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CENV 110 Food and the Environment
2012 Quiz Questions Weeks 1-5
CORRECT ANSWERS ARE IN RED
Week 1 – “History of Food Production”
Paddock & Paddock - Famine 1975!
1. In Famine 1975 the authors suggest that within the decade following the
publication of their book, _______________ would outpace _______________ and
result in conditions of global crisis.
a. Industrialization, globalization
b. Population growth, food production
c. Birth rate, death rate
d. Grain exports, grain imports
2. In Famine 1975 the authors suggest that the only way we will be able to increase
food production is by __________________.
a. Genetic engineering of new crops
b. Controlling birth rates
c. Putting new land into food production
d. Exporting grain
Richards - “Land transformation”
1. The current trend of intensified land-use was driven by the expansion of which
geopolitical region starting in the 1500s?
a. China
b. Russia
c. North America
d. Subsaharan Africa
e. Western Europe
2. What drives frontier expansion?
a. Demand for market goods
b. Increased population
c. Government desire for new territory
d. All of the above
Godfray - “Food Security: The challenge of feeding 9 billion people”
1. In Godfray et al’s article about food security, the authors suggest that world
population will plateau at ____________ by the middle of the century.
a. 9 billion
b. 7 billion
c. 15 million
d. 21 billion
2. Changes in relative global production of crops and animals since 1961 have
resulted in the following trend(s):
a. Large increase in root crops and sheep
b. Decrease in main grains
c. Large increase in chicken production
d. Decrease in pig production
e. All of the above
Kauffman & Cleveland - “Agriculture: The ecology of growing food”
1. True/False The cost of obtaining food is much higher in hunter/gatherer cultures
than in agricultural societies when population density is low.
2. The Green Revolution resulted in ________________, but at the cost of
_______________.
a. Increased carrying capacity, increased use of inputs
b. Stable economies in developing countries, loss to developed countries
c. Decreased yield, increased land use
d. Increased use of inputs, increased infant mortality rates
Federico - “Trends in the long run”
1. True/False: Between WWI (ca. 1913) and WWII (ca. 1950) the trade in agricultural
products faced increasing competition with non-agricultural products
2. Most agricultural trade consists in products of ______________ origin.
a. Tropical
b. Mixed
c. Temperate
d. Arctic
Week 2 – “Human Population Growth”
Cunningham & Cunningham “Human Populations”
1. The primary cause of most population growth in the past 300 years is due to
___________
a. Declining mortality
b. Increasing fertility
c. Decreasing fertility
d. Increasing mortality
2. Which of the following conditions are necessary for a demographic transition
(change from high birth and death rates to lower birth and death rates) to occur
(choose 4):
a. Increased availability of meat
b. Improved standard of living
c. Increased confidence that children will survive
d. Increased use of land for agriculture
e. Improved social status of women
f. Increased availability and use of birth control
Ehrlich “The problem”
1. In 1968 Paul Ehrlich published The Population Bomb. At that time, effects of
____________ were not yet discernable.
a. Industrial revolution
b. Declining birth rates
c. New crop varieties
d. DDT
e. all of the above
f. b & c
g. a & d
2. True/False Climate change was not acknowledged as an environmental problem
by Ehrlich’s chapter titled “A Dying Planet” in The Population Bomb
Whitmore et al. “Long-term population change”
1. Agriculture and human settlement are closely bound to ________________
a. Fertile soil
b. Forests
c. Water
d. Plains
2. True/False In Whitmore et al.’s four regional examples of population trends and
their impacts on the environment, most of the historic land transformations are
associated with water management for agriculture.
Demeny “Population”
1. Classic demographic transition is characterized by a series of changes in birth and
death rates. The order of occurrence is as follows:
a. High birth and death rates - Low death rates - Population increase - Low birth
rates - Population stability
b. Low birth and high death rates - Population decline - Increased fertility Population stability
c. Low birth and death rates - Transition to older demographic - Population decline
d. High birth and low death rates - Transition to younger demographic - Increased
fertility - Population growth
2. The geometric increase of the world population starting in the 1700s can be tied to
a. Changing climate
b. Improvements in agriculture
c. Improvements in housing and sanitation
d. all of the above
e. b and c only
f. a and b
g. a and c
Malthus
1. Malthus described the growth rates of population and food production capacity as
___________ and ___________ , respectively.
a. Geometric, exponential
b. Linear, arithmetic
c. Exponential, logistic
d. Geometric, arithmetic
2. True/False Malthus postulated that social welfare promotes the natural limits to
reproduction inherent to poverty and misery.
