Economics 50 Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1

1. Which statement best characterizes the assertions of the logarithmic-logistic models of societal development contained in both the charts from Raskin et al. in the lecture and Turner and McCandless (2004) “How Humankind Came to Rival Nature”?

		Contemporary environmental degradation will likely doom all societies to failure
		Because humans have always impacted their environment there is no need to be concerned about contemporary environmental change
		Human-caused transformation of the environment is an entirely new feature of the industrial revolution
		We are now at the beginning of a new stage of social, cultural, and technological development that could lead to new environmental challenges as well as better understanding of the human-environment condition

1 points

Question 2

1. Which regions of the world currently have the lowest percentage of urban population?

		Sub-saharan Africa and south Asia
		Sub-Saharan Africa and South America
		South Asia and southern Europe
		South Asia and South America

1 points

Question 3

1. In the European enlightenment formulation, women, indigenous people, and nature are

		feminized and exploitable objects
		active and thinking subjects
		feminized and sacred objects
		life-giving and fearful subjects

1 points

Question 4

1. In terms of world population censuses, the definition of urban

		is singularly defined and established by the U.N.
		defines any place with a population of 10,000 people or more
		defines all places where residents are not primarily engaged in agricultural activities
		varies from country to country

1 points

Question 5

1. The oceans cover about what percent of the earth’s surface?

		71%
		50%
		30%
		95%

1 points

Question 6

1. Whereas the I=PAT equation suggests that the higher a country’s affluence or income the higher that country’s environmental impact, Kuznets Curves suggest that

		as per-capita income increases the environment worsens, until reaching a maximum carrying capacity and leading to societal collapse
		as per-capita income increases population and technology increase at a steady rate, reflecting the increasing need to innovate and find solutions to environmental problems.
		as per-capita income increases the environment worsens, until reaching a turning point beyond which as per-capita income continues to increase the environment improves (a bell curve)
		as per-capita income increases population and food production increase at a steady rate, reflecting the increasing purchasing power of individual consumers (a linear progression)

1 points

Question 7

1. In terms of the Colorado River flow, we have learned that

		the flow of the river is expected to decrease within the next 25 years
		the flow of the Colorado remained the same from year-to-year before the construction of large dams
		the flow of the Colorado River has fluctuated greatly over the last 800 years
		we have dramatically under-allocated the Colorado’s water.

1 points

Question 8

1. Which two factors most contributed to the Great Plains Dust Bowl of the 1930s?

		rapid urban growth and aridity
		deforestation and erosion
		over-plowing and drought
		over-hunting and flooding

1 points

Question 9

1. Which statement about Great Plains population distribution is most accurate?

		populations in rural areas have grown rapidly since 1950 due to increases in tourism and construction
		populations in urban areas have decreased since 1950 as people have “gone back to the land” to work farms abandoned during the Dust Bowl
		the population of every county across the entire region has steadily increased since 1950 with the boom in the oil economy
		populations in rural areas have decreased in many places since 1950 due to the increasing efficiency of modern agricultural practices

1 points

Question 10

1. Thomas Malthus’ theory on population growth and food production

		considers affluence and technology as important variables
		has unequivocally been proven correct
		has unequivocally been proven wrong
		does not take into account many social, economic, institutional, and cultural variables

1 points

Question 11

1. The urban garden and community agriculture movement in the United States can best be described as

		subsistence agriculture
		industrial agriculture
		cash-crop agriculture
		none of these answers

1 points

Question 12

1. The infrastructure of informal settlements, sometimes referred to as slums, squatter settlements, and favelas, is typically characterized by

		a lack of indoor plumbing
		all of the these answers
		the use of a variety of scrap materials to build homes
		unpaved streets

1 points

Question 13

1. Food prices and oil (petroleum) prices

		exhibit a positive relationship; as oil prices increase food prices tend to increase
		tend to not be related
		remain steady from year to year
		exhibit a negative relationship; as oil prices increase food prices tend to decrease

1 points

Question 14

1. “Path-dependency” as illustrated by Turner and McCandless (2004) “How Humankind Came to Rival Nature” refers to

		the transition to a “planetary” society
		the steady upward trajectory of human civilization
		the current socioeconomic and environmental conditions that constrain or expand future possibilities
		the lack of precedent for the scale of contemporary environmental changes

1 points

Question 15

1. Some scientists have argued that using the term Anthropocene is redundant. Why?

		Because modern humans have existed throughout the Pleistocene Epoch for the last 2.5 million years
		Because the Holocene Epoch, in which we currently live, already denotes a time when the human imprint is widespread
		Because humans cannot really cause lasting damage or change the global environment
		Because humans have modified the global environment since at least the Industrial Revolution

