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Q:
The worlds second fastest-growing source of electricity after solar cells has been ____.
a. nuclear power
b. cogeneration power
c. coal power
d. wind power
e. hydropower
Q:
What is a disadvantage of large-scale hydropower?
a. There is a low net energy yield.
b. There are high CH4 emissions from rapid biomass decay in shallow tropical reservoirs.
c. Most of the potential energy has already been tapped.
d. The generated electricity comes at a relatively high cost.
e. There are high emissions of CO2 and other air pollutants in temperate areas.
Q:
The leading renewable energy resource that is used to produce electricity in the world today is ____.
a. tidal power
b. hydropower
c. wind power
d. biomass
e. geothermal
Q:
What is an advantage of using passive or active solar systems?
a. There is no need to access the sun for most of the day.
b. The blocking of sunlight by structures has no impact.
c. The net energy yield is medium.
d. The installation and maintenance costs are very low.
e. There is no need for a backup system on cloudy days.
Q:
What is a disadvantage of solar thermal systems?
a. There is low potential for growth.
b. The systems have low net energy yield and high costs.
c. There are some direct emissions of CO2 and other air pollutants.
d. There are high costs associated with the necessary natural gas turbine backups.
e. The high technology requirements could displace jobs for local workers.
Q:
What is an advantage of solar cells?
a. Some designs have high net energy yield.
b. No electricity storage systems or backups are needed.
c. The costs are low for older systems and dropping rapidly.
d. Solar-cell power plants do not disrupt desert ecosystems.
e. There are little or no direct emissions of CO2 and other air pollutants.
Q:
Why is it risky for companies to invest in renewable energy?
a. Pricing for renewable energy resources are artificially low.
b. None of the known renewable energy resources are reliable.
c. Renewable energy is expected to fall out of favor with the American public in the next decade.
d. Subsidies and tax breaks have to be renewed by the government every few years.
e. The energy net yield is often low and changes yearly.
Q:
Why do we continue to waste energy rather than convert to more energy efficient behaviors?
a. A glut of substantial tax breaks for certain sectors
b. A lack of artificially low-cost fossil fuels
c. No clear or substantial benefits to the environment from reduction
d. A lack of concern about the adverse environmental effects of wasting energy
e. A lack of substantial tax breaks and a glut of artificially low costing fossil fuels
Q:
What can we do when constructing new buildings to cut heating costs by up to 20%?
a. The building can be oriented to face the sun.
b. Passive solar heating systems can be installed.
c. Active soar heating systems can be installed.
d. Superinsulation can be added to the walls and ceilings.
e. Living or green roof tops can be added.
Q:
The U.S. oil consumption could be reduced by up to 90% and carbon dioxide emissions reduced by 27% by replacing most of the current national vehicle fleet with ____.
a. hybrid cars
b. fuel cell cars
c. ultralight vehicles
d. mass transportation vehicles
e. plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
Q:
The dirt wall left after contour mining is called an overburden.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Mining has polluted mountain streams in about 40% of the western U.S. watersheds and accounts for 50% of all the countrys emissions of toxic chemicals.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Nonrenewable mineral resources renew over millions to billions of years.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Water covers approximately ____% of Earth's surface.
a. 51
b. 61
c. 71
d. 81
e. 91
Q:
This system of dams and reservoirs on the ____ provides water and electricity from hydroelectric plants at the major dams for approximately one of every eight people in the U.S. and is used to produce about 15% of the nations crops and livestock.
a. Ohio River
b. Mississippi River
c. Colorado River
d. Columbia River
e. Great Lakes
Q:
Tap water in Palm Springs, California, most likely comes from a river that originated in northwestern Colorado.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Preventing contamination is the least expensive and most effective way to protect groundwater resources.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Land erosion can cause a major source water pollution through sediments that disrupt biotic activity.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Most freshwater in the eastern U.S. is used for manufacturing and cooling power plants.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Cruise ships are a significant source of pollution that dump toxic chemicals, garbage, sewage, and waste oil into the oceans.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Agricultural activities are the leading cause of water pollution with organic chemicals and oxygen demanding wastes as the major pollutants.
a. True
b. False
Q:
What is a major disadvantage of desalination?
a. reverse osmosis and transpiration
b. it is expensive
c. not enough brackish water to make it worthwhile
d. water cannot be used for irrigation
e. polluted sea water
Q:
Why did Saudi Arabia announce in 2008 that it would stop producing grain?
a. Its major deep aquifer has been depleted by drawing water for irrigation.
b. Multiple years of severe droughts have depleted the water table.
c. Its very rich, oil-financed economy can easily import food rather than grow its own.
d. Desalinization of seawater around Saudi Arabia has contaminated local freshwater reserves.
e. Oil seepage from oil fields has contaminated local freshwater reserves.
