Social Dimensions of Environmental Problems
Exam Questions
Course Introduction
This course examines the complex interactions between society and the environment, focusing on how social, cultural, economic, and political factors contribute to the creation and resolution of environmental problems. Students will explore topics such as environmental justice, the impact of race, class, and gender on environmental risk and resource distribution, the role of social movements in shaping environmental policy, and the cultural perceptions of nature. Through case studies, theoretical readings, and practical analysis, the course aims to deepen understanding of how human behaviors and institutions both shape and are shaped by environmental challenges, and to foster critical thinking about sustainable and equitable solutions to pressing ecological issues.
Recommended Textbook Environment and Society 5th Edition by Charles L. Harper
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8 Chapters
361 Verified Questions
361 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/1240
2
Chapter 1: Environment, human Systems, and Social Science
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44 Verified Questions
44 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/24485
Sample Questions
Q1) Larger numbers of people can be sustained if they consume foods that are at lower levels on the food chain.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) In the neoclassical economists' view,the economy contains the ecosystem as resources bases and pollution sinks.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) A key feature of the Dominant Western Worldview is the value it places on nature for its own sake.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) The most significant environmental changes today are anthropogenic.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Page 3
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Chapter 2: Humans and the Resources of the Earth:
Sources and Sinks
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46 Verified Questions
46 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) _________ is the greatest threat to all kinds of wild species.
A)The greenhouse effect
B)Modern agriculture
C)Habitat destruction
D)none of the above
Answer: C
Q2) While bats are vital for maintaining plant diversity,they have been shown to present a serious health threat to humans.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Habitat destruction is the greatest threat to biodiversity.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) The greenhouse effect affects weather patterns,but has little effect on biodiversity.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Page 4
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Chapter 3: Climate Change, science, and Risk
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44 Verified Questions
44 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Scientific uncertainty plays a significant role in understanding climate change.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Space mirrors are one type of geoengineering option to counteract climate change.
A)True
B)False Answer: True
Q3) The notion that well-functioning markets not hampered by excessive regulations will address climate change problems is an example of a "paradigmatic frame."
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) The greenhouse effect can be used to explain the cold climate of Mars.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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5
Chapter 4: Energy and Society
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45 Verified Questions
45 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Princeton University Twin Towers Research Project found that the size of an apartment unit was the best predictor of the amount of energy consumers used.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Recent energy policies in the U.S.have favored supply-side policies that attempt to create low prices for energy.
A)True B)False
Q3) The advantage of wind power is that it generates much more energy per unit than does coal or oil.
A)True
B)False
Q4) When compared with wind power,solar power is:
A)constant and does not vary.
B)a better way to deliver electricity to rural villagers because it does not require constructing a huge power grid.
C)less plentiful.
D)a and c only
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Chapter 5: Population, environment, and Food
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48 Verified Questions
48 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A person's gender is correlated with their access to food.
A)True
B)False
Q2) According to Malthus,which of the following is a "positive" check on population growth?
A)abortion
B)contraception
C)family planning
D)disease
Q3) Supply-side demography argues that:
A)population growth may be beneficial because history shows that larger populations are associated with improvements in human well-being.
B)human misery and suffering is caused by maldistribution resulting from the operation of current social institutions and economic arrangements.
C)population growth is the most important cause of environmental degradation.
D)Class exploitation explains human misery and environmental degradation.
Q4) When the Irish came to Boston and New York as immigrants,they came voluntarily.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Globalization, inequality, and Sustainability
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44 Verified Questions
44 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Functionalist theory in sociology is consistent with neoliberal economic thinking about globalization.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Discuss the prospects for a transformation to sustainability.
Q3) Research on ecological modernization has:
A)supported the LG model.
B)found little evidence that chemical companies release significant amounts of toxic chemicals.
C)found that a small number of chemical companies were responsible for a majority of the toxic waste releases.
D)found little variation in the amount of toxic wastes released by industrial companies.
Q4) The practice of leasing and recycling in a service flow economy is consistent with the Ecological Modernization model.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Discuss the role played by cultural or religious beliefs in shaping attitudes towards consumption.
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Chapter 7: Transforming Structures: Markets and Politics
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45 Verified Questions
45 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Evidence supporting the notion that a "world society" is developing include(s):
A)denser ties between nation-states and the world society.
B)a global emphasis on human rights.
C)a global emphasis on environmentalism.
D)all of the above
E)none of the above
Q2) Commons resource management regimes have their origin in European systems,while the tradable environmental allowances regimes have their origin in the Anglo-American property rights system.
A)True
B)False
Q3) _________ theory emphasizes that many human problems can be understood as market failures.
A)Neoclassical economic
B)Social inequality
C)Rational choice
D)Game
Q4) Identify and discuss the primary strategies for public policies.Be sure to address why the strategies likely work best in concert.
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Chapter 8: Environmentalism: Ideology and Collective Action
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45 Verified Questions
45 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the history of countermovements (anti-environmentalism) in the U.S.
Q2) The "wise use" movement is an example of anti-environmentalism.
A)True
B)False
Q3) One problem with ecotheology is that its appeal is limited to the Catholic Church.
A)True
B)False
Q4) To date,all studies have found high correlations between environmental hazards and the concentrations of minorities.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The African federation,Naam,is best known for its efforts to:
A)mobilize people to protect and restore overused agricultural resources.
B)stop rainforest destruction.
C)plant new forests.
D)none of the above
Q6) Analyze the key features of grassroots movements-what are their strengths and weaknesses?
Page 10
Q7) Compare and contrast environmentalism in LDCs with that in MDCs.
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