The Human Age

"Let’s stop it," Crutzen recalls blurting out. "We are no longer in the Holocene. We are in the Anthropocene." (Paragraph B)
Blurting out in this sentence is closest in meaning to ________.

• speaking cautiously

• exclaiming suddenly

• sharing respectfully

According to the reading, what did Crutzen, Stoppani, and Zalasiewicz have in common?

• They were all supported by their colleagues in their belief of a new era.

  
  

• They were all scientists interested in human impact on the world.

• They were all chairmen of scientific organizations.

In the future, how will geologists best understand what farming and agriculture was like in this century?

• by studying pollen records from grain fields

• by reviewing rain forest and prairie records

• by examining the remains from fertilizers

According to the reading, what message is deforestation sending to future stratigraphers?

• As soil erosion increases, sedimentation decreases slightly.

• As more dams are built on rivers, deforestation remains the same.

• As forest habitat is lost, extinction rates increase significantly.

As carbon dioxide warms the planet, it also seeps into the oceans and acidifies them." (Paragraph K)
Seeps into in this sentence is closest in meaning to ________.

• warms

• enters

• pollutes

What statement would William Ruddiman agree with?

• The Anthropecene epoch, which began in the middle of the 20th century, is when humans started impacting the planet.

• A period of increased carbon dioxide levels, which began at the end of the 18th century, is when humans started impacting the planet.

• The Holocene epoch, which began 11,500 years ago, is when humans started impacting the planet.

The process of sedimentation on land is more impactful than that of erosion.

• True

• False

• Not given

In the future, scientists will know that plants and animals moved closer to the Poles because of their fossil records.

• True

• False

• Not given

Geologist Mark Williams works on the commission with Zalasiewicz to determine if the Anthropocene will become an official part of the geologic timescale.

• True

• False

• Not given