| Endangered Species Act and Land Use Planning |
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| The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was enacted to conserve endangered and threatened species and their ecosystems. Construction and land use are directly impacted by the Act. With respect to construction contracts with the federal government, the Act directs that a biological assessment be made to ensure that no action will be taken that would jeopardize the existence of a threatened or endangered species or would harm their habitat. More... |
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| Environmental Tobacco Smoke |
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| Although early regulation of the tobacco industry in the United States was geared towards limiting advertising and providing warnings of the dangers of smoking, efforts to protect nonsmokers from the hazards of secondhand smoke, which was widely regarded as a form of air pollution rather than a harmless byproduct of personal behavior choice, slowly began to take root. Although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) presently has no authority to regulate secondhand smoke, it considers it an important indoor air pollutant and has made it a significant target of its indoor air quality programs. Because the EPA already ranks indoor air pollution in the top five environmental risks to public health, buildings in which smoking is permitted pose all that more of a hazard to the occupants. More... |
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| Tax Relief for Electric and Clean-Fuel Vehicles |
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| The Energy Policy Act of 1992 ("EPAct") was a comprehensive statute designed to reduce the United States' dependence on foreign oil and reduce air pollution. Among other provisions relating to alternative fuel vehicles, EPAct amended the Internal Revenue Code to provide federal tax relief in the form of tax deductions or credits to individual taxpayers who purchased alternative fuel vehicles. More... |
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| The Great Lakes Regional Collaboration |
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| In May of 2004, President George W. Bush signed Executive Order 13340 establishing a regional collaboration of national significance for the Great Lakes. The order recognized that the Great Lakes, the largest freshwater system in the world, are a "national treasure" that is important to preserve and protect. More... |
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| The London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter |
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| The London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, known simply as the London Convention, was a product of a groundbreaking United Nations conference held on the human environment in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972. The London Convention, also formed in 1972, governs the deliberate dumping of materials into the ocean from vessels, aircraft, and platforms. The London Convention was created in part from a growing recognition that "the capacity of the sea to assimilate wastes and render them harmless, and its ability to regenerate natural resources, is not unlimited." More... |
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