APES Review Topics 5.1-5.5

Which of these is not an example of a commons?

• The air

• The ocean

• Privately owned farms

Sustainability

• The process of maintaining resources so they are not depleted or permanently damaged.

• The ability to read minds

• The ability to save resources for years and years

What is "law of unintended consequences"?

• Bad outcomes that people do on purpose

• A law that states you are innocent until proven guilty

• Outcomes that are not the ones foreseen and intended by a person's original actions.

What is the definition of the tragedy of the commons?

• When humans overuse a natural resource

• When the short-term, positive effects go to the individual, while the long-term, negative effects are spread out to the group

• When humans act selfishly, thinking of their own self-interest

• When plants and animals compete for space, resources, and/or food

Which of the following are both examples of the tragedy of the commons?

• Overfishing and earthquakes

• Flooding and tsunamis

• Pollution and overpopulation

• Super-germs and virus outbreaks

Clearcutting is

• A timber harvesting practice where all trees larger than 20 feet tall are cut harvested.

• When logging companies plant new saplings in an area bigger than 1 hectare.

• A timber harvesting practice where all of the trees in a given area are harvested at the same time.

• When forestry services clear out the underbrush in a given area.

All the clearcutting facts below are true. Which are benefits or pros of clearcutting?

• Clearcutting generates more consistent and higher rates of return for the logging companies and its investors

• Consumer timber/lumber prices are kept low and predictable when clearcutting is used, since savings are passed on to consumers.

• Clearcutting destroys plant life and animal habitats.

• Clearcutting is aesthetically unappealing.

All the clearcutting facts below are true. Which are negative or cons of clearcutting?

• When clearcutting occurs, trees can no longer reduce the rate of erosion by: protecting the soil from the impact of rain, transpiring large amounts of water (which counteracts very wet soil), and binding soil to sloping land with their roots.

• Forests filter and regulate the flow of water, in large part due to their leafy canopy that intercepts rainfall, slowing its fall to the ground and the forest floor, which acts like an enormous sponge, typically absorbing up to 18 inches of precipitation (depending on soil composition) before gradually releasing it to natural channels and recharging ground water.

• Clearcutting destroys plant life and animal habitats.

• Clearcutting is aesthetically unappealing.

True or false: Removing trees leads to an increase in soil and stream temperatures due to decreased shading by tree canopies and the loss of trees evapotranspiration which cool the air around the tree.

• True

• False

The cutting and burning of trees

• has no affect on the environment.

• releases carbon dioxide and contributes to climate change.

• is beneficial to ecosystems and animal habitats.

• reduces flooding and erosion.