CONFRONTING HUMAN-INDUCED ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE

CHAPTER QUIZ

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1.   ?   is one of the few academic disciplines which studies the relationship between humans and the environment as a primary concern

  a. Biology

  b. Psychology

  c.  Physiology

  d. Geography

2.  A greater number of people translates into greater capacity for   ?   change

  a. elemental

  b. environmental

  c. physiologic

  d. biological

3.  A hunter-gatherer could subsist on the resources found within an area of about   ?   square kilometers

  a. 15

  b. 26

  c. 36

  d. 50

4.  It is estimated that a baby born in the United States during the first decade of the twenty-first century will, at current rates, consume about   ?   times as much energy as a baby born in Bangladesh over the same lifetime

  a. 100

  b. 150

  c. 200

  d. 250

5.  Innovations in transportation have caused all of the following except:

  a. Offering access to remote areas of the planet

  b. Facilitating the introduction of new species to areas where they had not been previously found

  c. A general slowing down of species endangerment

  d. Facilitating global transport of goods and foods

6.  Today much of our energy comes from

  a. solar energy in the form of plants and animals

  b. nonrenewable fossil fuels

  c. tertiary, quaternary, and quinary economic

  d. nuclear energy

7.  Which of the following is NOT true with respect to policy responses to environmental change?

  a. Many problems do not lie within a single jurisdiction

  b. The European Union has limited authority over member states

  c. Within democracies, politicians eye the next election and hesitate to tackle long-term problems that require short-term sacrifices

  d. Leaders in peripheral countries find it easier to take action in already marginal standard of living countries

8.  Some nongovernmental organizations are trying to gain agreements among countries, which:

  a. operate outside the formal political arena

  b. tend to focus on specific issues and problems

  c. has included a joint project of the United Nations and the World Bank

  d. all the above are true

9.  An agreement to protect species was submitted to UNCED in the early 1990s.  This agreement dealt with:

  a. environmental protection

  b. biological diversity

  c.  the ozone layer

  d. the disestablishment of a system of protected areas

10.  Our world is one of:

  a. decreasing global change

  b. increasing population growth

  c. increasing population pressure on the environment

  d. decreasing population growth and global impact of humans

TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS

1.  The biodiversity convention affirms the vital significance of preserving biological diversity and provides a framework for cooperation (TF)

2.  There is no struggle to find balance between need of poorer countries to promote local economic development and need to protect biodiversity TF)

3.  A natural ozone layer exists in the upper levels of the troposphere (TF)

4.  The ozone layer protects Earth's surface from sun's harmful ultraviolet rays (TF)

5.  CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) are blamed for the thinning of the ozone layer (TF)

6.  An international agreement known as the Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987, which called for a reduction of production and consumption of CFCs of 50 percent by 1999 (TF)

7. In the 1950s conferences started on human impact on climate (TF)

8.  Global environmental changes illustrate the limits of our knowledge about Earth (TF)

9.  Most environmental changes were anticipated and planned for (TF)

10.  Many global changes are nonlinear, and some are “chaotic” (TF)

STUDY QUESTIONS

1.              While the populations of countries in the industrialized economic core are often smaller than those in the periphery, per capita consumption of resources in the rich countries is far greater.  Explain this phenomenon using two separate categories, and citing specific examples and statistics to back up your claims.

2.              Modern transportation devices contribute to environmental change not just by consuming energy and producing pollution, but by facilitating global trade networks that fuel consumption in the wealthiest parts of the world.  Explain this phenomenon citing specific examples and statistics to back up your claims.

3.              Environmental problems frequently cross political boundaries, complicating regulation and management efforts.  Nonetheless, a number of international environmental accords have been adopted on issues ranging from biodiversity to protection of the ozone layer.  Choose two international accords or organizations, and discuss their beginnings and primary accomplishments.

4.              Efforts to reduce global emissions of carbon dioxide in response to concerns over global climate change have been complicated by strong policy differences over feasible target levels and the extent to which the burden of emissions reduction should fall on the wealthiest, most industrialized countries.  In your opinion, has the global community done enough to effectively reduce pollution?  Explain your answer fully.