1. With what topic does the article begin and why?
2. What definition of sustainability is first given, and problem do the authors
see with this definition?
3. What are the 4 dimensions of sustainability?
4. Do the authors feel that survival of the human species a concern?
5. Why should we care about biodiversity?
6. What does the analogy of the riveted airplane explain?
7. Why should the rich care about inequity?
8. What are problems of consumerism?
9. What opportunity must a truly sustainable culture offer?
Assault of the Earth
1. What is the concern expressed towards the beginning of the article?
2. What is the challenge for today's farmers?
3. What are forms of soil degradation?
4. How does salinization (what they call saltation) occur?
5. Give an example of how social problems can exacerbate soil erosion.
6. How many years does it take to form one inch of soil?
7. Why haven't conservation techniques been used to a greater degree?
8. What arguments can be given to counter the concern in the answer of the above
question?
9. Why does rice production in Southeast Asia appear to be declining?
10. What effect does plowing have on soils?
11. What types of policies might be effective at improving soil health?
Sustainable Cities
1. What does the new definition of green encompass?
2. What should new housing be besides affordable and having environmentally friendly
construction?
3. How is Philadelphia's Office of Watersheds 'daylighting' culverts?
4. Hope for big change lies in growing number of citizen groups and elected local officials
who are pushing for change? What 4 things can help promote change in the shortterm?
Drinking Water and Disease
1. What factors make it difficult to assess number of cases of waterborne illness
in the US?
2. To what was the largest waterborne disease outbreak in 1997-1998
attributed?
3. What are the microbial contaminants of greatest concern?
4. From what source do the bacteria, viruses, and protozoa that are of
major ccncern in drinking water usually come?
5. In addition to sophisticated waste water treatment, what else is required to
protect against bacterial contamination of drinking water supplies?
6. What have been the leading cause of waterborne disease since 1981?
7. What are the chemical contaminants of greatest concern?
8. If lead pipes are no longer used, why is lead still a concern in drinking
water?
9. 97% of surface water sytems in the Midwest are contamination with what
substance?
Drying of the West
1. Centuries-old tree-ring data have told us what about the Southwest Colorado Basin?
2. For what two reasons will global warming make the drylands drier?
3. What does the 'ensemble' predict for the Southwest?
4. How has the snowpack changed and what impact has that had?
5. Climate/vegetation models predict what for 2100?
6. What has Las Vegas done to Lake Mead to keep up with the demand for water?
7. What is Las Vegas doing to try to adjust?
8. A solution for cities is to buy what?
Future Power
1. What does the author mean that there is no silver bullet?
2. What's a major problem of hydrogen?
3. Is there likely to be one main type of energy we use in the future? Why or why not?
4. The answers are out there. But what do they require of humans?
5. What technology gives hope to reducing the cost of solar energy?
6. What other problems of solar must be addressed to make it more viable?
7. _________energy is currently the biggest success story in renewable energy.
8. What has Europe done to move the continent toward a bigger use of wind?
9. What limits biomass? Why?
10. Is fission renewable? Why or why not?
11. What is MOX and why is it significant?
12. What are the advantages/disadvantages of breeder reactors?
13. Creating and containing plasma for fusion is __________________________.
14. What is the problem of leaving the development of new energy technologies to market
forces?
The Truth about Tongass
1. What does the Tongass represent?
2. About 40% percent of the Tongass is preserved (will never be logged under current law),
and only = million acres of 16.8 million have been logged. So what are the 3 main
issues?
3. What might be a present-day economic incentive to preserve more of the Tongass?
4. What does Marxan do?
5. What does the Audubon Society recommend for protection of the Tongass?
The Evil Quartet
1. For what do the authors believe that the majority of Americans have little
appreciation?
2. Laysan was at one point a remarkable bird island because of the indigenous
birds and nesting sites for migrating birds. What happened to the island to
cause numerous extinctions?
3. Why do the authors suggest we should care about extinctions?
4. Why were housecats airlifted by the World Health Organization to Borneo?
5. What percentage of North American, South American and Australian mammals have
become extinct in the last 100,000 years?
6. List the four components of the 'Evil Quartet.'
7. Why do humans require so much space on earth?
8. What do the authors believe future generations will say about this
generation?
Extinction is not a Serious Problem
1. List four complaints the authors have about how conservation scientists
have communicated the dangers of extinction.
2. What is necessary to make sound, informed policies about protecting endangered
species?
Air Pollution Abatement and Control
1. How can we control pollution from factories and powerplants? What about for
sulfur dioxide?
2. How can we control automotive emissions?