Deck 14: Economics, Politics, Worldviews, and Sustainability

Question 1

Which of the following is not an external cost of driving a domestic car?

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

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The models of ecological economists focus on

A) conserving resources, sustainable forms of economic development and full-cost pricing.
B) eliminating the national debt.
C) maximizing the flow of matter and energy resources.
D) minimizing pollution costs.
E) minimizing the flow of matter and energy resources.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following categories includes the others?

A) human capital
B) natural resources
C) economic resources
D) manufactured capital
E) none of these answers

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Full-cost pricing

A) could be implemented through government action.
B) reduces final cost of goods.
C) would result in consumers making less environmentally sound choices.
D) would make the market price higher than the true cost of a product or service.
E) all of these answers

Question 5

Economic growth of most developed countries focuses on

A) controlling human population size and resource use so Earth's carrying capacity is not exceeded.
B) internalizing external costs.
C) maximizing the flow of matter and energy resources.
D) social and environmental indicators of quality of life.
E) minimizing the flow of matter and energy resources.

Question 6

Which of the following is not a characteristic of green taxes?

A) Taxes on pollution or use of resources would replace income or payroll taxes.
B) Taxes would be levied on a per-unit basis of pollution produced or resources used.
C) Taxes would discourage environmental degradation and encourage jobs, income and innovation.
D) Taxes would decrease on a company that produced more jobs.
E) all of these are characteristics of green taxes

Question 7

Which of the following are harmful environmental costs which are included in the GPI?

A) resource depletion
B) crime
C) pollution
D) resource degradation
E) all of these answers

Question 8

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Internalizing external costs would make pollution prevention more profitable.
B) Internalizing external costs makes consumers more aware of the true cost of goods and services.
C) Real market prices would not always be cheaper if external costs were internalized.
D) Fuel-inefficient cars would still have competitive prices if their external costs were internalized.
E) Many costs and benefits cannot be labeled with a price tag.

Question 9

Environmental economists view

A) the earth's natural capital as a subset of human economic systems.
B) economic systems as subsystems of the biosphere and advocate refining existing economic systems toward more sustainable economies.
C) the potential of economic growth as unlimited.
D) high waste economies as desirable as long as waste and pollution are managed.
E) energy flow and matter resources as inputs to economic systems that must be maximized.

Question 10

As a result of traditional economic systems,which use natural capital to produce and consume goods,

A) nonrenewable resources are depleted.
B) waste heat is produced.
C) resources are degraded and depleted faster than they can be regenerated.
D) pollution and waste are generated faster than nature can recycle or dispose of them.
E) all of these answers

Question 11

Internalizing external costs

A) involves making the market price approach the true cost of an economic good.
B) fails to include the cost of pollution.
C) omits the costs of taxes.
D) increases the chance for environmental degradation.
E) a and b

Question 12

Full-cost pricing is difficult to implement for all of the following reasons except

A) producers of harmful and wasteful products might go bankrupt.
B) producers of harmful and wasteful products might lose subsidies.
C) it is difficult to externalize internal costs.
D) it is difficult to place a price tag on external costs.
E) all of these answers

Question 13

Which of the following are beneficial transactions in which no money changes hands but are included in the GPI?

A) health care provided by family members
B) unpaid volunteer work
C) housework
D) child care
E) all of these answers

Question 14

Which of the following are characteristics of the GPI,or genuine progress indicator?

A) GPI measures the annual economic value of all goods and services produced within a country.
B) GPI adds to the GDP (gross domestic product) things in the marketplace that enhance environmental quality and human well-being.
C) GPI subtracts from the GDP (gross domestic product) the cost of things that lead to a lower quality of life and deplete natural resources.
D) a and b only
E) b and c only

Question 15

External costs are paid for by all of the following except higher

A) taxes.
B) health insurance premiums.
C) prices.
D) health costs.
E) loan interests.

