Chapter 15: The Environment

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. A catastrophe that threatens or overwhelms an area's capacity to get people to safety, treat casualties, protect infrastructure, and control panic is called which of these?

a. a disaster

b. global warming

c. climate change

d. a mega-disaster

Learning Objective: 15-1: Explain the relationship between human activity and environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Which of these is NOT an example of a mega-disaster?

a. Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico

b. Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans

c. Japan’s 2011 earthquake and tsunami

d. Love Canal

Learning Objective: 15-1: Explain the relationship between human activity and environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Which of these is TRUE Biosphere 2?

a. It was a three acre, glass enclosed ecosystem designed to test the effect of pollutants.

b. It showed that humans were capable of creating human-made substitutions for essential natural resources.

c. Its $200 million dollar budget was not sufficient to carry out its mission.

d. It was designed in the 1960s and continued to be usable through 2010.

Learning Objective: 15-1: Explain the relationship between human activity and environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Environmental Problems are Human Problems

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Biologists Paul Ehrlich and Anne Ehrlich (1990) assert that the impact of any human group the environment is the product of three different factors. Which of the following is NOT one of these factors?

a. population

b. level of affluence

c. education

d. technological damage

Learning Objective: 15-2: Review the different sociological perspectives on environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Functionalist Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. According to ecofeminist Cynthia Hamilton (1994), activist women in environmental movements are motivated by a need to do which of these?

a. bring attention to male domination

b. protect their home and children

c. be heard

d. destroy patriarchy

Learning Objective: 15-2: Review the different sociological perspectives on environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Feminist Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. According to Robert Bullard (1999), the most important factor in determining whether an individual drinks dirty water or lives next to a toxic site is which of these?

a. race

b. gender

c. educational level

d. religion

Learning Objective: 15-2: Review the different sociological perspectives on environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Conflict Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. The awareness that the environment has an economic value is called which of these?

a. economic capitalism

b. natural capitalism

c. environmental capitalism

d. green capitalism

Learning Objective: 15-2: Review the different sociological perspectives on environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Conflict Perspective

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Which of these is associated with the creation of the modern environmental justice movement?

a. Standing Rock Pipeline

b. Hurricane Maria

c. Love Canal

d. Deepwater Horizon

Learning Objective: 15-2: Review the different sociological perspectives on environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Feminist Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. John Hannigan identified six factors that are necessary for the successful construction of an environmental problem. Which of these is NOT one of those factors?

a. scientific authority to validate claims

b. media that frames the problem as novel and important

c. political leaders

d. religious community support

Learning Objective: 15-2: Review the different sociological perspectives on environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Interactionist Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Which two countries have the highest fossil fuel CO₂ emissions worldwide?

a. India and China

b. China and the United States

c. Japan and China

d. the United States and India

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Which of these is NOT considered a natural case of climate change?

a. oceanic changes

b. volcanic eruptions

c. changes in earth’s orbit

d. fossil fuels

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. Which of these is TRUE of the effect of climate change on households?

a. Poor households are less vulnerable to climate change than more affluent households.

b. Poor and affluent households are equally vulnerable to climate change.

c. Poor households are more vulnerable to climate change than more affluent households.

d. Neither poor nor affluent households will feel the effect of climate change as climate change is felt at the individual level.

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Why was President George W. Bush’s lack of support for Kyoto Protocol significant to climate change?

a. It resulted in regulations that were too burdensome for U.S. industry.

b. It meant the U.S. was not part of a treaty that limited the emissions of greenhouse gases by an average of 5.2% below 1990 levels.

c. It meant the U.S. was not part of a treaty that would have prevented natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

d. It resulted in the global acknowledgement of a changing environment.

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Which U.S. president joined 195 nations to sign the Paris Climate Accord which made a commitment to lowering greenhouse gas emissions?

a. Donald J. Trump

b. George W. Bush

c. Barak Obama

d. Bill Clinton

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Which U.S. president withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord which made a commitment to lowering greenhouse gas emissions?

a. Donald J. Trump

b. George W. Bush

c. Barak Obama

d. Bill Clinton

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. Scientists report that 1 out of every ______ people in the United States is at high risk of experiencing ozone-related health effects.

a. 3

b. 9

c. 12

d. 15

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Air Quality

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. The Brownfields Economic Revitalization Act which authorized $250 million annually to assist with cleanup and restoration of Brownfields was signed by which president?

a. Barak Obama

b. Bill Clinton

c. George W. Bush

d. Ronald Reagan

Learning Objective: 15-4: Summarize federal and state responses to environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Hazardous Waste Sites and Brownfields

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. An abandoned or underused industrial or commercial property is known as which of these?

a. a pollutant

b. a “love canal”

c. a hazardous waste site

d. a brownfield

Learning Objective: 15-4: Summarize federal and state responses to environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Hazardous Waste Sites and Brownfields

