Page 1
Question 1.1. (TCO 1) Climatologists continue to debate global warming. Which of the following is NOT an argument against the global warming hypothesis? (Points : 5)
Climate variations are normal, cyclical processes.
The sun may be putting out more radiation then in the measurable past.
Sunspot activity demonstrates cyclical patterns of activity.
Average temperatures worldwide have actually been dropping slightly.
Question 2.2. (TCO 2) The realist-constructionist debate in environmental sociology is characterized by differences in materialist versus idealist explanations of social life. Which of the following distinguishes a constructionist perspective on environment problems? (Points : 5)
Environmental problems need to be understood in terms of the threats posed by society’s current ecological relations.
There is no difference between the realist and constructionist approaches to environmental problems-they are in agreement.
The way we conceptualize and define environmental problems is a key focus.
Constructionists do not believe that we have environmental problems, rather the concerns are all constructed by alarmists.
Question 3.3. (TCO 3) The 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists whose work led to discovery of the causes for the thinning of the earth’s atmosphere by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Which of the following was NOT one of these scientists? (Points : 5)
Mario Molina
Paul Crutzen
Sherwood Rowland
Aldo Leopold
Question 4.4. (TCO 4) Who is/was the “original affluent society” according to Marshall Sahlins? (Points : 5)
Hunter gatherers
Agrarian pastoralists
The aristocracy of Europe and Asia
Wealthy Western capitalists
Question 5.5. (TCO 5) The hau of material objects refers to: (Points : 5)
superstitious belief in animate objects.
the utility of material objects that serve our interests.
sentimental connections and social relationships embodied in things.
the respect we have for tools and technologies created by humans.
Question 6.6. (TCO 6) According to your text, automobiles are implicated in which of the following environmental problems? (Points : 5)
Acid rain
Reduced fertility in animal species
Oil spills
All of the above
Question 7.7. (TCO 7) According to Malthus, population grows: (Points : 5)
incrementally, in fits and starts.
at a steady, measured pace.
arithmetically.
exponentially.
Question 8.8. (TCO 7) Which of the following does Sen claim will NOT insure food availability? (Points : 5)
Dependable food imports
Land reform
Steady employment
Democracy
Question 9.9. (TCO 3) What percentage of the world’s original forests remain? (Points : 5)
100%
68%
50%
0%
Question 10.10. (TCO 5) What is the average number of traffic deaths each year in the U.S.? (Points : 5)
Under 4,000
About 10,000
About 40,000
Well over 100,000
Page 2
Question 1. 1. (TCO 1) Define environmental sociology and what environmental sociologists study. If you were an environmental sociologist, explain your daily day. Compare and contrast how environmental sociologists differ from other types of sociologists. (Points : 30)
Question 2. 2. (TCO 2) Describe the environments impact on race, poverty, and disempowerment. Explain how this impacts human inequality and how it creates a community of haves and have nots. Compare and contrast some ways you would solve some of these issues of inequality. (Points : 30)
Question 3. 3. (TCO 4) Describe what materialism is and how someone can be materialistic. Give a few detailed examples. Identify why environmental sociologists are so interested in studying materialism. What are some ways our society can be less materialistic? What are some of the positives and negatives of materialism? (Points : 30)
Question 4. 4. (TCO 6) Describe green technology, and give a few examples of green technology currently being used in our society. Also, describe how green technology can be used to make our society more sustainable. Pick one form of green technology and describe in detail how it produces energy more cleanly compared to petroleum sources. (Points : 30)
Question 5. 5. (TCO 7) Describe in detail our population’s impact on the environment. Provide a few detailed examples. Also, compare and contrast population rates in different parts of the world. Which areas are increasing more than others, and why? Do you think the human population will continue to always increase? (Points : 30)
fnal
Final Exam – Page 1
Question 1.1. (TCO 8) As the Ojibwa people of Grassy Narrows found out, the symptoms of methyl mercury poisoning mimic the effects of: (Points : 5)
Alcohol abuse
Cocaine addiction
Hyperactivity
None of the above
Question 2.2. (TCO 8) In Melanie Dupuis’s phrase NIMB, the B stands for: (Points : 5)
Backyard
Body
Building
Business
Question 3.3. (TCO 8) A University of Massachusetts study refutes claims of pervasive environmental racism. Which of the following statements characterizes how this study was conducted? (Points : 5)
The study was funded by the largest U. S. handler of toxic waste.
The study excluded poor rural areas where a high percentage of minorities reside.
The study excluded many areas where toxic waste landfills are located.
All of the above
Question 4.4. (TCO 8) Ulrich Beck argues that the driving force behind the risk society can be characterized by which of the following statements? (Points : 5)
I am hungry.
I am angry.
I am lonely.
I am afraid.
Question 5.5. (TCO 8) Horizontal knowledge gaps are: (Points : 5)
gaps between experts and other experts.
gaps between experts and non experts.
gaps between professors and students.
gaps between parents and children.
Question 6.6. (TCO 8) Dialogue: (Points : 5)
can help us to trust the experts more.
can help us find more certainly in life.
can help us renew faith in science.
can help us be more certain about our decisions.
Question 7.7. (TCO 9) The most important feature of the carnivalesque body is: (Points : 5)
it is a source of bathroom humor.
it is forever interacting and exchanging with the natural world.
it is the source of our individualism.
it is dirty, indecent, and obscene.
Question 8.8. (TCO 9) Which of the following is a key characteristic of patriarchal dualisms? (Points : 5)
They are never gendered.
