The ancient Indian fable of blind people encountering an elephant for the first time is used to demonstrate the realist-constructionist debate about environmental problems. Summarize this debate and provide an example of how the realist and constructionist perspective are complementary, not contradictory.
What will be an ideal response?
The realist idea of what you see is what you know is exemplified by
different people grabbing different parts of the elephant and describing the elephant
as so: Tail/snake; leg/tree; ear/leaf. Ecological dialogue rather suggests that what
we see also interacts with what we believe, and vice versa. Thus, we can learn from
what we see, but we also believe something larger about an elephant, and thus we
can integrate these two ways of knowing.
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The damage from a tsunami is: a. nonexistent to ships at sea but enormous on land
b. nonexistent to ships at sea and nonexistent on land. c. enormous to ships at sea but nonexistent on land. d. enormous to ships at sea and enormous on land.
The sharp decrease in atmospheric 14C in the past decade is directly related to
A) a drop in global photosynthesis. B) increasing methane levels. C) decreasing temperatures in the troposphere. D) increased use of in fossil fuels.
In winter, freezing water can break pipes and even crack engine blocks.Why does this happen?
A) Water expands in volume as it freezes. B) Ice is denser than water. C) Water contracts as it cools and freezes. D) It occurs because of the latent heat of fusion.
The visible surface of Uranus and Neptune are bluish-green because they consist of
A. blue glacial ice. B. methane and other gases. C. oceans of liquid water. D. materials that are very cold because they are very far from the Sun.