Deck 4: Global Ecological Problems

Question 1

The global issues discussed in chapter four most seriously challenge the __________.

A) theory of technological exoticism
B) ecological approach
C) expansion model of progress
D) sustainability model
E) logic of interdependence

Answer 1

expansion model of progress

Question 2

One of the difficulties in protecting the integrity of an ecological commons is that independent free riders are tempted to exploit resources irresponsibly.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Serious academic study of global issues has been around for about fifty years.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

In what country did the government in 1970 worsen forest depletion by offering 100 free acres of land to farm that land?

A) Costa Rica
B) Cameroon
C) Nigeria
D) Indonesia
E) Brazil

Question 5

Which qualifies as an ecological metaphor?

A) spaceship earth
B) the grazing commons
C) the lily pond
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 6

The concept of carrying capacity is best illustrated by:

A) the tragedy of the commons
B) the lily pond example
C) the case of the Titanic
D) the case of Bufo Marinus
E) the case of the Exxon Valdez

Question 7

Which concept refers directly to limits?

A) sustainability
B) finiteness
C) interdependence
D) equity
E) exponential

Question 8

Which environmental problem does human use of CFCs most seriously exacerbate?

A) global warming
B) deforestation
C) desertification
D) acid rain
E) ozone depletion

Question 9

A concept which could conceivably have proven quite useful to the White Star Line's officials in 1912 is that of:

A) carrying capacity
B) growth model of progress
C) sustainable development
D) autarchy
E) deep ecology

Question 10

Modern ecological problems call for greater inter-disciplinary sharing than has traditionally existed in academia.

Question 11

The largest destruction of rainforests in the world is occurring today in:

A) Brazil's Atlantic forest
B) Brazil's Amazon forest
C) Cameroon's Ituri forest
D) Indonesia's Pancharat forest
E) none of the above

Question 12

Ecological optimists and ecological pessimists differ over how urgent and how severe global issues are, but no one disputes that serious concerns need to be addressed.

Question 13

Identify the decade NOT matched with the central ecological concept at that time:

A) 1960s - sustainable development
B) 1980s - finiteness
C) 1990s - interdependence
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 14

Global agreement exists today concerning which concept as a desirable goal?

A) growth model of progress
B) exponential growth
C) carrying capacity
D) sustainable development
E) biodiversity

Question 15

The Earth Summit's goal of sustainable development precludes significant improvements in the standard of living of poor countries.

Question 16

Which of the following steps do Christopher Flavin and Seth Dunn recommend as supportive of more sustainable generation of energy in the future?

A) wider use of a semiconductor device known as a solar voltaic cell
B) burning more natural gas and less oil
C) development of the fuel cell, an electrochemical process combining hydrogen and oxygen to produce water and electricity
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 17

In which group of countries do governments most commonly set pro-natalist policies?

A) LDCs
B) MDCs
C) Arab Middle East
D) East Asian NICs
E) Latin America

Question 18

Canadian criticisms of the U.S. environmental legacy has been sharpest regarding which issue?

A) acid rain
B) greenhouse gases
C) smog
D) deforestation
E) ozone depletion

Question 19

The poor LDCs are most critical of their northern neighbors concerning which issue?

A) environmental space
B) the green revolution
C) biodiversity
D) deforestation
E) ecoterrorism

Question 20

Deforestation has the most adverse long-term consequences with respect to:

A) biodiversity
B) ecoterrorism
C) Green revolution
D) ozone depletion
E) environmental space

Question 21

In 1997, the head of British Petroleum BP), John Brown, announced that his oil company was investing at least $1 billion dollars per year in research & development of solar energy.

Question 22

The use of nuclear energy was on the rise in the U.S. until the year 1979, but since that time has been stalled because of public fears about safety issues.

Question 23

The Exxon Valdez case was the largest oil spill ever to occur.

Question 24

Approximately two-thirds of all fresh water used in the world goes toward agricultural irrigation.

Question 25

Of the globe's fresh water, 92 percent gets used for agricultural or industrial purposes.

Question 26

The Indian government's policies aimed at ZPG are considered exemplary and often are held up as a model for other LDCs to follow.

Question 27

Burning fossil fuels contributes to global warming, acid rain, and deforestation as part of its legacy.

Question 28

Between 1950 and 2000, global loss of topsoil from cropland amounted to only 2 percent of total arable land.

Question 29

The fertility rate for women is about 2.1 in both America and Italy, but lower in Saudi Arabia 1.8) and higher 4.0) in Rwanda.

Question 30

The reasons for limited research and development of alternative energy sources in the U.S. are scientific and technical, not political or economic ones.

Question 31

Inter-generational equity, an old concept traceable to the early Renaissance, has been dusted off and recycled in recent years.

Question 32

The idea of deep ecology derives directly from Christian and Islamic Biblical sources.

Question 33

Fortunately, there are no other nuclear reactors of the type that failed at Chernobyl operating anywhere else in the former Soviet Union.

Question 34

Although the Titanic story was a disaster for the young shipping industry, it was unavoidable and involved few serious human miscalculations.

Question 35

Because of significant increases in production of solar energy and nuclear energy in recent decades, fossil fuels now constitute only 50 percent of global energy output.