Deck 1: The Role of Economics in Environmental Management

Question 1

Nature's capacity to convert matter and energy is limitless.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

An airplane is a point source of pollution.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The discipline concerned with the resource flow from economic activity back to nature is known as natural resource economics.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Chemical wastes associated with the manufacturer of solvents are anthropogenic pollutants.

Question 5

In the Circular Flow Model, money flows are disregarded.

Question 6

A tax imposed on emissions is an example of the market approach to pollution control.

Question 7

Setting an air quality standard is an example of a command and control approach to improving the environment.

Question 8

Proponents of an environmentally adjusted measure of national income believe that environmental pollution linked to production should be recorded as a loss in the system of national accounts (SNA).

Question 9

Runoff from urban streets is an example of nonpoint source pollution.

Question 10

According to the first law of thermodynamics, matter and energy can be destroyed but not created.

Question 11

When scientists first identified the 'ozone hole' over the Antarctic region in the 1980s, it was less than 10 miles in diameter.

Question 12

Natural pollutants are those linked to human activity.

Question 13

The warmer temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico may have increased the magnitude and extent of the damages linked to the Gulf oil spill in 2010.

Question 14

Residuals are by-products, or pollution, left in the environment after a technological or natural process as occurred.

Question 15

The economic criteria concerned with minimizing resource use to achieve an objective is known as allocative efficiency.

Question 16

Improvements made to China's environment in preparation for the Olympic Games in 2008 have been maintained and even enhanced over time.

Question 17

Concern for managing natural resources to ensure their quality and abundance for future generations is called sustainable development.

Question 18

Within the Circular Flow Model, households are assumed to be the owners of all factors of production, including the natural resources.

Question 19

According to BMW Group, plastics are among the simplest materials to recycle.

Question 20

Since acidic deposition arises around the world, it is considered to be global pollution.

Question 21

An important environmental objective is to preserve the variety of distinct species of animals and plants and the variety of ecosystems they inhabit. This is known as

A) biodiversity
B) risk assessment
C) sustainable development
D) pollution prevention

Question 22

A school bus is an example of

A) a stationary source
B) a mobile source
C) a nonpoint source
D) none of the above

Question 23

Natural pollutants

A) include such releases as hazardous chemical wastes
B) arise from nonartificial processes in nature, such as pollen
C) refer to those associated with human activity such as fossil-fuel combustion
D) all of the above

Question 24

According to the second law of thermodynamics

A) matter and energy can be neither created nor destroyed
B) nature's capacity to convert matter and energy is limited
C) nothing is lost in the conversion of materials from economic activity into other forms of matter and energy
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 25

A policy effort aimed at reducing the damage from residual flows is considered

A) a short-term management strategy
B) to be a long-term approach aimed at future environmental deterioration
C) a type of pollution prevention (P2) strategy
D) an attempt to achieve environmental justice

Question 26

Charging a polluter a fee for each unit of pollution released is an example of

A) the market approach to environmental policy
B) the polluter-pays principle
C) the command-and-control approach to environmental policy
D) (a) and (b) only

Question 27

According to the materials balance model

A) recycling permanently eliminates residuals
B) only production can damage the environment
C) residuals arise from both consumption and production
D) only households undertake recycling and reuse

Question 28

Acid rain is an example of

A) local pollution
B) global pollution
C) regional pollution
D) natural pollution

Question 29

a. Give a specific example that shows clearly how the System of National Accounts endorsed by the United Nations fails to properly capture activity that harms the environment.
b. Now, suggest a way to quantitatively correct the flaw in the particular case that you describe in part (a).

Question 30

Anthropogenic pollutants

A) are absorbed naturally through the assimilative capacity of nature
B) are human-induced contaminants, such as fossil fuel combustion
C) are of little concern to environmental policy makers
D) come from nonartificial processes in nature, such as salt spray from oceans

Question 31

Recycling efforts such as those exemplified by BMW's Design for Disassembly (DFD) program

A) permanently diminish the flow of residuals back to nature
B) are not represented in the materials balance model
C) represent short-term conversion of residuals into recycled materials or goods
D) reduce the amount of wastes returned to nature in the long-run

Question 32

The National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) of 1969

A) calls for Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) on major legislative proposals
B) coordinates environmental tasks among federal agencies
C) guides all environmental policy formulation in the United States
D) all of the above
E) (c) and (d) only

Question 33

A polluting source that cannot be identified accurately and degrades the environment in a diffuse, indirect way is a

A) stationary source
B) point source
C) nonpoint source
D) mobile source

Question 34

The materials balance model

A) captures only environmental pollution
B) explicitly illustrates both the flow of resources and the flow of residuals
C) illustrates both the money and real flows
D) all of the above
E) (b) and (c) only

Question 35

Anthropogenic pollutants

A) arise from natural processes in nature, like particles from volcanic eruptions
B) are contaminants linked to human activity
C) are those released only from nonpoint sources
D) are of minimal concern to environmental economists

Question 36

Environmental economics

A) is concerned mainly with the residual flow from economic activity back to nature
B) focuses on the flow of resources from nature to economic activity
C) recognizes that the flow of residuals back to nature is preventable
D) none of the above

Question 37

All of the following are examples of nonpoint source pollution EXCEPT

A) urban runoff
B) sulfur emissions from power plants
C) agricultural runoff
D) snowmelt from city streets

Question 38

Managing the earth's resources to ensure their quality and abundance for future generations is known as

A) environmental quality
B) ecological preservation
C) sustainable development
D) biodiversity

Question 39

Risk assessment

A) ignores relative risk among environmental goals
B) deals with choosing from among alternative risk responses
C) assures a fair and equitable risk burden among segments of society
D) is concerned with the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of risk

Question 40

According to proponents of an environmentally-adjusted measure of a nation's macroeconomic performance

A) GDP fails to properly capture the effects of environmental pollution
B) GDP appropriately accounts for natural resource depletion
C) the international community does not support environmental accounting
D) the guidelines outlined in the SEEA of 2003 are meaningless

Question 41

Identify and briefly explain two economic incentives that would encourage firms to research and implement "design for recycling" programs.

Question 42

Briefly explain why China's environment has declined so severely, and find an article or two from the popular press that updates the progress in reversing the trend.