Researching Environmental Problems Chapter 8 Test Bank Docx

Test Bank

Chapter 8: Researching Environmental Problems

Multiple Choice

1. Which type of environment do modern humans spend the most time in?

a. natural environment

b. built environment

c. landfills

d. e-waste

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Using and Losing Resources

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Which concept explains why companies keep producing new commodities, such as cars, when the old ones still work?

a. natural environment

b. built environment

c. treadmills of production

d. renewable energy

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Treadmills of Production and Consumption

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Which factor drives the continuous production of goods known as treadmills of production?

a. profit

b. legislation

c. consumerism

d. renewable energy

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Treadmills of Production and Consumption

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. What is the benefit of treadmills of production for companies making products for profit?

a. It reduces waste.

b. It reduces manufacturing costs.

c. It results in higher-quality candidates for jobs.

d. It makes luxury items available to all consumers.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Treadmills of Production and Consumption

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Which statement accurately explains consumer expectations?

a. They expect things for free.

b. They expect to buy what they need.

c. Their expectations tend to decrease over time.

d. Their expectations tend to increase over time.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. ______ is the idea that people and their values are defined by the products and services they consume.

a. Consumerism

b. Conspicuous consumption

c. Treadmills of production

d. Built environment

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Which concept explains placing value on goods that can be shown off to others as a symbol of our status and economic power?

a. consumerism

b. conspicuous consumption

c. treadmills of production

d. built environment

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. As the production cost of goods decreases ______.

a. demand increases

b. demand decreases

c. waste decreases

d. waste increases

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. A teenager wants a specific brand of bike to ride to school. The teenager’s caregiver refuses to pay more money for a name-brand bike when cheaper bikes are of equal or even higher quality. Which concept best explains the teenager’s desire for a specific brand of bicycle?

a. perceived obsolescence

b. conspicuous consumption

c. treadmills of production

d. built environment

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Hard

10. ______ refers to the business practice of designing products to retain their worth for only a short time.

a. Planned obsolescence

b. Perceived obsolescence

c. Conspicuous consumption

d. Treadmills of production

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. ______ refers to how consumers view current products as outdated when new ones come out even if the current product is still perfectly useful.

a. Planned obsolescence

b. Perceived obsolescence

c. Conspicuous consumption

d. Treadmills of production

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. A laptop computer manufacturer superficially changes the structure of the charging cable for each new model. This is frustrating for people who are brand loyal because they have perfectly good chargers that no longer work. As a result, when a person purchases a new computer they typically also have to purchase a new charging cable as well. This is an example of ______.

a. planned obsolescence

b. perceived obsolescence

c. conspicuous consumption

d. treadmills of production

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Hard

13. Perceived obsolescence differs from planned obsolescence because perceived obsolescence ______.

a. is consumer driven

b. costs less money to accomplish

c. costs more money to accomplish

d. is deliberately built into the product by the manufacturer

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Each year Isaiah discards a majority of his wardrobe. The clothes Isaiah gets rid of are perfectly functional, but he prefers to buy new clothing to stay up to date on the latest trends. This is an example of ______.

a. planned obsolescence

b. perceived obsolescence

c. e-waste

d. treadmills of production

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Hard

15. Patricia enjoys hiking and camping. At her new school she sought out friends who had accessories and clothing related to the top brands for outdoors gear and camping equipment. Patricia was surprised to learn that her peers wearing the brands associated with outdoor activities did not actually know how to camp. Patricia thought that the items her peers owned reflected something about who they might be due to the widespread idea of ______.

a. consumerism

b. planned obsolescence

c. treadmills of production

d. economies of scale

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Hard

16. In which country is the majority of e-waste generated?

a. India

b. China

c. United States

d. Slovakia

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: E-waste

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. Where is a majority of e-waste stored and disposed?

a. United Nations

b. Atlantic Ocean

c. China

d. United States

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: E-waste

Difficulty Level: Easy

18. Since the ______ humans have used fossil fuels as the primary source of energy.

a. 1950s

b. 1970s

c. Deepwater Horizon

d. Industrial Revolution

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Growing Energy Demand Pushes Us to Riskier Energy Sources

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. Which resource is a fossil fuel?

a. nuclear energy

b. e-waste

c. coal

d. leachate

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Growing Energy Demand Pushes Us to Riskier Energy Sources

Difficulty Level: Easy

20. Which energy source does not contribute significantly to climate change?

a. nuclear

b. coal

c. natural gas

d. oil

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nuclear Energy

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. Which statement accurately describes the accessibility and abundance of fossil fuels?

a. There is a shortage of oil, but a surplus of coal.

b. Humans have used up the most convenient sources of fossil fuels.

c. Harvesting natural gas through high-tech fracking is environmentally sustainable.

d. Energy companies have the technology to safely and easily gather fossil fuels.

