Deck 5: Environmenteconomy:

Question 1

The worth of natural resources in contemporary economics is often based on:

A) The establishment of a price for a commodity based on supply in the marketplace
B) The establishment of a price for a commodity based on demand in the marketplace
C) The establishment of a price for a commodity based on supply and demand in the marketplace
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Answer 1

The establishment of a price for a commodity based on supply and demand in the marketplace

Question 2

The actual mechanism for determining the price of a commodity is in a market exchange where ___________________ come together.

A) Buyers and sellers
B) States and industrial representatives
C) Domestic and foreign capital
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Answer 2

Buyers and sellers

Question 3

Trading in commodity "futures" means that:

A) Immediate deliveries of a commodity are purchased at an unspecified price, to be decided upon at a later date
B) Buyers are assured that the price of a commodity purchased the following day will remain the same
C) Future deliveries of a commodity are purchased at a specified current price
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Answer 3

Future deliveries of a commodity are purchased at a specified current price

Question 4

In establishing an equilibrium price for a commodity, it is the volume of the commodity entering the market, a with the _____________________, which together determine the price.

A) Volume of demand
B) Regulatory environment
C) Theoretical price
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 5

Many would argue that the conventional market for commodities is entirely __________________ to the environmental effects of using nature as a resource.

A) Sympathetic
B) Responsive
C) Sensitive
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 6

The economic valuation of a commodity as the outcome of a supply-and-demand equation results in an equilibrium price that _________________ many of the environmental costs of the product.

A) Obscures
B) Draws attention to
C) Takes into account
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 7

Environmental economics emerged in the 1970s as a subdiscipline dealing with the ____________ of a wide range of impacts associated with environmental degradation.

A) Quantification
B) Calculation
C) Assessment
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 8

Economic techniques for assigning a value to nature, both when it is left undamaged and when it is degraded, attempt to convert environmental damage into:

A) Sustainable outcomes
B) Economic costs
C) Economic savings
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 9

Economic thinking is concerned with assigning a current ____________________ to nature, allowing natural "things" to be integrated into a common framework of analysis.

A) Intrinsic worth
B) Commodity index
C) Monetary value
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 10

Economies are based upon the _________________ of nature.

A) Transformation
B) Restoration
C) Destruction
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 11

Commodities derived from the natural environment go through which of the following phases?

A) Extraction
B) Disposal
C) Manufacturing
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 12

The environment acts as a receiver of the outputs of production processes in the form of:

A) Landfill waste
B) Litter in urban areas of the city
C) Air pollution emissions from industrial zones
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 13

The natural world is essentially converted into ___________ commodities.

A) Usable
B) Ownable
C) Tradable
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 14

The key transformation that occurs in the process of commodification is the ___________ of natural substances.

A) Transmission
B) Quality
C) Valuing
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 15

Different resources have different characteristics as commodities based on the fact that:

A) Many natural resources occur in certain places and not others
B) The physical nature of commodities differ, especially with respect to plant crops
C) Once extracted, each commodity has distinctive characteristics that determine the ways in which it can be used
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 16

Our engagement with the natural world is essentially mediated by ____________ relationships.

A) Free
B) Exchange
C) Unstructured
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 17

Uranium is a good example of:

A) A substance that became a commodity due to technological and scientific exploration
B) An element of nature that was not previously valued as a commodity
C) A prized economic resource for use in nuclear power generation, medical technologies, and weapons manufacturing
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 18

_______________ rights allow individuals to use resources but not own them.

A) Human
B) Private property
C) Communal access
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 19

In this model of ownership over a natural resource commodity, the benefits of extraction are shared by all citizens as government revenue:

A) State ownership and state exploitation
B) State ownership and private exploitation
C) State ownership and corporate control
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 20

In this model of ownership over a natural resource commodity, corporations pay some kind of licensing fee to extract a publicly owned natural asset--for example, when governments grant timber licenses to logging firms entitling them to extract wood from a defined territory.

A) State ownership and state exploitation
B) State ownership and private exploitation
C) State ownership and corporate control
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 21

In countries with minority indigenous populations, their claims to territory, often based on very different legal traditions, have usually been ___________________ by majority or dominant populations.

A) Accommodated
B) Supported
C) Defended
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 22

The historical enclosure of common grazing lands throughout Europe to create private farms and estates was:

A) Instrumental in ensuring communal access
B) Fundamental to the development of socialism in Europe
C) Fundamental to the development of capitalism in Europe
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 23

State-linked companies are expanding globally and are seeking to secure access to resources wherever they are to be found. China has been particularly active in using _______________________to gain access to resources from around the world to fuel its rapid economic growth.

A) Development aid
B) Foreign policy
C) Market power
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 24

The role of state-linked companies in gaining access to land in areas where land markets and titling are not well established is a concern, with some calling this a:

A) "Global land grab"
B) "International property robbery"
C) "Land-market reformulation"
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 25

While the early 2000s saw the rapid emergence of state-linked resource corporations in the developing world, resources that were once the exclusive preserve of state-linked enterprises in the developed world became:

A) Nationalized
B) Regionalized
C) Privatized
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 26

Despite the fact that it is very difficult to extend complete private ownership over water, it is estimated that ________________ people worldwide are now served by private water companies.

A) Over 1 million
B) Over 5 million
C) Over 25 million
D) Over 500 million
E) Over 2 billion

Question 27

Certification of products as organic, sustainable, or local is an example of environmental protection being integrated as part of the:

A) Value of a commodity
B) Production costs of a commodity
C) Marketing strategy of a commodity
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 28

In 1997, the signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change met in Kyoto, Japan, and developed an agreement that sought to:

A) Reduce emissions of greenhouse gases
B) Combat the detrimental impacts of acid rain
C) Promote sustainable logging practices at the global level
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 29

Which of the following represent a common criticism of carbon trading:

A) The reliability of baseline measures
B) The difficulties of continuous monitoring
C) Conflicts of interest in market institutions
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 30

The so-called "green economy" represents those activities that are increasingly needed in order to address:

A) Political unrest
B) A market imbalance in resource extraction activities between developed and developing nations
C) A low-carbon, sustainable future
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 31

The process of privatizing the "commons,"-that is, causing a loss to many and rich benefits for just a few-is called:

A) "Accumulation by dispossession"
B) "Commodity accumulation"
C) "Progressive communal legislation"
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 32

Why might the establishment of a price for a natural commodity based only on supply and demand not reflect the true value of that commodity?

Question 33

Following their extraction, discuss three other phases that commodities derived from the natural environment may go through. Present examples for two commodities.

Question 34

Explain what a carbon trading scheme entails, and discuss three common criticisms of such a system.