Deck 26: Economics, Environment, and Sustainability

Question 1

Which of the following is a characteristic of full-cost pricing?

A)It requires simple pricing.
B)It requires government action.
C)It would make the market price higher than the true cost of a product or service.
D)It reduces the final cost of goods.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following characterizes environmental indicators?

A)They are noncontroversial.
B)They are frequently used by politicians.
C)They are not as accurate as the GDP in assessing the quality of the environment.
D)They are used to estimate the total quality of life.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which indicator measures the health of ecosystems?

A)genuine progress indicator (GPI)
B)gross domestic products (GDP)
C)Human Development Index (HDI)
D)Canadian Index of Well-being (CIW)

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following is a component of a pure market system?

A)limited choice
B)the flow of economic goods and money between households and businesses
C)limited competition
D)an obligation to provide jobs and safe workplaces

Question 5

Which type of graph would be used to illustrate the cost of removing pollutants?

A)a J-shaped curve, showing exponential growth
B)a normal distribution (first going up, then coming down)
C)a descending straight line
D)an ascending straight line

Question 6

Which statement goes against what economists generally believe?

A)resources are infinite in supply
B)unlimited economic growth is possible and desirable
C)the goal is to stay within the carrying capacity of the environment
D)the world has an essentially infinite capacity to absorb, dilute, or degrade wastes

Question 7

Which of the following is used to measure and compare the economic outputs in Canada and other nations?

A)Human Development Index (HDI)
B)Canadian Index of Well-being (CIW)
C)real gross domestic product (real GDP)
D)genuine progress indicator (GPI)

Question 8

Why do economists plot a curve of pollution cleanup costs against a curve of estimated social costs of pollution?

A)to find the internal costs of pollution
B)to find the minimum level of pollution
C)to find the optimal level of pollution
D)to find the maximum level of pollution

Question 9

Which of the following is an external cost of an automobile?

A)maintenance and repair
B)gasoline
C)pollution and health
D)raw materials and labour

Question 10

In which system do buyers and sellers freely interact in markets without governmental interference?

A)traditional system
B)mixed economic system
C)pure free-command system
D)pure free-market system

Question 11

What is one focus of ecologically sustainable development?

A)maximizing the flow of matter and energy resources
B)controlling human population size and resource use so that carrying capacity is not exceeded
C)eliminating the national debt
D)minimizing pollution costs

Question 12

Which statement represents current food production?

A)Input of labour required per unit of food has increased.
B)Food output in Canada has decreased.
C)Increases in efficiency of food production might not be sustainable.
D)Input of resources required per unit of food has decreased.

Question 13

What is caused by internalizing external costs?

A)It increases the chance for environmental degradation.
B)It omits the true costs of taxes.
C)It fails to include the full cost of pollution.
D)The market price approach becomes the true cost of an economic good.

Question 14

Why is government intervention into economic systems needed?

A)to ensure economic growth
B)to improve market success
C)to promote new economic ventures
D)to promote economic stability

Question 15

Which of the following is an internal cost of driving a domestic car?

A)cost of manufacture
B)highway accidents
C)pollution
D)destruction of land

Question 16

Which of the following is a characteristic of economic growth?

A)Economic growth usually protects quantity and quality of natural capital.
B)Economic growth decreases the flow of matter and energy resources through society.
C)Economic growth is generally measured by gross domestic product (GDP).
D)Economic growth measures usually include social and environmental well being.

Question 17

Which action would increase the external costs of operating a car?

A)fixing the car's brakes
B)disconnecting the car's air pollution control system
C)tuning the car's motor
D)listening to the car's radio

Question 18

What would the demand and supply curves look like that are associated with a market in which price, supply, and demand are the only factors involved?

A)They would be reciprocals of each other.
B)They would run parallel to each other.
C)They would intersect at the market equilibrium.
D)They would be straight lines that run in opposite directions.

Question 19

What best describes a wooden toy factory?

A)It is a form of natural capital.
B)It is a natural resource.
C)It is a physical resource.
D)It is a form of human capital.