They reflect gradients on a continuum.
They always imply a hierarchy or moral judgment.
They reflect the interdependence between categories.
Question 9.9. (TCO 9) Through an ethnographic study of an English village, the author of our text demonstrates that: (Points : 5)
patriarchal stereotypes may be internalized.
the British are more environmentally sensitive than Americans.
patriarchal dualisms are peculiar to American attitudes on the environment.
men describe natural experiences using “metaphors of nurturing.”
Question 10.10. (TCO 9) The poetry of the Roman Horace is used by the author to illustrate what point? (Points : 5)
The moral superiority of environmental attitudes of the early Romans
The debate that raged as early as 20 BCE regarding the ethics of human transformation of the environment
The environmental destruction of lands conquered during Roman expansion
The power of poetry to express appreciation for the environment
Final Exam – Page 2
Question 1.1. (TCO 9) Who made the following statement: “In wildness is the preservation of the world”? (Points : 5)
Rachel Carson
Lao Tzu
Aristotle
Henry David Thoreau
Question 2.2. (TCO 9) “Human are part of nature and need to maintain a sense of balance and limits in an interconnected world.” This statement best describes which paradigm? (Points : 5)
The dominant paradigm
The old paradigm
The human-exceptionalism paradigm
The ecological-social paradigm
Question 3.3. (TCO 9) What percent of Americans in a 2007 poll agreed that “there need to be stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment”? (Points : 5)
27%
45%
83%
97%
Question 4.4. (TCO 9) Approximately what percent of urban land is currently under cultivation? (Points : 5)
Less than a tenth (10%)
Almost a fourth (25%)
About a third (33%)
Well over a half (50%)
Question 5.5. (TCO 9) Of the world’s food supply, approximately what percent is grown or produced in urban areas? (Points : 5)
Less than a 1%
Just over a tenth (10%)
About a third (33%)
Well over a half (50%)
Question 6.6. (TCO 10) The dialogue of solidarities is comprised of which of the following? (Points : 5)
The solidarity of interests and the solidarity of sentiments
The solidarity of interests and the solidarity of individualism
The solidarity of sentiments and the solidarity of rational choice
The solidarity of rational choice and the solidarity of individualism
Question 7.7. (TCO 10) A nodal person is someone who is valuable to a social movement because they are: (Points : 5)
positioned at the intersection of social networks.
in a well-respected leadership role.
able to build consensus in a group.
working behind the scenes to support phenomenological ruptures.
Question 8.8. (TCO 10) The “bottom-up” approach alone to creating an ecological society is flawed because: (Points : 5)
it is difficult to draw boundaries to define a grassroots community.
a grassroots effort may not be all inclusive.
a grassroots community may lack resources and/or expertise needed to tackle an issue effectively.
All of the above.
Question 9.9. (TCO 10) American pedestrians and bicyclists are killed at ________ times the rate of German pedestrians and cyclists. (Points : 5)
two
three
four
five
Question 10.10. (TCO 10) A focus on both affordable housing and land conservation, linking social justice and environmental goals in the best spirit of environmental justice is called: (Points : 5)
eco-community land trust.
eco-friendly land trust.
new urbanism.
All of the above
Final Exam – Page 3
Question 1. 1. (TCO 1) Now that you have almost completed this course in environmental sociology, please describe what you think an environmental sociologist does. What have you learned about what an Environmental Sociologist does since you started this course? (Points : 10)
Question 2. 2. (TCO 2) Give a few examples of how industrial activity has caused inequality in third-world nations and in minority populations. (Points : 10)
Question 3. 3. (TCO 3) As an expert in environmental sociology, you have been asked to give a brief speech at a major international conference on the future of the world’s environment. What will you say? Be sure in your speech to say whether we should be optimistic or pessimistic. Justify your answer sociologically, drawing on material from this course on consumer products and services and how they will impact the environment in the future. Also, please be sure to describe how environmental goods and bads play a role in the future of the world’s environment in terms of social-economic status. (Points : 30)
Question 4. 4. (TCO 4) It is well known by now that industrial production (consumer products and services) usually entails pollution of some sort and often hazardous production practices; yet this production continues. On what basis are these practices usually defended? What are some of the counterarguments? Compare and contrast how this relates to materialism and capitalism and some possible ways these hazardous practices can be limited. (Points : 30)
Question 5. 5. (TCO 5) The development of a natural conscience depends upon the sense of a realm free from the pollution of social interests-a natural other, from which we may gain a sense of a natural me. But is such a realm possible? Can there be a moral realm that is truly free of social interests? Explain. Compare and contrast how we can still keep a free market, Capitalistic system without destroying our environment. How can we still have a free market and Capitalism and still maintain a sustainable society? (Points : 30)
Question 6. 6. (TCO 6) The public health and environmental movements are sometimes at odds with each other. Why is this the case? What might be done to improve the situation? How does this relate to the role of producers and marketers in selling goods and services in a capitalist society? Compare and contrast how this relates to green businesses and our society’s ever increasing focus on being more sustainable. (Points : 30)
Question 7. 7. (TCO 7) What do you think of Beck’s belief that environmentalism is the defining issue of our time? Why does he believe this? Do you agree or disagree? Please support your belief with facts and data from the course textbook and outside sources. Compare and contrast how this relates to population growth, poverty, debt, and hunger. How can ecological dialog be used to solve many of these issues in the future? (Points : 30)