Question 16

All of the following would be forms of regulation except

A) requiring that certain resources be protected from unsustainable use.
B) granting tradable pollution rights.
C) banning the release of toxic chemicals into the environment.
D) determining the extent of harmful activities.
E) all of these answers

Question 17

All or part of harmful subsidies on coal have been eliminated by

A) Japan
B) France
C) Belgium
D) Germany
E) all of these answers

Question 18

All of the following behaviors would increase the external costs of operating a car except

A) disconnecting the air pollution-control system.
B) throwing a cigarette butt out the window.
C) blaring the radio at a stoplight.
D) tuning the motor.
E) having an accident.

Question 19

Which of the following is not classified as an economic resource?

A) time
B) labor
C) capital or intermediate goods
D) natural resources
E) human resources

Question 20

Which of the following is not a strategy suggested by environmental economists for transitioning to a more sustainable economy?

A) relax laws and regulations on pollution prevention and resource depletion in order to stimulate the economy
B) reduce poverty
C) use indicators that monitor economic and environmental health
D) use tradable permits to pollute or use resources to limit overall pollution and resource use
E) sell services instead of things

Question 21

Poverty is usually defined as

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

Question 22

Which of the following does not represent a selling service vs selling things pair?

A) Document services vs Photocopier sales
B) Air temperature regulation service vs Heating and cooling unit sales
C) Flooring maintenance vs Carpet sales
D) Electronic sales vs Entertainment services
E) Transportation services vs Cars for sale

Question 23

Which of the following are not requirements for the successful implementation of green taxes?

A) Large corporations should be exempted from green taxes to preserve jobs.
B) Green taxes should be phased in gradually and other taxes adjusted so there are no net tax increases.
C) A safety net should be set up to assist the poor in obtaining basic supplies such as food and fuel.
D) Public education programs should be set up to help people understand the tax shifts.
E) All of these answers.

Question 24

Humans can move toward creating restorative economies by all of the following except

A) using full-cost accounting.
B) making environmental concerns a key part of all trade agreements and loans by international lending agencies.
C) revoking charters of environmentally and socially irresponsible businesses.
D) making a primary commitment to economic growth.
E) using low discount rates.

Question 25

Ecological means of easing the transition from the current economy to a sustainable-Earth economy include all of the following except

A) using environmental indicators to measure progress
B) stabilizing human populations
C) preserving biodiversity
D) repairing ecological damage
E) mimicking nature

Question 26

The trickle-down theory describes how

A) liquid pollutants enter the groundwater.
B) toxic wastes filter down in landfills.
C) water percolates through loam soils.
D) economic growth will increase the number of jobs and help the poor help themselves.
E) economic growth will decrease the number of jobs and help the poor help themselves.

Question 27

Change in a constitutional democracy is incremental because of

A) distribution of power among the different branches.
B) a system of checks and balances among the different branches.
C) division of power among federal, state, and local levels.
D) all of these answers
E) none of these answers

Question 28

Critics of the command and control approach to environmental regulation argue that the strategy

A) discourages innovation
B) unnecessarily increases costs
C) enforces clean up instead of prevention
D) all of these answers
E) none of these answers

Question 29

Neoclassical economists believe that a trickle-down economy

A) creates more jobs.
B) reduces the amount of pollution generated by corporations.
C) reduces tax revenues.
D) all of these answers
E) none of these answers

Question 30

Selling services rather than products is beneficial because

A) resource use is decreased.
B) waste is decreased.
C) materials are recycled.
D) pollution is decreased.
E) all of these answers

Question 31

Supporters of incentive based approaches to environmental regulation argue that the strategy

A) encourages businesses to be innovative in reducing pollution.
B) allows flexibility in technologies used to reduce pollution.
C) allows businesses to develop green products and processes that create jobs.
D) all of these answers
E) none of these answers

Question 32

Governments of developing countries can help eliminate poverty by all of the following methods except

A) shifting more of the national budget to aid the poor.
B) giving villages and urban poor title to common lands and to crops and trees they plant on common lands.
C) redistributing some of the land to the large landowners who have shown they use it most efficiently.
D) increasing spending on health, education, family planning, and sanitation.
E) increasing expenditure for rural development, land distribution, and protection of wilderness areas.

