Student Center | Instructor Center | Information Center | Home

Environmental Science: A Global Concern, 7/e

William P. Cunningham, University of Minnesota
Mary Ann Cunningham, Vassar College
Barbara Woodworth Saigo, St. Cloud State University

Pest Control

Essay Quiz


1		Summarize the main arguments for and against the intensive use of pesticides a. in food production. b. on lawns.



2		Explain the concept of integrated pest management (IPM).



3		List as many alternative ways as you can to control pest numbers without using pesticides.



4		Explain how pesticide use can cause a formerly nonpest species to become a pest.



5		Your text cites a case where cotton production was 500 kg per hectare before pesticides were used to control boll weevils. After three years of DDT use, cotton production was 750 kg per hectare, yet three years later cotton yields were down to 330 kg per hectare. Explain how pesticide use could actually reduce yield in this way.



6		Outline your own personal plan to reduce the amount of pesticide that enters your body.



7		It has been said that Europeans buy fruit based on taste and that Americans buy fruit based on appearance. What kinds of cosmetic blemishes would you be willing to tolerate to reduce the use of pesticides on your fruits and vegetables?



8		A number of pesticides banned for use in the United States are sold overseas to be used on fruits and vegetables in foreign countries. Many of these crops, contaminated with the pesticides, are then exported to the United States for consumption. How would you prevent this from happening?



9		I try to raise as much produce as I can in my pesticide-free garden. Listed below are some of the things I do to beat the pests without resorting to chemicals. Explain the purpose of each of these actions. a. I make sure my wren house is cleaned out and ready for new occupants each spring. b. I always plant my tomatoes and potatoes in different locations than I did the previous year. c. I plant broccoli, a plant that tolerates cool weather well, much later in the spring than most other people. (This is a challenging one. I'm trying to beat the "little green worms" with this approach. It makes broccoli a fall crop for me.) d. I scout my potato patch extensively to find and pull off potato bugs and their bright orange egg masses as soon as the plants begin to grow. (I need to do this only in the early part of the growth period.) e. I always use several seed varieties of each of the vegetables I plant.



10		Visit the Current Global Environmental Issues map on this Web site. Under Pollution, choose the piece Columbia to spray stronger herbicide to disrupt cocaine production. What environmental arguments can be made opposing this decision?

2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education
Any use is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
McGraw-Hill Higher Education is one of the many fine businesses of The McGraw-Hill Companies.