Deck 15: Populations, Cities, and the Environment

Question 1

During the Great Depression in the 1930s,huge numbers of dispossessed U.S.farmers left places like Oklahoma and moved to California.This is an example of:

A) mortality.
B) internal colonization.
C) internal migration.
D) emigration.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Although Japan has one of the world's highest life expectancies,it has experienced a net loss of population for many years,the result of declining birth rates and very low immigration rates.However,the population rose in both 2008 and 2009,largely due to Japanese citizens abroad returning home.This data was collected by a:

A) demographer.
B) social ecologist.
C) environmental sociologist.
D) nongovernmental organization.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Will world population continue to grow,or will it eventually stabilize?

A) It will continue to grow until a disaster strikes that reduces the population.
B) It will continue to grow indefinitely, but new solutions for overpopulation will be found.
C) It will eventually stabilize, but not for many years.
D) We may not know the answer for many years.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following would most worry Thomas Malthus?

A) an aggressive U.S. foreign policy
B) new diseases for which antibiotics are ineffective
C) the U.S. government refusing to fund international agencies that provide family planning services
D) child labor laws

Question 5

Garrett Hardin believes that "a 'just' sharing of the world's wealth among all the inhabitants,without coercive control of individual reproduction,would result in a continual,exponential growth of the human population" and much more suffering.This means Hardin is a:

A) grassroots organizer.
B) believer in sustainable development.
C) neo-Malthusian.
D) mainstream environmentalist.

Question 6

According to a controversial study published in the British medical journal The Lancet,before the United States invaded Iraq,about 5.5 people out of every thousand would die each year,but after the invasion,that number rose to over 13.This study was attempting to measure:

A) immigration.
B) suicide.
C) morbidity.
D) mortality.

Question 7

Even according to the lowest United Nations estimates,the globe will have two billion more people living on it by the year 2050.After that,the population may actually shrink because,while life expectancy may continue to rise,the average number of children each woman gives birth to is poised to drop below 2.1.What demographic variable might make the global population drop?

A) a return to agrarianism
B) fertility
C) race
D) immigration

Question 8

If the pattern of demographic transition that followed the Industrial Revolution in Europe and the United States is repeated in Africa,which of the following would you NOT expect to see happen in the future?

A) decreasing infant mortality rates
B) decreasing mortality rates
C) increasing immigration rates
D) increasing mortality rates

Question 9

The study of the size,composition,distribution,and change in a human population is called:

A) environmental sociology.
B) an ecological paradigm.
C) conservationism.
D) demography.

Question 10

How has Earth's population changed in the past fifty years?

A) It has shrunk slightly.
B) It peaked around twenty-five years ago and has been shrinking ever since.
C) It has increased by around 25 percent.
D) It has nearly tripled.

Question 11

Which of the following is an example of a study of demography?

A) voluntary simplicity and recycling
B) organizing environmental activist groups to engage in direct actions
C) the U.S. Census Bureau sending out surveys
D) the Malthusian theorem

Question 12

Given that fertility rates in the United States have dropped below the level needed to maintain the population level,why is the population here growing?

A) There has been a decrease in life expectancy.
B) The mortality rate is increasing.
C) There have been considerable advances in modern medicine.
D) Immigration rates have risen.

Question 13

Which of the following helped lead to rapid population growth in Europe in the eighteenth century,around the time of Thomas Malthus?

A) the potato
B) penicillin
C) the automobile
D) better methods of contraception

Question 14

Anti-Malthusians believe that Thomas Malthus could not have envisioned the many modern developments that impact population demographics.What is it that the anti-Malthusians worry about?

A) Populations will begin to decline.
B) Populations will spiral out of control, far outstripping the supply of food.
C) Populations in the industrial world will grow faster and faster.
D) Populations in the less industrialized world will continue to grow quickly.

Question 15

The birth rate in Italy is much lower than it was in the past,with the average woman now expected to bear about 1.3 children,far fewer children than are needed to replace two parents.What might this lead to?

