Deck 17: Environmental Economics Politics and Worldviews

Question 1

The cap-and-trade approach to pollution reduction means that permit holder not using their entire allocation can save credits for future expansion.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Some research has suggested that many toxic waste sites in white communities have been cleaned up faster and more completely than similar sites in African American and Latino communities have.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

One approach to working toward more environmentally beneficial economies is to sell certain products that replace the need for services.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Environmental economists favor adjusting existing economic policies and tools to be more environmentally beneficial.

Question 5

The majority of neoclassical economists would be expected to adopt a lifestyle of voluntary simplicity because of our limited resources.

Question 6

The Biosphere 2 experiment showed that science is very capable of engineering sustainable ecological systems.

Question 7

Most democratic governments have taken on features that increase their ability to deal with environmental problems.

Question 8

Ecological economists consider natural capital to be important but not indispensable because they believe we can find substitutes for essentially any resource that we might deplete or degrade.

Question 9

Ecological economists tend to view human economic systems as subsystems of the biosphere.

Question 10

The genuine progress indicator,or GPI,takes into account the harmful environmental and social costs of all transactions.

Question 11

In a truly free-market economic system,all economic decisions are governed solely by democracy and principles of individual's freedom to choose.

Question 12

Natural,human,and manufactured capital are the three types of capital used in most economic systems.

Question 13

Stewardship is based on an idea that nature exists for all species alike and our success depends on how well we manage the earth and nature.

Question 14

Many analysts think that the tax systems in most countries are somewhat backward because they discourage jobs,income,and profit-driven innovation.

Question 15

Some believe that fighting forces and weaponry will become less useful toward national security because of environmental degradation.

Question 16

The holistic principle states that we should recognize that the environmental and other problems we face are connected.

Question 17

A way that individuals can provide environmental leadership is to purchase and eat food that has been sustainably produced.

Question 18

Technological advances can always be relied upon to provide solutions to our environmental problems.

Question 19

History shows that significant change usually comes from the bottom up when individuals join together to bring about change.

Question 20

The precautionary principle states that we should make decisions that help to prevent a problem from occurring or becoming worse.

Question 21

The ____ was deliberately designed to measure outputs,without taking into account their beneficial or harmful environmental impacts.​

A) ​free market
B) ​market pricing structure
C) ​gross domestic product
D) ​genuine progress indicator
E) ​government subsidy system

Question 22

Since 1980,a well-organized and well-funded movement has mounted a strong campaign to weaken or repeal existing U.S.environmental laws and regulations and to change the ways in which public lands are used.

Question 23

The view that natural resources are important but not indispensable is held by ____.​

A) ​environmental economists
B) ​ecological economists
C) ​Eastern European economists
D) ​neoclassical economists
E) ​classical economists

Question 24

The economically and politically powerful interests that receive perverse subsidies spend a lot of time and money on ____,thus shifting to non-perverse subsidies would be difficult.​

A) ​lobbying
B) ​lawyers
C) ​bribes
D) ​policies
E) ​politicians

Question 25

​Some experts cite the failure to include the harmful environmental costs in the ____ of the goods and services as one of the major causes of the environmental problems we face.

A) ​stock prices
B) ​indirect prices
C) ​partial-cost prices
D) ​market prices
E) ​full-cost prices

Question 26

​Less than 10% of the U.S.public considers the environment to be one of the nation's most pressing problems.

Question 27

What is an internal cost of driving a domestic car?​

A) ​air pollution and litter
B) ​cost of manufacture
C) ​highway accidents
D) ​health costs
E) ​hazardous wastes produced by car exhaust

Question 28

In a market-based economic system,economic decisions about prices are controlled by ____.​

A) ​supply and demand
B) ​the government
C) ​past customs and experience
D) ​the banks
E) full-cost pricing​

Question 29

A necessary result of implementing ____ is that some producers of harmful products and services would go out of business.​

A) ​full-cost pricing
B) ​environmental regulations
C) ​pollution taxes
D) ​government subsidies
E) ​ecological policies

Question 30

Perverse ____ can distort the economic playing field and create a huge economic incentive for resource depletion and environmental degradation.​

A) ​subsidies
B) ​tax incentives
C) ​full-cost pricing
D) ​regulations
E) ​lobbying

Question 31

The central view of neoclassical economists is that economic growth is ____.​

A) ​the only path to a truly free-market system
B) ​the natural solution to many problems
C) ​paramount to all other concerns
D) ​limited by resource availability
E) ​unlimited,regardless of resource limitations

Question 32

How do proponents suggest we implement a tax shift to green taxes,which transfers taxes from income and wealth to pollution and environmental degradation?​

A) ​It should be enacted immediately in order to do any good.
B) ​It should only apply to developed countries.
C) ​It should include tax breaks.
D) ​In some cases both pollution and income/wealth should be taxed.
E) ​It should be phased in over 10 to 20 years.

