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ENV 101 Exam 3
Ch 7,8,9,10 & Readings 13-21
105
Environmental Studies
Undergraduate 3
10/21/2012
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Term
The World Health Organization regards health as primarily a matter of______ well being.
 Definition
Physical, mental and social
Term
Historically, the greatest threats to human health came from
 Definition
Pathogenic organisms
Term
______, rather than______ are becoming the leading causes of disability and premature death worldwide.
 Definition
Chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease; infectious diseases such as malaria
Term
Infectious diseases such as diarrhea are closely linked to
 Definition
Malnutrition
Term
Hazardous substances______ while toxins are______.
 Definition
Are dangerous substances; poisonous substances
Term
Toxic substances are dangerous because they
 Definition
React or interfere with specific cell functions
Term
Which of the following practices contributes the least to antibiotic or pesticide resistance?
 Definition
A person takes the full course of the appropriate antibiotic when she has a bacterial infection
Term
Among the most important characteristics of chemicals in determining their environmental risks is/are
 Definition
All of these
Term
The biomagnification of DDT demonstrates that
 Definition
Higher trophic level organisms can concentrate toxins in a type of "inverse biological pyramid."
Term
Most people do their own personal risk assessments based upon
 Definition
Personal biases and preferences as well as logic
Term
Undernourished parents often raise children who are undernourished because the parents
 Definition
All of these are reasons for the vicious cycle
Term
Food security has to do with
 Definition
The ability of a population to obtain food on a day-to-day basis
Term
People can suffer malnourishment if they consume large amounts of_____instead of______.
 Definition
Fat and sugar; vitamins and protein
Term
People who subsist on starchy foods such as cassava, potatoes and white rice
 Definition
Often receive insufficient protein
Term
The three crops that humans rely on for the majority of nutrients and calories are
 Definition
Wheat, rice and maize (corn)
Term
Most humans rely on just a few of th eworld's animal and plant species for food because only a few
 Definition
Food types are what we are accustomed to eating
Term
Which of the following does not describe the status of the world's wild fisheries?
 Definition
Fish farming has allowed wild fish to recover worldwide
Term
Which of the following is the most correct definition of soil?
 Definition
All of these adequately describe soil
Term
The critical organic component of soil that gives it its structure is termed
 Definition
Humus
Term
Topsoil contains predominantly
 Definition
Mixed organic material and mineral particles
Term
In developed countries, the most recent increases in agricultural productivity have come from
 Definition
New crop varieties
Term
About what portion of world freshwater withdrawals is used for agriculture?
 Definition
3/4
Term
Which is the best cropping method for reducing erosion?
 Definition
Rotating corn, wheat and clover
Term
Which of the following uses the least amount of energy in industrialized farming practices?
 Definition
Drying the crops
Term
"Green manure" is
 Definition
Green plants, especially legumes that are planted and then plowed under
Term
Worldwide, traditional and native varieties of food crops have______ since the introduction of green revolution varieties.
 Definition
Been widely replaced by new varieties
Term
Fifty years ago, there were several hundred varieties of wheat grown in teh Middle East. No a few of the more modern high responder varieties have replaced the indigenous species. What are the implications of this change?
 Definition
Genetic resources are diminished and an epidemic of wheat disease is highly likely due to the reliance on few species
Term
The first genetically modified animal for human consumption is a salmon with extra growth hormones. Which of the following is not a concern about this animal?
 Definition
These are all worries about the GM salmon
Term
Which of the following is the best way to ensure soil health?
 Definition
Strip farming and leaving residues on fields after harvest
Term
The benefits of leaving crop residues on a field after harvest include
 Definition
All of these are correct
Term
One of the ecological benefits associated with aquaculture is the organic material generated from the aquaculture tanks. The nutrients increase the health and productivity of the surrounding natural ecosystem.
 Definition
False
Term
Agricultural cropland is shrinking worldwide.
 Definition
True
Term
Buying shade grown coffee and cocoa has a minimal effect on local ecosystems where they are grown.
 Definition
True
Term
Terracing is more sustainable than conventional farming, but is also more expensive.
 Definition
True
Term
Agricultural (farm) subsidies are especially effective in helping preserve small "family farms."
 Definition
False
Term
Pest organisms tend to be
 Definition
Generalist species
Term
Of the millions of living species, about ____ cause 90 percent of the worldwide crop damage.
 Definition
100
Term
Significant agricultural monetary losses are due to the destruction of _____ through pesticide spray drift and residues on flowers.
