Environmental Studies Study Guide
Questions
Course Introduction
Environmental Studies explores the complex interactions between humans and their natural environment, focusing on understanding ecological systems, the impacts of human activity on these systems, and strategies for promoting environmental sustainability. The course covers key topics such as biodiversity, climate change, pollution, natural resource management, and environmental policy, integrating scientific, social, economic, and ethical perspectives. Students will develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills needed to address current environmental challenges and consider sustainable solutions for the future.
Recommended Textbook
Environmental Economics and Management Theory Policy and Applications 6th Edition by Scott
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884 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: The Role of Economics in Environmental Management
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Sample Questions
Q1) Since acidic deposition arises around the world, it is considered to be global pollution.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Within the Circular Flow Model, households are assumed to be the owners of all factors of production, including the natural resources.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Environmental economics
A) is concerned mainly with the residual flow from economic activity back to nature
B) focuses on the flow of resources from nature to economic activity
C) recognizes that the flow of residuals back to nature is preventable
D) none of the above
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: Modeling the Market Process: a Review of the Basics
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Q1) Suppose that in the market for bottled water, the market supply is Q<sub>S</sub> = 14 + 20P and the market demand is Q<sub>D</sub> = 74 - 10P, then equilibrium price is
A) $2
B) $54
C) $6
D) none of the above
Answer: A
Q2) The demand price represents the consumer's willingness to pay for the good. A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Market supply for a private good is found by
A) vertically summing all market prices for a given quantity
B) horizontally summing the quantity decisions of producers at each and every price
C) adding the price-quantity pairs for all units sold
D) none of the above
Answer: B
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Modeling Market Failure
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Sample Questions
Q1) The study conducted by Greenpeace China of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region indicates that progress is being made to improve water quality.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) If a good has the characteristic of nonrivalness, it means that A) the good is publicly provided B) it is impossible to prevent others from sharing the benefits of consumption C) the benefits linked to consumption are indivisible
D) none of the above
Answer: C
Q3) At a competitive equilibrium, M = 0, but at an efficient equilibrium MEC = 0.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) Nonexcludability refers to the possibility that the benefits of consumption can be shared.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Page 5
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Chapter 4: Conventional Solutions to Environmental
Problems: Command-And-Control Approach
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Sample Questions
Q1) Suppose the combined abatement standard is set at 22 units and firm J and firm K have MAC functions of MAC<sub>J</sub> = 0.5A, and MAC<sub>K</sub> = 0.75A, respectively. If firm J is abating 10 units and firm K is abating 12 units, firm K should abate more units and firm J should abate less.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A benefit-based standard
A) is one that balances social benefits with social costs, at the margin
B) achieves allocative efficiency
C) achieves a cost-effective level of pollution abatement
D) is set to improve society's well-being without consideration for costs
Q3) If an abatement standard is set to achieve allocative efficiency at the national level, then
A) that standard necessarily achieves allocative efficiency in all regions
B) the standard cannot be optimal at the regional level unless the MSB and MSC for all regions are identical to one another
C) all regions will abate below the optimal level
D) at that abatement standard, all regions will face MSC higher than MSB
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Chapter 5: Economic Solutions to Environmental Problems: the Market Approach
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Q1) A Pigouvian tax is a charge on a good whose production generates a negative externality, such that the charge is equal to the MEC at the competitive output level.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Compared to an abatement equipment subsidy, a per-unit subsidy on abatement might be less disruptive to the market because it is defined without any influence as to how abatement is achieved.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Of all the market-based policy instruments used to combat environmental damage, the pollution charge is the most commonly used worldwide.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Because polluters ignore the MEC of environmental damage linked to the production of a good, too few resources are allocated to producing that good.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Environmental Risk Analysis
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Sample Questions
Q1) Following the initial planning process, the EPA's ecological risk assessment framework consists of phases that include all of the following EXCEPT
A) problem formulation
B) dose-response
C) analysis
D) risk characterization
Q2) According to the text application, the IPCC estimates that
A) Africa is the only continent vulnerable to climate change
B) ecological risk to North America will vary within the region
C) Europe should experience shorter growing seasons
D) Latin American should experience higher crop yields
E) all of the above
Q3) Which of the following is NOT part of a risk characterization?
A) a qualitative component that includes a description of the hazard
B) a monetary component that assigns a dollar value to the risk
C) a quantitative component that gives the magnitude of the risk
D) an integrated analysis of the overall risk assessment process
Q4) Comparative risk analysis is aimed at minimizing the absolute level of a risk.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 7: Assessing Benefits for Environmental Decision Making
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Q1) An indirect gain to society attributable to environmental policy implementation is referred to as a primary environmental benefit.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A disadvantage of the travel cost method is that it estimates only existence value and not user value.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Installing an air purifier or a water filtration system is an example of a(n)
A) direct estimation method
B) ozone-reducing policy
C) physical linkage approach
D) averting action
Q4) If an individual receives utility from enjoying the view of a mountain range, that mountain range is said to provide indirect user value to the individual.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 8: Assessing Costs for Environmental Decision Making
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Sample Questions
Q1) Incremental cost assessment involves
A) valuing TSC at a single level of abatement
B) subtracting baseline TSC prior to undertaking policy from post-policy TSC
C) summing baseline TSC and post-policy TSC
D) finding the ratio of TSC to MSC at a given abatement level
Q2) According to available U.S. data, spending on pollution abatement and control has grown fairly steadily over time.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is INCORRECT?
