DP Environmental Systems and Societies Questionbank

Environmental value systems differ in how they view the importance of biodiversity and this could influence a community’s approach to conservation.

Discuss how these different perspectives, including your own, may influence approaches to conservation.

To what extent does Algonquin Provincial Park provide a model of sustainable management of a protected area?

To what extent can different environmental value systems contribute to both causing and resolving the problem of water scarcity?

Outline two reasons why the value of resources like Uranium can change over time.

Using evidence from the resource booklet, justify from an ecocentric viewpoint why the Husab Uranium Project should not be approved.

Outline two historical influences on the development of the modern environmental movement.

Environmental value systems may lead to different approaches to addressing the issue of global warming. Discuss which environmental value system(s) you consider to be most appropriate in the management of global warming.

Outline the Gaia hypothesis as a model of the global ecosystem.

Ecocentrics recognise that all species have an intrinsic value.

Explain the strengths and weaknesses of using intrinsic value when making decisions about development and conservation.

Environmental value systems may be seen as having both inputs and outputs as shown in the diagram below:

As a society develops over time from an original pioneer population, various influences may have caused changes in their common value systems and decisions.

With reference to energy sources in a developed country (MEDC), discuss how historical changes in internal and external factors have influenced their environmental value systems and decisions on energy supply.

Discuss how different environmental philosophies can affect the choice of pollution management strategies in response to global warming.

Evaluate the sustainability of freshwater use in a named case study and the environmental philosophy(ies) involved in this decision making process for the management of this resource.

Discuss how a Deep Ecologist and a Cornucopian may differ in their approach to this project.

Evaluate contrasting human perceptions of the issue of global warming.

Environmental value systems such as ecocentrism and technocentrism may determine the approaches taken to resource management.

Discuss which of these value systems you consider most appropriate in its approach to the management of fossil fuel resources. Support your conclusion with valid reasons or evidence.

Predict how a technocentric and an ecocentric might differ in their views about dams.

A vegetarian diet is often described as “better for the environment”. Discuss this statement using your knowledge of ecosystems and environmental value systems.

Tundra ecosystems are vulnerable to the effects of global warming. Discuss the response of two contrasting environmental value systems to the effects of global warming on the tundra.

To what extent do anthropocentric value systems dominate the international efforts to address climate change?

Explain the role of two historical influences in shaping the development of the environmental movement.

Discuss the implications of environmental value systems in the protection of tropical biomes.

Outline the factors that lead to different environmental value systems in contrasting cultures.

Explain why the harvesting of a named aquatic species may be controversial.

Discuss the consequences of changing global per capita meat consumption on the conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity.

Technocentrists may support the belief that technological development has always been able to overcome limits to human population growth.

To what extent do the patterns of growth and development in human populations, as demonstrated in the Demographic Transition Model, support this claim?

Even though there is growing global support for ecocentric values, the global consumption of fossil fuels continues to rise each year.

With reference to energy choices in named countries, discuss possible reasons for this situation occurring.

To what extent do the approaches and strategies of different environmental value systems improve access to fresh water?

Calculate the projected percentage increase from 2007 to 2030 in CO₂ emissions for Russia.

The soil system includes storages of inorganic nutrients.

Identify two inputs to these storages.

The soil system includes storages of inorganic nutrients.

Identify two outputs from these storages.

Explain how a community of trees in a woodland may be considered a system.

Quantitative models are frequently constructed to show the flow of energy and cycling of matter in natural systems.

To what extent can these models be useful in assessing the sustainability of named food production systems?

Outline one advantage of modelling future human population sizes.

Outline one disadvantage of modelling future human population sizes.

Outline why this lake may be considered an open system.

Explain how the global climate functions as a system.

Distinguish between transfers and transformations using examples from the water cycle.

Draw a food chain from the ecosystem in Figure 1 consisting of four trophic levels.

Distinguish between a transfer and a transformation in the nitrogen cycle.

Evaluate the use of models for predicting climate change.

With reference to Figure 2, state the country that has the highest level of recycling/composting.

With reference to Figure 3, calculate the difference between the highest concentration and lowest concentration of tropospheric ozone.

Suggest possible reasons for the overall trends of tropospheric ozone levels in Figure 3.

With reference to processes occurring within the atmospheric system identify two transformations of matter.

With reference to processes occurring within the atmospheric system identify two transfers of energy.

Identify four characteristics of ecosystems that contribute to their resilience.

Explain how positive feedback mechanisms may influence the equilibrium of an aquatic ecosystem during the process of eutrophication.

Outline how the model shown in Figure 9(c) demonstrates positive feedback.

Outline how four different factors influence the resilience of an ecosystem.

Describe how the second law of thermodynamics operates in relation to the transfer of energy within the Silver Springs ecosystem.

Natural systems achieve equilibrium through feedback systems. Explain how feedback mechanisms would be associated with an increase in mean global temperature.

Identify two reasons why a human vegetarian diet is considered to be more energy efficient than a diet containing meat.

Explain how predation may lead to stability in a population of the prey species.

Explain how the first and second laws of thermodynamics are demonstrated as energy from the sun flows through the primary producers in a food chain.

Distinguish between negative and positive feedback using examples from environmental systems.

Discuss the role of humans in the destabilization of ecological systems.

Outline how feedback loops are involved in alternate stable states and the tipping points between them.

Outline two reasons why the climax community in Figure 1 is more stable than the intermediate community.

