FoundationIB Environmental Systems and Societies HL: Topic test

1. 1
   A Scottish island community is deciding whether to allow a wind farm on a hill used for sheep grazing. A local farmer says the hill is part of her family's heritage and should not be industrialised. An energy company argues that the turbines will cut carbon emissions and that modern design can limit harm to birds. A conservation group says the golden eagles and the peat bog have a right to exist whatever the benefit to people.

   (a)

   Which environmental perspective best describes the view of the energy company?

   [1 mark]

   • AEcocentric, because it values the eagles for their own sake
   • BTechnocentric, because it expects technology to manage the environmental problem
   • CAnthropocentric, because it places no value on technology
   • DDeep ecology, because it rejects any human use of the hill

   (b)

   Which statement best describes the ecocentric view held by the conservation group?

   [1 mark]

   • ANature should be managed to provide benefits for people
   • BEconomic growth will always fund environmental repair
   • CEnvironmental problems are best solved by new technology
   • DNature has intrinsic value and a right to exist regardless of its usefulness to humans

   (c)

   Outline two factors that may have shaped the perspective of the local farmer.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 1: 4 marks

2. 2
   In northern Siberia, permafrost soils hold huge amounts of frozen organic matter. As air temperatures rise, the permafrost thaws. Microorganisms then decompose the organic matter and release methane and carbon dioxide, which are greenhouse gases. These gases increase warming, which causes more permafrost to thaw.

   (a)

   What type of feedback is shown in this system?

   [1 mark]

   • APositive feedback, because the change is amplified
   • BNegative feedback, because the system returns to equilibrium
   • CNegative feedback, because gases are released
   • DNo feedback, because the flows are only inputs

   (b)

   Permafrost is part of which sphere of the Earth system?

   [1 mark]

   • AThe biosphere only
   • BThe hydrosphere only
   • CThe cryosphere
   • DThe anthroposphere

   (c)

   Explain why this feedback loop could drive the system towards a tipping point.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 2: 4 marks

3. 3
   Bhutan is a small Himalayan country whose constitution requires at least 60% of its land to remain under forest cover. It has measured national progress using a Gross National Happiness (GNH) index, which includes indicators for health, education, community vitality, living standards and ecological diversity. Much of its income comes from exporting hydroelectric power to India. Critics note that rapid hydropower development has altered river ecosystems.

   (a)

   Outline how Bhutan's approach reflects the three pillars of sustainability.

   [3 marks]

   (b)

   Evaluate the use of gross domestic product (GDP) as the only indicator of a country's development.

   [4 marks]

   Total for question 3: 7 marks

4. 4
   In August 2018, 15-year-old Greta Thunberg began sitting outside the Swedish parliament during school hours with a sign calling for stronger action on climate change. By 2019 school strikes for climate had taken place in more than 100 countries, and social media was central to spreading the campaign. Some commentators praised the movement, while others argued that governments should rely on technological innovation and economic growth rather than lifestyle change. Scientists use the planetary boundaries model, which identifies nine Earth processes, to describe the limits of safe human disturbance, and climate change is one of them.

   (a)

   Explain how individuals, the media and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can change environmental perspectives within a society.

   [6 marks]

   (b)

   Evaluate the planetary boundaries model as a framework for understanding sustainability.

   [6 marks]

   Total for question 4: 12 marks

5. 5
   A clothing company reports that making one cotton T-shirt uses about 2 700 litres of water, much of it for irrigating cotton in dry regions such as Gujarat in India. The company also reports that making and delivering the T-shirt produces about 7 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent.

   (a)

   Which unit is used to express a carbon footprint?

   [1 mark]

   • ACubic metres per year
   • BGlobal hectares per person
   • CTonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent
   • DLitres per kilogram

   (b)

   What does the 2 700 litres figure represent?

   [1 mark]

   • AThe water in the finished T-shirt
   • BThe biocapacity of the cotton-growing region
   • CThe rainfall in Gujarat
   • DThe volume of fresh water used to produce the T-shirt

   (c)

   Suggest two actions the company could take to reduce the water footprint of its T-shirts.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 5: 4 marks

6. 6
   Biosphere 2, built in Arizona, USA, was sealed in 1991 with eight people living inside a structure of about 1.3 hectares that contained a rainforest, ocean, desert, farmland and wetland. It was sealed to the exchange of matter with the outside but received sunlight and electricity. Over the following months, oxygen in the air fell from 21% to about 14%, and oxygen had to be pumped in. The experiment was an attempt to model how Earth's ecosystems work.

   (a)

   Which statement correctly describes Biosphere 2 as a system?

   [1 mark]

   • AIt was an open system because it exchanged energy only
   • BIt was a closed system because it exchanged energy but not matter
   • CIt was an isolated system because it exchanged nothing
   • DIt was an open system because the people inside moved around

   (b)

   Why is Biosphere 2 described as a model of Earth?

   [1 mark]

   • AIt is a simplified representation, so some accuracy is lost
   • BIt is identical to Earth in every way
   • CIt was too small to show any useful information
   • DIt showed that Earth is a closed system for energy

   (c)

   Explain how the small size of its storages and its limited diversity reduced the resilience of Biosphere 2.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 6: 4 marks

7. 7
   Researchers asked 300 residents of a coastal town to rate statements from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Mean scores were: "Technology will solve our environmental problems" 4.1; "Protecting the environment must not cost people their jobs" 4.4; "Wild places have a right to exist even if people never use them" 2.3; "Everyone should share in the benefits of natural resources" 3.9.

   (a)

   Using the data, identify the environmental perspective that seems to be dominant among the residents and justify your answer.

   [3 marks]

   (b)

   Evaluate the usefulness of a values survey for investigating perspectives towards environmental issues.

   [4 marks]

   Total for question 7: 7 marks

8. 8
   Easter Island (Rapa Nui) in the Pacific Ocean was settled by Polynesian people about 800 years ago, or earlier according to some estimates. Pollen and fossil evidence shows that the island's palm forest was cleared over several centuries for canoes, fuel, farming and for moving the large stone statues. Soil erosion, fewer trees and the loss of seabirds followed, and the human population later declined. Some researchers argue that introduced rats and disease also played a major role.

   (a)

   Explain how unsustainable use of natural resources can lead to ecosystem collapse, with reference to Easter Island.

   [6 marks]

   (b)

   Discuss how a systems approach and the three pillars of sustainability could be used by a modern island society to avoid a similar outcome.

   [6 marks]

   Total for question 8: 12 marks

End of questions