Deck 15: Changing the Climate: Modernity at Its Limits

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a consequence of deforestation?

A)The removal of a habitat for native species
B)A decrease in carbon emissions
C)The greater likelihood of the production of methane
D)An increase in carbon emissions

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following describes a Marxist perspective on the environment?

A)Profit-driven economic growth has exploited natural resources to unsustainable levels
B)Economic growth has fed technological advances that sustain the environment
C)Profit-driven economic growth is tempered by the response to climate change
D)Economic imperatives support sustainable development

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What is Australia's percentage contribution to the world's greenhouse gas emissions?

A)1)5 per cent
B)2)5 per cent
C)0)3 per cent
D)1)3 per cent

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT a consequence of climate change?

A)Sea level rise
B)An increase in alkalinity of the oceans
C)Rising temperatures
D)The disappearance of summer ice

Question 5

Which of the following is a key threat to the number of animal species in Australia?

A)Dryer conditions
B)Drop in the earth's temperate
C)One degree increase in the earth's temperature
D)Increasing urbanisation

Question 6

Listen to Benjamin Bratton's TED Talk (available at HYPERLINK "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo5cKRmJaf0" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo5cKRmJaf0)and outline his critique of the communication style of TED talks.Analyse the communication style of Hansen's TED Talk.

Question 7

Which of the following is NOT an argument put forward by climate change sceptics?

A)Global warming is fictitious
B)Global warming is a natural process
C)Global warming depends on the economy
D)Global warming may be good for human society

Question 8

Why are carbon dioxide levels important to understanding our environment?

A)Greenhouse gases release heat from the earth's atmosphere
B)High levels produce chloroflurocarbons
C)Greenhouse gases trap heat in the earth's atmosphere
D)Low levels of carbon dioxide produce methane

Question 9

Which of the following does NOT accurately describe the consensus of knowledge for climate change science communicated by reports such as the inter-governmental panel on climate change (IPCC)?

A)The reports are extremely detailed and contain scientific information,making them hard for lay people to understand
B)The reports are extremely valuable as a resource as they bring together a range of different data in one place
C)The findings and concepts documented in reports tend to be conservative,making the issue of prediction doubtful
D)The reports are extremely thorough,and include predictions for all types of scenarios,even those where predictive data is unavailable

Question 10

Which was Australia's warmest decade on record?

A)1997-2007
B)1989-1999
C)2000-2010
D)2003-2013

Question 11

The paradox inherent in the condition of worldwide expansive interaction through the shrinking screens of personal mobile communication devices is known as:

A)Mobile technology
B)Mobile privatisation
C)Corporate privatisation
D)Corporate symbolism

Question 12

Climate change sceptics make various arguments about the falsity of global warming.Write a 'letter to the editor' using the ideas in this chapter to discount the sceptics' claims.

Question 13

Two areas for action in climate change policy are?

A)Carbon pricing and deforestation
B)Adaptation and communication
C)Communication and alleviation
D)Adaptation and alleviation

Question 14

Which of the following is reason for the limited response to climate change?

A)Indecision about an effective strategy
B)Lack of associated dystopian imagery
C)Political differences
D)Lack of sociological analysis

Question 15

The way scientific knowledge is affirmed,argued and communicated contributes to the slow response to climate change in the Australian context.Discuss.

Question 16

Each of the following contributes to lack of concern about climate change EXCEPT:

A)The variability of daily temperatures
B)Shift in political attention from the environment to the economy
C)Fossil fuel lobby groups in national politics
D)The burden of recycling

Question 17

Which one of the following was NOT a finding of the Stern Report in regard to the economic costs of climate change?

A)A loss of agricultural production
B)A reduction in global gross domestic product
C)A decrease in fertility rates
D)Large numbers of refugees from the developing world

Question 18

Which of the following scientists attempts to communicate a holistic view of climate change?

A)George Monbiot
B)James Hansen
C)David Bellamy
D)Tim Flannery

Question 19

Which of the following is a common misconception of climate change?

A)More extremes in the weather system
B)Increasing incidence of flood
C)Increasing incidence of drought
D)The earth is becoming dryer

Question 20

Listen to James Hansen's TED Talk (available at HYPERLINK "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWInyaMWBY8" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWInyaMWBY8)and outline the strategy he suggests for addressing climate change.Provide a list of points that indicate who benefits and who loses from this strategy.

Question 21

Write a brief description of 'technological determinism'.Choose one technology,and demonstrate the ways that technological determinism applies to the prevalence and use of this technology.

Question 22

Which of the following is NOT an approach to the study of science and technology?

A)Determinist
B)Instrumental
C)Structuralist
D)Substantivist

Question 23

According to Heidegger's approach,what might we learn about technology if we experience a power cut?

A)That energy is dependent on the capacity to pay to use it,which means some social groups are better able to consume technologies than others
B)That technologies are a product of society,and as such something which individuals and groups create for the benefit of the masses
C)That we only really realise our dependence on technologies when they fail
D)That technologies will never be superior to natural processes

Question 24

What did Heidegger (1977)claim was a consequence of treating too much of the natural world as a standing reserve?

A)Technological emancipation is annulled by the devastation of the environment
B)Technology becomes autonomous
C)Technological innovation enables more finely tuned interconnectedness to the natural environment
D)Technologies provide emancipation to those social groups that have previously been disempowered

Question 25

Drawing on the theories of Marx,and using at least one example,discuss the ways that the rise of capitalism can be linked to the destruction of the natural environment.