Week 3 – “Water”
Kaufman & Cleveland - Water Resources
1. True/False Developing nations use most of their water for agriculture or municipal
uses, as opposed to industrial uses and power generation
2. Water diversion brings water to areas that lack sufficient water resources. What
methods are used to transport that water?
a. Canals
b. Trucks
c. Pipeline
d. Barge
e. All of the above
f. a & c
g. b & d
3. True/False The Ogallala Aquifer is used as a sustainable and reliable source of
water.
4. Water moves through the soil in a process known as _______________.
a. Subsidence
b. Infiltration
c. Evaporation
d. Sublimation
5. Two regions with the highest percentage of disease associated with water are
___________.
a. Africa & India
b. Mexico & South America
c. Russia & Canada
d. China & Australia
Reisner - Cadillac Desert
1. Federal government subsidized farmers in California by providing infrastructure for
dams and canals for irrigation water with the stipulation that farms receiving the
water are limited to _____________ type of farming.
a. Industrial
b. Organic
c. Subsistence
d. Conventional
2. True/False Water diversion projects that supplied California farmers with irrigation
water successfully relieved the pressure of demand on groundwater sources.
3. In Cadillac Desert, Reisner describes how the Feather River Project (= California
Water Project) was funded in part by the Tidelands Oil Fund. What was the irony in
that?
a. The water was contaminated with oil from a big spill
b. Several oil companies owned farmland that received water from the project
c. The water could not be piped where it was needed even though the infrastructure
was there
d. The fund was also used to create infrastructure to promote urban growth and
increase water needs
4. True/False Surplus water from the California Water Project was used to expand
farmland beyond a level sustainable without the use of that surplus.
5. In Cadillac Desert, Reisner details several occasions when _____________ may
have been the deciding influence on several water management decisions made by
Californians.
a. Weather
b. Energy
c. Political debates
d. Civilian protests
Week 4 – “Life Cycle Assessment”
Roy - A review of LCA
1. The difference in environmental impacts of organic and conventional agriculture is
that conventional agriculture uses more ________________, whereas organic
agriculture uses more _____________.
a. Land, water
b. Water, pesticides
c. Plastic, paper
d. Fertilizer, land
2. LCAs can be used to
a. compare alternative products
b. compare alternative production methods
c. identify where improvements can be made
d. all of the above
e. a & b only
3. The four steps of an LCA are:
a. Goal definition and scope - Inventory analysis - Impact assessment Interpretation
b. Identify the pest - Monitor activity - Determine threshholds - Explore options
c. Description - Application - Installation - Limitation Assessment
d. Identify the scene - Call 911 - Establish safety - Check for responsiveness
4. An important characteristic of agricultural LCAs is the use of ______________
a. Careful observation
b. Multiple functional units
c. Livestock assessment
d. Monetary rewards
5. Even though organic farming uses more land, it has reduced impacts on
____________ when compared with conventional/intensive farming
a. Deforestation
b. Transportation
c. Eutrophication
d. Salinization
Hall et al Aquaculture LCA
1. Besides LCA, choose at least three other approaches that are used to quantify
environmental impacts:
a. Cost-benefit analysis
c. Best Management Practices
e. Integrated Pest Management
g. Risk Assessment
b. Environmental Impact Assessment
d. Mass-balance Accounting
f. Ecological Footprint
e. Feasibility Study
2. True/False - In Hall et al.’s aquaculture LCA, they were able to account for all of
the aquaculture production in 2008.
3. True/False Hall et al. conducted a full LCA, which included a “cradle-to-grave”
approach.
