ENST 100 Exam 1

Externality

A side effect or consequence of any activity that affects, something else without this effect being reflected in the cost of the goods and services involved.

Model

A simplified representation of some aspect of reality.

Thresholds

A tipping point or boundary which once crossed results in change.

What is "Science"?

A way of knowing.

According to Christopher Uhl, "a necessary first step to encourage sustainability at Penn State would be to take a _____________ of university operations.

Baseline Measure

According to the Mind, Society, and Behavior reading, the stresses and strains of poverty impose ______ on cognitive resources.1. Stimulation2. Taxes3. Distractions4. No Answer Text Provided

taxes

What is "Environmental Science"?

the study of how the natural world works, how our environment affects us, and how we affect our environment

The rise in population growth rates over the last half century is the result of rising birth rates.T/F

False

In class we discussed the term "model", and that models are simplifications of the real world.Considering the difference between food webs and food chains, which model more closely resembles reality?1. Neither food chains nor food webs2. Food chain3. Both food chains and good webs4. Food Web

Food web

Conservation

People should put natural resources to use but that we have a responsibility to manage them wisely.

From the article "Understanding and Building Environmental Justice", Which of the following is not one of the pillars of environmental justice? (check all that apply)

economic sustainability

The number of any species that can be sustained by natural resources is known as ___________.1. Intrinsic rates of increase2. Carrying Capacity3. Biodiversity4. Population

Carrying Capacity

Why are there so many people? Millennium Development Goals

Declining death rates

According to Michael Soule, the purpose of Conservation Biology is to "reversehistory and return the biosphere to its prelapsarian majesty."T/F

False

Christopher Uhl believes that the research ________ would be as important as any final research paper or report.1. Methods2. Funding3. Process4. Findings

3. Process

From the article "Understanding and Building Environmental Justice", Sustainable development adds what extract dimension to traditional environmental justice that promotes horizontal equity between and within the societies in question?

equity between generations

According to Nash, the problem with consumption is overconsumption.T/F

false

According to Ryerson, providing contraceptives is all that is needed to reduce population growth.T/F

false

According to the article "Images from the Central Valley", The proposed Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 would decrease air pollution in the central valley.

false

Enhancing knowledge or altering attitudes will lead to behavior change.T/F

false

From the article "Understanding and Building Environmental Justice", Environmental justice emerged solely from grassroots movements.

false

The Earth is a completely closed system with nothing coming in or leaving.T/F

false

The article, "Fostering Sustainable Behavior", provides evidence supporting the economic self-interest approach, which assumes that individuals systematically evaluate choices and then act in accordance with their economic self-interest.T/F

false

Functional and normative postulates of conservation biology

functional- based partly on evidence, partly on theory, and partly on intuition normative -provide standards by which our actions can be measured. make up the basis of an ethic of appropriate attitudes toward other forms of life

In contrast to natural ecosystems, the flow of materials in human-engineered ecosystems, like universities, is mostly _______.

linear

Who tends to be most impacted and why?

north-south inequalities south is exploited people who are not educated

Who did most of the initial work at Penn State to develop sustainability indicators?1. Faculty2. Students3. Consultants4. Staff

students

As explained by Ryerson, there are some people that think the major population issue is a "birth dearth", or __________.1. Access to better childhood medicine.2. Better sex education.3. A need for a 2-child policy.4. A shortage of people

A shortage of people

According to the Mind, Society, and Behavior reading, which of the following is NOT one of the three principles of human decision makes?1. Think automatically2. Think Socially3. Thinking with mental models4. Thinking Critically

thinking critically

Preservation

We should protect the natural environment in a pristine unaltered state

Christopher Uhl described the process to encourage sustainability at Penn Sate. Put the following steps in the order that they occurred:

(Put in your own words!*) Step 1: Take a baseline measurement of university operationsStep 2: Articulate a clear vision for where the university needs to go to become ecologically sustainable.Step 3: Develop strategies to incorporate the envisioned future into an ecological mission for the university.Step 4: Translate the university's newly adopted ecological mission into concrete policies and actions.

