You are on page 1of 11

Global Climate Change

SOC 380/ENVP 480

Dr. Robert Brulle

Movie Quiz Questions

Week 1 An Inconvenient Truth

Week 2 6 Degrees Could Change the World

Week 3 Capitalism and Sustainability

Week 4 HEAT

Week 5 Climate Change Recalculated

Week 6 Waterworld

Week 7 Earth; The Sequel

Week 8 Facing Up to Climate Change

Week 9 The American Denial of Global Warming

Week 10 Eaarth: Making a life on a Tough New Planet


Week 1 An Inconvenient Truth

1. Why does increasing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere increase global temperature?
a. Carbon dioxide absorbs outgoing infrared radiation and increases the earth’s temperature.
b. Carbon dioxide increases the intensity of the sun’s radiation.
c. Carbon dioxide does not have any impact.
d. None of the above.

2. What is the Keeling curve?


a. It is a measurement of the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere.
b. It is a measurement of the earth’s temperature.
c. It measures how much fossil fuel we are using.
d. None of the above.

3. What does the Keeling curve show?


a. Increased temperature levels.
b. Increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.
c. Sea level is dropping.
d. none of the above.

4. Why do CO2 levels increase in the winter and decrease in the summer?
a. Because the earth is further away from the sun in the winter, so temperature and CO2 decrease.
b. Because plants grow in the summer and draw in CO2, and their leafs fall in the fall and decompose, increasing CO2.
c. The oceans absorb more CO2 in the summer than in the winter.
d. None of the above.

5. What is happening to all land glaciers worldwide?


a. Nothing
b. They are expanding
c. They are contracting
d. Some are expanding, and others are contracting.

6. What does ice core data show about global CO2 levels and temperature?
a. That temperature and CO2 levels are unrelated.
b. That as CO2 concentrations increase, temperatures go up.
c. That as CO2 concentrations increase, temperatures go down.
d. None of the above.

7. How could the melting of the icecap on Greenland impact the Gulf Stream?
a. It would accelerate its flow.
b. It would decrease its flow.
c. It would have no impact.
d. It would reduce its salinity, and have adverse impacts on the fish.

8. What is the impact of global warming on Polar Bears?


a. No impact.
b. It will increase their range, as they will be able to hunt in wider areas.
c. It will greatly decrease their numbers, as they will have difficulties in hunting with less pack ice.
d. None of the above.

9. What will the impact on sea level be if the Greenland and/or the Antarctic icecaps melt?
a. No impact, the ice is just part of the ocean.
b. Sea levels would rise, but only by inches
c. Sea levels would rise significantly
d. None of the above.

10. What are stabilization triangles?


a. They are calculations of the CO2 emissions savings from taking certain actions.
b. They are symbols that map locations where CO2 stabilization efforts are taking place.
c. They are measures of carbon financing sources
d. None of the above.
Week 2 6 Degrees Could Change the World

1. How much temperature change due to global warming is possible over the 21st century
a. 1 - 2 degrees
b. 7 - 12 degrees
c. 1 - 6 degrees
d. 5 – 10 degrees

2. What was Black Christmas in Australia?


a. Celebration of Christmas honoring aboriginal peoples
b. A very profitable Christmas buying season, putting many firms in the black
c. Major fires in eastern Australia around the Christmas season
d. None of the above.

3. What are the impacts in the United States at one degree of warming?
a. Expansion of western deserts and loss of fertile crop areas in the west and midwest
b. Massive flooding of low lying areas due to sea level rise
c. Rising levels of the Great Lakes
d. All of the above.

4. A two degree warming in the global temperature will lead to:


a. Melting of East Antarctica Ice Sheet
b. Death of coral reefs
c. Cessation of the Gulf Stream circulation
d. All of the above.

5. How does ocean acidification impact marine life?


a. Interferes with the reproductive cycle of marine mammals.
b. Inhibits shell growth in small marine animals.
c. Accelerates the growth rate of large pelagic fish.
d. Increases the range of Arctic species.

6. What are moulines?


a. Vertical tunnels carved in glaciers by meltwater.
b. Large blocks of hard ice embedded in glaciers.
c. Very large icebergs.
d. A rare species of animal that lives in the Arctic.

7. How many people died in Europe in the heat wave that occurred in 2003?
a. 100
b. 1,000
c. 30,000
d. Over one million

8. If the temperature on the Earth increases 3 degrees, what is the projected impact on the Amazon rainforest?
a. Rapid expansion due to increased heat.
b. Transformation from a rainforest to a savannah.
c. Increased rate of growth due to CO2 fertilization effect.
d. Shifting of boundaries further up the Andes mountains.

