Deck 14: Environmental Problems

Question 1

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)________.

A)required that public hearings be held on matters that might adversely affect the environment
B)empowered the Environment Protection Agency (EPA)to monitor and regulate standards of air quality
C)helped establish the Environmental Defense Fund
D)helped establish the Natural Resources Defense Council

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Many scientists believe that the disposal of radioactive wastes is a major problem.Which of the following is a reason that the disposal of radioactive wastes could be a major problem?

A)Radioactive wastes are resistant to the process of eutrophication.
B)Radioactive wastes cannot be contained under any condition.
C)Radioactive wastes cannot be converted into a solid state.
D)Radioactive wastes remain active for a very long period of time.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following is true of the functionalist perspective?

A)It states that environmental problems have less to do with the limited amount of resources available than with their distribution.
B)It views society as a system made up of interrelated and interdependent parts,each working toward the maintenance of the system.
C)It stresses the importance of social definitions and subjective assessments of reality.
D)It says that highly technological social organizations are always dysfunctional.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following statements disproves the myth that American Indians were the first environmentalists?

A)They always exploited their environment before the Europeans got into the act.
B)They worked hard to protect those resources in large supply and took a wasteful approach toward those that they believed to be in short supply.
C)They caused an increase in the carrying capacity of their ecosystem for a prolonged period of time.
D)They sometimes slaughtered buffalos,eating the best meat and taking the hides but leaving the rest to decompose.

Question 5

Which of the following is the result of harmful ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth?

A)global warming
B)depletion of fossil fuels
C)deforestation
D)decortication

Question 6

The Montreal Protocol of 1987 was an agreement to limit ________.

A)the usage of fossil fuels as energy sources
B)the usage of radioactive materials
C)the use of ozone-depleting chemicals
D)the emission of sulfur dioxide

Question 7

A person looking at environmental problems from a conflict perspective is likely to believe that ________.

A)a highly technological social organization is always dysfunctional
B)environmental problems arise because of the way in which resources are distributed
C)high technology and environmental preservation are at odds with one another
D)decisions that affect the environment are made on the basis of maintaining a balance in an ecosystem

Question 8

What happens when the carrying capacity of an ecosystem is exceeded?

A)The ecosystem will immediately lose its capacity to support human life.
B)The ecosystem's resources will be depleted at a faster rate than they can be replaced.
C)The ecosystem will begin to expand to accommodate the higher demands placed by the extra population.
D)The ecosystem will stop interacting with other ecosystems.

Question 9

Which of the following is a true statement about the hydrologic cycle?

A)In a single pass through the hydrologic cycle,water is not always fully suitable for reuse.
B)There usually is more than one mechanism by which water is purified in the hydrologic cycle.
C)The hydrologic cycle describes the life cycle of marine wildlife.
D)The cleansing ability of the hydrologic cycle is not impacted by population and technology.

Question 10

Davis and Frank are environmental scientists discussing the factors that have led to the environmental problems faced by the world today.They are most likely to agree with the fact that ________.

A)chlorofluorocarbons in aerosol cans and refrigeration units contribute to ozone depletion
B)gases released into the earth's atmosphere by burning fossil fuels cause temperatures to dip
C)crude oil is the longest-lasting nonrenewable energy source
D)desertification leads to a decline in oxygen levels in water bodies

Question 11

The early environmental groups at the beginning of the twentieth century ________.

A)focused exclusively on environmental degradation
B)focused on protecting wilderness areas for use by human beings
C)unanimously believed that the earth's carrying capacity was exceeded
D)made the general public in the U.S.aware of environmental concerns

Question 12

Farmers in the country of Carbodia continuously grow food crops throughout the year since the country exports food products.This has resulted in the reduction of the quantity of land suitable for agriculture.Which of the following land degradation phenomena is described in the given scenario?

A)desertification
B)deforestation
C)eutrophication
D)decortication

Question 13

Which of the following is true of an ecosystem?

A)An ecosystem is always relatively small.
B)Changes in one part of an ecosystem will always produce changes in the other parts.
C)Human-induced changes in an ecosystem seldom have a major negative effect.
D)A self-sufficient ecosystem interacts with other ecosystems at the overlap of their borders.

Question 14

According to biologists Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich,the social conditions governing the impact that human beings have on their environment are population,technology,and ________.

A)affluence
B)appetence
C)effluence
D)cadence

Question 15

The problem of acid rain can be alleviated by a reduction in the ________.

A)burning of fossil fuels
B)consumption of nuclear energy
C)heating of acids
D)emission of carbon dioxide

Question 16

Who among the following is a person with an interactionist perspective?

A)a person who views society as a system made up of interrelated and interdependent parts,each working toward the maintenance of the system
B)a person who believes environmental problems become social problems only when people perceive it to be a social problem
C)a person who believes decisions affecting the environment are made on the basis of maintaining a balance in an ecosystem
D)a person who views society as a system made up of independent parts,each working toward the maintenance of the system

Question 17

Which of the following was a key factor that led the early twentieth century people to perceive environmental pollution as a threat?

