1.1 - Enviromental Value Systems

Question 1

What happened at Chernobyl

Answer 1

In 1986 a reactor at the nuclear power plant went out of control during a test leading to an explosion and fire that demolished the reactor building and released a large amount of radiation into the environment.

Question 2

What was the impact of Chernobyl

Answer 2

It caused serous radiation and sickness and contamination. It released a large amount of radioactive substance - including iodine, caesium, strontium, and plutonium into the atmosphere. It created huge amounts of radioactive waste.

Question 3

How did Chernobyl change the world

Answer 3

it led to major changes in safety culture and in industry cooperation, particularly between East and West before the end of the Soviet Union. Former President Gorbachev said that the Chernobyl accident was a more important factor in the fall of the Soviet Union than Perestroika – his program of liberal reform.

Question 4

What is “silent spring” by Rachel Carson

Answer 4

It’s a environmental science book documenting the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate if pesticides

Question 5

What is the impact of silent spring

Answer 5

It created the idea that spraying chemicals to control insect populations can also kill birds that feed on dead or dying insects. These chemicals travel through the environment and through the food chain

Question 6

how did the publication of silent spring impact the environment

Answer 6

Silent Spring was met with fierce opposition by chemical companies, but it spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy, led to a nationwide ban on DDT for agricultural uses, and inspired an environmental movement that led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Question 7

QUESTION : explain the role of two historical influences in shaping the development of the environmental movement (7 marks)