Singh
Environmental Gaurav Issues Midterm Exam
Environmental Issues 11:372:202
Midterm Examination
03/12/09
Instructions: Please review the exam first. Choose the sections you
prefer to answer. Except for section V, you must answer each question of
the chosen sections. Section V has no limit, you can answer as many as
you like. However, if you answer more than one question from section V
do not answer one of the other sections, as the sum of your answers must
potentially equal 100. There is no extra credit so dont answer more
questions than you need.
I Circle or highlight the correct answer (2pts each 20 pts total):
1) A land ethic consists of:
A) an obligation to act with an ecological conscious.
B) an obligation to value human life.
C) an obligation to consider that all life has equal value.
D) all of the above.
2) Pragmatic conservationists, including Gifford Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt, supported forest
conservation in order to protect:
A) wildlife habitat.
B) the recreational resource.
C) untouched, unvisited wilderness areas.
D) resources such as wood for future generations.
3) Biocentric preservationists, first led by John Muir, advocate saving natural areas for there:
A)wood and mineral resources for the future.
B) beauty and wildlife habitat.
C) hunting and fishing value.
D) tourism and recreation potential.
4) The results from the environmental ethics inventory for this class were biocentric. Twenty
years ago a similar test would probably have proven:
A) more biocentric
B) more ecocentric
C) more vegan
D) all of the above
5) Aldo Leopold, trained as a forester, was most well known for his work on:
A) reforestation
B) wildlife management and land ethics
C) tests of competitive exclusion
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D) fisheries management and land ethics
6) The world's population is now (3/09) 6,735,365,670, projected maximum is:
A) between 10 and 14 billion.
B) 8 billion.
C) not important as disease will limit growth.
D) is it important as the quality of life is the question.
7) An area practicing sustainable forestry:
A) Africa
B) Tropical South America
C) Oceania
D) Europe
8) A species making a strong comeback in the northern section of New Jersey is:
A) the white tailed deer
B) the red-tailed hawk
C) the pheasant
D) the black bear
9) A niche can be defined as:
A) the habitat of the species
B) intraspecific competition between species
C) the competition between two species
D) the functional role of the species
10) The potential to increase agricultural production through increased irrigation:
A) could double the amount of food produced..
B) is not expected to have an impact as there is already a water balance deficit and water
tables are falling.
C) could triple the amount of food produced.
D) none of the above.
II Fill in the blank with an appropriate word ( 2 points each 20 points total):
21) In Wildlife in American Culture Leopold refers to national origins and evolution, another
way to express this concept would be ____Split-Rail Values (Nationalism)______.
22) In a young pine plantation, ___growth____ is likely to be high while the rate of decay is
likely to be __low____, the reverse is true in an old growth forest.
23) & 24) According to Leopold, all ethics so far evolved rest of a single premise, that the
individual is a member of a ____community_____ of _____interdependent_____ parts.
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25) & 26) His instincts prompt him to _____compete_____ for his place in that community,
while his ethics prompt him also to _____cooperate_____.
27&28) Industrial agriculture has led to a significant ___rise___in the number of species planted
and a significant __decline___ in the number of endemic species adapted to local environs used
for food.
29) Leopolds essay the Good Oak provides an example of the difference between biological
and cultural evolution, that being the ____driving force______ of change.
30) The deer population in New Jersey is maintained at or near its ____ carrying
capacity______.
III Define the relationships in the following graph and its significance to future population
growth (20 points).
The graph above displays a significant phenomenon that is occurring in the world today. It
shows that the global population increases as the industrialization of the world increases.
As the number of people on the planet increases, the need for industrialization is required to
comfortably live. Industrialization can be defined as the building of houses, shopping areas,
roads and obviously automobiles. When there are more people on the planet, they will need
more resources, cars being one of them. Of course, you cannot drive cars without having
roads and you cannot build roads and bridges without depleting the land around the
building site. The list of resources that humans need to live is growing as well. In order to
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attain these resources, we must diminish the surrounding land, which is rapidly becoming
scarce. The graph also presents the relationship the rapidly rising population and industry
has on the croplands and forests. As the population increases, the only way to industrialize
is to build on top of croplands or knock trees down to make room for the buildings. It can
be seen that the population has crossed the six billion mark while automobiles have crossed
the 510 million point. On the other side of the graph, there is an inverse relationship as the
number of heclares per person is decreasing fairly quickly. The declining rate of the grain
croplands is still less than the declining rate of the forestry. As more years pass, the amount
of original forests becomes less prevalent. This is largely due to the amount of
industrialization that has occurred in the last few years. Forests occupy or have occupied
much of the land around us and in order to industrialize the land, they are the first to be
knocked down to provide land required for projects. This is a troubling concern for future
years because the resources as well as forestry and croplands will eventually come to an end
but the population will steadily increase. To put into perspective the immense rate at which
the population increases, a recent study has shown that approximately 80 million people are
added to the population every year. This means that we must always be adding on to the
industrial projects to accommodate the new addition to the already overcrowded
population. These circumstances do not bode well for forests and croplands as they are
becoming less and less available to accommodate for the increasing industrial market.
