Ch 9-End Flashcards
(160 cards)
1
Q
During the 1970’s, the Chinese government introduced a variety of measures aimed at controlling the growth of the country’s population because
A
Leadership had good cause to believe that uncontrolled population growth would result in devastating environmental impact affecting its ability to maintain adequate food supplies for its citizens
2
Q
Which of the following is an unintended consequence of China’s one-child policy, according to your text
A
Concern that a shrinking work force will not be able to provide the needs of an aging population
3
Q
As of 2014, global population was
A
7 billion and growing by 70 million per year
4
Q
Which of the following countries or regions has the highest growth rate as of 2012?
A
Mali
5
Q
Given a fixed, positive percent growth rate, population size will
A
Increase by growing increments with each successive generation
6
Q
Which of the following is not a consequence of human population growth?
A
Declining infant mortality
7
Q
T/F:According to the IPAT model, increased affluence causes increased environmental impact
A
True
8
Q
In the modified IPATS equation, the S stands for
A
Sensitivity
9
Q
According to the study of Haberl et al. (2007), the greatest consumption of NPP (net primary productivity) by humans occurs in
A
Densely populated, intensely cultivated areas
10
Q
The difference between demographers and population ecologists is
A
Both study the same phenomena but demographers deal exclusively with human populations
11
Q
A population pyramid with a wide base and narrow top depicts a population that is
A
Increasing rapidly
12
Q
Overall, human male births have a slight preponderance over female births. This phenomenon is due to
A
An adaptive trait which compensates for the slightly higher death rate among males vs. females
13
Q
The European TFR (total fertility rate) of 1.6 means that overall, in the absence of immigration, Europe’s future population will
A
Shrink
14
Q
Since 1990, the annual growth rate of human population has
A
Decreased in all areas, regardless of development status
15
Q
In the demographic transition model, the “transitional stage” is characterized by
A
An moderately declining birth rate and steeply declining death rate
16
Q
La Ferrara et al. 2012 showed a covariance between a declining fertility in most Brazilian age groups and the geographical range of the broadcast network, Globo. Which of the following was not cited as evidence that there was a causal relationship between fertility and Globo programming?
A
Polling results from women in Globo’s signal area
17
Q
According to Hooke et al. (2012), which of the following may be the most significant element of global change for decades to come?
A
Changes in land use
18
Q
According to Hooke et al. (2012), which of the following categories of land has steadily decreased as a percentage of total ice-free land area since 1700?
A
Forest
19
Q
According to Hooke et al. (2012), which of the following categories of human-modified land is the largest percentage of total ice-free land?
A
Pasture
20
Q
According to Hooke et al. (2012), which of the following is a corrective for overshoot
A
All of the above
Reduce demand
Develop technological solutions
Reduce populations
21
Q
The difference between cropland and rangeland is
A
Cropland is used to grow plants; rangeland is used to grow animals
22
Q
The earliest widely accepted evidence of agriculture comes from
A
The “Fertile Crescent”
23
Q
The dominant component of soil is
A
Weathered rock
24
Q
Based on the definition of “humus,” in which of the following soil horizons is it most abundant?
A
A horizon
25
Which of the following descriptors of soil texture is not associated with a specific particle size?
Loam
26
Which of the following statements regarding cation exchange is untrue?
Soils with high acidity have high cation exchange capacity
27
Soil in rain forests are
Most subject to leaching of nutrients from the A horzion
28
All of the following contribute to soil degradation except which one?
Deposition of eroded sediment in river flood plains
29
Which state experienced the greatest soil degradation during the "Dust Bowl" period of the early 1930's?
Kansas
30
Desertification forces more people onto marginally productive land, making desertification more likely. This is an example of
A positive feedback loop
31
Inclusion of legumes in crop rotation programs provides which benefit distinct to this plant type?
Increase in fixed nitrogen
32
In agriculture, cover crops are employed for what primary purpose?
Reduce erosion
33
No-till cultivation is employed on the greatest percentage of agricultural land in which country or region?
Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay
34
What percent of Earth's freshwater is employed in irrigation?
0.7
35
Salinization is caused by
Over irrigation in arid climates
36
On average US government payments to farmers constitute about what fraction of their income?
