Question bank ENV 400 midterm

According to one article we read early in this class what new name has been proposed to describe the geological time period we are now in? Anthropocene

If humans are causing enough change to merit the designation of a new epoch which of the following may NOT be seen in the rock record? Cemeteries full of coffins

Which topic is NOT in the highest likelihood + impact corner of the Global Risks Landscape 2018? Spread of infectious diseases

According to the “Me-Now” graph the majority of the world’s people are concerned with what? Their friends and family over a short period of time

What does Pope Francis call the approach that hears both the cry of the earth and the poor? Integral Ecology

Which of the following was NOT one of your class’s answers to an ideal world? Free healthcare

Which of the following is NOT a UN Sustainable Development Goal? Clean Coal Burning

Which of the following is NOT true of Hawaii’s environmental challenges? Hawaii faces the worst ocean water pollution issues in the world

Which is NOT true of the Precautionary Principle? Measures should be taken even when we know the activity is safe

What is a downside of the Precautionary Principle? It takes time and money to prove no harm

The book Fostering Sustainable Behavior opens with anecdotes about what? Unsuccessful past efforts

Which is NOT one of the five steps in behavior change? Use a focus group

Which region has small ecological footprints and low HDI? Africa

Which is NOT a solution to unsustainable resource use? Planting more tree farms

Which index measures the broadest aspects of human well-being? SPI – Social Progress Index

Which is NOT a Design Thinking step? Implicate

When using Design Thinking what do you NOT do? Judge others

According to Switch what is NOT required to make people change? Be original

In Switch what represents the emotional side? Elephant

According to the SPI US Scorecard what is the US ranked #29 in? Environmental quality

What did the US rank #1 in on the SPI? Personal rights

Which country is the happiest? Finland

Which is NOT part of Gross National Happiness? Income

Which country reduced footprint while having high HDI? Turkey

Which is NOT a behavior change tool? Secrecy

What is carrying capacity? The maximum population an area can sustain

Which country has a high population growth rate? Ethiopia

When did Earth reach 1 billion people? ~1800

What is the projected population for 2050? 10.2 billion

In 2012 how many infants were born in developed countries? 1 in 5

Which population has growth momentum? One with many young people

As wealth increases birth rates do what? Tend to decline

Fastest and slowest growing regions? Africa, Europe

Which statement is NOT true about population? 1/3 of developed-world women give birth before 20

In I=PAT what does A stand for? Affluence

Which country has the largest ecological footprint per capita? The US

Which is NOT a solution to population growth? Increasing consumption

What is replacement level fertility? Children needed to replace parents

How many people are alive today? 8,300,000,000

Best strategy to reduce population growth? Send girls to school

What % of resources do the wealthiest 20% consume? 75%

What is consumerism? Spending on necessary or superficial items

Which SDG relates most to consumerism? SDG 12

What must happen for capitalism to function (Robbins)? Cut tie between producers and production

What causes global economic imbalance (Shah)? Unequal pay and unequal trade

When did consumer culture shift begin? Late 19th–early 20th century

What was the goal of advertisers? Shape desires and identity

How was fashion used? FOMO and trends

What is perceived status consumption? Spending to appear wealthy

What drives overconsumption? Social validation

What are migrating industries? Production moves to poorer regions

Where is e-waste sent? China, India, Pakistan

What % of US adults are obese? 41.9%

What is the dopamine buzz? Craving for next purchase

What does production control mean? Power over society

What % of wastewater is treated? 52–56%

What do excess nutrients cause? Algae blooms

Do algae blooms only come from fertilizers? False

Is there only one type of plastic? No

Why do humans use plastic? Cost and efficiency

What do microplastics cause? Neurological issues

When will plastic outweigh fish? 2050

How big are microplastics? <5 mm

How reduce plastic pollution? Buy alternatives

Can organisms break down plastic? Yes

Are plastics in the air? Yes

How many plastic items do people carry? At least 3

Can you avoid plastic for 24h? No

How does plastic harm communities? Makes environment unappealing

Why was plastic created? To stop ivory use

What is wastewater called metaphorically? Toxic cocktail

Purpose of wastewater treatment? Remove pollutants

Does filtering once make water safe? No

Is wastewater only toilet water? No

What does screening remove? Large debris

Top filter layer material? Cotton

Why use rocks? Trap large particles

Fine filtration material? Sand

Purpose of coffee filter? Polishing

Who does wastewater harm? Aquatic systems and humans

How much wastewater is untreated? 80%

Industrial wastewater source? Factories

Data center water use? 10 million gallons/day

AI increased data centers by? Ten times

What is osmosis? Diffusion through membrane

What did the Green Revolution achieve? Increased crop yields

What do Wizards believe? Technology solves food issues

What enabled synthetic fertilizer? Haber–Bosch process

What does rubisco do? CO₂ conversion

Why will food demand increase? More meat consumption

CO₂ trade-off in crops? Higher yield, lower nutrition

Largest negative yield factor? Drought

Why is CO₂ a challenge? Global nutrition impact

Why is topsoil important? Nutrients and moisture

What is NOT part of topsoil? Plastic