Analysis of the National Environmental Policy Act

Analysis of the National Environmental Policy Act Summary of Laws Purpose: The purpose of the National Environmental Policy Act was to establish recommendations for federal agencies to encourage mitigation and reduction of potential damage to environmental systems from human-environment interactions that prioritized human interest over environmental health (Dept. of Energy, 1969). It was meant to educate federal agencies on how natural systems and ecosystem services are of critical importance (Dept. of Energy, 1969). In addition to the establishment of environmental guidelines, the act also created the Council on Environmental Quality, which made the President accountable to Congress on the welfare and health of the environment. (Dept. of Energy, 1969). Implementation: The law is administered by the Council on Environmental Quality, a federal agency that was established by the law itself (Council on Environmental Quality, n.d.). The Council administers the law through advising on the content of regulations, regulating the implementation of the laws procedures, as well as mediating between the different agencies and governmental bodies that work within the scope of the laws regulations (Council on Environmental Quality, n.d.).. The state government are involved through their branches of various federal agencies but they have no direct influence on the implementation of the law, their actions are subject to federal approval (Council on Environmental Quality, n.d.). The public has little chance to engage in the process beyond the presidential election process, as the Council is under presidential authority (Council on Environmental Quality, n.d.). The primary level of administration therefore is entirely federal, with little outside influence (Council on Environmental Quality, n.d.). The full text of the law can be found at:https://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/nepapub/nepa_documents/RedDont/Req-NEPA.pdf History of the Law This law was enacted in 1970, specifically on January 1, when President Richard Nixon signed it (Council on Environmental Quality, n.d.). Since it passed, the law has been amended several times. The first amendment was in 1975 through Public Law 94-83, which enabled states to write the environmental impact statements required for acquiring federal funding (Quartner, 273). The second amendment was passed later in 1975 as Public Law 94-52, and altered the allowed uses of funds by Council on Environmental Quality (Government Publishing Office, n.d.). Congress Demographics: The Democratic party controlled the chambers of Congress when the NEPA was enacted (US Senate, n.d). However, the Republican party controlled the Presidency (US Senate, n.d).The bill passed by a with a vote of 372 to 15 in the House of Representatives and was voted through the Senate by a unanimous vote (HistoryLink, n.d). Relevant Policy Principles: This law invokes the policy principle of common but differentiated responsibility, or command and control (Connelly, 189). Because it is a command and control based principle that makes it a rights based mechanism (Connelly, 188) This is due to the nature of this law which mandates that the federal government regulates the implementation of environmental policy, but there is a secondary level where the state level agencies also have a level of responsibility to uphold the standards set by the federal law (Connelly, 2012). This multiplicity of responsibility, where multiple parties are responsible, but no responsibility is designated as the superior one, fits in with the idea of this policy principle (Connelly, 2012). The primary strength of this kind of policy is that it prevents a race to the bottom type situation where companies move locations to find the most lenient restrictions (Connelly, 2012). However, in contrast, this policy is weak in that it takes away the opportunity for industries to be motivated towards innovation to avoid penalties (Connelly, 2012). Various Summaries: The National Preservation Institutes summary of the NEPA can be found at: https://www.npi.org/NEPA/what-is. The NPI is a nonprofit that aims to educate the public about cultural heritage (NPI, n.d.) as well as management (NPI, n.d.) and preservation, (NPI, n.d.) and offers seminars to instill this knowledge in its members through multi-day workshops (NPI, n.d.). This summary differs from the EPA summary of the NEPA in that it outlines the two main objectives of the act within federal agencies, whereas the EPA version is more generalized about what the act was intended to accomplish on a more societal level, mentioning industry and commercial operations (NPI, n.d.). The EPAs own summary can be found at