When the human population increases, the crops along with the forestry deplete. The crops
deplete at approximately the same rate as the population increases. This is a dangerous
situation for future generations because eventually, we has a human race will run out of
land and resources to industrialize the world.
IV Please answer four of the following five questions. (5 points each 20 points total)
A. Is genetic engineering the answer to world hunger? Please state your answer in terms of
the arguments both for and against the use of GMO foods.
Genetically engineered foods are a viable solution to solve the world hunger quandary.
According to recent studies from 2006, 10.3 million farmers in 22 countries planted 252
million acres of genetically engineered crops. These numbers prove that this method of
producing more food is becoming rapidly prevalent throughout the world. Besides being a
practical solution to famine in many underdeveloped nations, genetically engineered foods
have many benefits. These foods provide the crops with nutrients and enhanced quality as
well as taste, along with resistance to potentially deadly diseases. They possess many
benefits to the environment around us as well because they minimize the energy required to
produce the food. These crops also help in the conservation of the soil and water that goes
into their production. Keeping the famine problem in mind, genetically modified crops
provide food security for rapidly increasing populations. It is better to obtain genetically
modified foods to feed starving populations than it is to not have any food at all. In
addition, the genetically engineered foods contain vitamins and nutrients that can also fight
off infectious diseases that linger in foreign countries. This method of producing food to
feed the world has been a controversial issue for a while, but is truly the future of the food
industry. Genetic engineering is the short-term answer to solving the worlds hunger
dilemma, and with improved technology, can also be the long term and only solution to feed
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the world.
Because genetic engineering is such a controversial topic, there are heavy concerns from
both viewpoints. Those who support the technology believe that the modified foods improve
the health of the consumer as well as provide food security for the population. Using the
regular methods to produce food are claimed to be time consuming as well as costly. Those
who oppose the philosophy of producing foods by altering their DNA have good counter
arguments as well. By adopting such a method, the notion of defying gods creation of
natural products comes into play. Because this topic specifically is so controversial, it is
rarely discussed as it may offend others. They believe that god made a way for things to be
born or be made and we as a human race must respect that and not try to genetically alter
forms of life. Another reason as to why this issue is opposed is the patents that large
corporations such as Monsanto put on their genetically altered crops. This brings up the
controversial practice of placing patents or ownerships on forms of life, which is thought to
be unethical. Both views of this controversial, yet exciting new method of solving the
worlds hunger predicament hold strong arguments. However, as technology increases, the
use of genetically modifying crops will be used more frequently, despite the opinions and
concerns from the opposing side.
B. Discuss the trends in regional timber production
as outlined on the graph. Are current harvest rates in
the United States sustainable?
The graph provided to the right illustrates the Timber Harvest by
Region of the United States. It is interesting to note that unlike
the population and land graph, this graph has harvest rates that are
much more manageable. In the fifty-year span that this graph
covers, the harvest rates for each region greatly affect the total
average of Timber Harvest. In the west, the timber harvest rate
steadily climbs for about thirty-seven years (1950-1987) and then
starts to decline quite rapidly from around 1987 to 1999. In the
east however, the rate of timber harvest is significantly less,
almost stagnant for twenty-nine years (1950-1979). From
about 1978 to about 1990, there is a heavy
increase in timber harvest. This may be caused by the industrialization of the east coast
during that time period. We may have been building new projects predominantly in the
east coast, and forests were cut down in order to provide space for the industrial
developments. According to the Virginia Department of Forestry, f rom 1976 to 1992, a net
of 673,000 acres, or 2.65% of the total land area of Virginia, was converted from forest to
industrialized projects. This significant cut of forestry and timber may have had a drastic
affect on the rate at which the timber was harvested during that time period. Then again in
1987, the harvest rate increases at a slower rate, even crossing the fifteen billion cubic feet
threshold. Both the timber harvest rates from the east and west coast affects the total
harvest, which is depicted in black in the graph. According to the graph, the total harvest of
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timber crossed twenty billion cubic feet in about 1983. It went all the way up to twentythree billion cubic feet in 1988, and has since been on the decline. As stated in the RPA
Timber Assessment from 2000, in the last thirty-five years, United States consumption of
forest products has increased at the rate of 1.9% per year, and is expected to increase 0.9%
per year in the next fifty or so years. These numbers, although quite high, are still
manageable. Unlike the rates of the population and the land graph, these numbers are
sustainable because of the many laws that states have passed to protect forests. Another
reason that these timber harvest rates are sustainable is because the amounts of forests that
are being cut down are decreasing, as depicted in the graph. This may be because we have
harvested so much timber already, that the amount of forest remaining is not enough to
exploit. Still, these numbers are not drastic enough to cause great concern; the
sustainability of forestry is something that the human race can achieve through
conscientious decisions in industrialization.
