STSO 421 Exams PDF

Exam 1 1\. \*\*Humans first began altering the environment on a large scale during which period?\*\* \- A) during the agricultural revolution around 12,000 years ago \- B) during the industrial revolution around 275 years ago \- C) during the development of synthetic pesticides around 85 years a...

Exam 1 1\. \*\*Humans first began altering the environment on a large scale during which period?\*\* \- A) during the agricultural revolution around 12,000 years ago \- B) during the industrial revolution around 275 years ago \- C) during the development of synthetic pesticides around 85 years ago \- D) during the rise of the nuclear age 79 years ago \- \*\*E) during the great acceleration of the past 72 years\*\* 2\. \*\*Since the collapse of the World Trade Center\...\*\* \- A) thousands of 9/11 responders and survivors have experienced serious respiratory illnesses or cancers \- B) 9/11 first responders were found to have a higher incidence of Covid-19 during the early months of the pandemic \- C) the Bush Administration's EPA director admitted to lying about the environmental health risks in lower Manhattan after 9/11 \- D) A and B \- \*\*E) A, B, and C\*\* 3\. \*\*Air pollution\...\*\* \- A) includes chemicals humans put in the atmosphere and chemicals released by natural events \- B) knows no boundaries \- C) prematurely kills more than 8 million people per year \- D) can vary significantly depending on the season and even the time of day \- \*\*E) all of the above\*\* 4\. \*\*The materials about Indigenous environmental perspectives make all of the following points EXCEPT which one?\*\* \- A) Indigenous scientists are helping restore populations of Great Lakes piping plovers \- B) providing land rights to Indigenous groups in Brazil provides benefits both for the Indigenous groups themselves and for the broader society \- \*\*C) Indigenous groups should be allowed to set fires whenever and wherever they choose\*\* \- D) the traditional ecological knowledge of Indigenous societies complements, rather than conflicts with, Western science \- E) Indigenous knowledge about the medicinal properties of plants played an important role in the development of drugs such as aspirin 5\. \*\*The field of Environmental Studies\...\*\* \- A) draws on multiple disciplines in order to address environmental problems \- B) seeks to provide abstract rather than practical knowledge \- C) engages science in isolation from social practices, values, and beliefs \- D) A and B \- \*\*E) A, B, and C\*\* 6\. \*\*According to the recent course lectures and/or readings\...\*\* \- A) carbon dioxide levels are higher, but still less than double, what they were before the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century \- B) Covid-19 has been called "the disease of the Anthropocene" \- C) the Haudenosaunee lived in perfect harmony with their environment \- D) confiscated elephant ivory should be sold to raise funds for hiring more game wardens, not burned \- \*\*E) all of the above\*\* 7\. \*\*Which question would a utilitarian conservationist be MOST likely to ask?\*\* \- A) Why do environmental nonprofit organizations employ so few people of color? \- B) How can we incorporate Indigenous perspectives into environmental problem-solving? \- \*\*C) How can we ensure that the greatest possible number of people benefit from the natural resources of their nation?\*\* \- D) Why have so many of the products of modern science and technology caused such dangerous unintended consequences? \- E) Should we be erecting statues to Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir? 8\. \*\*The story of the passenger pigeon best illustrates which of the following themes?\*\* \- A) the ironies underlying the creation of the US national park system \- B) the uselessness of trying to prevent hunters and sportsmen from buying powerful guns \- \*\*C) the importance of applying a "fortress conservation" approach to wildlife preservation\*\* \- D) the value of recognizing the capacity of humans to cause enviro-technological transformations \- E) the complexities of regulating air pollutants via the U.S. Clean Air Act 9\. \*\*According to the course lectures so far\...\*\* \- A) the basic science of the greenhouse effect has been known since the 1800s \- \*\*B) mercury is still one of the most persistent chemicals found in all 5 Great Lakes\*\* \- C) only 9% of all the plastic discarded in the U.S. since 1950 has been recycled \- D) \*Silent Spring\* helped focus US attention on the unintended problems caused by pesticides \- E) industrialized countries should forgive the debt of tropical developing nations in exchange for protecting biodiversity hotspots 10\. \*\*The North American "wildlife conservation miracle" promoted the idea(s) that\...