Name: ___________________________ Class: _________________ Date: __________
chapter 12
1. What are the key threats to humanity in the twenty-first century? How can students
engage with them?
2. What does the human ecological footprint indicate about the sustainability of the
global economic system? Make a recommendation for how to make it sustainable
or more sustainable.
3. Since the earliest human settlements, human economic activities have impacted
their local environments. How has human impact increased over the past 100
years?
4. Why did protestors attempt to block the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) at the
Standing Rock Sioux Reservation? How does this conflict illuminate the
relationships between fossil fuel extraction and the Native American struggle
against settler colonialism?
5. How do the goals and fantasies of ecotourists that Veronica Davidov encountered
compare to the reality of the Kichwa people’s relationship to globalization? In what
sense does ecotourism “open the door to modernity”?
6. How did the assumptions and expectations of the Gimi people conflict with those of
the Research and Conservation Foundation (RCF) with respect to collaborative,
community-based conservation in the Crater Mountain Wildlife Management Area
(CMWMA)? Why did the Gimi say that “conservation is our government”?
7. What is gentrification? Describe the process. Is it a spontaneous natural process or
is it planned? Give an example from the text of a neighborhood undergoing
gentrification.
8. How did controversies over environmental toxins and sexual politics intersect on
the island of Martinique? Discuss an example that highlights this intersection.
9. What did Neil Smith mean when he said, “There is no such thing as a natural
disaster”? Explain his statement and support your explanation with an example
from the text.
10. How does a multispecies ethnography differ from a traditional one? Give two
examples of multispecies ethnographies.
11. What social impacts did the Panama Canal create for local people? Explain the
conflict between the Panama Canal Administration, the national government, and
the peasant farmers who were displaced by the canal project.
12. Why do anthropologists argue that we live in the Anthropocene? What is the
Anthropocene? Give two examples from the text of the kinds of changes that
indicate that this argument is correct.
13. Compare and contrast the political careers of Mohamed Nasheed and Greta
Thunberg.
14. College students can engage environmental issues on personal and institutional
levels. Which is an example of institutional engagement?
a.
Kevin rides a bike rather than using a car.
b.
Tina reduces the amount of clothing she owns.
c.
Adriana and her friends campaign for a politician who supports sustainability
efforts.
d.
Leo installs solar panels on the roof of his family home.
15. What is driving the expansion of the human ecological footprint?
a.
ecological overshoot
b.
consumerism
c.
sustainability
d.
the collapse of the nation-state
16. Which statement is associated with industrial agriculture and livestock production?
a.
produces 25 percent of the global greenhouse emissions
b.
use less fossil fuels and water
c.
smaller-scale production
d.
increased carbon sequestration
17. Which statement is part of the Gimi worldview?
a.
People live outside of their local ecosystem.
b.
Nature is untouched and exotic.
c.
Nature must be protected from the activities of people.
d.
People and nature interrelate and influence one another.
18. Scientists estimate that by 2030 we will need
a.
a new word beyond “Anthropocene” to describe this historic era.
b.
two planets to sustain our current economic activity.
c.
a better scientific understanding of microbes.
d.
new technologies for recycling.
19. Jaskiran Dhillon links anti-pipeline resistance like the at Standing Rock with
a.
the new UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants.
b.
other forms of terrorism.
c.
historical struggles for indigenous rights and environmental protections.
d.
other performances of indigenous authenticity.
20. Anne Spice notes that infrastructure such as oil pipelines has been used as a tool
of
a.
critical infrastructure.
b.
urban gentrification.
c.
settler colonialism.
d.
indigenous environmental infrastructure.
21. The protestors at the Standing Rock Sioux reservation were mainly protesting
a.
the use of surveillance drones on native land.
b.
to protect indigenous rights, clean water supplies, and Native American burial
grounds.
c.
to free 750 people who had been unlawfully arrested.
d.
police brutality, which included the use of attack dogs and water cannons in
subzero weather.
22. Tribal members and their allies gathered at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation
to protest
a.
the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
b.
the Treaty of Fort Laramie.
c.
deep-sea drilling and fracking.
d.
the expropriation of indigenous land.
23. What is true about the rural peasants who produce much of the world’s food
supply?
a.
They work for transnational agribusiness.
b.
They use more fossil fuels and water than industrial agriculture and livestock
producers.
c.
Their small-scale production decreases agrobiodiversity and decreases
carbon sequestration.
d.
They work the land themselves, relying on the labor of family or other group
members.
24. About ________ percent of the world’s population suffers from food insecurity.
a.
14
b.
75
c.
50
d.