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Growing Energy Demand Pushes Us to Riskier Energy Sources

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. Which statement is a valid criticism of nuclear energy?

a. It is merely a convenient byproduct of oil drilling.

b. Obtaining it requires remote locations in the ocean.

c. It requires the disposal of dangerous radioactive materials.

d. It increases human dependence on fossil fuels.

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nuclear Energy

Difficulty Level: Medium

23. Which characteristic makes renewable energy different from fossil fuels?

a. It is an infinite resource.

b. It can be stockpiled more easily than fossil fuels.

c. It is cheaper.

d. It is subsidized by the government.

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Renewable Energy as a Solution to Increasing Energy Demands

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. Which country derives a majority of their electricity from nuclear power plants?

a. United States

b. Canada

c. India

d. France

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Nuclear Energy

Difficulty Level: Easy

25. Why are fossil fuels cheaper than renewable energy?

a. economies of scale

b. virtual environmentalism

c. perceived obsolescence

d. conspicuous consumption

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Renewable Energy as a Solution to Increasing Energy Demands

Difficulty Level: Medium

26. Fossil fuels are superior to renewable energy when considering ______.

a. energy density

b. sustainability

c. climate change

d. waste

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Renewable Energy as a Solution to Increasing Energy Demands

Difficulty Level: Medium

27. Which energy source benefits from the most government aid and subsidization?

a. nuclear

b. fossil fuels

c. renewable

d. hydroelectric

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Renewable Energy as a Solution to Increasing Energy Demands

Difficulty Level: Medium

28. When fossil fuels are burned they release ______.

a. leachate

b. radioactive waste

c. greenhouse gasses

d. mitigation

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Is Climate Change?

Difficulty Level: Easy

29. The term ______ is a more accurate description of higher temperatures and disruptive weather events than the older term ______.

a. climate change; global warming

b. global warming; climate change

c. climate change; greenhouse gases

d. global warming; greenhouse gases

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Is Climate Change?

Difficulty Level: Easy

30. Which type of intervention is most effective for a problem like climate change?

a. gradual

b. global

c. individual

d. increasing industrialization

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Medium

31. Which effort makes the largest societal impact?

a. choosing to eat less meat

b. eating locally grown foods

c. passing laws favoring renewable energy

d. using less air conditioning in the summer

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Medium

32. Which social factor encourages monoculture in farming?

a. profit

b. science

c. livestock

d. gestation

Learning Objective: 8.4: What are the positive and negative impacts of industrial agriculture?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Treadmills of Production in Agriculture

Difficulty Level: Medium

33. Farm raised pigs live amongst their kin and are able to engage in natural behavior before being slaughtered. Family farms often use 100% of the animal rather than discarding fewer valuable parts of the pig like skin and bones. The way family farms raise animals is in direct contrast to the ______.

a. sustainability model

b. persistent organic pollutants

c. Industrial Livestock Operation

d. World Health Organization

Learning Objective: 8.4: What are the positive and negative impacts of industrial agriculture?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Treadmills of Production in Agriculture

Difficulty Level: Hard

34. Besides the ethical treatment of animals, what is another problem created by the factory farming of hogs?

a. toxic hog waste

b. inflation of food costs

c. limited transportation options

d. government intervention

Learning Objective: 8.4: What are the positive and negative impacts of industrial agriculture?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Solutions to Problems in the Food System

Difficulty Level: Hard

35. Which step is crucial to provide meaningful and lasting solutions to social problems related to food production?

a. individuals can choose to eat less meat

b. people can “vote with their dollar”

c. consumers demanding organic produce

d. large-scale changes in policy

Learning Objective: 8.4: What are the positive and negative impacts of industrial agriculture?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Solutions to Problems in the Food System

Difficulty Level: Medium

36. According to the most recent research, why are communities of color up to four times as likely to host a hazardous waste landfill than predominantly White communities?

a. Racial and ethnic minority groups choose to live in such places due to the availability of properties.

b. Politicians disproportionately select communities with fewer resources and influence to make these decisions with little resistance.

c. Whites typically care more about environmental issues than other racial and ethnic groups.

d. This is a product of older decisions made when segregation was legal.

