Which of the following best illustrates the concept of the tragedy of the commons?
Depletion of an aquifer by regional farmers
Which of the following is the best example of the tragedy of the commons?
Water pollution from oil rigs concentrated in the Gulf of Mexico
Which of the following is a commercially used method for harvesting trees and is most likely to lead to a fragmented landscape with serious impacts on biodiversity?
Clear-cutting
Which of the following is most likely to occur in a forested region that has been recently clear-cut?
The concentration of nitrates in streams running through the region will increase.
Based on the data in the graph, which location showed an annual average grain yield in 1991–1993 that was approximately 2.3 times the yield in 1961–1963 ?
Asia
Which of the following statements best identifies the author’s assumptions in terms of a new green revolution?
Current agricultural practices and strategies need to be evaluated in order to meet the demand for increased food production.
Country with the greatest percentage of land area affected by desertification
Australia
Factors contributing to the rise in world hunger include all of the following EXCEPT
increasing consumption of vegetable protein in place of meat protein
The excessive pumping of groundwater from wells can influence the water levels below ground. Which of the following is more likely to occur in aquifers in coastal areas than in aquifers in other regions?
Saltwater intrusion into the aquifers
If the trend in total water withdrawal represented in the graph continues, which of the following is most likely to happen in the future?
Aquifers will be depleted if demand is higher than recharge rate.
Based on the data in the graph, which of the following illustrates the approximate percent increase in total water withdrawals between 1970 and 2010 ?
56
Based on the data in the graph, which of the following proposed solutions would have the greatest effect on reducing global water withdrawals?
Government grants to assist farmers with the up-front installation costs of drip irrigation systems.
Which of the following is a disadvantage associated with the genetic modification of crops?
Genetically modifications can decrease the genetic diversity of crop species.
Which of the following best describes a disadvantage of using genetically engineered crops over crops that are not genetically modified?
Genetically engineered plants can decrease the genetic diversity of the crop.
The development of dangerous strains of disease organisms represents a significant consequence of which of the following agricultural practices?
Incorporating antibiotics into the feeding regimens of densely concentrated livestock
Compared with people in developing countries, people in industrialized countries are more likely to eat
beef
Which of the following best explains why the maximum sustainable yield for ocean fisheries has been exceeded?
Too many fish of reproductive age are harvested.
The major cause for the decline in the worldwide catch of fish since 1990 is
overfishing
Which of the following is an environmental problem associated with abandoned coal mines?
Acid drainage due to leaching of spoil heaps by rainwater
A cost-benefit analysis done to investigate a proposed mine site would likely take which of the following into account?
I. The medical costs of mine worker injuries
II. The cost of environmental restoration of the site when it is shut down
III. The value of the ore to be extracted from the mine
I, II, and III
One way a local community might regulate a shared and limited resource and reduce the tragedy of the commons is to
divide the resources into parcels and assign them to individuals
Which of the following scenarios best explains the concept of the tragedy of the commons?
Fish are shared resources, and as the fishing industry competes for the fish, the resource extraction is no longer sustainable.
One example of the tragedy of the commons occurs when trees are harvested from tropical rain forests without any regulations. Which of the following best describes why this is an example of the tragedy of the commons?
Timber producers remove as much timber as possible as cheaply as possible.
Which of the following changes to the local hydrologic cycle will result if large areas of land experienced clear-cutting?
Evaporation of water from the soil will increase.
Industrial logging threatens many forested ecosystems. Which of the following environmental consequences will most likely result from clear-cutting deciduous forests for logging?
More carbon dioxide will be added to the atmosphere and increase anthropogenic climate change.
Which of the following statements best describes the most unsustainable method of clear-cutting forests to harvest timber?
All of the trees in a forest are cut down and removed in one operation.
Which of the following statements best identifies the author’s assumptions in terms of a new green revolution?
Current agricultural practices and strategies need to be evaluated in order to meet the demand for increased food production.
Which of the following statements best identifies the author’s perspective in terms of government funding for future agricultural research?
More funding is continually needed because the agricultural research programs have never been completely financially supported.
Which of the following statements best identifies the author’s perspective in terms of utilizing science technology for future agricultural advances?
The only way to meet the global demand for more food is to fully utilize new science technologies to advance agriculture.
An advantage of using synthetic fertilizer instead of organic fertilizer is that
synthetic fertilizer can provide more targeted macronutrients to the crops
Which of the following is the most likely result from clearing mature, forested land and converting it into agricultural land that would be used for cattle grazing?
There will be a reduction in the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
A major environmental problem caused by using the agricultural practice of tilling is
eutrophication from excessive fertilizer use
Farmers use various methods of irrigation on crops. Which of the following statements correctly pairs an irrigation method with an advantage or disadvantage?
Flood irrigation is often used in agricultural fields, however, it increases surface erosion and salinization of the soil.
Which of the following irrigation methods is most likely to result in salinization of the soil, especially if the agricultural fields are located in a warm climate with consistent sunlight?
Furrow irrigation
A farmer grows several crops on a farm that has mostly shallow, sandy soil. Which of the following irrigation methods would be the best suited for this farm?
Drip irrigation
Carbon dioxide equivalent ( CO2
Raising beef contributes more to greenhouse gases than raising chickens does, primarily as a result of fermentation in cows’ digestive tracts, which releases methane gas.
Based on the data provided, which of the following descriptions best identifies the types of farms that are being compared?
Farm A is a grass-fed pasture for beef production, whereas Farm B is a traditional concentrated animal feedlot for cattle.
Which of the following claims is best supported by the data in the graph?
Global meat consumption per capita will increase in all five countries between 2012 and 2022 as the countries move through the demographic transition and become more developed.
Which of the following best describes legislation that could be used to address problems with overfishing?
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( CITES ) uses trade rules to protect commercially valuable species.
One way that consumers can help prevent a decrease in the number of fish species that are experiencing population declines is to
eat fish that are caught using sustainable harvesting methods, therefore ensuring fish populations remain stable and reducing the amount bycatch harvested
Which of the following is the best example of an economic approach to reduce overfishing for a fish species with a declining population?
The federal government sets a catch limit (per person or per boat) for the species and imposes a tax on any extra fish that are caught.