Difficulty Level: Easy

19. As a result of ______ the Environmental Protection Agency created a Superfund to clean hazardous waste sites.

a. the Dakota Pipeline

b. the biosphere

c. Love Canal

d. WHO reports

Learning Objective: 15-4: Summarize federal and state responses to environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Hazardous Waste Sites and Brownfields

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. Which of the following is a ground water source?

a. rivers

b. underground aquifers

c. streams

d. municipal water

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Water Quality and Supply

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. Which of the following is NOT a surface water source?

a. rivers

b. underground aquifers

c. streams

d. lakes

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Water Quality and Supply

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. What percentage of people get their drinking water from surface water sources?

a. 16 percent

b. 36 percent

c. 66 percent

d. 96 percent

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Water Quality and Supply

Difficulty Level: Hard

23. Where is the largest dead zone in the United States?

a. the Gulf of Mexico

b. the Hudson River

c. the Chesapeake Bay

d. the Great Lakes

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Water Quality and Supply

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. Why is the Endangered Species Act of 1973 so controversial?

a. because it protects large, predatory animals

b. because it preserves the interests of the species above economic and human interests

c. because it permits human recreational activities such as boating, logging, and motorized sports

d. because it damages delicate ecosystems of rare plants and wildlife

Learning Objective: 15-4: Summarize federal and state responses to environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Land Conservation and Wilderness Protection

Difficulty Level: Medium

25. Successes in land conservation and wilderness protection are because of which of these?

a. local practices

b. state policies

c. regional policies

d. federal policies

Learning Objective: 15-4: Summarize federal and state responses to environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Land Conservation and Wilderness Protection

Difficulty Level: Medium

26. Which is the smallest designated wilderness area in the United States?

a. Yellowstone, MT

b. Wrangell-St. Elias, AK

c. Pelican Island, FL

d. Shenandoah, VA.

Learning Objective: 15-4: Summarize federal and state responses to environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Land Conservation and Wilderness Protection

Difficulty Level: Medium

27. Which is the largest designated wilderness area in the United States?

a. Yellowstone, MT

b. Wrangell-St. Elias, AK

c. Pelican Island, FL

d. Shenandoah, VA.

Learning Objective: 15-4: Summarize federal and state responses to environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Land Conservation and Wilderness Protection

Difficulty Level: Medium

28. Through the 1973 Endangered Species Act, ______ U.S. species have been listed as endangered or threatened with recovery plans approved or implemented about half of them.

a. 234

b. 2,340

c. 22,340

d. 222,340

Learning Objective: 15-4: Summarize federal and state responses to environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Land Conservation and Wilderness Protection

Difficulty Level: Medium

29. Which president created and expanded the most national monuments?

a. Donald J. Trump

b. George W. Bush

c. Barak Obama

d. Bill Clinton

Learning Objective: 15.4 Summarize federal and state responses to environmental problems

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Land Conservation and Wilderness Protection

Difficulty Level: Medium

30. This organization, established in 1970, is charged with providing leadership in the nation’s environmental science, research, education and assessment offices.

a. the National Science Foundation

b. Veteran’s Affairs

c. the Environmental Protection Agency

d. the Department of Justice

Learning Objective: 15-4: Summarize federal and state responses to environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Federal Responses

Difficulty Level: Medium

31. In the 1980s the Environmental Protection Agency shifted its focus from ______ to ______.

a. cleanup; pollution management

b. water quality; cleanup

c. air quality; pollution management

d. pollution management; cleanup

Learning Objective: 15-4: Summarize federal and state responses to environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Federal Responses

Difficulty Level: Medium

32. Which of these is TRUE of state and local environmental responses?

a. States have been unwilling to work in compacts to address environmental issues.

b. Cities have embraced sustainability goals, but they are unwilling to address environmentally responsible planning and consumption.

c. Los Angeles and Boston have been singled out for their environmental vision and leadership.

d. Thirty-five states and Puerto Rico have completed or implemented action plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions or enhancing greenhouse gas capture.

Learning Objective: 15-4: Summarize federal and state responses to environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: State and Local Responses

Difficulty Level: Medium

33. Which of the following environmental organizations is credited with being the first to play an important role in American politics?

a. National Audubon Society

b. National Parks and Conservation Association

c. National Wildlife Federation

d. Sierra Club

Learning Objective: 15-5: Compare the first wave and second wave of environmental interest groups.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Environmental Interest Groups

Difficulty Level: Medium

34. Which group is an example of a new environmental interest group?

a. the National Audubon Society

b. the National Wildlife Federation

c. the National Parks Conservation Association

d. the Environmental Policy Institute

Learning Objective: 15-5: Compare the first wave and second wave of environmental interest groups.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Environmental Interest Groups

Difficulty Level: Medium

35. Which of the following organizations honors youth for their environmental work and pledges to support campaigns “dedicated to conserving, preserving, and restoring the ecosystems on which our civilization depends.”

