Deck 27: Politics, Environment, and Sustainability

Question 1

Which group is a mainstream environmental organization?

A)the Sierra Club
B)the Population Connection
C)the Worldwatch Institute
D)the Environmental Defense Fund

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which situation is a democracy least prepared to address, in terms of its design for stability?

A)an urgent message that foreign missiles have been released
B)the need to create a long-term energy plan
C)illegal immigrants crossing its borders
D)a threat from foreign ships crossing waters under its jurisdiction

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which guideline would be helpful in changing government policies?

A)Be sure to point out the political official's past positions with which you disagreed.
B)Do NOT give reasons for your position.
C)Do NOT use persuasion and positive reinforcement.
D)Share any expert knowledge you have.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

What is one major problem with Canadian environmental issues?

A)other countries are so far behind in developing environmental solutions
B)too many people with too many different ideas
C)the lack of leadership by environmental groups
D)the lack of vision by politicians

Question 5

What is one component of environmental law?

A)it provides for the omission of civil suits
B)it includes an environment ethic statement
C)it includes mandatory prison sentences for infractions
D)it includes statements defining what is reasonable environmental behaviour

Question 6

Which task would be difficult for a constitutional democracy?

A)responding to the possibility of long-range global warming
B)responding to a labour strike
C)responding to a threat of attack
D)responding to an economic depression

Question 7

What is the first step or level that a proposed Canadian law must pass through on its way to becoming official?

A)Legislators are lobbied to vote or act in favour of the proposed law.
B)A government minister creates a bill hoping to pass it into law.
C)The appropriate government department draws up regulations.
D)Lawmakers acknowledge that there is a problem.

Question 8

What is the role of a constitution in a constitutional democracy?

A)It increases government's power and authority.
B)It defines environmental laws.
C)It guarantees freely expressed public opinion.
D)It defines the structure of the justice system.

Question 9

What is one way that individuals in a constitutional democracy influence and change government policies?

A)by NOT voting
B)by NOT lobbying
C)by NOT participating in grassroots activities
D)by freely expressing public opinion

Question 10

What is one way that the legal playing field can be made more level for citizens?

A)by not awarding citizens with their attorney's fees in successful lawsuits
B)by raising fines for violations of environmental laws
C)by limiting the number of environmental cases that can be heard in a year
D)by not allowing citizens to sue violators of environmental laws for damages

Question 11

Which of the following is a major environmental law in Canada?

A)the Canada Waterfowl Protection Act
B)the Canadian Shoreline Protection Act
C)the Canada Black Bear Act
D)the Species at Risk Act

Question 12

Which of the following is among the rules for effective grassroots action?

A)Do NOT form alliances with other organizations.
B)Organize for action with a project leader and a small group of workers.
C)Concentrate efforts at the national and global levels.
D)Do NOT limit the number of targets, and hit them hard.

Question 13

What is the most powerful thing that decision makers do?

A)Compromise
B)enact laws
C)establish policies
D)develop and adopt budgets

Question 14

Which means of influencing and changing government policies is NOT likely for individuals in a constitutional democracy?

A)by participating in grassroots activities
B)by a coup d'état
C)by whistle-blowing
D)by education and persuasion

Question 15

Which of the following is a demonstration of effective environmental leadership?

A)setting a positive example
B)challenging the system
C)communicating with elected officials
D)working within the system

Question 16

What is the first thing that must be done after a law has been passed?

A)provide adequate funds to enforce the law
B)appoint an overseer group
C)inform the public
D)determine if the law is unconstitutional

Question 17

What principle is taken into account by environmental policy?

A)the postcorporative principle
B)the non-integrative principle
C)the precautionary principle
D)the corporation principle

Question 18

What limits the effectiveness of environmental lawsuits?

A)the difficulty of finding a defendant
B)the lack of recovery of attorneys' fees by public-interest law firms
C)short length of time for court proceedings
D)lawyers often fight for environmental law cases

Question 19

What is the mandate of the Canadian Wildlife Act?

A)regulating the protection of migratory bird species
B)regulating toxic substances and environmental quality
C)regulating the conservation of wildlife under federal control, and facilitating research
D)regulating the establishment of marine protected areas

Question 20

Which statement is a demonstration of environmental leadership?

A)join every environmental group you can
B)become a very radical individual
C)challenge the system
D)communicate with anyone that will listen to your message

Question 21

How many countries have environmental protection agencies?

A)about 15
B)about 25
C)about 75
D)about 115

Question 22

International environmental treaties are poorly monitored and enforced.

Question 23

What needs to be done in order for humanity to evaluate its position on environmental issues?

A)recognize which environmental issues are simple and straightforward
B)apply wise-use principles
C)apply economic analyses
D)distinguish between frontier and consensus science

Question 24

Environmentalists are often the bearers of bad news and hence are not received well.

Question 25

Administrative laws consist of administrative rules and regulations, executive orders, and enforcement decisions related to the implementation and interpretation of statutory laws.

