View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which word describes how industry views efficiency?
(a) Equity.
(b) Losses.
(c) Profits.
(d) Cumbersome.

2. What is a potential problem associated with pesticide and herbicide use?
(a) Their chemicals can be recycled.
(b) Their production is very cheap.
(c) Their toxins build up in the environment.
(d) Their gases can be very explosive.

3. Why are car parts difficult to recycle?
(a) It is difficult to separate paint from car body parts, so it is impossible to recover the steel.
(b) The body parts have many toxic chemicals that are dangerous in the recycling process.
(c) It is almost impossible to disassemble the body parts.
(d) It is very difficult to melt down steel.

4. What does Paul Erlich write about?
(a) The global consequences of recycling.
(b) The positive influence of industry on consumers.
(c) The negative consequences of overpopulation and rampant production.
(d) The possibility of government control over industry.

5. When can PVC, a commonly used plastic in children's playground equipment, be toxic?
(a) When frequently touched or rubbed on the skin.
(b) When heated to high temperatures.
(c) When consumed.
(d) When exposed to carbon dioxide.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why is eco-efficiency not possible as stated by the author?

2. What is the authors' point for why import laws need to be changed?

3. What does Bill find inspiring about the environment that he grows up in?

4. Why does Michael tether himself to the smoke stacks at Ciba-Geigy?

5. What material is this book made out of?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the vision that both Bill and Michael have for the future of the environment.

2. List three examples of how a focus on efficiency in design can have negative consequences.

3. Explain how recycling is really downcycling.

4. Explain one example of how recycling is really downcycling of materials.

5. Describe how the authors use soap as an example of designing products for "worst-case" scenarios.

6. Explain the focus and attitude of the Industrial Revolution.

7. Explain how you could be breathing benzene fumes from your treadmill even though benzene is forbidden for use in rubber products in the United States.

8. Name two common household objects and their hidden health effects because of the chemicals they contain.

9. Explain what the authors mean by "brute force."

10. Describe the arguments against the Industrial Revolution throughout its history.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,090 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample