According to John McCrone’s “The Discovery of Fire,” what determines human use of fire?

	a. Environmental benefits
	b. History
	c. Instinct
	d. Culture

.

According to Kevin Rosario, which statement about catastrophe is true?

	a. Catastrophes are always opportunities.
	b. Advanced technology has made people view catastrophes as opportunities.
	c. Americans less and less view catastrophe as opportunity.
	d. In the past, Americans viewed catastrophe as evidence of evil.

.

According to Kevin Rosario’s lecture, which is NOT a synonym for the word “catastrophe?”

	a. Downturn
	b. Opportunity
	c. Fulcrum
	d. All of the above

.

Fill in the blank. Environmental history as a discipline is best described as ________________.

	a. narrowly scientific
	b. interdisciplinary
	c. very old
	d. studying ecosystems without humans

.

Taming wild species to be controlled by humans describes which process?

	a. Husbandry
	b. Domestication
	c. Horticulture
	d. Agriculture

.

What is meant by the term “Pleistocene die-off?”

	a. Mass extinctions of large mammals that occurred in North America about 10,500 years ago
	b. Mass extinctions that forced Paleoindians to cross the Bering Land Bridge
	c. Mass death caused by disease transmission after European colonization of the Americas
	d. Mass death caused by the Black Death in Europe

.

What kind of disaster is NOT related to a “dust veil event?”

	a. Famine
	b. Plague
	c. Flood
	d. Social Disruption

.

Which body of water shows evidence of a flood that could be the historical antecedent of the Noah’s Flood story?

	a. The Caspian Sea
	b. The Black Sea
	c. The Mediterranean Sea
	d. The Aral Sea

.

Which is the correct evolutionary sequence?

	a. Horticulture to husbandry
	b. Husbandry to hunting
	c. Horticulture to agriculture
	d. Agriculture to horticulture

.

Which of the following is a correct description of Thomas Malthus’s social theory?

	a. Malthus correctly predicted the future population and resources crisis.
	b. Malthus’s theory is so powerful that no one has ever criticized it.
	c. According to Malthus, positive checks and preventive checks are two means of controlling population, which grows in an exponential rate.
	d. Malthus sees poverty as a consequence of moral unworthiness.

.

Which of the following is NOT a prehistoric use of fire?

	a. To defend against animal attacks
	b. To cook food
	c. To clear brush
	d. To prepare tablets for writing

.

Which of the following statements about agriculture is true?

	a. Agriculture evolved first in Africa.
	b. Agriculture evolved after writing.
	c. Agriculture is a feature of hunting and gathering societies.
	d. Agriculture is a cultural phenomenon.

.

Which of the following statements about environmental history is INCORRECT?

	a. Ecology and interdisciplinary methods are two important features of environmental history.
	b. Environmental history studies the human perceptions, ethics, laws, and other mental constructions related to the natural world.
	c. Environmental history studies the changes of the natural world itself.
	d. As historians are not supposed to deal with natural sciences, nature is separate from culture in the study of environmental history.

.

Which of the following statements about the Mayan civilization is false?

	a. The Mayans used canals to travel to the Pacific Ocean.
	b. The Mayans used canals as part of their agricultural plan.
	c. The Mayan civilization may have been wiped out by drought.
	d. The Mayan civilization perished before European colonization.

.

William Cronon’s theory of British colonization of New England rejected which long-held belief?

	a. That the British actively participated in genocide of Native Americans
	b. That Native Americans lived in an undisturbed wilderness
	c. That Native Americans helped the Pilgrims when food was short
	d. That the British colonists were more efficient than Native Americans

.

According to J. Donald Hughes, which of the following statements is true about the environmental problems of the ancient Greeks and Romans?

	a. The ancient Greeks and Romans were not aware of the environmental problems.
	b. Governments made no efforts in alleviating the problem of deforestation.
	c. It was climate change and disease, not the human activities, that led to the end of classical civilization.
	d. Metallurgy and the ceramic industry caused significant air pollution and deforestation.

.

According to Pekka Masonen, which of the following statements about the ancient trans-Saharan trade is true?

	a. The Africans were reluctant to contact with other civilizations of the ancient world
	b. Internal trade rather than external trade prepared the wealth for the founding of the first West African states
	c. The trans-Saharan sporadic contracts and trade started only after the Arabs conquered the Northern Africa in the seventh century
	d. The Arabs violently conquered West Africa in order to exploit the gold mines in this region

.

How does Derrick Jensen define “civilization” in “Endgame?”

	a. Cities that require the importation of resources
	b. Cities based on sustainable agriculture
	c. Societies that make agreements that avoid war
	d. Societies that are not based on violence

.

