CHAPTER 25—ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS, ETHICS, AND

SUSTAINABILITY

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. What was the major point learned in the 1991 Biosphere 2 experiment?
a How to recycle waste and wastewater.
.
b How to grow a rainforest in an enclosed area.
.
c CO2 recycling is really difficult.
.
d Humans cannot engineer life-supporting systems as well as nature. <----d
.
e Extinction is inevitable.
.

TOP: 25-0 Core Case Study

2. Which of the following is not a part of the Planetary Management worldview?

a We are the most important and dominant species.
.
b Resources are limited and should not be wasted. <----b
.
c The earth should be managed for our own benefit.
.
d The potential for economic growth is essentially unlimited.
.
e Success depends on managing life-support systems to our benefit.
.

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

3. Which of the following is synonymous with an anthropocentric worldview?

a self-centered
.
b life-centered
.
c human-centered<---- c
.
d ecosystem-centered
.
e earth-centered
.

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

CH 25: ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS, ETHICS, AND SUSTAINABILITY 1

4. Which of the following understands the earth to be a complex machine that we can understand,
dominate, change, and manage for everyone's good without overloading natural systems?
a spaceship-earth<---- a
.
b planetary management
.
c deep ecology
.
d biocentric
.
e stewardship
.

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

5. Which of the following is based on a belief that the less government interference the better?
a no-problem school
.
b free-market school<--- b
.
c spaceship-earth school
.
d stewardship
.
e ecocentrism
.

ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?
6. Which of the following is not a human-centered worldview?
a stewardship
.
b planetary Management
.
c free-market school
.
d spaceship-earth
.
e environmental wisdom <----e
.

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

7. Which of the following is part of the environmental wisdom worldview?

a Success is managing the earth's systems for ourselves.
.
b Success is managing the earth by dominating, changing, and managing the earth for
. everyone.
c Success is economic growth, development, better management, and technology.
.

CH 25: ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS, ETHICS, AND SUSTAINABILITY 2

d Success is learning how nature sustains itself and integrating this into our actions. <--d
.
e Success is understanding nature to dominate, change, and manage it.
.

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

8. Which of the following ideas would not be part of the earth-oriented worldview?
a Preserving the earth’s biodiversity now and in the future
.
b Humans are not in charge of the world
.
c We have an ethical responsibility to be caring, responsible managers of the earth. <--c
.
d Human economies and systems are part of earth’s life-support systems
.
e Preventing depletion of natural capital promotes environmental sustainability
.

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

9. Which of the following believes we can solve any environmental, population, or resource
problem with more economic growth and development, better management, and better technology?
a no-problem school<---- a
.
b human centered
.
c environmental wisdom
.
d free-market
.
e planetary management
.

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

10. Some critics think one of the following worldviews will not work because it is based on
increased degradation and depletion of the earth's capital, and it focuses on short-term economic
benefits with little regard for long term harmful consequences. Which worldview does this best
represent?
a no-problem school
.
b human centered
.
c environmental wisdom
.
d free-market<---- d
.
e planetary management
.

CH 25: ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS, ETHICS, AND SUSTAINABILITY 3

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

11. Which of the following worldviews would include the concept that when we use the earth's
natural capital we are borrowing from the earth and from future generations?
a planetary management
.
b stewardship <---- b
.
c free-market school
.
d spaceship-earth
.
e environmental wisdom
.

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

12. Which of the following would not be part of the environmental wisdom worldview?
a Human ingenuity and technology will not allow us to run out of resources. <-----a
.
b We should encourage earth-sustaining forms of economic growth.
.
c Resources are limited and should not be wasted.
.
d Nature exists for all species and we are totally dependent on nature.
.
e Our success depends on learning how nature sustains itself.
.

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

13. Part of the problem in the human degradation of the life-support system of the earth is our
ignorance of how the earth works. To change our behavior we need to know
a Natural capital matters because it supports the earth's life and our economics.
.
b Our ecological footprints are immense and expanding rapidly
.
c Ecological and climate change tipping points are irreversible and should never be
. crossed.
d All of these. <-----d
.
e None of these.
.

TOP: 25-2 What Is the Role of Education in Living More Sustainably?

CH 25: ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS, ETHICS, AND SUSTAINABILITY 4

14. Which of the following is not one of the ethical guidelines for living more sustainably?
a Do not degrade or deplete the earth's natural capital.
.
b Help maintain the earth's capacity for self-repair.
.
c Do not waste matter and energy resources.
.
d Avoid climate-changing activities.
.
e Encourage more technological answers to problems. <----e
.

