AP Environmental History & Human-Nature Interactions Flashcards
6 cards from real AP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 AP Environmental History & Human-Nature Interactions flashcards as text
The Dust Bowl of the 1930s in the United States was primarily caused by:
Answer: Decades of deep plowing that destroyed drought-resistant prairie grasses, combined with severe drought
Settlers had plowed under the deep-rooted native grasses that held soil in place; when drought hit, topsoil with no root structure blew away in massive dust storms.
The British colonization of Australia is associated with which environmental concept?
Answer: Ecological imperialism—introduced sheep, rabbits, and weeds transformed Australian ecosystems
European settlers introduced sheep, rabbits, foxes, and invasive plants that devastated native Australian species and transformed grassland and forest ecosystems.
In AP World History, the deforestation of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is often cited as an example of:
Answer: Environmental collapse caused by overexploitation of resources, contributing to societal decline
Easter Islanders gradually cleared all forest cover, leading to soil erosion, food shortages, and societal collapse—a cautionary tale of resource overexploitation.
The construction of the Aswan High Dam in Egypt (completed 1970) illustrates which trade-off in development history?
Answer: How large infrastructure projects generate electricity and irrigation but displace people, alter river ecology, and reduce downstream soil fertility
The Aswan Dam provided power and irrigation but blocked the Nile's annual flood that had deposited nutrients, displaced 100,000 Nubians, and disrupted Mediterranean fisheries.
Which event is considered the beginning of the modern environmental movement in the United States?
Answer: Rachel Carson's publication of Silent Spring in 1962
Carson's Silent Spring documented how DDT and other pesticides were devastating bird populations and ecosystems, galvanizing public environmental consciousness and leading to the EPA.
The AP World History concept of 'carrying capacity' in environmental history refers to:
Answer: The maximum population size an environment can sustain given available resources
Carrying capacity is the ceiling population an ecosystem can support; when human populations or livestock exceed it, environmental degradation and collapse often follow.