ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
TEKS Clarifications
TEKS: 9K—Analyze past and present local, state, and national legislation including Texas automobile emissions regulations,
the National Park Service Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act, and the
Endangered Species Act.
TAKS Objective 3: The student will demonstrate an understanding of the interdependence of the environment.
TEKS/Content Clarifications are summary
Instructional considerations are strategies,
statements that add meaning to content objectives
activities, and ideas for effective instruction
that cover required concepts
that teachers may assign to ensure student
success.
After being taught the objective, students will be able to:
Analyze past and present local, state, and national legislation.
Texas automobile emissions regulations (1973—The Railroad
Commission of Texas (RRC) is the state agency that regulates the oil and
gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum
gas industry, and surface coal and uranium mining. Despite its name, it no
longer regulates railroads.
Established by the Texas Legislature in 1891, it is the state's oldest
regulatory agency and began as part of the Efficiency Movement of the
Progressive Era. From the 1930s to the 1960s it largely set world oil prices,
but was displaced by OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
after 1973. In 1984 the federal government took over transportation
regulation for railroads, trucking and buses, but the Railroad Commission
kept its name. In Texas, the Texas Railroad Commission is responsible for
regulating emissions from LPG-fueled rich burn engines (but not gasolinefueled rich burn engines).
The teacher will assign or guide students through
strategies/activities to reinforce skills and concepts.
Supplemental Science Resources
Glencoe
Websites:
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National Park Service –annotated timeline
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Clean Air Act—annotated timeline
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Clean Water Act—annotated timeline
National Park Service Act (1916) —The National Park Service Act, passed

in 1916, established the National Park Service in the United States. The Park
Service is a part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and its purpose is to
preserve nature for future generations. It was the first agency of this sort in
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the world. The Act was passed because of lack of uniformity and guidelines
in the forming and managing of U.S. national parks.

Clean Air Act (1990)— is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to
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the reduction of airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general.
The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an

improvement in human health and longer life spans. Critics argue it has also
sapped corporate profits and contributed to outsourcing, while defenders
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counter that improved environmental air quality has generated more jobs
than it has eliminated.

Clean Water Act (1972)— The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law in
the United States governing water pollution. Commonly abbreviated as the
CWA, the act established the goals of eliminating releases of high amounts
of toxic substances into water, eliminating additional water pollution by 1985,
and ensuring that surface waters would meet standards necessary for
human sports and recreation by 1983. The Clean Water Act does not directly
address groundwater contamination. Groundwater protection provisions are
included in the Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act, and the Superfund act.
Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act (1977)— appraises the status and
trends of soil, water, and related resources on non-Federal land and assesses their
capability to meet present and future demands, evaluates current and needed
programs, policies, and authorities; and develops a national soil and water
conservation program to give direction to USDA soil and water conservation activities.
Endangered Species Act (1973)—is one of the dozens of United States
environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon
on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from
extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by
adequate concern and conservation." The Act is administered by two federal
agencies, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act—
Summary
Endangered Species Act—annotated timeline
The Antarctic Treaty System
The Montreal Protocol
Ozone Timeline
Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol timeline
ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
TEKS Clarifications