Question 33

What kind of economist favors adjusting existing economic policies and tools to be more environmentally beneficial over inventing all-new policies and tools?​

A) ecological economist​
B) ​environmental economist
C) ​neoclassical economist
D) ​neoconservative economist
E) ​classical economist

Question 34

Which type of economist views economic systems as subsystems of the biosphere that depend heavily on irreplaceable natural resources?​

A) ​neoclassical
B) ​ecological
C) ​environmental
D) ​classical
E) ​full-cost

Question 35

​The ecological economist believes that conventional economic growth will eventually ____.

A) ​pull us out of our dependence on Middle Eastern oil
B) ​lead us into a socialist economy
C) ​become unsustainable because it will deplete natural capital
D) ​lead us into a sustainable economy
E) ​collapse when oil runs out

Question 36

China's ____,has grown to roughly 300 million,which is a number almost equal to the U.S.population.​

A) ​consumer middle class
B) ​military
C) ​poor
D) ​working class
E) ​upper wealthy class

Question 37

According to the WWF Global Footprint Network,if everyone in the world used resources equal to what the average American uses,we would need ____.​

A) ​to share resources equally in order to survive
B) ​more oil and gas than is available
C) ​more energy efficiency
D) ​about five planet earths to support them
E) ​more sustainable energy

Question 38

A tax on the amount of CO₂ in exhaust from burning gasoline would be an example of a ____.​

A) ​subsidy shift
B) ​full-cost pricing
C) ​tax shift
D) ​perverse tax
E) ​green tax

Question 39

Less than 10% of the U.S.public considers the environment to be one of the nation's most pressing problems.

Question 40

A potential problem to finding solutions to our environmental problems is that the message of environmental degradation often carries a negative tone that turns off many people.

Question 41

Which approach to business is least ecologically-minded?​

A) ​mimic nature
B) ​reduce poverty
C) ​sell more things instead of services
D) ​use full-cost pricing
E) ​use eco-labels on products

Question 42

The avoidance of making decisions that cannot be reversed later if they turn out to be harmful is called the ____.​

A) ​precautionary principle
B) ​net energy principle
C) ​reversibility principle
D) ​prevention principle
E) ​polluter-pays principle

Question 43

Which federal agency manages U.S.public lands and is responsible for land that is used primarily for grazing,mining,and oil and gas extraction in the western states?​

A) ​U.S.Forest Service
B) ​U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service
C) ​National Wildlife Refuge System
D) ​National Park System
E) ​Bureau of Land Management

Question 44

In the United States,rapid and destabilizing change is curbed by a system of ____.​

A) ​regulations
B) ​punitive laws
C) ​political discourse
D) ​policy implementation
E) ​checks and balances

Question 45

What is the process by which individuals and groups try to influence the decisions and policies of governments?​

A) ​economics
B) ​resource management
C) ​politics
D) ​ethics
E) ​policy adjustment

Question 46

The ____ states that no group of people should bear an unfair share of the burden created by pollution,environmental degradation,or the execution of environmental laws.​

A) ​environmental justice principle
B) ​polluter-pays principle
C) ​prevention principle
D) ​precautionary principle
E) ​reversibility principle

Question 47

According to the ____,when we use the earth's natural capital,we are borrowing from the earth and from future generations.​

A) ​planetary management worldview
B) ​economic worldview
C) ​environmental worldview
D) ​stewardship worldview
E) ​environmental ethics worldview

Question 48

Some people contend that any ____ worldview will eventually fail because it wrongly assumes we now have or can gain enough knowledge to become effective managers or stewards of the earth.​

A) ​planetary-centered
B) ​human-centered
C) ​economic-centered
D) ​life-centered
E) ​earth-centered

Question 49

To which international plan to curb poverty has the United States failed to contribute its stated pledge?​

A) ​Microlending and microfinance
B) ​The Ecology of Commerce
C) ​The Kyoto Protocol
D) ​The Basel Convention
E) ​Millennium Development Goals

Question 50

Analyses of budgets and appropriations reveal that the government has given an average of $2.7 million a day in ____ for privately-owned interests that use U.S.public lands for activities such as mining,fossil fuel extraction,logging,and livestock grazing.

A) ​environmental exemptions
B) ​loans and grants
C) ​resources and equipment
D) ​permits and licenses
E) ​subsidies and tax breaks

Question 51

Which of the following is an example of a special interest group?​

A) ​nongovernmental organizations
B) ​scientific research groups
C) ​politicians
D) ​government agencies
E) ​economists

Question 52

What is a financial tool to help people climb out of poverty?​

A) ​student loans
B) ​microlending
C) ​microtaxes
D) ​education grants
E) ​no ATM fees

Question 53

The cap-and-trade program for regulating air pollutants by the U.S.government is an example of a(n)____.​

A) ​full-cost pricing
B) ​incentive-based regulation
C) ​command and control regulation
D) ​service-flow regulation
E) ​subsidy shift

Question 54

What has been identified as one of the five major causes of the environmental problems we face?​

A) ​perverse subsidies
B) ​hazardous waste
C) ​ignorance
D) ​corruption
E) ​poverty

Question 55

What kind of environmental regulation sets heavy penalties for not reaching goals?​

A) ​command-and-control
B) ​incentive-based
C) ​innovation-friendly
D) ​full-cost based
E) ​neoclassical

Question 56

​The federal government manages roughly 35% of the country's land,which is jointly owned by ____.

