Today's quiz

[Patrick Foley]

Dear class,

It is that time again, first quiz of the semester!!! Based on our
readings from the leps-list during the semester so far, please circle
the answer you agree with most.

1) Humans are part of the earth's ecosystem, therefore
a) we should do anything we please since that is what all the other
animals and plants are doing.
b) we should take some responsibility for our messes and mistakes, and
leave a little room for others.

2) Paul Ehrlich's predictions of doom have not all come true, therefore
a) he is an evil genius attempting to destroy the American way of life.
b) he does exagerrate, but almost all of the dangers he identifies are
real, do need attention, and have gotten attention precisely because of
doomsayers like him.

3) Jeffrey Glassberg believes most butterfly natural history is better
done with binoculars than nets, and he may also have a law degree,
therefore
a) he is an evil genius attempting to enlist hordes of birdwatchers to
destroy the American way of life.
b) he is helping to improve some natural history skills of the general
public and produce a few nice photos on the side.

4) E. O. Wilson spends more time on ants than butterflies, but among his
thousands of pages of writings, he dares to mention butterflies,
therefore
a) he is an evil genius, bent on destroying the self esteem of people
who own butterfly nets.
b) he likes butterflies, and thinks that in overpopulated, urban
settings it would be the sensible thing to watch them more than kill
them.

5) The US Endangered Species Act of 1973 puts limitations on the
collection of an incredibly small fraction of the butterfly checklist,
therefore
a) soon we will be hunted down in our homes like drug criminals, and our
nets confiscated as paraphernalia.
b) Americans do care about things as economically insignificant as a
subspecies of blue, and, in order to protect it in an even-handed way
towards all citizens (required by the US Constitution's concept of equal
protection and due process etc.) will go to slightly ludicrous lengths
to assure the survival of both the butterfly and the Constitution.

You may grade your own quiz answers in any way you like, because here in
America, we can say anything we want no matter how dumb. If you live in
some other country, you may ignore this quiz as just another example of
kooky American self-absorption.

Yours academically,
Dr. Patrick Foley
patfoley at csus.edu

PS For extra credit, please find out what 'paraphernalia' really means
and see how it connects to the release of butterflies at weddings!

PPS This quiz is dedicated to the dark humorist Anne Kilmer, hoping she
is well enough to enjoy it.


 
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