5.1-5.4 FRQ

Question 1

Tragedy of the Commons

Answer 1

Individuals will use shared/public resources in their own self-interest, degrading them

Question 2

The Green Revolution

Answer 2

New varieties of crops, increasing food supply and carrying capacity. Use of mechanization, GMOs, pesticides, etc.

Question 3

Mechanization

Answer 3

Increased use of tractors for plowing and tilling fields. Emits GHGs and compacts soil

Question 4

HYV Crops

Answer 4

High-Yield Variety. GMO crops produce a higher yield. Cross-pollinating different species with ideal traits.

Question 5

Synthetic fertilizer

Answer 5

Increases yield and profits by giving the plants more key nutrients. Requires fossil fuels for production and can cause eutrophication in water.

Question 6

Irrigation

Answer 6

Drawing water from the ground for the fields. It can deplete groundwater sources, and overwatering can drown roots.

Question 7

Pesticides

Answer 7

Kills weeds, insects, rodents, and other potential pests. Can wash off into runoff and harm non-target species

Question 8

Monocropping

Answer 8

Growing a single species. Greatly decreases biodiversity and increases soil erosion.

Question 9

Tilling

Answer 9

Mixing & breaking up soil to make planting easy. Increases erosion due to loss of topsoil. Also allows for increased particulate matter in air.

Question 10

Slash & Burn

Answer 10

Cutting down vegetation and burning it to clear land for ag. and returning nutrients to the soil. Loss of habitat, biodiv, CO2 storage, air filtration. Releases GHGs.

Question 11

Maximum sustainable yield

Answer 11

The max amount of a renewable resource that can be harvested without compromising the future availability of that resource.

Question 12

BLM lands

Answer 12

Grazing, mining, timber harvesting, and recreation

Question 13

USFS lands

Answer 13

Timber harvesting, grazing, and recreation

Question 14

NPS lands

Answer 14

Recreation and conservation

Question 15

FWS lands

Answer 15

Wildlife conservation, hunting, and recreation

Question 16

GPI

Answer 16

Genuine progress indicator. A measure of economic status that includes personal consumption, income distribution, levels of higher ed, resource depletion, pollution, and health of population

Question 17

Technology Transfer, Leapfrogging, Natural Capital, Human Capital, Manufactured Capital

Answer 17

Less developed countries adopting, less developed countries using new tech w/o precursors, resources of planet, human knowledge, all goods and infra. humans produce

Question 18

Rangeland

Answer 18

Dry open grassland for grazing cattle

Question 19

Prescribed burn

Answer 19

A fire set under controlled conditions to reduce accumulation of dead biomass on forest floor

Question 20

Exurb

Answer 20

Similar to suburb, but unconnected to any central city

Question 21

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

Answer 21

Mandates an environmental assessment of all projects using federal money or permits

Question 22

National wildlife refuge

Answer 22

A federal public land managed for the primary purpose of protecting wildlife

Question 23

Urban sprawl

Answer 23

Urbanized areas that spread into rural areas, removing clear boundaries between the two

Question 24

Urban blight

Answer 24

The degradation of the build and social environments of the city that often accompany and accelerate migration to the suburbs.

Question 25

Highway Trust Fund

Answer 25

A US federal fund that pays for construction and maintenance of roads/highways

Question 26

Smart growth

Answer 26

A set of principles for community planning that focuses on strategies to encourage the development of sustainable, healthy communities

Question 27

Transit-oriented development (TOD)

Answer 27

Attempts to focus dense residential and retail development around stops for public transport.

Question 28

Salinization

Answer 28

Form of soil degradation that occurs when small amount of salts in irrigation water become highly concentrated on soil surface.

Question 29

Energy subsidy

Answer 29

The fossil fuel energy and human energy input per calorie of food produced