B) is not a problem because disease will limit population size
C) is not a problem because humans are too intelligent to allow it to be
D) will lead to natural selection of the most fit individuals
E) will cause a population crash
25) The “sensitivity factor” in the model used to represent human environmental impact denotes
________.
A) the sensitivity of human health and welfare to the impacts of an environment degradation
caused by human activities
B) the sensitivity of an environment to human pressures
C) the sensitivity of endangered species to human population infringement
D) the sensitivity of governments to carrying capacity demands
E) economic sensitivity to resource use
26) The most accurate terms describing the trend over the past 50 years in resource use for
human energy and agricultural systems are ________.
A) increasing and unsustainable
B) decreasing and sustainable
C) steady state and sustainable
D) from unsustainable to sustainable
E) rapidly increasing, moving from unsustainable to sustainable
27) According to the model developed by Donella Meadows and her colleagues, if human
society proceeds as it has for most of the twentieth century ________.
A) pollution levels will soar and productivity will decrease exponentially in the next century
B) the human population will stabilize at about 8 billion
C) industrial production will reach a steady state as non-renewable resources increase
D) the human population will reach 10 billion by 2100 as pollution levels drop rapidly
E) the human population will crash and then grow exponentially to 10 billion
28) Paul Ehrlich’s predictions have not come true on the scale he imagined because ________.
A) Malthus turned out to be right
B) agricultural advances increased food supply
C) pollution has reduced population growth
D) birth rates fell in all countries
E) medicine has not advanced as rapidly as he predicted
29) At the outset of the Industrial Revolution in England in the 1700s, population growth was
regarded as a good thing. Why?
A) There were fewer children to support folks in old age.
B) There was a greater pool of workers and helpers.
C) The growth would spread democracy through all countries.
D) The growth would spread religion around the world.
E) The growth would help rulers have larger armies for conquering new lands.
30) Malthus was responsible for ________.
A) the book The Population Bomb, which described the disastrous effects of human population
growth
B) the idea that, without social strictures, the increase in the human population would lead to
famine and war
C) the concept that human population growth would lead to greater industry and prosperity
through education
D) instituting fertilizer use for agriculture
E) the political stance that the environment was important in its own right
31) Age pyramids, used to show the age structure of a population, generally ________.
A) have no inherent value for predicting growth
B) cannot predict possible species declines in numbers
C) have bars that represent sizes of individual organisms
D) indicate the relative numbers (frequency or percentage) of individuals in each age class
E) indicate the total numbers of individuals in each age class
32) The annual global growth rate of the human population peaked ________ and has been
declining ever since.
A) in 2005
B) at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution
C) in the 1960s
D) in the early 1900s
E) The growth rate has not declined.
6.5 True/False Questions
1) If growth rate of a given area is steady, population size will soon stabilize.
2) Poorer societies have lower birth rates than more affluent societies.
3) The global annual growth rate of the human population has declined since 1960.
4) Presently, over 80% of the world’s population lives in developing nations.
5) Urbanization drives TFR down.
6) The number of people per household is rising rapidly in Canada and Great Britain.
7) As of 2008, TFR is highest in Europe and lowest in Africa.
8) The Millennium Development Goals set an aggressive target date of 2015 to achieve many of
the fundamental goals for sustainable development. Population control is one of these goals.
6.6 Essay Questions
1) Why did China institute a population control policy? How is it enforced? Why is it
controversial?
2) Explain human population growth in terms of carrying capacity. How does this differ from
organisms that exist in natural ecosystems? Explain how population growth for human
populations is a problem.
3) What three-factor model is used for representing the impact on the environment? What is a
fourth factor that could be added to this model? Give a simple explanation for each factor and
describe what it means in terms of human impacts on the environment.
4) What is a demographic transition? What are its four stages? State why each stage is important
and what the consequence is for population growth. Do all countries go through the demographic
transition?
5) Define ecological footprint and differentiate between the ecological footprint of a developed
and a developing country. Discuss how the balance between these ecological footprints is likely
to shift as developing countries continue to increase their populations and, at the same time,
aspire to the Western consumption lifestyles.
6) How does poverty and affluence affect the environment?
7) Explain what social challenges are posed by a pyramid–shaped versus an inverted pyramid-
shaped age structure diagram.
8) Why do environmentalists view unchecked population growth as a problem?
20
6.7 Scenario-Based Questions
Read the following scenario and answer the questions below.
Population growth is at the root of many serious environmental problems. From the ancient
Babylonians thousands of years ago, to Thomas Malthus hundreds of years ago, to present-day
neo-Malthusians, humans seem to possess an awareness of Earth’s limitations in the face of
growing populations. Today, our ability to accurately quantify, monitor, and control population
growth is very sophisticated. We can measure growth and make predictions about world growth
with mathematical and computer models. Can we prevent disaster?
1) Despite dire predictions in the past, the human population is still growing. Some people would
argue that this is because ________.
A) technological developments have alleviated some of the strain on Earth’s resources
B) space exploration has revealed new frontiers
C) Malthus’s measurements were inaccurate
D) world population growth has been slower than expected
E) Malthus overestimated the Earth’s environmental sensitivity
2) Mesopotamian, Mayan, and Easter Island societies all experienced “crashes” because they
________.
A) had low TFR
B) had an unbalanced male:female ratio
C) had too weak of a military to defend them against hostile neighbours
D) abused and overused their natural resources
E) experienced rapid climate change
3) Because of the success of China’s population control programs started in the early 1970s,
________.
A) environmental problems in China have been greatly reduced
B) the population of China decreased from its 1970 level
C) African nations have instituted similar programs
D) European nations have instituted similar programs
E) today in China there are more 40-year olds than 10-year olds
4) Aside from contraception, what can humans do to control population growth’s negative effects
on the environment?
A) encourage consumption
B) encourage emigration from Africa
C) discourage emigration from Africa
D) discourage population movement into sensitive environmental areas
E) discourage migration from rural areas to cities
5) Which of the following is NOT the reason why China’s one-child policy did not stop the
degradation of the environment?
A) China’s population is still growing.
B) China’s economy grew faster than the population.
C) For China’s government economic growth was more important than protecting the
environment.
D) The consumption level of the average Chinese person has increased.
E) None of the above.
6) If there is increased immigration, ________.
A) the crude death rate will increase
B) the crude death rate will decrease
C) natality and mortality will increase
D) natality will increase and mortality will decrease
E) both natality and mortality rates will not be directly affected
D
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