https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-national-environmental-policy-act. Works cited: Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) | Department of Energy. Department of Energy, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. https://energy.gov/nepa/council-environmental-quality-ceq. NEPA | National Environmental Policy Act. NEPA | National Environmental Policy Act. Council on Environmental Quality, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. https://ceq.doe.gov/. Senate Historical Office. U.S. Senate: Majority and Minority Leaders and Party Whips. United States Senate, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Majority_Minority_Leaders.htm. Summary of the National Environmental Policy Act. EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, Feb. 2017. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-national-environmental-policy-act. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as Amended. Environmental Impact Statements, Second Edition (1999): n. pag. The Department of Energy. Web. 2017. https://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/nepapub/nepa_documents/RedDont/Req-NEPA.pdf. United States Statutes at Large, Volume 89, 94th Congress, 1st Session. United States Statutes at Large, Volume 89, 94th Congress, 1st Session. Government Publishing Office, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-89. What Is NEPA? What Is NEPA? | National Preservation Institute. National Preservation Institute, 14 June 2011. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. https://www.npi.org/NEPA/what-is. Andrew Quartner, Amending NEPA: State Preparation of Impact Statements, 5 B.C. Envtl. Aff. L. Rev. 271 (1976), http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/ealr/vol5/iss2/5 Connelly, James, ed. Politics and the Environment: From Theory to Practice. 3rd ed. Abingdon, Oxonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯; New York: Routledge, 2012. Kershner, Jim. EPA, the National Environmental Policy Act. Free Encyclopedia of Washington State History, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. http://www.historylink.org/File/9903.

Gcse Geography Paper

GCSE Geography Assessment: ————————————————- Investigate the extent to which Meadowhall could be described as â€Å"environmentally friendly†. By Emma Fitzpatrick 10R Introduction â€Å"Investigate the extent to which Meadowhall can be described as environmentally friendly† The centre was first opened on the 4th September 1990. The 80 acre site was and still is a Brownfield site which means you can build on this land. With a floor area of 1,500,000sq ft, it is the seventh largest shopping centre in the U. K. With over 280 stores, the centre attracted 19. million visitors in its first year of opening, and now attracts about 30 million visitors a year. It took two years to clear the land of waste, and there was 100,000 tonnes of waste from the toxic site by the River Don. The main reason the centre is so successful is because of its location. The centre id locat ed at junction 34 off the motorway-â€Å"The M1 is the lifeline to Meadowhall. † Meadowhall can be extremely busy in the run up to Christmas, and the January sales. There can be up to 140,000 visitors at Christmas just the day after Boxing Day. The reason I have chosen to investigate Meadowhall is because it is local.Analysis-positives Meadowhall is one of the largest out of town shopping centres in the U. K, and it could be described as â€Å"environmentally friendly† because it was the first U. K shopping centre to develop an on-site recycling facility. The recycling centre was opened in 2006 and has been ongoing for the past 6 years. The centre recycles 97% of waste from retailers and customers, with the remaining 3% going to incineration; no waste goes to landfill. The waste is sorted into paper, plastic, cardboard, cans etc. by a conveyor belt system to separate out the different types of waste.Also they have set up lots of initiatives and measures to give people other sustainable transport to get to and from Meadowhall, for example: * Cycling initiatives- including bike-safe training, biker user group for Meadowhall employees (BUG ME) and Dr. Bike; * Free fuel for electric cars; * Personalised travel information for busses, trams and trains; * Adult and family cycle training launched march 2008- offering free training for employees; * The Passenger Transport Interchange. Primary benefits for the staff: * Last year on average 5 employees per month switched to sustainable travel modes.In terms of staff only 20% use a car to drive to work; * 55% of employees use public transport, 16% car share, while 7% cycle, walk or use motorcycles; * In terms of visitors, public transport has increased by over one percentage