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Question 1

Which of the following adjustments would be made to any increase in GDP in order to derive an 'Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare' (ISEW)?

a) Subtract the monetary value of non-defensive public expenditures

b) Subtract the monetary value of personal consumption

c) Subtract the monetary value of capital formation

d) Subtract the costs of environmental degradation

Question 2

Which of the following is not a characteristic of the "emissions trading" policy instrument?

a) It involves a mechanism whereby the permits available are initially distributed to producers who are potential emitters of a given pollutant

b) The price mechanism for tradable emissions permits helps to allocate the restricted supply of permits to those who most value them

c) All producers are required to be equally efficient in reducing emissions of the pollutant

d) The right to pollute can be transferred between different parties at a price determined by the market in tradeable emissions permits

Question 3

Which one of the following characteristics is widely regarded as being an important aspect of sustainable development?

a) Inter-generational equity

b) Increasing consumption expenditure

c) Intra-generational inequity

d) Increased levels of saving

Question 4

Which one of the following gases is not included in the category 'greenhouse gases'?

a) Methane

b) Hydrogen

c) Carbon dioxide

d) Nitrous oxide

Question 5

Which one of the following is not a 'renewable' energy source?

a) Solar

b) Coal

c) Wave

d) Wind

Question 6

Why is transport one of the most intractable factors in considering the global environmental problem?

a) Our transport capabilities worldwide have not expanded fast enough for us to cope with the consequences of global warming

b) Transport demand grows faster than possible technological improvements can reduce the output of greenhouse gases and the depletion of nonrenewable fossil fuel reserves

c) Reducing the growth of the transport sector will hold back economic growth, and hence reduce the resources we have available to deal with the global environmental problem

d) World oil refinery capacity has failed to expand in line with the demand for internal combustion fuels

Question 7

What do we mean when we say "think globally, act locally" in relation to environmental problems?

a) Global environmental problems are essentially issues which need to be solved by international negotiations, and in the interim individuals must take care to protect themselves from any adverse consequences produced for them by these problems

b) Environmental problems have to be thought about at a global level in order to get an accurate idea of the total problem facing us, but these problems are essentially produced by our activities as individuals and firms at a local level, and it is at this level that we must focus our responses

c) Extensive research and thinking has been carried out by global level research organizations about the causes of environmental problems, which have produced possible strategies and actions which can be applied at a local level

d) While these problems, as we experience them in relation to sustainability issues, are produced by processes operating at a global level, we all have a role to play in our local context in making individual and collective responses, as communities and companies, which will help ameliorate the effects of these problems

Question 8

A "green transport plan" is:

a) An environmentally acceptable travel plan devised by a local authority for its area

b) An internationally agreed strategy for reducing the impact of international transport activity on the global environment

c) A plan devised by a company or organization to reduce the environmental impact of the transport demands generated by itself and its employees

d) The UK government's plan for a sustainable transport sector

Question 9

ISO 14001 is:

a) A particularly harmful global warming gas

b) A European Union regulation on pollution abatement

c) A water quality regulation set out under the UK 1996 Environment Act

d) An international standard setting out best practice for carrying out audits by companies of their environmental management systems and policies

Question 10

Land fill taxes are designed to:

a) Encourage us to incinerate our rubbish

b) Produce more waste

c) Produce less waste

d) Raise tax revenue

Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Chapter 15.

Chapter 15

Instructions