History of the Environmental Justice movement

-> Environmental justice emerged from two directions: through local movements that condemned injustices related to environmental conditions, and global initiatives and national or macroregional public policy that, along with sustainable development objectives, added social equality to the protection of the environment.

Conservation Biology

-> Is a mission oriented discipline that focuses on how to protect and restore biodiversity. ->long-term viability of whole systems

What is the relationship between human population and impacts to the environment? IPAT What exactly determines "overpopulation"

->Growth in human numbers has greatly accelerated destruction of habitats, leading to a rapid increase in the rate of species extinction and rapid declines in the populations of other species. climate -> -> NumbersPer capita consumption of resources

precautionary principle

->see paper notes -> Generally defines actions on issues considered to be uncertain when an activity rises threats of harm to the environment or human health precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and affect relationship are not fully established scientifically.

From the article "Understanding and Building Environmental Justice", Out of 27 principles drafted at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio for example, only how many refers to fairness?

1

What are the steps of the Scientific Method?

1. Make Observations 2. Ask a Question 3. Form a Hypothesis 4. Develop Research Methods 5. Collect and Analyze Data 6. Develop Conclusions and Theories

According to the article about the Power of Social Norms,How many different types of messages were sent out to people?1.1 2.3 3.2 4.4

2

The number of women and girls who die worldwide every year from pregnancy and childbirth.1. 50,0002. 5003. 5,0004. 500,000

500,000

In your own words, explain the "boomerang effect" discussed in the article about the Power of Social Norms.

A boomerang effect is an undesirable and unintentional result of changing norms. When trying to achieve a specific result the opposite effect may occur, which is known as a boomerang effect. Whenever people previously thought they were doing something an average amount and find out they are doing way more or less than others, this may cause them to stop or slow down. This is negative since although some people may positively change from changed norms, others may change in a negative way.

A good scientific experiment tests only one variable, or changeable factor, at a time. The independent variable in an experiment is the factor that is manipulated by the experimenter.A dependent variable is a factor that can change, or respond, if the independent variable is changed. Constants, or controlled variables, are factors that do not change during an experiment.In the following example experiment from the text, which variable is the dependent variable, or the one that depends on the independent variables?Experiment: How do soil and water absorb and release heat?1. Water2. Absorb and Release Heat3. Soil and Water4. Soil

Absorb and Relate Heat

Attitude

An expression or application of beliefs and values (What is good or bad) to a specific situation.

ecosystem services

Any positive benefit that wild life or ecosystems provides to people

Rachel Carson became famous for her research on the chemical _____ and it's devastating effects on ecological food webs.1. Round-Up (Glyphosate)2. DDT (dichlorvos-diphentyltrichloroethane)3. Atrozine4. Thalydomide

DDT (dichlorvos-diphenyltrichloroethane)

In the process called photosynthesis,water, carbon dioxide, and light energy areused by all autotrophs to produce sugar (chemical energy). Oxygen is released intothe atmosphere as a result of this process. Autotrophs, in this case called producers,provide a source of energy in the form of food for consumers, such as herbivores,that are a source of energy for carnivores.Which of the following would be considered a producers?1. Dogs2. Parakeets3. Cats4. Houseplants5. Rabbits

Houseplants

Artificial Selection

Humans select desired characteristics.

Natural Selection

Individuals well adapted to their environment are most fit for that environment.

According to the article about the Power of Social Norms,______________ refers to what people approve or disapprove of.1. Injunctive Norms2. Descriptive Norms3. Social Norms4. All Three Norms

Injunctive Norms

The Scientific Method Why do we use this method?

Is a planned organized approach, to solving a problem or answering a question.

Value

Measures of worth or importance

environmental studies

Multi Disciplinary Academic field, which systematically studies human interactions with the environment in the interest of solving complex problems.

According to Nash, overpopulation is determined by _______ times ____________.

Numbers Per capita, consumption of resources

Dissent with Modification

Principle that each living species has descended with changes from other species overtime

Ecology

Scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment

Christopher Uhl describes sustainability as what type of movement?1. Political2. Advocacy3. Environmental4. Social Change

Social Change

According to the Mind, Society, and Behavior reading, we do not incent new concepts, but rather use mental models drawn from _______ and ________.

