En. Sciences Ch. 2 - Ethics

North America comprises 4.85 percent of the world's population, yet we consume ___ percent of the world's oil

22

what percent of the earth's water is undrinkable

99%

which of the following are examples of how many modern-day pollution problems are international in nature

air emissions from burning coal in china are carried across the pacific ocean and contribute to air pollution in california and other western states toxic sludge from a hungarian aluminum plant polluted the Danube river, which flows through Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania

according to the strict definition of biocentric egalitarianism, which of the following have direct moral standing

all living organisms presently living generations of human beings

which of the following situations regarding decisions an elected official has to make includes conflicting ethic positions

allowing oil drilling within 200 feet of homes because there might be an increase in sales tax revenue

the development approach tends to be the most ___ of the three general attitudes or approaches to the environment

anthropocentric

match each of the three primary theories of moral responsibility regarding the environment with its description

anthropocentrism = all environmental responsibility is derived from human interests alone biocentrism = all forms of life have an inherent right to exist ecocentrism = the environment deserves direct moral consideration

hunters typically adopt which of the following two elements into their thinking about the environment

biocentric and anthropocentric

select the three conflicting attitudes or approaches toward nature and the environment

conservation preservation development

which of the following pairs of approaches to environmental ethics is logically consistent

conservation and anthropocentrism

match the term to the environmental attitude

conservationist approach = seeks a balance between humans and nature preservationist approach = large portions of nature should remain intact development approach = humans are the master of nature and the Earth and its resources exist solely for our benefit and pleasure

when making ethical decisions about environmental issues it is important to:

consider the opinions of all stakeholders consider how local decisions may affect distant environments recognize that organisms and ecosystems may have rights

which of the following explains how corporate behavior connects to the state of the environment

corporate executives make important decisions affecting our environment a corporation's primary purpose is to generate a profit

according to the strict definition of anthropocentrism, which of the following have direct moral standing

corporations operating as "artificial persons" presently living generations of human beings

match each of the three most common attitudes or approaches to nature and the environment with its description

development = earth and its resources exist solely for human benefit and pleasure preservation = earth and its resources have intrinsic value or inherent worth apart from human uses conservation = earth and its resources can be used in a balanced manner to promote human well-being

match the following philosophical environmental approaches to their key tenet

ecofeminism = there are important relationships between how society treats women and how society treats the environment social ecology = social hierarchies are directly connected to behaviors that lead to environmental destruction deep ecology = a key tenet includes a biocentric egalitarian world view environmental pragmatism = this human-centered ethical approach has an ecocentric, long-range perspective environmental aesthetics = this approach is a study of how to appreciate beauty in the natural world animal rights = humans have a strong moral obligation to nonhuman animals

which of the following statements about the importance of individual ethical commitments toward the environment is true?

environmental ethics must take hold with personal choices about consumption

the concept of an ecological footprint has been developed to help individuals measure their

environmental impact

environmental justice is a law that allows cities, states, or individuals the right to sue companies for contamination of water supplies

false

environmental pragmatism is an approach that focuses on ethics rather than policy

false

sustainable development is a term first used in a U.S. sponsored document called the "Brundtland Report" in 1987

false

true or false: New technologies by oil companies will allow fossil fuels to be the world's primary power source forever

false

true or false: every decision dealing with the environment has built-in conflicting ethical positions because there are no genuine "win-win" situations in environmental decision making

false

true or false: the ecological foot print concept was developed to help businesses measure their environmental impact

false

which of the follow are the three components of the triple bottom line

financial social environmental

when compared to other ethical issues, which of the following is especially pertinent to environmental ethics

future

the environmental justice movement has expanded its original scope from community-oriented anti-toxics activism to which of the following?

global-scale inequalities in economic development

to get around the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 many oil carriers

use lightly regulated oil barged pulled by tugboats

the world of the future may not need oil, but without _____, humanity could not last more than a few days

water

match each example of how the natural world figures prominently in each theology of the world's major religions with the correct religion

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam = God's creation of material reality Buddhism = the interdependence of life Confucianism and Taoism = the Tao that courses through nature Hinduism and Jainism = the karmic processes underlying the recycling of matter

match each example of creating an environmentally responsible corporate image with the company that attempted it

McDonald's = changing the color of its logo from yellow and red to yellow and green, yet the company shares responsibility for the deforestation of the rain forest BP = using a green and yellow sunburst design for its logo as they caused the worst environmental disaster in US history Apple = using product packaging that evokes an environmentally friendly image, yet its factory workers clean its display glass with toxic chemicals

match the people who helped create the environmental movement with their contributions

Ralph Waldo Emerson = an early critic of rampant economic development, he sought to correct the social and spiritual errors of the time Henry David Thoreau = wrote a book about living for two years in a small cabin on the edge of walden pond in order to have direct contact with nature John Muir = started the Sierra Club and convinced the federal government to restrict development in the Yosemite Valley, which preserved its beauty for generations Aldo Leopold = pioneered the field of game management by proposing that regulated hunting should be used to maintain a proper balance of wildlife on a landscape Rachel Carson = she alerted people to the potential dangers of pesticides to food, wildlife, and humans, which eventually led to changes in pesticide use in the US

which of the following books cites the danger of pesticides to food, wildlife, and humans

Silent Spring

Which of the following statements are consistent with the sustainable development approach to the environment?

