Environment and Society Questions and Answers

Q: The unfavourable alteration of environment due to human activities is termed as :

It is termed pollution.The standard textbook definition calls pollution 'an unfavourable alteration of our surroundings, wholly or largely as a by-product of man's actions', through changes in energy patterns, radiation levels and the physical and chemical make-up of air, water and land.Ecological degradation and ecological disturbance are broader terms that also cover natural changes and the loss of ecosystems, and a catastrophe is a sudden disaster, usually natural, rather than the gradual human-made alteration the stem describes.

Q: Which statement is not correct about sustainable development ?

The statement that is not correct is Development should result in higher per capita income.Sustainable development, in the Brundtland Commission's words, is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It measures development by ecological conservation, better quality of life and fairer access to resources, which is why options A, B and D are part of it.Rising per capita income is the yardstick of conventional growth. The idea of sustainable development was put forward precisely because income growth can come at the cost of the environment and equity.

Q: Displacement is forcible removal of population for developmental projects. Which example from the following list does not indicate displacement ?

The example that does not indicate displacement is migration to new township.Displacement, as the stem defines it, is the forcible removal of people to make way for a development project. Rehabilitation after land is taken for a highway, a wildlife sanctuary or a dam is the classic case: the people move because the state acquires their land.Migration to a new township is a movement people make by choice, usually in search of work or better amenities. With no forcible removal and no project behind it, it is migration, not displacement.

Q: What is the rank of India as per Global Environmental Performance Index in 2018 ?

India ranked 177.In the 2018 Environmental Performance Index, published by Yale and Columbia universities, India was 177th of 180 countries, among the lowest mainly because of poor air quality. It had been 141st in the 2016 edition.141 is the 2016 rank, which makes it the usual trap; 147 and 167 do not match the 2018 index.

Q: Reforestation is closely associated with ................. .

Reforestation is closely associated with Tree plantation.Reforestation means re-establishing forest cover on land that has been deforested, usually by planting trees or helping natural regeneration.Cutting down trees is deforestation, the opposite. Agriculture often replaces forests, and horticulture is the cultivation of fruit, vegetables and flowers, not the restoration of forests.

Q: Who has written the book “In the Belly of the River : Tribal Conflicts Over Development in Narmada Valley” ?

The book was written by Amita Baviskar.In the Belly of the River: Tribal Conflicts over Development in the Narmada Valley (1995) is Amita Baviskar's ethnography of Bhilala adivasis in Madhya Pradesh and their resistance to the Sardar Sarovar dam.Patrick McCully wrote Silenced Rivers on large dams, Ramachandra Guha wrote on environmental history such as The Unquiet Woods, and Medha Patkar led the Narmada Bachao Andolan but did not write this book.

Q: Sustainable development means :

Sustainable development means Renewable and equitable use of resources.The Brundtland Report (Our Common Future, 1987) defined sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. That requires using resources at rates they can renew and sharing them fairly within and between generations.Frugal living and the elimination of inequalities are parts of the idea at most, and growth alone, without regard to resources, is what the concept was meant to correct.

Q: Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and other as Reason (R).Assertion (A) : Green revolution in Punjab has resulted in many ecological problems.Reason (R) : Ill effects of green revolution are due to overuse of land, water, pesticides and fertilizers.Select the correct answer from the codes given below.

The answer is Both (A) and (R) are correct and (R) is correct explanation of (A).The Green Revolution in Punjab raised wheat and rice yields but brought serious ecological problems: falling water tables, soil degradation and loss of fertility, salinity, pesticide residues and loss of crop diversity.Those problems arise precisely from intensive overuse of land, groundwater, chemical fertilisers and pesticides under the high-yielding-variety package, so the reason explains the assertion.

Q: How ‘Forest Rights Act 2006’ defines ‘Bonafide Livelihood Needs’ of tribals ?

The Act defines it as the fulfillment of livelihood needs of self and family.The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, defines 'bona fide livelihood needs' as the fulfilment of the livelihood needs of self and family through the exploitation of land or forest produce, including the sale of surplus produce. The phrase marks the line between subsistence use, which the Act protects, and commercial exploitation.Market needs are what the definition deliberately excludes, and neither kinship groups nor all tribal groups are the unit the Act names.

Q: Who popularized the phrase “Tragedy of Commons” ?

The phrase was popularised by Garrett Hardin.In his 1968 essay 'The Tragedy of the Commons' in Science, Hardin argued that when a resource is open to all, each user gains by taking more while the cost of overuse is shared, so rational individuals together destroy the resource, as herders overgraze a common pasture. He borrowed the example from William Forster Lloyd's lectures of 1833.Thomas Kuhn wrote on scientific paradigms, Jean Baudrillard on simulation and hyperreality, and John Thompson on media and modernity.

The unfavourable alteration of environment due to human activities is termed as :

A.Ecological Disturbance
B.Catastrophe
C.Ecological Degradation
D.Pollution

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: D

It is termed pollution.

The standard textbook definition calls pollution 'an unfavourable alteration of our surroundings, wholly or largely as a by-product of man's actions', through changes in energy patterns, radiation levels and the physical and chemical make-up of air, water and land.

Ecological degradation and ecological disturbance are broader terms that also cover natural changes and the loss of ecosystems, and a catastrophe is a sudden disaster, usually natural, rather than the gradual human-made alteration the stem describes.

Discuss in Forum

Which statement is not correct about sustainable development ?

A.Conservation of ecology is important in development.
B.Improvement of the quality of human life is important in development
C.Development should result in higher per capita income
D.Development should reduce inequalities in access to resources

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: C

The statement that is not correct is Development should result in higher per capita income.

