Understanding Climate Change and Human Impact

In 2008, paleontologist Paul Sereno discovered a Stone Age graveyard in the Sahara, revealing a once-thriving culture. Climate change, driven by human activities like deforestation and overgrazing, threatens to worsen desertification, potentially leaving Africa unable to feed its population by 2025. Global food shortages in 2008 highlighted the vulnerability of the world's poorest, with economic impacts felt worldwide. Emerging threats, such as a wheat virus, could devastate food supplies. In response, Norway established the Doomsday Seed Vault to preserve crop diversity. Despite challenges, human ingenuity continues to address environmental and population growth issues.

What did Paul Sereno discover in the Sahara in 2008?

• An ancient city

• A new species of plant

• A graveyard of Stone Age people

• Dinosaur bones

What caused the once-thriving culture in the Sahara to vanish?

• A volcanic eruption

• A massive earthquake

• Climate change

• Invasion by another tribe

Which human activities are contributing to the spread of deserts in Africa?

• Fishing and mining

• Tourism and agriculture

• Urbanization and industrialization

• Overgrazing and deforestation

By 2025, what percentage of Africa's population might the continent be able to feed if current trends continue?

• 50%

• 75%

• 100%

• 25%

What event in 2008 highlighted the vulnerability of global agriculture?

• A major earthquake

• A global food crisis

• A technological breakthrough

• A political revolution

What did some families in Haiti resort to eating during the 2008 food crisis?

• Insects

• Grass

• Mud cookies

• Tree bark

What is the new threat to the world's food supply mentioned in the transcript?

• A rice shortage

• A corn blight

• A locust plague

• A wheat virus

Where is the Doomsday seed vault located?

• Norway

• Greenland

• Canada

• Antarctica

What is the purpose of the Doomsday seed vault?

• To serve as a tourist attraction

• To preserve endangered animal species

• To house copies of seeds from all known food crops

• To store ancient artifacts

What is expanding as quickly as the human population according to the transcript?

• Wildlife populations

• Global temperatures

• Human ingenuity

• Natural resources