ESE 200 - Final Exam

India experiences a shortfall between its water use and the available water resources. This situation is described as

water stress

Yemen experiences a shortfall between its water use and the available water resources. This situation is described as

water stress

Which of the following is a Milankovitch period length that has been observed in Pleistocene climate records?

100,000 years

According to computer simulations, what is the most likely trend of global temperatures in the next 100 years?

3 to 5 degrees F warming

Which of the following does application of the "risk management" approach require

A good estimate of all the risks The ability to weigh the risks

"Command and control" policy might directly legislate

A limit on pollutant concentrations

What is a "Commons", in the "Tragedy of the Commons" sense?

A shared resource that has open access

In general, it is true that we can say a negative externality creates

A social cost

Which of the following is an important driver in the "hydrologic cycle"?

Gravity Sunlight

Under what circumstances will a cost-benefit analysis argue for the adoption of a policy?

If the opportunity cost is smaller than the social benefits

Under what circumstances will a cost-benefit analysis argue against the adoption of a policy?.

If the opportunity cost outweighs the social benefit

The Green Revolution has directly resulted in

Increased global fertilizer use

What have demographer observed in the last 50 years?

Increased wealth is associated with decreasing birth rates

A "Tragedy of the commons" problem occurs when

Individual actions don't match with the needs of the group

Why can common use of a resource result in a destruction of that resource

Individual incentive may not be consistent with group incentive

Why might it be argued that personal action should not be used to defeat the "Tragedy of the Commons"

It's unfair- people with good conscience will be discriminated against.

Which systems are included in the usual three-part model of a sustainable earth?

Its environment Its societies Its economies

What is meant by sustainable development

Meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

What does it mean to have an "energy return" of between 1 and 10

More energy is returned than expended

Why won't population growth alone necessarily lead to large global environmental impacts?

Most population growth is occurring in regions with low per-capita consumption

Why is food production required to increase at a faster rate than population growth, as a consequence of increased economic wealth?

Richer people tend to eat more meat

If a pasture is potentially afflicted by "the Tragedy of the Commons", which of the following general approaches might alleviate over-exploitation?

Selling the pasture to an individual Setting a quota on the number of users

Which of the following terms would apply to carbon dioxide emissions from a car, in the absence of any regulation?

Social cost

Which of the following terms would apply to sulfur dioxide pollution from a power plant, in the absence of any regulation?

Social cost

If the population of a country is stable, we would expect to see a population pyramid with a ...

Square shape

If the demographic transition model is accurate where would japan be?

Stage 4

What occurs at a Malthusian "point of crisis"?

Starvation: there is not enough food to sustain the entire population

What explains why japans population is declining?

The mature age structure requires that fertility is below replacement levels

What is the demographic transition?

The move from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates

What does the term "peak oil" refer to?

The point at which oil is extracted at the greatest rate

What happens to a system where population exceeds the carrying capacity

The population drops below carrying capacity

How much will the world population increase over the next 40 years (according to the UN's medium projection?

about 2 billion

According to the UN where will the most population growth occur in the 21st century?

africa

World-wide, what is the biggest single use of water

agriculture

Using "food miles" to estimate environmental impact is an example of

an environmental heuristic

If a country can be described has having experienced "peak travel", this means that citizens of the country

are not travelling as much as they once did

Globally, it is true to say that carbon footprints

are related to the level of development

Most of the population growth in the 20th century has primarily occurred in..

less developed countries

What does it mean to have an "energy return" of between 0 and 1

less energy is returned then expended

Which of the following describes a legitimate reason why the extraction of groundwater can lead to contamination?

depressed water tables can lead to saltwater intrusion

Carbon Dioxide is an important greenhouse gas put into the atmosphere, significantly as a result of human activities. What is another?

methane

What percentage of U.S. primary energy use is from "non-renewable" sources?

more than 80% but less than 95%

Does the demographic transition model take into account global catastrophes?

no

Which of the following pairs of acts most clearly generate a positive externality and a negative externality, in that order?

picking up an empty aluminum can off the street, throwing a plastic bottle into the ocean

Which of the following describes a water flux in the hydrologic system?

the precipitation of water over land

When environmental theorists talk about dematerialization, they are focused on

the reduction in material consumption in the developed world

Over the past 800,000 years, when was carbon dioxide in the atmosphere the highest?

today

The average life-expectancy is currently...

Getting longer in most places

According to proxy and instrumental data, what is the general trend of global temperature in the last 200 years?

1 to 2 degrees F warming

What is the approximate world population today?

7.5 billion

What is a "Tragedy", in the "Tragedy of the Commons" sense?

A bad outcome that arises naturally

Which of the following could reasonably be described as an example of the intrinsic value approach?

A deer that exists for its own sake

If the population of a country is decreasing, we could expect to see a pop. Pyramid with...

A wedge, or cup shape

Which of the following might reasonably expected to be afflicted by "the Tragedy of the Commons"

All of the worlds oceans

Sustainable systems

Allow future systems to flourish Can be natural Can be human

Command and control policy might directly legislate

An ambient standard for emissions

A "Tragedy of the Commons" requires both a "Tragedy" and a "Commons". What does the tragedy consist of in a system that is governed by the "Tragedy of the Commons" model?