Sustainable development, in the Brundtland Commission's words, is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It measures development by ecological conservation, better quality of life and fairer access to resources, which is why options A, B and D are part of it.

Rising per capita income is the yardstick of conventional growth. The idea of sustainable development was put forward precisely because income growth can come at the cost of the environment and equity.

Discuss in Forum

Displacement is forcible removal of population for developmental projects. Which example from the following list does not indicate displacement ?

A.Highway construction rehabilitation
B.Migration to new township
C.Rehabilitation due to wildlife sanctuary
D.Rehabilitation due to dam

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: B

The example that does not indicate displacement is migration to new township.

Displacement, as the stem defines it, is the forcible removal of people to make way for a development project. Rehabilitation after land is taken for a highway, a wildlife sanctuary or a dam is the classic case: the people move because the state acquires their land.

Migration to a new township is a movement people make by choice, usually in search of work or better amenities. With no forcible removal and no project behind it, it is migration, not displacement.

Discuss in Forum

What is the rank of India as per Global Environmental Performance Index in 2018 ?

A.141
B.177
C.147
D.167

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: B

India ranked 177.

In the 2018 Environmental Performance Index, published by Yale and Columbia universities, India was 177th of 180 countries, among the lowest mainly because of poor air quality. It had been 141st in the 2016 edition.

141 is the 2016 rank, which makes it the usual trap; 147 and 167 do not match the 2018 index.

Discuss in Forum

Reforestation is closely associated with ................. .

A.Tree plantation
B.Agriculture
C.Cutting down of trees
D.Horticulture

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: A

Reforestation is closely associated with Tree plantation.

Reforestation means re-establishing forest cover on land that has been deforested, usually by planting trees or helping natural regeneration.

Cutting down trees is deforestation, the opposite. Agriculture often replaces forests, and horticulture is the cultivation of fruit, vegetables and flowers, not the restoration of forests.

Discuss in Forum

Who has written the book “In the Belly of the River : Tribal Conflicts Over Development in Narmada Valley” ?

A.Patrick McCully
B.Ramchandra Guha
C.Medha Patkar
D.Amita Baviskar

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: D

The book was written by Amita Baviskar.

In the Belly of the River: Tribal Conflicts over Development in the Narmada Valley (1995) is Amita Baviskar's ethnography of Bhilala adivasis in Madhya Pradesh and their resistance to the Sardar Sarovar dam.

Patrick McCully wrote Silenced Rivers on large dams, Ramachandra Guha wrote on environmental history such as The Unquiet Woods, and Medha Patkar led the Narmada Bachao Andolan but did not write this book.

Discuss in Forum

Sustainable development means :

A.Frugal living
B.Growth
C.Elimination of inequalities
D.Renewable and equitable use of resources

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: D

Sustainable development means Renewable and equitable use of resources.

The Brundtland Report (Our Common Future, 1987) defined sustainable development as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. That requires using resources at rates they can renew and sharing them fairly within and between generations.

Frugal living and the elimination of inequalities are parts of the idea at most, and growth alone, without regard to resources, is what the concept was meant to correct.

Discuss in Forum

Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and other as Reason (R).

Assertion (A) : Green revolution in Punjab has resulted in many ecological problems.
Reason (R) : Ill effects of green revolution are due to overuse of land, water, pesticides and fertilizers.

Select the correct answer from the codes given below.

A.Both (A) and (R) are correct and (R) is correct explanation of (A)
B.Both (A) and (R) are correct but (R) is not correct explanation of (A)
C.(A) is true, but (R) is false
D.(A) is false, but (R) is true

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2019, SET Exam - 2019,

Answer: A

The answer is Both (A) and (R) are correct and (R) is correct explanation of (A).

The Green Revolution in Punjab raised wheat and rice yields but brought serious ecological problems: falling water tables, soil degradation and loss of fertility, salinity, pesticide residues and loss of crop diversity.

Those problems arise precisely from intensive overuse of land, groundwater, chemical fertilisers and pesticides under the high-yielding-variety package, so the reason explains the assertion.

Discuss in Forum

How ‘Forest Rights Act 2006’ defines ‘Bonafide Livelihood Needs’ of tribals ?

A.Fulfillment of livelihood needs of kinship groups
B.Fulfillment of livelihood needs of self and family
C.Fulfillment of livelihood needs and market needs
D.Fulfillment of basic needs of all tribal groups

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: B

The Act defines it as the fulfillment of livelihood needs of self and family.

The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, defines 'bona fide livelihood needs' as the fulfilment of the livelihood needs of self and family through the exploitation of land or forest produce, including the sale of surplus produce. The phrase marks the line between subsistence use, which the Act protects, and commercial exploitation.

Market needs are what the definition deliberately excludes, and neither kinship groups nor all tribal groups are the unit the Act names.

Discuss in Forum

10.

Who popularized the phrase “Tragedy of Commons” ?

A.Garret Hardin
B.Thomas Kuhn
C.Jean Baudrillard
D.John Thompson

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2020, SET Exam - 2020,

Answer: A

The phrase was popularised by Garrett Hardin.

In his 1968 essay 'The Tragedy of the Commons' in Science, Hardin argued that when a resource is open to all, each user gains by taking more while the cost of overuse is shared, so rational individuals together destroy the resource, as herders overgraze a common pasture. He borrowed the example from William Forster Lloyd's lectures of 1833.

Thomas Kuhn wrote on scientific paradigms, Jean Baudrillard on simulation and hyperreality, and John Thompson on media and modernity.

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