Learning Objective: 8.5: What is environmental justice?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Confronting Environmental Injustice

Difficulty Level: Medium

37. In 1978, the state of North Carolina needed to clean up 60,000 tons of PCB-contaminated soil spread through 14 counties by an electric company. How did the state government decide on Warren County as the site to bury the toxic soil known to cause cancer?

a. A statewide vote.

b. Politicians said the area had less economic potential than others.

c. Warren county is the least densely populated area in the state.

d. It was the location of the corporation that did the dumping.

Learning Objective: 8.5: What is environmental justice?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Historical Context of the Environmental Justice Movement

Difficulty Level: Medium

38. How did the citizens of Warren County react to their area being selected to suffer from the irresponsibility of the electric company that dumped toxic waste along 240 miles of highway to avoid paying recycling fees?

a. They sued the state.

b. They sued the corporation.

c. They engaged in nonviolent protests.

d. They were unaware of the decision.

Learning Objective: 8.5: What is environmental justice?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Historical Context of the Environmental Justice Movement

Difficulty Level: Medium

39. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) how will environmental justice be realized?

a. When citizens have equal access to decision-making processes.

b. higher taxes

c. When it is cheaper for corporations to be environmentally conscious.

d. international treaties

Learning Objective: 8.5: What is environmental justice?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Historical Context of the Environmental Justice Movement

Difficulty Level: Medium

40. ______-driven research is a strategy that contributes to more equal citizen representation in environmental justice decisions.

a. Profit

b. University

c. International

d. Community

Learning Objective: 8.5: What is environmental justice?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Historical Context of the Environmental Justice Movement

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. The continual production of more goods requires a continuous demand for more.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Treadmills of Production and Consumption

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Buying things that symbolize status is an act of conspicuous consumption.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. The availability of automobiles in the United States and Cuba leads to different approaches towards reusing cars.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. A majority of trash that humans produce is reused and recycled.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Increasing Production Increases Material Waste and Environmental Harm

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Lechate is a substance used to clean up oil spills.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Increasing Production Increases Material Waste and Environmental Harm

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Before the late 1970s, there were no regulations regarding the disposal of solid waste in the United States.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Increasing Production Increases Material Waste and Environmental Harm

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. The elderly are at greatest risk to the dangerous toxins found in e-waste.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: E-waste

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Shopping at secondhand stores is a consumer strategy for reducing waste.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Reducing Waste

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. Planned obsolescence should be abolished if we want to considerably reduce waste.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Reducing Waste

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Virtual environmentalism empowers consumers to make environmentally friendly choices with ease.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Reducing Waste

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. The world demand for energy is rising as fossil fuels are depleting.

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Environmental Costs of Powering Our Lives

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Previously, natural gas was a natural byproduct of oil drilling.

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Growing Energy Demand Pushes Us to Riskier Energy Sources

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. Nuclear energy is unpopular because it, like fossil fuels, contributes significantly to climate change.

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nuclear Energy

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. “Green” energy is another name for renewable energy.

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Renewable Energy as a Solution to Increasing Energy Demands

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. In the 1990s, renewable energy replaced fossil fuels are the primary source of energy for the United States.

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Renewable Energy as a Solution to Increasing Energy Demands

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. The government heavily subsidizes renewable energy while companies that process fossil fuels rely on their own profits and operating costs.

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Renewable Energy as a Solution to Increasing Energy Demands

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. Renewable energy installation is leading to a shortage of jobs.

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Renewable Energy Creates New Social Problems but Also New Social Solutions

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. The higher concentration of greenhouse gasses in the earth’s atmosphere contributes to global climate change.

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Is Climate Change?

Difficulty Level: Easy

19. Deforestation contributes to rising global temperatures.

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Where Do Greenhouse Gases Come From?

Difficulty Level: Easy

20. Meat consumption contributes to climate change.

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Where Do Greenhouse Gases Come From?