9. What is the impact of an increase in global warming by 3 degrees on hurricanes?


a. No impact.
b. More frequent hurricanes.
c. Increase in the strength of hurricanes.
d. Shifting of hurricane paths toward the equator.

10. At 5 – 6 degrees of global warming, what are some of the projected effects?
a. Large scale extinction of ocean species.
b. Vast expansion of desert areas.
c. Large scale disruption of human societies.
d. Flooding of major coastal areas.
e. All of the above.
Week 3 Capitalism and Sustainability

1. According to Gustave Speth, what has been the trend in environmental quality over the last 40 years?
a. The quality of the natural environment has steadily increased
b. The quality of the natural environment has stabilized, and its continued degradation has stopped
c. The quality of the natural environment has declined slowly
d. The quality of the natural environment has declined at an increasing rate

2. What actions will result in massive ecological destruction in the future?


a. Just keep doing exactly what we are doing today
b. We would have to rapidly accelerate our use of natural resources.
c. We would have to repeal our environmental laws
d. Both b & c

3. According to Speth, what is the fundamental driver of environmental degradation?


a. Population increases
b. Technological Development
c. Exponential Expansion of the Global Economy
d. None of the above

4. For Speth, the current economic system seeks to:


a. Maximize economic return on investments
b. Seeks to externalize and not address environmental degradation side effects of production
c. Maximizes consumption over increasing quality of life
d. Develops technologies without regard to their environmental impacts
e. All of the above

5. What was the basic model of the environmental movement’s initial efforts?
a. Work within the system to advocate and lobby for change.
b. To force massive change through disruptive protests.
c. To build alternative communities
d. None of the above.

6. What does Speth conclude about the effectiveness of the environmental movement’s strategy?
a. The efforts of the environmental movement have effectively protected the natural environment
b. The efforts of the environmental movement have marginally protected the natural environment
c. The efforts of the environmental movement have failed to protect the natural environment
d. None of the above

7. What actions does Speth advocate to reform the economic system to be less environmentally harmful?
a. Have prices that actually reflect environmental and social costs.
b. Examine and reform the nature of the modern corporation, and shift its focus away from stockholder primacy.
c. a&b
d. None of the above

8. To fundamentally address environmental degradation, Speth argues that we need to:


a. Develop new technologies
b. Limit population growth
c. Change our focus from consumption to quality of life
d. Challenge the notion of economic growth as a universal good
e. c&d

9. How does Speth see us moving toward a post-growth society.


a. Adoption of a series of policies to address social issues.
b. Rejection of materialism and reduction of consumption.
c. Both a & b.
d. None of the above.

10. Based on this assessment, what does Speth advocate regarding the environmental movement’s strategy?
a. Work with groups that are attempting to address inequality and democracy.
b. Working within the system has failed, so we need to work outside of the system.
c. Build a citizen’s movement for social change.
d. Broadening of the environmental agenda.
e. All of the above.
Week 4 HEAT

1. What best characterizes the cost of energy throughout U.S. history?


a. Very expensive energy utilizing renewable sources
b. Cheap energy using fossil fuels.
c. Massive reliance on nuclear power.
d. Widespread use of wind power.

2. How many new coal power plans is China building?


a. One a month
b. One a week
c. Two a week
d. None – China does not use coal

3. What is the impact of cement manufacturing on CO2 emissions?


a. Negligible, and no worse than any other industrial process.
b. Negative – the manufacturing process removes CO2 from the atmosphere.
c. Very large – the manufacturing process results in large releases of CO2.
d. Highly variable – depending on what cement manufacturing process is followed.

4. What percent of U.S. electrical production comes from coal?


a. 5%
b. 25%
c. 52%
d. 95%

5. What is the status of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology?


a. Iit is a well proven technology ready for industrial application.
b. Unproven and virtually untested technology.
c. Standard industrial practice.
d. None of the above.

6. What did the Bush administration do regarding the California effort to increase car mileage standards?
a. Supported and approved the new standards
b. Expanded the standards to apply nationwide.
c. Denied California the waiver from the Clean Air Act, and thus killed implementation of the mileage standard.
d. None of the above.

7. In what area are the large energy companies, such as BP, Exxon-Mobil, or Shell, making most of their capital investments?
a. Renewable energy
b. Evenly between fossil fuels and renewable energy.
c. Virtually all to fossil fuels
d. Nuclear power plants.

8. What is the CO2 footprint of oil from the Canadian tar sands?
a. The same as regular crude oil
b. Much less than regular crude oil
c. Two to three times larger than regular crude oil.
d. None of the above.