An inevitable degradation

Fisheries are observed to experience the "Tragedy of the Commons" when they

Are unregulated and shared

What most accurately describes a Neo-Malthusian attitude

Believing that population growth is unsustainable today

If there are as many 40 year old's in a population as 1 year old's, what does this mean?

Birth rates have been stable for decades

Why is carbon dioxide (CO2) thought to act as a "greenhouse gas"?

CO2 is more transparent to visible then to infrared radiation

Which of the following statements is true?

Climate is the average of the weather

Why might pollution lead to water stress?

Contamination implies that sources have limited use

Corn biofuel has an EROEI of about 1.Why would a technological advance that made corn biofuel 20% more efficient to produce not make much difference in energy consumption patterns?

Corn would remain an inefficient energy source

Virtual water is

Embedded in traded products

Cells in a petri dish grow fastest when (s-shaped growth pattern)

Far from carrying capacity

Fisheries are often described as being afflicted by the "Tragedy of the Commons". Which of the following statements follows from this description of the situation

Fisheries are collective resources not owned by one corporation or individual

If a society is unable to return to its original state after a significant disturbance (such as a war, crop failure or pandemic) then we can describe it as

Fragile

Why are fossil fuels so well suited to transport?

High energy density reduces vehicle mass - can be used on demand inexpensive

Which of the following might be a major obstacle in an effort to increase energy conservation?

High upfront costs

What is the biggest renewable energy source used in the U.S. electricity grid?

Hydropower

Which of the following is a major storage component of the hydrologic system?

Ice sheets and glaciers groundwater

Under what circumstances is it sustainable to extract water from an aquifer

If recharge rates are equal to extraction rate

Many places had common resources that's use were shared, but did not deplete these resources. This is because the local people employed the following approach to avoid commons degradation

Internal governance

When might government regulation make a "Tragedy of the Commons" situation worse?

Internal, or social, solutions might be disrupted

What is a known disadvantage of the production and/or use of biofuels?

It increases global food prices

If an environmental policy is "economically efficient" this means that compared to other policies

It is cheaper than the alternatives, for a given outcome

Internal governance is having trouble dealing with some important "Tragedy of the Commons" issues. One of these is atmospheric pollution and climate change. Why might an internal governance approach, in particular, be failing to curb the problem

Lack of social community

Which of the following is a supposed advantage of wind-power over conventional power?

Less air pollution

Which of the following pollution types is a common example of a "negative externality"

Light pollution

When we discuss the impact of pollution on third-parties (i.e. groups who aren't involved in the transaction that produces the pollution) what sort of "externality" should we be referring to.

Negative externality

Of the following options, which is the most accurate way to complete this statement? Water use in the US (similar to most other developed economies) has:

Not increased in the last few decades

Regions of low biodiversity have

Not many species

A "Tragedy of the commons" is most associated with

Overuse of a resource

Which of the following might be a reason to expect solar photo-voltaic (PV) energy will become a larger part of the electric grid than power generated by the wind?

PV has had a faster rate of technological improvement in the last few years

When we discuss the impact of a social benefit on third-parties (i.e. i.e. groups who aren't involved in the transaction that produces the social benefit), what sort of "externality" should we be referring to?

Positive externality

What is an advantage of fossil fuels?

Provide power on demand

The demographic transition model predicts that...

Reductions in birth rates lag reduction in death rates

If a society returns to its original state after a significant disturbance (such as a war, crop failure or pandemic) then we can describe it as

Resilient

In the IPAT equation the environmental impact (I) of human activity is modeled to increase when the following increases:

Technology Affluence Population

The largest increase in the global population occurred in which time period?

The 20th century

If there was no atmosphere, the Earth's average temperature would be about -18 degrees Celsius (which is below 0 degrees Fahrenheit). The Earth is much warmer than this! Why

The Earth's atmosphere traps heat like a natural greenhouse

Haiti has been largely deforested as a result of "the Tragedy of the Commons", despite government laws to prevent over-extraction of timber resources. Why might this be?

The Haitian government is too weak or corrupt to enforce property and conservation laws

Which of the following is an example of an ecosystem service, as supplied by a wetland?

The fish caught by recreational anglers who visit the wetland

Which of the following is an example of an ecosystem service, as supplied by a forest?

The recreation enjoyed by hikers who visit the forest

New light bulbs produce more light for the same amount of energy. According to the concept of "perverse incentives", this might result in

The same amount of energy required as light use increases

I have developed a new genetically modified strain of wheat that is drought resistant. According to the precautionary principle, I should not sell the seeds of this variety unless:

The scientific consensus says that's its safe to do so

Why might we use a carbon tax, instead of an ambient standard, to regulate emissions?

To efficiently allocate the right to pollute

Why is good governance important when using private approaches to solve Tragedy of the Commons problems?

To insure that property rights are respected

What is a big advantage of using nuclear energy to produce electricity?

