Env Sci 204/LaneForests, Agriculture, and People Worksheet

This handout will serve as your study guide for the 3rd exam. Exam 3 is on May 18th

GRCC Readings

TEXT: Chapters

  • 7 (Soil, Agriculture and the Future of Food)
  • 9 (Cities, Forests and Parks: Land Use and Resource Management)

THEMES OF THE TIMES Volume 1:

  • Narrow Path for New Biotech Food Crops
  • Has the Sea Given up its Bounty?

THEMES OF THE TIMES Volume 2:

  • Biotech’s Sparse Harvest: A Gap Between the Lab and the Dining Table,
  • Eating Well: Advisories on Fish and the Pitfalls of Good Intent

BCC Readings

TEXT: Chapters

  • 6 (Environmental Conservation, Forests, Grasslands, Parks and Nature Preserves)
  • 7 (Food and Agriculture)
  • 14 (Economics and Urbanization)

Assignment:From now until the end of the quarter as we learn about the issues in land use, our atmosphere, and energy we will also investigate whether the efforts of an individual truly make a difference. For example, “How will eating less meat in my diet make less of an impact on the environment?” This assignment is designed to help us answer that question.

DUE DATES:

Thursday May 10th (GRCC) Questions 7 and 8

Friday 11th (BCC) Questions 7 and 8

Monday May 14th- Questions 1 and 2

Thursday May 17th -Questions 3 through 6

1. Beginning May 7 keep a daily log of the estimated calories and amount of meat and dairy that you eat each day. (USDA calorie chart

Beef / Pork / Chicken / Eggs / Milk / Fish
Monday
5/7
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

2. Estimate the ecological equivalence using the technique below (from Exam 1).

Day of Week / # meat-related calories consumed by source / Ecologically equivalent calories
(x10)
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
WEEKLY TOTAL

3. During the next 5 days try to eat less meat. Again keep a daily log of the estimated calories and type of meat and dairy that you eat each day.

Beef / Pork / Chicken / Eggs / Milk / Fish
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday

4. Estimate the ecological equivalence using the technique below (from Exam 1).

Day of Week / # meat-related calories consumed by source / Ecologically equivalent calories
(x10)
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
WEEKLY TOTAL

5. Estimate how much less feed (in kg), land (in square meters), and water (in kg) you used during week 2.

6. If everyone in the US had eating habits like yours how much would we reduce our use of feed, land, and water each week? Use an estimated US population of 300 million.

7. Read about sustainable seafood on the PCC website (

Using these websites

complete the table that combines fish that are sustainable with those that are healthy.

Fish / Environmental Rating1 / Health Rating2
(consumption advisory)
Crab Dungeness / Green=US, Canada pot-caught / Children restricted to 2 (under 6) or 3 (6-12 years) meals per month due to mercury
Grouper / Red=over-fished / Men (2 meals) Women (3 meals) and Children under 12 (1 meal) restricted due to mercury
Halibut: Pacific
Halibut: Atlantic
Orange Roughy
Rockfish
Sablefish/Black Cod
Salmon (farmed Atlantic)
Shark
Snapper
Stripped Bass (wild)
Sturgeon (wild)
Swordfish
Tuna Albacore
Tuna Bluefish
1 *Key: BC=By-catchFP=Fishingpractice HD=Habitatdamage MM=Mismanaged O=Foodforotherspecies OF=Over-fished PO=Pollution
2 Based on US Environmental Protection Agency Risk Assessment

8. FOOTPRINT: Complete the ecological footprint quiz at and record the following results.

Category / Acres
Food
Mobility
Shelter
Goods/Services
Total Footprint

What is the average ecological footprint in your country?

How many biologically productive acres are there worldwide?

How many planets would we need if everyone lived in this manner?

