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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. To what island does Kolbert compare desert ecosystems?

2. What act led to the introduction of Asian carp?

3. When did William Lewis Manly take a difficult journey west?

4. Kolbert jumps to a day when she meets Alex Kolker, a professor at LSU, who has what as a side gig?

5. When the United States won a case against the developer, Cappaert Enterprises, who took over the land?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Ruth Gates hope to aid the world's coral reefs?

2. What are crevasses, and why do a group of engineers want to create man-made ones?

3. What have humans done to save species on the brink of extinction?

4. What is the reason for why the Chicago River was reversed?

5. What is the purpose of the model delta at the Center for River Studies?

6. When do the majority of scientists believe the Anthropocene Age began?

7. What do most of the Australians Kolbert spoke to think about the future of the Great Barrier Reef?

8. How does Kolbert compare her stay at the Paris in Las Vegas to life for the pupfish in Devils Hole Jr.?

9. What problems has human domination over nature caused, according to Kolbert?

10. What is William Lewis Manly's role in the discovery of Devils Hole?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Scientists have come up with wild and crazy ideas for dealing with climate change. What are a couple examples? Are these valid options? Why or why not? Are even the craziest ideas important? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

How important are the people Kolbert introduces? What do they all have in common, based on what Kolbert provides in Under a White Sky? What does Kolbert seem to think of them? Would other experts agree with her? Why or why not? How could the information she provides about them possibly sway readers' opinions regarding what is being done to care for the environment?

Essay Topic 3

Kolbert mentions that most of the carbon dioxide humans have emitted would eventually turn to stone. If this is the case, do we need to be concerned about carbon dioxide emissions? Why or why not? Do the scientists Kolbert interviews regarding emissions factor this in when talking about their ideas for reducing emissions or removing emissions? Why or why not? What might Kolbert think about the natural chemical weathering process, based on her comments in Up in the Air, Chapter 1?

(see the answer keys)

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