Chapter 13: Human Environment

Multiple Choice

1. A tsunami’s waves result from a. a) tidal conditions. b. b) high storm winds called “tsunamis.” c. c) earthquake displacement of the seafloor. d. d) periodic floods.

2. Depletion of the ozone layer is caused by the release of ______into the atmosphere. a. a) volcanic ash b. b) CO2 c. c) methane d. d) chlorofluorocarbons

3. Climatologist-geographer Alfred Wegener used his spatial view of the world to develop the theory of a. a) relativity. b. b) the hydrologic cycle. c. c) continental drift. d. d) Earth rotation.

4. The latest Pangaea break up began ______years ago. a. a) 10,000 b. b) 2,000,000 c. c) 50,000,000 d. d) 180,000,000

5. The boundaries of rocky crustal plates (theory of plate tectonics) are associated with a. a) deserts. b. b) earthquakes and volcanoes. c. c) ice caps. d. d) plains regions.

6. What percentage of the Earth’s surface is covered by water? a. a) 90 b. b) 70 c. c) 50 d. d) 20 7. Plant life and photosynthesis began about 1.5 billion years ago and increased the ______level in the atmosphere. a. a) CO2 b. b) 02 c. c) methane d. d) sulfur e. 8. The Earth’s most recent experience with mass volcanism was between ______million years ago. a. a) 180 and 160 b. b) 150 and 130 c. c) 120 and 100 d. d) 90 and 70

9. The most recent glaciation of the Pleistocene was the ______Glaciation. a. a) Illinoian b. b) Kansan c. c) Wisconsinan d. d) Nebraskan

10. The greatest threat to human existence to come from any source was a volcanic eruption occurring about 73,500 years ago. The volcano was called a. a) Santorini. b. b) St. Helen’s. c. c) Tambora. d. d) Toba.

11. The geologic epoch, characterized by global warming, in which we are now living is the a. a) Pliocene. b. b) Holocene. c. c) Pleistocene. d. d) Miocene.

12. During the Pleistocene, glaciers extend as far as ______a) St. Louis and Seattle. b) Moscow and Rome. c) Paris and San Francisco. d) London and Belgrade.

13. The Little Ice Age began to affect Europe in which century? a. a) fourteenth b. b) fifteenth c. c) sixteenth d. d) seventeenth 14. The climatic record documenting the beginning of the Little Ice Age was partially pieced together by using farmer’s diaries. Those of ______were most useful. a. a) dairy farmers b. b) wine growers c. c) grain farmers d. d) vegetable growers

15. Growing understanding of the affects of the Little Ice Age leads to the suggestion that the chief cause of the rapid collapse of the Jamestown colony may well have been a. a) flooding. b. b) shortened growing season. c. c) a seven year drought. d. d) poor farming practices.

16. The Little Ice Age put an end to a period of flourishing ______in Ming Dynasty China. a. a) wine making b. b) plant domestication c. c) astronomical science d. d) ship building and maritime exploration

17. The eruption of the Tambora volcano on the island of Sumatra resulted in what has been called the “year without a summer” in Europe and America. That year was a. a) 1000. b. b) 1650. c. c) 1816. d. d) 1912.

18. Biologists estimate that there may be as many as ____ million types of organisms on Earth. a. a) 5 b. b) 10 c. c) 15 d. d) 25

19. Human destructiveness of the environment manifested itself early when a. a) streams were polluted by settlements. b. b) fires were set to kill entire herds of reindeer and bison. c. c) cooking fires polluted the air. d. d) the beginnings of agriculture destroyed vast areas of soil. 20. The Polynesians reduced the forests of their islands to brush, and by the time of the arrival of the Europeans, had exterminated more than 80 percent of the regional birds due to their penchant for a. a) wearing bird-feather robes. b. b) eating bird’s eggs. c. c) eating birds. d. d) collecting bird’s nests.

21. Over the past century the pace of human environmental change has a. a) almost completely stopped. b. b) declined slightly from earlier rates. c. c) has remained constant. d. d) increased significantly.

22. The world distribution of precipitation is concentrated in a. a) equatorial and tropical areas. b. b) mid-latitude regions. c. c) high latitudes. d. d) subtropical regions.

23. The distribution of precipitation over the areas of the Earth, with concentrations in some areas and paucity in others, is sustained through a process called the a. a) jet stream shift. b. b) hydrologic cycle. c. c) cyclonic system shift. d. d) upper air circulation.

24. Fifty times as much water is stored in ______in the United States as falls as precipitation each year. a. a) reservoirs b. b) aquifers c. c) streams d. d) lakes

25. One of the great ecological disasters of the twentieth century occurred in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and involves the a. a) Black Sea. b. b) Lake Baikal. c. c) Aral Sea. d. d) Caspian Sea.

26. Increasingly, people have come to depend on water sources a. a) of uncertain future capacity. b. b) that are of guaranteed capacity. c. c) from streams and rivers. d. d) from bottled water. 27. The Sea of Galilee forms a large freshwater reservoir in the Jordan Valley and is the source of most of the water for which of the following countries? a. a) Syria b. b) Jordan c. c) Israel d. d) Lebanon

28. Which of the following is not one of the key “greenhouse” gasses? a. a) carbon dioxide b. b) methane c. c) nitrous oxides d. d) ozone

29. Changes in climate involve changes in the ______cycle, which in turn affects patterns of precipitation. a. a) nitrogen b. b) hydrologic c. c) oxygen d. d) ozone e. 30. To some extent acid rain has always been present in certain humid environments, but during the last century the spread of ______has greatly increased the destructive capabilities of natural acid rain. a. a) human settlements b. b) humanity in general c. c) the Industrial Revolution d. d) farming of marginal areas

31. The geography of acid rain occurrence is most closely associated with patterns of industrial concentration and a. a) urbanization. b. b) large population concentrations. c. c) modern transportation systems. d. d) middle to long distance wind flows.

