Deck 16: Living on the Planet: Environment, Disaster, and Risk

Question 1

One reason why hurricanes have been increasingly dangerous is because more people live in areas where they hit. Another is that

A) they are more powerful
B) they are less powerful, so people take them less seriously and are less likely to evacuate in advance of them
C) more people have lived through previous hurricanes and erroneously believe that they can live through future ones, regardless of intensity
D) our weather forecasting techniques and technologies are less accurate than before

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which 2017 hurricane destroyed more than 100,000 homes in Houston, Texas?

A) Hurricane Harvey
B) Hurricane Maria
C) Hurricane Agnes
D) Superstorm Sandy

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which U.S. island saw nearly one-third of its homes destroyed in 2017's Hurricane Maria?

A) Puerto Rico
B) Three Mile Island
C) Hawai'i
D) Hatteras Island

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The idea that the choices we make to live in a modern society-one with technological advances and the changes in social relationships that make them possible-create dangers for us is central to

A) The Environment: From Surplus to Scarcity by Allan Schnaiberg
B) Risk Society by Ulrich Beck
C) An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary featuring Al Gore
D) The Politics of Climate Change by Anthony Giddens

Question 5

Living in a risk society means that people

A) make rational choices about danger
B) are equally able to influence policy decisions that impact their lives
C) cannot protect themselves from risk-produced crisis
D) must be personally responsible for their own safety

Question 6

Can you ever escape a risk society?

A) Yes, by living "off grid"-away from the social relationships that increase your risk of harm.
B) Yes, by working together with others to eliminate all risk.
C) No, but you can radically reduce it by disengaging from risky activities like smoking or driving.
D) No, because new risks emerge with new technologies, business practices, and political policies.

Question 7

Ecological modernization theory says that people will develop sustainable practices to lower environmental risk as

A) expert knowledge becomes more available and people's consciousness is raised
B) they personally come to know someone hurt by climate change
C) they see their financial investments negatively impacted by environmental disasters
D) journalistic coverage of the international crises produced by climate change increases

Question 8

According to Ulrich Beck, the increasing number of environmental crises

A) diminishes trust among community members as they blame each other for the lack of disaster preparation in a community
B) increases trust among community members as they support each other in times of dire trouble
C) diminishes trust in government as people see that their political leaders are incapable of or unwilling to address the root problems of environmental degradation
D) increases trust in government as people see tax money being used for helping others in the most urgent of situations

Question 9

Societies today face ______________________ than previous generations.

A) more risks but with fewer negative impacts
B) fewer but more dangerous risks
C) less frequent and less dangerous risks
D) greater risks of great negative impact

Question 10

You are a member of your city's disaster preparedness team preparing for a hurricane to make landfall. While you will be thinking about each of the questions below, which one reflects risk management thinking?

A) What reasons do people give for failing to follow evacuation orders?
B) What is the proper pay rate for emergency first responders during a crisis?
C) Is it safer to release low-level offenders from prison so that they can evacuate themselves or to keep them in the city jail with few guards, increasing the chance of violence within the jail, including against guards?
D) How many gallons of clean drinking water should each home have on stock?

Question 11

We struggle to act on climate change because we are preoccupied with the urgent but less important work of everyday life and cannot easily see how the abstract but looming problem of environmental disaster is a major concern, is the argument made in

A) The Environment: From Surplus to Scarcity by Allan Schnaiberg
B) Risk Society by Ulrich Beck
C) An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary featuring Al Gore
D) The Politics of Climate Change by Anthony Giddens

Question 12

According to research on why people resist acting to protect the environment, people are more likely to change their habits if they

A) are lectured by someone they see as an expert
B) are scolded by political leaders
C) have a good understanding of the technical and scientific aspects of climate change
D) learn about the environment in ways that are connected to their other socialization and cultural experiences

Question 13

Climate change is a huge threat to human existence, and yet most people cannot see that because they are busy living their lives. This is termed

A) Gidden's Law
B) Gidden's Principle
C) Gidden's Maxim
D) Gidden's Paradox

Question 14

For people to act on climate change, they need to

A) be willing to ignore their own environmentally damaging behaviors so that they are not overwhelmed by shame
B) understand the science behind it
C) believe that their actions matter
D) first give up all hope

Question 15

Which 2006 documentary featuring Al Gore won an Academy Award for its argument that people must act to prevent climate disaster?