Question 33

According to Paul Hawken,the large inefficiencies of our businesses are hidden because of

A) lack of complete information.
B) environmental externalities.
C) faulty pricing.
D) all of these answers
E) none of these answers

Question 34

Selling the right to harvest timber up to a sustainable yield level would be an example of

A) tradable pollution rights.
B) charging user fees.
C) subsidies for beneficial actions.
D) regulation.
E) green taxes.

Question 35

Paul Hawken would encourage all of the following except

A) leave the world better than you found it.
B) maintain the status quo.
C) take no more than you need.
D) do no harm.
E) c and d

Question 36

Ways to ease the transition from the current economy to a sustainable-Earth economy include all of the following except

A)governments and industries increase spending on education,research and development especially in renewable-energy areas.
B)encouraging change in the current system of rewards and penalties to encourage environmentally sustainable economic activities.
C)providing income and retraining assistance for workers displaced from environmentally destructive businesses.
D)changing as quickly as possible so that change is not dragged out.
E)a and d.

Question 37

Tradable pollution rights

A) are not a market strategy to reduce pollution and resource waste.
B) does not allow companies to save unused credits for future use.
C) are effective based on where the initial limits are set and the rate at which they are reduced.
D) have not been successful in reducing sulfur dioxide emissions in the U.S.
E) can be used only for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Question 38

Since 1960,the gap between the rich and the poor has

A) disappeared.
B) increased.
C) stayed the same.
D) decreased.
E) stayed the same and then decreased.

Question 39

Levying taxes on each unit of pollution discharged into the air or water is an example of

A) green taxes.
B) charging user fees.
C) subsidies for beneficial actions.
D) regulation.
E) tradable pollution rights.

Question 40

Environmental careers include

A) solid and hazardous waste management.
B) sustainable forestry.
C) ecology dynamics.
D) population dynamics.
E) all of these answers

Question 41

Effective environmental leadership

A) leads by working within the system.
B) leads by example.
C) leads by challenging the system.
D) all of these answers
E) a and b only

Question 42

Which of the following is not a principle held by conservation biologists,environmental economist and free-market economists regarding the use of public lands?

A) Protecting biodiversity, wildlife habitats, and the ecological functioning of public land ecosystems should be their primary goal.
B) If public land contains valuable minerals, oil, or other resources, they should be made available to competing companies for extraction at a low cost.
C) No one should receive government subsidies or tax breaks for using or extracting resources on public lands.
D) The American people deserve fair compensation for the use of their property.
E) All users or extractors of resources on public lands should be fully responsible for any environmental damage they cause.

Question 43

If a law is passed on an environmental policy,the next consideration is

A) to appoint an overseer group.
B) to be certain that funds are adequate to enforce the law.
C) to inform the public.
D) to determine if it's unconstitutional.
E) to defeat it.

Question 44

Three-fourths of federal public land set aside for public use,resources extraction,enjoyment and wilderness habitat can be found in

A) California
B) Oregon
C) West Virginia
D) North Dakota
E) Alaska

Question 45

Individuals influence and change government policies in constitutional democracies by all of the following except

A) whistle-blowing.
B) education and persuasion.
C) overthrowing the government.
D) participating in grassroots activities.
E) b and d

Question 46

National Resource Lands,primarily used for mining,oil and gas extraction,and livestock grazing,are managed by the

A) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
B) Department of Energy.
C) Bureau of Land Management.
D) National Park System.
E) Department of Defense.

Question 47

International environmental organizations play important roles in

A) providing funds for sustainable economic development and reducing poverty.
B) developing and monitoring environmental treaties.
C) gathering and evaluating environmental data.
D) expanding understanding of environmental issues.
E) all of these answers

Question 48

Which of the following groups is housed under the United Nations?