4. The biggest energy demands for aquaculture occur _________________
a. During harvest of wild fish for feed
b. On the farm
c. Processing fish into meal and oil
d. all of the above
5. In Hall et al’s LCA of aquaculture in 2008, the highest absolute environmental
impact was in ______________ production, and the highest relative environmental
impact (impact per ton of product) was in ______________ production.
a. carp, eel
b. talipias, bivalves
c. gastropods, salmonids
d. seaweeds, carp
Week 5 – “Nutrients and Pollutants”
Carson - Silent Spring
1. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring detailed which of the following issues that gave rise
to the need for integrated pest management:
a. Pest resistance to pesticides
b. Monocultures
c. Pesticide effects on beneficial organisms
d. Invasive species
e. All of the above
f. a and c only
g. b and d only
2. In Silent Spring, Rachel Carson describes the formation of the herbicide 2,4-D in
wells and holding ponds of Rocky Mountain Arsenal. How did that happen?
a. Spontaneously from the combination of chemicals and exposure to air, water, and
sunlight
b. Slow accumulation of leachates from a nearby farm
c. Direct (point source) discharge from the arsenal
d. Atmospheric deposition from precipitation
3. True/False The town that Rachel Carson describes in the first chapter of Silent
Spring exists on the coast of Maine.
4. In what ways do insects come into conflict with human welfare, as described by
Rachel Carson in Silent Spring?
a. Destruction of shelter
b. Competitors for food
c. Carriers of human disease
d. All of the above
e. a and b only
f. b and c only
Enger & Smith Ag methods and pest management
1. Slash and burn agriculture is beneficial when_________.
a. Human population is low
b. The soil is depleted
c. The time between plots is long
d. In temperate regions
e. All of the above
f. a and d
g. a,b, and c
h. b,c, and d
2. Monoculture is beneficial when ____________.
a. Human labor is plentiful.
b. Money is scarce.
c. Large expanses of level land are available
d. Seeds are collected from many different sources
3. The three macronutrients required by plants are ________, _________, and
___________.
a. Boron, silica, zinc
b. Nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium
c. Carbon, sugar, oxygen
d. Nitrogen, ammonia, nitrate
4. The perfect pesticide would have which of the following characteristics?
a. Inexpensive
b. Short half-life
c. Affects only the target organism
d. Harmless metabolites
e. All of the above
Lomborg - Things are getting better
1. True/False In Lomborg’s article “Things are getting better,” he defends the
statement “the environment is in poor shape here on Earth.”
2. In “Things are getting better,” Lomborg claims that many authors use
______________ to support their arguments about the degraded state of the
environment.
a. Short-term trends in data
b. Rise in birth rates
c. Declining crop yields
d. Increased rates of deforestation
3. True/False Lomborg argues in “Things are getting better” that short term trends
are a good way to illustrate the truth about the state of the environment.
4. True/False Lomborg argues that human dependence on other life forms ensures
that they will be preserved and their welfare appreciated.
Shellenberger and Nordhaus
1. In “The Death of Environmentalism”, the authors state that ______________ is
the best example of how environmental categories sabotage environmental politics
a. The Clean Air Act
b. The Endangered Species Act
c. The CAFE amendment (Corporate Average Fuel Economy)
d. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act
2. True/False The fact that America’s fleet-wide fuel efficiency average is the same
as it was in 1980 can be attributed to the way the environmental community
designates certain problems as “environmental” and others as not
3. True/False The authors of “The Death of Environmentalism” argue that
environmentalism has failed because it has become a political special interest
4. The authors of “The Death of Environmentalism” advocate for a new way forward
within the environmental movement, which includes:
a. Holding local rallies, fundraisers, and protests
b. Creating a coalition of environmentalists, unions, and civil rights groups
c. Partnering with right-wing politicians to appeal to their constituency
d. Having a clear vision and identifying progressive values
e. All of the above
f. a & b only
g. b & d only
Schwarzenbach et al. “Global Water Pollution and Human Health”
1. Lack of safe drinking water is an important effect of problems related to water
quality, which affects approximately ____________ of the people in the world
a. 10%
b. 35%
c. 55%
d. 85%
2. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are classified by these four characteristics
(Choose four):
a. Tend to form as accidental byproducts
b. Prone to long-range transport
c. Tend to accumulate in the tropics
d. Biomagnify in food webs
e. All are assessed and listed in two international conventions (regulatory protocols)
f. Toxic to living organisms, including humans and wildlife
g. Resistant to chemical, photochemical, and biological transformation processes
3. The predominant tasks currently required for safe drinking water are
______________ in developed countries, and ____________ in developing
countries.
a. Transferring chlorination to ozonation, increasing available wells
b. Wastewater treatment, runoff management
c. Maintenance/replacement of existing infrastructure, improvement of sanitation and
access
d. Management of endocrine-disrupting compounds, management of pesticide
contamination
4. True/False There are no technologies currently available to treat water
contaminated with pharmaceuticals