point while the number of visitors driving indicates a significant level of car sharing at 16%; * 400 staff last year requested a personal travel plan. Secondary benefits: * Helps to aid the reduction of local traffic congestion; * Impr oves access for staff and visitors- more time working and shopping and less time queuing in traffic; * Reduces carbon footprint for staff and visitors.Also Meadowhall has its own public transport interchange, making it the only shopping centre in the U. K that combines a bus, rail and tram interchange as well as making it the centre easily accessible to both the local region and the rest if the country. The â€Å"catchment† area is a one hour drive which covers an area as far as north as Harrogate, south as Leicester, east as Hull and Grimsby and as far west as Manchester. There are approximately 25 million visitors each year. And since the PTI has been added to the centre, it has the best public transport services of any shopping centre in the U. K. lso because most people use the M1 to travel to Meadowhall, it actually saves fuel than going on the back roads through the country side, because if you travel at a constant speed on the M1, you won’t use as much petrol an d it won’t take as long, because on the country roads there usually is a lot of turns and corners which might take longer than just going on a straight road whit very little corners. Also it’s not good for small towns because of the congestion charge. Another positive is that they spent ? 50 million pounds on improvements, bins and air-con. However this is also a negative impact as well.One of the most recognisable positive impacts is the large windows which let’s in a lot of natural light in so in the summer they don’t have thousands of lights on but, they let in a lot of heat as well so they have to use air-con (which can be seen as a negative impact). And in the winter they are helpful because they let heat in so they don’t have to turn on the heaters. Although, when it’s dark/night they turn the lights on the outside of the building on even when Meadowhall isn’t open, so that can be seen as a negative impact too. Also there is a b ore-hole that they use to collect water from beneath the Earth.The water from the bore-hole is collected into a giant master tank. All the storage tanks are connected onto a â€Å"network† which ensures 90-95% of all water used by customers and retailers for flushing toilets is derived from rainwater harvesting or bore-hole water. Meadowhall began harvesting rainwater in 2006. Four giant water storage tanks collect rainwater and condensation from air conditioning. This is then used throughout the shopping centre for cleaning, flushing toilets and watering the external landscape areas. Also the cost of water to Meadowhall has decreased since this movement has been put in place.One of the other positives about the transportation is that they have a free electric car charging port so people can charge their cars. In addition to the cycling initiatives, Meadowhall is encouraging people from Winkobank and Tinsley to either walk or cycle to Meadowhall with the network of paths that have been placed. Also, they encourage more people to use public transport by having cheap deals sold exclusively within the centre for bus, tram and train. Plus only 20% of the staff at Meadowhall uses their car to travel to the centre, and the remaining 80% use other forms of public transport (refer to figure 5. ). Also, more than half of the bags I have collected for my survey about whether shops use bags that can be recycled or could not be recycled(refer to figure 4). Analysis-negatives Furthermore, there are some negative impacts to Meadowhall. For example: * 87% of shoppers travel by car and only 13% by public transport; * They don’t advertise how environmentally friendly Meadowhall is; * They have over 12,000 free car parking spaces which means more people will chose to travel by car; * Although they do have Electric car charging ports, there sn’t any sign posts to tell/show people where they are; * They turn the lights on at night even when it’s not op en,(however they do use low energy light bulbs). Transport Although Meadowhall has plenty of initiatives to try and persuade people to use public transport to go to Meadowhall, only 13% are using it to get to and from Meadowhall. And I think this is because of all the free car parking spaces, so if they charged people to use the car parking spaces, more people might use the bus, train, tram etc to travel to Meadowhall.Also if there were sign posts to show where the electric car charging ports it might encourage more people to use/have an electric car because if every shopping centre had a car charging port they might be able to make more money to make that centre more environmentally friendly. Also the M1 is a negative because most people are using their cars to travel to Meadowhall, than using public transport, which causes more pollution. Refer to figure 6. 