Why is there minimal seismic and volcanic activity in New York

NY1 does state that New York is not close to a tectonic plate, and it is uncertain which one of these faults—if any—would be the source of a strong earthquake.

Explanation:

lthough the eastern United States is not as seismically active as regions near plate boundaries, large and damaging earthquakes do occur there. Furthermore, when these rare eastern U.S. earthquakes occur, the areas affected by them are much larger than for western U.S. earthquakes of the same magnitude.[1] Thus, earthquakes represent at least a moderate hazard to East Coast cities, including New York City and adjacent areas of very high population density.

Seismicity is scattered throughout most of the New York metropolitan area, with some hint of a concentration of earthquakes in the area surrounding Manhattan Island. The largest known earthquake in this region occurred in 1884 and had a magnitude of approximately 5. For this earthquake, observations of fallen bricks and cracked plaster were reported from eastern Pennsylvania to central Connecticut, and the maximum intensity reported was at two sites in western Long Island (Jamaica, New York and Amityville, New York). Two other earthquakes of approximately magnitude 5 occurred in this region in 1737 and 1783.[2][3][4]

The map shows earthquakes of magnitude 3 and greater that occurred in this region from 1924 to 2010, along with locations of the larger earthquakes that occurred in 1737, 1783 and 1884. More recently, the 2011 Virginia earthquake, a 5.8 magnitude quake centered in northern Virginia that occurred on August 23, 2011, was felt by the occupants of some buildings in Manhattan, more than 200 miles north of the quake's epicenter and caused minor physical building damage in Brooklyn.[5] There were some disruptions, including building evacuations and delays at airports, while Amtrak train service at Penn Station was also delayed.[6]

the correct answer is - d. china has a large and growing population.

the fact that china has a large (the biggest) population, and it is still growing, doesn't hinder the agriculture production in the country. in fact, it can for increased production in the agriculture, since there's more labor force, as well the sheer mass of people produces lots of scientists that come up with new inventions as to how to improve this sector. nice example is the inner mongolia region in china, in general dominated by the gobi desert, but few scientist came up with a nice idea as to how to make the region productive by using plants that are very resistant to droughts, so lots of people have been employed, and the region is becoming greener and greener each year, and the production of food in this region is also increasing.