Conservation of Natural Resources Exam 1

What is "carrying capacity"? What are two factors that can affect carrying capacity?

Carrying capacity is the maximum population that can be supported in a given environment. A number of factors can affect this, including the resource base, technological abilities of the population, and the wealth of the population.

A variety of engineering projects, including the reduction of fire hazard, planting trees, flood control, and infrastructure within national parks were completed as a result of the ________.

Civilian Conservation Corps

______ _______ or a population is calculated by dividing 70 by natural growth rate.

Doubling time

Why was the decade of the 1970s so prolific, in terms of the government involvement with environmental awareness?

During the 1960s, environmental damage was becoming more and more apparent, such as the misuse of agricultural chemicals (ex. DDT). By the 1970s, the federal government became involved with legislation designed to halt further damage and begin to improve environmental conditions.

_____ _____ was established in 1969 in an effort to educate the public and increase environmental awareness.

Earth Day

Who wrote Man and Nature, in 1864, drawing attention to the fragile nature of the environment?

George Perkins Marsh

Why was the Hetch Hetchy Valley, which was located within the boundaries of Yosemite National Park, at the center of debate in the early 1900s?

Gifford Pinchot led the charge to build a reservoir in the valley to serve as water supply for San Francisco. John Muir, and others, wanted to preserve all areas within the park. After the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, many felt that the extra water provided by reservoirs outside of the city would be helpful to preventing another massive fire like the one caused by the earthquake.

The founder of the Sierra Club was ______ _______ who also lobbied extensively for the establishment of Yellowstone, Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks.

John Muir

________ overpopulation involves population-based resource degradation, which occurs more commonly in developing countries.

Malthusian

Differentiate between pollution "control" and pollution "prevention".

Pollution control is reactive; pollution is cleaned from the environment. Pollution prevention is proactive; efforts are taken to keep pollution from entering the environment.

In what ways are population growth, resource demand and depletion, and pollution linked?

Population growth results in the need for more resources (food, energy, etc.). Greater demand on resources leads to depletion of some resources and the inevitable environmental damage via pollution, soil erosion/depletion, etc.

Pro and con to reducing the size of national monuments.

Pro: Land is now available for mineral exploration/extraction; Con: Possible degradation of the environment.

Which statement is false concerning world hunger?

Salinization of the soil, in semiarid regions, makes the soil more productive.

The first director of the National Park Service was ___________,

Stephen Mather

Why were so many government programs---such as the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Tennessee Valley Authority---initiated during the 1930s?

The combined effects of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl during that decade left many out of work and farmland badly in need of repair. Government programs were initiated to provide jobs and to help restore farmland.

The Clean Air Act has three dates listed (1970, 1977, and 1990). Explain this.

The initial act was passed in 1970, but there were further amendments in 1977 and 1990. Such amendments are often a result of further knowledge gained over time to show that the original act was not adequate. Also, there may be changes in the emissions as society continues to develop that were not covered in the original act.

What are Conservation Reserve Programs (CRP)?

These programs are designed to help restore the health of the soil (e.g. increased nutrients). Farmers let CRP land lie fallow, with no crops being raised. These programs provide funding for farmers to help with restoration and to help offset money lost due to lack of crops.

What was the primary goal of the Prairie States Forestry Project, which began in 1934?

This program was focused on the construction of shelter belts of vegetation to combat wind erosion throughout the Plains.

The construction of a dam within the Hetch Hetchy Valley of ____________ National Park helped rally support for the establishment of the National Park Service in 1916.

Yosemite

Overpopulation exists when the population exceeds the _____ ______ of the area.

carrying capacity

What were some of the driving forces behind the federal involvement in environmental issues during the Theodore Roosevelt presidency in the early 1900s?

concerns over timber depletion in the Great Lakes area, John Wesley Powell's surveys of the Southwest indicating agricultural potential in that region, Inland Waterways Commission reports of misuse of water resources, growing concerns over mismanagement of resources

A population pyramid that is very broad at the bottom and very narrow at the top indicates which of the following?

dramatically increasing population

The _________ approach is a "systems" approach to resource management that requires a broad understanding of the natural environment so that resources are used without irreparable damage being done to the environment.

ecological

Taxes levied on raw materials are known as _____ _____.

green taxes

Inferior food quality is known as _______

malnutrition

The global economy is dominated by _________ ___________, in which supply and demand drive economic decisions regarding resource use.

market economies

The belief that advances in technology will "fix" current resource problems describes the ___________ view of resource management.

optimistic

Which statistical measure gives the greatest insight about the need for food production within a country?

physiological density

Which of the following actions would likely result in a negative impact on the environment and the resource base of a country?

raising prices set on given resources

The chief goal of using pipelines to carry irrigation water, rather than ditches/canals, is ____.

to reduce the loss of water via evaporation and infiltration

During the ____________, numerous pieces of legislation were implemented, such as the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.

1970s