A) The Environment: From Surplus to Scarcity
B) Risk Society
C) An Inconvenient Truth
D) The Politics of Climate Change

Question 16

According to Philip Smith and Nicholas Howe, former vice-president Al Gore has been a successful spokesperson for addressing climate change because he

A) compellingly communicates his own story of developing an environmental consciousness
B) is a trained scientist with a PhD in environmental science
C) uses religious, not scientific, appeals
D) discounts the credibility of science and instead asks people to look at their own experiences for evidence of climate change

Question 17

If you wanted to follow Philip Smith and Nicholas Howe's advice for convincing people to act on climate change, you could

A) support STEM education in public schools
B) use PowerPoint slides to talk about climate change
C) remind people of the times the world has defeated other evils, like Nazis
D) teach people to observe their own world for evidence of environmental disaster

Question 18

What is one reason why religious believers may be less lightly than people who are not religious to be concerned about climate change?

A) Historic attacks on religion from science have soured relationships between religion and science for some religious believers.
B) Religious believers think that climate change is happening but believe that, because of their religion, they are immune from its consequences.
C) Religious believers do not believe in science at all, which is why they also reject modern medicine and technology.
D) Scientists refuse to communicate to religious believers because they feel that religious bodies have too often tried to undermine science.

Question 19

Many scientific articles about climate change have been published in scholarly journals. What percent of these deny that climate change is real or say that it is real but not caused by humans?

A) 3%
B) 33%
C) 53%
D) 73%

Question 20

How can journalism's effort to report without bias contribute to climate change denialism?

A) Because they are committed to citing credible sources, journalists are unable to locate many scholarly sources that say that climate change is not real or does not have human causes. This causes readers who want to hear that argument to do their own online research, and then they often find themselves reading information from conspiracy theorists.
B) Journalists often try to present "both sides of a story," but claims that climate change is not real or has no human causes is not credible, so including that "side" of this story suggests that there is scientific debate when there is, in reality, strong consensus.
C) Because they want to appeal to a wide range of readers or viewers, journalists hesitate to report on the most frightening stories about climate change, which then makes readers and viewers underestimate the danger.
D) Because news media often relies on the sale of advertising, they are inherently biased in favor of corporations and thus are unlikely to report on the main cause of pollution: the quest for profit.

Question 21

Which of the following statements about the distribution of environmental risk is accurate?

A) Poor and rich people face equal environmental risk.
B) Rich people face greater environmental risk than poor people.
C) Poor people face greater environmental risk than rich people.
D) Poor people used to face greater environmental risk than rich people, but now they face the same environmental risk.

Question 22

Which of these statements about the distribution of environmental risk is accurate?

A) White people and people of color in the U.S. face the same environmental risk.
B) People of color in the U.S. face greater environmental risk than do white people.
C) White people in the U.S. face greater environmental risk than do people of color.
D) People of color in the U.S. used to face greater environmental risk than white people, but now they face the same level of risk.

Question 23

Which of the following statements about the distribution of environmental risk is accurate?

A) Globally, people in rich and poor nations face the same environmental risk.
B) Globally, people in poor nations face greater environmental risk than do people in rich nations.
C) Globally, people in rich nations face greater environmental risk than do people in poor nations.
D) Globally, people in poor nations used to face more environmental risk than do people in rich nations, but now their risk is the same.

Question 24

Why are African American households more likely than white households to have exposure to lead from their environment?

A) They are more likely to buy antiques, which sometimes are painted with lead paint.
B) They are often poorer, which means they are less able to move into places where lead exposure is lessened.
C) They are less likely to believe in the risks of lead exposure, so they do not take precautions against it.
D) They are more likely to buy products with lead in them, such as toys imported from nations with fewer consumer protections.