1 points

Question 16

1. In the Cartesian formulation from the European enlightenment, man is separate from, and superior to, nature. This make nature

		a dangerous and terrifying object
		an inferior and exploitable object
		an interdependent and embodied object
		a separate and sacred object

1 points

Question 17

1. What is the average depth of the Ocean?

		7,800 meters
		15,000 meters
		3,800 meters
		1,000 meters

1 points

Question 18

1. According to the charts from Raskin et al. in the lecture, which of the following systems of social organization, forms of economy, and communications technology characterizes the current “Planetary Phase?”

		tribe/village, hunting/gathering, language, respectively
		nation-state, industrial system, and printing, respectively
		city-state/kingdom, settled agriculture, writing, respectively
		global governance, globalization, and the internet, respectively

1 points

Question 19

1. LUCC science has emerged as an important field in the last half of the 20^th century due primarily to the analytical power of

		historical records of the use of fire
		population growth records
		urbanization
		satellite remote sensing

1 points

Question 20

1. Which of the following cities has grown in recent decades in part due to rural displacement caused by the expansion of the oil industry?

		Lagos, Nigeria
		Los Angeles, USA
		Beijing, China
		Detroit, USA

1 points

Question 21

1. The variables in the I=PAT equation for understanding environmental change due to population growth are defined as

		impact = (population) (affluence) (technology)
		impact = (personality) (affluence) (time)
		institutions = (population) (affluence) (time)
		institutions = (personality) (affluence) (time)

1 points

Question 22

1. In 1950, half of the world’s 10 largest cities were in Europe and the United States. How many European and U.S. cities are projected to be in the list of the world’s 10 largest cities in 2025?

		1
		5
		7
		6

1 points

Question 23

1. The largest share of population growth in the 21st century is expected to come from

		China
		Europe
		the more developed countries
		the less developed countries

1 points

Question 24

1. In the 1980s and 1990s, which trend was observed in the relationship between cultivated land and cereal yields globally?

		both cereal yields and the amount of land in cultivation increased
		the amount of land in cultivation increased while cereal yields decreased
		cereal yields increased while the amount of land in cultivation decreased
		both cereal yields and the amount of land in cultivation decreased

1 points

Question 25

1. In the reading from Jared Diamond (2005) “Malthus in Africa,” it was revealed that

		population growth and high population densities put stressors on land and resources that contributed to the Rwandan genocide of the 1990s
		women in Sub-Saharan Africa ultimately had no say in the number of children they had, therefore leading to increasing population growth rates
		the factors that influence women’s and family’s choices about how many children to have in Sub-Saharan Africa are many and complex
		population growth and high population densities were a significant cause of the HIV/Aids epidemic and the resulting “missing” population of Sub-Saharan Africa

1 points

Question 26

1. In the LUCC case of Brazilian deforestation, which of the following best exemplifies an underlying cause?

		the farmer in the slide show physically planting soy beans
		increasing international demand in urban areas for soy products
		ranchers and cowboys cutting down trees for cattle pasture
		the cattle eating new tree growth

1 points

Question 27

1. Hardin’s (1968) “Tragedy of the Commons” idea is best exemplified by

		over-fishing in the Grand Banks of Newfoundland
		the Rwandan genocide
		population decline in the Adriatic region of southern Europe
		China’s one-child policy

1 points

Question 28

1. Which of the following cities has lost population in recent decades in part due to the decline of the manufacturing economy?

		Lagos, Nigeria
		Beijing, China
		Detroit, USA
		Los Angeles, USA

1 points

Question 29

1. About what percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas today?

		10%
		50%
		80%
		20%

1 points

Question 30

1. In the 1990s and early 2000s, _____ experienced the greatest rise in the number of people living on less than $0.50 per day.

		Latin America
		Pacific Islands
		Sub Saharan Africa
		south Asia

1 points

Question 31

1. In terms of population, Europe has

		has experienced internal displacement due to civil war
		offered monetary incentives to families to have additional children
		experienced high rates of in migration from Africa and the Middle East
		adopted a strict family planning policy to limit population growth

1 points

Question 32

1. Which of the following was not a recommendation of John Wesley Powell in his Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United States?

		change the size of land allotments under the homestead act
		discontinue Eastern riparian water laws and adopt a new water law for the West
		redraw state boundaries around major river watersheds
		large dams and reservoirs should be built by private companies and individuals

1 points

Question 33

1. In LUCC science, land use refers to

		the social, economic, political, cultural and institutional factors that define how land should be used
		the natural covering of land existing before human modification
		the physical covering of land whether it is natural or human created
		the human alteration of an environment, for instance from forest to cropland

1 points

Question 34

1. Stage 1 of the demographic transition model is characterized by

		low birth rates, low death rates, but high population
		low birth rates, low death rates, and decreasing population
		high birth rates, high death rates, and low population
		high birth rates, declining death rates, and rapidly increasing population

1 points

Question 35

1. During the summer of 2015, most migrants in Europe’s refugee “crisis” intended to reach which country as their final destination?

