GES 101 Final Exam Questions and
Answers27
brush/ forest fires - ANSWERS -Wild fires cause damage to ecosystems
• As people push deeper into mountains and
other areas damage to homes, businesses and
other structures increase
• Pollution in air and water
• Erosion
• Caused by lightning and humans
- Droughts, ENSO can make fires larger and more
likely
earthquakes - ANSWERS -Plates of the crust shift
• Highly unpredictable
• Widespread damage
• Building codes key to reducing loss of life
• Secondary effects are more catastrophic
- Tsunamis
- Fires
- Floods
- Disease
floods - ANSWERS -Causes include substantial rainfall and dam
breaks
,• Displaced people
• Infrastructure damage
• Crop loss
volcanoes - ANSWERS -Eruptions of magma usually along plate
boundaries
• Some eruptions are small and cause limited
damage
• Catastrophic volcanic events can cause
10,000s of deaths and alter world climate
man made disasters - ANSWERS -War
• Genocide
• Famine
population - ANSWERS -Concern for population issues dates from the
late 18th Century
- Thomas Malthus
- Malthusian (exponential) growth
• Paul Erlich
- Population Bomb
age structures - ANSWERS -young and growing, aging and stable. a large number of young
people ensures rapid populations growth. How dynamics of age contribute to population
growth
urban - ANSWERS -Cities are high density population centers
, • Infrastructure complex
• Shelter - Buildings
• Transportation
- Streets
- Mass Transit
• Water
- Treatment
- Distribution
- Disposal
• Energy - Grid and Production
megacities - ANSWERS -Worldwide today, 527 cities have populations of more
than 1 million people.
• This compared to 326 cities of 1 million in 1990.
• By 2015 there will be 1.6 billion living in cities of more
than 1 million with 622 million people in cities of more
than 5 million.
• In 1975 there were 5 megacities of more than 10 million
people. Today there are 31 megacities.
• Twelve of these exceed 20 million.
urbanization and sustainability - ANSWERS -two important and overlapping
"systems" that require study urgently and have both societal and
ecological implications.
urbanization - ANSWERS -In Africa, only 5% of the population lived in cities
Answers27
brush/ forest fires - ANSWERS -Wild fires cause damage to ecosystems
• As people push deeper into mountains and
other areas damage to homes, businesses and
other structures increase
• Pollution in air and water
• Erosion
• Caused by lightning and humans
- Droughts, ENSO can make fires larger and more
likely
earthquakes - ANSWERS -Plates of the crust shift
• Highly unpredictable
• Widespread damage
• Building codes key to reducing loss of life
• Secondary effects are more catastrophic
- Tsunamis
- Fires
- Floods
- Disease
floods - ANSWERS -Causes include substantial rainfall and dam
breaks
,• Displaced people
• Infrastructure damage
• Crop loss
volcanoes - ANSWERS -Eruptions of magma usually along plate
boundaries
• Some eruptions are small and cause limited
damage
• Catastrophic volcanic events can cause
10,000s of deaths and alter world climate
man made disasters - ANSWERS -War
• Genocide
• Famine
population - ANSWERS -Concern for population issues dates from the
late 18th Century
- Thomas Malthus
- Malthusian (exponential) growth
• Paul Erlich
- Population Bomb
age structures - ANSWERS -young and growing, aging and stable. a large number of young
people ensures rapid populations growth. How dynamics of age contribute to population
growth
urban - ANSWERS -Cities are high density population centers
, • Infrastructure complex
• Shelter - Buildings
• Transportation
- Streets
- Mass Transit
• Water
- Treatment
- Distribution
- Disposal
• Energy - Grid and Production
megacities - ANSWERS -Worldwide today, 527 cities have populations of more
than 1 million people.
• This compared to 326 cities of 1 million in 1990.
• By 2015 there will be 1.6 billion living in cities of more
than 1 million with 622 million people in cities of more
than 5 million.
• In 1975 there were 5 megacities of more than 10 million
people. Today there are 31 megacities.
• Twelve of these exceed 20 million.
urbanization and sustainability - ANSWERS -two important and overlapping
"systems" that require study urgently and have both societal and
ecological implications.
urbanization - ANSWERS -In Africa, only 5% of the population lived in cities