Question 20

What does the GDP represent?

A)social welfare
B)the quality of the environment
C)the quality of life
D)economic output

Question 21

How is progress determined in an Earth-sustaining economy?

A)by the extent of pollution increase
B)by the bottom line
C)by the increase in use of nonrenewable materials
D)by the extent of the sustainable use of renewable resources

Question 22

What is passing and enforcing laws that ban the release of toxic chemicals into the environment called?

A)regulation
B)tradable pollution rights
C)subsidies for beneficial actions
D)user fees

Question 23

What ratio of people live on an income of $1 per day?

A)one in every nine people on the planet
B)one in every seven people on the planet
C)one in every five people on the planet
D)one in every three people on the planet

Question 24

What is the term for levying taxes on each unit of pollution discharged into the air or water?

A)green taxes
B)regulation
C)tradable pollution rights
D)user fees

Question 25

Which pollution control strategy is the most advantageous to international competition?

A)user fees
B)regulation
C)subsidies for beneficial actions
D)tradable pollution rights

Question 26

Germany's policies favour research and development in hydrogen fuel and advances in recycling technologies.

Question 27

Which pollution control approach does the least to internalize external costs?

A)regulation
B)tradable pollution rights
C)subsidies for beneficial actions
D)user fees

Question 28

What could help governments of developing countries reduce poverty?

A)shifting more of the national budget to aid the rich
B)restricting rights to women
C)redistributing land to large landowners who have shown they use it most efficiently
D)giving rural and urban poor title to their plantings on common lands

Question 29

What did the results of most studies of the effects of environmental regulation on U.S.businesses show?

A)environmental regulation discouraged the efficient use of resources
B)environmental regulation increased costs
C)environmental regulation encouraged innovative products
D)environmental regulation decreased profits

Question 30

What has happened to the gap between the rich and the poor since 1960?

A)it has disappeared
B)it has decreased
C)it has stayed the same
D)it has increased

Question 31

What does cost-benefit analysis do?

A)It compares the environment damaged compared to environment advantages.
B)It analyzes data to determine the most economically efficient course of action.
C)It objectively assesses the real costs of doing business.
D)It provides bottom-line numbers.

Question 32

What is a method by which developed countries can help address poverty and thereby invest in global environmental and economic security?

A)insisting that developing countries stop ruining their natural resource base
B)implementing trade barriers
C)forgiving the present debt owed by developing countries
D)increasing military aid

Question 33

What is one outcome of implementing government subsidies and tax breaks?

A)acceleration of resource conservation
B)acceleration of resource development
C)deceleration of resource degradation
D)deceleration of resource creation

Question 34

What is giving tax dollars to businesses that install pollution control equipment called?

A)tradable pollution rights
B)subsidies for beneficial actions
C)regulation
D)user fees

Question 35

What is the greatest impact of internalizing external costs?

A)Internalizing external costs would make pollution more profitable.
B)Fuel inefficient cars would still have competitive prices if their external costs were internalized.
C)Internalizing external costs would make consumers more aware of the true cost of goods.
D)Real market prices would always be cheaper if external costs were internalized.

Question 36

How is poverty usually defined?

A)earning less than $100 per year
B)not being able to meet one's basic economic needs
C)eating an unbalanced diet
D)not being able to buy shoes

Question 37

What description fits with the trickle-down theory?

A)Water percolates through loam soils.
B)Toxic wastes filter down in landfills.
C)Economic growth increases the number of jobs and helps the poor help themselves.
D)Waterfalls flow during the fall season.

Question 38

Which pollution control strategy has the highest administrative costs?

A)user fees
B)regulation
C)tradable pollution rights
D)subsidies for beneficial actions

Question 39

What is the primary topic that Paul Hawken wrote about?

A)regulations about pollution and waste
B)global warming and deforestation in the tropics
C)population growth in the developing world
D)transforming Earth-degrading economics to Earth-sustaining economics

Question 40

Germany produced the first steel mill that uses no coal to make steel.