		Germany
		Hungary
		Greece
		Slovakia

1 points

Question 36

1. During the second half of the 20th century in the United States, Cleveland, Detroit, and Buffalo all _____ population; while Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles all _____ population.

		gained; lost
		gained; gained
		lost; gained
		lost; lost

1 points

Question 37

1. In terms of global demographics, the term “demographic divide” refers to

		the inability of many countries to pass beyond stage 1 of the demographic transition model
		the social and political differences between generations, such as the baby boom generation and the millennial generation.
		the ways demographers divide country populations based on gender, age, and income levels
		the different population profiles that characterize LDCs vs. MDCs

1 points

Question 38

1. Which environmental philosophy challenges the “Western” opposition of man and nature most directly?

		Environmental preservation
		Conservation management
		Transcendentalism
		Ecofeminism

1 points

Question 39

1. A country growing at a rate of 2 percent per year would be expected to double its population in

		35 years
		70 years
		20 years
		200 years

1 points

Question 40

1. The Bureau of Reclamation’s earliest projects in the 1900s and 1910s included

		a desalination plant at Yuma
		the CAP
		Glen Canyon Dam and the Los Angeles Aqueduct
		Roosevelt Dam on the Salt River

1 points

Question 41

1. In the reading from William Cronon (1992) “A Place for Stories,” the two differing story arcs that shape our understanding of human-caused environmental changes are different in that they present a

		objective vs. subjective view
		pro vs. con view
		declensionist vs. progressive narrative
		disagreement about the basic facts and evidence

1 points

Question 42

1. The overall human population of the earth is _____. The overall population growth rate is _____.

		decreasing; also decreasing
		increasing; also increasing
		increasing; decreasing
		decreasing; increasing

1 points

Question 43

1. In terms of population, Russia has

		experienced high rates of in migration from Africa and the Middle East
		offered monetary incentives to families to have additional children
		adopted a strict family planning policy to limit population growth
		has experienced internal displacement due to civil war

1 points

Question 44

1. All of the following are associated with the modern food system except

		a large, hungry urban population
		widespread subsistence farming
		factory farming
		a large number of food miles

1 points

Question 45

1. In terms of population, Colombia has

		offered monetary incentives to families to have additional children
		has experienced internal displacement due to civil war
		experienced high rates of in migration from Africa and the Middle East
		adopted a strict family planning policy to limit population growth

1 points

Question 46

1. The Green Revolution (GR) beginning in the 1960s refers to

		the advances of agricultural science and increasing crop yields combined with the diplomatic and political work to distribute those advances to LDCs
		the social upheaval that lead to the founding of modern environmental organizations and events such as Earth Day
		the cultural and economic changes experienced in China as a result of the Great Leap Forward
		the advances of agricultural science and increasing crop yields

1 points

Question 47

1. In Turner and McCandless (2004) “How Humankind Came to Rival Nature” and the charts from Raskin et al. in the lecture, the phases of human development follow a logarithmic-logistic model where the duration of each subsequent era decreases by a factor of 10. For instance, the stone age lasts 100,000 years while the early civilization age lasts only 10,000 years. Why might this be?

		the societal transitions are spurred by not only technological advances but also population, which has a tendency to increase exponentially and spur changes in the the organization of society
		there are regular environmental changes that happen naturally, without any influence from humans, and at the same time as the great societal transitions
		At each transition there has been a major social or environmental catastrophe which forced people to advance to a new phase
		in each phase people are much smarter than before, so they need less time to transition to a new era

1 points

Question 48

1. As people in developing countries become more affluent, a greater proportion of their diet will likely consist of

		rice
		meat
		fresh fruits
		fresh vegetables

1 points

Question 49

1. It has been argued that the start date for the Anthropocene is

		difficult to identify because humans have always modified the environment in some ways
		about 1950, with large increases in fossil fuel use
		all of these answers
		about 1800, with the Industrial Revolution

1 points

Question 50

1. In the reading from John Tierney (1986) “Fanisi’s Choice,” it was revealed that

		population growth and high population densities put stressors on land and resources that contributed to the Rwandan genocide of the 1990s
		women in Sub-Saharan Africa ultimately had no say in the number of children they had, therefore leading to increasing population growth rates
		the factors that influence women’s and family’s choices about how many children to have in Sub-Saharan Africa are many and complex
		population growth and high population densities were a significant cause of the HIV/Aids epidemic and the resulting “missing” population of Sub-Saharan Africa

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