APES REVIEW CHAPTER ONE: 1. Environmental science is a systematic approach in learning about the environment. 2.
One of the first steps in critical thinking is to identify premises and conclusions. 3. Biocentric preservation is a philosophy that supports the belief that all living things have an equal footing in the biosphere. 4. The word "environment" comes from a French word that means to do with surroundings. 5. In critical thinking why would it be helpful to argue from a viewpoint different from your own? Arguing from a different viewpoint can help identify weaknesses in my own views. 6. Most environmental problems result from complex, interrelated problems. 7. Although many people in the United States are extremely afraid of cancer, the main cause of death in the world is infectious diseases aggravated by malnutrition. 8. The history of conservation and environmentalism is traceable well back into human history. 9. Supplies of fossil fuels are being steadily depleted. 10. Critical thinking is important to learn in environmental science because environmental problems are complex and evidence is incomplete, making decisions difficult. 11. The world's poorest people cause and suffer from environmental degradation. 12. Places in the world where indigenous people live tend to have high biodiversity. 13. Pragmatic conservationists, including Gifford Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt, supported forest conservation in order to protect wood, jobs, an d recreation for people. 14. Sustainable development, ideally, improves living conditions for generations in the future. 15. Utilitarian conservationists tend to believe that resources should be saved because they are important for a strong economic system. 16. One major difference affecting the scope of environmental issues of the past and present is the current ability to alter the natural world through technology. 17. At the end of the twentieth century, global concerns has been added to environmental thinking. 18. The world's population is now more than six billion. 19. Which curve on the graph above best represents air pollution trends in cities for a developing country like China? 20. The National Park Service reflects a moral and aesthetic preservationist approach while the Forest Service reflects a pragmatic resource conservationist approach.
21. Which curve on the graph above best represents air pollution trends in cities for a wealthy country like the US? C.
22. A critical thinker is most likely to say: I might be wrong, but this is what I think" and
"What is the source of that information?" are both correct.
23. The point of critical thinking is to learn to weigh evidence and draw your own conclusions. 24. The approach that reflects the philosophy that there is waste in neglecting the development and use of certain natural resources (such as dead trees in old growth forests) would best be described as pragmatic resource conservationist. 25. Consider the following statement: "The level of income is the strongest determinant of who becomes exposed to environmental health risks." State whether you agree or disagree with the statement and support your position using at least three specific example: (way too wordy answer)
I agree with the above statement. Those who are economically disenfranchised are usually the most exposed to environmental health risks because they lack the economic power to escape their surroundings. Some of the poor agree to living in extremely polluted and toxic places because they receive economic incentives for doing so. This occurs when waste disposal companies offer Native American settlements big bucks for dumping consumer and industrial waste on their land. In settlements where unemployment is huge and only a few are classically educated, the chances of accepting these horrible offers are large because there aren't many other options. Because Native American settlements are quasi-sovereign entities, this is not illegal and can't be punished by the government. As disposal costs continue to rise exponentially and the ease of transporting hazardous materials increases, these practices will continue to occur. Those who do not have enough money to escape their surroundings often live in horrible situations (slums, etc). in the first place. In many of these areas, "slumlords" don't care what kind of wreck their tenants live in. Thus, many residents become exposed to poisonous materials like lead, which is absorbed from lead paint and lead in plumbing systems. This is a double whammy because most of these minorities do not have adequate health insurance to combat their health issues. Companies often relocate to places where there are weak pollution laws, so they do not have to conform to the marginally higher pollution laws of the United States. This kind of situation occurs in maquiladoras in Mexico, and in places like Shenzhen in China - a Special Economic Zone - where the economically disenfranchised work at or much below minimum wage. In addition to breathing toxic fumes, labor protection laws are also much lower, so the chances of injury/ death are much higher.
26. Most of the early scientific studies of environmental damage were done by colonial administrators who were trained botanists and zoologists.
Essay question #1: Environmental stewardship is associated with an anthropocentric worldview. Explain why stewardship is associated with anthropocentrism instead of a biocentric worldview. In your explanation, make sure you describe stewardship, anthropocentrism, and biocentrism.
