CEE 181 Week 2 Questions and Answers 100% Verified

(T or F) As a human-designed construct, "Nature" has meant different things to different people at different times, hence it must be understood as a concept whose meaning and use is dependent on specific worldviews. - Answer-True (T or F) Models are a major tool we use to try to understand and address highly complex systems in a manner that is consistent and coherent, while also being partial and arbitrary. - Answer-True (T or F) The best way for sustainable engineers to manage a complex system is to try to implement centralized and explicitly defined control systems. - Answer-False (T or F) Wicked problems are usually well-defined policy issues that have simple and optimal solutions - Answer-False Equality of outcome is associated with: - Answer-Egalitarianism Everyone agrees that when defining "sustainability", we are attempting to sustain - Answer-The premise is false. There is no general agreement. Every definition is based on different values and perspectives Most wicked problems cannot be solved - Answer-instead, they must be managed One of the biggest issues with simple definitions of sustainable development is: - Answer-any assumption that we know today what future generations will value and need is probably wrong, and any enforcement of such assumptions constitutes temporal imperialism Selecting "system boundaries" for an environmental assessment is among the hardest tasks in an analysis because: - Answer-there is no "right" definition of a boundary choosing boundaries for analysis is an art, not just a matter of following simple rulesboundary selection is frequently driven by how the results will be used certain boundaries can skew results and hide important impacts Since we are not running out of fossil fuel resources and can continue burning them for energy production for hundreds more years - Answer-we must focus on the real problem which is what we are doing with the combustion waste products like carbon dioxide The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) demands that companies publish only proven reserves (of minerals and other natural resources) to their investors because: - Answer-proven reserves are a conservative estimate of what is available given the current state of technology and current economic conditions, so it reduces the ability to defraud investors When issues/challenges arise in complex systems - Answer-it is best to think of them as conditions to manage, instead of problems to solve Which of the following is NOT a core concept of sustainability (aka "Triple Bottom Line"): - AnswerQuality of Life for corporations Why are myths (and the 'myth of sustainability'), in the sense used in this course, useful? - AnswerBecause it is through the metaphorical language of myth that a culture articulates its deepest concerns Why has sustainability had a difficult time catching hold as a strong concept in the United States? - Answer-Because sustainability embeds social values that tend to be based on egalitarian communitarianism