Question 25

Concentrated disadvantage describes the way that

A) children in urban areas have a higher rate of asthma due to air pollution
B) the threat of climate change forges unions between people who would otherwise see themselves as enemies
C) the already-disadvantaged suffer the most from environmental risk
D) wealthy nations become exporters of green technologies to poorer nations

Question 26

Whether measuring climate change in crop yields, loss of land due to rising sea levels, economic damage from floods and hurricanes, or changes in healthcare expenditures, the worst impacts will be felt in

A) Australasia, the Caribbean, and Mexico
B) Africa, Latin America, and South Asia
C) Canada, Siberia, and the U.S. West Coast
D) North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia

Question 27

From the perspectives of poor nations, environmental regulation at the global level

A) is finally a recognition of the interconnectedness of the nations of the world
B) is an opportunity to export traditional technologies, such as animal-powered farm equipment, to wealthy nations seeking new ways of reducing environmental risk
C) works to equalize power among nations as all countries must contribute to the solution to climate change
D) may be seen as a way for wealthy nations to force poor ones to import expensive green technologies and thus increase dependency on wealthy nations

Question 28

Which of the following is NOT a reason why poor nations may resist global policies to address environmental damage?

A) They have fewer material resources to address infrastructure problems.
B) They have less to fear from climate change and so less motivation to address it.
C) They have less technical expertise to develop green technologies.
D) They have more immediate priorities even than climate change, such as political disorder.

Question 29

The higher levels of consumption in wealthy societies is associated with

A) the same per-capita waste per person as in poorer nations because of policies that require businesses to pay for the cost of waste, which incentives less waste
B) the same per-capita waste per person as in poorer nations because of better recycling programs that divert and reuse waste
C) significantly higher levels of per-capita waste
D) significantly lower levels of per-capita waste

Question 30

Multinational corporations are able to prevent the implementation of policies to address pollution because

A) they threaten to shift production to nations with more lax regulations-so the air pollution will occur somewhere regardless of a single nation's laws against it
B) there are no international treaties to discourage pollution
C) they are able to produce goods to sell in any nation
D) they already consider the cost of environmental remediation (fixing the problems that pollution causes) in their budgets

Question 31

Which book argues that argues that the continuous quest for economic growth encourages businesses to pursue strategies that cause environmental damage?

A) The Environment: From Surplus to Scarcity
B) Risk Society
C) An Inconvenient Truth,
D) The Politics of Climate Change

Question 32

Who, according to Allan Schnaiberg, bears most responsibility for the mass consumption that occurs in wealthy nations?

A) Corporations, which seek profit regardless of environmental damage
B) Consumers, who refuse to limit their consumption habits
C) Politicians, who do not care about the environmental impacts
D) Landfill owners, who profit from waste

Question 33

Corporations produce more than people need, and people consume more than they need, which leads to more production of things they don't need. This is Allan Schnaiberg's concept of

A) the treadmill of production
B) the cycle of spending
C) the mountain of garbage
D) consumer goods as pre-trash

Question 34

When politicians do not hold businesses accountable for their pollution, which of the following does NOT happen?

A) The public loses confidence that the government can address social problems.
B) The public loses confidence that government can solve complex problems.
C) Businesses generate regulations within their own industries in order to make themselves accountable.
D) Pollution increases.

