1. ASHFORD POL 310 All Discussion Questions
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Environmental Values & Policy. Identify an environmental amenity from the
following list:
a. Clean air
b. Earth’s climate
c. Ocean health
d. Wilderness areas
e. Endangered species
f. Clean drinking water
g. Old growth forests
Look at Figure 1.1 in Chapter One of Environmental Policies. Identify the different
values associated with that amenity. Then, identify a policy tension between the
amenity that you choose and a threat to that amenity. For example, clean air is
threatened by economic interests that pollute the air (e.g., industries that do not
use “green” technology when emitting pollution, automobiles, large-scale confined
feeding animal operations, etc.); wilderness areas are threatened by gas and oil
interests, pressures to build roads in roadless areas, etc. Also, discuss the ways
that different worldviews (e.g., biocentricism, anthropocentrism) play into the
controversy surrounding the issue. In your opinion, have lawmakers adequately
protected the value of the environmental amenity? Why or why not? Which
worldview is present in your response to part E of this question?
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with
examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly
cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Do you agree with your classmates’ assessments regarding whether lawmakers
have adequately protected the value of the environmental amenity identified in
their postings? Why or why not?
Common Pool Resources – Privatization or Collective Action. Identify two
common pool resources from the list below, one that seems to be best managed
by privatization and another that seems to be best managed through collective
action.

2. a. International fisheries
b. Aquifers
c. Forests
d. Atmosphere
e. Oil
f. Herds of elephants
g. Ocean floor mineral deposits in international waters
Why does privatization work better for one, while collective action works better for
the other?
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with
examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly
cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Do you agree with your classmates’ assessments regarding whether privatization
or collective action is the best choice for the common pool resources that they
identified? Why or why not?
Climate Change. Choose one of the following scientific organizations and review
the research on climate change. Cite three specific facts that you learn about
climate change. Does this information agree with what your local news station or
newspaper is saying? Why or why not? Explain?
To what degree do you believe that individual activities – say, choosing to walk to
work instead of driving – can have a measurable impact on a changing climate?
Why? How do you think that scientific, political, ethical, social, and/or cultural
perspectives have shaped your beliefs on this matter? Use the following required
links:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration – Climate Change: How Do We
Know?
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – About
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – Reports
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with
examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly
cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Compare and contrast your classmates’ response relating to whether an
individual’s activities can have a measurable impact on a changing climate with

3. your own beliefs. How are the forces that have shaped your classmates’ beliefs
different from your own? How are they the same?
Air Quality. Research and report (describe) what efforts are in place to manage
air quality in your town and state. Remember to consider emissions testing
regulations, air quality index use, and other components of air quality
management. Which institutions, laws and regulations exist to manage air quality
in your town and state? These may be local, state, or federal laws, regulations
and institutions.
Consider the things you do in your everyday life that might contribute to air quality
problems. How did you first become aware that your activities might contribute to
air quality problems? Did you (or have you) done anything to alter your activities,
so that your contribution to air quality problems is minimized?
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with
examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly
cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Compare and contrast your classmates’ responses relating to the things they do
in their everyday lives that might contribute to air quality problems with your own
activities related to this matter. Are they the same? Are they different? Which
laws, regulations, or institutions have influenced your activities differently than
your classmates and their activities? Which laws, regulations, or institutions have
influenced your activities in a similar manner?
Clean Water. From a policy-making perspective, compare the challenges
associated with addressing water quantity versus water quality issues. Which is
the more challenging problem to address by policy process? Discuss the
limitations of the Clean Water Act in addressing both water quantity and water
quality. Besides the Clean Water Act, which other policy mechanisms or
regulatory measures can be implemented to address water quality and water
quantity challenges? Do you think that policymaking can legitimately differ based
upon social, cultural, or geographical perspectives, or do you think that there is
one “right way” to approach environmental problems through policy and
regulation?
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with
examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly
cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Compare and contrast your classmates’ response relating to which policy
mechanisms or regulatory measures can be implemented to address water
quality and water quantity challenges with your own assessment of this issue. Do
you think similarities or differences reflect similar or different perspectives from a
social, cultural, or geographical perspective?
Energy. Identify three different renewable energy sources. Compare those
sources from a policy and regulatory perspective to determine which of those

4. sources will become the most significant source for renewable energy in 50
years. Explain why your choice will be the most significant renewable energy
source. How do specific demands for energy (e.g., transportation, heating,
electricity) affect your choice? From a policy and regulatory perspective, what do
you think has to happen in order to make your choice a reality in 50 years?
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with
examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly
cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Compare and contrast your classmates’ response relating to which renewable
energy source they believe will be the most significant source for renewable
energy in 50 years with your own thoughts on this issue. Have you focused on the
same or different energy demands when formulating your responses? How does
choice of focus for energy demands affect the answer to this question?
Land Management Policies and Habitat. Consider land management agencies,
and their associated statutes and policies in the USA. How do land management
agencies, and their associated statutes and policies protect habitat, even if
habitat protection is not their primary concern? Specifically compare the National
Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management
when answering this question.
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with
examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly
cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Compare and contrast your classmates’ response relating to land management
agencies’ roles in protecting habitat with your own. What points did you
classmates raise that you did not consider? What points did you consider that are
not reflected in your classmates’ postings?
Biodiversity, Extinction, and Making Choices in Policy. Some people argue
that since extinctions have always taken place, they should be considered a
natural process and that the current extinction rates are not a matter of concern.
Others point out that the preservation of biodiversity is essential to the
continuation of life on Earth and that human actions have greatly accelerated the
extinction rate. Should the policy process take into consideration all competing
positions – even when those positions would result in opposite policy outcomes –
when creating policy? Why or why not? If positions that resulted in opposite policy
outcomes were reflected in our laws and policies, would those policies and laws
be effective? Whyorwhynot?
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with
examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly
cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Do you agree with your classmates’ assessment of the effectiveness of laws and
policies that reflect opposite positions on the matter? Whyorwhynot?

5. Hazardous Waste and International Environmental Policy. Consider the
problem of the exportation of hazardous waste, such as e-waste, from wealthy
countries to poor countries. How can domestic policy address this issue, when
domestic policy applies to domestic issues, rather than being capable of
governing other lands? What are the limitations of domestic policymaking as they
relate to global environmental problems, and in particular, the problem of
exporting hazardous waste? What can individual people do to influence
policymaking in this context?
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with
examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly
cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Compare and contrast your classmates’ response relating to what individual
people can do to influence policymaking in the global or international context with
your own.
Hazardous Waste and International Environmental Policy. Consider the
problem of the exportation of hazardous waste, such as e-waste, from wealthy
countries to poor countries. How can domestic policy address this issue, when
domestic policy applies to domestic issues, rather than being capable of
governing other lands? What are the limitations of domestic policymaking as they
relate to global environmental problems, and in particular, the problem of
exporting hazardous waste? What can individual people do to influence
policymaking in this context?
Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with
examples from required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly
cite any references. Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7.
Compare and contrast your classmates’ response relating to what individual
people can do to influence policymaking in the global or international context with
your own.