In Donald Worster’s article “Attitudes toward Water,” he discusses two human attitudes towards water and points out that there are a series of cultural wars going on over nature – “wars of ideas, values, perceptions.” Which of the following is Donald Worster’s position on “the culture war” over nature?

	a. Nature has an intrinsic purpose outside of human ideas.
	b. Nature exists for humans to exploit.
	c. People are ethically justified in protecting nature from exploitation.
	d. Humans cannot control nature forever.

.

In the Babylonian “Epic of Gilgamesh,” who civilized the wild Enkindu?

	a. The woman Shamhat from Uruk
	b. Gilgamesh the King
	c. A trapper
	d. The goddess Aruru

.

Tin is used in smelting which alloy?

	a. Iron
	b. Bronze
	c. Steel
	d. Aluminum

.

What is the nature of the Mesopotamian Seven Evil Spirits?

	a. They were earthquakes.
	b. They were volcanoes.
	c. They were storms.
	d. They were chaos.

.

What was the Phoenician civilization famous for regarding its uses of natural resources?

	a. For the mining of tin
	b. For the mining of gold
	c. For trade networks
	d. For the city building

.

Which ancient civilization had the most advanced sewer systems?

	a. Rome
	b. Hellenic Greece
	c. Mesopotamia
	d. Indus Valley

.

Which is NOT a reason why human health worsened in the first urban centers when technologies of agriculture and pastoralism became more complex?

	a. Soil depletion
	b. Burning of fossil fuels
	c. Social stratification
	d. Water supply contamination

.

Which is the earliest form of ancient irrigation?

	a. Diversion dams
	b. Canals
	c. Aqueducts
	d. Buckets

.

Which of the following is a most intensive use of wood in pre-modern history?

	a. Shipbuilding
	b. Smelting
	c. Homebuilding
	d. Paper

.

Which of the following is NOT an element of shamanism?

	a. A person chooses whether or not to be a shaman.
	b. A shaman travels into the spirit world to receive help in healing.
	c. Shamanism is a kind of mysticism.
	d. Shamanism is common in the world today.

.

Fill in the blank. Scarcity in _________ was the primary cause of short life expectancy among the nobility in the Middle Ages.

	a. Calories
	b. Knowledge
	c. Physicians
	d. Vitamins

.

What prompted medieval landowners go to the great expense of land reclamation from wetlands?

	a. Reclamation lessened the impact of floods.
	b. Soils were nutrient poor and reclaimed land had bigger yields.
	c. Population pressures required more homesteads.
	d. Overgrazing caused soil erosion.

.

What was the most important energy source in Medieval Europe?

	a. Coal
	b. Wood
	c. Wind
	d. Water

.

Which group used scorched earth policies in the 1066 invasion of England?

	a. The Normans
	b. The Vikings
	c. The French
	d. The English

.

Which of the following was a social result of the Black Death?

	a. Sterilization
	b. The French Revolution
	c. The Peasant Revolt
	d. Forced labor

.

Which statement below was NOT a factor in creating milk shortages in England after 1660?

	a. A movement to enclose and privatize open grazing land became popular.
	b. Cows must be pregnant to lactate.
	c. Cows are more valuable to small farmers than bulls.
	d. Rising wheat prices made cow keeping too expensive.

.

Which was at the top of the medieval three orders?

	a. Nobles
	b. Priests
	c. Soldiers
	d. Peasants

.

Which was NOT a characteristic of the Black Death?

	a. It was extremely virulent.
	b. It killed 50 to 70 percent.
	c. It killed swiftly.
	d. It affected mostly the poor.

.

Which was NOT an element of the medieval agricultural revolution?

	a. Irrigation
	b. Tripartite field system
	c. Horseshoes
	d. Heavy plow

.

Who had exclusive rights to use medieval forests?

	a. Nobles
	b. Priests
	c. Foresters
	d. Peasants

.

Who synthesized pre-Christian observational science into Medieval European thought?

	a. St. Thomas Aquinas
	b. St. Augustine
	c. St. Jerome
	d. Cicero

.

European cultural ideas during colonization created which change in the American landscape?

	a. They burned brush to make park-like areas in the forests.
	b. A belief in tidiness and uniformity led to monoculture fields instead of horticulture intercropping.
	c. A belief in monotheism led to genocide of polytheistic Native Americans.
	d. They built dams to tame wild rivers.

.

On the dramatic decline of the Native American population in the sixteenth century, which of the following issues has the history community disagreed on?

	a. Whether the arrival of the Europeans triggered a drastic reduction in the number of Native Americans
	b. Whether Europeans intentionally sought the deaths of the Native Americans at a large scale
	c. Whether the Old World diseases played an important role in the defeat of the Native Americans by the Europeans
	d. Whether the Native Americans had the same immunity to the Old World diseases as the Europeans did

.

