Final Exam

Question 1

What did Malthus believe regarding population growth?

Answer 1

Population would outgrow food production.

Question 2

(T/F) Charles David Keeling began measuring the atmospheric concentration of CO2 in a lab atop Mauna Lao in the 1950s. This was incredibly fortunate, since the atmospheric concentration of CO2 also BEGAN increasing exponentially in the 1950s.

Answer 2

false

Question 3

(T/F) The term climate change refers to ALL oscillations (e.g., ice ages and warm periods) in the atmospheric concentration of CO2, dating back hundreds of thousands of years.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The outcome of the wager between Ehrlich and Simon suggested that the effects of population growth on the environment

Answer 4

are mediated by market incentives and innovation.

Question 5

(T/F) Due to the equatorial bulge, in which the rotational speed of the Earth is faster at the equator than the Poles, the Poles will experience a higher sea-level rise from climate change than regions near the equator.

Answer 5

False

Question 5

(T/F) Due to the equatorial bulge, in which the rotational speed of the Earth is faster at the equator than the Poles, the Poles will experience a higher sea-level rise from climate change than regions near the equator.

Answer 5

False

Question 6

The data used to construct the Keeling Curve come from

Answer 6

direct measurements of carbon dioxide

Question 7

The Coase Theorem asserts that

Answer 7

the optimal distribution of all goods (bads) will be realized as long as 1.) property rights are clearly defined and 2.) transaction costs from bargaining are negligible.

Question 8

Some critics of the demographic transition model argue that _____________ is the factor that best explains low fertility rates globally.

Answer 8

women’s empowerment

Question 9

The movement of CO2 among the atmosphere, oceans, plants, and soils, following its release via the burning of fossil fuels from the Earth’s crust, is called

Answer 9

the carbon cycle

Question 10

Earth’s oceans have moderated the increasing atmospheric concentration of CO2, tempering the effects of climate change so far. This is because oceans serve as

Answer 10

carbon sinks

Question 11

Environmental regulations such as command-and-control, marketable permits, and carbon taxes look to eliminate

Answer 11

negative externalities

Question 12

The demographic transition model proceeds in this order: (1) the death rate falls; (2) the birth rate falls; (3) population growth returns to a stable, low, or decreasing rate.

Answer 12

true

Question 13

A developed country is likely to emit less carbon dioxide PER CAPITA than a developing country.

Answer 13

False

Question 14

The Coase Theorem concludes that efficiency is ONLY reached when the party adversely affected by pollution is entitled to complete property rights.

Answer 14

false

Question 15

Command and Control regulation is a

Answer 15

uniform emissions reduction that disregards firms’ cost structures.

Question 16

The Keeling Curve shows an increasing trend, with annual fluctuations, in the atmospheric concentration of CO2.

Answer 16

true

Question 17

The manner in which humans have changed the atmospheric concentration of CO2 is analogous to

Answer 17

cyanobacteria changing the makeup of the atmosphere two billion years ago, generating more oxygen and less carbon dioxide.

Question 18

(T/F) The greenhouse effect is an abnormal process.

Answer 18

False

Question 19

Regarding a negative externality, the difference between the social marginal-cost curve (MCsocial) and the private marginal-cost curve (MCprivate) equals

Answer 19

the cost of environmental degradation

Question 20

Warmer waters impair oceanic carbon sequestration, because

Answer 20

warmer waters are less capable of absorbing carbon dioxide

Question 21

Evidence from the I = PAT equation shows that

Answer 21

affluence has the greatest environmental impact, and technology can increase or decrease environmental impacts.

Question 22

The equimarginal principle, or a price restriction, states that

Answer 22

efficiency requires polluters to have the same marginal cost of abatement.

Question 23

Global population growth rates are trending toward zero, because developed countries have experienced negative growth rates in the second half of the twentieth century.