\*\* \- A) bird feathers should not be a fashion accessory \- B) it is inevitable that some species will go extinct \- C) all humans deserve equal protection from environmental and health hazards \- D) A and B \- \*\*E) A, B, and C\*\* Answers for exam 1 1. A 2. D 3. E 4. C 5. A 6. B 7. C 8. D 9. D 10. A Exam 2 \#\#\# Exam 2 1\. \*\*According to the recent lectures and/or readings...\*\* \- A) Exxon scientists conducted cutting-edge climate modeling research during the 1970s \- B) reports of extreme weather among US citizens do not vary significantly by political party \- C) the short-term benefits of waging war outweigh any long-term environmental health consequences \- D) A and B \- \*\*E) A, B, and C\*\* 2\. \*\*Insects provide which of the following "ecosystem services"?\*\* \- A) pollination of wild flowers \- B) pollination of commercial crops \- C) decomposition of dead bodies \- D) food sources for other animal organisms \- \*\*E) all of the above\*\* 3\. \*\*According to the readings on US attitudes toward climate change...\*\* \- A) Indigenous knowledge is too anecdotal to be of use to modern climate scientists \- \*\*B) self-reported knowledge about climate change differs by gender and by income/emission level\*\* \- C) it is time for the US to begin experimenting with solar geoengineering on a small-scale basis \- D) Americans want stricter building standards in areas vulnerable to extreme weather \- E) there is not enough evidence to say that human-caused climate change makes hurricanes worse 4\. \*\*Deep sea mining...\*\* \- A) can be designed to be sustainable by focusing only on the wasteland-like hydrothermal vents \- \*\*B) may exacerbate the problem of "bombturbation"\*\* \- C) has been going on in the coastal waters of some tropical countries since the 1970s \- D) may pose a serious threat to whales in the North Atlantic \- E) aims to extract cobalt and other minerals for electric vehicle batteries and solar panels 5\. \*\*The oceans...\*\* \- A) act as a "carbon sink" by absorbing a significant amount of carbon dioxide emissions \- B) store heat, which may be influencing seasonal changes in the distributions of whales \- C) will likely become more hospitable to many forms of marine life as acidification increases \- \*\*D) A and B\*\* \- E) A, B, and C 6\. \*\*According to the recent lectures and/or readings...\*\* \- A) burning fossil fuels releases fewer heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere than burning whale oil \- \*\*B) environmental justice advocates seek to address environmental problems in low-income and minority communities with high-tech solutions such as climate geoengineering\*\* \- C) little brown bats are suffering from a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome \- D) robotic bee drones offer a feasible, low-cost solution for dealing with colony collapse disorder \- E) the language used by climate change scientists and communicators is unimportant 7\. \*\*One of the readings makes the point that a species is "more likely to hold lucky cards if they're playing with a big deck." Which of the following BEST explains this idea?\*\* \- A) species with fast reproduction rates are less likely to adapt to new conditions caused by anthropogenic climate change \- B) genetic diversity does not matter because 99.9% of all species of plants and animals that ever lived are now extinct \- \*\*C) species with high levels of genetic variability are more likely to adapt to new conditions than species with relatively low levels of genetic variability\*\* \- D) A and B \- E) A, B, and C 8\. \*\*Agent Orange refers to...\*\* \- A) a preservative used in many cosmetics, shampoos, and body washes today \- B) the pesticide that almost caused the extinction of the bald eagle \- \*\*C) the herbicide used by US military forces in Vietnam during the 1960s and '70s\*\* \- D) the current threat level used by the United Nations to measure global biodiversity loss \- E) the current threat level used by the United Nations to measure increases in monthly average carbon dioxide levels 9\. \*\*Endocrine disrupting chemicals...\*\* \- \*\*A) may interfere with the body's hormonal system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, and immune effects\*\* \- B) have been associated with puberty disruptions for both girls and boys \- C) have been associated with abnormalities in both human and non-human animal populations \- D) A and B \- E) A, B, and C 10\. \*\*Our readings and/or lectures have briefly addressed all of the following ideas EXCEPT which one?\*\* \- A) linear vs. circular economy \- B) rewilding \- \*\*C) rāhui\*\* \- D) panzootic diseases \- E) emergent properties Answers Exam 2 1. A 2. E 3. B 4. E 5. D 6. C 7. C 8. C 9. E 10. E Exam 3 \*\*1. Obstacles standing in the way of a clean energy transition in the United States include which of the following?