32. The highest densities of coal and oil burning, which causes acid rain, are associated with large concentrations of heavy manufacturing, such as those in a. a) Western and Eastern Europe and the United States. b. b) coastal South America and Asia. c. c) Eastern Europe and East Asia. d. d) the Southern Hemisphere. 33. Forests affect the atmosphere through their role in (the) a. a) global warming. b. b) production of CO2. c. c) desertification. d. d) oxygen cycle.

34. In the early 1980s, the FAO of the United Nations undertook a study of the rate of depletion of tropical rain forests and determined that ______percent had already been affected by cutting. a. a) 24 b. b) 34 c. c) 44 d. d) 54

35. The amount of forest cutting that has gone on wherever humans locate has been very extensive. In the United States, for example, forests consist mainly of ______trees. a. a) second-growth b. b) stumps and brushy c. c) deciduous d. d) coniferous

36. The United States is the most prolific producer of solid waste. Studies estimate that the U.S. produces about ____ pounds of solid waste per person per day. a. a) 1.5 b. b) 3.5 c. c) 5.5 d. d) 7.3

37. Of the U.S. landfills for the disposal of low level radioactive waste, ___ percent are now open. a. a) 100 b. b) 50 c. c) 25 d. d) the number of this type of landfill is increasing

38. Human habitation of the Pacific Islands is estimated to have led to the extinction of ______bird species. a. a) 0 b. b) 18 c. c) 137 d. d) 2000 39. ______describes a field of study that considers the roles of political economics, power, and history in shaping human environmental interactions. a) Danger b) Politics c) Political-ecology d) Economics

40. ______liters of water are required to produce one kilogram of beef. a) 100 b) 1,000 c) 10,000 d) 100,000

41. Globally, the consumption of resources is tied to ______more than any other factor. a. a) population numbers b. b) technology c. c) rate of population growth d. d) proximity to resources

42. Residents of middle-America face high mortality risks and natural disasters in what form? a) drought b) hydrological and/or geophysical b) geophysical d) drought and/or geophysical

43. In 1990, ______had similar patterns of fossil fuel sources emissions of CO2. a) Spain and Australia b) Nigeria and South Africa c) Mexico and South Africa d) Mexico and Chile

44. Kuwait is developing ______as a resource to offset the inevitable decline in oil production. a. a) fresh water b. b) forestry c. c) sand d. d) solar energy

45. The Global Environmental Facility funds projects related to four issues. Which of the following is not one of these? a. a) loss of biodiversity b. b) climatic change c. c) soil erosion d. d) depletion of the ozone layer 46. The forests in South Africa are primarily ______a) tropical rainforests. b) tropical deciduous forests. c) tropical dry forests. d) tropical highland forests.

47. International concern over the loss of global species led to calls for a global convention (agreement) as early as a. a) 1981. b. b) 1971. c. c) 1961. d. d) 1991. e. 48. Chlorofluorocarbon gasses are the main culprits in ozone depletion. These gasses have only been in use since the a. a) Industrial Revolution to 1790. b. b) 1940s. c. c) 1950s. d. d) 1990s.

49. The Kyoto Protocol a) addresses US-Japan trade imbalances. b) addresses Japan-European trade imbalances. c) addresses Asian deforestation. d) addresses global climate change.

50. In 2004, which countries had per capita emissions of carbon dioxide of less than one metric ton? a) United States and Australia b) New Zealand and Sudan c) United Kingdom and Japan d) Somalia and Kenya

True/False

51. The Earth’s environment has been changed little throughout the past 15,000 years.

52. Pangaea’s break-up 180 million years ago was accompanied by violent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions which impacted global climate and biodiversity.

53. Global warming began about 18,000 years ago and is a characteristic of the Holocene.

54. During the Pleistocene period, the planet was in a deep freeze. 55. Sixty percent of Israel’s water supply comes from the occupied territories of the Golan Heights and West Bank.

56. The Food and Agricultural Organization at the United Nations released a study indicating that the rate of forest loss globally between 2000-2005 was lower than between 1990-2000.

57. Soil erosion is little affected by population growth as there is a limit to the amount of cultivation of an acre of land.

58. The U.S., European Union and Japan export solid waste to countries in Africa, South and Middle America, and East Asia.

59. In the United States, landfill capacity has been reached or soon will be reached in about 12 states.

60. Mortality risk from natural disaster is greatest in developed countries.

61. Oil is a finite resource.

62. Modes of transportation represent some of the most important technological advances, with profound environmental impact, in human history.

63. Wind energy parks in Spain created 695 million euro in income in 2002.

64. When it comes to environmental change, population numbers alone do not have the same meaning in all places.

65. In the world of the early 2000s, there are many international policy-making bodies with significant authority over multinational environmental spaces.

66. How has the climate of the Earth changed in the past 15,000 years? Describe periods of alternate warming and cooling and some of the associated environmental effects. What do some theories hold has been the impact of the Industrial Revolution global climate patterns?

67. One of the effects of global warming and environmental change is a shift in precipitation patterns and amounts; most of the latter would probably be a reduction in annual totals. Based on your knowledge of your home area or regions, what do you think would be the result of such a shift on life in your home region? 68. List some of the causes of deforestation. Discuss the implications of this destruction. What could humanity lose when the rain forests are gone?

69. What have trends in global biodiversity been in the past few centuries? What are some of the causes of loss of biodiversity and what are some implications?

70. Discuss some of the reasons that many environmental problems are now considered global rather simply regional or local in nature. Give several examples.