Answer 23

true

Question 24

The greenhouse effect is the process in which

Answer 24

atmospheric gases absorb heat, maintaining suitable temperatures for life on Earth.

Question 25

The demographic transition model shows population growth as a function of resource scarcity.

Answer 25

false

Question 26

Theoretically, an appropriately priced carbon tax is equal to

Answer 26

the permit price in a “cap-and-trade” program.

Question 27

Market-based solutions are inefficient compared to a command-and-control regulation.

Answer 27

false

Question 28

The carrying capacity is the maximum number of organisms that a system can sustain.

Answer 28

true

Question 29

In Stage 4, the demographic transition model hypothesizes that

Answer 29

birth rates are low and death rates are low

Question 30

The process in which CO2 from the atmosphere is captured and stored is known as

Answer 30

carbon sequestration

Question 31

In the demographic transition model, the declining death rate in Stage 2 stabilizes population growth.

Answer 31

true

Question 32

(Cost of abatement graph. 3 MC Curves all going down.)
This graph illustrates a command-and-control policy instrument; that is, a quantity restriction.

Answer 32

false

Question 33

(Cost of abatement graph. 3 MC Curves all going down.)
The equimarginal principle is satisfied in this pollution market involving three firms.

Answer 33

true

Question 34

(Cost of abatement graph. 3 MC Curves all going down.)
Is this policy instrument economically efficient?

Answer 34

Yes, because each firm abates a quantity of emissions determined by its marginal cost of abatement.

Question 35

(Cost of abatement graph. 3 MC Curves all going down.)
These three firms’ marginal costs of abatement are ranked from highest to lowest in the following order:

Answer 35

Firm 1, Firm 2, Firm 3

Question 36

A market-based solution to environmental degradation, in which a pollution limit is set and permits to pollute are exchanged, is known as

Answer 36

cap-and-trade

Question 37

Most of the Earth’s carbon is stored in its

Answer 37

crust

Question 38

The Environmental Kuznets curve theorizes that

Answer 38

environmental impacts increase during economic development, only to fall after an economy matures.

Question 39

Neo-Malthusians view __________ as the main limit of population growth.

Answer 39

scarce resources!

Question 40

The kind of market failure in which ALL costs and benefits fail to show up in a good’s price is called

Answer 40

a monopoly

Question 41

In the Malthusian demographic model, disease, famine, and war arise due to

Answer 41

periods of demographic crisis and correction

Question 42

If the competitive-market assumptions are valid, the price of a marketable permit is GREATER than a per-unit carbon tax.

Answer 42

false

Question 43

WRITTEN ANSWER: (Cost of abatement graph. 3 MC Curves all going down.)

1. Which type of policy instrument, or restriction, is shown in this graph? (2 points)
2. At a*, which firm faces the highest marginal cost of abatement? Which firm faces the lowest marginal cost of abatement? Is it economically efficient for these firms to each face different costs of abatement? (2 points)
3. If there were no regulations in this market, what would be the marginal benefit of emissions (MB(e) = ?) of each firm at the point at which they stopped polluting? Where is this point located on the graph? (2 points)
4. If these firms are permitted to trade for the right to generate pollution (i.e., a marketable permits program), which firm would end up purchasing the most permits? Which firm would end up selling the most permits? According to the Coase Theorem, would a marketable permits program be worthwhile if transaction costs are very expensive? (2 points)

Answer 43

1.) A command-and-control policy instrument is shown.

2.) At a*, firm 1 faces the highest cost of abatement and firm 3 faces the lowest cost of abatement. This is because firm 1 has higher emissions, so they have to lower them more dramatically than firm 3, who has the lowest initial quantity of emissions. It is not economically efficient for these firms to face different costs because it is never efficient when you have different firms with different emission quantities paying the same price.

3.) Without regulation, the firms would pollute until their marginal benefit equals 0.

4.) Firm 1 would end up purchasing the most permits because they operate on a system that has higher emissions. Firm 3 would sell the most permits because they would not need as many due to having lower emissions. A marketable permits program would not be worthwhile because it is only efficient if there are no transaction costs.

