ENVI 152 final exam questions (18% of semester grade)

Name:________________________

Multiple Choice. Select the one best answer. (3 pts each, 90 pts total)
1.

What do coal-fired power plants and waste-to-energy power plants share in common?
A. Both use electricity to generate potential energy
B. Both generate fossil fuels that must be dissipated to the environment
C. Both account for ~45% of the electricity generation in the United States
D. Both release large amounts of air pollution from the smoke stacks
E. None of the above

2.

NIMBY refers to:

A. Widespread push for more renewable energy
B. Lack of economic ability or willingness to pay for expensive renewable energy
C. Opposition to development close to oneself
D. Opposition to fossil fuel based energy
E. None of the above

3.

Which of the following represents a consumptive use of wildlife or fish resources?

a. Logistic population growth
b. Catch-and-release fishing
c. Wildlife photography
d. Carrying capacity
e. Overharvest

4.

If a population exceeds the carrying capacity of the environment:

a. Disease is to blame
b. Hunting pressure is too high
c. Population growth rates will decline
d. The Endangered Species Act (1973) will protect that species
e. there is a tragedy of the commons

5.

Which of the following information is not needed in order to manage a population at the
maximum sustainable yield?
a. The population size
b. The growth rate of the population
c. The carrying capacity
d. The amount of area needed for the population
e. Harvest mortality

ENVI 152 final exam questions (18% of semester grade)

6.

Consider the Passenger pigeon, American Bison, Eskimo Curlew, and Great Auk. What do all of
these species have in common?
a. All are protected under the Endangered Species Act (1973)
b. All were hunted to extinction
c. All were overhunted for their large showy plumes and feathers
d. All were harvested at their maximum sustainable yield
e. None of the above describe a commonality among these four species

7.

Which of the following is not an issue associated with fish hatcheries:

a. Water supply for the hatchery
b. Nutrient pollution from fish waste
c. Release of medications from the hatchery into natural water bodies
d. Unnaturalness or hatchery fish
e. All of the above are issues associated with fish hatcheries

8.

The number of people in the US who hunt or fish:

a. Is at an all-time high
b. Has increased over the last 5 years
c. Is at an all-time low
d. Has not changed in ~75 years
e. Is near zero

9.

Funding for the purchase and management of state game lands and National Wildlife Refuges
comes largely through fees, licenses and taxes paid by hunters and anglers. Yet the wildlife
watcher can enjoy these places as well. This means the wildlife watcher is:
a. A consumptive user of wildlifer
b. A freerider
c. Supporting the Endangered Species Act (1973)
d. Increasing the carrying capacity of the reserve
e. Contributing to the maximum sustainable yield

10.

The first US National Park, designated in 1872, was:

a. Yellowstone National Park
b. Cape Cod national Seashore
c. Great Smokey Mountains National Park
d. Everglades National Park
e. Mt. Greylock State Reservation

ENVI 152 final exam questions (18% of semester grade)

11.

What President established the US National Wildlife Refuge system?

a. Gifford Pinchot
b. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
c. John Muir
d. Abraham Lincoln
e. Theodore Roosevelt

12.

The US National Wildlife Refuge System was established:

a. To provide recreation opportunities for all Americans
b. To provide places of solitude and pristine landscapes
c. To ensure adequate habitat for birds of interest to hunters
d. To provide places for the national Fish hatcheries to operate
e. To ensure a perpetuate supply of timber

13.

The National Environmental Policy Act (1970):

a. Required the study and writing of an Environmental Impact Statement for federal
projects
b. Prevented all commercial development on federal lands
c. Was replaced by the Endangered Species Act (1973)
d. Established the US Forest Service
e. Was signed into law under President John Muir

14.

What type of forest is comprised of a fast-growing monoculture of trees?

a. Swamp
b. Plantation
c. Primary forest
d. Forest success
e. Wildland-urban interface

15.

Clear-cutting:
a. Is banned per the National Forest Management Act (1976)
b. Provides habitat for early successional species
c. Is the most inefficient way to harvest trees
d. Clears or removes the most desirable trees from the forest
e. Generates uneven-aged stands

ENVI 152 final exam questions (18% of semester grade)

16.

What term means: a form of commercial signaling that is intended to communicate to the
consumer that a product was derived in an environmentally beneficial way
a. Ecosincerity
b. Ecolabeling
c. Ecowashing
d. Ecomentoring
e. Ecologically Inspired Information and distribution networks

17.

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a federal wilderness area, as designated in the
Wilderness Act (1964)?
a. People are not allowed to enter
b. Is at least 5000 acres
c. Has no human structures
d. Does not contain roads
e. Does not contain water, sewer, electricity or other infrastructure

18.

