Sociology of the Environment

Quiz 1

                                                           

Part I – Multiple choice questions

Answer the question or correctly complete the phrase provided. Highlight or bold the correct response. There is only one correct lettered response for each question.

1. From the perspective of environmental sociology, “global change”…
2. a) refers to the process whereby life first emerged on Earth
3. b) refers to the fact the most serious environmental problems facing humanity and nature are always local and specific to particular regions – they change from one country to another
4. c) refers to worldwide environmental problems that threaten to significantly and adversely disrupt social and natural systems.
5. d) does not refer to problems such as climate change and species loss because they are local and not global problems.
6. e) all of the above
7. f) c and d only
8. g) a, c and d only
9. h) b and d only
10. i) none of the above

 

2. Emile Durkheim…
3. a) is famous for leading the development of demographic transition theory
4. b) rejected the approach of social Darwinists who focused on human biology, principally genetic inheritance, to explain human social and psychological conditions.
5. c) is renowned as a founder of environmental sociology
6. d) believed only the physical and natural sciences could explain why human social systems behaved the way they did.
7. e) all of the above
8. f) b and c only
9. g) b, c and d only
10. h) a and c only
11. i) none of the above

 

3. Shove and Warde propose that…
4. a) sometimes people acquire consumer goods (go shopping) as a way to add novelty to their lives and avoid boredom.
5. b) some people make purchases that are unnecessary simply to ensure that their possessions match or fit with other goods they have previously purchased.
6. c) some people make purchases based on their desire to conform with the identity of their core social group.
7. d) some people purchase particular goods as a way to express their personal identity
8. e) all of the above
9. f) c, d and a only
10. g) c and d only
11. h) a and b only
12. i) none of the above

 

4. Ecosystem services…
5. a) include the resources provided by nature that make human life and society feasible
6. b) include the provision of cultural services including aesthetic and recreational benefits
7. c) include the provision of suitable locations for human, homes and communities
8. d) include only those things required to sustain natural ecosystems and have no relationship to individuals or society
9. e) all of the above
10. f) b, c and d only
11. g) c and d only
12. h) a, b and c only
13. i) none of the above

 

5. People involved in the early stages of the theoretical development of environmental sociology include…
6. a) David Suzuki
7. b) Max Weber
8. c) William Catton
9. d) Catherine McKenna
10. e) all of the above
11. f) b and c only
12. g) a, b and d only
13. h) a and d only
14. i) none of the above

 

6. Demographic transition theory…
7. a) proposes that population growth rates tend to decline as countries become more modern and prosperous
8. b) proposes that making vaccines available to people in poor countries with high population growth rates is wrong because over the very long-term it makes the problem of overpopulation worse
9. c) proposes that population growth rates tend to decline as more girls became educated
10. d) proposes that when countries achieve high levels of wealth along with high levels of technical and industrial development their population growth rates decline to just above, below or at the replacement level.
11. e) all of the above
12. f) a, c and d only
13. g) b and c only
14. h) b, c and d only
15. i) none of the above

 

7. Countries with the highest overshoot rates…
8. a) are more likely to be rich as opposed to poor countries as measured by per capita GDP.
9. b) have lower per capita ecological footprints than countries with low overshoot rates
10. c) are engaged in consumption that exceeds the capacity of natural ecosystems to renew themselves.
11. d) tend to have lower HDI ratings than countries with smaller footprints and overshoot rates
12. e) all of the above
13. f) b and c only
14. g) c and d only
15. h) a and c only
16. i) none of the above

 

8. Some of the information on globalization presented thus far in this course…
9. a) suggests that trade globalization has encouraged the transfer of manufacturing jobs from rich countries to poorer developing counties.
10. b) has been a virtually total environmental success since it resulted in the closure of polluting industrial plants in Europe and North America.
11. c) suggests that globalization of trade has facilitated the transfer of pollution and waste from the rich world to the developing world.
12. d) suggests that corporations are sometimes prompted to move their manufacturing facilities to those countries with the weakest environmental and labour laws.
13. e) suggests that trade globalization can always be counted on to provide well-paying jobs with great working conditions to poor people in the developing world.
14. f) all of the above
15. g) a, b and c only
16. h) a, b and e only
17. i) a, c and d only
18. j) none of the above

 