Q:
What has increased the annual reliable runoff available for our use by nearly 33%?
a. sustainable water use practices
b. dams
c. aquifers
d. drip irrigation
e. water conservation subsidies
Q:
What is formed when extreme sudden subsidence occurs within a depleted aquifer?
a. sinkholes
b. freshwater scarcity stress
c. virtual water
d. lowered water table
e. an impermeable layer that prevents recharge
Q:
Large dams and reservoirs ____.
a. reduce danger of flooding upstream
b. disrupt migration and spawning of fish
c. cannot be used for outdoor recreation
d. allow extensive downstream transport of sediments
e. have created lakes over of otherwise unproductive land
Q:
What is the primary problem with drawing groundwater from near ocean coastlines?
a. pollution travels faster through sandy soils
b. sand clogs up the wells
c. sinkholes
d. land subsidence
e. saltwater can be pulled into freshwater aquifers
Q:
What is the main problem with the Ogallala, the worlds largest aquifer that is located in the U.S.?
a. government subsidies
b. it is essentially a one-time deposit of liquid natural capital with a very slow rate of recharge
c. land subsidence
d. pollution
e. over-irrigation
Q:
Why would an aquifer be considered nonrenewable?
a. lack of rainfall
b. contamination and overpumping
c. located in arid regions
d. desertification
e. excessive irrigation
Q:
In addition to natural drought cycles, what could cause as much as 45% of Earths land surface to experience extreme droughts?
a. lack of rainfall
b. insufficient water for some urban areas
c. climate change
d. pollution of rivers, lakes, and groundwater
e. freshwater scarcity stress
Q:
Approximately 70% of the water withdrawn worldwide each year is used for ____.
a. industrial processes
b. cooling towers of power plants
c. irrigation of croplands and raising livestock
d. domestic use
e. water theme parks in tourist areas
Q:
We can say that the United States has ____ freshwater scarcity stress.
a. no
b. very little or minimal
c. average
d. spotty
e. widespread
Q:
Freshwater that is used indirectly is called ____, which is the freshwater that is not directly consumed but is used to produce food and other products.
a. industrial water
b. irrigation water
c. virtual water
d. gray water
e. ground water
Q:
What phenomenon can alter the hydrologic cycle on a global scale?
a. gravity
b. climate change
c. electricity
d. geothermal energy
e. wind
Q:
What is the portion of surface runoff that we can generally count on as a stable source of freshwater?
a. surface water
b. drainage basin
c. reliable runoff
d. watershed
e. precipitation
Q:
What is a water resource that can be considered nonrenewable?
a. water vapor in the atmosphere
b. precipitation
c. surface water in lakes and streams
d. deep aquifers
e. snowpack
Q:
Explain how growing corn in the Midwest creates a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.
Q:
Explain the benefits of using perennial plants rather than annual plants for food crops.
Q:
Discuss the relative costs of organically grown food and conventionally produced food. In your answer, explain the reason for these costs. Also give a possible example.
Q:
Clearly explain the relationship between irrigation and salinization of soils.
Q:
Briefly discuss how governments can save children from the harmful health effects of poverty.
Q:
Discuss how governments can use policies to improve food security.
Q:
It is well-documented that while some synthetic pesticides have caused great harm to living creatures, others have saved lives. Give a brief account of one that has, ironically, saved human lives: DDT.
Q:
The speciesarea relationship suggests that if 90% of a coral reef is lost, then ____.
a. 90% of the species utilizing the reef will go extinct
b. 100% of the species will go extinct
c. 50% of the species will go extinct
d. speciation of invasive animals will increase
e. the habitat will forever become fragmented
Q:
Biologists warn that human activities might actually increase the ____ for various weeds and pests.
a. ecological services
b. habitat fragmentation
c. extinction rates
d. biodiversity
e. speciation rate
Q:
Extinction recoveries can ____.
a. never happen
b. take several million years
c. happen over a few hundred years
d. be detrimental to existing species
e. only happen in the absence human activity
Q:
An endangered species is best described as any species that ____.
a. has fewer than two individuals remaining
b. is in danger of becoming rare
c. will soon become extinct in all or part of its range
d. may eventually become threatened
e. is considered economically important
Q:
A biologist is most likely to say that the honeybee is ____.
a. endangered
b. migrating away because of climate change
c. going extinct
d. experiencing colony collapse disorder
e. threatened
Q:
The current rate of extinction is ____ compared to the rate that existed before humans arrived on the earth.