Question 44

(WRITTEN ANSWER): (Marginal Benefit Curve going down. A Marginal Cost Social Curve at the top going up, and a Marginal Cost Private Curve below that one going up as well.)

1. Which type of externality is shown in the graph? (2 points)
2. Identify the equilibrium price and quantity from a private transaction where environmental degradation is omitted from consideration (green or blue dot?). Identify the socially optimal equilibrium price and quantity, which accounts for for environmental degradation (green or blue dot?). (2 points)
3. Identify the letter approximating deadweight loss; that is, the region reflecting lost value (MB
   ≠
   MC) from under- or over-consumption. This occurs when the private market, rather than socially optimal considerations, determines the quantity of consumption and production. (2 points)
4. Would the tax required to shift consumption to the appropriate quantity simply equal the difference in equilibrium prices:
   δ
   -
   α
   ? If not, why is the difference in prices insufficient? (2 points)

Answer 44

1.) A negative externality is shown in the graph.

2.) The blue dot.

 b.) The green dot.

3.) The area labeled C identifies the deadweight loss.

4.) The tax required to shift consumption would not equal the difference in equilibrium prices. The equilibrium price is insufficient because there is overconsumption. If you wanted to shift the quantity to be at equilibrium, you would need to have consumption at Q2

Question 45

(T/F) Peter Singer, who supports the animal liberation movement, believes that all sentient beings have instrumental value.

Answer 45

False

Question 46

(T/F) John Locke hypothesizes a utilitarian view of nature in which anything that is left unused – assuming that scarcity is not imminent – has no value and is wasted.

Answer 46

True

Question 47

Anthropocentrism is a traditional Western ethical perspective that assigns _________________________ .

Answer 47

intrinsic value to humans but instrumental to nature

Question 48

Singer terms the unequal treatment of animals by humans as _____________ .

Answer 48

speciesism

Question 49

(T/F) Historical evidence reveals that the commons described by Hardin were a fixture of the medieval period.

Answer 49

False

Question 50

(T/F) Deep ecology uses theories like embodied cognition to demonstrate that human cognition is inseparable from its environment.

Answer 50

True

Question 51

Of the proposed solutions to the tragedy of the commons listed below, Hardin would likely support ____________ .

Answer 51

privatization

Question 52

(T/F) A dominant strategy in the tragedy of the commons is for each herder to add another animal to the grazing pasture.

Answer 52

True

Question 53

According to Singer, the moral equality afforded to human beings should be granted to animals. His justification is based on ____________________ .

Answer 53

normative prescriptions that govern human behavior

Question 54

Research by Ostrom suggests that contemporary commons management must include each of the following EXCEPT

Answer 54

privatization

Question 55

Leopold’s land ethic is an example of a holistic environmental ethic. This means that all parts of an ecosystem – sentient and nonsentient – should receive moral consideration.

Answer 55

True

Question 56

Moral extensionism is an environmental ethic that supports _____________________ .

Answer 56

extending intrinsic value beyond human beings to incorporate all aspects of nature

Question 57

(T/F) The eco-Marxist “logic” of development suggests that privatization increases environmental degradation, causing greater competition among capitalist sectors for remaining high-quality lands.

Answer 57

True

Question 58

(T/F) Instrumental value defines the worth that something has – for example, nature – independent of its value to humans.

Answer 58

False

Question 59

The lands comprising the historical commons were called _____________ .

Answer 59

the lords “waste”

Question 60

(T/F) Utilitarians who do not endorse Singer’s ethical stance believe that animals, and their habitats, have intrinsic value.

Answer 60

False

Question 61

Locke’s ethics were fundamentally about one’s inviolable right to _____________ rather than environmental degradation.

Answer 61

property

Question 62

White, the historian and author of The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis, argues that Judeo-Christian morality has encouraged the exploitation of nature by asserting that _________________________ .

