Name: Breanna McArdle

Chapter 1 – Online Questions

1/18/24

Part 1: Short Answer Questions (8 Points Total)

1. Understanding trade-offs is a key part of environmental science. In the space below,

define what a trade-off is in environmental science and provide an example of one
discussed in your textbook. (2 Points)

In environmental science, trade-offs are the costs and benefits for any conscious decision or
action. Essentially, it is the idea of weighing your options. An example discussed in the textbook
was deciding to drive or bike to school/work. Some of the trade-offs when riding a bike are the
beneficial environmental, health, and social factors and the time commitment, dangerous
intersections, and practicality. While it might be best for someone to ride their bike to work,
others might have time or safety costs. Each person has to consider their values, priorities, and
logistics to determine their environmental trade-offs and make the best decision for themselves.

2. What is fast fashion and why is this a topic of discussion for chapter 1? (2 Points)

Fast fashion is a mindset and consumerism trend over the past for decades for less expensive
mass-produced quantities of clothing that easily go in and out of style. Due to the high demand
for inexpensive, not as high-quality clothing, people tend to buy clothing more often, leaving
more unwanted clothing in landfills. This topic is discussed in chapter 1 because chapter 1
provides a basic understanding of our environmental effects and footprints. Fast fashion is used
as an example of each individual’s environmental footprint, or a person’s impact on the
environment over time. Organizations also have environmental footprints, and many clothing
companies and brands continuously develop new products and use advertising in order to
persuade people to continue shopping and overconsume.

3. Briefly explain what this figure depicts and why this is important for conversations about
environmental science and sustainability?
This figure depicts the differing average amounts of land usage per person in several countries.
Typically, the western first-world countries use more land per person than developing countries.
The ecological footprint or land usage is determined by an individual’s energy use, food
consumption, and material use over a year (for this figure, it was 2018). While a person does not
necessarily own that much land, this amount of land was needed for crops, livestock, and other
resources to fuel a person’s habits and consumption. This figure is important in conversations
about environmental science and sustainability because it is important for everybody to be
educated and aware on the amount of energy and resources they used. Additionally, it is
important for people to view environmental science and sustainability with an intersectional
perspective, noticing how people in different countries, lower socio-economic backgrounds, and
minorities typically has a smaller ecological footprint, yet they face most of the consequences.
However, this figure was focused on countries that have larger land usage amounts than the
actual size of the country.

4. What is something from Chapter 1 that you learned that you previously did not know? Or
what is something interesting you read that you didn’t know about previously? Your
answer cannot overlap with any of your answers to questions 1-3. (2 Points)

I am very interested in sustainability, so most of the vocabulary words or main ideas were
familiar to me. However, I previously did not know about some of the initiatives and goals for an
overall more sustainable world. Particularly, I have never learned about the United Nations
sustainable development goals. I thought it was interesting how some of the goals were not
directly related to the environment, but they have economic or social equity benefits such as
ending poverty, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, etc. I think this
chapter helped me grasp how environmental science is not just animals, plants, and the natural
world, but dives into sociology, equality, and inclusion.
 5. Watch the following video and explain briefly how this provides an example of a trade-
off in environmental science. https://youtu.be/ykPH56Udc60?si=dnAky-Yg6Bd1DFHG
(2 points)

An environmental trade-off example provided in the video was through the use of DDT and
other pesticides. While DDT greatly improved malaria rates in the 1950s and 60s, it caused harm
to other animals and to humans that were around the spray. This was a trade-off because it had
several pros and cons or benefits and costs. Some benefits were the decreased malaria rates and
insect-borne diseases, while some costs were human health, animal health, and food resources.
Scientist, Rachel Carson, noticed that there were less fish, birds, and other beneficial insects due
to DDT and pesticides. With all of this in mind, as time passed, DDT and other pesticides
became less effective and the costs of using those pesticides greatly outweighed the benefits of
them. The trade-offs of pesticides shifted. Now, scientists are trying to develop several ways to
decrease malaria rates, in order to prevent the mosquito from becoming resistant to the solutions
and adapting.