THESE QUESTIONS ARE BASED ON THE COURSE NOTES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES THAT CAN BE FOUND HERE AND HERE.
THIS TEST (AND MANY OF THE OTHERS ON THIS SITE) MAY ALSO BE OF USE TO STUDENTS FOLLOWING OTHER ADVANCED LEVEL RELIGIOUS STUDIES COURSES.
BEAR IN MIND THAT THESE TESTS ARE MEANT TO BE DIFFICULT. FOR THIS REASON THEY SHOULD BE ATTEMPTED AFTER THE AFOREMENTIONED NOTES HAVE ALREADY BEEN CAREFULLY REVISED. HAVING SAID THAT, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT ERRORS MIGHT HAVE BEEN MADE DURING THE CREATION OF THE TEST. PLEASE USE THE CONTACT FORM TO LET ME KNOW IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE SPOTTED ONE.
THE LANGUAGE USED IN ALL BLOG POSTS AND IN THE FOLLOWING TEST HAS NOT BEEN SIMPLIFIED. THIS IS BECAUSE EXPANDING YOUR PERSONAL VOCABULARY IS IMPORTANT IF YOU WISH TO ACCESS THE HIGHER GRADES AT ADVANCED LEVEL.
NOTE: QUITE A BIT OF NEW INFORMATION IS INCLUDED. THIS IS TO INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF GAINING A HIGHER GRADE IN THE ACTUAL EXAMINATION RATHER THAN THIS TEST.
FOR THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS, SCROLL DOWN TO THE END OF THIS BLOG ENTRY.
1.Which of the following is NOT an example of conservation in relation to natural environments?
a. legal protection of an endangered species
b. exploitation of a finite natural resource
c. Preservation of an area of natural beauty
d. management of ocean fish stocks via quotas
2. TRUE or FALSE? ‘Stewardship’ is a word which describes the idea that human beings were created by God to rule over the earth and use its resources for their own purpose in any way that they see fit.
3. TRUE or FALSE? Some Christians (mainly in the USA) believe that it is acceptable for humans to do whatever they want to the environment as it has been given to them by God for precisely this purpose, even if pollution and other environmental damage happens as a consequence.
4. Which of the following passages that might be mentioned in a discussion about Christian teaching to do with the environment is NOT found in the book of Genesis?
a. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
b. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
c. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
d. The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
e. The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
5. TRUE or FALSE? The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, addressing a meeting that was attended by activists from the eco- activist movement Extinction Rebellion stated that humans have declared war on nature and put progress before the planet.
6. TRUE or FALSE? In the gospels Jesus is described as cursing a fig tree that subsequently withers. Additionally, having performed an exorcism, he grants some evil spirits that had taken possession of a man permission to enter a herd of pigs (approximately 2,000 according to Mark’s version of this incident). The pigs then rush into the sea and drown themselves.
7. TRUE or FALSE? The Biblical teaching that only humans are made in God’s ‘image’ is taken by many Christians to mean that humans have an eternal soul and animals do not.
8. TRUE or FALSE? You can’t be an atheist and believe in stewardship.
9. TRUE or FALSE? The utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham argued that humans are speciesist in their treatment of animals.
10. TRUE or FALSE? In 1822, the United Kingdom became the first country to establish legal protection for animals, in this case by passing a law aiming to prevent the cruel and improper treatment of cattle.
11. TRUE or FALSE? The 2007 Animal Welfare Act imposed more severe penalties on those found guilty of cruelty to animals. The maximum sentence is now one year in prison as a result of the passing of this law.
12. TRUE or FALSE? According to the philosopher Michael Sandel, it is reasonable to charge rhino hunters $250,000 dollars for the privilege of hunting and killing an endangered black rhino as long as the money is used for the conservation of the rest of the black rhino population.
13. TRUE or FALSE? The term ‘sustainability’ describes the current efforts to develop ‘green’ sources of energy e.g. wind and solar power.
14. Which of the following is NOT an example of a method of waste disposal?
a. Fracking
b. Incineration
c. Landfills
d. Ocean dumping
15. TRUE or FALSE? The main cause of climate change is the increased emission of greenhouse gases (mostly CO2) as a result of human activity.