Which animal species did Europeans introduce to the Americas?

	a. Cod
	b. Horses
	c. Bison
	d. Mosquitoes

.

Which continent was NOT involved in the Triangle Trade?

	a. North America
	b. South America
	c. Africa
	d. Asia

.

Which contribution from Africa during the Columbian Exchange had the most profound impact in the Triangle Trade?

	a. Culture
	b. Manufactured goods
	c. Technology
	d. Crops

.

Which crop was NOT native to the Americas?

	a. Coffee
	b. Corn
	c. Tomatoes
	d. Potatoes

.

Which disease did Europeans import from the Americas in the Columbian Exchange, according to Alfred Crosby’s study?

	a. Smallpox
	b. Cholera
	c. Syphilis
	d. Bubonic plague

.

Which of the following plants is NOT a New World crop that was introduced to Europe?

	a. Barley
	b. Maize (corn)
	c. Potato
	d. Manioc

.

Which of the following statements is false about the life of Olaudah Equiano?

	a. He was kidnapped and enslaved at an early age.
	b. He purchased his own freedom.
	c. He was an advocate of the anti-slavery movement.
	d. In his memoir, he describes that the slavery in Africa had no fundamental differences from that in the Americas.

.

Which resource imported from the Americas during the Columbian Exchange was the most profitable?

	a. Slaves
	b. Gold
	c. Corn
	d. Tobacco

.

Which statement about English colonization in North America is false?

	a. Lord Jeffrey Amherst provided tribes with smallpox-infected blankets at the siege of Pittsburgh.
	b. Colonists believed that working the land conferred value and therefore ownership.
	c. Thomas Jefferson saw equality in gender roles in Native American societies.
	d. Many colonizing farmers moved into the wilderness and became de facto separatists.

.

Which was an anxiety-producing environmental issue in the British Empire?

	a. Replacement of indigenous populations with colonists would collapse labor forces.
	b. Tropical climates were not healthy for European procreation.
	c. Encountering new species of trees like eucalyptus would spread disease.
	d. Introduced species would destabilize production of raw materials.

.

Why did the Virginia Company establish a colony at Jamestown?

	a. To export tobacco to Europe
	b. To import slaves into America
	c. To escape religious persecution in England
	d. To find gold and a sea route to China

.

According to John Comlos, which statement about the Industrial Revolution (IR) in Europe is accurate?

	a. Continental European economies lagged far behind England in technology and production.
	b. Malthusian forces of population density injured the spread of industrialization.
	c. One major difference about the post-1760 IR was that its economic growth was permanent.
	d. The IR created a major subsistence crisis.

.

In which nation did the first industrial revolution occur?

	a. The United States
	b. Britain
	c. France
	d. Spain

.

What caused “neurasthenia” as diagnosed in nineteenth-century America?

	a. Over stimulation from city life
	b. Over work on assembly lines
	c. Lack of light and air in factories
	d. Exposure to fertilizer in massive agriculture

.

What does Frederick Engels criticize in the chapter “The Great Towns” from “The Condition of the Working Class in England?”

	a. Labor shortages
	b. The communist revolution
	c. Living conditions
	d. Working conditions

.

What was the technological advance that extended and entrenched slavery in the U.S.?

	a. The steam engine
	b. The cotton gin
	c. The power cotton baler
	d. Railroads

.

Which issue is addressed by “The Machine in the Garden” thesis?

	a. Religion versus industrialization
	b. The U.S. as a natural paradise versus as an industrial powerhouse
	c. England as an industrial powerhouse versus as a pastoral island paradise
	d. Village life versus city life

.

Which name is most closely linked with the idea of urban green spaces?

	a. Frederick Law Olmstead
	b. John Muir
	c. John James Audubon
	d. Jack London

.

Which natural resource fueled the industrial revolutions?

	a. Wind
	b. Water
	c. Coal
	d. Petroleum

.

Which of the following is NON-RENEWABLE energy?

	a. Natural gas
	b. Wind
	c. Solar
	d. Wood

.

Which of the following labor conditions was NOT a feature of the Industrial Revolution?

	a. Child labor in mines
	b. Women’s labor in factories
	c. Men assuming the duties as sole provider
	d. Male unemployment in favor of women and children

.

Which of the following was NOT a Progressive Era environmental value?

	a. Pristine wilderness
	b. Labor as a natural resource
	c. Air pollution
	d. Individual property rights as a natural resource

.

