Editor's Column

Guest Columns

Forest Facts

By: Jim Petersen

 

1. The population of the world is currently about:
a. 3.4 billion
b. 6.2 billion
c. 8.7 billion
d. 9.1 billion
e. 11.5 billion

2. The population of the world is currently increasing at a rate of about 9,043 people per _______.
a. month
b. week
c. day
d. hour
e. minute
f. second

3. The estimated world population in the year 2050 is about:
a. 3.4 billion
b. 6.2 billion
c. 8.7 billion
d. 9.1 billion
e. 11.5 billion

4. True (T) or False (F).
United States population growth is near zero, with the population expected to stabilize by about 2025.

5. Over the past decade, the United States population has grown at an annual rate of about 1%. Some have suggested that this growth rate is too high, and a problem if maintained over the long term, while others note that 1% is a small number and nothing to be concerned about. The annual long-term growth rate that you view as acceptable for the United States is ______.
a. 10% or less b. 5% or less
c. 3% or less d. 2% or less
e. 1% or less f. 0.5 % or less
g. 0%

6. True (T) or False (F).
The United States is a net exporter of most raw materials used by industry today.

7. True (T) or False (F).
The raw material that is used in the greatest quantity in the United States today, and which accounts for almost one-third (by weight) of the total raw materials used annually, is steel.

8. True (T) or False (F).
The world is rapidly running out of many important minerals.

9. The number one cause of tropical deforestation worldwide is:
a. commercial logging.
b. wildfire.
c. clearing of lands for agricultural use.
d. gathering of firewood.
e. building of roads and cities.

10. The area covered by forests in the U.S. today is approximately ____of the forested area that existed in 1600.
a. 70 percent
b. 50 percent
c. 33 percent
d. 25 percent
e. 17 percent

11. True (T) or False (F).
The geographic area that encompasses the United States today has a greater extent of forest coverage than the same geographic area did in 1920.

12. Which of the following statements most accurately describes United States forests over the past several decades:
a. forest harvest exceeds net growth by 8 percent.
b. forest harvest has exceeds net growth by 3 percent.
c. forest harvest roughly equals net growth.
d. net forest growth exceeds harvest by 19 percent.
e. net forest growth exceeds harvest by 48 percent.

13. True (T) or False (F).
As originallyestablished, it was never intended that the National Forests of the United States would be periodically harvested to obtain timber that would be used in meeting the nation’s need for wood.

14. True (T) or False (F).
At current rates of deforestation, 40 percent of current forests in the United States will be lost by the middle of the next century.

15. True (T) or False (F).
In the U.S. and globally, more species of plants and animals have been driven to extinction by logging activity than any other activity of mankind.

16. True (T) or False (F).
Under current United States law, forest harvesting is allowed within federally designated wilderness areas.

17. True (T) or False (F).
Populations of elk, pronghorn antelope, and wild turkey have declined significantly in the United States over the past 60 years.

18. True (T) or False (F).
Considering the total annual harvest of forests in the United States and the total consumption of wood and wood fiber products within our country, the U.S. is a net importer of wood and wood products.

19. The use of forest products in the United States:
a. has declined significantly since 1960.
b. has remained at about the same level for the past 50 years.
c. is growing slowly as the population increases.
d. has increased on a per capita basis by over 25 percent since 1970.

20. As a percentage of all the paper used in the United States in 2001, ____ was recovered for reuse.
a. 2.9 percent
b. 6.5 percent
c. 14.7 percent
d. 29.3 percent
e. 48.3 percent
f. 60.1 percent

21. Recovered paper provided ____ of the U.S. paper industry’s fiber in 2001.
a. 2.0 percent
b. 6.1 percent
c. 12.9 percent
d. 19.8 percent
e. 24.3 percent
f. 38.4 percent

22. True (T) or False (F).
More extensive recycling of paper could reduce harvesting of forests in the U.S. by 60 percent or more.

