CHAPTER 24 Test Your Knowledge
DRIVING QUESTION 1
What human impacts are considered when determining ecological footprint, and how does human population size influence our impact on Earth?
By answering the questions below and studying Infographics 24.1, 24.2, 24.3, 24.5, and 24.6 you should be able to generate an answer for the broader Driving Question above.
KNOW IT
From what you have read in this chapter, explain some of the advances that have permitted the human population to grow exponentially.
What is an ecological footprint?
USE IT
From your reading of this chapter, how do you think that the ecological footprint of Greensburg compares to that of a small tribal village without electricity in the northern hill regions of Thailand? Describe the points that you considered in your answer.
On the outskirts of a small town, a farmer has just sold his 5 acres of cropland to a developer who is planning to build 20 single-family condominium units on that land. Discuss the ways that this transaction will affect the size of the nearby town’s population and the ecological footprint of the residents of the nearby town and outskirts.
What building considerations could the developer in the Question 4 take into account to minimize the impact of this development on the ecological footprint of the town and outskirts?
DRIVING QUESTION 2
What resources do humans rely on, and which of them are renewable?
By answering the questions below and studying Infographics 24.4, 24.7, 24.8, 24.9, and 24.10 you should be able to generate an answer for the broader Driving Question above.
KNOW IT
Which of the following waste products is/are associated with the burning of fossil fuels?
a. water
b. carbon dioxide
c. nitrogen dioxide
d. all of the above
e. b and c
Mark each of the following natural resources as renewable (R) or nonrenewable (N).
______________ Freshwater
______________ Wind
______________ Coal
______________ Sunlight
______________ Codfish populations in the North Atlantic
If oil is formed from fossilized remains of once-living organisms, and if organisms keep dying, why is oil considered to be a nonrenewable resource?
USE IT
The renewability of some resources can depend on human choices and activities. List some such resources, and explain how human activities may lead a renewable resource to become essentially nonrenewable.
Think about your local region—for example, do you live in the southwestern desert or on the northeastern ocean shore? Describe the nonrenewable and renewable energy resources that are available in your region, or that your region can harvest. What are some of the challenges that must be overcome in order to tap into the renewable energy resources in your region?
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INTERPRETING DATA
Wind power has both advantages and disadvantages. Advantages include its sustainability and that it is emission-free. Disadvantages include possible impacts on wildlife.
a. Taking the high end of the estimates given in the figure below, what is the total number of bird deaths attributable to different sources each year in the United States?
b. Taking the high estimates given in the figure, what % of annual bird deaths can be attributed to each of the following?
Communication towers
Wind turbines
Agricultural pesticides
Cats
Collisions with buildings
c. The graph below is adapted from two graphs presented in a 2010 report from the National Wind Organization (“Wind Turbine Interactions with Birds, Bats and Their Habitats: A Summary of Research Results and Priority Questions” www.nationalwind.org.) Are the same sites equally responsible for bird and bat deaths? What possible explanations can you think of to account for any differences? What factors should be considered in placing and running wind farms to minimize bird and bat deaths? (You may need to do some research to answer this last question.)
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DRIVING QUESTION 3
What is “sustainable living”?
By answering the questions below and studying Infographics 24.6, 24.7, and 24.11 you should be able to generate an answer for the broader Driving Question above.
KNOW IT
How would you define “sustainability”? Highlight several features of sustainability in your answer.
What aspects of LEED-certified buildings contribute to sustainability?
USE IT
If you don’t live in Greensburg, what practices can you adopt where you live to reduce your ecological footprint and embrace the philosophy of sustainable living? For each practice that you think of, explain how it would contribute to sustainability and the reduction of your ecological footprint.
Many cities have been developed in the hot and dry southwestern states of the United States. What are some of the sustainability implications of living in the desert?
MINI CASE
A single mother of two children living in Boston (a city with a decent public transportation system) asks you to help her reduce both her day-to-day living expenses and her ecological footprint. What specific recommendations can you make? What evidence do you have to back up your recommendations? Are any of your recommendations also consistent with a healthier lifestyle? Explain your answer.
BRING IT HOME
Explore your school’s website to find out about your school’s commitment to sustainability. Are there plans for LEED-certified buildings? Are there bike lanes? Bike-parking spots? What about a recycling or composting program? From what you learn, assign a letter grade (A–F) for your school’s sustainability plan, and write a short report explaining the reasons for your grade. If you assigned a high grade, what factors contributed to it? If you assigned a low grade, what could be improved at your school?