A) Aggregate abatement spending in the U.S. has increased over time
B) Across all economic sectors, business spending on abatement in the United States comprises the highest proportion of aggregate abatement spending
C) Across major industries, spending on waste treatment outweighs spending on recycling
D) The petroleum and coal industry spends less on abatement than any other industry
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Chapter 9: Benefit-Cost Analysis in Environmental Decision Making
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Sample Questions
Q1) Deflating refers to
A) discounting a future value into its present value by accounting for the opportunity cost of money
B) converting a real value into its associated nominal value
C) using the discount rate to correct for environmental benefits or costs accruing in some future time period
D) none of the above
Q2) President Reagan was the only U.S. president to support the use of economic criteria in policy decision making.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Who was the first U.S. president to explicitly refer to the efficiency criterion as part of the regulatory review process?
A) President Clinton
B) President George W. Bush
C) President Reagan
D) President Obama
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Page 11
Chapter 10: Defining Air Quality: the Standard-Setting Process
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Sample Questions
Q1) The first federal air pollution legislation was the Clean Air Act of 1963.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Prior to the 1950s, all air quality laws in the United States had been enacted at the state and local levels of government.
A)True
B)False
Q3) All of the following are examples of anthropogenic pollutants EXCEPT
A) lead
B) carbon monoxide
C) pollen
D) sulfur dioxide
Q4) Recently proposed revisions to the NESHAP
A) have been enacted without debate
B) include one aimed at coal-fired and oil-fired power plants
C) will weaken national controls on toxics
D) none of the above
Q5) Over 180 hazardous air pollutants are controlled by the Clean Air Act.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 11: Improving Air Quality: Controlling Mobile
Sources
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Sample Questions
Q1) Among all identified transportation sources, off highway vehicle emissions are the largest contributors to the formation of photochemical smog.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Controls on GHG emissions from mobile sources
A) have been in place in the United States since the Clean Air Act of 1970
B) were recently established by the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
C) are implemented solely through CAFÉ standards issued by the EPA
D) apply solely to heavy-duty trucks and rail transport vehicles
Q3) Ethanol (E85) is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The reported Air Quality Index (AQI) uses data from the EPA's monitoring of metropolitan statistical areas.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 12: Improving Air Quality: Controlling Stationary Sources
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Sample Questions
Q1) Emissions limits applicable to new and modified stationary sources are known as New Source Performance Standards (NSPS).
A)True
B)False
Q2) Consider the following two statements to answer this question: (1) The bubble policy allows a facility to measure its emissions as an average of all emission points from that facility.
(2) Netting was developed as a trading program to control emissions in PSD areas.
A) (1) is true and (2) is false
B) both (1) and (2) are false
C) (1) is false and (2) is true
D) both (1) and (2) are true
Q3) The Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) included an annual SO<sub>2</sub> trading program.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Find the cost effective allocation of abatement across the two sources that also satisfies the 40 percent aggregate abatement level. Support with calculations.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Global Air Quality: Policies for Ozone Depletion and Climate Change
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Sample Questions
Q1) The EPA's Endangerment finding
A) had no effect on GHG regulation in the United States
B) asserted that GHGs posed a threat to the health and welfare of current and future generations
C) argued that GHGs present no danger to public health and welfare
D) indicated that only HFCs could endanger public welfare and recommended that they be banned from production and consumption
Q2) In the United States, the use of CFCs in most aerosol sprays was banned in A) 1987
B) 1978
C) 2005
D) 1970
Q3) In the United States, there is a federally enforced greenhouse gas (GHG) allowance trading program.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Find the dollar value of a per unit gasoline tax that would achieve the efficient solution, and calculate the resulting tax revenues generated to government.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Defining Water Quality: the Standard-Setting Process
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Sample Questions
Q1) Mercury is the leading pollutant for U.S. bays and estuaries.
