The exam will consist of a combination of multiple choice and short answer questions. The proportion of multiple choice and short answer questions will be similar to the second exam but the third exam will be longer than the second exam because we have covered more material. It should be similar in length to the first exam.

Questions will test your understanding of concepts and ideas from the course (definitions), how they apply to the case studies we have discussed, and how they relate to the major themes of the course (relationships).  In addition a few questions will test your understanding of concepts by asking you to apply them in contexts that may be different from those we have discussed up to this point to test whether or not you have really learned them. 

Important Note for the third exam: Be prepared also to talk about how topics in this section of the course interrelate to topics we have studied previously. For example our discussion of energy sources relates directly with our discussions of air pollution and with our discussion of drilling in ANWR. As we get further into the semester you should be observing that everything we are talking about relates back to topics we discussed in the first half of the course.

See the review sheet for the first exam for important tips on studying, resources you can use to study with, as well as hints for better test taking.

As with the previous exams I encourage you to come talk to me about material you don't understand or questions that you have about the material. I am available during office hours and can meet with you generally between 10-2 MWF and between 11 and 3 on Thursday. Call or IM if you wish to confirm that I am in my office if you wish. I can also meet with you by appointment.

Major themes

• What are the connections between population and environmental quality?
• To what extent does human population density and resource consumption (rather than just quantity) affect the environment?
• What advantages do Green Revolution Agriculture and the biotech revolution in agriculture (genetically modified organisms) provide and what environmental impact do these systems of agriculture have?
• How does soil form and why is healthy soil important for the environment and for agriculture?
• What are some sustainable agricultural practices and how do they compare with Green Revolution Agriculture in terms of their environmental impact?
• What sources of nonrenewable energy are available to us and what are their advantages and disadvantages in terms of cost as well as environmental impact?
• How do nuclear reactors produce energy and what are the advantages of nuclear power in terms of cost as well as environmental impact?
• What sources of renewable energy are available to us and what are their advantages and disadvantages in terms of cost as well as environmental impact?

Specific concepts

This is not necessarily an all inclusive list of concepts. Go through the lecture outlines and your textbook for additional concepts that I may have left off this list.

Population

Doubling time, exponential population growth, population density, carrying capacity, demography, total fertility rate, rate of natural increase, crude birth rate, crude death rate, growth rate, population pyramid, age structure, demographic transition, replacement level fertility. The history of population growth in China, impacts of growth, population control, human rights issues, future world population trends. Population growth, consumption, I=PAT, affluence, technology, political power, Be familiar with arguments concerning ways to reduce consumption.

Agriculture

Subsistence agriculture, landraces, crossbreeding, cultivars, self-pollination, cross-pollination, hybrids, the Green Revolution, monocultures, mechanization, irrigation, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, soil erosion, resistance to pesticides, natural selection, target and non-target organisms, bioaccumulation, biomagnification, integrated pest management, bioengineering, genetically modified crops. Soil formation (pedogenisis) soil composition, soil erosion and formation, soil husbandry. Factory Farming, small-scale farming, Genetically Modified Crops, economies of scale. Sustainable agriculture, conservation tillage, no-till planting, summer fallowing, crop rotation, cover crops, shelter belts, limited use of chemical pesticides, dryland farming, salinization, stubble mulching, organic farming.

Energy

Energy efficiency, Petroleum, hydrocarbons, natural gas, sources of petroleum, oil on the north slope, trans Alaska pipeline, Exxon Valdez oil spill (impacts and policy changes), bioremediation. Atom, nucleus, protons, neutrons, atomic number, mass number, isotopes, fission, how nuclear reactor works, nuclear enrichment, control rods, primary and secondary containment structures, advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power, Renewable and non-renewable sources, environmental externalities. Advantages and disadvantages of the following types of sustainable energy: solar power (active and passive), Wind power, water power. Central receiver solar electric power, photovoltaic solar electric power, Wind-Turbine electric power, hydrogen Power, Geothermal energy, bio-desel, ethanol.

Case Studies

Here is a list of the case studies and examples we discussed in class or that are in your book. See how well you can reconstruct these on your own. Can you match the case studies with the concepts that each was designed to illustrate?

Resource exhaustion at Easter Island
Population policy in China
Problems of consumption in Kenyan "slums"
The Green Revolution in India
Canadian Prairie Agriculture
Organic farm in Minnesota
Prudhoe Bay Oil Fields/Trans Alaska Pipeline Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
Tennessee Valley Authority and Nuclear Power
Chernobyl
Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant in New York
Innovations in sustainable energy case study

Discussion Topics

Population and Consumption
Factory Farming and GMOs
The Future of Energy Production