Question 35

A senator up for re-election talks about bringing down the cost of gasoline so that American drivers are not paying as much at the pump and so that shipping companies can save money-savings, he says, that will be passed on to the consumer. By focusing his concern on the financial cost of gas rather that the high environmental costs of gasoline use, the senator is

A) arguing that high gasoline costs make it harder to raise taxes on gasoline since consumers will only tolerate gas prices of a certain amount before they stop driving
B) prioritizing short-term gains over long-term dangers
C) arguing that hybrid and electric cars, which use less gas, should be taxed more at the point of purchase (a sales tax) since their drivers contribute less in fuel tax but still use roads that are maintained through fuel taxes
D) prioritizing road, bridge, and other infrastructure maintenance over the environmental damage done by such projects

Question 36

A lobbyist for the coal industry might

A) assist coalminers in being retrained for other jobs to prepare for the end of the coal industry
B) write to rich investors and ask them to divest from coal and reinvest their money in socially responsible stocks and bonds
C) meet with politicians to convince them of the safety of the coal industry
D) lead a boycott of companies that rely on coal-generated electricity

Question 37

Dominic and Patrick are building a house together. They tell their architect that they want to use clean energy to provide power to their house. Which of the following would the architect NOT suggest?

A) Wind, which generates energy from the movement of a windmill
B) Solar, which captures energy from the sun to provide electricity
C) Geothermal, which draws heat from the ground to warm the house
D) Oil, which is burned in a furnace to heat the house

Question 38

Energy production from ______ is now the fastest-growing form of energy globally.

A) wind
B) coal
C) water
D) solar

Question 39

Which nation is now the global leader in renewable energy production and manufacturing?

A) China
B) India
C) Russia
D) The U.S.

Question 40

Which nation currently produces more greenhouse gasses than any other?

A) China
B) India
C) Russia
D) The U.S.

Question 41

Conservation movements, which led to the development of the U.S.'s National Parks Service, began in

A) the late 1700s, right at the start of the nation
B) the early 1800s
C) the late 1800s
D) the mid 1900s

Question 42

The modern environmental movement was first inspired by concerns about

A) overfishing, whaling, and water pollutions
B) acid rain and a hole in the ozone layer
C) deforestation, especially of rainforests
D) nuclear power and nuclear weapons

Question 43

What holiday was first organized in 1970 as an environmental teach-in?

A) World Wetlands Day (February 2)
B) b. America Recycles Day (November 15)
C) c. Arbor Day (the last Friday in April)
D) d. Earth Day (April 22)

Question 44

In 1989, Alaska faced a major environmental crisis when

A) a hurricane overwhelmed a city's pumping system, leading to widespread flooding at the same time that a city dam collapsed
B) an earthquake and the tsunami it created overwhelmed a nuclear power plant leading to three nuclear meltdowns and the release of nuclear contaminants
C) the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, spilling oil into the water for 6 months before being sealed
D) an oil tanker rammed a reef, spilling 10.8 million gallons of oil into environmentally important and fragile waterways

Question 45

In 2010, the states of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida faced a major environmental crisis when

A) a hurricane overwhelmed a city's pumping system, leading to widespread flooding at the same time that a city dam collapsed
B) an earthquake and the tsunami it created overwhelmed a nuclear power plant leading to three nuclear meltdowns and the release of nuclear contaminants
C) the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, spilling oil into the water for 6 months before being sealed
D) an oil tanker rammed a reef, spilling 10.8 million gallons of oil into environmentally important and fragile waterways

Question 46

In 2011, Japan faced a major environmental crisis when

A) a hurricane overwhelmed a city's pumping system, leading to widespread flooding at the same time that a city dam collapsed
B) an earthquake and the tsunami it created overwhelmed a nuclear power plant leading to three nuclear meltdowns and the release of nuclear contaminants
C) the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, spilling oil into the water for 6 months before being sealed
D) an oil tanker rammed a reef, spilling 10.8 million gallons of oil into environmentally important and fragile waterways

Question 47

Which environmental organization's focus is on wildlife protection?

A) Greenpeace
B) Appiko Movement
C) Break Free
D) World Wildlife Fund

Question 48

Which social movement seeks to convince business leaders to adopt sustainable and environmentally responsible practices?