Explain how both positive and negative feedback mechanisms may play a role in producing a typical S population growth curve for a species.

With reference to Figure 11(a), suggest what conclusions can be drawn regarding the sustainability of the Brazilian population over the period shown.

To what extent are the concepts of net productivity and natural income useful in managing the sustainable harvesting of named resources from natural ecosystems?

With reference to Figures 4(a), 4(b) and 4(c), outline two reasons why a change from tavy agriculture to agroforestry may be more sustainable.

Describe the trend in the ecological footprint over the period shown in Figure 7.

To what extent could development away from traditional lifestyles lead to greater sustainability in Madagascar?

To what extent might Iceland be viewed as a role model for sustainability by other countries?

To what extent does Algonquin Provincial Park provide a model of sustainable management of a protected area?

Quantitative models are frequently constructed to show the flow of energy and cycling of matter in natural systems.

To what extent can these models be useful in assessing the sustainability of named food production systems?

Increasing concern for energy security is likely to lead to more sustainable energy choices.

Discuss the validity of this statement, with reference to named countries.

Evaluate the impact of economic development on the ecological footprint of a human population.

Describe two possible methods that could be used to collect data for a baseline study for an environmental impact assessment.

Describe the similarities and differences between the terms sustainable yield and sustainable development.

Discuss the relationship between the economic development of countries and the sustainability of their food production.

Using evidence from Figures 4(a) and 4(b), explain why the people of Inle Lake have lived sustainably until recently.

Distinguish between the terms renewable and sustainable.

Discuss how effective an environmental impact assessment for this project may be in protecting the local environment.

Explain how the concepts of natural capital and natural income are useful models in managing the sustainable exploitation of a resource.

Discuss the implications of environmental value systems in the protection of tropical biomes.

Outline two ecosystem services in a named biome.

Discuss strategies that can be used to improve the sustainability of food production systems.

Discuss the consequences of changing global per capita meat consumption on the conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity.

With reference to data throughout the resource booklet, to what extent would the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) benefit marine ecosystems and human societies within the Coral Triangle?

Discuss the potential for designing a protected forest area that allows for the harvesting of natural resources while at the same time conserving its biodiversity.

Explain why the ecological footprint of two populations consuming the same quantity of food and energy may be different.

With reference to information in the resource booklet, evaluate the sustainability of Canada’s management of the Large Ocean Management Area of the St Lawrence River estuary and Gulf of St Lawrence.

To meet the minimum criteria for sustainability, a country needs to raise its human welfare above the threshold of high human development and have an ecological footprint below the Earth’s biocapacity.

Evaluate two strategies a country can implement to achieve the minimum criteria for sustainability.

Outline how the concept of sustainability can be applied to managing natural capital.

Explain how environmental indicators are used to assess sustainability.

To what extent does sustainability play a role in making decisions about energy and climate change policies at national and international levels? 

Pollution management strategies may be aimed at either preventing the production of pollutants or limiting their release into ecosystems.

With reference to either acid deposition or eutrophication, evaluate the relative efficiency of these two approaches to management.

The provision of food resources and assimilation of wastes are two key factors of the environment that determine its carrying capacity for a given species.

To what extent does the human production of food and waste each influence the carrying capacity for human populations?

With reference to Figures 6(c), 7(a) and 7(b) explain the problems associated with land restoration in Iceland.

To what extent might Iceland be viewed as a role model for sustainability by other countries?

With reference to named examples, distinguish between a primary and secondary pollutant.

Outline why point source pollution is often easier to manage than non-point source pollution.

Justify whether or not Mesquite should be cleared from the Swakop River Valley.

Explain two factors which lead to a loss of marine (ocean) biodiversity.

Evaluate one possible pollution management strategy for solid domestic waste.

Nitrates and phosphates from nearby farms may drain into the lake. Identify a strategy for managing this pollution at each of the following levels:

A non-governmental organization has been contracted to investigate the impacts of a landfill site on the surrounding terrestrial ecosystem.

Suggest how the investigation should be designed to ensure reliability and validity.

Discuss how different environmental philosophies can affect the choice of pollution management strategies in response to global warming.

With reference to Figures 4 and 5, identify three environmental impacts that may occur as a consequence of human activities on and around Inle Lake.

With reference to Figures 4 and 5, complete the following table.

Identify one possible pollution management strategy for Inle Lake in each of the categories in the table below.

Outline two indirect methods that could be used to measure the impact on the river ecosystem of dead organic matter from the flooded vegetation and soils.

Pollution management strategies may be applied at any of the three levels identified in the diagram below:

With reference to acid deposition, evaluate the political and economic advantages of applying management strategies at the levels of production and impact of the pollutant.

Define the term pollution.

Explain how three pollution management strategies may reduce eutrophication in agricultural areas.

The management of a resource can impact the production of solid domestic waste.

To what extent have the three levels of the pollution management model been successfully applied to the management of solid domestic waste?

Urban air pollution can become a problem as human populations develop. Evaluate urban air pollution management strategies at the three levels of intervention.

With reference to data throughout the resource booklet, to what extent would the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) benefit marine ecosystems and human societies within the Coral Triangle?

With reference to Figure 9(a), outline how the round goby both positively and negatively affects the St Lawrence River ecosystem.

With reference to information in the resource booklet, evaluate the sustainability of Canada’s management of the Large Ocean Management Area of the St Lawrence River estuary and Gulf of St Lawrence.

Outline, using examples, the differences between primary and secondary pollution.