1. What is Kolker’s prediction for New Orleans?
(a) It will eventually look more like an island.
(b) It will eventually detach and float away.
(c) It will no longer look like a boot.
(d) It will eventually sink and disappear.

2. How many species of birds has the Pacific rat killed off?
(a) At least 10,000 species.
(b) At least 100 species.
(c) None.
(d) At least 1,000 species.

3. When did William Lewis Manly take a difficult journey west?
(a) 1749.
(b) 1849.
(c) 1889.
(d) 1819.

4. According to Kolbert, who knows for certain how much hotter the world will get before out-and-out disaster becomes inevitable?
(a) Several top scientists.
(b) God.
(c) Those countries involved in the Paris accord.
(d) No one.

5. How did Kolbert first learn of Devil’s Hole?
(a) From a television advertisement.
(b) A business trip to Nevada.
(c) In a grad course in college.
(d) A crime that was committed there that was considered a felony.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Kevin Irons, the assistant chief of fisheries at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, feel is the best way to control the carp population?

2. What are the main causes of the shrinkage of Isle de Jean Charles?

3. What is the name Kolbert gives for the ability for humans to now watch other species go extinct?

4. The sulfer dioxide sent up into the stratosphere from a volcano gets oxidized into what?

5. Where does Kolbert stay for her last night in Nevada?

(see the answer key)

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