AP Environmental Science National Parks video questions

NP1: 1:10-1:22

1. Listen about Rockefeller and how political attitudes about conservation changed, and how it changed our sense of Democracy.

Conservation came to be recognized as being important and valuable, pushed ahead by the efforts of Rockefeller and Horace Albright to preserve and protect the Teton Range. Congress too recognized this, and started pouring in more money into parks, though most of this was for the construction of roads. Stephen Mather declared that the parks belonged to no state or section; rather, "they have become democratized." Visitors were no longer just upper class but expanded to the new (but still predominantly white) middle class.

2. What did Yard mean by "in the national parks, all are just Americans"?

Yard describes how national parks can bring together Americans from all walks of life. Social classes disappear as everyone goes to just enjoy the parks and the scenery in all the beauty; this is what he means by "all are just Americans".

NP3: 0:00-8:00

3. John Muir-what does he mean by "human poetry", and what is he contrasting it against?

By "human poetry", Muir is referring to what will be left of nature and the environment after man has harvested and colonized everything; immortal words and passages to describe what no longer exists, with trees having been turned into ships and homes and forests being cleared for farmland. He contrasts it with the idea of "wild beauty".

4. Transcendence is discussed: how does this make you feel?

Scenes of nature can be epic in scale and proportion, taking away the very breath of those who witness it. This is compared to the feeling of walking into a large cathedral, where the setting it just uplifting. Personally, I prefer my places more down to Earth, however...

5. What do you notice about the listing of parks at about 3:00? What drove this and why?

The national park idea expanded beyond just Yellowstone and Yosemite to include any locale in the United States that people wanted to preserve.

Americans with a passion for a place drove this crusade to turn many places into national parks and preserves.

6. What is the difference between a "set" and a "system" and how is this important?

A set has no coherence; new national parks are just added to the collection without common rules to regulate them, and so it is very disorganized. A system would imply that there is more organization (or a "system" in place) when adding new parks.

7. What happened at Hetch Hetchy? Are we still living with the impact of this?

Different departments claimed to be in charge of the parks, but in truth, no one was. The City of San Francisco was given permission to build a dam in Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley, which submerged the area and turned into a resevoir. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is still around today, mainly serving to provide drinking water to the San Francisco Bay Area.

8. One of the railroad barons in the photo (5:30) started a minor college in the South Bay area-who is this?

Amasa Leland Stanford, who founded Stanford University in 1885.

9. How did Steven Mather's philosophy of the parks differ from Muirs?

While Muir emphasized the parks for their beauty and aesthetic value, Mather looked and saw the issue as one of economics and patriotism, befitting his status as a conservationist.

10. What did he mean when he said "America's best idea"? Is this uniquely American?

Mather is referring to the national parks. He talks about how it can serve as inspiration for us to care about the long-term, like the sweeping vistas of the park that take millions of years to carve out. In ways, this spirit is very American; the many mentions of "patriotism" should be an obvious cue to this fact.

NP5: 1:19-1:33

11. How did Ansel Adams come into the picture (pun intended)?

In 1940, Roosevelt signed into law creating Kings Canyon National Park. However, as the park was roadless, Roosevelt would never be able to see the park with his own eyes, instead relying on Ansel Adams's words and photographs to take him after the path of John Muir.

12. "The army must find a different nesting place" demonstrated what sea-change?

The Army wanted to use the breeding grounds of the rare Trumpeter Swan as a bombing range. Roosevelt overrode the Army, demonstrating his willingness to support the cause of the environmentalists even in wartime.

13. "Manzanar" means something in Spanish (what?) and means something else for Japanese Americans (known as AJAs-why?). Explain.

"Manzanar" in Spanish means "apple orchard". To Japanese Americans however, Manzanar was the name of one of ten concentration camps where they were interred for the duration of World War II. It is now preserved as a National Historic Landmark and a National Historic Site.

14. Before the California aqueduct was built to take water to Los Angeles, Manzanar was different. How?

Manzanar used to be a lively ranching and farming town until the City of Los Angeles bought up all of the water rights there. Without water for irrigation, Manzanar was abandoned by 1929.

NP6: 0:00-16:00

15. What does the word "wilderness" really mean?

Wilderness is to be wild and free, untouched and unmarred by human activity.

16. We return to the ideas of John Muir again-why?

It's not just the animals that are going to need sanctuaries and preserves; we humans too need a natural sanctuary to retreat to.

This is what Muir was saying when he argued that nature was good for the soul.

17. What did Stegner sense about our future?

Stegner sensed that our future was heading towards an industrialized world where any land usable for economic reasons would be converted into such; consequently, he makes the point to say that humans too need a natural sanctuary to get away from the artificial world that we have built around us.

18. How is tension healthy in a Democracy? Is this "dynamic equilibrium? Explain.

Tension proves that there is continual debate and re-evaluation of ideas between the different parties. This is key in a democracy to ensure that all voices and ideas, including dissenting ones, are heard. In ways, this is a form of dynamic equilibrium, because debate is always going on, even though there may not be actual change happening (perhaps Congress is not in session? Hmm...).

19. "Homes for our finest dreams"…explain.

According to writer Paul Schullery, we put our highest ideals in our national parks and so they are like consciences, "homes for our finest dreams."

20. Hertzog speaks about the brotherhood of man. Where else have you heard of this?

The idea that Hertzog speaks of is reminiscent of transcendentalism, where spirituality exists to connect all living things. Also, Brotherhood of Man is the name of a 1970s British pop group (which is where I heard this phrase before).

21. Mount McKinley was named after one of our presidents. The true name of this mountain is what?

Alaska maintains that the mountain's name is Denali, or "the big one".

22. Murie's work is similar to something mentioned in our last chapter-explain.

Murie and his brother traced migration patterns of animals in McKinley National Park during their youth, which inspired him to later become a field biologist. He called for the reintroduction of wolf species at Olympic National Park and Isle Royal in Lake Superior, where elk populations have exploded due to lack of predators. This is similar to the reintroduction of wolves to the Yellowstonebecause of a similar elk issue. Murie also objected to the draining of a wetland in the Yellowstone because of its environmental benefits; this is similar to the example of Arcata, California in Chapter 2, where the construction of a wetland there actually beautified the waterfront and solved a sewage treatment problem.