A) U.N. Environmental Program
B) World Health Organization
C) U.N. Development Program
D) a and c only
E) all of these answers

Question 49

Which of the following statements by developers and resource extractors support the principles held by conservation biologists and environmental economists regarding the use of public lands?

A) Cut old growth forests and replace them with tree plantations.
B) Convert national parks into theme parks run by private firms.
C) Sell public lands to large corporations at less than market prices.
D) Slash federal funding for administration or regulations over public lands.
E) None of these answers

Question 50

Strategies to prevent the continued weakening of U.S.environmental laws include

A) environmental groups developing compelling, positive views of an environmentally sustainable future.
B) citizens putting pressure on governments to pass environmental laws and regulations.
C) financial backing from consumers for environmentally sustainable products.
D) science based education for both adults and children
E) all of these

Question 51

The most restricted public lands,where no roads can be built but may be used for recreation,are

A) national parks.
B) wildlife refuges.
C) national resource lands.
D) national forests.
E) national wilderness preservation areas.

Question 52

Which of the following concepts includes all the others?

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

Question 53

Human-centered world views include

A)planetary management worldview.
B)stewardship worldview.
C)environmental wisdom.
D)a and b.
E)b and c.

Question 54

Solutions to solving the problems with global environmental treaties include all the following except

A) increase funding for monitoring and enforcement.
B) develop criteria for evaluating effectiveness of proposed solutions.
C) require full consensus among regulating parties.
D) ensure that treaties are integrated with one another.
E) none of these answers.

Question 55

The most powerful and controversial thing that the executive and legislative branches of government do is

A) compromise.
B) develop and adopt a budget.
C) enact laws.
D) establish policies.
E) defeat laws.

Question 56

Students on college campuses have

A) helped design a more sustainable environmental studies building.
B) helped design a "green" dorm.
C) carried out sustainable agriculture and ecological restoration projects.
D) studied the impacts of lead and other toxic pollutants in low-income neighborhoods.
E) all of these answers

Question 57

National recreation areas are part of

A) the National Park System.
B) the National Wilderness Preservation System.
C) National Wildlife Refuges.
D) National Resource lands.
E) none of these answers

Question 58

Which of the following tasks would be most difficult for a constitutional democracy?

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

Question 59

Individuals can influence environmental policies by all of the following except

A) becoming informed on the issues and leading by example
B) boycotting companies who harm the environment but don't tell them why you are not patronizing their products and services
C) contributing money and time to causes that represent your views
D) making your views known at public hearings
E) voting for candidates that will take on environmental issues

Question 60

Individuals influence and change government policies in constitutional democracies by

A) voting.
B) lobbying.
C) filing lawsuits.
D) all of these answers
E) b and d only

Question 61

Which of the following least reflects environmentally ethical guidelines regarding individual responsibility?

A) We should not waste resources.
B) We should not inflict unnecessary pain on other species.
C) We should leave Earth in as good or better shape than we found it.
D) We should make ourselves and our families as comfortable as possible.
E) Every species has an intrinsic right to life.

Question 62

The earth's natural capital is a subset of human economic systems because there are no substitutes for most types of natural capital.

Question 63

Neoclassical,ecological,and environmental economists believe there has to be a balance between economic growth and environmental preservation.

Question 64

People calling for more stewardship generally believe that

A) pure capitalism should be used to make our economic decisions.
B) better science and technology can fix our problems.
C) an ethical responsibility to "tend our garden" would improve most technological-economic growth worldviews.
D) a mixture of market-based competition, improved technology, and government intervention can solve our problems.
E) all of these answers

Question 65

Which of the following is not a key goal of environmental literacy?