25
25. The passage of the Indian Removal Act (1830) resulted in the Trail of Tears, the
forced dispossession and relocation of approximately 60,000 Native Americans
from their ancestral homelands in the southeastern United States to areas west of
the Mississippi River so that white settlers could have their land. This is an
example of
a.
gentrification.
b.
ecotourism.
c.
settler colonialism.
d.
an indigenous social movement.
26. The displacement and pacification of indigenous people and expropriation of their
lands and resources is called
a.
unconventional energy production.
b.
ecotourism.
c.
settler colonialism.
d.
environmental racism.
27. Many international travelers visit Costa Rica for its volcanos, beaches, and
biodiversity reserves, some of which are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites,
as well as its environmentally sustainable practices. These tourists are
a.
gentrifiers.
b.
settlers.
c.
ecotourists.
d.
biodiverse.
28. In contrast to the tourist fantasies, Veronica Davidov found the Kichwa people to be
a.
primitive and living in harmony with nature.
b.
precapitalistic and generous.
c.
competent but marginalized people who have navigated forces of global
capitalism for over a century.
d.
naïve about capitalist modernity and in need of protection from it.
29. What did Ariana find when she returned to the rain forest to visit her Kichwa
friends?
a.
Oil wells and pipelines occupied the former site of the village.
b.
Her friends were performing shamanic healing rituals.
c.
The village was abandoned.
d.
Her friends were participating in logging due to economic desperation.
30. Why are indigenous villages and ecotourism sites often close to oil extraction
sites?
a.
The idea is to go where help is needed the most.
b.
Oil is found in the most remote areas of pristine rain forest.
c.
The oil industry cuts roads through dense forest, making ecotourism possible.
d.
The intent is to show the tourists the dark alternative if they fail to help.
31. Veronica Davidov found that ecotourists assume that
a.
Western tourists disturb fragile cultural balances.
b.
indigenous performances of culture are inauthentic.
c.
ecotourism is a neutral activity that neither helps nor harms.
d.
ecotourism helps to save the planet.
32. Veronica Davidov and her classmate Ariana participated in
a.
indigenous social movements.
b.
ecotourism.
c.
settler colonialism.
d.
multispecies ethnography.
33. Tours of remote natural environments designed to support local communities and
their conservation efforts are
a.
alternative resource extraction.
b.
ecotourism.
c.
settler colonialism.
d.
multispecies ethnography.
34. Groups like the Research and Conservation Foundation prioritize
a.
the health and well-being of native peoples.
b.
biodiversity.
c.
the relationships between humans and their local ecology.
d.
providing birds of paradise for the global market.
35. The Gimi had hoped that foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) would
a.
conserve the biodiversity of the region.
b.
provide social services such as schools, health services, and transportation.
c.
empower them to preserve rare species.
d.
help them learn to live as part of their ecosystem.
36. The Crater Mountain Wildlife Management area (CMWMA) is in
a.
Papua New Guinea.
b.
the Ecuadorian rain forest.
c.
Panama.
d.
Ocean Island.
37. Paige West’s research in Papua New Guinea
a.
examines the effects of infrastructure projects on indigenous peoples.
b.
studies attempts at community-based conservation.
c.
is a multispecies ethnography.
d.
conducts an ecological history.
38. According to Athapaskan and Tlingit oral history, the glaciers and ice fields
covering the mountains
a.
are not conscious, sentient beings.
b.
are willful, capricious, and determine history
c.
make moral judgements and punish transgressions.
d.
behave in ways that agree with scientific accounts of glacier behavior.
39. In Bushwick, an “up and coming” neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, the local taqueria
La Guadelupana, which prepared recipes from Puebla for Mexican working-class
families, was suddenly faced with competition from El Mariachi Loco, a loud bar
that marketed ironic mariachi-themed nachos and margaritas to the young, white
professionals who were moving into the affordable neighborhood. Within two years,
rents had increased, La Guadelupana had closed, and most of its patrons had
moved. This is an example of
a.
environmental racism.
b.
built environments.
c.
gentrification.
d.
sustainability.
40. Melissa Checker’s research in Augusta, Georgia, examined how
a.
a community of color built a social movement to challenge environmental
racism.
b.
multiethnic community opposed racial segregation and redlining.
c.
white middle-class organizations comprise most of the environmental justice
movement.
d.
Hasidic Jewish, Latino, and African American activists opposed the
installation of a garbage incinerator.
41. Gentrification
a.
is a spontaneous, natural, and inevitable process.
b.
results from government policies and practices that make poor
neighborhoods vulnerable.
c.
precedes the practice of redlining in an urban neighborhood.
d.
is an aggressive and illegal police tactic that criminalizes a community.