0.2
37
The draining of wetlands for conversion to agricultural and urban use has reduced wetlands to what percent of their original extent in the U.S.?
about 50%
38
The largest landholder in the United States is
The Bureau of Land Management
39
The USDA estimates that each dollar spent on the US Conservation Reserve Program how much soil from erosion?
1 ton
40
Research by the Malpais Borderlands Group demonstrates that controlled wildfires are
a good way to encourage the growth of grasses
41
Transgenes are
Genes that have been engineered by manipulating an organism's DNA
42
Since 1960, global production of most foods has
Grown faster than the rate of population growth
43
According to the Center for Disease Control, obesity in the US occurs in more than
One out of every three adults
44
The high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat developed by Norman Borlaug in the 1940's is an example of
Selective breeding
45
T/F: The Green Revolution led to increased use of synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides throught the world
True
46
Which of the following is not an adverse risk of monoculture?
Increased deforestation
47
Of the 27 billion animals raised for food in 2011, most were
Chickens
48
To produce 1 kg of protein, which of the following foods requires the least water?
Eggs
49
Which of the following is not a problem associated with feedlot agriculture?
Overgrazing on rangelands
50
The use of Bacillus thuringiensis to kill caterpillars and other crop pests is an example of
Biocontrol
51
The resistance of crop pests to chemical pesticides is an example of
Natural selection
52
In a report on 21 years of data collected in Switzerland, organic cultivation did not provide which of the following benefits?
Higher overall crop yields
53
The primary goal of which of the following practices is "to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals and people?"
Organic agriculture
54
In the US, approximately what percent of production of corn, soy beans, cotton and canola comes from genetically modified strains?
0.9
55
Which of the following problems with genetically modified organisms has not been documented by scientific research?
Adverse impacts on human health
56
T/F: The United States requires that genetically modified foods be labeled as such.
False
57
In the US, transport of food from site of production to site of sale represents what percent of total greenhouse gas emissions in food production overall?
4-5%
58
The "aigamo method" is an example of which agricultural practice?
Reproducing natural ecosystems in cultivated areas
59
As of 2010, Monsanto was pursuing approximately how many lawsuits against individual farmers for infringement of patent?
150
60
Malnutrition is defined as
Failure to obtain all the required vitamins and minerals from food consumed
61
"Temperate deciduous forest" is a category of
Biome
62
Which of the following attributes of a forest promotes biodiversity?
all of the above
variability of tree height
variability of tree type
variability of tree age
63
Trees provide purified water to ecosystems by which process?
transpiration by leaves
64
According to the 2010 report from the FAO, global forest acreage over the period 2000-2010
shrank by 13M ha/year
65
Deforestation in the period 1990-2010 was most extensive in which region?
Africa
66
Developing nations may permit timber harvesting by selling a concession to a foreign multinational corporation. Concessions are bad deals for these nations because
Foreign corporations have no incentive for harvesting sustainably
67
Deforestation in Indonesia and southeast Asia is driven by the demand for which of the following commodities?
Palm oil
68
A carbon offset (p. 513) has what function in a cap and trade program (p. 512)?
It allows polluters who can't reduce emissions to continue emitting
69
The practice of maximum sustainable yield dictates that harvesting take place when a tree population is at what percent of the carrying capacity?
0.5
70
Which of the following 2 types of stands provides greater structural complexity?
Uneven-aged
71
The US Forest Service provides management of and logistical support for timber sales from public lands. Profits from the sales of that timber go
into private corporations
72
Of the following harvesting methods, which produces uneven-aged stands?
selection system
73
Forest fire prevention leads to occasional catastrophic wild fires because
regular fire suppression allows large amounts of fuel to accumulate in the forest
74
With regard to global warming, bark beetle infestation provides
positive feedback
75
Of the following types of federal lands, which comprises the most area?
National Forests
76
Studies by Daniel Donato and Jonathan Thompson suggest that salvage logging
increases the amount of fuel left after a fire
77
T/F: In a UNESCO biosphere reserve, agriculture and human settlement are not permitted
False
78
Avian ecologists blame which factor for declining populations of many North American songbirds?
forest fragmentation
79
The principles of island biogeography are considered applicable to fragmented habitats because
Fragmented habitats are comparable to "islands" surrounded by a "sea" of contrasting habitats
80
Of the following edge effects studied as part of the BDFFP, which penetrated deepest into the interior of fragmented habitats?