Which one of the following statements best captures the effects of the Industrial Revolution (IR)?

	a. The IR greatly improved the living standards of the working class people.
	b. Workers in big cities enjoyed higher wages as well as better working and living conditions.
	c. The positive effects of the IR were offset by the negative effects of other historical events that accompanied the IR, including wars, population growth, and environmental pollution.
	d. There was no increase at all in real income for the working class during the years of IR.

.

Which statement about emigration from Europe in the nineteenth century is accurate?

	a. The poorest European countries had the largest rates of emigration.
	b. The best explanation for emigration was better wages in America.
	c. Previous emigration had no impact on later emigration rates.
	d. Rising prosperity prompted emigration.

.

Which statement about urban sprawl is accurate?

	a. Urban sprawl is an American phenomenon.
	b. Urban sprawl is a product of the invention of the automobile.
	c. Urban sprawl is as old as cities.
	d. Mass transit in 19th-century London created urban sprawl.

.

Which statement below about the Industrial Revolution (IR) in England is accurate?

	a. The IR was widespread and erupted simultaneously in all major cities.
	b. England’s well-developed credit market helped the IR.
	c. The industry most responsible for England’s rise as an industrial nation was weapons manufacture.
	d. The IR destroyed the English middle class.

.

According to environmental law specialist Daniel Esty, which of the following is true of environmental protection?

	a. It will always be less lucrative than polluting technologies.
	b. Its solutions are usually more complex than polluting.
	c. It is best driven by private economic incentives.
	d. It is most effectively accomplished by the EPA.

.

According to history professor Bill Lang, which of the following statements about the Columbia River is false?

	a. The Columbia River Basin is the most hydroelectrically developed river system in the world.
	b. Dam constructions on the Columbia River have significantly influenced the fish population in the river.
	c. Fur-trading on the Columbia used to be one of the most lucrative businesses for the British.
	d. The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act was initiated by American merchants to protect natural resource and transportation industries on the Columbia.

.

According to plant geneticist Nina Federoff, which is true about genetically modified (GM) foods?

	a. Genetic modification is a feature of the 21st century.
	b. GM foods will lead the complex system of the world ecosystem into entropy.
	c. Seedless oranges are the result of cloning.
	d. Recombinant DNA is dangerous to the food supply.

.

Complete the following statement. According to food policy specialist Michael Pollan, fortifying foods with vitamins is:

	a. a good way to supplement poor food choices
	b. necessary in processed food
	c. the best way to get nutrients
	d. never a good idea

.

In which city was the first United Nations summit on the environment held?

	a. Johannesburg, South Africa
	b. Kyoto, Japan
	c. Stockholm, Sweden
	d. Seattle, Washington, USA

.

In which war was trench warfare so damaging to the environment?

	a. The U.S. Civil War
	b. World War I
	c. World War II
	d. Vietnam

.

Which of the following statements about microcredit is false?

	a. Sometimes microcredit does not involve actual currency.
	b. China wants to be seen as a developing country by the World Trade Organization.
	c. An applicant must convince other microcredit beneficiaries that an idea is sound before it is funded.
	d. Microcredit only works in developing countries.

.

Which of the following was NOT a feature of economic “liberalism” in the nineteenth century?

	a. Altruism is immoral.
	b. A minimum wage will drive unemployment.
	c. Welfare encourages the poor to have more children.
	d. Economies should be regulated by governments.

.

Which statement about struggle for freshwater in the Andean mountains of Peru is incorrect?

	a. Small communities suffer from corruption over freshwater delivery.
	b. Outside expertise is not essential to sustainability.
	c. Ancient Andean technologies are out of date and destructive.
	d. Andean villagers resist new technologies as destructive of ancient traditions.

.

Which statement about traditional land use in Europe is true?

	a. Traditional agricultural land use created rich biodiversity.
	b. Overgrazing created patches of desert.
	c. Traditional land use involves large, industrial fields.
	d. Most European land use techniques date from the end of World War II (1945).

.

Why were highways originally developed in America?

	a. To provide easy escape from a city under nuclear attack
	b. To make commuting easier
	c. To allow troops to move around the country
	d. To allow penetration into the continent

.

According to the Idaho Forest Products Commission, which kind of forest type does the following statement describe: “‘park-like,’ or ‘open old growth,’ these forests have large, widely spaced trees with open forest floors that are often covered with grass or small shrubs?”

	a. Savanna
	b. Open
	c. Understory
	d. Complex

.