Question 26

Which subject has no coverage by international treaties?

A)deep sea mining
B)endangered species protection
C)ocean pollution
D)acid deposition

Question 27

Laws enforced by environmental leaders are usually composed of policies, regulations, and funding.

Question 28

The majority of international treaties lack criteria for monitoring and evaluating their own effectiveness.

Question 29

Which of the following actions is an anti-environmental organization NOT likely to do?

A)encourage compensation for regulatory takings
B)utilize paralysis-by-analysis
C)submit bills to improve energy efficiency and recycling
D)urge legislators not to fund environmental laws

Question 30

Encouraging global free trade may weaken laws that protect the environment.

Question 31

Which concept includes all the others?

A)food security
B)global environmental security
C)national (military) security
D)economic security

Question 32

What would environmentalists expect anti-environmental forces to do?

A)influence the media and deny that environmental problems exist
B)collect and publish data about environmental issues
C)NOT build up a good environmental image
D)NOT exploit the limitations of science

Question 33

The Species at Risk Act is a recent environmental law passed in Canada.

Question 34

What was one of the outcomes of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit?

A)a convention on climate change
B)an agreement to slow the growth of human population
C)no statement of principles on forest protection
D)adopted key principles for dealing with global environmental problems

Question 35

Nonprofit nongovernmental organizations include grassroots groups and labour unions working at the international, national, state, and local levels.

Question 36

Statutory laws are those developed and passed by legislative bodies such as federal and provincial governments.

Question 37

Joining a special-interest group is one way to provide environmental leadership.

Question 38

Which effort to be more "green" has been undertaken by a number of college students?

A)They established agricultural research stations.
B)They established a Green Cup competition among dorms to see who eats the most vegetables.
C)They promoted the use of locally grown beef only.
D)They worked with faculty and administration to make environmental improvements on campus.

Question 39

Which of the following is among the issues being faced by the environmental movement?

A)a coalition of anti-environmental grassroots groups
B)stepped-up lobbying against corporations
C)too many grassroots environmental groups are being organized
D)federal laws not sensitive to risk-benefit analyses

Question 40

Which of the following is a focus of grassroots groups, relative to the approaches taken by national-level and state-level environmental organizations?

A)Grassroots groups are willing to compromise.
B)Grassroots groups are fighting immediate threats to their families' lives.
C)Grassroots groups do want pesticide-free lawns.
D)Grassroots groups focus primarily on youth and children.

Question 41

Any person undertaking a lawsuit must establish that she or he has the legal right or legal standing to do so.

Question 42

Lobbying involves individuals or groups trying to persuade legislators to vote or act in their favour.

Question 43

A leader is a person whom other people choose to follow because of the leader's vision, credibility, and courage.

Question 44

A(n) ______________________________ is a statement by an organization of its intentions and principles in relation to its overall environmental performance.

Question 45

The ______________________________ protects and supports the recovery of threatened and endangered species.

Question 46

The Species at Risk Act protects and supports the recovery of marine protected areas.

Question 47

____________________ is concerned with who controls the distribution of wealth and resources.

Question 48

The primary responsibility for environmental management rests with the Department of the ____________________.

Question 49

____________________ is government by the people through elected officials and representatives.

Question 50

There is growing concern over the threat of climate change and its potential to disrupt ecological economic, and political systems.

Question 51

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

Question 52

Individuals can ____________________ a corporation or business to protest or show disfavour of certain practices.

Question 53

___________________________________ advocate passing laws or establishing regulations favourable to their cause.

Question 54

Environmentalists have used ____________________ to block harmful projects or to get the projects modified to reduce their effects.

Question 55

According to the ________________________________________, all people have a right to an environment that does not harm their health and well-being.

Question 56

Making decisions that involve integrated solutions to environmental and other problems is called the integrative principle.

Question 57

According to the ___________________________________, making decisions involves amalgamating solutions to environmental and other problems.

Question 58

Many other countries have taken over the lead from the U.S.in developing alternative environmental technologies.

Question 59

One of the first steps involved in establishing federal environmental policy is that lawmakers must acknowledge that an environmental problem exists.

Question 60

The prevention principle involves the development of regulations and the use of economic tools such as full-cost pricing to ensure that polluters bear the cost of pollutants and wastes they produce.

Question 61

What are some of the problems associated with international efforts to deal with global environmental issues?

Question 62

What is the precautionary principle?

Question 63

In Canada and most other developed countries, the ____________________ job market is one of the fastest growing segments of the economy.

Question 64

The organization that enforces the new GATT rules of world trade is the ____________________.

Question 65

According to the economic ___________________________________ hypothesis, a country, or a place within a country, often has an advantage over other areas in producing or selling one or more types of goods or services.

Question 66

What is the purpose of an environmental impact statement (EIS)?

Question 67

What factors hinder the ability of democracies to deal with environmental problems?

Question 68

What are the characteristics of a good leader?