Now Select the TAKE ACTION button and complete the following information

SIMPLE STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO REDUCE YOUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
CALCULATE YOUR FOOTPRINT SAVINGS . . . THEN PLEDGE!
FOOD
/ / Currently: / / My food profile is the following / / My Goal is:
1. / / % of the food I eat is from a local farm (within 200 miles ) or garden /
2. / / % of the food I eat is organic or sustainably grown /
3. / / % of my food is unpackaged and unprocessed /
4. / / of my 7 dinners a week are vegetarian /
5. / / % of the food I buy is eaten /
Food Footprint reduction ( Acres )

MOBILITY
/ / Currently: / / My mobility profile is the following / / My Goal is:
1. / / miles per week driving or riding in a car, with /
/ people in the car, on average, and /
/ miles per gallon fuel efficiency, on average /
2. / / miles per week riding on a bus, train, or other public transportation around town /
3. / / miles per year riding on a long distance bus or train (Greyhound, Amtrak) /
4. / / hours per year in an airplane /
5. / / miles per week biking or walking /
6. / / miles per week driving or riding on a motorbike, with /
/ people on the bike, on average, and /
/ miles per gallon fuel efficiency, on average /
Mobility Footprint reduction ( Acres )

HOUSING
/ / Currently: / / My household energy profile is the following / / My Goal is:
1. / / Number of people in my household
2. / / Laundry loads per month that my household dries in an electric or gas dryer (could be reduced by clothesline drying) /
3. / / Light fixtures in my home with compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs /
4. / / Number of days my home is air conditioned (could be reduced with fan-cooling or sweating) /
5. / / Degrees Farenheit daytime thermostat setting for heating /
/ Months per year that my home is centrally heated /
6. / / Hours per day that I watch TV or use a computer at home /
7. / / Minutes per day I am in the shower /
yes
no / I use a low flow showerhead / yes
no
Household Footprint reduction (my share only) ( Acres )

SIMPLE STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO REDUCE YOUR ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
CALCULATE YOUR FOOTPRINT SAVINGS . . . THEN PLEDGE!
FOOD
/ / Currently: / / My food profile is the following / / My Goal is:
1. / / % of the food I eat is from a local farm (within 200 miles ) or garden /
2. / / % of the food I eat is organic or sustainably grown /
3. / / % of my food is unpackaged and unprocessed /
4. / / of my 7 dinners a week are vegetarian /
5. / / % of the food I buy is eaten /
Food Footprint reduction ( Acres )

MOBILITY
/ / Currently: / / My mobility profile is the following / / My Goal is:
1. / / miles per week driving or riding in a car, with /
/ people in the car, on average, and /
/ miles per gallon fuel efficiency, on average /
2. / / miles per week riding on a bus, train, or other public transportation around town /
3. / / miles per year riding on a long distance bus or train (Greyhound, Amtrak) /
4. / / hours per year in an airplane /
5. / / miles per week biking or walking /
6. / / miles per week driving or riding on a motorbike, with /
/ people on the bike, on average, and /
/ miles per gallon fuel efficiency, on average /
Mobility Footprint reduction ( Acres )

HOUSING
/ / Currently: / / My household energy profile is the following / / My Goal is:
1. / / Number of people in my household
2. / / Laundry loads per month that my household dries in an electric or gas dryer (could be reduced by clothesline drying) /
3. / / Light fixtures in my home with compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs /
4. / / Number of days my home is air conditioned (could be reduced with fan-cooling or sweating) /
5. / / Degrees Farenheit daytime thermostat setting for heating /
/ Months per year that my home is centrally heated /
6. / / Hours per day that I watch TV or use a computer at home /
7. / / Minutes per day I am in the shower /
yes
no / I use a low flow showerhead / yes
no
Household Footprint reduction (my share only) ( Acres )

More Questions

9.What are the dietary recommendations of the US food pyramid?

10. Where do the greatest proportions of undernourished people live?

11. How do the environmental costs of producing beef, pork, eggs, chicken, milk, and fish compare?

12. How much land do we have and how much land can we use for farming?

13. How much land on earth is forested? At what rate are forested being depleted? What are three consequences of deforestation?

14. Are genetically modified foods safe for people and the environment? What are the moral issues associated with GM foods, including cloned foods? Name two ways GM crops benefit farmers and two ways they may benefit consumers.

15. What are practices that make agriculture more sustainable?

16. What are problems created by urban sprawl? Complete the table below.

City / Recent population (include year) / 2015 Estimated Population(millions)
Tokyo, Japan / 31.0
New York, USA / 29.9
Mexico City / 21.0
Seoul, Korea / 19.8
Sao Paolo, Brazil / 18.5

17. Define: Sustainable, Deforestation, Cloning, Genetically Modified Organisms

1