42. Intentionally designed features of human settlement, including buildings,
transportation, public service infrastructure, and public spaces are
a.
the Anthropocene.
b.
gentrification.
c.
built environments.
d.
sustainability.
43. Urban renewal (often supported by government policies and incentives) that
replaces low-income residents (often people of color) with wealthier newcomers is
called
a.
the Anthropocene.
b.
gentrification.
c.
built environments.
d.
sustainability.
44. Martinique’s Carnival
a.
celebrates the end of the world.
b.
is a time when people perform sexuality and gender transgression.
c.
is an escape from the political debates of the mundane world.
d.
celebrates the French government and Catholic saints.
45. Kepone is
a.
a Martinican Carnival festivity.
b.
the spirit of Martinique’s Carnival.
c.
a carcinogenic, hormone-altering pesticide.
d.
a drug used to treat infertility.
46. Vanessa Agard-Jones’s research in Martinique examines the relationship between
a.
reactions to chemical contamination and gender and sexual politics.
b.
banana boxer weevils and colonialism.
c.
environmental estrogens and intersex births.
d.
estrogen and environmental contamination.
47. Most matsukake foragers
a.
live in the pine woodlands of Japan.
b.
are second-generation survivors of Hiroshima.
c.
are cultural minorities living vulnerable lives in camps.
d.
receive benefits and high wages from Japanese corporations.
48. The matsukake is
a.
a wild mushroom that is highly valued in Japan.
b.
a mushroom species that came into existence in the nuclear fallout of
Hiroshima.
c.
and invasive mushroom that threatens the pine forests of the U.S. Pacific
Northwest.
d.
a fragile mushroom that cannot survive human disruption such as logging.
49. Hurricane Katrina had a catastrophic effect on New Orleans
a.
because the hurricane’s center directly struck the city.
b.
due to the city’s aged pumping system, which could not prevent the city from
flooding.
c.
despite the city’s wealth, preparedness, and the effectiveness of its response.
d.
which demonstrates how it is not possible to prepare for a natural disaster.
50. Which is the anthropological category promoted by Donna Haraway as a
framework for interpreting the environment?
a.
kinship
b.
politics
c.
economy
d.
culture
51. The title of Stefan Helmreich’s book Alien Ocean refers to
a.
indigenous knowledge and scientific accounts of the cosmos.
b.
the scientists who explore the ocean’s microbial ecology.
c.
alien microbes on Earth.
d.
the boundaries of the native and the alien.
52. Julie Cruikshank studies indigenous knowledge and oral histories in order to
a.
challenge the idea that natural formations are animate objects.
b.
highlight the similarities between indigenous knowledge and scientific
accounts.
c.
understand indigenous perspectives on the interrelatedness of humans and
glaciers.
d.
excavate glaciers as historical records of climate change.
53. The Runa taught Eduardo Kohn to see himself through the eyes of a(n)
a.
ancestral spirit.
b.
jaguar.
c.
indigenous person.
d.
forest.
54. Eduardo Kohn’s research in the Ecuadorian rain forest looks at ecological
relationships between
a.
ancestral spirits and spirit animals.
b.
indigenous peoples and Western scientists.
c.
humans and glaciers.
d.
humans, spirits, animals, and plants.
55. Bianca is doing participant observation in order to learn more about the
relationships between humans and working dogs, such as dogs that help herd,
hunt, or police. Her study is an example of
a.
the Anthropocene.
b.
environmental anthropology.
c.
multispecies ethnography.
d.
sustainability.
56. Multispecies ethnography attempts to
a.
study ecological systems before human intervention.
b.
exclusively study the impacts of humans on ecological systems.
c.
reimagine human beings as part of the ecosystems that we affect and that
affect us.
d.
study several endangered species at once.
57. Ethnographic research designed to consider the interactions of all species living on
the planet and see the world from a more than human perspective is called
a.
the Anthropocene.
b.
gentrification studies.
c.
multispecies ethnography.
d.
sustainability.
58. President Mohamed Nasheed has taken a leading role in environmental efforts.
What pledge did he make regarding the Maldives?
a.
to support youth activists such as Greta Thunberg
b.
to stop burning fossil fuels in the Maldives
c.
to make the Maldives the first carbon-neutral country
d.
to stop mining coltan
59. Laura Ogden collected the oral histories of gladesmen in South Florida to
a.
learn about the region’s Native Americans.
b.
construct an ecological history of the Everglades.
c.
determine the reasons for alligator extinction.
d.
fight poachers and outlaws.