a. Earth Island Institute

b. Arkansas Wildlife Federation

c. the National Wildlife Federation

d. Sierra Club

Learning Objective: 15-5: Compare the first wave and second wave of environmental interest groups.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Environmental Interest Groups

Difficulty Level: Medium

36. The first wave of environmental groups focused their efforts on which of these?

a. conservation

b. fighting pollution

c. green spaces

d. policy

Learning Objective: 15-5: Compare the first wave and second wave of environmental interest groups.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Environmental Interest Groups

Difficulty Level: Medium

37. The second wave of environmental groups that emerged during the 1960s and 1970s focused their efforts on which of these?

a. conservation

b. fighting pollution

c. green spaces

d. policy

Learning Objective: 15-5: Compare the first wave and second wave of environmental interest groups.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Environmental Interest Groups

Difficulty Level: Medium

38. Which of the following illustrates a difference between grassroots environmental movements and national environmental organizations?

a. Most national organizations are led by inexperienced but passionate leaders.

b. National organizations usually emphasize environmental justice.

c. Grassroots organizations usually consist of working-class participants, people of color, and women.

d. Most grassroots organizations confront problems through direct action and acts of civil disobedience.

Learning Objective: 15-6: Assess the impact of the environmental movement.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Environmental Justice Movement

Difficulty Level: Medium

39. Which is TRUE of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment?

a. It includes a pledge to develop and implement a plan to achieve carbon neutrality on campuses.

b. It was signed by 100 college presidents.

c. It requires that colleges start environmental clubs.

d. It charges faculty with leading the effort on environmentalism on campus.

Learning Objective: 15-6: Assess the impact of the environmental movement.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Is Your School Green?

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. Humans create environmental problems through intentional efforts to manage nature.

Learning Objective: 15-1: Explain the relationship between human activity and environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Russia, Indonesia, and Zambia are among the world’s most polluted places.

Learning Objective: 15-1: Explain the relationship between human activity and environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Functionalists would agree with the argument that agricultural and industrial modes of production can be dysfunctional for our ecosystems.

Learning Objective: 15-2: Review the different sociological perspectives on environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Functionalist Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Conflict theorists believe that our capitalist economic system is a primary source of environmental degradation and pollution.

Learning Objective: 15-2: Review the different sociological perspectives on environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Conflict Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Most Americans will tolerate environmental damage and pollution in exchange for the benefits and comforts associated with a developed industrial economy.

Learning Objective: 15-2: Review the different sociological perspectives on environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Conflict Perspective

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Ecofeminism is a feminist perspective for explaining the relationship between humans and the environment.

Learning Objective: 15-2: Review the different sociological perspectives on environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Feminist Perspective

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. An Interactionist would be interested in how environmental problems are identified and defined.

Learning Objective: 15-2: Review the different sociological perspectives on environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Interactionist Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Social constructionists believe that environmental problems do not really exist, but rather they are only what people say they are.

Learning Objective: 15-2: Review the different sociological perspectives on environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Interactionist Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Global warming is part of climate change.

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Fossil fuels are responsible for about 20 percent of carbon dioxide emissions.

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Climate Change

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. The Federal Department of Transportation is responsible for monitoring smog levels throughout the nation.

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Air Quality

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. Ground-level ozone is referred to as smog.

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Air Quality

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. According to the World Health Organization, 3 in 10 people worldwide do not have access to safe drinking water.

Learning Objective: 15-3: Discuss climate change and global warming.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Water Quality

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. The National Wilderness Preservation System sets aside land for preservation while also allowing and supporting recreational activities on that land.

Learning Objective: 15-4: Summarize federal and state responses to environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Land Conservation and Wilderness Protection

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Efforts in land conservation and wilderness protection seem to be successful largely because of federal protection policies.

Learning Objective: 15-4: Summarize federal and state responses to environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Land Conservation and Wilderness Protection

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. The Sierra Club is an example of a second wave environmental group.

Learning Objective: 15-5: Compare the first wave and second wave of environmental interest groups.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Environmental Interest Groups

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. The government’s first response to the environment was directed at sustainability goals.

Learning Objective: 15-5: Compare the first wave and second wave of environmental interest groups.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: State and Local Responses

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. The environmental movement has been credited as one of the few movements that have changed society.

Learning Objective: 15-6: Assess the impact of the environmental movement.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Environmental Justice Movement

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. Describe Biosphere 2. What were the results of this experiment and what important lesson did we learn from this experiment?

Learning Objective: 15-1: Explain the relationship between human activity and environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Environmental Problems are Human Problems

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Compare and contrast two of the four theoretical perspectives on the environment and give examples of their areas of concentration. Which perspective do you find most useful and why?

Learning Objective: 15-2: Review the different sociological perspectives on environmental problems.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Sociological Perspectives on Environmental Problems

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Describe the environmental justice movement and explain and explore three to four areas of major impact.

Learning Objective: 15-6: Assess the impact of the environmental movement.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension and Analysis

Answer Location: Environmental Justice Movement

Difficulty Level: Medium