CEE 181 Midterm Exam Questions & Answers Already Graded A+

CEE 181 Midterm "2001" suggests that after hugging the monolith, a monkey with a bone is like: - a man with a rifle "Embedded water" is an idea that helps us assess environmental impact by estimating - The amount of water used to produce commonly used and traded items "Peak Oil" is a theory which suggests: - that humans will consume all the petroleum available on earth in our lifetimes "Sustainable engineering" is the same as "green engineering". - False Adaptive management is a technique used for managing: - Complex systems that have significant human and social dimensions Among the more problematic issues with simplistic definitions of sustainable development is: - any assumption that we know what future generations will need is probably wrong, and any enforcement of such assumptions constitutes temporal imperialism. Among the reasons the "climate change" debate is so fractious are: - There are still significant differences of opinion about how much climate change is natural, and how much is caused by human impacts. Developed countries cannot simply tell developing countries to stop burning fossil fuels. Some oversimplify and view it as a problem to be solved instead of a condition to be managed Any sufficiently powerful technology - destabilizes existing cultural, institutional, economic, environmental, and technological systems in unpredictable ways 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. - True As a rule of thumb, the precautionary principle as stated in the UN charter for nature is - naive As categories like "human" and "machine" increasingly blur - moral value systems will be stretched causing cultural tension and conflict it will no longer be possible to make simplistic decisions about technologies involving human enhancement shared ethical systems will be renegotiated and evolve As classically defined, Sustainability has two "legs" by which it is defined. These are: - environmental quality and social equity As discussed in this lecture, augmented cognition or "augcog" is - an integration of humans and information technology (e.g., computers and networks) that enables humans to function more effectively in the increasingly technology -enabled world in which we live As humanity progresses into the future, the virtualization of work will: - Require an integrated evolution of practice, technology, culture, and institutional structures As reported by the journal Science, we can change some human responses to ethical dilemmas with transcranial brain stimulation. How does this impact society? - It calls into question whether "ethics" is really something that matters. It impacts how we feel about whether or not we have free will. It impacts the legal system since we may no longer be responsible for our behavior. Based on Earth Systems Engineering and Management (ESEM) principles, iron fertilization of oceans (with the goal of reducing atmospheric CO2 levels): - Should be tried in small quantities and continuously evaluated Believing the output of sophisticated global climate models is a bad idea because the models simply reflect our best understanding of complex physical phenomena, and sometimes --despite our best efforts --demonstrate interpretational bias. - True Burning biofuels seems like a great way to exploit carbon -based fuels while approaching net zero increase in atmospheric carbon until you remember: - Even if the biofuel is from a non -food source, it usually requires fairly intensive care to optimize production. Growing biomass for fuel implicates Nitrogen in fertilizer use (which comes through an energy intensive process). Phosphorus is used in fertilizers and must be mined. Cars and computers are - technologies of freedom Changing from a traditional corporate structure to a virtual office environment is: - a more significant change than it first appears due to legal, information security, productivity measurement, time management, taxation and other challenges Cultural reactions to technology are: - sometimes very different Cyborg insects, consisting of electronic elements integrated into a live insect, are: - In the early experimental stages of development Despite the fact that humans are responsible for mobilizing under 10% of the carbon on earth (compared to 90% of the iron!), it is vital to remember that: - Almost all of the human -mobilized portion ends up in the atmosphere. DFE stands for: - Design for Environment Early environmentalism viewed firms as adversaries, but industrial ecology made an important step of progress by - recognizing that firms are part of the system and must be included in any analysis. Equality of outcome is associated with: - Egalitarianism Ethical questions have no "right" answer when they involve trade -off between two (or more) transcendent values - True