Biology 1120: Conservation Biology

Instructor: Kristen Taylor

The Lorax Assignment 20 pts

I. Instructions:
1. Read and/or view The Lorax by Dr. Seuss PRIOR to class.
2. Number and Answer ALL of the comprehension questions (10 points)
3. Answer 5 (or more if youd like) of the reflection questions number each as
to the one you are answering (10 points). Take pride in your work and make your
paper look nice!
4. Submit via Assignments Tool.

II. Comprehension Questions: Write a minimum of 1 sentence answer to the

below questions. Make sure it is a complete sentence and not a fragment!
1. The Truffula Trees were scarce, valuable natural resources. What made
them valuable and scarce?
The Truffula Trees were scarce and valuable because only grew in one area, and
were wanted for their softer-than-silk tufts that smelled of fresh buttery milk. The
Truffula Trees were also valuable for their fruit because that was the primary food
source of the Brown Bar-ba-loots.
2. Why did the Once-ler chop down the first Truffula Tree?
The Once-ler chopped down the first Truffula Tree to use the soft tuft in order to
knit a Thneed.
3. What benefit did the Thneed have for consumers?
The Tneed was a benefit for cosumers n many ways including: it could be used
as a shirt, sock, hat, glove, carper, pillow, sheets, curtain, or bicycle seat cover.
4 . The Lorax did not think anyone would want to purchase a Thneed. Was
he correct?
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No, he was wrong, Many people saw the need to have a Thneed, which drove
the Once-ler to take advantage of the opportunity to build a high-profiting
business making Theeds.
5. What new capital resource did the Once-ler invent? How did this help
his business?
The Once-ler built a radio-phone which allowed him to call in family members to
work as employees and run a factory. This would help grow his business in order
to make more than one Thneed at a time and keep up with the demand. He also
created a Super-Axe-Hacker that would allow him to cut down four trees at a time
to increase productivity and speed of outputting Thneeds.
6. Who was harmed as more and more Truffula Trees were chopped down
and they became more scarce?
The Brown Bar-ba-loots were harmed the most by the scarcity of the Truffula
Trees due to the fact they produced their only food source, the Truffula Fruit. With
significantly less trees, there was not enough fruit to go around and the Brown
Bar-ba-loots had to leave the area in search of another food source.
7. Was it wise of the Once-ler to chop down all the trees?
No, because he wasnt planning for the future by planting new trees where he
had chopped down entire forests. This led to a detruction of a habitat that housed
many different living things and the end of his business.
8. In the story, all the trees were chopped down. In the modern U.S.
economy why would this not happen?
This wouldnt happen because we have laws and guidelines set in place to
prevent a disaster such as this. There are so many ways they would be flagged
and stopped during the course of this melee with nature.
9. What situation or condition would promote the cutting down of all trees
or the overuse of natural resources?
A situation where demand was much higher than supply could create a
environment where some individuals would take the risks and break the laws in
return for the high reward.

10. When a good, service, or natural resource becomes more and more
scarce, what happens to the price?
It invariably increases at exponential rates. Supply and demand is a real price
changer for consumers.
11. Compare the Once-ler's attitude toward the environment at the
beginning of the story with his attitude at the end.
At the beginning of the story the Once-ler didnt care about the environment or
the impact he was having on it, It wasnt until after he had destroyed it completely
did he start to notice the effect he had caused and it bothered him greatly. He
wanted to fix it and have it go back to normal.

III. Reflection Questions: Using 5-8 sentences*, answer FIVE of the following
(or you can answer them all if you really want to!). *The question itself does not
count towards the length of your answer!
1. Both the Once-ler and the Lorax were passionate about their goals.
Discuss several reasons to explain why the Once-ler succeeded while the
Lorax failed.
One reason that the Lorax continued to fail while the Once-ler prospered was
due to the fact that the Lorax had no one to back him up and fight alongside him.
Whereas the Once-ler took advantage of his situation and called friends and
family to come and help him in his endeavors. Also, the Lorax was unable to
convince the Once-ler of the Truffla Trees importance to the community and
environment. It took the repercussions of his actions to make the Once-ler aware
of what the Lorax was trying to explain to him.
2. An argument was once made for protecting desert tortoises is that,
desert tortoises are important because people enjoy seeing them.
Explain why this is or is not a valid argument for the preservation of a
species (such as the Swamee-Swans in the video).
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This is invalid because there are always going to be the people that dont
care to see them. Its not a powerful enough reason to stop someone from
puruing something they may see as harmless and potentially profitable. The big
picture needs to be explained to peope. Meaning they need to know what impact
the extinction of the desert tortises will have on the rest of the environment and
how it can be a chain reaction to the destruction of that entire habitat.
3. Can aesthetic appreciation and value be taught? Why or why not? Is it
possible to persuade someone that a mountain vista or seashore is
beautiful if they did not already appreciate it? Why or why not?
Aesthetic appreciation can be taught to some young or open-minded
individuals. I dont think it can be taught to other adults that have enough life
experience to know whether or not that is something they are going to appreciate
aesthetically. I think that everybody is made a little bit differently than everyone
else and aesthetic appreciation is just an attribute that you either have or you
dont.
4. Many countries have laws that prohibit the abuse of animals. Discuss
reasons for these laws to exist. Do these laws establish that the animals
have a moral standing in their own right?
I think that these laws prohibiting animal abuse exist because humans
lives are so interrelated with animals in so many different ways. Most families
have at least one type of animal that they will always have in their lives as a part
of the family. Other families have multiple breeds and types of animals that they
take care of and love. There is also the relationship where humans work directly
with animals like k-9 units and show performers like at SeaWorld. This close
relationship makes the majority of people way more protective of how other
animals are treated.
5. Identify one environmental issue that you believe to be overblown and
overstated in the threat that it will ultimately pose. Discuss the actual threat
and how it differs from the public perception of the threat.

Climate Change in my opinion has become completely overblown and I

believe its all for political reasons. There is a movement going on to deconstruct
our society to a lower level of standard of living. This isnt such a bead thing in
theory but the way it will be implemented is completely unethical. In my eyes this
is all about gaining a strong foothold in power by the elite. Using their useful
idiots like pawns to get the country/ world right where they want them to be. Not
degrading their lifestyle one bit. Just ensuring the other 99% of us do it.
6. The Lorax says that the Once-ler is greedy. Greed is defined as a selfish
desire for food, money, or possessions over and above what one needs.
What are some of the ways that the Once-ler proved his greed? He says, "I
biggered my money which every needs." Is it true that everyone needs
money? How much money do people need? Is it right to make a ton of
money while destroying the environment?

7. What did the once-ler mean by "UN-LESS"? What responsibility does he

seem to think "someone like you" needs to take? What kinds of things can
we do today to ensure that natural resources will be available for purposes
in the future?

8. The Once-ler explains his actions by saying, "If I didn't do it, someone
else would." Is this a good excuse for doing what he did?

9. The Lorax says he speaks for the trees. What does this mean to you?
What is the Lorax's attitude at the end of the story?

I encourage you to upload this to your eportfolio!