Paper parks are:

a. The bills written by Congress that establish new National Parks and Wildlife Refuges
b. Areas designated as parks or reserves that lack any enforcement or management
c. Money used to purchase parkland in third-world countries
d. Parklands and reserves used for ecotourism
e. Parks proposed by Congress but vetoed by the President

19.

According the 2009 article by D. Starin Please dont feed the monkeys, ecotourism used as a
conservation tool for primates is:
a. Successful in protecting monkeys from extinction
b. The sole source of income for Gambia
c. Leading to dangerous and unnatural behavior in the monkeys
d. Leading to the extinction of the monkeys in the national park
e. Causing illegal trade in monkey parts to Asian countries

20.

Liquids that results when substances in a sanitary landfill decompose and dissolve in water are
called:
a. Pe-waste
b. Leachate
c. Sludge
d. Toxic fluids
e. Landfill liquids

ENVI 152 final exam questions (18% of semester grade)

21. What is the name of the federal law that requires the polluter to clean up sites contaminated with
hazardous pollution
a. Clean Water Act
b. NEPA
c. Wilderness Act
d. Law of Conservation of Matter
e. CERCLA
22. Norman Borlaug is famous for:
a. Inventing a chemical process to make fertilizers
b. Writing the text of the Clean Water Act
c. Establishing the first Earth Day
d. Developing productive wheat varieties
e. Passing several pieces of federal legislation while he was US president
23. What term means: the design of consumer goods to last for a limited period of time, thus
encouraging purchase of new, replacement goods:
a. Designed obsolescence
b. Ecowashing
c. Greenwashing
d. Sustainable certification
e. Green Revolution
24. Why have US corn yields (bushels/acre) increased dramatically in the US since ~1950?
a. Chemical inputs of fertilizers and pesticides
b. Farmers have gotten better are farming
c. Larger tractors and farm implements
d. Climate change
e. More acres are being planted in corn
25. What is the name of the garbage ship that sailed around the Atlantic and Caribbean for two years
until a destination for its waste could be found?
a. Mobro 4000
b. RCRA 1976
c. NPDES
d. WRLF
e. Fresh Kills

ENVI 152 final exam questions (18% of semester grade)

26.

Per capita solid waste generation in the United States is approximately:

a. 0.5 lbs/day
b. 4.5 lbs/day
c. 10.25 lbs/day
d. 18 lbs/day
e. 50 lbs/day

27.

The e in e-waste stands for:

a. Elemental
b. Electronic
c. Edible
d. Endless
e. Enforcement

28.

Which of the following is NOT a step in obtaining usable energy from waste?
a. Combustion of the waste
b. Source reduction of waste
c. Using pressurized steam to turn a turbine
d. Collection of methane from a landfill
e. Using the heat from incineration of waste to generate steam

29.

What term means: the natural process of the conversion of organic waste into mulch or humus
through natural biological processes of decomposition
A. Source reduction
B. Waste streaming
C. Composting
D. Recycling
E. Incineration

30. The environmental Kuznets-curve predicts that:

A. Environmental impacts are greatest at intermediate levels of affluence
B. Combusting waste is more environmentally benign than landfilling waste
C. Taxes are ineffective in internalizing the costs of pollution
D. Overharvesting wildlife populations is unlikely when licenses are required
E. People are willing to pay more for less congested roadways

Short Answer (variable pts, 90 pts total):

31.

Describe the conflict between the ESA and private property rights. (4 pts)

ESA restricts behavior that can harm a listed species or its habitat. These species can occur on private
lands, thus restricting the use and therefore value of those lands. This creates a conflict between
individual liberty and the goals of the ESA.

ENVI 152 final exam questions (18% of semester grade)

32.

Provide an example of how this law can actually promote the decline of rare species. (4 pts)
If a species is being considered for listing, but is not yet listed, there is no protection for that
species or its habitat. Thus, someone who own property with the candidate species on it or
potentially on it is incentivized to develop that land before listing occurs and restrictions due to
ESA are in place.

33.