A) ​Native Americans
B) ​the Bureau of Land Management
C) ​various corporations
D) ​all U.S.citizens
E) ​the National Park System

Question 57

What do critics say about the command-and-control approach to U.S.environmental regulation?​

A) ​It is too focused on cleanup.
B) ​It is too focused on prevention.
C) ​It encourages dishonesty.
D) ​It is too harsh.
E) ​Its regulations are too complex.

Question 58

Decisions about how to best use and preserve national resources in a democracy are often complicated by the many ____.​

A) ​corporations
B) ​voters
C) ​special interest groups
D) ​political parties
E) ​competing policies

Question 59

According to the planetary management environmental worldview,____.

A) ​we have an ethical responsibility to be good stewards of the earth
B) ​our resources are limited and should not be wasted
C) ​we should manage nature to meet our needs
D) ​our primary focus should be on preserving the environment
E) ​our success depends on learning how nature sustains itself

Question 60

Polluting industrial sites and hazardous waste dumps tend to be located in communities populated by ____.​

A) ​wealthy upper class
B) ​wild animals
C) ​middle class
D) ​minorities
E) ​politicians

Question 61

In a truly ____________________ economic system,the market prices of goods and services would include all of their direct and indirect costs associated with environmental degradation.

Question 62

The ____________________ worldview assumes that humans are dominant over all other species and should therefore make environmental decisions based on that dominance.

Question 63

One of Brown's Plan B goals toward shifting to a more environmentally and economically sustainable future is to stabilize ____ growth.​

A) ​poverty
B) ​economic
C) ​hazardous waster
D) ​population
E) pollution

Question 64

As with market pricing,the GDP of a country often does not include the ____________________ of goods and services.

Question 65

Which worldview sees humans as the planet's most important species?​

A) ​environmental wisdom
B) ​stewardship
C) ​economic succession
D) ​planetary management
E) ​planetary intrinsic value

Question 66

The goods and services produced by the Earth's natural processes that support all life are called ____________________.

Question 67

An ethical guideline to sustainable living is to ____ the way that nature sustains itself.​

A) ​understand
B) ​know
C) ​feel
D) ​support
E) ​mimic

Question 68

An environmentally literate person will understand that our ____ are immense and are expanding rapidly.​

A) ​natural resources
B) ​hazardous waste materials
C) ​ecological footprints
D) ​food supplies
E) ​sustainable resources

Question 69

The practice of including the estimated harmful environmental and health costs of resource use in the market price of goods and services is called ____________________.

Question 70

Since 1992,the Xerox company has been ____________________ most of its copying machines as part of its mission to provide document services rather than to sell new photocopiers that would consume more resources than necessary.

Question 71

Machines,materials,and factories are examples of ____________________ made from natural resources.

Question 72

Some people believe that living without direct contact of the natural world can lead to ____.​

A) ​malnutrition
B) ​a negative worldview
C) ​psychological disorders
D) poverty
E) ​economic disadvantages

Question 73

A representative ____________________ is a form of government run by the people through elected officials and representatives.

Question 74

The ____ worldview holds that the earth has existed for billions of years and does not need saving.​

A) ​earth-centered
B) ​biocentric
C) ​stewardship
D) ​planetary management
E) ​biosphere

Question 75

The United States has successfully used the ____________________ approach to reduce the emissions of sulfur dioxide and several other air pollutants.

Question 76

Celebrating and protecting ____ through a variety of approaches is an ethical guideline for developing more sustainable and compassionate societies.​

A) ​resources
B) ​environmental worldviews
C) ​full-cost pricing
D) ​earth
E) ​biodiversity

Question 77

Taxes that discourage pollution are called ____________________.

Question 78

The measure of the annual market value of all goods and services produced by all firms and organizations,foreign and domestic,operating within a country is known as the ____________________.

Question 79

A fundamental idea behind ____ is understanding that natural capital supports our economies.​

A) ​environmental economics
B) ​environmentalism
C) ​sustainability
D) ​planetary management
E) ​environmental literacy

Question 80

Which idea is an important component of environmental literacy?​

A) ​Natural capital is expendable.
B) ​Ecological footprints of the more-developed world are balanced by those of the less-developed world.
C) ​Ecological tipping points are irreversible and should not be crossed.
D) ​Ecological tipping points can be balanced by reforestation and restoration efforts.
E) ​Gloom-and-doom pessimism in the critical evaluation of experts and leaders.