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MULTIPLE CHOICE
2. An ecosystem
a. should never be tampered with. c. can be upset by human behavior.
b. can survive any human intervention. d. is independent of all other ecosystems.
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 331
4. Some environmental regulations (like forbidding the burning of coal in cities) benefit each and every
one of us because the air we all breather is cleaner. If an individual ignores the regulation and burns
coal, while others obey the regulation, then he or she
a. violates our right to a livable environment.
b. is being a free rider.
c. displays an ignorance of ecology.
d. creates an externality.
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 333
5. The moral theorist William T. Blackstone claims that the right to a livable environment
a. would solve the problem of how to conserve resources.
b. prevents the use of government regulation to control the actions of business.
c. is a fundamental human right.
d. implies that non-human animals have no genuine moral rights.
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 333
6. Cost-benefit analysis
a. is influenced by value judgments. c. values costs over benefits.
b. considers only short-term effects. d. is a value-free social-scientific approach.
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 334
21. A decade after wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone Park, their presence was discovered to
a. not change anything. c. have changed the behavior of elk.
b. have stabilized their own population. d. be disruptive.
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 330
TRUE/FALSE
1. The new discipline of "ecological economics" calculates the value of an ecosystem, not in terms of
what people are willing to pay for it, but in terms of what it would cost to provide the benefits and
services that the ecosystem now furnishes us.
2. Regulation is always the most effective way to allocate the costs of environmental protection.
3. Advocates of a "naturalistic ethic" believe that penguins are important only because people like them.
4. Cost-benefit analyses of rival environmental policies inevitably involve making value judgments about
nonmonetary costs and benefits.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 335
5. The word "ecology" refers to the science of the interrelationships among organisms and their
environment.
6. The word "ecosystem" refers to a total ecological community, both living and non-living.
7. The disparity between private industrial costs and public social costs is what economists call an
"internality."
8. Cost-benefit analysis is a device used to determine whether it's worthwhile to incur a particular cost.
10. When it comes to the protecting animal interests, the United States is far ahead of Europe.
11. According to Jeremy Bentham, the question is not whether animals can feel pain, but whether they can
talk and reason.
12. Advocates of a naturalistic ethic contend that some natural objects are morally considerable in their
own right, apart from human interests.
13. Moral vegetarians are people who reject the eating of meat on moral grounds.
14. According to William F. Baxter, we ought to respect the "balance of nature" and "preserve the
environment" even if doing so brings no benefit to human beings.
15. A moral of Garrett Hardin's parable "The Tragedy of the Commons" is that there can be a difference
between the private costs and the social costs of a business activity.
16. William T. Blackstone rejects the idea that each person has a human right to a livable environment on
the grounds that it is technically infeasible.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 333
17. Three approaches have gained the most attention when it comes to achieving our environmental goals:
the use of regulations, incentives, and pricing mechanisms.
18. According to Joel Feinberg, we can predict various interests of future generations.
19. Thanks to the EPA, the federal government long ago eliminated the problem of potentially harmful
pesticides and other chemical residues in food.
20. According to Cambridge University biologist Andrew Balmford, the loss of nature's services is usually
outweighed by the benefits of development.
22. One of the attitudes prevalent in business that has led to increased environmental problems is the
tendency to view the natural world as a free and unlimited good.
23. The international fishing industry as it exists today gives us good reason to reject the moral of Garrett
Hardin's "Parable of the Commons."
24. The rising affluence of people in the United States has meant a corresponding decrease in pollution
and its attendant environmental problems in the United States.
25. Any equitable solution to the problem of who should pay the bill for environmental cleanup should
take into account responsibility as well as benefit.
SHORT ANSWER
ANS:
See referenced page.
PTS: 1 REF: p. 330
ANS:
See referenced page.
ANS:
See referenced page.
ANS:
See referenced page.
5. Briefly describe the two popular answers to the question of who should pay the costs of environmental
protections and restorations.
ANS:
See referenced pages.
ESSAY
1. Is it appropriate to have a "valley of death" as described in Case 7.2? If you worked for one of the
factories how would you justify the fumes? If you take an environmental view, how would confront
the problem?
ANS:
See referenced pages.
2. Is it a moral right or privilege for human beings to live in a clean environment? Defend your answer.
ANS:
See referenced pages.
3. Does that fact that McDonald's gave in to public opinion mean that all businesses should do the same?
Is there ever a time that a business can tell environmentalists that they will not abide by the regulations
or requests? Defend your answers.
ANS:
See referenced pages.
4. Are there any differences between environment ethics for humans and animals? Defend your answers.
ANS:
See referenced pages.
5. Would you propose an incentive based program to challenge companies to reduce their environmental
liability? Give an example of how this can be done and whether it could ever be effective. Defend your
answer.
ANS:
See referenced page.