16. TRUE or FALSE? The scientific evidence for climate change resulting from human activity is presently inconclusive.
17. TRUE or FALSE? The Paris Agreement at the UN Conference on Climate Change in 2015 committed the 200 signatories to keeping global temperature increases below 2.0 degrees Centigrade and to curbing and eventually reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
18. Which philosopher said, ‘‘To put it in terms a child could understand, as far as the atmosphere is concerned, the developed nations broke it. If we believe that people should contribute to fixing something in proportion to their responsibility for breaking it, then the developed nations owe it to the rest of the world to fix the problem with the atmosphere’ ?
a. Arne Naess
b. Peter Singer
c. Michael Sandel
d. James Lovelock
19. TRUE or FALSE? The term ‘shallow ecology’ describes the anthropocentric view that the environment should be preserved because humans will benefit from doing so.
20. Which of the following thinkers from within the Deep Ecology movement was the first to encourage his readers to ‘think like a mountain’?
a. Arne Naess
b. James Lovelock
c. Aldo Leopold
d. Roger Scruton
21. Who has criticized the ecocentric perspective of Deep Ecology on the following grounds?
Only persons have moral status and to be a person you have to be able to reason in a simple manner and know that you have a future. Some animals show evidence of this. So those in the wild deserve protection. So too do those animal species with a nervous system as they can feel pleasure and pain. But stalactites, mountains and plant life cannot be thought of in this way. They lack personhood and a nervous system. So the Deep Ecology movement is wrong to claim that we must ‘think like a mountain’.
a. Roger Scruton
b. Slavoj Zizek
c. James Lovelock
d. Peter Singer
22. TRUE or FALSE? A criticism of shallow ecology is that it is philosophically incoherent. This is because it is impossible for anyone to adopt a non-human view of nature as it is impossible to escape from an anthropocentric perspective.
23. TRUE or FALSE? The Gaia Hypothesis is a religious theory about how we should think about the earth.
24. Who is responsible for the Gaia Hypothesis?
a. James Lovelock
b. Slavoj Zizek
c. Roger Scruton
d. Arne Naess
25. TRUE or FALSE? A strength of the Gaia Hypothesis might be that in regarding the earth as a living organism, it makes our relationship to it more personal, and we may then be more inclined to think of it as something that needs protecting.
26. Who has criticised Lovelock’s claim that the earth is a harmonious, balanced, self-regulating organism by arguing that nature actually consists of ‘a series of unimaginable catastrophes’. Oil, which is partly made up of the remains of animal life and plant life, is an example of this.
a. Roger Scruton
b. Slavoj Zizek
c. Peter Singer
d. Aldo Leopold
27. TRUE or FALSE? More recently, Lovelock has argued that nuclear power stations should be closed down because of the potential environmental catastrophes that may result from meltdowns and radiation leaks.
28. Which philosopher argues that we should become what he calls ‘oikophiles’, people who care about their local environment?
a. Slavoj Zizek
b. Peter Singer
c. Roger Scruton
d. Michael Sandel
29. Which philosopher’s famous ‘drowning child’ thought experiment could be used to demonstrate that we do have obligations, both to people who are already suffering from the effects of climate change in other parts of the world and to future human beings who will be affected by our actions now?
a. Slavoj Zizek
b. Roger Scruton
c. James Garvey
d. Peter Singer
30. Which philosopher uses the analogy of a house buyer who fails to take out insurance against his cliff-side property eventually falling into the sea to argue that it would be reckless to do nothing about climate change now, even if we cannot be certain how much global temperatures will eventually increase?
a. Bjorn Lomborg
b. Roger Scruton
c. James Garvey
d. Peter Singer
ANSWERS
1. b – One definition of the term ‘conservation’ is ‘the protection, preservation, management, or restoration of natural environments.’
EXAM TIP: YOU MAY GET ASKED ABOUT RELIGIOUS AND/OR SECULAR APPROACHES TO CONSERVATION. THE CHRISTIAN CONCEPT OF STEWARDSHIP IS AN EXAMPLE OF A RELIGIOUS APPROACH. CONTRASTINGLY, SINGER, NAESS, LOVELOCK , SCRUTON AND ZIZEK ARE EXAMPLES OF SECULAR THINKERS. IF YOU GET ASKED ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE SUSTAINABILITY OR CLIMATE CHANGE, YOU COULD STILL DRAW ON THE SAME EXAMPLES, DEPENDING ON THE WORDING OF THE QUESTION, OF COURSE.
2. False – what is described in the question is the traditional understanding of ‘dominion’ rather than ‘stewardship’. In terms of Christian teaching, the term ‘stewardship’ is to do with the idea that everything in creation belongs to God. We are only looking after the earth’s resources for Him. Humans therefore have a duty of care to responsibly protect and preserve the natural world.