A) higher emigration rates
B) lower mortality rates
C) increases in pollution
D) a demographic free fall

Question 16

Which of the following is a basic demographic variable?

A) agglomeration
B) dystopia
C) pluralism
D) migration

Question 17

Due to an oil boom,North Dakota has experienced the greatest population increase among all of the states in the United States in the recent past.Which demographic variable explains this?

A) fertility
B) migration
C) mortality
D) lifespan

Question 18

The "green revolution" refers to a major transformation in agriculture that occurred in the twentieth century and resulted in an explosion in food production.for example,plant biologists bred wheat that had much shorter stalks and carried more wheat on top without falling over.What effect would you expect this to have on global demographics?

A) There will be more pressure on edge cities.
B) There will be no effect whatsoever.
C) The population will increase.
D) The amount of pollution will decrease.

Question 19

Which of the following would be an example of a "positive check" on population growth?

A) family planning
B) emigration
C) cloning
D) famine

Question 20

The net migration rate is the:

A) number of deaths that can be expected per one thousand people in a given year.
B) average number of births per one thousand people in the total population.
C) average age to which a person can expect to live.
D) number of emigrants subtracted from the number of immigrants.

Question 21

In the early 1900s,what percentage of Americans lived in cities?

A) 90 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 6 percent
D) 40 percent

Question 22

Some urban planners are working hard to make sure their communities use the same land for multiple purposes,especially by using the land "vertically"-that is,having apartments on top of retail space.This type of planning is called:

A) smart growth.
B) urban sprawl.
C) suburbanization.
D) edge city development.

Question 23

The city of Mumbai,India,has fourteen million people,making it the second-largest city in the world,and Mumbai handles the majority of India's maritime commerce.These facts help to explain why Mumbai would be called a(n):

A) metropolitan statistical area.
B) global city.
C) agglomeration.
D) agrarian area.

Question 24

Which of the following is one of the categories of urbanites identified by Herbert Gans in his ethnography Urban Villagers?

A) bohemians
B) cosmopolites
C) Roma
D) the dispossessed

Question 25

In countries where ________ has happened,there no longer is a "natural increase" in population.

A) extreme water pollution
B) the demographic free fall
C) the Industrial Revolution
D) the demographic transition

Question 26

What sorts of places are associated with an increase in social atomization?

A) rural areas
B) frontier counties
C) suburbs
D) cities

Question 27

If the California legislature passes a bill designed to make people live in tighter,denser spaces,what problem is it attempting to combat?

A) gentrification
B) low levels of mobility
C) racial segregation
D) urban sprawl

Question 28

If a blighted urban neighborhood were to suddenly develop an assortment of upscale restaurants,coffee shops,hip boutiques,and art galleries,then the neighborhood is:

A) changing patterns of gender relations.
B) becoming gentrified.
C) experiencing smart growth.
D) growing into an edge city.

Question 29

In the past,the vast majority of people lived in rural areas and small towns where it was truly shocking to encounter a genuine stranger,but today most of us live in cities where we are constantly surrounded by total strangers.This leads directly to:

A) suburbanization.
B) a demographic transition.
C) social atomization.
D) increased divorce rates.

Question 30

Under what circumstances are bystanders LESS likely to attempt to help a stranger who appears to be in danger?

A) when the bystander could also be in danger
B) when there are lots of bystanders
C) when the danger comes from a natural, rather than a human, source
D) when the danger might lead to legal liability for a bystander who intervenes

Question 31

How is an edge city different from a suburb?

A) An edge city is primarily a bedroom community.
B) An edge city has its own centers of employment and commerce.
C) An edge city is smaller than a suburb.
D) An edge city tends to be located far from major highway intersections.

Question 32

Chris McCandless lived on his own in the wilderness because he felt constrained and betrayed by a society that cared so little for its individual members.What term describes the attitude to which McCandless objected?

