Reading questions are designed to help you focus on key aspects of the assigned reading, and to provide credit for your reading and study of our text. Consult Chapters 1 and 5 in your textbook to answer the following questions:
1) What are the environmental ethics of “Preservation” and what are the ethics of “Conservation”? Provide examples of how they are applied, and give a detailed comparison that demonstrates the contrast between policies related to these two different ethics.
2) How has the understanding of the environmental history of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) changed over time? How did new scientific evidence change the way environmental degradation is interpreted? List the types of data used, and what interpretation is supported by that data.
3) How have scientists like Rachel Carson influenced public policy and the environmental movement? Be specific about what she did, and what has resulted.
4) Describe the major environmental international treaties. What is a treaty? What do they control? Which of these have been ratified by the United States? Do you think having the United States as a signatory would matter?
5) Describe Costa Rica’s PSA program. What does “PSA” stand for? What data has been used to interpret whether the program was successful? Why did some of the data from Costa Rica lead to changes in the way the program works?