C. The population explosion has long been articulated as the root of many environmental issues
(Population Bomb 1968. Paul R. Ehrlich). Could you also make an argument that falling birth
rates particularly in Europe pose a threat to human welfare (Newsweek September 27 2004)?
The global population influx is an important issue that brings up many concerns about
human welfare sustainability for future generations. Falling birth rates do pose a threat to
human welfare, but this threat is not a devastating one. This is because there are so many
other factors that contribute to the worlds population. Recent studies have shown that,
eighty million people are added to the population every year; there is one birth every eight
seconds; one death every eleven seconds and one net international migrant every twentyseven seconds. With all these factors considered in the global population, the net gain is one
person every eleven seconds. This rate is staggering and should cancel out the falling birth
rates in Europe. The worlds population will make up for the diminishing birth rates in
Europe in some form or another. People believe that this falling birth rate is relative to the
global economy. Demographic decline causes anxiety because it is thought to go hand-inhand with economic decline. This concern is nothing to worry about because there is no
threat to human welfare. If recent research proves to be correct, then the United States,
which currently has 160 million fewer people than Europe, will have equaled the population
by 2050. Increasing immigration is, in theory, one option for Europe, but most agree it is
politically unfeasible in the current situation of the world, with terrorism haunting the
world. There is another option that many countries such as Sweden, France and have
adopted to promote their citizens to produce babies. Sweden has been stressing gender
equality rather than stating directly that it wants to boost birth rates and has provided
mixed packages of higher pay for women as well as flexible working for both parents and
high quality childcare. Similarly, France has added tax incentives for families with babies,
promoting the notion of a rising birth rate as well as economy. In Poland, where the
population has fallen by half a million in the last six years, has recently passed legislation
that will pay women for each child that they bear. As discussed in lecture, Italys population
has been rapidly declining and the birth rate has been steadily decreasing. As a result,
Italys population could shrink by as much as one-third by 2050. To help the countrys
cause, some towns have started offering couples 10,000 Euros for each newborn baby.
Falling birth rates can adversely affect the welfare of the human race but it is a concern that
is short lived. In this recent economy, many families cannot afford to foster children, and
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are reluctant in producing babies. Once the economy gets back on track, families will
undoubtedly begin having babies and ultimately reverse the declining birth rates. The
notion that the declining birth rate in Europe can pose a threat to human welfare is false.
With incentives given by countries to increase the birth rates, many families will realize the
benefits of having children, which in turn will boost the birth rate.
D. Please provide an explanation for the following
paper consumption diagram and suggest a solution.
According to the graph that is provided, the paper
consumption in developing countries has a slower
rate of consumption than that of industrial
countries. The graph shows a stretch of fifty years
(1960-2010) including projected totals of paper
consumption. The rate of paper use industrial
countries is far greater than that of developing
countries, which would be obvious. The graph
shows that the paper consumption in developing
countries is projected to break fifty million metric
tons by 2010. It also illustrates that the rate of
paper use in industrial countries is projected to break 250 million metric tons in 2010. In
developing countries, the use of paper is not necessarily a popular phenomenon. In
industrial countries, such as the United States, the use of paper dominates our lives.
Everything we do, from the books that we read to the notes we take in class involves paper.