Difficulty Level: Easy

21. Burning coal is used to produce electricity in power plants.

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Where Do Greenhouse Gases Come From?

Difficulty Level: Easy

22. Methane accumulates in the earth’s atmosphere due to livestock and trash decomposing in landfills.

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Where Do Greenhouse Gases Come From?

Difficulty Level: Easy

23. If the world reaches the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement it will completely reverse the negative effects of global climate change since the Industrial Revolution.

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Effects of Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Easy

24. Climate change contributes to extreme unpredictable weather patterns.

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Effects of Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Easy

25. Low-income individuals consume more resources than high-income individuals.

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Effects of Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Medium

26. Large forests can help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Effects of Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Medium

27. Extracting more fossil fuels is one of the eight stabilization wedges in dealing with climate change in a series of steps.

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Medium

28. Buying food from local farmer’s markets reduces the use of fossil fuels.

Learning Objective: 8.4: What are the positive and negative impacts of industrial agriculture?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Solutions to Problems in the Food System

Difficulty Level: Easy

29. Climate change is agreed upon as a problem within the scientific community.

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Scientific Consensus

Difficulty Level: Easy

30. The IPCC, a scientific body that studies climate change, is a U.S. governmental organization.

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Scientific Consensus

Difficulty Level: Easy

Short Answer

1. Briefly explain how the availability of cars in the United States is an example of treadmills of production.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Treadmills of Production and Consumption

Difficulty Level: Hard

2. What is conspicuous consumption? Provide an example.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Treadmills of Production and Consumption

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. Name at least one environmental disaster caused by a corporation extracting fossil fuels. How did oil supply contribute to these disasters?

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Growing Energy Demand Pushes Us to Riskier Energy Sources

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. If you had a plan to curb climate change how would you use mitigation and adaptation strategies? Provide an example of each.

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. Provide a positive aspect of industrial food production.

Learning Objective: 8.4: What are the positive and negative impacts of industrial agriculture?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Technological Advancements in Agriculture: The Good and the Bad

Difficulty Level: Hard

Essay

1. In high schools across the United States, teenagers gather in cliques of their closest friends. Often, these groups consist of people who look very much alike according to dress, activities, and how they spend their time. How would consumerism explain this phenomenon of people making friends with others who are similar to them?

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Hard

2. How does planned obsolescence benefit corporations? Provide an example.

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Why Do We Always Want More?

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. Describe the most effective strategies for reducing the negative impacts of landfills and waste disposal. Why are systemic solutions more vital than individual ones in this case?

Learning Objective: 8.1: How do modern patterns of production and consumption relate to environmental problems?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Reducing Waste

Difficulty Level: Hard

4. The city council proposes a plan for a nuclear power plant to provide energy for the city. As a concerned citizen you attend the meeting where the proposal is discussed. What are some positive and negative aspects of nuclear energy would you direct to the council?

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Nuclear Energy

Difficulty Level: Hard

5. A local politician argues that we must support the fossil fuels because they are cheaper than renewable energy and the industry provides jobs that people need. How would an advocate of renewable energy respond?

Learning Objective: 8.2: What are the hidden social costs of energy production?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Renewable Energy as a Solution to Increasing Energy Demands

Difficulty Level: Hard

6. An online blogger mocked politicians discussing global warming. The blogger stated, “We just had the coldest winter on record. How do proponents of global warming explain that?” What is the problem with the blogger’s logic?

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: What Is Climate Change?

Difficulty Level: Hard

7. Professor Pierce has a student that is worried about the negative impacts of climate change. The student feels hopeless. Professor Pierce explains the proposal of stabilization wedges. Which features of the stabilization wedges plan can provide comfort to Professor Pierce’s student?

Learning Objective: 8.3: How is climate change both an environmental and a social problem?

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Hard

8. The EPA explains that environmental justice “will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.” How can community research help achieve this goal?

Learning Objective: 8.5: What is environmental justice?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Historical Context of the Environmental Justice Movement

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. How is environmental justice related to residential segregation?

Learning Objective: 8.5: What is environmental justice?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Confronting Environmental Injustice

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Explain the link between the built environment and the natural environment.

Learning Objective: 8.5: What is environmental justice?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Conclusion

Difficulty Level: Medium