Answer 62

human beings are separate to nature

Question 63

(T/F) In the prisoner’s dilemma, the best aggregate outcome is reached when both actors behave selfishly.

Answer 63

False

Question 64

(T/F) In the prisoner’s dilemma, a Nash equilibrium is reached when both prisoners lack a dominant strategy.

Answer 64

False

Question 65

(T/F) Anthropocentric utilitarianism is an environmental ethic that arose in the twentieth century, which asserts that nature has intrinsic value.

Answer 65

false

Question 66

(T/F) Hardin’s thought experiment regarding the tragedy of the commons has been described as Tonypandy. This occurs when historically inaccurate narratives are perpetuated, resulting in fictional accounts displacing the truth.

Answer 66

true

Question 67

One of Hardin’s solutions to the tragedy of the commons is privatization. This stems from the economic rationale that a property owner will ______________________ .

Answer 67

consume land to the point where ALL value has been exhausted (MB = 0)

Question 68

Singer argues that the essential criterion legitimizing the moral equality of humans and animals is _________________ .

Answer 68

the capacity to suffer

Question 69

Human _________ has been used to throughout the history of Western ethics to justify anthropocentrism.

Answer 69

rationality

Question 70

Leopold’s land ethic argues for ___________________ .

Answer 70

moral extensionism

Question 71

(T/F) The tragedy of the commons asserts that the atmosphere is essentially common property shared by all countries – that is, a global commons. According to the prisoner’s dilemma, this incentivizes countries to cut emissions.

Answer 71

false

Question 72

(T/F) tragedy of the commons is an example of prisoners dilemma

Answer 72

true

Question 73

Cooperation by both players in a one-period prisoner’s dilemma leads to _________________ .

Answer 73

the best aggregate outcome

Question 74

According to the tragedy of the commons, a country free-rides on international CO2 emissions cuts because ____________________ .

Answer 74

the costs of unabated economic growth are diffuse, whereas the benefits are concentrated

Question 75

Singer’s call for of the moral equality of all animals is an extension of which ethical system?

Answer 75

utilitarianism

Question 76

(T/F) Deep ecology focuses on specific environmental issues, targeting the “symptoms” of a pernicious disease rather than the disease itself.

Answer 76

false

Question 77

Public goods, such as sunshine and military defense, are nonexcludable and nonrivalrous. Common-resource goods, such as finite public lands and ocean fishing, are _______________________ .

Answer 77

nonexcludable and rivalrous

Question 78

Issues related to shallow ecology include ______________________ .

Answer 78

policies combating pollution and resource depletion

Question 79

The claim by Aristotle that “nature has made all things specifically for the sake of man” is an example of ______________ .

Answer 79

anthropocentrism

Question 80

(T/F) The glorification of nature has been a dominant theme in Western philosophy, dating back to the ethics of Aristotle.

Answer 80

false

Question 81

(T/F) The free-rider problem is an essential component motivating individual behavior in The Tragedy of the Commons.

Answer 81

true

Question 82

(T/F) Ethics or moral philosophy stresses normative ideals: what should be the case, NOT what is the case. Consequently, moral principles can be verified by scientific observation.

Answer 82

false

Question 83

(t/f) “Atomistic individualism” (i.e., atomism), which supports the “separate essence” of human beings, is compatible with deep ecology.

Answer 83

false

Question 84

(t/f) The price of cheap meat reveals the ecocentric morality governing factory farming.