TOP: 25-3 How Can We Live More Sustainably?

15. Which of the following is not one of the human activities having the greatest harmful impact
on the environment?
a food production
.
b transportation
.
c home energy use
.
d recycling<---- d
.
e overall resource use
.

TOP: 25-3 How Can We Live More Sustainably?

16. Which of the following would not be one of the components of an environmental revolution?
a deemphasis of population controls <----a
.
b biodiversity protection
.
c energy transformation
.
d emphasis on sufficiency
.
e commitment to eco-efficiency
.

TOP: 25-3 How Can We Live More Sustainably?

17. According to social science research, in order for a major social change to occur, what
percentage of the people need to be convinced that change must take place?

CH 25: ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS, ETHICS, AND SUSTAINABILITY 5

 a 100%
.
b 50%
.
c 33%
.
d 20%
.
e 5-10% <----e
.

TOP: 25-3 How Can We Live More Sustainably?

18. Voluntary simplicity, a growing movement in the developed world, would include all of the
following except?
a learning to live with much less
.
b working less to spend more time with family
.
c using products with smaller environmental impact
.
d adding more possessions that last longer <----d
.
e none of these
.

TOP: 25-3 How Can We Live More Sustainably?

TRUE/FALSE

1. The Biosphere 2 experiment was a complete success. <----F

TOP: 25-0 Core Case Study

2. The no-problem school worldview is part of the environmental wisdom worldview.<---F

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

3. People with earth-centered worldviews believe that humans are in charge of the world and that
the earth's life support systems are subservient to human demands.<----F

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

4. The spaceship-earth worldview understands the earth as a complex machine that we can
dominate, change, and manage. <---T

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

CH 25: ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS, ETHICS, AND SUSTAINABILITY 6

5. Most people with a life-centered worldview believe we have an ethical responsibility to avoid
causing the premature extinction of species. <----T

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

6. The environmental wisdom worldview believes we should talk about saving the earth because
the earth is in need of saving. <----F

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

7. Those who adhere to the free-market worldview suggest that all public property resources
should be converted to private property resources. <---T

TOP: 25-1 What Are Some Major Environmental Worldviews?

8. Once an environmental or climate change tipping point is reached, there is no going back and
neither money nor technology will save us from the consequences. <----T

TOP: 25-2 What Is the Role of Education in Living More Sustainably?

9. Humans now have more technology and power to degrade nature than ever before. At the
same time we have very little contact with, or understanding of, nature. <----T
TOP: 25-2 What Is the Role of Education in Living More Sustainably?

10. Having a sense of connectedness with nature is not all that important to dealing with
environmental problems. <----F

TOP: 25-2 What Is the Role of Education in Living More Sustainably?

11. An earth-centered worldview is more practical than a human-centered worldview. <----T

TOP: 25-2 What Is the Role of Education in Living More Sustainably?

12. Evidence indicates that human driven degradation of nature will likely threaten human
civilization, and one-half of all the world’s species in this century. <----T

TOP: 25-2 What Is the Role of Education in Living More Sustainably?

13. There is widespread evidence that humans are increasingly degrading our own life-support
system. <----T

TOP: 25-2 What Is The Role of Education in Living More Sustainably?

14. A formal environmental education is important, but it is not enough to solve the problems with
the degradation of nature. <----T

TOP: 25-2 What Is the Role of Education in Living More Sustainably?

15. Research by psychologists have found that a growing number of people want more of a sense
of community as opposed to more ‘stuff.’ <----F

CH 25: ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS, ETHICS, AND SUSTAINABILITY 7

TOP: 25-3 How Can We Live More Sustainably?

16. Technological fixes, such as being more efficient in resource use, have been able to keep up
with expansion of global resource use. <---F

TOP: 25-3 How Can We Live More Sustainably?

17. In order to make change in the world around environmental issues, we need to convince at
least one-half of the world's people. <----F

TOP: 25-3 How Can We Live More Sustainably?

18. History indicates we can change faster than may be thought, once we have courage to leave
behind ideas and practices that no longer work. <----T

TOP: 25-3 How Can We Live More Sustainably?

CH 25: ENVIRONMENTAL WORLDVIEWS, ETHICS, AND SUSTAINABILITY 8