Deck 14: Global Responsibility for the Preservation of the Environment

Question 1

Which concept refers to the maximum number of humans and living species that can be supported by a given territory?

A)environmental capacity
B)global commons
C)supportive capacity
D)carrying capacity

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which organization has used its control over oil production as an instrument of coercive diplomacy?

A)OPEC
B)OECD
C)NATO
D)NAFTA

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What practice is viewed by environmentalists as useful in promoting environmental standards?

A)trade
B)embargos
C)sanctions
D)military intervention

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which concept broadens the traditional definition of security, which focuses primarily on national security?

A)environmental security
B)epistemic security
C)global security
D)ecological security

Question 5

What do cornucopians generally believe regarding environmental concerns?

A)They believe that free markets effectively address environmental concerns and maximize social welfare.
B)They believe that free markets cannot effectively address environmental concerns and maximize social welfare.
C)They believe that overpopulation will lead to a tragedy of the commons.
D)They believe that our global commons can naturally accommodate a rising population.

Question 6

A company dumps toxic waste into a local stream. After several months, inhabitants of the area can no longer fish in these waters as there are no fish left. This is an example of which of the following?

A)low carrying capacity
B)tragedy of the commons
C)neo-Malthusian dilemma
D)rational choice

Question 7

Which region became the source of great power competition due to global warming?

A)the Arctic
B)the Antarctic
C)sub-Saharan Africa
D)South America

Question 8

Which of the following is popularly perceived as an alternative to the quest for unrestrained growth?

A)Malthusian growth
B)cornucopian growth
C)sustainable development
D)environmentally conscious growth

Question 9

What are the three basic levels of biodiversity?

A)genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity
B)floral, faunal, and avian diversity
C)marine, land, and avian diversity
D)functional, inoperative, and passive diversity

Question 10

Which country is the world's top emitter of greenhouse gasses?

A)the United States
B)China
C)India
D)Russia

Question 11

When did the earth's temperature begin to rise?

A)with the invention of power-driven machinery in the late eighteenth century
B)at the start of the nuclear era
C)after the 1970s, when the global population experienced unparalleled growth
D)after the last ice age

Question 12

Which gas can be seen as the main culprit of global warming?

A)chlorofluorocarbon
B)oxygen
C)carbon monoxide
D)carbon dioxide

Question 13

What has been exceeded if too many tourists visit a national park and, as a result, the park in question is ruined?

A)environmental capacity
B)global commons
C)supportive capacity
D)carrying capacity

Question 14

Which efforts in the Global North have helped to alleviate some of the water shortage problems faced in those regions?

A)desertification
B)reforestation
C)soil erosion
D)carbon dioxide recapturing

Question 15

Who is pessimistic about the capacity of the world to supply enough food for its growing population through market forces and advances in technology?

A)neo-Malthusians
B)cornucopians
C)liberals
D)realists

Question 16

What do most scientists believe regarding the threat of global warming?

A)They are in agreement that the threat of climate change is overstated and that global warming is not a clear environmental threat.
B)They are certain that the threat of global warming is real and that it presents a clear environmental threat.
C)They believe that global warming is natural and cyclical.
D)They believe that global warming has little to no effect on international relations.

Question 17

Which international body has been actively involved in studying the phenomenon of climate change and in organizing diverse countries to attempt to find a global solution?

A)the European Union
B)the United Nations
C)the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
D)the World Bank

Question 18

The oceans, the air, and outer space are all examples of which of the following?

A)biodiversity
B)global commons
C)epistemic community
D)biodiversity hotspots

Question 19

Which great power failed to ratify two-thirds of the UN's major global environmental agreements?

A)China
B)Russia
C)France
D)the United States

Question 20

Which world region is responsible for more than half of global carbon emissions?

A)the Global North
B)the Global South
C)Southeast Asia
D)the Middle East

Question 21

Which of the following is NOT a compound that can change the Earth's atmosphere and lead to the greenhouse effect and global warming?

A)carbon dioxide
B)methane
C)nitrogen
D)chlorofluorocarbon

Question 22

Why are realist and experts on great power competition interested in the effects of climate change?

A)Global warming is a moral and ethical problem that must be addressed for the common good.
B)Global warming fuels competition over the mineral wealth of the Arctic.
C)Global warming is a problem that can only be solved multilaterally.
D)Addressing global warming requires great power enforcement.

Question 23

Which term refers to scientific experts on a subject of inquiry, such as global warming, that are organized internationally as NGOs to communicate with one another and use their constructed understanding of "knowledge" to lobby for global transformations?

A)epistemic community
B)environmental security
C)the United Nations
D)biodiversity convention

Question 24

Which new and controversial development has reduced the United States' dependence of foreign oil suppliers?

A)fracking
B)hydraulic pumping
C)solar power
D)offshore drilling

Question 25

What notion is captured by the concept of environmental security?

A)that a state must maintain its immediate surroundings to feel secure
B)that government officials must appease domestic challengers or face a possible revolution
C)that threats to global life systems are as important as the threat of armed conflicts
D)that states should have reserves of oil at their disposal at all times

Question 26

Which idea is associated with sustainable development?