9. Thorstein Veblen claimed…
10. a) the nouveau riche (aka leisure class) of the Gilded Age engaged in conspicuous consumption to signal their high economic status.
11. b) middle and lower class Americans often emulated the wealthy elite by purchasing whatever status or luxury goods they could afford.
12. c) middle class resentment against the elite leisure class was bound to lead to a socialist revolution in America.
13. d) some ridiculously high priced luxury or status goods are purchased by the wealthy in part because poorer people can’t afford them.
14. e) all of the above
15. f) a and d only
16. g) a, b and d only
17. h) c and d only
18. i) none of the above

 

10. Which if any of the following statements is correct?
11. a) Malthus proposed that increases in the production in food will always be sufficient to accommodate growing populations.
12. b) Julian Simon proposed that population growth and increasing population density are the most critical problems facing humanity.
13. c) Paul Ehrlich predicted that the modern Green Revolution would prevent global famine in the 1970s and 1980s.
14. d) demographic transition theory proposes that the only solutions to runaway population growth are famine, disease, war and pestilence
15. e) the higher and faster growing a country’s population is the higher its per capita ecological footprint and consumption rate will be.
16. f) all of the above
17. g) b, c and d only
18. h) b and c only
19. i) a, c, d and e only
20. j) none of the above

 

11. Durkheim proposed that…
12. a) suicide has biological causes related to things such as brain diseases and defects
13. b) suicide is likely influenced by genetics since people probably inherit brain defects
14. c) there are social factors that are probably responsible for the fact different populations have different suicide rates
15. d) religion and religious norms do not play a role in determining a population’s suicide rates
16. e) all of the above
17. f) a and b only
18. g) b and d only
19. h) a, c and d only
20. i) none of the above

 

12. Consumption…
13. a) will never be a problem once the global population levels off at its replacement rate.
14. b) will never be a problem if we simply allow the people in all countries to consume at the rate of the average North American.
15. c) could never be higher for a relatively rich person from a developing country than it is for a very poor person in a more developed country.
16. d) of some natural resources such as ocean fish stocks will cease to be a problem when the global population levels off at the replacement level during the current century.
17. e) all of the above
18. f) b and d only
19. g) a, b and c only
20. h) c and d only
21. i) none of the above

 

13. Rationales for the idea that economic growth is desirable/and or essential in capitalist economies include…
14. a) increased opportunities to create new businesses are thought to accompany economic growth
15. b) as a country’s population grows, increased economic growth is required to produce more goods services and livelihoods for more people.
16. c) when the economic growth rate, as measured by GDP, declines or becomes negative more people are likely to find new job opportunities.
17. d) if economic growth, as measured by GDP, goes into steep and severe decline, borrowers are less likely to meet their debt obligations.
18. e) all of the above
19. f) a, b and c only
20. g) a, b and d only
21. h) b and d only
22. i) none of the above

 

14. The term “false dichotomy” was presented in this course…
15. a) and was described in part as the illogical attempt to present a debate as having only two sides when it may have many
16. b) because it is a key element of the Gaia hypothesis
17. c) and was used to help illustrate the relationship between social constructionism and environmental realism
18. d) to explain how all human environmental problems are really socially constructed problems – it is our response to nature and our influences over it and not nature itself that are important.
19. e) all of the above
20. f) a and c only
21. g) a, b and d only
22. h) a, b and c only
23. I) none of the above

 

15. During the demographic transition…
16. a) the population of cities tends to increase while the population of rural areas declines
17. b) people eventually determine they need to have fewer babies because more children will survive infancy due to improved health conditions.
18. c) people migrate to areas such as cities where there are more employment opportunities
19. d) people become more and more reluctant to have their children educated because they need them to stay on the farm as opposed to seeking jobs in the city.
20. e) all of the above
21. f) b and d only
22. g) b, c and d only
23. h) a, b and c only
24. i) none of the above

 

16. Urban sociology…
17. a) focused primarily on the relationship between cities and natural ecosystems
18. b) focused primarily on one type of socially constructed environment as opposed to the natural environment
19. c) helped explain why poor and blue-collar, working class families tend to live in the more polluted parts of cities.
20. d) proposed that when cities grow to become more industrialized and have higher populations, growth tends to occur in a pattern of concentric circles of development.
21. e) proposed that the neighbourhoods of the affluent tended to be upwind from factories and refineries whereas poor neighbourhoods are more likely to be located close to and downwind from industrial facilities.
22. f) b, c and d only
23. g) a, d and e only
24. h) b, c, d and e only
25. i) none of the above

 