In businesses around the country, paper is used in abundance throughout the year. The
reason that developing countries dont use as much paper as industrial countries is because
they have no need to use paper, unless it is in schools or other small businesses. Also,
because the populations in industrial countries are usually much higher, their paper
consumption will certainly by higher as well. Developing countries have a lower population
and thus lower rate of paper consumption. It would seem that with the increasing
technology and electronics, that the paper consumption would become less prevalent, but
that is not the case. In fact, recent studies have shown that the United States consumes over
ninety million tons of paper each year, an average of 700 pounds a person. Both rates of
paper consumption contribute to the world total of paper use, which surprisingly is
projected to break 350 million metric tons by 2010. There are solutions to the wasteful
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spending of paper. We as a human race need to adapt to the technological era. It will be
difficult to implement technology in the developing countries, but is a possible capability.
The United States is a world leader and should foster technological use in developing
countries. Not only will it benefit the budding countries, it will promote our status as a
world leader and cut paper costs throughout the world. By using technology, we can limit
the use of paper consumption and hopefully reduce the average paper consumption per
year. Ideal targets to reduce the rate of consumption are students. Instead of writing a
letter, one should send an email; instead of taking notes on paper, one should use a laptop or
computer. If each and every one of us contributes in a small way, we as nation will help
lower the rate of consumption of paper throughout the world.
E. Discuss the significance of the adjoining graphic in terms of
historic trends of biodiversity.
V) Short Essays, approximately 1,000 words (20 points each):
a. Leopold stated the Wilderness is the raw material out of
which man has hammered the artifact called civilization. Please explain what he meant
and weather or not it helps to explain the current economic crisis.
b. In his essay Thinking Like a Mountain Leopold defines the primary tenant on which he
would base much of his later work concerning wildlife management. At the end of the
essay he expands the discussion beyond the simple predator and prey relationship. Define
that tenant and discuss its application in terms of todays environmental issues.
c. In the first chapter of Klines book he reviews Lynn Whites 1967 article entitled The
Historical Roots of Our ecological Crisis. Either support of rebut whites argument
using at least two concrete examples.
d. Under the Regan Administration the staff at Environmental Protection Agency was
reduced by approximately 23%. What prompted this reduction and can you see any
parallels with the Bush administration.
e. Many demographers and land use professionals believe that New Jersey will be the first
state to reach build-out. Define the historic drivers of suburban sprawl, its
consequences in terms of resource allocation and the prospect for the future.
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d. Under the Regan Administration the staff at Environmental Protection Agency
was reduced by approximately 23%. What prompted this reduction and can you see
any parallels with the Bush administration.
The 1980 presidential election proved to be a great victory for Ronald Reagan. He
was a conservative Republican governor from California and was anticipated to continue
the United States dominance in the world. Domestically, he was expected to tackle the drug
problem, the debate on abortion and rising economic issues. However, Reagan made it
quite clear that he was not interested in conserving the environment. This was evident the
day he moved into the white house, as he immediately removed the rooftop solar panels that
Jimmy Carter had installed in the previous term. His act sent a message to American
citizens but more importantly the environmentalists, saying that he was not interested in
preserving the nations natural wonder.
In 1981, the United States was becoming known for their environmentalist behaviors
as an important congressional environmental advancement was enacted, the Superfund
program. This environmental friendly program helped to clean up hazardous chemical
materials that were dumped. In addition, the United States participated in and supported a
global suspension on commercial whaling. These were only the highlights of the years
environmental awareness, before Ronald Reagan took office. Once he moved into the White
house, he made many enemies with environmentalists. His environmental views lingered
between hostility and indifference, and it was his appointments that often reflected his
hatred towards the environment. He also wished to deregulate or disband environmental
agencies because he thought that it was a waste of money and time to fund these agencies.
Again, Reagans appointments reflected his deep disgust for environmental agencies
as he hired Donald Hodel as his secretary of energy. It was apparent that his appointments
shared the same loathing feeling towards the environment. Hodel quickly became infamous
for suggesting that the best way to deal with the ozone depletion is to apply thicker and
stronger suntan lotion. James Watt, who was appointed as Reagans secretary of the
interior shared the same dislike and had goals of dismantling and deregulation
environmental protection agencies. It then became borderline corrupt, as Watt held a key
role in the Sagebrush Rebellion, a movement led by western loggers, miners and ranchers
to sell public land to private parties. James Watt publicly supported this movement, and
thus caused an abundance of criticism from the American public, and caused him to resign
in 1983.
Reagan was not concerned with securing the nations energy independence either.
He dismantled the White Houses solar energy program, cancelled federal research into
biofuels, massively cut funding for scientists working on various energy independence
projects, and had no intention of becoming an environmental friendly nation. With these
factors, it is not surprising that the EPAs staff was greatly reduced during his tenure.