A)the devastating effects that nuclear bombs had on the environment
B)the establishment of environmental interest groups
C)the discovery of fossil fuels
D)the depletion of the ozone layer

Question 18

Which of the following is a disadvantage of achieving high levels of affluence?

A)People have to consume the earth's resources and pollute its environment.
B)People have to stop using nuclear energy in order to save the environment.
C)Only a few people will have access to material goods for achieving high levels of affluence.
D)Less-developed nations will have to stop industrializing,which can adversely impact world economy.

Question 19

In the context of the damage done to the environment,the modern era differs from the premodern era in that ________.

A)there are fewer environmentalists in the modern era
B)modern people enjoy a harmonious relationship with the environment
C)modern people have more elaborate technology and are larger in number
D)people in the modern era work hard to save resources that are short in supply

Question 20

How have "bottle bills" encouraged people to reduce the production of solid wastes?

A)They limit the number of bottled beverages a person can buy in a day.
B)They ban the production of plastic bottles.
C)They require that a deposit be paid for bottles when a beverage is bought.
D)They make it mandatory for beverage companies to start using cans instead of bottles.

Question 21

Zorro Corp. ,a company producing plastic products,ensures that carbon dioxide produced during various processes is buried underground and is not released into the atmosphere.Which of the following approaches is Zorro Corp following in order to reduce its carbon footprint?

A)carbon sequestration
B)carbon capping
C)carbon ranching
D)carbon offset

Question 22

What was the outcome of the fervor generated by environmental groups in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s?

Question 23

How do environmental partnerships help in attacking environmental problems?

Question 24

Environmental justice refers to the idea that ________.

A)land degradation occurs when humans tamper with the environment
B)environmental hazards should be shared equally by various groups in society
C)an upper-size limit is imposed on a population by its environmental resources and that cannot be permanently exceeded
D)high technology and environmental preservation are at odds with one another

Question 25

Gases such as carbon dioxide and methane contribute to the greenhouse effect by ________.

A)preventing the escape of solar infrared radiation
B)preventing sunlight from reaching the earth's surface
C)reducing the temperature of the earth's atmosphere
D)reducing oxygen levels in water bodies

Question 26

What are some of the consequences of global warming?

Question 27

What are the three sources of radioactive wastes?

Question 28

Which of the following is a characteristic of integrated pest management?

A)It completely eliminates the use of chemical pesticides.
B)It uses only organic pesticides.
C)It views a field of crops as an ecosystem.
D)It uses the Malthusian approach to pest management.

Question 29

The Wise Use Movement has ________.

A)convinced developed nations to stop harvesting timber in national forests
B)convinced the U.S.government to implement the Kyoto protocol
C)been praised as the leader of environmental groups by Greenpeace
D)vigorously opposed environmental regulation in oil and gas exploration

Question 30

What does the conflict perspective state about environmental problems?

Question 31

Explain how all parts of an environment are dependent on one another with the help of an example.

Question 32

Which of the following is true of global warming?

A)It occurs only because of natural environmental processes.
B)It is considered to be a serious problem by all scientists.
C)It has only negative consequences.
D)It is related to the greenhouse effect.

Question 33

Which of the following is a true statement about the Kyoto Protocol?

A)It requires industrialized nations to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases.
B)It requires developed countries to reduce their growth rate.
C)It requires all nations to reduce their emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals.
D)Its implementation has produced a substantial drop in greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.

Question 34

What are the economic and social implications of the continuous use of coal as an energy source?

Question 35

Why is it that the hydrologic cycle is no longer able to fully cleanse water?

Question 36

Crenla Inc. ,a petroleum company,has exceeded its carbon emission limit.Crenla now has to purchase credits from Zanbril Inc. ,a low-polluting drug company,to pay for exceeding its emission limit.In the given scenario,Crenla Inc.is engaged in ________.

A)carbon ranching
B)carbon offset
C)carbon sequestration
D)carbon trading

Question 37

Which of the following statements is true of environmental partnerships?

A)Their goal is to identify an environmental problem and develop a solution.
B)Their goal is to pressurize the U.S.government to implement the Montreal Protocol.
C)They are collaborative partnerships that include only environmental groups and corporations.
D)They are the most coercive approaches to finding ways of alleviating environmental problems.

Question 38

What does exceeding the carrying capacity of an ecosystem mean? What is its consequence?

Question 39

Why is it difficult to permanently dispose nuclear wastes?

Question 40

Carbon ranching allows industries or individuals that spew carbon into the atmosphere to make up for it by ________.

A)artificially pumping oxygen into the air
B)paying a country with forests to preserve those forests
C)manufacturing and recycling beverage bottles at a lower cost
D)reducing nitrogen emission