9. What was the difference between Obama and McCain on offshore drilling during the 2008 election campaign?
a. Obama was opposed to it, and McCain was for it.
b. Both opposed it.
c. Both supported it.
d. McCain was against it, and Obama was for it.

10. What is the indirect effect of biofuel production on CO2 emissions?


a. None – biofuels are carbon neutral fuels.
b. The fuel costs of production and refining biofuels
c. The clearing of new forested land, increasing overall CO2 emissions.
d. Increased cost of food.
Week 5 Climate Change Recalculated

1. What is meant by the term ‘embodied energy’?


a. The energy it took to produce an object.
b. A measure of actual energy – such as heat in calories, electricity in volts, etc.
c. The energy produced by the human body.
d. None of the above.

2. How much energy does the average individual on the Earth use each year?
a. 1,000 watts
b. 2,200 watts
c. 5,000 watts
d. 18,000 watts

3. What is the energy consumption of the speaker last year?


a. 2,500 watts
b. 10,000 watts
c. 17,027 watts
d. 25,000 watts

4. According to Griffith, what temperature increase should we choose to stabilize at?


a. 2 degrees
b. 4 degrees
c. 6 degrees
d. 1 degree

5. How much power does the world use annually?


a. 5 terrawatts
b. 10 terrawatts
c. 15-18 terrawatts
d. 100 terrawatts

6.. How much power can we obtain from fossil fuels and stay below 450 ppm of CO2?
a. 10 terrawatts
b. 2-3 terrawatts
c. 15-18 terrawatts
d. 95 terrawatts

7. How much energy do we need to get from renewable energy to stay below 450 ppm of CO2?
a. 3 terrawatts
b. 11.5 terrawatts
c. 15-18 terrawatts
d. 95 terrawatts

8. What is the land needed for the generation of the needed renewable energy?
a. 50 square miles
b. An area about as big as the state of Rhode Island
c. An area about as big as the state of Texas
d. An area about as big as the continent of Australia

9. What is the effect of economic recessions on global CO2 production/


a. It decreases it.
b. It increases it.
c. No effect

10. According to Griffith, what is one thing we can do to reduce CO2 emissions immediately?
a. Reduce the speed limits on roads
b. Insulate our houses
c. Build wind turbines
d. Build nuclear power plants
Week 6 Waterworld

1. What is global warming forcing in Bangladesh?


a. No changes
b. Massive changes in living patterns and the way of life
c. Minor economic disruption
d. Minor economic disruption is anticipated in the future

2. How much has Bangladesh contributed to global warming?


a. It is a major contributor
b. Virtually nothing
c. It is an average contributor
d. None of the above

3. What does Dr. Atiq Rahman maintain that we should call climate change?
a. Global Warming
b. Irreversible Catastrophic Climate Destabilization
c. A hoax
d. None of the above

4. What segment of the population in Bangladesh is most impacted by climate change?


a. The poor and least able to adapt
b. The rich, who are losing investment income
c. All segments, rich and poor, are equally impacted
d. The middle class, who see their economic prospects shrinking

5. What is happening to the people displaced by rising waters?


a. They are migrating to the developed world.
b. They become climate refugees, and settle in the slums of Bangladesh
c. They are rebuilding their villages
d. None of the above

6. What will happen to the land area of Bangladesh if sea level rises 1 meter?
a. Nothing.
b. Only a small percentage of land will go underwater.
c. About 5% of the land area will go underwater.
d. About 20% of the land will go underwater.

7. How many people will be displaced by a sea level rise of 1 meter?


a. None
b. About 1 million people
c. About 5 million people
d. About 35 million people

8. What is the idea behind climate shelters?


a. People can live in boats when the water level rise.
b. Stronger houses will be able to survive catastrophic storms.
c. Building houses on higher ground will provide housing during storms.
d. None of the above.

9. What does Dr. Rahman maintain is the solution to climate change?


a. Massive efforts to assist communities to adapt.
b. Lifting immigration restrictions so climate refugees can move to new areas.
c. Aggressively reducing carbon emissions
d. None of the above.

10. What does Dr. Rahman predict about the future of climate change?
a. That the impacts will be limited to Bangladesh.
b. That Bangladesh is just the first, but the developed world will also be adversely impacted.
c. The impacts of climate change are not serious.
d. None of the above.
Week 7 Earth: The Sequel

1. What is the coming revolution addressed in this movie?


a. A social revolution to transform capitalism.
b. A scientific revolution to develop new understandings of the dynamics of global climate change.
c. A technology revolution to develop and implement new energy sources.
d. A global economic revolution toward equity among nations.