A) Socially responsible investing
B) Boycott, divest, and sanction
C) Greenwashing
D) Consolidated disadvantage

Question 49

When your favorite soft drink includes a statement on its plastic bottle saying that it is made of 100% recycled materials, the soft drink company is

A) encouraging consumers to drink from glass bottles or aluminum cans instead
B) encouraging consumers to drink less soda because it is stored in recycled bottles
C) encouraging consumers to recycle because the company loves the planet.
D) encouraging brand loyalty through the advertising of its environmental friendliness

Question 50

Which political party's platform focuses on environmental issues?

A) The Green Party
B) The Democratic Party
C) The Working Families Party
D) The Social Democratic Party

Question 51

In general, what kind of environmental movement has been most successful?

A) Those asking ordinary people to make changes to their everyday habits
B) Those seeking international policy changes
C) Those that address the behavior of corporations
D) Those that that appeal to religion

Question 52

Early anti-littering campaigns were often engineered by

A) seed companies who wanted to promote highway beautification efforts because this led to the sale of flower seeds
B) prisons because prisoners could be leased from the state to do highway clean up
C) packaging companies because this put responsibility for garbage on individual people rather than on the companies who make trash
D) politicians who wanted to appear as if they cared about the environment but who would not do the work of holding corporate polluters accountable for their actions

Question 53

The "Keep America Beautiful Campaign" is aimed at stopping

A) littering
B) air pollution
C) poorly maintained, polluting automobiles
D) gas-powered leaf blowers

Question 54

In 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy, under the presidency of Donald Trump, began to revise rules about dishwasher design. Previously, dishwashers were required to use less water and energy, which required them to use more time in order to clean dishes effectively. The new rule would allow dishwashers to consume more water and energy in order to operate faster. The argument about dishwasher energy use became a symbolic fight for many Trump supporters in the fight against environmental regulation. Their support for a measure that uses water and energy unnecessarily is an example of

A) risk society
B) consolidated disadvantage
C) backlash
D) risk management

Question 55

Why have environmental movements typically been more successful in Europe, North America, and Asia?

A) These places face greater risk from environmental degradation and so are more motivated to address it.
B) These places have long traditions of care for Earth that are not present in other societies.
C) The affluence of nations in those places allows people to engage in a post-material politics.
D) The people there are more deeply connected to their land than in other places and so want to care for it.

Question 56

Pit latrines (also called pit toilets) are a common kind of toilet in poorer nations. They collect human waste in a hole about 10 feet deep and 3 feet wide. While pit latrines can contribute to pollution of groundwater, they are much safer than open defecation. You are a sanitation engineer from a non-profit agency from a wealthy nation trying to convince people in a small town in a poor nation to replace open defecation with pit toilets. What strategy would work best?

A) Convincing your national legislators to withhold humanitarian aid to this nation until they agree to sign contracts to purchase pit latrines from manufacturers located in your nation
B) Providing photos of people in your country using pit latrines, which are common in state parks
C) Offering free public lectures about the science of sanitation to the community
D) Convincing local community leaders to install pit toilets around their own homes and businesses so that other members of the community can see these high-prestige people using them

Question 57

The free-rider problem occurs when

A) individuals do not act in a way that benefits the group unless it also advances their personal interests
B) an individual or company seeks economic gain without giving back to society
C) a company is forced to provide a plan for managing its waste without passing the cost of doing so along to the public
D) affluent nations with long histories of mass consumption insist that poorer nations curtail their consumer habits out of concern for the environment

Question 58

After the Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997, global greenhouse gas emissions

A) increased
B) declined
C) stayed the same
D) increased rapidly, then declined rapidly

Question 59

The Paris Agreement

A) allows each nation to set its own targets for reducing pollution
B) sets different targets for pollution reduction for affluent and poor nations
C) has the strictest enforcement policy of any global environmental regulation so far
D) was drafted by the U.S., the first nation to agree to it

Question 60

A green roof like those mandated by law on new buildings with slopes of less than 30 degrees in Copenhagen, Denmark

A) is made from recycled tires
B) is covered in plants to absorb rainwater and reduce stormwater runoff and help lower the temperature of a city
C) has solar panels on it to capture sunlight and transform them into energy
D) is made of materials that will decompose easily in a landfill