Assignment: ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
Directions: Select the answer choice that best completes the sentence or answers the question.
1. Metaethics is the branch of ethics that studies the
a. relationship between religion and culture
b. causes and effects of actions
c. nature of ethical concepts
d. environmental process as an ethical decision
2. Which of the following is a major weakness of international accords aimed at preventing climate change?
a. Indecisiveness about emission limits
b. Difficulty with enforcement
c. Absence of support by the U.S.
d. Continued opposition from climate deniers
3. Which of the following problems is caused environmental injustice situations?
a. Disease clusters
b. Entitlement programs
c. Climate change
d. Compensation offers
4. methods are used to reconstruct past environments.
a. Nuclear
b. Alchemical
c. Radiometric
d. Implementation
5. Which of the following statements is the basis of speciesism?
a. Some species are more important than others.
b. All species are equally important.
c. Some species are detrimental to the environment.
d. All species will thrive if humans allow ecosystems to develop naturally.
6. What is the overall purpose of U.S. environmental laws?
a. To mitigate poor environmental practices except on Department of Defense bases
b. To punish all infractions of environmental law, whether intentional or unintentional
c. To prevent, minimize, remedy and punish actions that threaten the environment
d. To uncover and eliminate environmental threats for the entire country
7. What state led the way in establishing the first air quality program?
a. New York
b. New Jersey
c. Massachusetts
d. California
8. Ozone depletion in the stratosphere is primarily caused by
a. temperature fluctuations
b. human-made compounds such as CFCs
c. nitrogen molecules
d. increased solar activity
9. Saving some, but not all, species because of their service to humans is a policy best described as ethics.
a. anthropocentric
b. biocentric
c. ecocentric
d. zoocentric
10. According to Sikhism, Earth is the
a. worthy guru
b. loving god
c. great mother
d. gentle father
11. Deforestation is relevant to the environmental views of the Jewish religion as described by which of its beliefs?
a. "Protect the Earth."
b. "Thou shalt not destroy."
c. "One forest for each tree."
d. "Life is eternal."
12. The most common air quality problem in the United States is caused by
a. climate change
b. carbon monoxide
c. industrial/photochemical smog
d. excessive water vapor
13. Since the 1980s, concern over environmental justice has grown rapidly, mainly due to
a. the Exxon Valdez spill
b. the Chernobyl nuclear accident
c. building inspection compliance codes
d. environmental effects on health
14. One environmental problem that regulation has managed to improve is the
a. hole in the ozone layer
b. amount of plastic trash in waterways
c. warming of the planet
d. occurrence of El Nino
15. The Copenhagen Accord is a historic document because it
a. requires monitoring of nations with serious environmental abuses
b. enforces environmental laws in all developing nations
c. includes nations in all stages of economic development
d. promotes green energy in less economically-developed nations
16. What is the primary goal of sustainability policies?
a. To develop synthetic resources for the future
b. To find new sources of fossil fuels
c. To change practices in the areas of agriculture and industry
d. To conserve Earth's resources for future generations
17. Anthropocentrism differs from ecocentrism in the belief that
a. animals are more important than plants
b. agricultural activities are at the center of human activities
c. humans are more important than ecosystems
d. ecosystems are more important than humans
18. The decision to preserve a forest because it is valuable in itself is based on the forest's value.
a. instrumental
b. extrinsic
c. ethical
d. intrinsic
19. John Muir's ethical positions on the natural landscape were based on the
a. utilitarian ethic
b. federal government's land use policy
c. teachings from the Judeo-Christian tradition
d. preservationist ethic
20. The Toxic Substances Control Act requires that
a. manufacturers report toxic waste only when there is a leak or spill
b. workers use protective clothing when handling toxic substances
c. manufacturers and users maintain extensive reporting and record-keeping
d. states take action when toxic substances are manufactured and used
21. According to the EPA, environmental justice
a. protects the environment equally in every state
b. requires all municipalities to meet federal environmental standards
c. protects citizens, but not illegal aliens, from the negative effects of environmental oppression
d. requires that all people be treated equally with regard to protective environmental laws