\*\* \- A) local opposition to the construction of new power lines and facilities needed for clean energy \- B) insufficient federal research funding for cutting-edge energy technologies \- C) an excess of grid connections for wind, solar, and battery projects \- D) A and B \- E) A, B, and C \*\*2. Infrastructure refers to\...\*\* \- A) the hidden, harmful costs of goods and services \- B) the basic built features that undergird human civilization \- C) a class of chemical pollutants that interfere with the endocrine system \- D) the decommissioning of antiquated dams and/or nuclear power plants \- E) the utilization of in-ground drip irrigation systems for more sustainable agriculture \*\*3. According to the recent readings\...\*\* \- A) the carbon footprint of making coffee at home is less than that of buying a cup of coffee at a retail establishment \- B) farmers can help maintain biodiversity by planting their crops in larger fields \- C) reducing food waste through circular food systems contributes to sustainable agriculture \- D) governments should continue to subsidize fossil fuels \- E) nature-based solutions such as restoring dunes or marshland are a great idea, but not as effective as sea walls at protecting vulnerable coastal communities \*\*4. The United States significantly decreased (that is, decreased by more than 10%) its reliance on which of the following energy sources between 2003 and 2023?\*\* \- A) coal \- B) natural gas \- C) nuclear electric power \- D) hydroelectric power \- E) solar and wind \*\*5. "Upstream solutions" for reducing waste include which of the following?\*\* \- A) redesigning products to be less toxic \- B) banning plastic bags and other plastic products \- C) burning trash in incinerators \- D) A and B \- E) A, B, and C \*\*6. According to the 2024 Supreme Court decision that overturned the "Chevron deference doctrine"...\*\* \- A) the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021 should not address issues of environmental justice because they are irrelevant to economic issues \- B) it is the responsibility of courts to decide whether a law means what a federal regulatory agency says \- C) it is the responsibility of federal regulatory agencies to decide whether a law means what a court says \- D) it is not the responsibility of federal regulatory agencies to pay the costs of replacing leaded drinking water pipes \- E) corporate fishing interests must pay the costs of carrying scientific observers on board their vessels to collect data about their catches and monitor for overfishing \*\*7. Which of the following happened in association with the Flint water crisis?\*\* \- A) antiquated culverts prevented migratory salmon that community members relied upon for sustenance from reaching their spawning grounds \- B) a malfunctioning valve at a nuclear power plant released radioactive water into the community's water supply \- C) flooding caused by historically-strong storms caused lead paint chips and dust in basements to contaminate the community's water supply \- D) city officials changed the source of the community's water supply without utilizing anti-leaching chemicals to protect citizens from lead pipes \- E) city officials changed the source of the community's water supply and utilized the wrong kind of anti-leaching chemicals due to concerns about high levels of bacteria \*\*8. The recent readings make all of the following points EXCEPT which one?\*\* \- A) a majority of Americans support the goal of the US taking steps to become carbon neutral by 2050 \- B) climate change opinion could have shifted the 2020 national popular vote margin by 3% or more toward Biden \- C) Democrats support renewable energy development in order to reduce energy costs, while Republicans support renewable energy development in order to curb climate change \- D) climate researchers are dissatisfied with the United Nations plan to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 \- E) hundreds of abandoned uranium mines in the southwestern US have yet to be cleaned up \*\*9. "Frackaging" is associated with which of the following?\*\* \- A) the "red forest" in Chernobyl, Ukraine \- B) the "ethane cracker" facilities in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania \- C) the higher health risks facing pregnant women living near nuclear power plants \- D) the wealthy "free riders" benefiting from solar panel subsidies in Moloka'i \- E) none of the above \*\*10. Microplastics are...\*\* \- A) smaller than 0.5 mm in diameter (a grain of rice) \- B) now being found by scientists in human organs \- C) not capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier \- D) A and B \- E) A, B, and C\ \ Answers Exam 3 1. D 2. B 3. C 4. A 5. D 6. B 7. D 8. C 9. B 10. D