Answer 84

false

Question 85

Imagine a commons that is used by two local herders (Herders A and B) for livestock grazing. The common property is approaching its threshold capacity, with respect to the number of grazing animals, and additional grazers will soon begin to corrode the common land. The herders have reached a one-time agreement for the upcoming month whereby they will maintain the current number of livestock on the common property, and any additional animals that require grazing will be supported on their respective private lands. Of course, the herders are only human. Thus, their behavior will ultimately be motivated by their incentives, defined below.
(Herder A row player, header B column player)
500, 500 | 150, 650
650, 150 | 250, 250

1. Is there a dominant strategy for Herder A? Herder B? If so, what is the dominant strategy for Herder A or Herder B, or Herder A and Herder B?
2. What is the Nash equilibrium?
3. Of the four possible scenarios, which generates the largest cumulative payoff? Which generates the smallest cumulative payoff? Is either scenario the equilibrium outcome?

Answer 85

1. Yes, there is a dominant strategy for both herders. For Herder A, the dominant strategy would be to cheat; they stand to earn the more profit whether the other herder cheated or cooperated than if they chose to cooperate. The same can be said for herder B.
2. The Nash equilibrium would be if both Herder A and Herder B were to cheat. Although this does not result in the highest aggregate price, it is the Nash equilibrium because each herder has higher incentive to cheat.
3. The largest cumulative payoff is achieved if a herder cheats (earning $650) while the other cooperates (earning $150). The smallest cumulative payoff is achieved if a herder cooperates (earning $150) while the other cheats (earning $650). Neither of these scenarios result in an equilibrium outcome.

Question 86

1. What is anthropocentrism?
2. What is ecocentrism?
3. Name and define the two essential categories of value that determine the ethical significance of our behavior. What type of value does nature have in an anthropocentric ethical system? An ecocentric ethical system? Explain.
4. How does Locke’ theory of property put forward a particular environmental ethic? What, for example, would it suggest is the proper use for a tract of uncut “old-growth” forest?

Answer 86

1. Anthropocentrism is a human-centered ethical perspective. It places human beings at the center in the development of reasoning, morals, and decision making.
2. Ecocentrism is an ecosystem-centered ethical perspective. It includes humans along with animals, plants, and nature as a whole in the development of reasoning, morals, and decision making.
3. The two categories of value are “intrinsic” and “instrumental” value. Intrinsic value is defined as something have inherent value in and of itself. Instrumental value is defined as something that has value as means to an end. Anthropocentric ethical systems view nature as having instrumental value because it is determined by what benefits can be derived from it. Ecocentric ethical systems view nature as having intrinsic value just as it exists.
4. Locke’s theory of property puts forward an anthropocentric ethic. In this theory, freedom is classified as owning property, labor, and to be able to obtain fruits from said labor/property. It would suggest that uncut “old-growth” forest should be utilized upon and if it were to be left as is, then it would be considered a “waste” of resources.

Question 87

Utilitarianism asserts that “it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.” Accordingly, the ethical objective of utilitarianism is the maximization of happiness and pleasure, and the minimization of pain and suffering. Utilitarianism before Singer’s extended application, however, applied only to human beings.

Why does Singer regard this restriction as arbitrary or illogical?

Is Singer’s understanding of one’s right to equal treatment based on actual, measurable equality? Explain.

Does Singer support the extension of ethics beyond human beings to land, plants, soils, AND animals? Explain.

Answer 87

1. Singer regards this as arbitrary because he believes that all sentient beings have intrinsic value. Utilitarianism was based upon nature having instrumental value and allowed for humans to capitalize on this. Human interaction with nature and animals in this view is cruel and derives suffering from animals; therefore, it is immoral to have this restriction of purely human maximization.
2. Singer’s understanding of one’s right to equality is not based on measurable equality. This is because if equality were measured in this way, then no human would be equal. We all come in varying shapes and sizes with different skillsets and histories; therefore, equality is not truly measured on these characteristics.
3. Singer supports the extension of ethics beyond human; however, this does not mean that he believes that all are considered equal. Singer supports the idea that all sentient beings (having the ability to suffer) should have equal consideration. In a paper by Singer, he explains this through the analogy of voting. It is validated for people to have the right to vote, but it is illogical to give animals such as dogs the right to vote due to lack of awareness.