 Definition
Honeybees
Term
Most of the pesticides applied in the United States are used in
 Definition
Agriculture
Term
Natural organic pesticides are not
 Definition
All of these are characteristics of natural organic pesticides
Term
In terms of agriculture, pesticides have lead to _____ for consumers
 Definition
All of these are correct
Term
Approximately ______ percent of the pesticides we use never reach the intended target.
 Definition
90
Term
Why are pest predator populations so adversely affected by broad-spectrum pesticides?
 Definition
Predators in higher trophic levels are more likely to be wiped out than lower trophic levels
Term
According to your instructor, what are the two types of “overpopulation” which environmental science must contend with?
 Definition
people and consumption
Term
So far, as described in “The Last Straw,” there have been no attempts to place dams on the Indus River in Kashmir to increase Pakistan’s water security because:
 Definition
Pakistan fears these dams could be used as weapons in case of war with India.
Term
The Indus Waters Treaty, as pointed out in “The Last Straw,” has survived nearly 50 years and three wars between India and Pakistan.
 Definition
True
Term
As expressed in “How to Stop Climate Change: The Easy Way,” such dire circumstances in the Earth’s system as the collapse of the Amazon rainforest, or the release of methane from thawing Siberian permafrost, represent the crossing of:
 Definition
tipping points
Term
As brought out in “How to Stop Climate Change: The Easy Way,” considering the relative consequences, the author would rather see China building two nuclear reactors weekly than two:
 Definition
coal-fired plants
Term
As argued in “How to Stop Climate Change: The Easy Way,” when it comes to global warming, many people, subconsciously at least, actually want to be lied to:
 Definition
True
Term
As mentioned in “Global Warming Battlefields,” Al Gore was recognized for his efforts to raise awareness about global warming when he shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with:
 Definition
IPCC
Term
As related in “Global Warming Battlefields,” a growing body of evidence suggests that severe climate changes have tended to increase the risk of resource-related conflict, as was apparent during 1300-1700, a span of time known as the:
 Definition
Little Ice Age
Term
As noted in “Global Warming Battlefields,” much research has been devoted to the causes of state collapse and the rise of ethnic militias, but no research has identified a clear, consistent set of precipitation factors.
 Definition
True
Term
As stated in “Executive Summary from Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity,” the class of animals whose member face the greatest risk of extinction is:
 Definition
amphibians
Term
As asserted in “Executive Summary from Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity,” the earliest and most severe impacts of dramatic biodiversity loss and the accompanying degradation of ecosystem services would be faced by:
 Definition
the poor
Term
According to “Executive Summary from Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity,” in some scenarios, climate change can be mitigated while maintaining and even expanding the current extent of forests and other natural ecosystems while avoiding additional habitat loss.
 Definition
true
Term
According to “When Diversity Vanishes,” the most dramatic diversity collapses:
 Definition
are mass extinctions
Term
As reported in “When Diversity Vanishes,” in finance, diversification reduces risk by:
 Definition
spreading money among assets that respond differently during market moves
Term
As pointed out in “When Diversity Vanishes,” in expert judgment, the average judgment of a group is better than individual performance.
 Definition
true
Term
Historically, up until the middle ages, populations were mostly limited by
 Definition
Disease, famine and war
Term
____________ are the most numerous vertebrate organisms on Earth
 Definition
Fish
Term
Human population growth most closely resembles
 Definition
J-shaped growth curve
Term
The world human population reached 1 billion in about _________ and passed ____________ in 1999.
 Definition
1800; 6 billion
Term
The population theory held by Thomas Malthus was that the human population would
 Definition
Outstrip its resources, then suffer starvation and misery
Term
Neo-Malthusians argue that
 Definition
Malthus's eighteenth century theories apply to similar circumstances today
Term
Technological optimists argue that technological advances have
 Definition
Proved Malthus wrong in his predictions of famine and disaster
Term
Malthus and Marx
 Definition
Disagreed about the root causes of overpopulation, poverty and social upheaval
Term
Human ingenuity and intelligence as the "ultimate resource" is the central theme in the argument of
 Definition
Julian Simon
Term
Demography is the science that describes
 Definition
Population changes and characteristics
Term
Ninety percent of the world's population growth in the next century is expected to occur in
 Definition
Less-developed countries
Term
Why is Russia's population declining?
