Question 1

What tree did a 1992 report say was probably unmatched in its yield of "strange and varied products?"

Accepted Answer

The 1992 report was called "Neem: a Tree for Solving Global Problems."

Question 2

How high do demographers expect the population to be when it peaks and in what year?

Accepted Answer

It is anticipated that the global population will peak at 9 billion with the bulk of that population having been born by 2050.

Question 3

What rare-earth element is essential in the production of permanent magnets for hybrid-vehicle motors?

Accepted Answer

Neodymium is essential for this process,with most of the current stock produced in China.

Question 4

What refers to the interconnected natural responses of the Earth to restabilize living and physical systems when perturbed beyond normal bounds?

Accepted Answer

The Gaian system is not just limited to responses to human activity,but humans have a huge stake in the outcomes of the Gaian system.

Question 5

"Alternative energy" generally is considered to provide substitutes for what current modes of energy?

Accepted Answer

Petroleum liquids like fossil fuels and electricity generators like nuclear power plants would be replaced by alternative energy.

Question 6

Carbon dioxide,nitrogen oxide and methane are examples of what?

Accepted Answer

These,along with other anthropogenic chlorinated compounds,are all greenhouse gases.

Question 7

How many nuclear power plants are active around the world today?

Accepted Answer

All 435 currently operating nuclear power plants will have to be retired or decommissioned over the next 50 years.

Question 8

What region of the world has the highest percentage of chronically hungry people at 34 percent?

Accepted Answer

Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest percentage of chronically hungry people while Asia has the greatest total number.

Question 9

Thanks to the relatively mild and stable temperatures over the last how many years does Robert Correll refer to the period as a "sweet spot?"

Accepted Answer

Since the end of the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago,we've enjoyed a "sweet spot" in Earth's history,according to Correll.

Question 10

Who asked for a "one-armed scientist" to offer testimony concerning clean-air legislation?

Accepted Answer

Sen.Edmund Muskie asked for a "one-armed scientist" to offer testimony concerning clean-air legislation,as he did not want to hear qualifications such as "On the one hand...on the other hand."

Question 11

What is the main source of the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

Accepted Answer

The main source of the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the burning of fossil fuels,causing 75 percent of the increase.

Question 12

How high are current estimates for people alive who are chronically hungry?

Accepted Answer

Current estimates say 800-900 million people are considered chronically hungry,with the numbers varying continent to continent.

Question 13

What is now central to the goals of many international organizations,national institutions,and transnational corporations?

Accepted Answer

Sustainable development is central to the missions of "sustainable cities" and non-governmental organizations.

Question 14

The Board of Sustainable Development at what US institution began a focus on a 50-year transition to sustainable technology in 1995?

Accepted Answer

The National Academy of Sciences sought to end some of the ambiguity in the involvement of scientists in the sustainability movement.

Question 15

Which tree does Robert W.Kates focus on in his article in this volume?

Accepted Answer

Robert W.Kates focuses on the neem tree in his article "The Nexus and the Neem Tree."

Question 16

The sudden surge in global population is expected to end by:

Accepted Answer

Demographic experts anticipate with some confidence either a declining or stable population by 2100.

Question 17

Who wrote The Lexus and the Olive Tree?

Accepted Answer

Tom Friedman wrote The Lexus and the Olive Tree.

Question 18

Where is most carbon dioxide located on Mars?

Accepted Answer

The low temperature has forced carbon dioxide to be trapped in soil and rocks on the Martian surface.

Question 19

What is the ambient average temperature on Earth?

Accepted Answer

Earth's ambient average temperature is 58°F,or 14.6°C,thanks even to the .04 percent of the atmosphere that is carbon dioxide.

Question 20

What organization helped spearhead the sustainable development movement in the 1980s?

Accepted Answer

The IUCN generated most of the scientific work that was at the heart of the early sustainability movement.

Quiz 9: Population, environment, Climate Change