Answer to Question 1
An ideal response will:
1. Explain that the Minerals Management Service (MMS) within the Department of the Interior was responsible for implementing federal laws regulating oil and gas drilling and for setting safety standards for offshore drilling, but it granted permits that allowed the oil industry to extract as much oil as possible, which led to BP rushing to start pumping oil too soon.
2. Identify how Obama overhauled the MMS by breaking it into two new agencies, one for assuring safety and the other for granting permits; accepted the resignation of the political appointee heading MMS and gave the U.S. Coast Guard authority to supervise BP's efforts to stop the spill; appointed a special commission to investigate the disaster; and promised a new era of accountability in government oversight of the oil industry.
Answer to Question 2
An ideal response will:
1. Define the issue-attention cycle as the movement of public opinion from interest and enthusiasm in public policies to address a problem to a decline in interest and enthusiasm when there are competing concerns or the public begins to realize the costs involved in a solution to the problem.
2. Identify that public opinion on global warming has waned in recent years as problems with the economy have taken precedence.
3. Detail how the costs of solutions have discouraged interest from the public; for instance, the new restrictions on carbon emissions from power plants approved in 2012 may help global warming but may also increase the cost of electricity and further weaken the economy.
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