Deck 1: Environmental Problems and Society

Question 1

What environmental problem did the "Montreal Protocol" seek to address?

A) A reduction of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) production and use implicated in the thinning of the ozone layer
B) A moratorium on the use of high sulfur coal implicated in acid rain
C) The need for the United States to establish an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
D) Due process procedures for litigants in environment justice lawsuits

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The Basel Convention, signed by 105 nations, was an international agreement to control:

A) the manufacture and export of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
B) manufacture and export of the banned pesticide DDT.
C) the international shipment of toxic waste and hazardous material.
D) the use of high sulfur coal implicated in acid rain.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists whose work led to discovery of the causes for the thinning of the earth's atmosphere by chlorofluorocarbons. Which of the following was NOT one of these scientists?

A) Mario Molina
B) Paul Crutzen
C) Sherwood Rowland
D) Aldo Leopold

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is not a major cause of species extinction?

A) Habitat loss
B) Pollution
C) Deforestation
D) Poverty

Question 5

The realist-constructionist debate in environmental sociology is characterized by differences in materialist versus idealist explanations of social life. Which of the following distinguishes a constructionist perspective on environment problems?

A) Environmental problems need to be understood in terms of the threats posed by society's current ecological relations.
B) There is no difference between the realist and constructionist approaches to environmental problems-they are in agreement.
C) The way we conceptualize and define environmental problems is a key focus.
D) Constructionists do not believe we have environmental problems, rather the concerns are all constructed by alarmists.

Question 6

Ecological dialogue can best be summarized as:?

A) the interrelationship of what we see and feel with what we believe.
B) discussing the environment.
C) activism.
D) powerful actors controlling dialogue.

Question 7

Which of the following is a predicted outcome of continued global warming?

A) A shift in climate zones
B) Changes in rainfall patterns
C) Rising sea levels
D) All of the above

Question 8

Which type of energy accounts for 31.4% of the world's energy use, the most of any source?

A) Nuclear energy
B) Coal
C) Oil
D) Hydropower

Question 9

Scientists from 120 countries signed onto a document issued by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The conclusion of this Panel was:

A) average sea level will rise up to two feet by the twenty-second century.
B) average sea level will rise up to two inches by the twenty-second century.
C) average sea level will remain steady in the twenty-second century.
D) there is insufficient evidence to support a hypothesis on global climate change.

Question 10

What function does the upper atmosphere ozone layer serve?

A) It protects against the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation.
B) Its gases trap heat in the earth's atmosphere leading to the greenhouse effect.
C) This atmospheric layer provides a rich source of CFC used as a refrigerant to fuel air conditioning units.
D) The ozone layer is the source of oxygen needed to breathe.

Question 11

Which renewable energy source has experienced the most consistent global growth?

A) Solar
B) Hydropower
C) Bioenergy
D) Wind

Question 12

What is the major source of chlorofluorocarbons implicated in the thinning ozone layer?

A) Chemical chloroforms used in preservation
B) The burning of high sulfur coal
C) Refrigerants and aerosol can propellants
D) Fluoride treatment in municipal water systems

Question 13

The name "ozone hole" is a misnomer. In reality it is not a hole, but rather:

A) two holes, one over the north and one over the south pole.
B) seasonal changes in the size of the ozone.
C) an irregular shaped formation stretching to the tropics.
D) the thinning of the upper atmosphere ozone layer.

Question 14

Why does the book say there are "two" ozone problems?

A) Because there are two sources of the gas implicated in thinning the ozone layer.
B) Because there are two kinds of gases implicated in thinning the ozone layer.
C) Because there is a thinning of the upper atmosphere ozone layer and increasing ozone at ground level that produces photo-chemical smog.
D) Because ozone holes occur in two places above the earth, over the north and south poles.

Question 15

Smog is responsible for which of the following?

A) An estimated 50,000-180,000 premature deaths in the U.S. annually.
B) A global reduction in agricultural productivity.
C) Extensive damage to forests.
D) All of the above.

Question 16

Environmental good and environmental bad are:

A) on the whole, evenly distributed among the peoples of the earth.
B) disproportionately distributed so that the middle-class must foot the bill.
C) unevenly distributed so that those with the least power get the most pollution.
D) distributed in a way that those who gain the most benefit also experience the most cost.

Question 17

What is the ecological footprint and what does it tell us?

A) The ecological footprint captures carbon emissions. It tells us about global warming.
B) The ecological footprint is an analysis that converts various demands into area. It tells us that we are currently using 1 Earth.
C) The ecological footprint is an analysis that converts various demands into area. It tells us that we are currently using 1.5 Earths.
D) The ecological footprint analyzes different types of energy production. It tells us what percentage of energy we consume from different sources.

Question 18

What, according to your text, is the most erosive force on the planet?

A) Wind and rain
B) Toxic chemicals
C) Animal grazing
D) Human development

Question 19

The rate of species loss has ____ dramatically since the onset of the industrial revolution.?

A) increased
B) decreased
C) oscillated
D) plummeted

Question 20

Which of the following are examples of habitat loss?