A) suburbanization
B) the rural rebound
C) edge cities
D) social atomization

Question 33

According to Herbert Gans,if you move to New York City because you love theater,you are a(n):

A) cosmopolite.
B) ethnic villager.
C) single.
D) student.

Question 34

According to Georg Simmel,how do city dwellers relate to one another?

A) through restrictive constraints on personal behavior
B) through family connections
C) in terms of class-based loyalties
D) in objective and instrumental terms

Question 35

How is urban density measured?

A) the number of square miles occupied by a city
B) the number of adults in a given metropolitan area
C) the number of people per square mile
D) the number of people in an economically and socially integrated area

Question 36

What sort of rural areas are most likely to experience a "rural rebound"?

A) areas that are especially far from large cities
B) areas that are near urban areas
C) areas with especially low housing costs
D) areas with lots of ranching, as opposed to farming

Question 37

What group was most likely to move away from the urban core to the suburbs?

A) single mothers
B) senior citizens
C) racial and ethnic minorities
D) whites

Question 38

The shift of large segments of the population away from the urban core and toward the edges of cities is called:

A) social ecology.
B) urban deforestation.
C) civil inattention.
D) suburbanization.

Question 39

The Industrial Revolution made cities necessary,as a large number of people were needed to work in factories,but ever since,many people have found city life attractive.Why?

A) Cities offer a profound sense of security.
B) Cities bring people together and help to develop community.
C) Cities offer a high degree of personal freedom.
D) Cities help people develop deep and intense relationships.

Question 40

Milwaukee has over 500,000 inhabitants.What type of city is this,according to demographers?

A) megacity
B) global city
C) metropolis
D) metropolitan statistical area (MSA)

Question 41

What problem will result from even slightly higher global temperatures?

A) rising sea levels
B) loss of sites to store garbage
C) larger islands
D) gentrification

Question 42

The process by which members of a group individually conclude that nothing is wrong because they observe that no one else seems to be worried is called:

A) alienation.
B) community feeling.
C) pluralistic ignorance.
D) the bystander effect.

Question 43

A sociologist who examines how cities are organized or the migration of human populations is studying:

A) renewable resources.
B) environmental attitudes.
C) social ecology.
D) environmental justice.

Question 44

What sort of pollution is responsible for global warming?

A) water pollution
B) light pollution
C) air pollution that reflects the sun's rays away from Earth
D) greenhouse gases

Question 45

Why is the "water grabbing" of developing countries possible?

A) Water is a transboundary resource.
B) Developing countries sell their water to wealthier countries.
C) Developing countries have more water.
D) No one owns the water.

Question 46

If Georg Simmel is correct,in which type of community would you be LEAST likely to have a friendly relationship with your neighbors?

A) a rural area
B) a suburb
C) an exurb
D) a large city

Question 47

If a sociologist is studying the problems associated with resource depletion,which of the following facts might he or she be interested in when he or she investigates the way our society uses paper?

A) It requires more than three pounds of tree pulp to make one pound of paper.
B) Making paper pumps acid into rivers and streams.
C) Paper products are useful for storage.
D) Paper products are used to spread information.

Question 48

What is the name of the subdiscipline that studies the social causes and consequences of environmental problems?

A) transformative environmentalism
B) sociobiology
C) environmental sociology
D) biological ecology

Question 49

Aldo Leopold,an ecologist,wrote about his home state of Wisconsin in The Sand County Almanac.In one moving section,he described a triangular cemetery,founded in the nineteenth century,that,because of its unusual shape,contained a tiny patch of prairie,unmowed and undisturbed.Every year,sometime in July,Leopold would watch a single silphium plant bloom there,the only one he found in that part of the state.He used this example to discuss the many plants native to the prairie that have been replaced by a few commercial plants grown by farmers.Leopold is observing about a change in:

A) pollution.
B) suburbanization.
C) social ecology.
D) biodiversity.

Question 50

few people today even know that the Milky Way is a spiral arm of our galaxy,containing such a dense cluster of stars that in the past it appeared not as individual points of light but as a splash of light across the night sky.Why is it no longer visible this way?