Perhaps the main driver for the reduction of the Environmental Protection Agency
was Ann Gorsuch Burford, who was appointed to head the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). She had ambitions to dismantle the agency rather than to govern it.
Burford made Reagans goal of trimming government expenses and regulations her own
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job, a key reason that Reagan appointed her to such a high position. By doing so, she
significantly reduced the EPAs budget by 200 million dollars, and cut the staff as well by
twenty-three percent. By dismissing so many experienced members of the agency, the rest
of the EPA staff quickly lost all hope in conserving the nations environment. Because of the
political views of the conservative party, headed by Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, the
Environmental Protection Agency as well as other agencies to protect the environment
began to lose popularity and support that it basked in during the 1970s. This loss of
support began to hinder Reagans popularity as a President, so in 1983, Reagan appointed
EPAs first director, William D. Ruckelshaus to settle criticism from congress and
environmentalists.
To regain the support that Reagan had lost with the EPA, Ruckelshaus stressed the
enforcement of the EPAs Science Advisory Board. As a result, the Science Advisory Board
was significantly strengthened and the EPA gained support from congress and started to
garner support from environmentalists. Ruckelshaus had insight as to why the Reagan
administration lost so much support during the term. He believed that the EPAs approach
to regulation had become so politicized. He believed that the Reagan administration
undermined the EPA because it erroneously believed that the popularity of
environmentalism had declined. Basically, Ronald Reagan became so attached in gaining
the publics trust by proposing acts that helped the economy and the nations evident
problems that he forgot about the environment. His appointments held essentially the same
beliefs towards the environment, and ultimately led to the deregulation of EPA by an
astounding twenty-three percent. He believed that funding agencies that protect the
environment was wasteful, but he proved to be wrong and realized his costly mistake.
After Ronald Reagans assassination in 1981, George Bush became the President of
the United States. Bush saw how cutting funding to environmental protection agencies
hindered Reagans presidency and tried to avoid following in the same footsteps. However,
being Reagans Vice President for two terms, Bush supported the deregulation and business
development. During the 1988 campaign, Bush promised the nation to be an
environmental president. When he was elected, he kept his word and appointed William
K. Reilly, a revered environmentalist, to be the head of EPA. Unfortunately, in the midst of
trying to gain the trust of the environmentalists, the economy started to slide into a
recession. Bush struggled to balance economic and environmental concerns in his domestic
policies. Soon unemployment crossed seven percent that year, and public support for
environmental legislation began to diminish.
There were many environmental concerns that were brought to Bushs attention
during his term. The two main concerns that were threatening the safety of the world at the
time was the depletion of the ozone layer and global warming. These issues helped to
publicize the environmental concerns and called for government regulation. Bush
attempted to address these issues and fund their research but had to balance that and the
declining economy as well as the increasing rate of unemployment. As the environmental
issues and threats kept building, it seemed as if Bush was beginning to act like Reagan,
following in his footsteps. After the Exxon Valdez oil spill, possibly the greatest ecological
disaster of the 1980s, Bush publicly described the spill as a major tragedy but then
continued to support offshore oil exploration and drilling. With this act, it seems as if
George Bush gave up on supporting environmental projects because he had to deal with far
greater concerns, the economys recession being one of them.
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While concerns about the environment kept building, and in the face of federal
apathy, many states adopted their own laws to protect the environment. In 1989, New York,
New Jersey and the six New England states agreed to conform to Californias strict vehicle
emissions standards for toxins that produce urban smog. These laws that they enacted in
their respective states were much stricter than the ones the Bush administration had
enforced. Many felt that the government was not doing enough to help the environment so
they took matters into their own hands. The governor of New York stated, We will do what
we must to protect the health of our people. But its still true that it would be better for the
nation if Washington would recognize its special responsibility. This public statement
pressured the government to take stronger actions on environmental concerns. Soon
Congress worked with the Republicans to pass a Clean Air Act in 1990, and began a multibillion dollar cleanup of nuclear weapons facilities and power plants. Despite these acts, the
Bush administration followed in Reagans legacy and was not eager to fund and support
environmental issues. They even dismissed concerns that were not immediate troubles or
appeared to be a waste of time in their mind. Unlike Reagan, George Bush attempted to
appease the environmentalists by funding their projects but it was a difficult task, as he had
to balance the rapidly declining economy and high unemployment rates. It was only after
he received criticism from the public that he decided to act on his promise to be an
environmental president.
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