Elevated tree mortality
81
Which of the following does not contribute to the subsidence of marsh bottoms in coastal Louisiana?
River flooding
82
Of all the water on Earth, approximately what percent is fresh?
2.5%
83
Of all Earth’s fresh water, most is found
In glaciers
84
Water is under greatest pressure in which environment?
A confined aquifer
85
In lakes and ponds, which zone supports the most phytoplankton?
Limnetic
86
The Aral Sea has lost more than 80% of its volume of water due to
Irrigation
87
Water mining is
Withdrawals of ground or surface water faster than it can be resupplied
88
In the states underlain by the Ogallala aquifer, water use is
In excess of supply by recharge
89
Bottled water is up to how many times more expensive than municipal tap water?
1900 times
90
T/F: The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) requires producers of bottled water to supply regular reports on their sources, treatment methods and contaminants
False
91
Of the following contaminants found in one study of bottled water, which one proves that the water came from taps (municipal sources)?
Disinfection products from water treatment
92
Which of the following is not a negative impact from dam building?
Flood control
93
It will not be possible to rely on desalinization as a way to increase Earth’s fresh water supplies because the process is
Too expensive
94
Which of the following would not result in decreased agricultural demand for fresh water?
Increasing government subsidies for water-intensive crops such as rice
95
Groundwater pollution is especially problematic because
Pollutants last for a longer time in groundwater than they do in surface water
96
Most human health problems caused by pollution are due to which type of pollution?
Pathogens
97
According to the research of Dr. Nancy Rabelais, drought in the Mississippi watershed has what effect on the size of hypoxic zones in the Gulf of Mexico?
Decreases the size
98
Some of the world's major rivers are reduced to a trickle at their deltas because of
Upstream withdrawals for domestic and agricultural use
99
A recent (2010) Supreme Court decision regarding the Clean Water Act
Gave the EPA jurisdiction to enforce the law only on navigable streams
100
The best way to dispose of sludge from wastewater treatment plants is
Process it in an anerobic digester for use as fuel and fertilizer
101
Ocean floors are topographically lower than continents because
Oceanic crust is denser than continental crust
102
New oceanic crust is constantly being formed at
Mid-ocean ridges
103
Ocean water is salty because
Oceans are the ultimate repository for dissolved salt from land
104
Dissolved oxygen in the ocean is highest
Near the poles
105
The primary control on the density of ocean water is
Its temperature
106
Compared to the atmosphere, the ocean's ability to store heat is about
1000 times greater
107
Surface currents in the ocean are driven primarily by
Wind direction and the Coriolis effect
108
T/F: Upwelling is driven by surface currents
true
109
Ocean acidification is affecting marine life primarily by
Increasing the solubility of calcite
110
Large accumulations of trash in the ocean occur in
Gyres in the Pacific and Atlantic
111
Kelp forests flourish where there is both
Cold water and rocky coastline
112
The best way to eliminate oceanic trash is to
Prevent its entry into the ocean
113
In 2010, the largest source of petroleum input into oceans was
Petroleum extraction operations
114
Mercury enters the oceans principally from
The atmosphere
115
Improvements in fishing technologies such as drift-netting and long-lining have led, since 1980, to
Increased areas of fishing with decreasing catch per unit area
116
T/F: Regulatory reduction of by-catch of dolphins has resulted in increased populations of dolphin species
false
117
Overfishing has which of the following ecological and economic effects?
All of the above
Fishing down the food chain
Elimination of employment
Reduced delivery of ecosystem services
118
Marine ecosystems may be best protected by
Prohibiting fishing in marine reserves of optimum size
119
The latitudinal range of coral reefs is predicted to have what relationship to changes in atmospheric concentrations of CO2?
Inverse
120
Which of the following seafood choices is considered unsustainable, according to the Environmental Defense Fund?
Atlantic Halibut
121
In which layer of the atmosphere does ozone contribute to human health?