22. What is the primary use of the water supplied by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in the West?
a. Power generation
b. Industry
c. Irrigation
d. Local government
23. Islam promotes environmental ethics by
a. forbidding adherents from consuming any animal flesh
b. promoting reforestation
c. teaching that it is wrong to kill animals for entertainment
d. supporting industrial development instead of agriculture
24. The Kyoto Protocol is an example of international cooperation that addresses the environmental problem of
a. air pollution
b. water pollution
c. soil contamination
d. greenhouse gases
25. Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973 primarily to protect endangered species
a. and the ecosystems on which they depend
b. on federal land but not private land
c. that were on the endangered list when the law was passed
d. by preventing trade in products made from them
26. What significant environmental damage occurred during the period of the Roman Empire?
a. Air pollution
b. Water pollution
c. Deforestation
d. Strip mining
27. A significant premise of the 17 Principles of Environmental Justice defined by the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991, is that all people should
a. reduce pollution by using only clean sources of energy
b. recycle everything possible to help preserve Earth's natural capital
c. participate as equals in environmental decision-making
d. lobby for more and better access to public transportation
28. When Dr. Martin Luther King supported black sanitation workers striking for job safety and better wages and benefits in 1968, it was an early example of the movement.
a. social collaboration
b. civil resistance
c. environmental justice
d. environmental legislation
29. Studies show that African American and Latino children are at higher risk from unsafe tap water due to the locations where they live. However, even in areas where tap water is safe, more African American and Latino parents think they need to spend money on bottled water. This demonstrates the effects of
a. the lack of enforceable health standards
b. internalized oppression
c. the failure of EPA regulations
d. inadequate educational standards
30. Kant's Categorical Imperative instructs that "we should treat persons always as ends and never as means." What is a problem with this ethical approach?
a. The criterion of rationality excludes consideration of animals.
b. The principle cannot be universalized.
c. In some societies not all humans are considered persons.
d. Humans need animals in order to maintain adequate nutrition.
31. Environmental ethics is most concerned with
a. practicing sustainable remediation methods
b. utilizing natural resources in a sensitive manner
c. relationships between humans and the natural environment
d. interactions between religion and politics
32. Environmental History is a discipline created in the 1960s and 1970s from the need to
a. grow awareness of global environmental problems
b. offer a new area of study for students
c. produce historical documents to support the enforcement of environmental laws
d. archive the work of important environmentalists and their accomplishments
33. What was the main goal of Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring?
a. To repair the damage caused by overpopulation and resulting lack of resources
b. To advocate for the need to regulate the use of pesticides
c. To ensure that waterways would be clean enough for wildlife to survive
d. To protect the atmosphere from industrial pollution
34. What is the primary purpose of Earth Day?
a. To motivate citizens to take action to improve the environment
b. To celebrate the historical event that took place in 1970
c. To commemorate the environmental laws passed since 1970
d. To provide an opportunity for environmentalists to discuss issues
35. Garrett Hardin's article The Tragedy of the Commons highlights the problem(s) caused by
a. utilitarianism
b. ethical egoism
c. virtue ethics
d. environmental justice
36. Point source pollution is pollution from
a. a discrete location
b. agricultural land
c. city street water runoff
d. multiple inputs over a wide area
37. Environmental ethics is embedded in Buddhism, as exemplified by the belief that
a. living beings include not only humans and animals, but also trees and plants
b. the environment is the Mother of All
c. sustainability is the path to eternal life
d. nature will restore the ecological balance if humankind allows enough time
38. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) provides helpful insights on climate change and sustainability that are based on
a. methods that promote ecological conservation
b. large volumes of systematically-collected scientific data
c. quantitative interpretations of data
d. long-term observations of the local environment
39. Federal laws supersede state laws on environmental issues
a. when federal laws are more stringent
b. when state laws excessively inhibit industrial growth and production
c. except in California and Rhode Island
d. in every situation
40. Which of the following statements describes the position of the World Health Organization on the right to a healthy environment?
a. Companies whose products or processes are detrimental should be prosecuted.
b. Environmental health should be maintained at all costs, despite economic consequences.
c. We must treat our Earth as our body to promote environmental health (the Gaia hypothesis).
d. States should promote the protection, preservation and improvement of the environment.