Question 41

Environmental economists believe that society can modify the principles of neoclassical economics and reform current economic systems, rather than totally redesigning them.

Question 42

Adding external costs to the cost of goods and services would counter the amount people now pay for poor health, high-priced insurance, and pollution controls.

Question 43

Businesses did not appreciate the precise recommendations for how businesses were to achieve the goals of the Netherlands' Green Plan.

Question 44

The genuine progress indicator is generally disregarded because of the inability to price environmental and health costs.

Question 45

Neoclassical, ecological, and environmental economists believe a balance must exist between economic growth and environmental preservation.

Question 46

The Netherlands' Green Plan includes integrated life cycle management and public awareness programs.

Question 47

Sunset businesses would include clear-cut timber harvesting and water well drilling.

Question 48

An advantage of taxing wages and profits less, and taxing pollution and waste more, would be the improvement of environmental quality through full-cost pricing.

Question 49

Democracies are highly desirable but hinder their own ability to resolve environmental problems.

Question 50

The market approach in which governments grant tradable pollution and resource-use permits is similar to the cap-and-trade strategy.

Question 51

The precautionary principle is guided by the idea that we must make decisions that prevent a problem from occurring or worsening.

Question 52

A trade-off of using tradable pollution and resource-use permits to reduce pollution would be that big polluters and resource wasters could buy their way out.

Question 53

An example of an eco-friendly business is teleconferencing.

Question 54

Microloans are funded by the Grameen Bank in London, England.

Question 55

The government of the Netherlands has set goals for improving the disposal of toxic chemicals and waste, as well as goals for climate change and acid deposition.

Question 56

Green taxes would replace environmentally harmful subsidies and encourage the termination of unnecessary consumption.

Question 57

Economic development, including the creation of more jobs and distribution of wealth to reach blue-collar workers, is called the ______________________________.

Question 58

The majority of neoclassical economists adopt a lifestyle of voluntary simplicity.

Question 59

Environmental economists agree with ecological economists that some forms of economic growth are not sustainable.

Question 60

In a steady-state economy, both physical wealth and human population are maintained at a desired level.

Question 61

____________________ has numerous harmful health and environmental effects and has been identified as one of the major causes of society's environmental problems.

Question 62

What is meant by the optimum level of resource use?

Question 63

Environmentally harmful, or ____________________ businesses are those that are projected to decline in favour of more environmentally friendly businesses.

Question 64

In simple terms, ______________________________ include production and consumption.

Question 65

In order to implement _________________________, governments should reduce income or payroll taxes and enforce a safety net for poor and middle-class citizens.

Question 66

According to the diagram, what was the approximate percentage change in the GDP between 1990 and 2000?

Question 67

___________________________________ prove that individuals matter and can facilitate change when they join together in any group.

Question 68

_________________________ is the increase in total cost resulting from producing one more unit of good or service.

Question 69

Environmentalists think that _____________________________________________ can encourage companies to develop products and processes that can increase economic development.

Question 70

A(n) _____________________________________________ includes the harmful indirect or direct costs of goods.

Question 71

A(n) ________________________________________ neither depletes natural resources nor pollutes at levels that overwhelm the ability of ecosystems to absorb waste.

Question 72

The ______________________________ contends that environmental laws and regulations enforce decisions that benefit the environment as well as other problem areas.

Question 73

According to the diagram, what was the approximate percentage change in the GPI between 1990 and 2000?

Question 74

____________________ is/are the physical and mental talents of the people who provide the skills and abilities for innovation, culture, and organization to occur in a society.

Question 75

How is the neoclassical view of natural resources different from the view of the ecological economists?

Question 76

The goods and services produced by the Earth's natural processes and which support all life are called ______________________________.

Question 77

What are some disadvantages of tradable environmental permits?

Question 78

____________________ is the study of how individuals and societies choose to use limited or scarce resources to satisfy their unlimited wants.

Question 79

A ____________________ free-market economic system is a theoretical ideal or model in which buyers and sellers freely interact and make economic decisions in markets without any government or other interference.