Uranium has secure sources

If the costs outweigh the benefits for an action, then a cost/benefit analysis would state that

We should not perform the action

If the benefits outweigh the costs for an action then a cost/benefit analysis would state that

We should perform the action

Current corn and soy-based biofuels have energy returns of approximately 1. Which argument does this information support?

We should reduce biofuel use

What percentage of U.S. primary energy use is from nuclear power plants?

What percentage of U.S. primary energy use is from nuclear power plants? Less than 20%

When is IPAT analysis most likely to fail

When thinking about the future

Why would a technological advance that makes batteries cheaper, and more efficient at capturing energy, hasten the adoption of renewable energy, even if these new batteries had much lower energy densities?

Wind and solar power could now both more easily contribute to electricity grid power

It is true that according to most metrics, an average citizen of a developed country has

a bigger environmental impact than an average citizen of a developing country

Which of the following is the shape of a Kuznet's curve? Note the axis labels!

as incomes go up (x-axis), Kuznet curves predict that the harm goes up before coming down again (y-axis rainbowshape y-axis: environmental harm x-axis: income per capita

How can volcanoes cool the Earth?

by increasing the Earth's albedo

Which of the following is an important way in which scientists attempt to predict future climate change?

computer simulations

Why is there a population increase in stage two of the demographic transition?

death rates are lower

What is a significant way in which human activities have increased the amount of methane in the atmosphere?

farming of livestock

Why is embodied energy important in a Life Cycle Assessment of environmental impact?

for some goods manufacturing is the most significant contribution to the impact

Near the end of the Cretaceous period, about 65 million years ago, the Earth was much warmer then it is today. Scientists ascribe this, in part, to

high CO2 concentrations

What might we say biodiversity measures?

how much variability there is among living organisms

Which of the following data sources informs us that the Earth's climate varied with the orbital (Milankovitch) cycles?

ice cores

Which of the following is a possible contributor to man-made global warming?

increase in methane emissions from farming

Over the last decade, food production has

increased

What are 3 general ways in which we might prevent a Tragedy of the Commons?

individual action, internal governance, and external governance

What part of the glacial cycle are we currently in?

interglacial

How does the concept of "virtual" or "embedded" water address the issue of water stress?

it can be easier to trade "embedded" water, then water itself

Why might a region be considered a biodiversity hotspot?

it has many different species

If an environmental policy is "economically efficient" this means

it is the cheapest policy for society, for a given outcome

The Quaternary period is the geologic period that spans from 2 million years ago until today. What was the average Quaternary climate like, compared to the climate of today?

it was generally cooler then today

Why might a region with a high stock of water nevertheless be unsustainable in its water use?

outgoing flows are higher than incoming flows

Fisheries that go through the "Tragedy of the Commons" are observed to be

over fished

What are Milankovitch cycles?

predictable changes in the Earth's orbit

According to the concept of ecological fragility and resilience, we might expect a biodiversity hotspot's ecosystem to

return to an original state relatively quickly after a disturbance

Why is the "commons" part of the "Tragedy of the Commons" term potentially a poor name?

the original commons were sustainably managed

Why are Milankovitch cycles thought to be important in the variation of the Earth's climate over the last 2 million years?

temperature changes and Milankovitch cycles have the same periods

How long have humans been creating ecosystem change and extinctions?

tens of thousands (10,000s) of years

Instrument data has been used to record the temperature trends of the Earth for more than a century. Over this time period the records indicate that

the Earth as a whole has warmed by more than one degree Fahrenheit

Thanks to the original green revolution,

the Malthusian Catastrophe did not occur in the 20th century despite growing populations, widespread global famine was avoided as yields increased.

Why does the atmosphere increase the temperature of the Earth?

the atmosphere reduces the rate at which radiation escapes

Which part of an ice-core is the oldest?

the bottom

Food miles measure

the distance food travels

If the Earth is in "Energy balance", this means

the incoming energy equals the outgoing energy

The larger an individual's ecological footprint,

the more ecological services consumed by a person

We could say that embodied energy measures

the sum of energy needed to make a product

The ecological footprint of a country estimates:

the total consumption of ecological services within the country itself

Carbon footprints measure

the total of greenhouse gases emitted

If we have two different "stable isotopes" of oxygen, this means that

the two have different masses

An Environmental heuristic can be a good way for an individual to lower their impact on the environment as

they are generally easier and quicker than most other methods

Using environmental heuristics can sometimes be a poor method for individuals to lower their impact on the environment as

they can produce misleading results

The united states has what kind of demographic structure?

transitional

If the population of a country is increases, we would expect to see a population pyramid with a...

triangular shape

What is a major problem with fossil fuel use?

unsustainable as sources limited produces carbon dioxide

Imagine a region in which there is no local precipitation (that is, no rain or snow) and no local surface bodies of water (that is, no glaciers, rivers, lakes, and so on), but that there is a large aquifer. In principle, is it possible to use this region's water sustainably? Why or why not?

yes - gravity driven, underground flows could provide a flux of water to the region

Can you use weather data to determine the climate? Why

yes - if you have enough weather records