Societies, Their Shared Histories

In the section titled "Science and the Environment" of the Introduction to Environment Science, science is described as a method of ___________.

Solving a Problem

According to the article about the Power of Social Norms, does the data AGREE or DISAGREE with the following prediction:Third, we expected that providing both descriptive normative information and an injunctive message that other people approve of low-consumption behavior would prevent the undesirable boomerang effect in households consuming less energy than their neighborhood average; that is, we expected these households to continue to consume at low rates.1. Sometimes Agree, Sometimes Disagree.2. Agree3. Disagree4. Inconclusion

Sometimes Agree, Sometimes Disagree

Habitat loss

Sufficient change to a habitat that it can no longer sustain the species.

sustainability

Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Resilience

The ability to withstand change.

Burden of proof

The burden of proof, lies with the person who makes the claim.

biodiversity

The variation of life including genetic and population variation. (Within species) species variation and ecosystem variation (Groups and species)

Each level of consumption in a good chain is called a ________.

Trophic level

Population Pyramids What was it like historically? How has this changed and why?

Us growing by 80 million people annually started in 20th century death rates significantly changing

Descriptive Norm

What is. A pressure to conform.

Injunctive Norms

What should/ought. A pressure to comply.

From the article "Understanding and Building Environmental Justice", Which of the following is NOT one of Ifen's four aspects of environmental inequality?

access to good quality education

According to the article about the Power of Social Norms,______________ refers to how prevalent people think a behavior is1. Injunctive Norms2. All three types of norms3. Social Norms4. Descriptive Norms

article about the Power of Social Norms,______________ refers to how prevalent people think a behavior is1. Injunctive Norms2. All three types of norms3. Social Norms4. Descriptive Norms 4. Descriptive norms

According to the Mind, Society, and Behavior reading, social incentives can be _________ as economic ones.1. As Effective2. No Answer Text Provided3. Less Effective4. More Effective

as effective

Myths and Reality Birth Dearth Science and Tech will save us

birth is not cause, death is technology will not save fast enough. suffering and poverty

Michael Soule, in his attempt to describe Conservation Biology as a "crisis discipline", compares Conservation Biology to ______ Biology.1. Ecology2. Integrative3. Cancer4. Reproductive

cancer

The Earth is often compared to a spacecraft, including all of the following characteristics except___.1. Captained2. Self-Sufficient3. Confined4. Traveling through Space

captained

From the article "Understanding and Building Environmental Justice", Which of the following are the two main sources of inequity between the global North and the South (Developed versus Developing Nations)?

overconsumption of resources by nations in the North, exposure of the populations in the South to risks caused by lifestyles in the North that are of no benefit whatsoever to them at the local level

What constitutes "scientific evidence"?

scientific method?

Disproportionate Burden

see paper notes

Carrying capacity

see paper notes ->The population (number of individuals) a given space can sustain.

Environmental Justice

three pillars of environmental justice (Schlosberg 2003): distribution of good and bad in the environment; recognition of the uniqueness of the stakeholders; a justice system that is redistributive and compensatory as well as procedural, born out of discussions between stakeholders.

According to Christopher Uhl, the data for the sustainability indicators already existed, but had never been used to assess sustainability.T/F

true

According to Nash, sustainability forces us to think of our moral responsibilities.T/F

true

According to the article about the Power of Social Norms,social norms can both spur and guide human behavior.T/F

true

From the article "Understanding and Building Environmental Justice", From as early as 1994, the official mission of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been to detect, and if possible reduce, "environmental injustice" covering racial and social discrimination.

true

According to the article "Images from the Central Valley", Which of the following are also located in the central valley, alongside agriculture?

two hazardous waste landfills many of California's prisons high levels of toxicity in the air and water

An important general lesson of the sustainability indicator work by Christopher Uhl is that institutions measure only ______________.1. What is important to them2. The bottom line3. Metrics related to student retention4. What they are legally required to measure.

what is important to them