Consider your own thoughts related to natural resources management. The describe which of the
following individuals you most agree with: Aldo Leopold, John Muir, Gifford Pinchot or Theodore
Roosevelt . Explain your answer. (6 pts)

Various possible (Pinchot- conservation, Aldo land ethic, Muir- preservation, TR- more conservationist)

34. Use the case study of the Everglades jetport to illustrate the three waves of US environmental
policy. (9 pts)
First Wave: distribute land to private citizens, use and extract the resources. In the FL case, the
swamplands were dispersed from the fed. Gove to the FL via the Swamp and Overflowed lands
acts. Then Florida gave the land to developers in exchange for building railroads. The forests
were cut, canals were dug, and farms were started. Then in the late 1800s/early 1900s, with the
second wave, there was increased interest in protecting some of these areas from development.
Congress appropriated Everglades national Park, which opened in 1947. Also during this time
there was increased attention on protecting the bird species being overhunted in the
Everglades. This was a period responding to resource overexploitation. Then in the third wave,
there was concern over pollution. In the late 1960s when the Everglades Jetport was being
developed, people opposed the development because of the habitat destruction and pollution
from the development. An Environmental Impact Statement was performed. The fed. Gov.
pulled out their money and the airport was stopped and the land purchase by the fed to make
another national park (Big Cypress National Preserve.)

35. Sketch a logistic growth curve. Label the axes. Label the population level at which one would
manage for the maximum sustainable yield. (8 pts)

ENVI 152 final exam questions (18% of semester grade)

36.

What positive externalities exist from forested land owned by a private individual? Provide 2
examples. (6 pts)
A private individual pays the costs of ownership, but larger society can benefit from the
watershed /clean water protection and wildlife habitat in terms of existence value. Other can
also enjoy the scenic value without paying anything for it.

37.

What role do forests play in local AND global climate systems? (8 pts)
Forests moderate local climate (keep the highs lower and the lows higher). They do this through
shading, absorbing solar radiation, evaporative cooling, and influencing the water cycle.
Globally, trees act as carbon sinks and pull carbon out of the atmosphere. More trees means
less carbon in the atmosphere and thus lowered greenhouse effect from carbon dioxide.

38.

Describe the incentives from the perspective of the producer and consumer for sustainable
forestry certification. In other words, how do both the producer and consumer benefit from this
certification process? (6 pts)

Consumer benefits from feeling better about themselves and perhaps gaining social capital by buying
this certified product. The producer benefits be receiving a higher price for that product coming from a
certified forest. The consumer spends more money and feels better about it while the producer gets
more money.

39.

How do conservation easements or restrictions work? (4 pts)

The rights of development are separate from property ownership. Thus, someone can own the land but
be limited in what can be done with the land. This typically lowers the property values. For instance,
the easement might be help by the state or a landtrust. The easement may prevent breaking the
property into subunits for housing developments. This effectively makes the property function as a
reservation so that ecological and societal benefits accrue.
40.

Ecotourism is often cited as a way to achieve economic development while also protecting the
environment. However, as we examined in class, ecotourism is unlikely to achieve a comparable
level of economic growth as conventional tourism. In light of this shortcoming how can
ecotourism be used in an argument for land conservation? (8 pts)

ENVI 152 final exam questions (18% of semester grade)

Ecotourism is not a justification in itself based on economic arguments. Rather, it provides a
direct economic gain, but we should also consider all the other non-market values associated
with land conservation. For instance, ecosystem services on conserved land, recreational, and
aesthetic benefits should all be considered. If we estimated these value the benefit of
conservation would be much higher than if only ecotourism were considered.

41.

Why do we often depend on government to conserve land that will provide ecosystem services
and ecosystem goods? (5 pts)
If an individual conserves land that individual is not the only one who benefits from that land
protection. This creates a freerider problem. Thus, buy forcing each other to pool resources, we
can overcome the freerider problem. Also, governments provide stasis and capacity to land
protection schemes.

42.

Apply the triple bottom line of sustainability to the farm visit you made during the lab field trip. (8
pts)
Environmental: limited use of fossil fuels in tractors, use animals to promote fertility in soils
instead of using chemical fertilizers
Social: People enjoy coming to the farm and interacting with each other and the farmers. This
means people will continue to come to the farm. Limited pick-up hours may mean this system
does not work for some people
Economic: farm has to make income, and does so through a CSA business model. This keeps
costs down and allows for a farm profit.

43.

Globally, we currently produce enough food to feed over 9 billion people. (But yet nearly 1 billion
people are still chronically hungry.) Describe three distinct reasons why we dramatically
overproduce food today? (8 pts)
Food waste: We through away lots of usable food
Use for biofuel feedstocks: we divert corn from food into ethanol
Use as animal feed: we feed grains and vegetable to animals which we then eat (or dairy). There
is useable energy lost in these food chain conversions

ENVI 152 final exam questions (18% of semester grade)

44.

Describe three of the laws presented for the student projects. For each, describe the purpose of
the law and how that law relates to this course. (6 pts)
Various answers possible

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