A)economic growth that does not deplete the resources needed to maintain growth
B)underutilizing resources
C)"spending the earth's capital"
D)the ability of a corporation to sustain its development by establishing subsidiaries abroad

Question 27

According to the United Nations, approximately how many plant and animal species become extinct every year?

A)5
B)50
C)5,000
D)50,000

Question 28

Which school of thought is more likely to focus on encouraging swift action on environmental issues to prevent a calamitous future?

A)cornucopian
B)neo-Malthusian
C)realist
D)globalist

Question 29

Why is the Arctic becoming important in assessing the politics of global warming?

A)because Arctic ice is melting more slowly than anticipated
B)because the Arctic is not melting fast enough to offset CFCs
C)because one-fourth of the world's oil and gas reserves lie under the ice
D)because the Arctic's penguin population is threatened

Question 30

Deforestation is most frequently occurring in which regions?

A)the Amazon, West Africa, and Southeast Asia
B)Bali, Australia, and Southeast Asia
C)Central America and South America
D)sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa

Question 31

A neighborhood uses well water, and no individual family has to pay for the water they consume. Thus, each family waters their grass excessively and doesn't bother to conserve water, and the well runs dry. This is an example of which of the following?

A)the tragedy of the commons
B)the Prisoner's Dilemma
C)the chicken game
D)the overabundance problem

Question 32

Which of the following factors is NOT expected to contribute to rising oil prices over the next decade?

A)discovery of newer and easier ways to extract oil
B)rising demand for oil in the Global South
C)restriction of oil supply by OPEC
D)All of these will contribute to rising oil prices.

Question 33

Which of the following believe that technology and market forces will correct environmental problems?

A)cornucopians
B)neo-Malthusians
C)structuralists
D)constructivists

Question 34

Which of the following describes the global commons?

A)the widespread malnutrition in the Global South that results from a lack of food
B)the policy of destroying crops in specific areas to starve out insurgents
C)the fact that governments have limited resources with which to solve global problems
D)the physical and organic characteristics and resources of the entire planet

Question 35

Which of the following energy sources is a renewable source?

A)solar
B)coal
C)oil
D)natural gas

Question 36

The amount of human and other life forms that the Earth can support is referred to as which of the following?

A)the tragedy of the commons
B)spaceship Earth
C)carrying capacity
D)the secret of the Persian chessboard

Question 37

The gas primarily responsible for the greenhouse effect, carbon dioxide, is released by which of the following?

A)livestock
B)burning fossil fuels
C)rising ocean temperatures
D)desertification

Question 38

Which of the following is a reason the prices of food have risen worldwide?

A)The prices of energy have increased.
B)Fertilizer prices never rose to keep up with market demand.
C)Lower demand for food worldwide led to increasing food prices.
D)Flat or diminishing demand for nitrogen led to increasing food prices.

Question 39

Given the rationale behind abusing the commons in the tragedy of the commons metaphor, which two changes, either individually or together, could prevent the dreadful outcomes?

A)privatization and regulation
B)collectivization and capitalism
C)epistemic communities and altruism
D)rational choice and free markets

Question 40

Which concept refers to the claiming of common properties by states or private interests for their own use?

A)the tragedy of the commons
B)enclosure movement
C)greenhouse effect
D)commodification of the environment

Question 41

Brazil's Forest Code is designed to protect the Amazon rain forest. What percentage of landholding does it require to remain forested?

A)40 percent
B)60 percent
C)80 percent
D)95 percent

Question 42

Which concept refers to new crops with improved characteristics created artificially through genetic engineering that combines genes from species that would not naturally interbreed?

A)cash crops
B)genetically engineered crops
C)cornucopian crops
D)transgenic crops

Question 43

"Neo-Malthusians" and "cornucopians" are the labels given to different schools of thought about the impact of population growth on economic development and environmental quality. Write an essay in which you contrast the positions taken by these two schools on the demographic future of the human species. Based on the available evidence on current population and resource trends, which school of thought do you find more convincing? Why?

Question 44

What is the irony of the global food crisis?

A)There is more than enough food produced to feed all of the people in the world.
B)Most undernourished people live in the developed world.
C)Most undernourished people live in the developing world.
D)Climate change will make food production easier by facilitating plant growth.

Question 45

Describe the tragedy of the commons. How can this metaphor help us understand the difficulties that countries experience in working together to stop climate change?

Question 46

The scientific community is in nearly unanimous agreement that global temperatures are rising. What are the expected effects of rising temperatures?

Question 47

Explain the causes of the global food crisis. Which do you think is the most significant contributor? How would you address these issues? What role can domestic governments play? What role can international agencies play?

Question 48

What measures the relative performance of countries across the categories of environmental health, air pollution, water resources, biodiversity and habitat, productive natural resources, and climate change?

A)Environmental Protection Index (EPI)
B)Environmental Performance Index (EPI)
C)United Nations (UN)
D)Kyoto Protocol

Question 49

What are the benefits to using nuclear energy? What are the drawbacks? Considering both the benefits and drawbacks, do you think the world should pursue nuclear energy as a replacement for fossil fuels like coal?

Question 50

Under which agreement did countries pledge to keep the rise in global temperatures well below 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius)?

A)the Paris Agreement
B)the Montreal Protocol
C)the Kyoto Protocol
D)the Munich Agreement