Which theory of sustainability do you support?

Quiz Questions

• 1.
  It's election day. You plan to support a client whose primary sustainable plan is to:

  • A.
    Invest a ton of money into electric cars and create new laws that require businesses to compost.
  • B.
    Push for a universal law that caps the number of children a family can have at 2 before they have to pay extra taxes.
  • C.
    Clean house, getting rid of all the dusty old white men who currently run organizations like the EPA and replace them with new, young faces who actually give a darn about the environment.
  • D.
    Create legislation that outlaws the production of Hummers, pesticides, and Styrofoam.
  • E.
    Require that environmental science and philosophy be taught in elementary schools so that children "go green" at a younger age.
• 2.
  A young man was just arrested for burning down a coal plant. What's your first response?

  • A.
    "That man had the right idea -- the plant does nothing but ruin the environment. It deserved to be torched!"
  • B.
    "Ugh, men. They always try to take matters into their own hands and just wreck things."
  • C.
    "That guy deserved what he got; someone could have gotten hurt. We need to teach these people the proper way to fight for the planet."
  • D.
    "I didn't hear about that because frankly, I couldn't care less."
  • E.
    "The guy has the right idea, but the ends don't justify the means. He should have spoken to his representatives and made a legal pitch instead."
  • F.
    "Wait, we were just planning a rally to try and close that plant down! So you're saying we can't do that anymore? Damn!"
• 3.
  Your job is requiring you to volunteer next Saturday morning. What organization are you signing up to help out?

  • A.
    The school down the street that's hosting an Earth Day history seminar.
  • B.
    The local not-for-profit that hosts a park pick-up every weekend.
  • C.
    None. I'm skipping out because none of this really helps anything anyway.
  • D.
    The food bank downtown.
• 4.
  A parking lot in town has been dedicated as a space for redevelopment, but authorities want it to be "green." What should go there?

  • A.
    Make the old lot into a public park!
  • B.
    Build a community center with energy-efficient facilities so kids can come play, meet one another, and learn about sustainability together.
  • C.
    A museum that walks visitors through the area's vast natural resources.
  • D.
    A new tech hub that researches environmental solutions.
  • E.
    None of these...wow, I hope they come up with better options.
• 5.
  Your friend wants a good book with a sustainable message. What's your recommendation?

  • A.
    "The Lorax"
  • B.
    "An Inconvenient Truth"
  • C.
    "Toxic Communities: Racism, Residency, and Industrial Pollution"
  • D.
    Something else.
• 6.
  You're required to take a sustainability elective. What's the first class you're signing up for?

  • A.
    Urban Design 305: Sustainable Design
  • B.
    English 418: Environmental Literature
  • C.
    Education 205: Teaching Sustainability
  • D.
    History 398: Environmental History
  • E.
    Anthropology 450: Environmental Injustice
  • F.
    Philosophy 388: Our Relationship to the Earth
  • G.
    Economics 345: Market Sustainability

Quiz Outcomes

• 1.
  Land Ethic

  You recognize that human action is the primary cause for the climate crisis -- but you also think that humans can reverse this reality. Yet before we go out and pick up parks, promote proper waste disposal, or advocate for the preservation of a species, you believe we must first teach a new commitment to the planet; one that ensures all humans recognize their connectivity to the earth and understands their responsibility to care for it properly. Then we can go pick up that park, install a composting system, and save the whales.
• 2.
  Utopian Ecology

  You think humans are to blame for the destruction of the planet, and you don't think there's anything they can do to right their ways. The only way you see forward is to drastically reduce our population, and return the planet to a state of nature. Ecotopia, here we come!
• 3.
  Deep Ecology

  Yes, you think humans are to blame for the climate crisis -- but the reason for this is because we see ourselves and the planet as mutually exclusive. Before we move toward a clean future, before we can teach a new commitment to the planet, we must first dismantle this inherently dualistic mindset and see ourselves as connected to the earth and its systems. Ever heard of Gaia? You'd probably agree with it.
• 4.
  Ecofeminism

  Humans are to blame for the climate crisis -- but it's not their fault. Well, not entirely. The reason for our destruction of the planet is the same reason for the destruction of our gender relations: we live in a male-dominated world that inherently assumes dominance over non-male things. These include women, and the planet (which, conveniently, is often represented as a woman). Once we dismantle the patriarchy, we can then begin to re-build the planet's systems. So stop saying "Mother Nature"!
• 5.
  Ecojustice

  Simply put, our societal structures are inherently oppressive to minority populations -- and we won't be able to solve anything like Global Warming until we first solve things like racism, sexism, and classism. So put your "green" ideals on hold for now; there are bigger things at stake here...like fair representation, equal rights, and eliminating racial profiling.
• 6.
  Ecomarxism

  The root cause of the climate crisis is our obsession with "more"; working more, eating more, owning more...however, to truly stop this capitalistic plague, we must cut it off at the root. Therefore, instead of convincing others to work less, eat correctly, and buy fewer things, we must instead make it so that they have no choice. If we want people to eat vegetarian, stop offering meat at grocery stores; if we want to reduce car emissions, make fewer cars. It's as simple as that.
• 7.
  Political

  The climate crisis is something we as humans can combat -- but we must do so together. To properly act as a whole, we must turn to our legislative abilities and install new laws that mandate proper waste disposal, protect natural sites, outlaw certain pesticides...you get the point. So who's running for election next year, and what's their stance on sustainability?
• 8.
  Techno-Utopia

  Climate crisis? Bah. We aren't in a climate crisis, because we wouldn't ever dig ourselves into a hole we couldn't climb out of! So yeah, the planet's natural systems are deteriorating around us, but a cure is right around the corner. Maybe we'll all start driving electronic cars, maybe we'll all go live on Mars. I don't know what it is, but I'm really not all that worried.
• 9.
  Grassroots

  We can combat the climate crisis -- all it takes is you to "go green"! So start recycling, start biking to work each day, pick up that candy wrapper you saw on the street. If we are to ensure our children have a clean and healthy future, it starts with you. So get out and go green!