3. True – these Christians think that it doesn’t matter if we use up all the earth’s resources (like oil and gas) and wreck the environment because then God will make Judgement Day happen sooner. For them, this is what stewardship entails: dominion. Other Christians regard stewardship as involving conservation in line with their belief that humans should look after what God has given them in a caring and responsible manner.
4. e – The final quotation is from Psalms 24v1. Together with the fourth quotation, this passage supports the idea of responsible Christian stewardship. Both translations are taken from the New International Version of the Bible. The first three passages from Genesis tend to support the ‘you can do whatever you like’ notion of dominion, especially the third one, which is rarely mentioned in textbooks that look at Christian teaching about the environment. Those first three translations are taken from the older, King James version of the Bible, two of which specifically mentions ‘dominion’.
5. False – Williams is a former Archbishop of Canterbury.
6. True – The story of Noah’s Ark is also not very environmentally friendly to say the least. If the Flood was a punishment for human sin, what had all the animals done that drowned in it to deserve their fate?
7. True – This point could be cited as a weakness of Christian/religious perspectives on animal welfare and protection as it supports the ‘dominion’ view of nature that animals have no moral status. Philosophers who believed in God like Descartes and Kant additionally went on to argue that as animals lack rationality, it does not matter what we do to them. This perspective could be contrasted with that of Bentham and Singer, but also with the more modern Christian view that animals should not be treated with unnecessary cruelty and that animal species should be preserved according to the idea that stewardship implies a duty of care to them.
8. False – a secular concept of stewardship is possible. According to this idea, as mankind is the highest product of evolution and the most dominant species, this arguably entails a duty of care to the natural world that gave rise to us.
9. False – Bentham did think that – as animals experience pleasure and pain – that they were worthy of moral consideration in relation to his hedonic calculus. But it is Peter Singer who made the accusation about speciesism.
10. True
11. False – the maximum sentence is just under a year: 51 weeks.
12. False – Sandel mentions this example without giving it his seal of approval. Apparently, rhino auctions of this kind have been held with this purpose in mind that are helping to preserve and sustain the rhino population. But what Sandel says is this: ‘Whether to create a market in the hunting of endangered species depends not only on whether it increases their number but also on whether it expresses and promotes the right way of valuing them.’
13. False – Wind and solar power are examples of ‘sustainable development’. The deployment of alternative energy sources like this would make us less reliant on the fossil fuels (e.g.oil) that contribute to climate change. ‘Sustainability’ can be defined as the earth’s ability to continue supporting life. The increased use of wind and solar power contributes to sustainability, especially with regard to future generations of humanity.
14. a – Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside. The term ‘fracking’ refers to how the rock is fractured apart by the high pressure mixture. Fracking allows drilling firms to access difficult-to-reach resources of oil and gas. In the US it has significantly boosted domestic oil production and driven down gas prices. It is estimated to have offered gas security to the US and Canada for about 100 years, and has presented an opportunity to generate electricity at half the CO2 emissions of coal. The industry suggests fracking of shale gas could contribute significantly to the UK’s future energy needs. The Task Force on Shale Gas, an industry-funded body, has said the UK needs to start fracking to establish the possible economic impact of shale gas – saying it could create thousands of jobs. The extensive use of fracking in the US, where it has revolutionised the energy industry, has prompted environmental concerns. Fracking uses huge amounts of water, which must be transported to the fracking site, at significant environmental cost. Environmentalists say potentially carcinogenic chemicals used may escape and contaminate groundwater around the fracking site. The industry suggests pollution incidents are the results of bad practice, rather than an inherently risky technique. There are also worries that the fracking process can cause small earth tremors. Campaigners say that fracking is simply distracting energy firms and governments from investing in renewable sources of energy, and encouraging continued reliance on fossil fuels. Ocean dumping can include toxic waste that is harmful to aquatic life. For example, materials like plastic are non-degradable which means they will not be absorbed and recycled. When oceanic creatures and even birds consume plastic inadvertently, they choke on it which causes a steady decline in their population. Activists say who suffer from the plastic debris are dolphins, sharks, turtles, crabs, and sea birds, among others. The Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch is a very good example of plastic being hazardous.
15. True
16. False – the overwhelming scientific consensus is that human activity is causing global warming (where ‘warming’ refers to an overall average increase in the surface temperature of the earth) . What is uncertain is just how much warming will happen in the future. An average surface temperature increase of between 1.1 and 6.4 degrees is anticipated. One reason for scientific confidence in this area is the fact that only climate change models that combine anthropogenic with natural contributions to warming have been shown to accurately predict changes that have already been observed between the years 1860 and 2001. Although there are those who deny the reality of climate change, almost all are operating outside the scientific mainstream.