23. The building material that can be produced with the least impact on the environment is:
a. brick
b. concrete
c. aluminum
d. virgin steel
e. recycled steel
f. wood
g. plastic

 

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ANSWERS

1. The current world population is a little more than 6.2 billion (b).
2. The world population is currently increasing at a rate of about 9,043 per hour (d).
3. The Population Reference Bureau's medium projection of world population for the year 2050 is about 9.1 billion (d)
4. False. The population of the United States is growing faster than any developed nation - about 0.9% to 1% per year. At that rate of growth the U.S. population will roughly double by the year 2100, from the current level of 289 million (Nov. 2002) to 571 million by 2100.
5. There is no single correct answer to this question. However, it is interesting to note that any population will increase by 1,024 times for each 10 times that it doubles. At an annual growth rate of 5%, only 120 years are needed for 10 doublings to occur. At a 3% annual growth rate, 233 years would result in 10 doublings. Even at a growth rate as low as 1% annually, 10 doublings will occur in 700 years - still a relatively short time in the big scheme of things. Were the U.S. population to increase by 1,024 times, the nation would boast 296 billion residents, equivalent to 47.7 times the current world population.
6. False. The U.S. is today a net importer of most categories of industrial raw materials, including metals, portland and masonry cement, petroleum (the basis for plastics), and wood and wood products.  The 2001 U.S. import situation is outlined below and on the next two pages:
7. False. More wood is consumed annually in the United States, on both a volume and weight basis, than  all metals and  all types of plastics combined.
8. False. The prices of most metals have continued to fall in recent decades indicating relative abundance, despite the fact that metals are non-renewable resources.
9. Clearing of lands for agricultural use (c) is by far the leading cause of tropical deforestation worldwide.
10. There are 747 million acres of forests in the U.S. today, about 72% of the 1.044 billion acres of forests estimated to have covered what is now the United States in the year 1600.
11. This statement is true. In 1920 there were an estimated 732 million acres of forest covering the area that now comprises the United States. Today there are 747 million acres of forest.
12. No response.   Net growth of forests in the United States substantially exceeds harvest. In 1993 it was estimated that growth exceeded harvest on lands classified as timberland (i.e. on those land areas available for harvest by 31%). In the most recent assessment (USDA-Forest Service, RPA Assessment 2000) net growth was estimated to exceed harvest by almost 50% (e). When all lands are counted (including those forest lands designated as reserves or preserves) the net growth to harvest ratios are higher than those indicated above.
13. False. One of the specifically stated reasons for establishment of the National Forests was to ensure a continuous supply of wood for the citizens of the United States.
14. False. Forests actually increased in area coverage in the United States between 1985 and 2001. However, due to continuing growth of urban areas and building of highways, it is predicted that 3 to 5% of the current area of forest land in the U.S. could by lost by 2050.
15. False.  There is no documented evidence of even one plant or animal species having been driven to extinction by logging activity in the United States.  The answer to this question is less clear globally, but it is evident that logging is but one of a myriad of human activities, including land clearing for agriculture, urban and infrastructure development, mining, and industrial production, placing pressure on native species.
16. False. Forest harvesting is not allowed in federally designated wilderness areas.
17. False. The populations of all these species have increased by over 1,000% (10 x) over the past 60 years. The populations of many other species have increased dramatically as well.
    
18. True. The United States is a net importer of about 22 percent of the lumber and 33 percent of the softwood lumber consumed annually within the country. When all products are considered, including exports of logs, chips, and waste paper, the U.S. was a net importer in 1998 of 0.7 percent of the total wood and wood fiber consumed within its borders. The United States has been a net importer of wood for over 30 years.
19. The correct answer here is "c". Per capita consumption of forest products in the United States in 1999 was about 13 percent higher than in 1970, but about 12 percent lower than in 1987. Though per capita consumption of wood fluctuates with changes in the economy, the total annual consumption of wood is growing steadily as the population increases.
20. In 2001, 48.3 percent (e) of all paper used in the United States was collected for reuse.
    
21. Recovered paper provided 38.4 percent of the U.S. paper industry's fiber in 2001.  The difference between the wastepaper collection rate (48.3 percent) and the recovered paper use rate (38.4 percent) is largely traceable to the fact that the United States is the world's largest exporter of waste paper.
22. False.  Several recent studies have shown that while paper recycling is extremely important, and a major contributor to reducing demand for virgin pulpwood, increasing recycling to the maximum level allowed by current technology would have the effect of reducing demand for virgin fiber by only 12-13 percent.  Moreover, when taking into consideration the time that will be required to move to the technological limit of recycling, and the population growth that will occur in the meantime, it is likely that demand for virgin fiber will continue to increase, even with aggressive recycling programs.
23. Well-documented environmental life cycle inventories of various raw materials production processes conducted by research organizations around the world show that wood products can be manufactured with relatively little environmental impact compared to potential alternatives. Even when wood products are compared to cement-based and recycled metal products, energy consumption and associated environmental impacts associated with wood-based materials manufacture are generally substantially lower.

 

"We must always consider the environment and people together, as though they are one, because the
human need to use natural resources is fundamental to our continued presence on earth."