CEE 181 weeks 1-3 Exam Questions & Answers Already Graded A+

At what assessment level(s) do we discuss why specific technologies are developed? - Level I At what level of Allenby's three-tiered technology assessment framework do you first consider the technology in the context of the technological and institutional systems within which it operates? - Level II Compared to a place like Las Vegas, why might the desert city of Phoenix, Arizona be less concerned about its water supply for the foreseeable future? - Phoenix, Arizona has water rights associated with its historical agricultural activities Cultural reactions to technology are: - always happen and are often varied and sometimes unpredictable Equality of outcome is associated with: - Egalitarianism Firm belief in the output of sophisticated global climate models may be ill-advised because the models simply reflect our best understanding of complex physical phenomena, and sometimes--despite our best efforts--demonstrate interpretational bias. - True Human enhancement is not a new ethical issue, but an ethical issue "only in degree" because: - Most people in developed countries are already enhanced by vaccines Humans faced with increasing complexity and increasing rates of change in their world frequently respond by - retreating into ideological simplicity and fundamentalisms of all kinds (including, for example, environmental and religious) Important trend(s) associated with technological evolution are: - All of the choices: Continuing substitution of physical labor with information technology systems Evolution towards increasing systems connectivity, and thus increasing system scale and scopeEvolution towards greater complexity In the environmental master equation, Environmental impact = (population) X (resource use per unit population) X (environmental impact per unit of resource use). Which of the three parameters can we reasonably control? - (environmental impact per unit of resource use) Information technology changes faster than: - All of the choices: Culture Law Ethical structures Most science historians would likely agree that the Industrial Revolution is perhaps the most important "event" in human history. - True Most wicked problems cannot be solved - instead, they must be managed Once geoengineering technologies exist that enable us to control carbon levels in the atmosphere, the true problem surfaces because now we must come to agreement on what kind of climate/world we want. - True One of the biggest issues with simple definitions of sustainable development is: - 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 Recent nation-state employment of private military companies makes us all more aware of the tragedies of war. - False Since we are not running out of fossil fuel resources and can continue burning them for energy production for hundreds more years - we must focus on the real problem which is what we are doing with the combustion waste products like carbon dioxideSocial equity is a difficult goal for sustainability because - it is defined dramatically differently in different worldviews Technological determinism is: - The idea that technology drives the development and progress of cultural, social, economic, religious, and other human systems Technology co-evolves with psychological structures, beliefs, and comfort zones - into which new technologies adapt, change, and consequently diffuse through society Technology system waves are also known as: - Kondratiev waves The "Navajo Bridge" story demonstrates that - engineering problems are not entirely technical The acronym, NGO, stands for: - Non-governmental organizations The Earth Systems Engineering and Management 'mental model' sees the relationship between humanity and nature in this manner: - Nature and the humans are closely linked, with human systems exerting significant influence over natural systems. The electric car is an example of a level ___ technology? - None. The levels outline how we can analyze impacts and policy for a given technology; they are not code words for the technologies themselves. The environmental impacts of the railroad are limited to damage done to the land on which the tracks, stations, and switching yards are built. - False The example of how the canal operators attempted to stop the railroad developers in the US demonstrates - how a previous generation of technology will defend itself, and struggle for survival against the next generation The infrastructure (e.g., roads, traffic signals, laws and regulations, gas stations) that supports automobile travel is an example of: - All of the above: