The quiz questions from the SW readings will be based on the topics and questions listed below.
 

QUIZ 1
SW Ch 1

What 7 trends do the authors argue are shaping the future of civilization?  (You should know the basic facts of each of these -- not generally precise figures, but the main causes, trends, and important overall levels of magnitude.

What are the gaps of perception between economists and ecologists?

What is a threshold? What are some examples?

What is the 'decline threshold'?  What are some examples?

What are the 2 key trends the authors argue we must reverse if we are to addess any others?  Why are they most important?

What needs to be done to meet these challenges?

SW Ch 5
What are POP's, and how do they accumulate in organisms?

What are the major probable health effects of POP's?

What is 'the single most important ingredient in modern [industrial] chemistry,' and why is it so important?

You should recognize the 'dirty dozen' by name.

What is the history of DDT?

Where do POP's end up, and how do they get there?

What is an 'endocrine disruptor'?  What effects do they have on wildlife and people?

What policy responses have been made to the threat of POP's?  What policy tools are available?

What is the status of efforts to enact a global POP treaty?

What notable acheivements have been made here in Washington, in the Philippines, in New Jersey, and Sweden?

What alternatives are available for major uses of POP's?
 
 

QUIZ 2
SW Ch 2
Know the 3 types of environmental surprise and their characteristics

Know the material on the major causes of discontinuities and synergisms

What concepts are illustrated by the loss of Amazonian rainforests, and by coral reef losses?

SW Ch 6
What are the trends in paper use today?

How has international trade affected paper production and use?

What proportion of the world's wood harvest goes to papers production, and what is the trend in this figure?

What can be done to reduce paper use?

What role does fiscal reform play in reducing paper use?


QUIZ 3
SW Ch 4

What are the 3 forms of malnutrition?

What defines the 'hidden hungry' and how many are there?

What are the trends in America and worldwide for being overweight, and what main factors help account for them?

What are the costs of obesity?

What causes widespread hunger?

What does "value added" mean?

What are the main kinds of social costs of malnutrition?

What policies have helped reduce malnutrition in South Korea and Taiwan?

 SW Ch 3 How does China illustrate emerging water scarcity patterns?

How did the water transfer arrangement (between the IID and MWD) in southern California work?

What is water productivity, and what kinds of things could promote it?

What is water harvesting?

Recognize water pricing policies, marketing options, water banking, groundwater use regulation, and other key policy changes.

 SW Ch 8 What examples in this chapter represent gains in efficiency technology and in pollution-reduction technology?

What is micropower technology?

Recognize microturbines, Stirling engines, fuel cells, wind turbines, and PV cells.

What are the implications of micropower for energy reliability?

How large are the possible gains in efficiency for micropower as compared with current systems?

What are the benefits of micropower?

What are the market barriers to micropower?

What could speed up adoption of micropower?

What are the characteristics of a 'disruptive technology'?
 

 QUIZ 4
SW Ch 7 What is 'extended producer responsibility'?

In what ways are communications technologies changing environmental networking and activism?

 SW Ch 9 What kinds of potentials for employment are offered by the challenge of sustainability?

Is environmental protection a job killer? Why and why not?

How do environmental policies relate to economic efficiency?

 SW Ch 10 What are the trends in exports and imports between developing and developed countries and what are some of the environmental impacts?

What are the potential conflicts between trade and the environment under the GATT and the WTO? What are some examples?

What are the linkages between international finance and lending, and environmental impacts?

What are some emerging trends in international environmental governance?