017 relevant?

I see in the news that Germany's Minister of Food and Agriculture Christian Schmidt voted with yes for Glyphosat, although he should have abstained, because of a dissent in the grand coalition. My ...
2
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0answers
147 views

What is the Swachh Bharat Mission doing to reduce pollution in India? [closed]

Does the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) have any solution to India's problem of pollution? The primary focus seems to be on building isolated toilet complexes or units in rural areas. ...
4
votes
4answers
559 views

Is there a global agreement for plastic pollution reduction?

According to this article ocean plastic pollution is rising quite fast and the estimated mass will reach total fish biomass, if current trend sustains. Also, plastic pollution seems to be more subtle, ...
1
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0answers
104 views

Government policy to incentivise third party investment

What reasonable policies could governments implement to incentivise NGOs and economic consulting firms to invest in national reserve conservation? More specifically I want to know about how mining ...
32
votes
8answers
11k views

Why is the U.S. still dependent on fossil fuels?

There is a finite amount of fossil fuels in the earth, and yet the U.S. is still highly dependent on them. At some point, things will have to change. Renewable energy technologies are getting more ...
4
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4answers
1k views

Why do people believe that efforts against climate change are futile even though they accept that the climate is changing? [closed]

Some people believe that climate change is happening because of humans, and some believe it is based on nature. What I don't understand is why the people who believe that it is caused by nature are so ...
0
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2answers
514 views

What does Trump aim to achieve with the energy independence executive order?

So, Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday (28/03/2017): Presidential Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth As far as I can tell the executive order: Rescinds ...
17
votes
2answers
2k views

What are repercussions for the US if they fail to meet the target set out in the Paris agreement?

This article claims that the repeal of climate rules under the Trump administration will put the US on track to miss the target set out in the Paris agreement. Whether the U.S. meets its emissions-...
7
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2answers
535 views

How is it that the USACE found there will be no significant environmental impact of DAPL?

On July 25th 2016, the US Army Corps of Engineers found that the Dakota Access Pipeline running under lake Oahe / the Missoury River will have "No Significant Impact" following an environmental impact ...