a. about the same
b. slightly less
c. up to 1,000 times higher
d. almost 1,000 times lower
e. fluctuating wildly
Q:
Polar bears might only be found in ____ at the end of this century.
a. areas with icebergs
b. very limited areas
c. zoos
d. the immediate north and south pole regions
e. remote mountains with glaciers
Q:
What does the increase in incidents of polar bears visiting human settlements indicate?
a. Polar bear populations are not declining.
b. Limited prey is driving the bears to seek food in human settlements.
c. Polar bear populations are increasing.
d. Human food is more appealing to polar bears than wild seals.
e. Polar bear populations are increasing and human food is more appealing.
Q:
What is currently the most important threat to the survival of polar bears?
a. pollutants driven by currents from oceans in more temperate climate zones
b. hunting by native populations
c. disruptions from tourism
d. limited hunting opportunities due to less floating ice
e. slow extinction as a result of documented global population cycles
Q:
The butchering and eating of some forms of bushmeat has helped to spread diseases such as HIV/AIDS and the Ebola virus.
a. True
b. False
Q:
A decline in bird species simply means that the birds have migrated elsewhere because of their ability to fly.
a. True
b. False
Q:
It is estimated that between one-fourth and one-half of the worlds plant and animal species will suffer premature extinction by the end of this century.
a. True
b. False
Q:
The worlds wild species provide ecological resources and services that keep us alive and support human economies.
a. True
b. False
Q:
A low speciation rate contributes to negative effects on biodiversity.
a. True
b. False
Q:
The primary reason polar bear population are declining is because their fur keeps their body temperature too warm in light of global warming trends.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Nonnative species thrive in new ecosystems because they have superior gene pools.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Extinction can be the result of habitat fragmentation.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Pollution from human activities primarily affects human health, with any effects on the environment are small in comparison.
a. True
b. False
Q:
One of the causes of extinction is human population growth.
a. True
b. False
Q:
A species is biologically extinct when it has disappeared from the earth.
a. True
b. False
Q:
Zoos and aquariums can be used to protect wild species and serve as gene banks.
a. True
b. False
Q:
If you take a driving vacation to Mexico and then return to the United States in your car, you will be stopped at the border by U.S. agents who will ask if you are carrying any plants or animals. If you have any native plants with soil, these could be confiscated. What is the benefit to this process?
Q:
Briefly discuss the rising demand for bushmeat.
Q:
Use the acronym HIPPCO to describe what is currently happening to the worlds wild bird species.
Q:
Explain the concept of a national park; in particular, discuss how a national park can be a habitat island.
Q:
Describe the three primary challenges for scientists when attempting to estimate extinction rates.
Q:
Please list at least two methods of limiting the harmful impact of invasive species as described in your text.
Q:
Refer to the accompanying table. A traveling biologist decides to contribute money to the two developing countries that seems to be most focused on their threatened bird species, based on the percentage of land area that is set aside for conservation. What two countries will be recipients of her donations?
Q:
Refer to the accompanying table. A biologist wishes to see threatened bird species on her vacation, assuming that these species may not be around much longer. She decides to travel to the two countries with the highest density of threatened species per square kilometer. Which countries will she be visiting?
Q:
List four things that you do that can contribute to help protect wild species?
Q:
Would you support legislation that would allocate monetary compensation to land owners to help protect endangered species that occur on their property? Why or why not?
Q:
Some birds provide important ecological services in pollination and seed dispersal. As such, a declining bird population could cause a(n) ____________________ of extinctions.
Q:
Birds are excellent ____________________ species because they respond to habitat and climate changes very quickly relative to other kinds of plants and animals.
Q:
In the western United States, an area called the Great Basin contains many mountain ranges that are separated from each other by high desert. Because these mountain ranges provide sanctuary for some species, they could be called ____.
a. taiga reserves
b. islands of biodiversity
c. broadleaf deciduous reserves
d. grazing animal reserves
e. island reserves
Q:
In tropical rainforests, vegetation layers are structured according to ____.
a. how deep the rainfall penetrates into the forest
b. the plants needs for sunlight
c. how well each plant handles predation by herbivores
d. nutrient availability and uptake by plant roots
e. sensitivity to temperature changes
Q:
Large terrestrial regions characterized by a particular type of climate and a certain combination of dominant plant life are called ____.
a. biozones
b. communities
c. populations
d. biomes
e. niches
Q:
A rain shadow is most likely produced by a ____.
a. forest
b. ocean
c. lake
d. sand dune
e. mountain