A) the greenhouse effect
B) light pollution
C) global dimming
D) air pollution

Question 51

Damage to tropical rain forests is causing the extinction of many rain forest species,but it is also detrimental to human life.Why?

A) Rain forests provide vast amounts of food for the Western world.
B) Rain forests absorb carbon dioxide and provide valuable plants.
C) Rain forests provide much-needed water for people.
D) Rain forests are home to much of the world's population.

Question 52

What are environmental sociologists referring to when they use the term "environment"?

A) wilderness and other areas that have not yet been developed by humans
B) only renewable and nonrenewable resources
C) those elements of the world that were not constructed through human effort
D) both the natural and the human-made environment

Question 53

Some types of air pollution cause less sunlight to reach Earth,a phenomenon known as:

A) global warming.
B) global dimming.
C) the treadmill of production.
D) the ecological footprint.

Question 54

According to law enforcement,if you are in trouble or injured,rather than yelling for help or appealing to a group,you should pick out an individual-even a stranger-point to him or her,and request assistance.This strategy would help to defeat:

A) the broken windows paradigm.
B) alienation.
C) the bystander effect.
D) street crime.

Question 55

The study of human populations and their impact on the natural world is called:

A) social ecology.
B) biodiversity.
C) conservationism.
D) radical environmentalism.

Question 56

Which of the following is a major area of concern within the four analytic frameworks of environmental sociology?

A) demography
B) attitudes about the environment
C) incarceration rates
D) biodiversity

Question 57

The Environmental Protection Agency claims that the United States has one of the safest supplies of drinking water in the world,but:

A) 10 percent of U.S. water systems do not meet EPA standards.
B) the EPA has covered up systematic contamination of the water supply.
C) most Americans still complain of waterborne disease.
D) most of the U.S. water supply comes from desalinization plants.

Question 58

What classic sociological theorist has most influenced the study of the political economy of the environment?

A) Emile Durkheim
B) Talcott Parsons
C) Erving Goffman
D) Karl Marx

Question 59

Resources,like coal and oil,that CANNOT be replaced except through very slow geological processes are called:

A) nonrenewable resources.
B) social problems.
C) renewable resources.
D) environmentally friendly.

Question 60

When environmental sociologists study the problems of waste and consumption,how are they understanding the environment?

A) as a source of meaning
B) as a resource to be used for development
C) as a place of recreation and leisure
D) as a social problem

Question 61

According to the text,which of the following is one of the four major eras of environmental activism?

A) Earth Day
B) postmodern environmentalism
C) environmental terrorism
D) the conservation era

Question 62

In 2007 Kevin Tubbs was sentenced to more than twelve years in prison for his part in setting fire to an SUV dealership,a ranger station,and a tree farm.He expressed remorse and said that he was motivated by "hopelessness and desperation over cruelty to animals and destruction of the earth." What are his actions called?

A) ecoterrorism
B) NIMBY
C) mainstream environmentalism
D) anthropocentric

Question 63

Earth first describes itself as a global organization,but its website contains links to local chapters in Montreal,the Netherlands,and Humboldt and Santa Cruz,California.What does this suggest about the organization?

A) It believes in grassroots environmentalism.
B) It came out of the modern environmental movement.
C) It primarily cares about sustainable development.
D) It works for conservation of wilderness areas.

Question 64

factories that produce noxious levels of pollution and toxic waste dumps are often located near areas where minorities and the poor reside.Which of the following terms could be used to describe this situation?

A) corporate welfare
B) resource environmentalism
C) ecoterrorism
D) environmental racism

Question 65

A nature writer,Barry Lopez,spent time with the Inuit of the Arctic and concluded that hunting societies had different attitudes about the land than industrial ones because "the focus of a hunter in a hunting society was not killing animals but attending to the myriad relationships he understood bound him into the world he occupied with them." What kind of attitude do hunting societies have?

