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How's your environmental IQ?

Here's a short quiz you can take to test your environmental I.Q.

Did you ever wonder how knowledgeable you are about forestry and the environment? Dr. Jim Bowyer (from the University of Minnesota) wondered the same thing about his college students, so he developed the following test to find out.

Question 1.
The United States is a net importer of most raw materials used by industry today.
True     False

Question 2.
The weight of wood used each year is roughly equivalent to the annual consumption of all metals, all plastics, and Portland cement, combined.
True     False

Question 3.
The world is rapidly running out of many important minerals.
True     False

Question 4.
Currently, the percent of annual paper production in the United States that is produced from recycled paper is:

  1. 2%
  2. 6%
  3. 13%
  4. 20%
  5. 26%
  6. 35%

Question 5.
More extensive recycling of paper could reduce harvesting of forests in the U.S. by 60% or more.
True     False

Question 6.
The population of the world is currently about:

  1. 3.4 billion
  2. 5.4 billion
  3. 8.7 billion
  4. 9.6 billion
  5. 10.1 billion

Question 7.
U.S. population growth is expected to stabilize in the next century.
True     False

Question 8.
The number one cause of tropical deforestation worldwide is:

  1. Commercial logging
  2. Wildfire
  3. Clearing of lands for agriculture
  4. Gathering of fuelwood

Question 9.
The area covered by forests in the U.S. is approximately ___% of the forested area that existed in the late 1400s.

  1. 66%
  2. 50%
  3. 33%
  4. 25%
  5. 17%

Question 10.
Which of the following statement most accurately describes U.S. forest harvesting?

  1. Forest harvest exceeds net growth by 8%
  2. Forest harvest exceeds net growth by 3%
  3. Harvest is roughly equal to net growth
  4. Net growth exceed harvest by 21%
  5. Net growth exceeds harvest by 37%

Question 11.
At current rates of deforestation, 40% of current forests in the U.S. will be lost by the middle of the next century.
True     False

Question 12.
In the U.S. today, noncommercial forest land makes up about ___% of total forested area in the country.

  1. 50%
  2. 33%
  3. 25%
  4. 20%
  5. 10%

Question 13.
In the U.S. today, lands designated as wilderness comprise about ___% of the total forested area in the country.

  1. 1%
  2. 3%
  3. 4%
  4. 13%
  5. 17%

Question 14.
Under current law, timber harvesting is allowed in wilderness areas.
True     False

Question 15.
The use of forest products in the U.S.

  1. Has declined significantly since 1960
  2. Is about the same over the last 50 years
  3. Is growing slowly as the population increases
  4. Per-capita has increased over 30% since 1970

 

Last Updated: March 24, 2006
© 2006 Michigan State University Board of Trustees
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