A) Urban intensification
B) Drained swamps lands
C) Anti-pollution policies
D) All of the above

Question 21

Although there is still some debate about the implications of human induced climate change, climatologists agree that there has been a discernable human influence on global climate?

Question 22

The text defines the ideal as "how we can bring about a more ecological society through governance, mobilization, and the politics of our everyday lives".

Question 23

The Material focuses on how consumption, the economy, science, technology, development, population, and the health of our bodies shape our environmental conditions.

Question 24

According to the text, the ecological dialogue is characterized by how material and ideal dimensions of environment depend upon and interact with each other.

Question 25

Concerning energy use, "getting more" is challenged by the difficulty of changing individual habits.

Question 26

Release of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels is the biggest and best known contributor of greenhouse gases.

Question 27

Increase in "ozone hole" leads to increase in skin cancer rates.

Question 28

A 2006 study found that over 160,000 Americans die prematurely each year due to fine particulates.

Question 29

The author states that "the principle scholarly contribution of the book is the concept of ecological dialogue." Briefly explain what is meant by ecological dialogue and give an example or illustration?

Question 30

The author urges us to consider environmental injustices both domestically and internationally. What does he mean by this? Give two examples?

Question 31

What are the two primary ways the author reviews as broad categories to address energy challenges? Give examples?

Question 32

During the course of this exam, six more species will go extinct. Why? Identify at least three factors that contribute to this loss. Be sure to discuss how these factors are both "material" and "ideal" and draw explicitly upon the concepts from readings and lecture.?

Question 33

As an expert in environmental sociology, you have been asked to give a brief speech at a major international conference on the future of the world's environment. What will you say? Be sure in your speech to say whether we should be optimistic or pessimistic. Justify your answer sociologically, drawing on material from this course.

Question 34

Matching: Please match the term, thinker, and/or text with its complement or correspondent , by placing the appropriate identification letter/number in the space provided. (You may use answers more than once.)
-____ UV radiation

A) Depletion of the ozone layer
B) Conservation Reserve Program
C) Greenhouse effect
D) Excess carbon dioxide
E) Second ozone problem
F) Erosion
G) Irrigation
H) Ken Saro-Wiwa

Question 35

Matching: Please match the term, thinker, and/or text with its complement or correspondent , by placing the appropriate identification letter/number in the space provided. (You may use answers more than once.)
-____ Soil conservation

A) Depletion of the ozone layer
B) Conservation Reserve Program
C) Greenhouse effect
D) Excess carbon dioxide
E) Second ozone problem
F) Erosion
G) Irrigation
H) Ken Saro-Wiwa

Question 36

Matching: Please match the term, thinker, and/or text with its complement or correspondent , by placing the appropriate identification letter/number in the space provided. (You may use answers more than once.)
-____ Global warming

A) Depletion of the ozone layer
B) Conservation Reserve Program
C) Greenhouse effect
D) Excess carbon dioxide
E) Second ozone problem
F) Erosion
G) Irrigation
H) Ken Saro-Wiwa

Question 37

Matching: Please match the term, thinker, and/or text with its complement or correspondent , by placing the appropriate identification letter/number in the space provided. (You may use answers more than once.)
-____ The greenhouse effect

A) Depletion of the ozone layer
B) Conservation Reserve Program
C) Greenhouse effect
D) Excess carbon dioxide
E) Second ozone problem
F) Erosion
G) Irrigation
H) Ken Saro-Wiwa

Question 38

Matching: Please match the term, thinker, and/or text with its complement or correspondent , by placing the appropriate identification letter/number in the space provided. (You may use answers more than once.)
-____ Photochemical smog

A) Depletion of the ozone layer
B) Conservation Reserve Program
C) Greenhouse effect
D) Excess carbon dioxide
E) Second ozone problem
F) Erosion
G) Irrigation
H) Ken Saro-Wiwa

Question 39

Matching: Please match the term, thinker, and/or text with its complement or correspondent , by placing the appropriate identification letter/number in the space provided. (You may use answers more than once.)
-____ River sedimentation

A) Depletion of the ozone layer
B) Conservation Reserve Program
C) Greenhouse effect
D) Excess carbon dioxide
E) Second ozone problem
F) Erosion
G) Irrigation
H) Ken Saro-Wiwa

Question 40

Matching: Please match the term, thinker, and/or text with its complement or correspondent , by placing the appropriate identification letter/number in the space provided. (You may use answers more than once.)
-____ Aquifer depletion

A) Depletion of the ozone layer
B) Conservation Reserve Program
C) Greenhouse effect
D) Excess carbon dioxide
E) Second ozone problem
F) Erosion
G) Irrigation
H) Ken Saro-Wiwa

Question 41

Matching: Please match the term, thinker, and/or text with its complement or correspondent , by placing the appropriate identification letter/number in the space provided. (You may use answers more than once.)
-____ Environmental justice

A) Depletion of the ozone layer
B) Conservation Reserve Program
C) Greenhouse effect
D) Excess carbon dioxide
E) Second ozone problem
F) Erosion
G) Irrigation
H) Ken Saro-Wiwa