A) Judeo-Christian
B) the new ecological paradigm
C) human exceptionalism
D) anthropocentric

Question 66

The belief that humans will find ways to overcome any problems posed by pollution and waste is consistent with what attitude?

A) conservation
B) the modern environmental movement
C) the Malthusian theorem
D) human exceptionalism

Question 67

Although the federal government plans to store nuclear waste under a mountain in Nevada,many people who live in Nevada are trying their best to have it housed elsewhere,a classic example of:

A) conservation.
B) mainstream environmentalism.
C) human exceptionalism.
D) NIMBY.

Question 68

Why are the poor and minorities more likely to suffer health problems that result from exposure to pollution?

A) They are disproportionately exposed to pollution.
B) They are poorly educated about the risks of pollution.
C) Slumlords are not required to maintain their properties at the same level as they would be in other communities.
D) Members of these communities simply do not care about the dangers of pollution.

Question 69

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,most environmental activism was focused on:

A) the protection and conservation of wilderness.
B) environmental justice.
C) grassroots activism to involve individual community members.
D) lowering the ecological footprints of both individuals and society as a whole.

Question 70

An environmentalist named Aldo Leopold believed that we need to develop a "land ethic" that "changes the role of Homo sapiens from conqueror of the land-community to plain member and citizen of it." What sort of attitude is Leopold trying to move our society away from?

A) the new ecological paradigm
B) grassroots
C) conservation
D) anthropocentric

Question 71

How do people with an anthropocentric relationship with the environment perceive nature?

A) as something to be preserved
B) as a place to find spiritual truth
C) as something to be conquered
D) as something to be studied and examined before it is tainted by human activity

Question 72

Today,many parents are worried about the bottles out of which their babies drink,because many contain plastics made with Bisphenol A,a compound that helps to make hard,clear,shatter-proof plastics but that might also be a neurotoxin,especially for children.Though science has yet to fully explore this issue,what era of the environmental movement does this concern most closely follow?

A) the conservation era
B) mainstream environmentalism
C) grassroots environmentalism
D) the modern environmental movement

Question 73

During what era did the environmental movement focus on citizen participation and change at the local level?

A) mainstream environmentalism
B) the conservation era
C) the modern environmental movement
D) grassroots environmentalism

Question 74

The Environmental Defense fund hires scientists,economists,and lawyers to lobby the government and to educate the public about the environmental consequences of modern life.They brag that they had a part in passing important elements of the Clean Air Act,California's emissions rules,and a treaty to phase out CfCs.With what era of the environmental movement is this sort of organization most commonly associated?

A) the modern environmental movement
B) conservation environmentalism
C) Earth Day
D) mainstream environmentalism

Question 75

What book sparked the modern environmental movement in the 1960s?

A) Walden by Henry David Thoreau
B) Earth Day by Gaylord Nelson
C) Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
D) Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

Question 76

Which political party made social justice,community-based economics,feminism,and diversity central to its platform?

A) the Green Party
B) the Republican Party
C) the Libertarian Party
D) the Natural Law Party

Question 77

What environmental activist is credited with organizing the first Earth Day?

A) Rachel Carson
B) Gaylord Nelson
C) Ralph Nader
D) Iona frisbee

Question 78

Modern economies require constant growth,and with that growth comes an ever-increasing need for resources,called:

A) global dimming.
B) economic modernization.
C) the treadmill of production.
D) the new ecological paradigm.

Question 79

People who use violent or criminal methods to disrupt or destroy businesses or organizations that they believe are harming the environment are called:

A) environmental racists.
B) ecoterrorists.
C) slow growth advocates.
D) conservationists.

Question 80

On July 1,1908,Theodore Roosevelt signed legislation that created forty-five national forests.Roosevelt was a passionate hunter and believed that all the game in America would soon be gone unless something was done to preserve some wild areas.To which era of the environmental movement does this goal belong?

A) grassroots environmentalism
B) the conservation era
C) mainstream environmentalism
D) the modern environmental movement