GEF

Unit 8  |  Government and Sustainability 165 Individuals, organizations, and businesses have essential roles in the transition to sustainability. Governments must also play a leading role, because the scale of challenges is so large and spans borders around the globe. Most sustainability advo- cates look to governments to promote environmental health and social equality. Governments have successfully addressed some man-made causes of environmental concerns, such as acid rain, which is rainfall made so acidic by atmospheric pol- lution that it causes environmental harm and ozone depletion (destruction of the layer of ozone gas in the atmosphere). But, governments have been less successful at promoting compre- hensive sustainability agendas. This unit examines the various roles of government in developing policies that impact an ongoing sustainability solution. THE BIG IDEA UNIT 8 SELF-ASSESSMENT Before beginning this unit, consider what you already know about sustainability by completing this self-assessment. For each statement below, rate your current level of confidence with understanding sustainability concepts. NOT CONFIDENT SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT CONFIDENT I am able to identify three basic avenues of government responses to promoting sustainability, and explain a successful example of government regulation. ❍ ❍ ❍ I am able to explain how Cap and Trade and pollution taxes use economic incentives to address environmental problems. ❍ ❍ ❍ I am able to describe the main challenges that governments have in promoting a comprehensive sustainability agenda. ❍ ❍ ❍ I amable to provide examples of howbusinesses have benefited fromenvironmental regulations. ❍ ❍ ❍