A)True
B)False
Q2) There are three classifications of water pollutants: toxic, conventional and nonconventional.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Receiving water quality standards and total maximum daily loads are equivalent. A)True
B)False
Q4) Water quality policy recognizes two major categories of water resources -- surface water and groundwater. A)True B)False
Q5) The Clean Water Act's zero discharge goal was met in 1985. A)True B)False
B)False Page 16
Q6) The interdependence of all water resources is explained by the hydrologic cycle. A)True
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Page 17
Chapter 15: Improving Water Quality: Controlling Point and Nonpoint Sources
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Sample Questions
Q1) An advantage of the effluent limitations is that they are aligned with the national water quality objectives.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The presidential Executive Order that is dedicated to the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay proposes a strictly command-and-control approach to restore and protect this natural resource.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The setting of effluent limitations
A) is based primarily on technological capability
B) follows benefit-cost analysis
C) achieves an efficient solution
D) all of the above
Q4) When faced with a marginal effluent fee (MEF), each polluting source will
A) abate up to the point where its total abatement cost (TAC) equals the MEF
B) abate nothing and pay the MEF on all units of pollution released
C) clean up pollution as long as its marginal abatement cost is lower than the MEF
D) reduce its effluents to zero to avoid paying the effluent fee
Page 18
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Chapter 16: Protecting Safe Drinking Water
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Sample Questions
Q1) The water pricing scheme that offers an economic incentive to conserve water usage is the declining block pricing structure.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Among the criteria used for identifying priority contaminants is that
A) the pollutant must occur in a private water system
B) the contaminant might have a negative effect on the ecology
C) the pollutant must be a microorganism
D) the contaminant may have an adverse effect on human health
E) none of the above
Q3) U.S. primary drinking water regulations are performance-based standards.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments
A) reduced federal controls on drinking water
B) included a ban on lead pipe and solder in public drinking water systems
C) were proposed but never passed by Congress
D) comprise the rulings that currently govern U.S. drinking water
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Chapter 17: Managing Hazardous Solid Waste and Waste Sites
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Sample Questions
Q1) The most common type of damage linked to hazardous wastes is water and soil contamination.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) maintained the "Superfund" at its original level of $1.6 billion.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A set of control strategies to reduce the amount and toxicity of hazardous waste at every stage of the waste stream is known as
A) source reduction
B) waste management
C) "cradle-to-grave" management
D) risk-benefit analysis
Q4) Types of hazardous substances include heavy metals, acids, and solvents.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 18: Managing Municipal Solid Waste
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Sample Questions
Q1) The "Green Dot Program" is
A) an international law to reduce plastics in packaging
B) a private plan in Germany for collection and recycling of packaging
C) a waste management plan operated by the German government
D) a model waste program because of its low start-up and operating costs
Q2) The demand for MSW services
A) represents the production decisions of firms providing disposal or incineration services
B) would likely be lower for higher income households
C) would tend to be lower for more environmentally aware consumers
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Q3) The dollar value of a waste-end charge that would achieve efficiency in this market is
A) $7.60
B) $11
C) $9.5
D) none of the above
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Chapter 19: Controlling Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals
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Sample Questions
Q1) In a risk-benefit analysis of pesticide use,
A) benefits are the gains from eliminating or reducing pesticide use
B) benefits can be measured as the change in producer and consumer surpluses linked to increasing supply due to enhanced crop yields
C) the data needed to estimate benefits are readily obtainable
D) secondary benefits, such as improved worker productivity, are not relevant
Q2) Recently, the EPA announced a set of 6 principles to facilitate the reauthorization and strengthening of TSCA.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Chemical use is associated with a production externality.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Proper registration of new pesticides
A) is subject to EPA approval
B) generates a formal listing of a pesticide based on benefit-cost analysis
C) is independent of the pesticide labeling
D) cannot be denied if adverse environmental effects are linked to its widespread use
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22
Chapter 20: Sustainable Development: International
Environmental Agreements and International Trade
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Sample Questions
Q1) Both environmentalists and free trade advocates supported the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
A)True
B)False
Q2) The international agreement that was aimed specifically at ozone depletion is the
A) Kyoto Protocol
B) Montreal Protocol
C) Rio Declaration
D) London Convention 1972
Q3) The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
A) involves the United States, Canada, and Mexico
B) did not increase the volume of trade among the countries of North America
C) was negotiated after President Obama took office
D) failed to acknowledge environmental protection in its trade propositions
Q4) The Montreal Protocol and its amendments address the phase out of those chemicals primarily responsible for climate change.
A)True
B)False
Page 23
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Chapter 21: Sustainable Approaches: Industrial Ecology and
Pollution Prevention
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Sample Questions
Q1) An important motivation of environmental accounting is to help firms make accurate costs assessments about pollution prevention.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The materials balance model
A) shows the connections between economic decision making and nature
B) illustrates the importance of balancing raw materials with physical capital
C) is relevant only to manufacturing processes
D) is unrelated to achieving sustainable development
Q3) In the United States, the pollution prevention hierarchy consists of the following
A) source reduction
B) reuse/recycling
C) cleaner production
D) all of the above
E) (a) and (b) only
Q4) Extended product responsibility (EPR) places all the onus of product stewardship on the producer.
A)True
B)False
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