17. John Rawls proposed that…
18. a) people’s life plans are irrelevant with respect to equality of opportunity because they could aspire to the impossible.
19. b) people should start out in life with necessities such as food, housing and education.
20. c) people should start out in life with an initial endowment of primary goods
21. d) it is not possible to meet people’s needs for self-respect, because many people could require yachts, mansions and private jets to feel self-respect.
22. e) all of the above
23. f) b and c only
24. g) a and d only
25. h) c, d and e only
26. i) none of the above

 

18. Oakville, Ontario’s Citizens for Clean Air organization…
19. a) is an example of a YIMBY organization
20. b) worked solely on behalf of the effort to reduce Ontario’s overall greenhouse gas emissions.
21. c) demonstrated incredibly deep concern for the less wealthy citizens of Nanticoke, Ontario and the environmental conditions affecting their lives.
22. d) demonstrated that grassroots community-based organizations can always be counted upon to put the environment ahead of their own concerns.
23. e) all of the above
24. f) c and d only
25. g) a, c and d only
26. h) b and c only
27. i) none of the above

 

19. Since the end of WWII the following social conditions have facilitated increasing levels of household consumption…
20. a) as it became more common for both adults in a household to have jobs, store shopping hours were increased to allow evening shopping.
21. b) following the end of the war many women returned from the workforce to the role of domestic home makers which allowed them the opportunity to shop over the course of regular 9:00 to 5:00 business day.
22. c) the recent growth of online retailers such as Amazon have increased shopping and, by extension, consumption opportunities.
23. d) the emergence of consumer credit cards in the 1960s and their subsequent popularity
24. e) all of the above
25. f) b and c only
26. g) c, d and e only
27. h) a and b only
28. i) none of the above

 

20. The Gaia hypothesis…
21. a) explains that there are finite limits to continued growth in human consumption
22. b) is a metaphor which illustrates the interdependence and inter-connectedness of ecosystems, life and the biosphere
23. c) proposes that excessive consumption is a bigger problem than population.
24. d) was proposed by Rachel Carson
25. e) all of the above
26. f) a, b and c only
27. g) c and d only
28. h) b, c and d only
29. i) none of the above

 

Part II – Short written answer questions

Using one sentence but no more than two sentences, answer each of the following questions.

 

1. What is the term used in this course to signify the amount of land (including surface water) required or used by a person or group over a specific period of time?

 

2. What is the term used for conditions in which human exploitation and consumption of ecosystem services (including all resources extracted from nature) exceeds the capacity of ecosystems to renew themselves or heal?

 

3. What is the concept presented in this course that likens the biosphere to a giant living thing made up of interconnected and interdependent parts?

 

4. Why do birth rates not show a significant decline early in stage two of the demographic transition even though death rates exhibit a pronounced decline?

 

5. What is the term used for the idea that human ingenuity, science and technology make civilization less vulnerable to the forces of nature and less dependent on the natural environment?

 

6. Identify one of the factors that encourages people in many less developed countries to have large families.

 

7. Provide one of the reasons used in this course to explain why people in modern developed countries consume more goods and services than are required to sustain physical health and a reasonably long life.

 

8. What is the term employed in this course to describe the new way of thinking required for human societies to avoid environmental degradation?

 

9. What is the academic discipline or sub-discipline which focuses on the interactions between human societies and the environment?
10. Identify the principal development that helped humanity avoid the sort of mass global famine predicted by Paul Ehrlich in The Population Bomb.

 

 

 

 

Part III – Matching (worth two points each)

Place the letter for your answers in the right-hand column.

 

	Place letter answers here
Anthropocene
Garbage
Laxer labour and environmental laws
Was less concerned about population growth than Ehrlich
Limits to Growth
Lovelock and Margulis
Silent Spring
Malthus
Modern Green Revolution
Environmentally-unsustainable excessive consumption

 

 

1. a) Donella Meadows
2. b) the Gaia hypothesis
3. c) helped prevent the famine predicted by Ehrlich
4. d) overshoot
5. e) Julian Simon
6. f) Rachel Carson
7. g) reasons partly responsible for the shifting of much of the leather tanning industry from North
   America to developing countries such as China and Bangladesh
8. h) a time when human activities, often associated with global change, have become a significant, perhaps dominant, force impacting the Earth and the natural environment.
9. i) a Canadian export the Philippines did not want
10. j) famine, disease, war and pestilence

 

1. j) famine, disease, war and pestilence