GLG 110 Take-home exam 1
Fall Semester 2008
Instructions: Read all the questions. Answer only 5 questions. Each answer is worth 20 points.
Your answers must be word-processed (12 point font, double-spaced, Times New Roman) and turned in by 10-01-08 during class period. No exceptions!
You
can submit your answers via e-mail before that date. Send your answers to: harry.birkmann@pvmail.maricopa.edu
as an attachment. Make sure you save the attachment as a “.doc” file (not .docx)!
1.
We state in the text that the evolution of ethics in an important environmental
trend. Can this statement be rigorously defended? Present an argument that it
is good for the environment to have an expanded view of ethics.
2.
Steward Udall writes about the “myth of superabundance” and “the raid on
resources”. What do you think we have learned in the
3.
Assume that there is an environmental crisis today, what possible solutions are
available to alleviate the crisis? How will solutions in developing countries
differ from those in highly industrialized societies? Will religion or
political systems have a bearing on potential solutions? If
so, how?
4.
It has been argues that we must control human population because otherwise we
won’t be able to feed everyone. Assuming that we could feed 10 billion to 15
billion people, would we still want to have a smaller population than that?
Why?
5.
We state that sustainability is the environmental objective. Construct an
argument to support this statement. Is the idea of sustainability and building
a sustainable economy different in developing and poor countries from those
that are affluent with a high standard of living? How and why?
6.
Why is it important in land- and water-use planning to strive for a balance
between economic considerations and less tangible variables such as aesthetics?
In answering, consider what you have learned about both environmental ethics
and sustainability.
7.
Assume that the super-continent Pangaea never broke up. Now deduce how earth
processes, landforms, and environments might be different from how they are
today with the continents spread all over the globe.
8.
The carbon cycle is an important biochemical cycle. If the burning of fossil
fuels were to emit twice as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as it does
now, what would be the effect on earth processes?
9.
You are working as part of a resource-management team for a newly created park
in the Mojave Desert of California. The main road through an area of particular
public concern has been troubled by migrating sand dunes that, under natural
conditions, would eventually cover the road. What steps could you take to keep
the road open while protecting the environment?
10.
How and why could processes such as clear-cut logging and use of off-road
vehicles lead to loss of soil fertility?
11.
One of your friends who is an environmentalist really
likes to ride mountain bikes in steep terrain. She particularly likes racing
downhill on ski slopes during the summer months. What are some conflicts she
may have in reconciling her sport with potential damage to the environment?
12.
Our discussion of desertification in
13.
Make a list of all the natural processes that are hazardous to people and
property in the region where you live. What adjustments have you and the
community in general made to lessen the impacts of these hazards? Which
alternatives are environmentally preferable?