Stratosphere
122
In the troposphere, air temperature decreases with altitude because
Air pressure decreases with altitude
123
Relative humidity has what relationship to temperature?
varies indirectly
124
T/F:If Earth were not tilted on its axis, all latitudes would receive incoming sunlight at the same angle
False
125
Seasonality is primarily controlled by
the tilt away from the vertical of Earth's rotational axis
126
Arid conditions at about 30 degrees north and south of the Equator is caused primarily by
Combined downwelling of Hadley and Ferrel cells
127
Temperature inversions exacerbate air pollution because
They decrease atmospheric mixing, trapping pollutants at the surface
128
Which of the following substances has the longest atmospheric residence time?
HFC's
129
Which of the following substances are not required to be monitored by the EPA?
Carbon dioxide
130
As US population and economic activity have grown in the years since 1970, pollutants tracked by the EPA have
gone down by nearly 70%
131
Catalytic converters do nothing to control the emissions of which of the following?
Carbon dioxide
132
Scrubbers are designed to remove which of the following pollutants from industrial smokestacks?
Particulate matter
133
The "Atmospheric Brown Cloud" is a continental-scale, seasonal layer of heavy pollution associated with which continent?
Asia
134
Tropospheric ozone is a human health hazard because
Ozone breaks down to produce free oxygen atoms which can harm human tissue
135
Research in the late 1990's showed a particularly strong correlation between death rates and which pollutant?
Particulate matter
136
The use of synthetic fertilizer is one factor that causes the depletion of stratospheric ozone because
It releases N2O into the atmosphere
137
Subsequent to the Montreal Protocol, levels of stratospheric ozone have
Stabilized
138
Which of the following is not an effect of acid deposition?
Increased leaching of nitrogen from soil
139
Which country currently suffers the worst acid rain problem in the world?
China
140
Of the following pollutants, which is more abundant indoors than outdoors?
Volatile organic compounds
141
Until about 1950, levels of atmospheric CO2 had not exceeded what concentration over the previous 800,000 years?
300 ppm (parts per million)
142
In 2016, the atmospheric concentration of CO2 is over
400 ppm
143
On a per molecule basis, which of the following gases has the highest greenhouse warming potential?
Hydrochlorofluorocarbon HFC-23
144
Which of the following gases has the greatest impact on the greenhouse effect?
Carbon dioxide
145
The current level of Earth's albedo (reflectivity), expressed in watts of incoming solar radiation is about
107
146
The variation between glacial and interglacial (warm) climate in the last 800,000 years may be best explained by
Cyclical changes in Earth's position with reference to the Sun
147
Climate scientists use computer models to predict climate in the future. The reliability of climate models is primarily determined by
Running the model with known past starting conditions and comparing its output with observations
148
According to the 4th Assessment Report of the IPCC, global temperature is predicted to rise by how about many degrees centigrade in the 21st century?
1 to 4
149
By the last decade of the 21st century, surface temperatures will increase the most in which region, according to the IPCC?
Arctic regions
150
The IPCC projects future climate through the use of different scenarios which differ primarily in what way?
The rate of future population growth in each
151
In the last 130 years, sea level has risen by about
0.2 meters
152
The most important contribution to sea level rise in the last 130 years has been
Thermal expansion
153
By the end of the current century, sea level is expected to rise by an additional
1 meter
154
Ocean acidification is caused by the increase in which of the following atmospheric gases?
Carbon dioxide
155
According to the US Global Change Research Program, the effect of climate change on precipitation in the US will be to
Make dry areas dryer and wet areas wetter
156
According to the US Global Change Research Program, the effect of sharply reduced emissions on temperature by the end of this century would be
A temperature increase of 3-4 degrees F
157
According to the US Global Change Research Program, which of the following effects of climate change is most likely to effect our region (Northeast)?
Degradation of air quality and human health due to increased summer heat waves
158
The largest percentage of US emissions of carbon dioxide is attributable to what human activity?
Electrical power generation
159
Which of the following developed nations is not a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol?
United States
160
According to your lecture on climate change, the "smoking gun" that demonstrates the anthropogenic cause for current global warming is
Increased ratio of light to heavy carbon in the atmosphere