The focus is on meeting the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs The focus is to promote appropriate development in order to alleviate poverty while still preserving the ecological health of the landscape

In 1994, delegates from around the world gathered for the Conference on Population and Development Representatives from developing countries protested that

a baby born in the US will consume 20 times the resources in its lifetime as an African or Indian baby

Match each of the US governmental agencies or nongovernmental organizations with its contributions to environmental justice

US general accounting office = concluded that three out of every four landfills were located in minority communities national law journal = found that polluters in minority communities paid 54% lower fines and the EPA took 20% longer to place toxic sites on the national priority action list united church of christ commission on racial justice = determined that racial diparities in the distribution of hazardous wastes were greater in 2007 than they were in 1987 environmental protection agency = reported that low-income and minority communities were more likely to be exposed to lead, contaminated fish, air pollution, hazardous waste, and agricultural pesticides US commission on civil rights = discovered in 2003 that several federal agencies had failed to fully implement the 1994 Environmental Justice Executive Order

the birthplace of the environmental justice movement was in:

Warren County, North Carolina

John Muir used which of the following reasons for protecting the natural world

he described nature not as a commodity bust as a companion he used religious terms to condemn the "temple destroyers, devotees of ravaging commercialism"

which of the following statements are consistent with the conservationist approach to the environment

human well-being is best served if there is a balance between unrestrained exploitation and protection of nature humans should protect large amounts of habitat for waterfowl, deer, and elk

which of the following statements are consistent with the theory of moral responsibility regarding the environment called anthropocentrism

humans have an indirect duty toward the environment derived from human interests the environment is crucial to human well-being and human survival the value of the environment lies solely in its instrumental worth for humans only human beings are morally significant and have direct moral standing

Which of the following best matches the description below? Stresses recycling of waste resources rather than discarding them

industrial ecology

with regard to environmental ethics, which of the following correctly compares the difference between internal and external costs of pollution

internal costs are paid by the company producing the pollution and external costs are paid by the environment and the general public

which of the following are factors associated with environmental justice?

it draws heavily from civil rights, public health, and community organizing it promotes efforts to prevent pollution from impacting low-income communities the original scope was community-oriented, anti-toxics activism it challenges the unfair distribution of environmental risks and the benefits of natural resources

which of the following factors are adding to the uncertainty about the world's future food production

loss of cropland due to urbanization erosion caused by poor farming techniques desertification concerns about genetic engineering decreasing soil fertility

industries pollute because

manufacturing consumes energy and produces waste they want to cut costs and increase profits proper waste disposal is too costly

match each of the three key propositions of environmental ethics with its description

moral status = nature is worthy of our ethical concern intrinsic value = nature has value merely because it exists ecosystem approach = humans should consider all of nature

match each of the green business concepts with its description

natural capitalism = the idea that businesses can be both profitable and take good care of the environment environmental economics = applying accounting techniques that include all of the externalized costs of doing business industrial ecology = the modeling of industrial production on biological processes in order to account for waste triple bottom line = using financial, social, and environmental metrics as a way to measure corporate success

which of the following statements are consistent with the preservationist approach to the environment

nature is beautiful and restorative, and should be preserved for future generations to enjoy nature has intrinsic value or inherent worth apart from human uses humans should think of nature as a refuge from economic activity, not as a resource for it large portions of nature should be preserved intact

which of the following are examples of preservationists adopting an athropocentric principle in their arguments

nature should be preserved so that wild places exist for future generations we need to keep large parts of nature intact for recreational reasons we need to keep large parts of nature intact for aesthetic reasons nature provides places for humans to hike, camp, fish, and enjoy solitude

in 1962, Rachel Carson published "Silent Spring", which dramatized the potential dangers of _______ to food, wildlife, and humans and eventually led to changes in the United States on their use

pesticides

ethics is a branch of ____ that seeks to define what is right and what is wrong

philosophy

which of the following best reflects modern understanding of pollution problems

pollution is a regional and long-term problem

one's ecological footprint is defined as "the area of Earth's ___ required to supply the resources that an individual demands, as well as to absorb the wastes that the individual produces"

productive land and water

increases in the ____ of interactions between people and their environment have made the management of those interactions more problematic today than ever before

rate, scale, and complexity

environmental justice encompasses a wide range of issues including

safe housing, lead poisoning, water quality, and transportation

who can require that a corporation's directors run the corporation with ethical obligations to the environment

shareholders

anthropocentrism is a philosophy of environmental responsibility that focuses primarily on human interests

true

true or false: sustainable development occurs when social, environmental, and economic concerns are met

true

which of the following societal environmental-ethical attitudes belonging to western developed societies have started to fade due to the rise of the modern environmental movement

the economy should be based on a rationale that the earth has an unlimited ability to assimilate wastes the economy should be based on a rationale that the earth has a limitless ability to accommodate unchecked growth the economy should be based on a rationale that the earth has unlimited reserves of natural resources

which of the following statements are consistent with ecocentrism

the environment deserves direct moral consideration humans abuse land because we regard it as a commodity, not a community humans are members of a community that also includes the land and water

environmental justice is:

the social justice expression of environmental ethics

much of the current environmental crisis is rooted in and exacerbated by which of the following

the status quo is expanding the widening gap between rich and poor nations

what nutritional landmark did the world reach in 2000

the world contained the same number of overweight people as those that were malnourished

after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, many companies tried to avoid their environmental responsibilities by doing which of the following

they used barges for their oil transport operations

every day in the US, between 1 to 2 ____ hectares of farmland and natural areas are permanently lost to development

thousand