INTB Module 4 Homework

Geographic features like the Balkans or Himalayas attract people and facilitate trade between them.

False; Barriers such as mountains tend to separate neighbors and impede exchange and interaction.

Biomass is a category of renewable energy fuels based on their heavy weight.

False; Biomass is a category of fuels based on photosynthesis, using the sun's energy to create chemical energy via plants. Weight is not a part of the issue.

Through 2050, coal is expected to remain the world's dominant energy source.

False; Coal has been projected to decline as an energy source, largely because of its heavy pollution. Oil will be dominant.

Walmart discovered that it could not compete on price and build a sustainable business.

False; Creating and implementing new, sustainable business models has been recognized as positive both for business and for the environment. Walmart realized as early as 2005 that it could compete on low price and build a sustainable business practice.

Greenpeace supports extraction of shale oil from proven reserves.

False; Greenpeace and other environmental groups have campaigned against oil shale projects on the grounds that extracting the oil from shale creates four times the greenhouse-gas impact as does extracting conventionally drilled oil, and that it creates polluted wastewater.

Sustainability requires adjustments at the margins, rather than a totally new approach to business.

False; Sustainability, in fact, requires us to change the way we manage everything—government institutions, markets, business organizations, and our own individual behavior.

Climate differences explain differences in human and economic development, with southern climates limiting human mental powers.

False; This explanation is known as the North-South divide, and its ethnocentric reasoning is problematic. Factors such as the Industrial Revolution, amplified by feedback loops are the cause of developmental differences. See Jared Diamond's book: Guns, Germs and Steel.

Above-ground issues impact territories available for oil exploration.

True; Above-ground issues such as political unrest, financial crises, and natural disasters impact territories available for exploration and production. Political unrest limits access to potential sites, and governments control access to their natural resources.

Nuclear power is viewed as "clean" since it doesn't contribute to climate change.

True; Although nuclear power is seen as clean, largely because it doesn't contribute to climate change, serious concerns remain about reliance on it.

Because of Austria's location and neutrality in the Cold War, it became a favored location for offices of international firms servicing eastern European operations.

True; Austria's location on the eastern edge of Europe and its neutrality in the Cold War led to its role as a bridge between East and West.

Because it is a high polluter, coal is on the decline as an energy source.

True; Coal, much like nuclear power, has been projected to decline as an energy source, largely because it pollutes heavily.

Early business sustainability efforts focused on the internal aspects of conservation, such as resource use.

True; Early business sustainability efforts were internal and addressed resource use.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a concept that addresses the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle.

True; LCA addresses the environmental impact of a product or service throughout its life cycle.

Limits, interdependence, and equity are characteristics of sustainable business practices.

True; Sustainability in business involves recognizing and accepting that there are limits to environmental resources; developing ways to manage the interdependence of the systems in which they operate, and recognizing the need for equity in their supply chains.

Sustainability requires a totally new approach to business.

True; Sustainability requires us to change the way we manage everything.

"Petroleum man" faces inevitable extinction, as we currently understand resources.

True; The likely answer is that "Petroleum Man will be virtually extinct this century," a prediction that gives us around 80 years.

In this consultation process, who would the stakeholders be?

all internal constituencies and all identifiable external constituencies, including the present power supplier

As Mark thinks about the Stakeholder Model, he decides that it is an optimistic vision for business. This is because stakeholder theory

assumes that the tensions among stakeholders can be balanced.

At what point would Waves' social context come into play, using the Stakeholder Model for the decision to build wind power generation capability in Indonesia?

at the very beginning of the process, with discussions with all stakeholders about the pros and cons

The three characteristics of sustainable business that Waves would try to meet are

limits, interdependence, and equity.

Waves uses triple-bottom-line accounting. What does this reporting approach include?

measures of social, environmental, and economic impacts of the business