Ch.1 – Environmental Problems, Their Causes, And | Test Bank

CHAPTER 1—ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS, THEIR CAUSES, AND SUSTAINABILITY

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Sustainability refers to _____.

2. Which discipline is most associated with environmental science?

3. A forest with plants, animals, and various other organisms is an example of a(n) _____.

4. Using normally renewable resources faster than nature can renew them is called _____.

5. Solar energy is known as a(n) _____.

6. What is one of the three social science principles of sustainability?

7. Topsoil is an important component of _____.

8. According to a number of environmental scientists, we already know how to reuse or recycle at least _____ of the nonrenewable resources we use.

9. What are the priorities for more sustainable use of renewable resources, in order?

10. More-developed countries _____.

11. The primary difference between renewable resources and nonrenewable resources is ____.

12. What term describes the highest rate at which a renewable resource can be used indefinitely without reducing its available supply?

13. Which substance would be considered a renewable resource?

14. Which substance would be considered a nonrenewable resource?

15. All nonrenewable resources can theoretically be ____.

16. Which action is is an example of reuse?

17. Use of a natural resource based on sustainable yields is most applicable to the idea of ____.

18. Having tall smokestacks is a form of _____.

19. Which of the following illustrates natural capital degradation?

20. Each of the three major cultural revolutions has allowed _____.

21. An average ecological footprint of an individual in a given country or area is known as ____.

22. The U.N. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment reports that human activities have degraded ____ percent of the earth’s natural services, and mostly since 1950.

23. The term _____ refers to the contamination of the environment by a chemical or other agent that is harmful to organisms.

24. The degradation of commonly held resources is known as _____.

25. What is the best description of an ecological deficit?

26. In the IPAT equation, the ‘P’ stands for _____.

27. An estimated _____ middle-class consumers live in China.

28. The first major cultural change that occurred in the human population was the _____.

29. Volcanic gases in the atmosphere are considered a type of _____.

30. What is the most likely effect of a pollutant?

31. What is a nonpoint source of pollution?

32. Which revolution began about 50 years ago and involved the development of technologies for gaining rapid access to all kinds of information and resources on a global scale?

33. Which of the following is a point source of pollution?

34. At our current average rate of use per person, how many planet Earths would we need to provide an endless supply of renewable resources?

35. The real prices of goods and services do not include the ____.

36. Subsidies and tax breaks to companies are

37. What is the set of assumptions and values reflecting how you think the world works and what you think your role in the world should be?

38. What viewpoint embodies the idea that we should be responsible, caring managers of the earth?

39. Which statement represents an environmental wisdom worldview?

40. What is the primary cause of nature deficit disorder?

41. _____ growth starts off slowly, but after only a few doublings, grows at an enormous rate.

42. How many people can the earth support indefinitely?

43. According to the World Bank, about how many people worldwide live in extreme poverty?

44. What is one of the root causes of environmental problems?

45. What situation is most likely to occur as a result of poverty?

46. Exponential growth occurs when a population increases at a(n) _____ per unit time.

47. Nature deficit disorder is most likely to cause _____.

48. Affluence typically results in _____.

49. Research by social scientists suggests that it takes ____ percent of the population of a community, country, or the world to bring about major social change.

50. What is the best description of natural income?

1. While we are heavily dependent on the environment, we are not dependent on it for everything we need to stay alive and healthy.

2. Environmental science is a branch of environmentalism and has the aim of protecting the earth's life-support systems.

3. The three overarching themes relating to the long-term sustainability of life on this planet are solar energy, biodiversity, and chemical cycling.

4. In environmental science, individuals tend to matter less because the issues are global in nature.

5. Take away solar energy and all natural capital would collapse.

6. A drainpipe of a factory that is releasing a pollutant is an example of nonpoint source of pollution.

7. The Tragedy of the Commons refers to a lack of agricultural resources available for the common (poor) people in a country.

8. The amount of biologically productive land and water required to supply the people in a country with renewable resources and recycling wastes and pollution is the ecological footprint.

9. Pollutants are all human-made; in other words, they cannot enter the environment naturally.

10. Pollution cleanup is usually the best way of dealing with the release of a pollutant.

11. Species are currently becoming extinct at the same rate as during prehuman times.

12. China has the world’s largest population and second-largest economy.

13. A basic cause of environmental problems results from the fact that companies using resources have to pay for the cost of the harmful environmental costs of supplying their products.

14. Reducing poverty, promoting family planning, and elevating the status of women would help the world’s population continue to grow.

15. Living sustainably means living on natural income.

1. Our lives and economies depend on energy from the ____________________ and natural resources and natural services provided by the earth.

2. Natural capital equals __________ __________ plus __________ __________.

3. The circulation of chemicals necessary for life, from the environment through organisms and back to the environment, is called ____________________.

4. Some of the world’s countries are called low-income, __________-__________ countries, and include Congo, Haiti, Nigeria, and Nicaragua.

5. A resource such as solar energy, that is constantly available, is called a(n) __________ __________.

6. Fish, fresh air, forests, and fertile soil are examples of __________ __________.

7. Old drink bottles that are collected, washed, and refilled are an example of ____________________.

8. Environmental degradation, also known as __________ __________ __________ is the process of wasting, depleting, and degrading the earth’s natural capital at an accelerating rate.

9. The exhaust pipe of an automobile or the smokestack of a coal-burning powerplant are examples of ______________ sources.

10. IPAT is a simple way of looking at how three factors influence the impact humans have on the environment. The formula is Impact = Population (P) x __________ x Technology (T).

11. The _______________ revolution involved the invention of machines for the large-scale production of goods in factories.

12. The _______________ _______________ worldview holds that we are separate from and in charge of nature, that nature exists mainly to meet our needs and increasing wants, and that we can use our ingenuity and technology to manage the earth’s life-support systems, mostly for our benefit, into the distant future.

13. The earth’s population is growing _______________.

14. Extreme poverty is living on less than the equivalent of $_______________ per day.

15. Your ____________ ____________ is a set of assumptions and values reflecting how you think the world works and what you think your role in the world should be.

1. The total ecological footprint of China is relatively large, why is the per capita ecological footprint of China so small?

2. What is the key factor in total environmental impact in most less-developed countries?

3. What is the key factor in total environmental impact in most more-developed countries?

4. For two countries with the same population size and affluence, what would differentiate their total environmental impacts?

5. What are two ways to deal with the degradation of a shared resource?

1. Many scientists contend that the earth is the only real example of a sustainable system. What are the three major natural factors have played the key roles in the long-term sustainability of life on this planet? How can you apply each to your life?

2. Describe what Garrett Hardin meant by the Tragedy of the Commons, and give an example.

3. The "biological capacity" is the ability of the natural world to replenish its renewable resources and absorb the resulting waste products and pollution. Exceeding the biological capacity creates an "ecological deficit." Discuss the potential future implications for the earth resulting from the fact that we are currently exceeding the earth's biological capacity by about 25 percent.

4. In the accompanying figure, note that following the Black Death, the line representing the total human population rose dramatically. This rise indicates a fundamental relationship between births, deaths, and growth rates. Discuss this relationship, indicating why the steep rise occurred, and why an expected leveling off may occur soon.

5. What is an environmental worldview? Discuss your environmental worldview and explain why you hold this viewpoint.