Terms : Hide Images
| 6833966333 | Agenda 21 | 1992-International-A non-binding, voluntarily implemented action plan of the UN with regards to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. The plan calls for governments to take control of all land use and not leave any of the decision making in the hands of private property owners. It is assumed that people are not good stewards of their land and the government will do a better job if they are in control. | 0 | |
| 6833972090 | Antarctic Treaty - Madrid Protocol | 1991-International-Regulates international relations with respect to Earth's only continent without a native population. It set aside this continent as a scientific preserve. | 1 | |
| 6833981814 | Clean Air Act (CCA) | 1962, 65, 70, 77, 90-Federal law designed to control air pollution on a national level. Set standards for six ("The Six") criteria pollutants: particulates (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO2, N2O), ozone (O3), and lead (Pb). | 2 | |
| 6833989053 | Clean Water Act (CWA) | 1972-Federal law governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters by preventing point and nonpoint pollution sources, improving wastewater treatment, and maintaining wetlands. It is one of the United States' first and most influential modern environmental laws. Does NOT protect drinking water. | 3 | |
| 6833993294 | Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation Liability Act (CERCLA) | 1980-The Superfund law was created to protect people, families, communities and others from heavily contaminated toxic waste sites that have been abandoned. | 4 | |
| 6834006988 | Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) | 1972-Develops safety standards and recalls for products that present unreasonable or substantial risks of injury or death to consumers. | 5 | |
| 6834009832 | Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) | 1973-International-Agreement between governments that aims to ensure that international trading in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. | 6 | |
| 6834021244 | Emergency Planning & Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA) | 1986-Supports emergency planning efforts at state and local levels and provides governments with info concerning potential chemical hazards in their communities. | 7 | |
| 6834023857 | Endangered Species Act (ESA) | 1973, 82, 85, 88-Forbids actions that jeopardize endangered and threatened species; also requires that critical habitat be designated for species. | 8 | |
| 6834029499 | Energy Policy Act | 1992, 2005-Sets goals and creates mandates to increase clean energy use and improve overall energy efficiency; originally focused on using Yucca Mountain to store nation's nuclear waste (never used); amendments of 2005 included tax incentives for renewable energies. | 9 | |
| 6834031327 | Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) | 1938, 54, 58-Set of laws giving authority to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee the safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics. | 10 | |
| 6834040142 | Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) | 1972, 88-Provides federal control of pesticide distribution, sale, and use; EPA was given authority to study the consequences of pesticide usage and require users (i.e. farmers) to register when purchasing pesticides. | 11 | |
| 6834042495 | Federal Water Pollution Control Act | 1948-Created programs for eliminating or reducing the pollution of waters and tributaries and improving the sanitary condition of surface and underground waters; amended to the Clean Water Act in 1972. | 12 | |
| 6834044932 | Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act | 1980-Provides development, revision, and implementation of conservation plans and programs for nongame fish and wildlife. | 13 | |
| 6834049265 | Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) | 1996-Standardized the way the EPA manages the use of pesticides and amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act. It mandated a health-based standard for pesticides used in foods, provided special protections for babies and infants, and established incentives for the creation of safer pesticides. | 14 | |
| 6834058236 | Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC) | 1962-International-Sets rules for the use of the world's oceans. | 15 | |
| 6834061479 | Marine Mammal Protection Act | 1972, 94-Prohibits taking, capturing, or harassing of marine mammals. | 16 | |
| 6834065984 | London Dumping Convention | 1972-International-Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter-Agreement to control pollution of the sea by dumping. | 17 | |
| 6834068608 | Helsinki Convention | 1974, 80-International-Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area-prevent and eliminate pollution in order to promote the ecological restoration of the Baltic Sea Area and the preservation of its ecological balance. | 18 | |
| 6834073505 | Marine Plastic Pollution Research and Control Act | 1987-It applies to ship-generated garbage, and it aims to reduce the amount of garbage, both plastics and other persistent wastes, that ships dump into the oceans. It also prohibits all ships from dumping plastics into the sea. | 19 | |
| 6834084350 | Montreal Protocol | 1987-International-Designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of substances, namely CFCs, responsible for ozone depletion. | 20 | |
| 6834086594 | National Energy Act (NEA) | 1978-Passed in response to the energy crisis of the 1970s-countries were relying heavily on oil and supplies were depleting. The NEA established energy efficiency programs, tax incentives, energy conservation programs, and alternative fuel programs. | 21 | |
| 6834095267 | National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) | 1970-One of the first laws ever written that establishes the national framework for protecting the environment. Assures that all branches of the government consider the environment. | 22 | |
| 6834095268 | National Park Service Organic Act | 1916-The National Park Service was created in the Organic Act of 1916. The new agency's mission as managers of national parks and monuments was clearly stated. "....to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." | 23 | |
| 6834103395 | Nuclear Waste Policy Act | 1982-Established a comprehensive national program for the safe, permanent disposal of highly radioactive wastes. Yucca Mountain in Nevada was proposed as a solution to national radioactive waste; however, this never came to fruition and waste is held at individual nuclear power plants. | 24 | |
| 6834105958 | Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) | 1971-Created to protect workers and health. Its main goal was to ensure that employers provide workers with environment free from dangers to safety and health. | 25 | |
| 6834109557 | Ocean Dumping Ban Act | 1988-Banned ocean dumping of municipal sewage sludge and industrial waste (with limited exceptions). | 26 | |
| 6834111666 | Kyoto Protocol | 1992-International-Assigns mandatory emission limitations for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; the US never ratified; expires in 2020. | 27 | |
| 6834116127 | Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act | 1934-Requires the purchase of a stamp by waterfowl hunters; revenue generated is used for wetland improvement. | 28 | |
| 6834120389 | Oil Pollution Act (OPA) | 1990-Works to prevent oil spills in the U.S.-made after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. States, "a company cannot ship oil into the US until it presents a plan to prevent spills that may occur." | 29 | |
| 6834126428 | Paris Agreement | 2020-International-Brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, with enhanced support to assist developing countries to do so. As such, it charts a new course in the global climate effort. U.S. has signed and ratified, but Trump administration is deciding if we will remain a part of the agreement. | 30 | |
| 6834129883 | Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) | 1990-Created a national policy to have pollution prevented or reduced at the source wherever possible. It focused industry, government, and public attention on reducing the amount of pollution through cost-effective changes in production, operation, and raw materials use. | 31 | |
| 6834131357 | Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) | 1976, 89-Protects public from harm caused by waste disposal; encourages reduce, reuse, recycle; cleans up spilled waste. | 32 | |
| 6834140312 | Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) | 1974, 84, 96-Main federal law that ensures safe drinking water. EPA is allowed to set standards for drinking water quality and oversees all states. | 33 | |
| 6834143886 | Soil and Water Conservation Act | 1977-Provides the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) authority for the conservation, protection, and enhancement of soil, water, and related natural resources. | 34 | |
| 6834146872 | Solid Waste Disposal Act | 1965-The first federal effort to improve waste disposal technology. | 35 | |
| 6834150756 | Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act | 1977-Main federal law that regulates the environmental effects of coal mining: regulates active coal mines and reclaims abandoned mine lands. | 36 | |
| 6834157208 | Toxic Substances Control Act | 1976-Gives EPA the ability to track industrial chemical produced or imported; checks for environmental and health hazards. | 37 | |
| 6834159271 | Wild and Scenic Rivers Act | 1968-Selected rivers are preserved (not the same as a national park). | 38 | |
| 6834161624 | Wilderness Act | 1964-Preserves large expanses of pristine lands. | 39 |