2. What events are creating a “perfect storm” propelling the shift to new energy sources?
a. A deepening economic recession
b. Increasing threat of global climate change
c. Dangerous dependence on foreign oil
d. All of the above.

3. According to Fred Krupp, what is the core action needed to limit carbon emissions?
a. Setting a legal limit on U.S. carbon emissions.
b. Massive investments in energy research and development.
c. Restricting individual consumption levels.
d. All of the above.

4. What power source does the Alaska resort in Chena AK run on?
a. Solar power
b. Geothermal
c. Coal
d. Oil

5. What is cap and trade?


a. A regulatory system that imposes strict rationing of carbon emissions.
b. An economic system that puts an overall cap on carbon emissions and allows emission rights to be traded on an economic market.
c. A new technological approach that focuses on locating carbon emissions in locations where they would have the least impact.
d. None of the above.

6. How do photovoltaic cells produce electricity?


a. The energy of the light breaks electrons free in the cell, and this creates an electronic current.
b. The cells focus the sunlight and absorb the heat, creating energy.
c. The cells contain hot water, which is heated by the sun, and used to create electricity
d. None of the above.

7. How does solar thermal produce electricity?


a. The energy of the light breaks electrons free in the cell, and this creates an electronic current.
b. The mirrors focus the sunlight on a central point. The heat is used to expand gas, which creates electrical energy.
c. The cells contain hot water, which is heated by the sun, and used to create electricity.
d. None of the above.

8. What are the primary challenges to the widespread adoption of wind energy?
a. Transmission of electrical power to users
b. Intermittent nature of energy
c. Bird deaths caused by rotors
d. a&b

9. What can smart meters allow customers to do?


a. Buy energy when it is least expensive.
b. Monitor home energy use
c. Add more electrical appliance
d. a&b

10. What are possible solutions to reducing carbon emissions in transportation discussed in the movie?
a. Driving less
b. Biofuels
c. Electrical cars
d. Mass Transit
e. b & c
f. All of the above
Week 8 Facing Up to Climate Change

1. What does the term “black ops” refer to when discussing the climate denial campaign?
a. Break-in of climate scientists offices
b. Hacking of climate science center files
c. Harassment of individual climate scientists
d. All of the above

2. What does the Atlas Foundation fund?


a. Grass roots climate action nonprofits
b. Climate science research
c. Climate denial think tanks
d. Universities and institutions of higher education

3. What does the climate denial movement represent?


a. Backlash against the environmental movement and other challenges to the dominant worldview
b. A well informed group of individuals who have legitimate concerns about the science of global climate change.
c. A narrow group of fossil fuel industry spokespersons
d. Progressive intellectuals concerned about climate denial.

4. What does the latest climate research show about the projected levels and impacts of climate change?
a. They have been exaggerated by the climate scientists
b. Politicians have exaggerated the impacts for their own political gain
c. That the levels and impacts are worse than has been commonly reported
d. That the projections of the IPCC in 2007 are highly accurate

5. What is Hamilton’s basic conclusion about our ability to control future temperature increases due to climate change?
a. We can easily stay below 2 degrees using existing technology.
b. We can stay below 2 degrees if we act quickly.
c. It is impossible for us to stay below 2 degrees and we are committed to an increase of at least 4 degrees.
d. Global warming is a myth and we do not have to worry about future temperature increases.

6. Which beliefs does Hamilton dispute regarding controlling climate change?


a. Overshooting 450 ppm and returning to below it is possible.
b. Stabilization of the climate system is possible.
c. Adaptation to climate change impacts is possible.
d. All of the above.

7. What are the major types of individual responses to our situation regarding climate change as portrayed by the current science?
a. Denial of climate change
b. Maladaptive strategies
c. Adaptive Strategies
d. a&b
e. All of the above

8. How does cognitive dissonance play out in individual responses to climate change?
a. Outright denial of scientific facts
b. Casual denial – restriction of exposure to climate science
c. a&b
d. None of the above

9. What are some maladaptive strategies that individuals use to deal with climate change?
a. Distance self from climate change by seeing it occurring in distant locations or in the future
b. Divert concern by engaging in symbolic behavior
c. Claim not to be concerned about the issue
d. Engage in wishful thinking about our ability to deal with climate change
e. All of the above

10. According to Hamilton, what are some adaptive strategies that respond to the reality of climate change?
a. Express and discuss emotions brought about by our current situation
b. Engage in problem solving regarding specific climate change issues
c. Development of a new value orientation that corresponds to our situation
d. All of the above.
Week 9 The American Denial of Global Warming

1. When did the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change unequivocally conclude that global warming was occurring?
a. 1950
b. 1995
c. 2003
d. 2009

2. In what decade was the basic physics of the greenhouse effect understood?
a. 1880s
b. 1990s
c. 1960s
d. 1930s

3. Who were Suess and Revelle, and what did they predict about CO2 and its impact on the atmosphere?
a. They were politicians, and they predicted the controversy that could result from the debate over global warming.
b. They were two scientists who first predicted the effects of global warming in 1957.
c. They were industrialists who advocated renewable energy.
d. They were oil company representatives who stated that global warming was a myth.