17. True
18. b
19. True – shallow ecology contrasts with ‘deep ecology’, which is the idea that everything in the natural world has intrinsic rather than instrumental value.
20. c – Arne Naess makes use of this phrase to encourage us to realize that we are part of the biosphere and therefore have a responsibility to other living things which includes thinking about the long term interests of the environment as a whole. However, it was Aldo Leopold who first coined it in his Sand County Almanac.
21. d – Note that Singer’s views about personhood and the fact that animals are deserving of moral consideration because they can feel pleasure and pain are also relevant to the topic of animal welfare and protection.
22. False – this is an additional criticism of the perspective of Deep Ecology. EXAM TIP: DON’T FORGET THAT YOU ARE ALSO REQUIRED TO KNOW THE STRENGTHS AS WELL AS THE WEAKNESSES OF THE DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR APPROACHES TO ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICAL ISSUES. THESE ARE DESCRIBED IN YOUR COURSE NOTES.
23. False – James Lovelock (see answer to next question) regards his theory as scientific rather than religious. However, it does come close to recapturing the older, pagan idea of ‘mother earth’ and encourages a respect and reverence for the planet that borders on the spiritual. Plus, Lovelock describes Gaia in a manner that seems to ascribe agency and consciousness to Gaia’s actions. For example, he states that Gaia will take ‘revenge’ on us. Singer has criticised Lovelock for this, on the grounds that it is misleading to ascribe such qualities to a non-sentient being. EXAM TIP; YOU COULD POSSIBLY GET AWAY WITH INCLUDING THE GAIA HYPOTHESIS IN RESPONSE TO A QUESTION ABOUT RELIGIOUS APPROACHES TO CONSERVATION OR SUSTAINABILITY, ON THE GROUNDS THAT MODERN PAGANS HAVE ADOPTED THE THEORY (Paganism, which at one point was regularly reported as being Britain’s fastest growing religious tradition, has its roots in the pre-Christian world view that preceded the spread of Christianity to the UK). ADDITIONALLY, IN HIS BOOK GREEN PHILOSOPHY, ROGER SCRUTON STATES THAT ‘IN ITS MORE MYSTICAL FORMS, THE CULT OF GAIA COMES CLOSE TO RECAPTURING THE PAGAN VIEW OF THE EARTH AS A GODDESS, WHOSE ANIMATING PRINCIPLES RUN THROUGH ALL OF US’. THIS WOULD BE IN SPITE OF LOVELOCK’S INSISTENCE THAT HIS HYPOTHESIS IS A SCIENTIFIC ONE .
24. a – This is basically the idea that the earth itself is a massive, ‘homeostatic’ or self-regulating, biological organism. According to Lovelock, humans are not treating Gaia (i.e. the Earth) with respect and as Gaia is self-regulating, it/she may soon cause us to become extinct.
25. True – when revising at the end of Year 13, note the similarity to the Feminist theologian Sally McFague’s notion of ‘panentheism’.
26. b
27. False – Lovelock is in favour of using nuclear power as an alternative to burning fossil fuels. This is because he fears that drastic action is needed to prevent Gaia taking her ‘revenge’ on us. However, he has attracted criticism for this idea on the grounds that nuclear power stations could become targets for terrorism. And since Lovelock published his latest book ‘The Revenge of Gaia’ the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan has demonstrated the environmental damage that can be caused by accidents and damage to nuclear power stations.
28. c – Note that Scruton is sceptical about the cultivation of a global environmental ethic through international agreements and treaties because there are no penalties associated with them. and so this makes it easier for countries to cheat or renege on what they have agreed to. He thinks that instead, we need to find a way of motivating everyone to ‘do their bit’ as it were and that this can only be achieved at a local level, as people generally do care more about their immediate environment. A strength of Scruton’s theory is that he rightly draws attention to the need to motivate people to act in the first place. However, a criticism of his view is that both people and countries perhaps should be coerced into doing more. For example, a country that violates an international treaty could be punished with economic sanctions.
29. d – NOTE: this thought experiment was actually intended by Singer to motivate us to do more about people dying from disease and famine in developing countries. But it could be adapted for use in discussions about present climate change and sustainability in relation to ensuring that the earth remains habitable for future generations of human beings.
30. c – NOTE- Garvey’s thought experiment could be used to criticise Bjorn Lomborg’s view that focusing attention and resources on what he perceives as far more pressing world problems, such as AIDS, malaria and malnutrition would be more worthwhile.