GEOGRAPHY 378 FINAL STUDY GUIDE
10 matching, 10 multiple choice, 10 true/false, 15 Essay I, 15 Essay II = 60 total
Essays (you will have a choice of 2 out of 3). Studying for each essay question will help you in
the non-essay sections. Answer each question embedded within the essay directions.
You will have 1 hour and 50 minutes. Be specific and detailed; don’t be vague!
1. Forests make up about a third of the earth’s land mass. Why are so many environmental
concerns centered on the forest ecosystem? Review the main causes of deforestation in
tropical regions (such as the Amazon Basin or Southeast Asia) and in temperate forests
(such as the Pacific Northwest and Siberia). How is fire used both as a positive and
negative force in both tropical and temperate forests? Explain the conflicts between
environmental and economic development perspectives in both tropical and temperate
forest environments. Why would Brazilians or Americans who make their living off
forests oppose clear-cutting for economic reasons, and support sustainable forestry?
2. Parks and nature preserves were for many years the preferred way to protect delicate
environmental areas. Yet what are some problems associated with parklands in the U.S.,
and in the rest of the world? How is wildlife managed and treated in the parks? What is
the effect of visitors and nearby environmental threats? Explore the concept of
“wilderness” as a separation of human beings and activities from the natural
environment, and how does this concept affect indigenous and other local communities in
countries such as Brazil or Kenya? What are some new directions in establishing places
that protect wild species, yet allow for human activities?
3. What are some basic environmental concerns associated with large-scale commercial
production by “agribusiness”? What were the benefits and drawbacks of the Green
Revolution in the “Third World”? How do these compare to the promises of
biotechnology in agriculture today, and how have these promises measured against
experience? Review some of the global controversies around Genetically Modified
Organisms, and explain why new technologies such as transgenic crops and cloning are
controversial. In contrast to agribusiness “factory farms,” how can family farms
successfully practice sustainable agriculture?
4. What are the major debates around population and the environment? Is population
growth the cause or a symptom of poverty and environmental degradation? What is the
Malthusian perspective that the “carrying capacity” of the Earth is threatened by
“overpopulation”? How does that perspective and resultant population control programs,
measure up to experience? What are some social justice perspectives about population
growth, and the and how to lessen population growth? What does this perspective
identify as the causes of poverty and environmental degradation?