4. By which President, and in what year was global warming first noted in a report to Congress?
a. Harry Truman in 1950
b. Lyndon Johnson in 1965
c. Jimmy Carter in 1979
d. George Bush in 2003

5. What did the 1979 Charney Report conclude?


a. Global warming was real, but its effects would not be realized for centuries.
b. Global warming was not occurring.
c. That global warming is real and it will have a significant impact in the near future.
d. The science of global warming was too uncertain to make any firm conclusions.

6. What was the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and what did it require?
a. This is an informal agreement among scientists to study global warming.
b. This is an international treaty signed by the U.S. to address climate change by reducing CO2 emissions.
c. This is a treaty to have continued discussions about the science of global warming.
d. This is a corporate statement on global warming and the need to address it.

7. What is the George C. Marshall Institute and what is it significance related to global warming politics?
a. A Washington DC based think tank that serves as the center of climate change denial media efforts.
b. A non-profit organization that is dedicated to the ideals embodied in the Marshall Plan.
c. An institute that conducts research on climate change.
d. An academic institute that conducts classes on climate change.

8. Who is S. Fred Singer?


a. First Director of the National Weather Satellite program
b. Leading climate change skeptic
c. Leader of scientific dispute over the health impacts of second hand smoke
d. All of the above
e. None of the above

9. What does Dr. Oreskes maintain is the one major underlying reason for the climate change skeptics denial of global warming?
a. They are paid by industry to maintain this position
b. They are ideologically opposed to government intervention in the economy to protect the environment
c. They have a long history of opposing government health and environmental regulations
d. All of the above

10. What is the scientific basis of the climate skeptics claims?


a. Their claims are strongly supported by existing research.
b. There is evidence for and against their claims - i.e. the research is not conclusive.
c. There is no valid scientific research that supports their claims.
d. None of the above.
Week 10 Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet

1. Why does McKibben title the book Eaarth?


a. The world we now live in is now significantly different than the one we were born on, and this is a description of that world.
b. The book is about a fictional world.
c. It is a political description of a new world government.
d. None of the above.

2. What is the basic idea that we now have to abandon?


a. Growth is the answer to every problem we face.
b. Cheap oil will continue to exist.
c. Surburban living defines the ‘American way of life.’
d. None of the above.

3. What other possibilities do we need to consider to deal with climate change?


a. Move from growth to a steady state economy.
b. Massive technological research and development.
c. Large scale energy conservation efforts.
d. All of the above.

4. What is the key question we much now face?


a. What technology should we develop to power our economy.
b. How do we become “less big” in a graceful way.
c. What form of transportation should we use.
d. All of the above.

5. According to Bill McKibben, How do we start making a transition toward dealing with climate change?
a. Put a price on carbon emissions and fossil fuels.
b. Impose carbon rationing.
c. Massive investments in technology research and development
d. Ensure all houses are fully insulated.
c.

6. How do we make this happen politically?


a. We have to build a political movement to gain power to make change happen.
b. We need to elect environmentally friendly politicians.
c. We need to have an international climate change agreement.
d. None of the above.

7. What is the maximum safe concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere (i.e. yields a stable climate)?
a. 350 PPM
b. 450 PPM
c. 550 PPM
d. There is no “safe” level of CO2 in the atmosphere.

8. Who is the debate between about global warming?


a. Between the laws of physics/chemistry and human beings
b. The developed and developing world
c. China and the United States
d. Climate skeptics and climate scientists

9. What is the issue McKibben has with 117 nations endorsing his CO2 emissions reduction goal?
a. They won’t do anything about it.
b. They are the wrong nations, - they have no power to make any real impact
c. They are all rich, and don’t have to worry about climate change.
d. They all emit very little carbon.

10. What is McKibben’s opinion about the status of climate change?


a. It is too late to stop global warming, but we can make its impact less if we act.
b. We can stop it now if we act quickly
c. It is not a problem
d. It is too late to stop global warming, and we should start all focusing on individual survival.

You might also like