Question 1

According to Hill, understanding one's place in nature is the same thing as appreciating one's place in nature.

Accepted Answer

Understanding one's place in nature involves recognizing one's role and impact, while appreciating it involves valuing and respecting that role and the natural world.

Question 2

A "tragedy of the commons" is essentially a prisoner's dilemma involving a common resource.

Accepted Answer

A tragedy of the commons occurs when individuals consume a common resource to their own benefit, but to the detriment of everyone as a whole. It is similar to a prisoner's dilemma because each person has an incentive to consume more than their fair share, leading to a depletion of the resource.

Question 3

According to Gardiner, the "fragmentation of agency" leads to humanity's relative inability to respond to climate change due to the lack of an effective, centralized system of global governance.

Accepted Answer

Gardiner argues that the fragmentation of agency, meaning the lack of a centralized system of global governance, hinders humanity's ability to effectively respond to climate change.

Question 4

Gardiner believes that "temporal fragmentation" is much worse (for climate change) than the associated "spatial fragmentation."

Accepted Answer

Gardiner argues that the temporal fragmentation of climate action, where short-term thinking and lack of long-term planning lead to delayed action and missed opportunities, is a more significant problem than spatial fragmentation, where countries and regions have differing levels of commitment and action towards addressing climate change.

Question 5

According to Gardiner, the main problem inherent in the theoretical storm of climate change is that of moral corruption.

Accepted Answer

Gardiner argues that the primary issue in the theoretical storm of climate change is not primarily scientific or economic, but moral, as it involves intergenerational and international justice and addressing the moral corruption that allows the current situation to persist.

Question 6

Sinnott-Armstrong claims that it is morally better for individuals to not engage in activities like driving a gas-guzzling car just for fun.

Accepted Answer

Sinnott-Armstrong argues that individuals have a moral obligation to consider the environmental impact of their actions and should avoid engaging in activities that have a negative impact on the environment, such as driving a gas-guzzling car just for fun.

Question 7

In Sinnott-Armstrong's view, governments do not have a moral obligation to address the problem of global warming.

Accepted Answer

Sinnott-Armstrong argues that governments have a moral obligation to address the problem of global warming. He believes that inaction by governments in the face of this pressing issue is morally wrong and violates their responsibility to protect their citizens and future generations.

Question 8

According to Sinnott-Armstrong, the fact that we cannot find any moral principle (to support our moral intuitions) shows that we don't need such principles.

Accepted Answer

Sinnott-Armstrong argues that the absence of a universal moral principle does not imply that we don't need principles; rather, it suggests that moral reasoning can be based on particular cases and context-specific judgments.

Question 9

Hourdequin argues that individual rationality is just a matter of preference satisfaction, irrespective of how one's actions effect other people.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Hourdequin argues that individual rationality is just...

Question 10

According to Hourdequin, the integrity of a person committed to opposing climate change grounds a prima facie duty to control his or her greenhouse gas emissions.

Accepted Answer

Hourdequin argues that a person's commitment to opposing climate change creates a moral obligation to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. This is because emitting greenhouse gases contributes to climate change, which has negative consequences for the environment and for future generations. Therefore, individuals who care about the integrity of their moral commitments should strive to reduce their carbon footprint.

Question 11

_________ is the view that all living beings, because they are living, possess direct moral standing, and thus morality includes requirements that include direct moral concern for all living beings.

Accepted Answer

The answer of _________ is the view that all living...

Question 12

A(n) _________ is a whole composed of both living and nonliving things including animals, plants, bodies of water, sunlight, and other geological factors.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A(n) _________ is a whole composed of...

Question 13

_________ is the view that the only beings who possess direct moral standing are human beings and all other beings (living and nonliving) are of mere indirect moral concern.

Accepted Answer

The answer of _________ is the view that the only...

Question 14

According to Baxter's "spheres of _________" criterion, every person should be free to do whatever he or she wishes in contexts where his or her actions do not interfere with other human beings.

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to Baxter's "spheres of _________" criterion,...

Question 15

Because Baxter appeals to the idea that "every human being should be regarded as an end," we can think of him as invoking the _________ formulation of Kant's categorical imperative.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Because Baxter appeals to the idea that...

Question 16

Baxter argues that to understand the true costs of pollution control we must first achieve an understanding of the difference between dollars and _________, where the latter, unlike dollars, is "the wealth of our nation" and "of vital importance."

Accepted Answer

The answer of Baxter argues that to understand the true...

Question 17

Leopold says, "A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the _________ community [including soils, waters, plants, animals]. It is wrong when it tends otherwise."

Accepted Answer

The answer of Leopold says, "A thing is right when...

Question 18

The term "the balance of nature," says Leopold, fails to adequately describe what little we know about the land mechanism. He suggests we instead think of the "much truer image . . . employed in ecology": that of the biotic _________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The term "the balance of nature," says...

Question 19

"The major obstacle to humility . . . ," says Hill, "is _________, a tendency to measure the significance of everything by its relation to oneself."

Accepted Answer

The answer of "The major obstacle to humility . ....

Question 20

One aspect of humility, what Hill calls _________, "involves acknowledging, in more than a merely intellectual way, that we are the sort of creatures we are."

Accepted Answer

The answer of One aspect of humility, what Hill calls...

Quiz 15: The Environment, Consumption, and Climate Change