A) develop respect or reverence for all life
B) foster a desire to make the world a better place and act on this desire
C) look for connections within the biosphere and between our actions and the biosphere
D) adhere only to one environmental worldview and disregard all others that do not conform to our way of thinking
E) understand as much as possible about how the earth works and sustains itself and use such knowledge to guide our lives, communities, and societies

Question 66

Social science research and history tells us that

A) science and technology will inevitably save us from environmental gloom and doom.
B) we can quickly change our current course if we are willing to leave behind ideas and practices that are unsustainable.
C) major social change can occur with a critical political mass of 5-10%.
D) only we can quickly change our current course if we are willing to leave behind ideas and practices that are unsustainable and major social change can occur with a critical political mass of 5-10%
E) none of these answers

Question 67

In an ideal environmentally honest market system,jobs in environmentally harmful businesses will be shifted to environmentally beneficial businesses.

Question 68

Earth education would encourage development of all of the following attitudes except

A) memorizing as much environmental information as possible.
B) developing respect for all life.
C) understanding, evaluating, and developing one's worldview.
D) having fun and taking time to enjoy life.
E) appreciating connections between our actions and the biosphere.

Question 69

The basic beliefs of a planetary management worldview include all of the following except that

A) humans are in charge of nature.
B) Earth has an unlimited supply of resources for human use.
C) human success depends upon how well we manage Earth's life-support systems for our benefit.
D) humans need the Earth, but the Earth does not need us.
E) pure capitalism should be used to make our economic decisions.

Question 70

Environmental security,economic security and national security are interrelated.

Question 71

Which of the following least reflects environmentally ethical guidelines regarding ecosystems?

A) We should work with nature to sustain ecological integrity.
B) We should live in ways that do the least harm to environmental systems.
C) We should focus on the short-term because it's impossible to imagine the long-term.
D) We should try to understand nature.
E) all of these answers

Question 72

Earth education would encourage development of all of the following skills except

A) listening to children.
B) learning how to evaluate advertising.
C) learning how to live sustainably in a place.
D) learning as much information as possible.
E) critically evaluating the environmental consequences of our choices.

Question 73

The foundation of environmental literacy is based on the understanding that

A) natural capital is important because it supports earth's ecosystems and human economies.
B) our ecological footprints are immense and expanding rapidly
C) ecological tipping points are reversible
D) a and b
E) a, b and c

Question 74

All of the following are traps that block living sustainably except

A) a faith in simple, easy answers.
B) gloom-and-doom pessimism.
C) critical evaluation of experts and leaders.
D) blind technological optimism.
E) gloom-and-doom pessimism and critical evaluation of experts and leaders

Question 75

Earth philosophers indicate that rootedness comes from developing a sense of

A) place.
B) acute hearing.
C) sharp vision.
D) ultrasensitive touch.
E) none of these answers

Question 76

The action that least reflects an ecocentric worldview is

A) protecting Earth's biodiversity.
B) controlling human population growth.
C) creating better pollution treatment technologies.
D) increasing our dependence on renewable resources.
E) all of these answers

Question 77

Within a sustainability revolution is found

A) an efficiency revolution to conserve energy and matter.
B) a demographic revolution to keep the human population in balance with Earth's cultural carrying capacity for all species.
C) a pollution prevention revolution.
D) only a pollution prevention revolution and an efficiency revolution to conserve energy and matter
E) none of these answers

Question 78

Which of the following beliefs does not characterize an ecocentric worldview?

A) Human ingenuity can fix any problems we face.
B) Nature exists for all of Earth's species.
C) Environmentally beneficial forms of economic growth should be encouraged.
D) Our success depends on learning to cooperate with one another and the rest of nature.
E) none of these answers

Question 79

Which of the following key topics help us in achieving environmental literacy?

A) Three principles of sustainability
B) Basic principles of ecology
C) Exponential growth and carrying capacity
D) Two laws of thermodynamics and the law of conservation of matter
E) All of these answers

Question 80

Which of the following questions help us in achieving environmental literacy?

A) Where do the things I consume come from?
B) What do I know about the place where I live?
C) What is my purpose and responsibility as a human being?
D) How am I connected to the earth and other living things?
E) All of these answers