60. Ashley Carse stresses that the rain forest enables the ________ to exist.
a.
canal
b.
peasant community
c.
conflict
d.
bananas
61. Clearing the rain forest for poor, landless farmers to use
a.
catastrophically increased the Panama Canal’s water supply.
b.
was the Panama Canal Administration’s solution for the people whose land
had been flooded to make the canal.
c.
was unacceptable to the Canal Administration, so the government switched
from development to conservation.
d.
helped the poor farmers to develop economically.
62. In Panama, the water for the newly constructed water system supporting the canal
was replenished by
a.
the rain forest.
b.
the lock system.
c.
the ocean.
d.
flooding.
63. Damming the Chagres River basin to create the Panama Canal watershed
a.
killed the rain forest.
b.
forced residents of the submerged towns to move.
c.
caused a rain forest to grow.
d.
caused the banana plantation business to thrive.
64. Ashley Carse’s research on the Panama Canal focuses on
a.
how technology can be used to dominate nature.
b.
how the Panama Canal affects the lives of local communities.
c.
how infrastructure projects produce globalization.
d.
the impact of speeding the movement of goods between oceans.
65. Earth-changing transformation and information infrastructure projects such as
canals, ports, railroads, satellites, and undersea telephone cables
a.
enable the processes of globalization to occur.
b.
are caused by the Anthropocene.
c.
reveal the limits of globalization.
d.
are challenged by the Anthropocene.
66. Katerina Teaiwa’s deeply personal story
a.
ends with a second wave of forced relocation due to climate change.
b.
demonstrates a case of indigenous dispossession and cultural resilience.
c.
has a happy ending, in which the Banaba people repossessed their land and
were paid reparations.
d.
celebrates the successful transformation of barren landscapes to abundant
farmland.
67. When did the British remove the Banaba people?
a.
during World War I
b.
1900
c.
1981
d.
after World War II
68. The residents of the South Pacific island called Ocean Island
a.
were forcibly relocated.
b.
removed 90 percent of their island’s surface.
c.
were displaced by the Panama Canal.
d.
extracted 22 million tons of phosphate.
69. Those who are the most susceptible to environmental vulnerability are
a.
the people and corporations who benefited most from reshaping the planet.
b.
the people who have benefited the least from globalization.
c.
global capitalists and consumers.
d.
the Anthropocene.
70. Approximately when did the Anthropocene begin?
a.
12,000 years ago
b.
100 years ago
c.
in 1980
d.
10 years ago
71. Drought, extreme poverty, extinctions, and pollution of air and water are
a.
results of an ice age.
b.
problems caused by the Holocene.
c.
called natural disasters.
d.
caused by the spread of global capitalism and consumerism.
72. The sleepy Russian town of Belushya Guba declared a state of emergency when it
was overrun by polar bears. This species had never ventured into their town until
climate change melted the sea ice, which comprised much of the bears’ primary
hunting and migration routes. The plight of the bears and the town exemplifies the
changes characteristic of
a.
the Anthropocene.
b.
globalization.
c.
multispecies ethnography.
d.
the Holocene.
73. The current historical era in which human activity is reshaping the planet in
permanent ways is called
a.
the Anthropocene.
b.
globalization.
c.
multispecies.
d.
the Holocene.
74. Bruno Latour recommends that we focus on which part of our environment?
a.
the areas several miles above and below the Earth’s surface
b.
oceans, rivers, streams, and watersheds
c.
the atmosphere
d.
animal behavior
75. Environmental anthropologists challenge Western philosophy’s binary way of
looking at the distinction between
a.
the Anthropocene and the Holocene.
b.
the environment and sustainability.
c.
species and people.
d.
human beings and nature.
76. Alysse observes how orangutans and humans affect one another through their
impacts on forest ecology. She is a(n)
a.
social activist.
b.
ecotourist.
c.
community-based conservationist.
d.
environmental anthropologist.
77. The study of the relations between humans and the environment is called
a.
the Anthropocene.
b.
environmental anthropology.
c.
multispecies ethnography.
d.
sustainability.
78. What percentage of the world’s population lives in low-lying coastal areas?
a.
1.4 percent
b.
12 percent
c.
25 percent
d.
95 percent
79. Greta Thunberg inspired an international student movement by
a.
advocating for the indigenous people of the Ecuadorian rain forest.
b.
holding a meeting underwater using scuba gear.
c.
contesting environmental racism through journalism.
d.
skipping school every Friday to demonstrate.
80. If, as predicted, sea levels in the Indian Ocean rise by six feet by the year 2100,
a.
the Maldives will be completely underwater.
b.
it will signal that efforts to reverse climate change succeeded.
c.
food security will be restored.
d.
the Maldives’ coral reefs will regenerate.
81. Rising sea levels and water temperature are caused by
a.
climate change.
b.
extractive industries.
c.
globalization.
d.
ecotourism.
Answer Key
chapter 12