3. Windows Even though the windows are very environmentally friendly they do let a lot of heat in which means they turn on th e air-con which uses a lot of energy.Environment Even though Meadowhall has put many initiatives together to make the centre more environmentally friendly they don’t advertise the environmentally friendly it is –internet, TV, and the website. I think that if they did decide to advertise the eco friendly side of Meadowhall, they might encourage other shopping centre’s to do the same thing. And compared to the Trafford centre, Meadowhall doesn’t seem very environmentally friendly. Refer to figure 6. 2. Water ButtAlthough they harvest a lot of rain water and water from the bore-hole, they only use 35% of it, so 65% is wasted. The Trafford Centre The Trafford centre is also environmentally friendly like Meadowhall because they also have many initiatives in place, and hoping to put in place. For example: * They want to divert 100% of the waste from the centre to not got to landfill sites; * To install sensor lights in the corridors, to cut down on wasted energ y; * Switching to LED lighting systems which use a fraction of the power to the older system; * Halving the length of time heir automatic taps run, from 10 seconds to 5 seconds, saving 350,000 litres per year; * Limiting the length of time their Christmas decorations are switched on; * Cutting the amount of time their escalators, plasma screens and lightings are switched on; * Following a greener office policy which encourages all staff to switch off lights and computers that are not needed. Also compared to Meadowhall, the Trafford centre is more environmentally friendly because they advertise how eco friendly they are, and they have put more initiatives in place than Meadowhall to cut down the amount of energy they are using.The Trafford Centre – Recycling Since 2009, the Trafford centre declared its ambition to be the greenest shopping centre in the UK. The environmental services department comprises more than 34% of the Trafford centre’s staff, and each processes m ore than 100 tonnes of waste each week – since October 2010 100% of the overall waste has been diverted from landfill. Currently they recycle a host of materials; these include: * Cardboard; * Scrap metal; * Glass; * Paper; * Magazines; * Food waste; * Plastic bottles; * Coat hangers;Since 2006 they have continuously improved the percentage of waste that has been diverted from landfill. For 2009 hey diverted 58%. For 2010 they diverted 70% and for 2011 they hope to have achieved 85%. The centre was awarded the environmental award at the Trafford Business awards, the centre achieved gold standard in the â€Å"Business Tidy Awards†, and the Sceptre award for Environmental Best Practise. Conclusion In conclusion I would say that Meadowhall can be described as â€Å"environmentally friendly† because since 2006, they have put 6 travel initiatives in place so visitors can use a more sustainable use of transport o get to and from Meadowhall they have their own recyclin g plant, bore-hole, four giant water storage tanks, and they have large bay windows that let in light instead of using thousand of lights. However, there are more things that can be done to make Meadowhall more environmentally friendly is by advertising hoe eco friendly they are, turning the outdoor lights off at night and encouraging more people to use public transport. My Consumer ChoicesUsually I would rather go to Meadowhall than go to my local area (i. e. Town) partly because Meadowhall has a more range of shops like H&M and River Island which my local area doesn’t. I typically buy clothes and bags from Meadowhall because there are more shops which are larger than the ones in my local area, where I typically get school things like school clothes and equipment because there are more school shops in my local area and more stationary shops as well.Normally I either get my parents to take me and bring me back home if I’m only going with one or two friends but if Iâ₠¬â„¢m meeting a group of friends I find it easier to get there by going on the train with them but I think I should try and use the train more because its less pollution than getting one of my parents to take me. I very rarely take my own carrier bags because I most of the time I don’t buy very much. I think by asking my parents to take me has a knock on affect because every time I ask them to take me to Meadowhall I’m increasing the amount of pollution in the air even though I’m not even driving.

Biography of John F. Kennedy Jr.