 Definition
The standard of living has decreased leading to higher death rates and lower birth rates
Term
The I = PAT formula says that our environmental impacts (I) are the product of
 Definition
The population size times affluence and the technology used to produce goods and services consumed
Term
Crude birth rates are measured in terms of the number of children born
 Definition
Per 1000 people each year
Term
The total fertility rate is the number of children born
 Definition
To the average woman during her lifetime
Term
There is some evidence that population growth today is ____________ rather than ______________.
 Definition
Slowing slightly; continuing to accelerate
Term
The main cause of world population growth in the past 300 years has been
 Definition
Falling mortality
Term
The difference between "total growth rate" and "natural increase" is that total growth rates
 Definition
Include immigration and emigration as well as births and deaths
Term
The average age that a newborn can expect to attain in a given society is referred to as
 Definition
Life expectancy
Term
The population represented by the age class histogram on the right will
 Definition
Grow substantially in the future
Term
The age class histogram on the right could represent the population of
 Definition
Uganda
Term
The age class histogram on the left could represent the population of
 Definition
Singapore
Term
A pyramid-shaped age structure histogram is characteristic of a(n) _________ population
 Definition
Expanding
Term
A dependency ratio is a comparison between the numbers of
 Definition
Working and nonworking people
Term
Pronatalist pressures are influences that lead people to
 Definition
Have more children
Term
Women who ________ are least likely to have many children.
 Definition
Are able to earn an income for themselves
Term
The demographic transition refers to a country's change from
 Definition
High birth and death rates to low birth and death rates
Term
The most industrialized country listed is
 Definition
Country "A"
Term
The message from author Garret Hardin's "lifeboat ethics" is that
 Definition
Helping poor people will simply increase their rate of reproduction
Term
Proponents of social justice believe that environmental and social problems will decrease if
 Definition
Resources are distributed fairly
Term
One of the _________ effective ways to stabilize populations is to _________.
 Definition
Most; decrease child mortality
Term
Less developed countries can best argue that developed countries are primarily responsible for overpopulation problems because
 Definition
Less developed countries were many times impoverished by colonialism
Term
Family planning means enabling people to
 Definition
Decide in advance how many children they should have
Term
The most pessimistic projection of population growth projects the human population to reach 25 billion by 2150.
 Definition
True
Term
1. The proportion of the developing world’s population, as cited in “ Where Oil and Water Do Mix: Environmental Scarcity and Future Conflict in the Middle East and North Africa,” that has no access to clean water is:
 Definition
about one third.
Term
2. As discussed in “Where Oil and Water Do Mix: Environmental Scarcity and Future Conflict in the Middle East and North Africa,” two common patterns of scarcity are:
 Definition
resource capture and ecological marginalization.
Term
3. As noted in “Where Oil and Water Do Mix: Environmental Scarcity and Future Conflict in the Middle East and North Africa,” social pressures created by environmental scarcity may cause state power to crumble.
 Definition
True
Term
4. As identified in “The Big Melt,” the plateau known as “The Roof of the World,” the highest and largest plateau in the world, is the:
 Definition
Tibetan Plateau.
Term
According to “The Big Melt,” China angered Indochina by damming the:
 Definition
Mekong River.
Term
6. As quoted in “The Big Melt,” Chinese glaciologist Yao Tandong believes that the shrinkage of the glaciers will lead to ecological catastrophe.
 Definition
True
Term
7. In the spring of 2008, as put forth in “The World’s Water Challenge,” the international community failed to predict all of the following related to water scarcity except:
 Definition
migration patterns related to famine.
Term
8. More than half of the water suitable for human consumption, as described in “The World’s Water Challenge,” is used for:
 Definition
agriculture
Term
9. Of the 1.8 million people who lose their lives due to unsafe water each year, as noted in “The World’s Water Challenge,” almost half of them are children.
 Definition
False
Term
As claimed in “Climate Change,” the current position in the scientific community with regard to climate change is that:
 Definition
climate change is dangerous and is caused by humans.
Term
As argued in “Climate Change,” the toughest part of the climate-change equation is the:
 Definition
speed with which global warming is occurring and how little time is left to make changes.
Term
As noted in “Climate Change,” while global warming will hurt some areas of the world, it will help other areas with extended growing seasons, allowing those areas to ease global food shortages over the long term.
 Definition
False
Term
According to “The Last Straw,” one of the greatest potential new threats to Pakistan’s stability could come from:
 Definition
the melting of the Himalaya glaciers.
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