In their 2009 article “The Return of the Population Bomb,” what did biologists Paul and Anne Ehrlich argue?

	a. The rapid population growth would create food crisis and lead to mass starvation.
	b. The birthrates have been declining in much of the world, so there is nothing to worry about the population growth.
	c. Even though population growth has not led to world famine yet, it still threatens the environment by creating other problems, such as pollution, greenhouse gases emissions, and resources scarcity.
	d. When population grows to a certain level, it will be checked by wars, natural disasters, and epidemics.

.

The largest open diamond mine in the world is in which country?

	a. Canada
	b. South Africa
	c. Russia
	d. Zimbabwe

.

The largest river delta in the world is located in which country?

	a. Vietnam
	b. Egypt
	c. The U.S
	d. Bangladesh

.

Water diversion has severely altered the volume of which bodies of water?

	a. The Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea
	b. The Aral Sea, Lake Chad, the Salton Sea
	c. Lake Baikal, Lake Tahoe, and the Ionian Sea
	d. The Red Sea, the Dead Sea, and the Sea of Galilee

.

What is the leading cause of deaths from indoor air pollution?

	a. Cigarette smoking
	b. Burning solid fuel
	c. Household chemical use
	d. Household pet hair/dander

.

Which invasive species was introduced into the U.S. intentionally?

	a. Kudzu vine
	b. Zebra Mussel
	c. West Nile virus
	d. Mediterranean fruit fly

.

Which method has been successful in restoring fish populations following overfishing?

	a. Bycatching
	b. Targeted-species fishing
	c. Tariffs
	d. Fishing bans

.

Which of the following statements about the “Love Canal Tragedy” is false?

	a. The project was initially conceived to generate power.
	b. The canal became an industrial and municipal chemical dumpsite in the 1920s.
	c. The chemical wastes in the Love Canal were cleaned up twenty-five years after the Hooker Chemical Company stopped using the canal as an industrial dump.
	d. The liability issue is still unclear regarding the accidents caused by chemical wastes disposed of previously.

.

Which of the following statements is an inaccurate description of the impacts of climate change on human health?

	a. Climate change may allow some diseases to spread more easily.
	b. Climate change increases the frequency of abnormal climatic events (such as floods, droughts, and hurricanes) that affect human health more drastically.
	c. Climate change likely has negative effects on air quality.
	d. A standardized scheme should be launched to combat climate change regardless geographical locations.

.

Which pandemic disease originates in the largest river delta in the world?

	a. Malaria
	b. Smallpox
	c. Cholera
	d. AIDS

.

According to Pare Lorentz’s film, what was “the final frontier”?

	a. California
	b. The Great Plains
	c. Space
	d. Oceans

.

According to the Yale Forum of Religion and Ecology, which religious tradition holds the following view about the Earth: “The Earth is not subservient to humankind, and it should not be administered and exploited irresponsibly”?

	a. Islam
	b. Christianity
	c. Buddhism
	d. Shinto

.

According to Thomas Friedman, what is the single most important issue regarding innovation in the U.S.?

	a. Big government
	b. A crisis of imagination
	c. Lack of entrepreneurial spirit
	d. Short-term outlook

.

What is the Hudson River School?

	a. A school founded to teach the ecological impact of New York City
	b. A style of painting
	c. A style of writing characterized by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau
	d. An institution dedicated to riparian ecology

.

What is the most important element of environmental activism according to Bill McKibbons?

	a. Scientific background
	b. Environmental history
	c. The idea of nature as valuable
	d. Political awareness

.

Which environmental issue did Rachael Carson address in her book, Silent Spring?

	a. Wildlife extinction
	b. Noise hazard
	c. Chemical pesticides
	d. Nuclear radioactive waste

.

Which issue facing the environment does the Kyoto Accord address?

	a. Nuclear energy
	b. Overfishing
	c. Mercury poisoning of fish
	d. Climate change

.

Which major polluting nation did NOT ratify the Kyoto Accord?

	a. Germany
	b. The United States
	c. France
	d. Iran

.

Which of the following statements about fire conservation is accurate?

	a. Fire is always harmful to parks like Yosemite.
	b. The issue of whether or not to fight forest fires is not controversial.
	c. Human habitation is the only determinant of when to fight fire in national parks.
	d. Species of plants and animals coexist in a statistical pattern of burning.

.

Which of the following statements about the conservation movement in America 1850–1920 is NOT accurate?

	a. The question of endangered species became a matter for public policy.
	b. Birds were driven into extinction to make fancy hats.
	c. Conservation efforts were focused at reserving green spaces for social elites.
	d. Travel writing and photography were key to conservation efforts.

.

Which river is notorious for being so polluted it caught fire?

	a. The Thames in London
	b. The Nile in Egypt
	c. The Cuyahoga River in Ohio
	d. The Potomac River in Washington, D.C.

.