John F. Kennedy Jr. (November 25, 1960–July 16, 1999), the son of President John F. Kennedy, was considered the heir to one of Americas greatest political dynasties until his death in a plane crash at age 38. In one of the most iconic photographs in American history, the 3-year-old Kennedy is seen saluting his fathers casket three days after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Fast Facts: John F. Kennedy, Jr. Known For: Attorney, journalist, and son of President John F. KennedyBorn: Nov. 25, 1960 in Washington, D.C.Died: July 16, 1999 off the coast of Marthas Vineyard, MassachusettsEducation: Brown University, B.A.; New York University, J.D.Spouse: Carolyn BessetteKey Accomplishments: Criminal prosecutor in New York City, founder and publisher of George magazine, and founder of non-profit Reaching UpFamous Quote: â€Å"People often tell me I could be a great man. Id rather be a good man.† Childhood John F. Kennedy Jr. was born on November 25, 1960—the same month his father, John F. Kennedy, was elected to his first term as president. He became an instant celebrity, despite his parents attempts to give him as normal an upbringing as possible. Despite spending his first few years of life in the White House, however, Kennedy later said that he had lived a pretty normal life. Kennedy was the second of three children born to the Kennedys. His older sister was Caroline Bouvier Kennedy; his younger brother, Patrick, died in 1963, two days after birth. On his third birthday, in 1963, JFK Jr. became the subject of one of the most iconic scenes in American history: standing on a Washington street, wearing a dress coat, saluting his fathers flag-draped coffin as it passed by on a horse-drawn carriage on the way to the Capitol. Kennedys father had been assassinated three days earlier in Dallas, Texas. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images The presidents widow moved the family to the Upper East Side of New York, where JFK Jr. attended a Catholic elementary school. He later attended Collegiate School for Boys in New York and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Meanwhile, much of the American public waited for the young Kennedy to join the political world that had already been shaped by his family. Careers in Law and Journalism JFK Jr. graduated Brown University in 1983 with a degree in American history. He then attended law school at New York University, graduating in 1989. Many considered his law degree a precursor to a political career, but JFK Jr. instead went to work in the Manhattan district attorneys office for four years. In 1995, Kennedy launched a magazine, George, which blended celebrity and public affairs. The magazine was meant to be a mass-market political journal, or, as one of its editors explained, a political magazine for Americans turned off by political magazines. Kennedy wrote and served as editor-in-chief for George. Its publication ended in 2001, after Kennedys death. Marriage to Carolyn Bessette In 1996, JFK Jr. arranged a secretive wedding to Carolyn Bessette, a fashion publicist. The couple went to extraordinary lengths to conceal their nuptials from the public. The wedding was held on an island 20 miles off the coast of Georgia; they chose that particular island in part because it had no access by road or telephone, and almost no lodging. The public learned of their marriage a week after it happened. The couple had no children. Death On July 16, 1999, Kennedy was piloting a small single-engine airplane headed towards Marthas Vineyard, with his wife and her sister onboard. The plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. The bodies of the three crash victims were found off the coast of Marthas Vineyard five days later, on July 21. One year later, in 2000, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled the crash an accident caused by Kennedys failure to maintain control of the airplane during a descent over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation. The government agency said haze and darkness were factors in the crash. Legacy Kennedy was raised to abide by a scriptural passage found in Luke 12:48: Of those to whom much is given, much is required. It was in that spirit that, in 1989, he founded a nonprofit called Reaching Up, which helps low-wage health and human-services professionals attain higher education, training, and career advancement. Reaching Up continues to help students pay for tuition, books, transportation, child care, and other education costs. Sources Blow, Richard. American Son: A Portrait of John F. Kennedy, Jr. Henry Holt Co., 2002.Grunwald, Michael. â€Å"JFK Jr. Feared Dead in Plane Crash.†Ã‚  The Washington Post, WP Company, 18 July 1999, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/jfkjr/stories/kennedy071899.htm.Seelye, Katharine Q. â€Å"John F. Kennedy Jr., Heir To a Formidable Dynasty.†Ã‚  The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 July 1999, www.nytimes.com/1999/07/19/us/john-f-kennedy-jr-heir-to-a-formidable-dynasty.html.

