Deck 14: The Human Disconnection

Question 1

Culture

A) has not been an important factor in the evolutionary success of humans
B) is a means by which humans adapt beyond biology
C) has been a limiting factor in the evolution of humans
D) does not have profound effects on the choices we make
E) has not impacted the lives of other species on the planet

Answer 1

is a means by which humans adapt beyond biology

Question 2

The geological record indicates there have been at least _____ mass extinction events in the past 570 million years.

A) 5
B) 100
C) 15
D) 150
E) 1,000

Answer 2

15

Question 3

With regards to the consensus among the scientific community,

A) there is some doubt that greenhouse gases are building up in the atmosphere
B) there is almost complete agreement that we are seeing the effects of global warming
C) we have yet to see any effects of global warming
D) global warming is not a complex phenomenon
E) c and d only

Answer 3

there is almost complete agreement that we are seeing the effects of global warming

Question 4

The 1990 typhoon and floods that killed over 10,000 in Bangladesh is a direct result of

A) The way infrastructure development is set back by population increases
B) Deterioration of dams along tributaries of the Indus River
C) Problems derived from an increase of people living in low lying permanent settlements and keeping prey species
D) Domestication of plants and animals
E) Destruction of natural resources in the past

Question 5

If we use the criteria of cell numbers, then _______ are the dominant life form on the planet.

A) bacteria
B) viruses
C) humans
D) cockroaches
E) reptiles

Question 6

In the history of humanity, the most important causes of extinction do not include

A) hunting
B) burgeoning human populations
C) habitat reduction
D) antibiotics
E) clearing land for cultivation

Question 7

Of the mass extinction events occurring in the past 570 million years, _________of them altered all of the earth's ecosystems.

A) One
B) Two
C) Three
D) None
E) Four

Question 8

A 2009 study estimated that __________% of the human population lives on less than a couple of dollars U.S) a day.

A) 33
B) 25
C) 48
D) 55
E) 75

Question 9

Since the beginning of industrialization, ocean acidity has already increased by _____________.

A) 10%
B) 20%
C) 30%
D) 45%
E) 100%

Question 10

While the world looks to____________for leadership to expand and strengthen with broader and more rigorous binding agreements to cut carbon emissions, _______________also fails to lend support.

A) South Africa, Indonesia
B) South America, Central America
C) Japan, Thailand
D) Europe, Australia
E) the United States, China

Question 11

If human population growth rates remain unchecked, it is possible that by the year 2050 human numbers could approach

A) 10 billion
B) 2 billion
C) 500 million
D) 100 billion
E) 25 million

Question 12

Family planning can slow population growth. One of the best strategies family planning is

A) the shift to more local economies
B) the migration of rural populations to urban centers
C) shifts in employment from manufacturing to agriculture
D) access to family planning
E) education of girls and women

Question 13

"Anthropocene" refers to

A) Hunting by humans for reasons other than acquiring food
B) Competition between humans and introduced non-native species that results in new bacterial species
C) Destruction of human life on earth caused by overpopulation of bacteria
D) A geological era that recognizes sudden and dramatic changes caused by human activities
E) A reflective view of the damage that humans cause river systems and oceans

Question 14

By 2022, _________of the world's remaining rain forests will be gone if destruction continues at the current rate.

A) one-half
B) one-third
C) two-thirds
D) one-fifth
E) none

Question 15

Scientists estimate that around 10,000 years ago ___________people inhabited the earth.

A) 10,000
B) 1 million
C) 2.5 million
D) 5 million
E) 1 billion

Question 16

What is the one single most important reason that human impact on the planet has been so great?

A) increasing population
B) the lowered age of menarche and consequent lack of eduction among women
C) loss of biodiversity
D) the decrease in the maximum life span of humans
E) increase in bacterial forms of life

Question 17

Habitat loss is a direct result of

A) Burgeoning insect populations
B) Flooding due to climate changes
C) Increases in human populations
D) Increases in animal habitats
E) Road building

Question 18

Which of the following statements is false?

A) The United States produces 25 to 30 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions.
B) The average American consumes 400 times the resources of the average person in Bangladesh.
C) The United States has the highest rates of overpopulation.
D) For all people on the planet to match the consumption levels of the United States, we would need four more planets.
E) The ecological footprint in the U.S. is 24 acres, compared to 2.5 acres in non-industrialized nations.

Question 19

Scientists estimate that we add __________ people to the Earth's population about every 12 years.