J. Robert Oppenheimer, Manhattan Project Director

J. Robert Oppenheimer (April 22, 1904–February 18, 1967) was a physicist and the director of the Manhattan Project, the United States effort during World War II to create an atomic bomb. Oppenheimers struggle after the war with the morality of building such a destructive weapon epitomized the moral dilemma that faced scientists who worked to create the atomic and hydrogen bombs. Fast Facts: Robert J. Oppenheimer Known For: Leader of the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bombAlso Known As: Father of the Atomic BombBorn: April 22, 1904 in New York City,  New YorkParents: Julius Oppenheimer, Ella FriedmanDied: February 18, 1967 in Princeton, New JerseyEducation: Harvard College, Christs College, Cambridge, University of Gà ¶ttingenPublished Works:  Science and the Common Understanding, The Open Mind, The Flying Trapeze: Three Crises for PhysicistsAwards and Honors:  Enrico Fermi Award  Spouse: Katherine Kitty PueningChildren: Peter, KatherineNotable Quote: If atomic bombs are to be added as new weapons to the arsenals of a warring world, or to the arsenals of the nations preparing for war, then the time will come when mankind will curse the names of Los Alamos and Hiroshima. The people of this world must unite or they will perish. Early Life Julius Robert Oppenheimer was born in New York City on April 22, 1904, to Ella Friedman, an artist, and Julius S. Oppenheimer, a textile merchant. The Oppenheimers were German-Jewish immigrants but did not keep religious traditions. Oppenheimer attended the Ethical Culture School in New York. Although J. Robert Oppenheimer easily grasped both the sciences and humanities (and was especially good at languages), he graduated from Harvard in 1925 with a degree in chemistry. Oppenheimer continued his studies and graduated from the University of Gottingen in Germany with a Ph.D. After earning his doctorate, Oppenheimer traveled back to the U.S. and taught physics at the University of California at Berkeley. He became well known for being both a well-regarded teacher and a research physicist—not a common combination. In 1940, Oppenheimer married Katherine Peuning Harrison and their eldest child was born. Harrison, a radical student at Berkeley, was one of many communists in Oppenheimers circle of friends. The Manhattan Project During the beginning of World War II, news arrived in the U.S. that the Nazis were progressing toward the creation of an atomic bomb. Though the Americans were already behind, they believed they could not allow the Nazis to build such a powerful weapon first. In June 1942, Oppenheimer was appointed the director of the Manhattan Project, Americas team of scientists that would work to create an atomic bomb. Oppenheimer threw himself into the project and proved himself not only a brilliant scientist but also an exceptional administrator. He brought the best scientists in the country together at the research facility at Los Alamos, New Mexico. After three years of research, problem-solving,  and original ideas, the first small atomic device was exploded on July 16, 1945, in the lab at Los Alamos. Having proved their concept worked, a larger scale bomb was built and exploded at the Trinity site. Less than a month later, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. A Problem With His Conscience The massive destruction the bombs inflicted troubled Oppenheimer. He had been so caught up in the challenge of creating something new and the competition between the U.S. and Germany that he—and many of the other scientists working on the project—had not considered the human toll that would be caused by these bombs. After the end of World War II, Oppenheimer began to voice his opposition to creating more atomic bombs and specifically opposed developing a more powerful bomb using hydrogen, known as a hydrogen bomb. Unfortunately, his opposition to the development of these bombs caused the United States Atomic Energy Commission to examine his loyalty and questioned his ties to the Communist Party in the 1930s. The Commission decided to revoke Oppenheimers security clearance in 1954. Award From 1947 to 1966, Oppenheimer worked as the director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. In 1963, the Atomic Energy Commission recognized Oppenheimers role in the development of atomic research and awarded him the prestigious Enrico Fermi Award. Death Oppenheimer spent his remaining years researching physics and examining the moral dilemmas related to scientists. Oppenheimer died in 1967 at age 62 from throat cancer. Legacy The invention of the atomic bomb had a profound impact on the outcome of World War II and on the ensuing Cold War and arms race. Oppenheimers personal ethical dilemma has become the focus of myriad books and several plays, including In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Sources â€Å"J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904 - 1967).†Ã‚  Atomic Archive.â€Å"J. Robert Oppenheimer.†Ã‚  Atomic Heritage Foundation, 22 Apr 1904.â€Å"J. Robert Oppenheimer.†Ã‚  United States History.