A) 2 billion
B) 200,000
C) 5 million
D) 1 billion
E) 25 million

Question 20

For most of human history,

A) technology has been complex
B) technology has been simple
C) the rate of culture change was rapid
D) culture change was not effected by climate change
E) human impact on local environments decreased as people began to live in permanent settlements

Question 21

The prediction is that the destruction of rain forest species will represent ____________of all plant and animal species on earth.

A) 5-10%
B) 10-20%
C) half
D) three-fourths
E) the most insignificant

Question 22

Today, the effects of human impact on ecosystems remain a localized phenomenon.

Question 23

The scientific community is now in almost complete agreement that we are seeing the effects of global warming.

Question 24

Physical anthropologists do NOT view culture as a human adaptive strategy.

Question 25

Clearly, much of the responsibility for the world's problems rests squarely on the shoulders of the

A) community of research scientists.
B) educators of girls and women.
C) oceanographers.
D) industrialized west.
E) nonindustrialized east.

Question 26

Our use of antibiotics has dramatically altered the course of evolution, to the point that

A) antibiotics are no longer significant selective factors causing bacteria to evolve.
B) human technology is no longer responsible for the deadly nature of new diseases.
C) insecticides are now more prevalent in reducing malaria.
D) antibiotics are significant selective factors causing more virulent forms of bacteria.
E) at least 15% of degraded ecosystems have been restored.

Question 27

According to the textbook authors, the problems facing our planet reflect

A) defects in our understanding of the evolutionary process.
B) problems inherent in biodiversity.
C) worrisome scientific overthinking.
D) an adaptive strategy gone awry.
E) education policies.

Question 28

Using evolution to solve health problems requires medical researchers have training that includes evolutionary theory.

Question 29

By most standards, Homo sapiens

A) is a successful genera.
B) is a successful species.
C) constitutes a majority of the cells on the planet.
D) has not altered the face of the planet.

Question 30

Many scientists see the production of greenhouse gases by humans as tipping the balance toward a catastrophic global climate change.

Question 31

It is estimated that about 10 percent of all ocean-dwelling plants and animals on earth live in endangered coastal reefs.

Question 32

According to the information presented in the text, we are living in a critical time in the earth's history. Much of life as we know it will be decided in

A) laboratorios of scientists.
B) centuries of slowly changing habits.
C) world's meetings attended by diplomats.
D) the next few decades.
E) in rebellions.

Question 33

In 1990, the people of Bangladesh were unable to cope with the floods since they had no knowledge of irrigation systems.

Question 34

By ______________________Costa Rica has been able to preserve much of its forests and wildlife.

A) banning hunting
B) limiting the rise in childbirth rates
C) developing ecotourism
D) educating girls and women
E) discouraging ecotourism

Question 35

Destruction of natural resources in the past has severe consequences for people living today.

Question 36

The most immediate risk of acidification of the oceans is to the whales and dolphins off the western coasts of North America.

Question 37

Some human groups began to abandon their nomadic lifestyles and settled down approximately 15,000 years ago.

Question 38

Changes in temperatures and rainfall patterns around the world, due to global warming, will not

A) lead to flooding in some regions
B) lead to the desertification of some regions
C) result in the spread of mosquito-borne diseases in some areas
D) change the reproductive rates of the microbes that cause infectious disease
E) be anything less than catastrophic problems in a world of 7 billion.

Question 39

Biologist Stephen Palumbi states that humans are the "world's greatest evolutionary force." By this he means

A) we are the strongest on the planet.
B) we are the most prolific organism on the planet.
C) we are the least destructive on the planet.
D) we can destroy ourselves and perhaps all life on earth.
E) we do have a profound effect on the evolutionary histories of almost all forms of life.

Question 40

It appears the world's population growth has

A) increased due to the decline in mortality rates of children.
B) increased due to the use of antibiotics.
C) decreased due to increases in income and education.
D) increased due to decreases in income and education.
E) not been a problem since the advent of agriculture.

Question 41

Why are scientists concerned about the loss of ecosystems?

Question 42

How have humans impacted the earth and other forms of life?

Question 43

Give examples of recent proposed goals of the UN to be reached by 2020.

Question 44

What impacts have human-invented antibiotics had on bacteria?

Question 45

Discuss the nature of the dangers posed by human overpopulation of the planet.

Question 46

What impacts have cultural adaptations had on local environments?

Question 47

What factors are implicated in the near extinction of the bald eagle?

Question 48

Given the impact of humans on the Earth's ecosystems, speculate on the future of Homo sapiens.