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Final Exam Flashcards

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1
Q

National Environmental Policy Act

A

Nixon, 1969

Declared national environmental policy, required Environmental Impact Statements, created Council on Environmental Quality.

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2
Q

Automobiles and light trucks account for ______ of US oil consumption.

A

40%

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3
Q

The idea of breaking down the solution to the larger problem of climate change into smaller more managable pieces or goals is known as

A

wedge analysis

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4
Q

What are the three principal factors that control global precipitation patterns?

A

Atmospheric circulation, wind, topography

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5
Q

What is the most significant source for each of the following major pollutants? Particulates, nitroxes, carbon dioxide, VOCs, sulfer dioxide

A

Particulates – dust; Nitroxes – fuel combustion; carbon dioxide – fuel combustion; VOC’s – plants; sulfur dioxide-combustion of coal and oil

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6
Q

Six criteria pollutants in the original Clean Air Act?

A
  • Sulfur dioxide
  • nitrogen oxide
  • carbon monoxide
  • ozone
  • lead
  • particulate matter
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7
Q

-Know the policy life cycle and what happens at each step.

A
  1. Identify problem 2. Set agenda 3. Develop proposals 4. Build support 5. Enact law or rule 6. Implement policy 7. Evaluate results 8. Suggest changes
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8
Q

The largest share of U.S. waste is

A

agriculture

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9
Q

dissolved oxygen content

A

way to measure general conditions of the water

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10
Q

greenhouse effect

A

The retention of long-wave terrestrial energy in the atmosphere is called the greenhouse effect, natural phenomenon that keeps the earth’s atmosphere warm.

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11
Q

“Best available economically achievable technology”

A

Clean water act sets BAT for toxic substances and zero discharge for 126 priority toxic pollutants.

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12
Q

tar sands

A

are composed of sand and bitumen. venezuela and canada; processing produces toxic sludge

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13
Q

Each year the U.S. spends over __________ billion dollars on imported oil.

A

150 Billion

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14
Q

Know common water pollutants and their affects on human health.

A

disease - UV Light;

arsenic - iron or aluminum oxides

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15
Q

What was responsible for deaths during the London smog of 1952? And how many people died?

A

Sulfur dioxide; 3000

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16
Q

What is a fuel cell and how does it work?

A

use hydrogen gas for fuel and produces water as their waste

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17
Q

What law gave statutory permanence to national forests? Who manages National Forests?

A

National Forest Mgmt Act of 1976. USFS manages forests for “multiple use”

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18
Q

The most common element in the earth’s crust is…

A

oxygen

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19
Q

What law regulated dumping of waste into the ocean

A

Marine Protection Act of 1972

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20
Q

The pattern of absorbance of solar energy by the atmosphere includes…

A

heavy absorbance of visible light by carbon dioxide; absorbance of infrared radiation by carbon dioxide and water vapor; a remarkable uniformity in the proportion of different kinds of wavelengths absorbed by ozone.

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21
Q

what are VOCs

A

volatile organic compounds. organic chemicals that evaporate easily or exist as gases; benzene, ethylene glycol, formaldehyde.

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22
Q

what environmental law established the national wilderness preservation system

A

Wilderness Act of 1964

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23
Q

What is sustainable development and who defined it? What are 3 goals of sd?

A

development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs, as defined by The World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987

  • harvest rates for renewables do not exceed regeneration rates
  • wastes do not exceed assimilation or recycle rates
  • nonrenewables are consumed less than the creation of substitutes
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24
Q

what percent of the earth’s water is fresh?

A

2%

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25
crust
lightweight, brittle; 45% Oxygen ## Footnote **ocean**: iron, silicon, magnesium (basalt); **continent**: oxygen, silicon, alumiunum.
26
Carbon dioxide is a major factor in global warming since it ...
absorbs more infrared radiation than it emits
27
Which of the conventional pollutants has decreased the most in the recent past and which has decreased the least?
Lead decreased by 98% and Nitrogen Oxide is the greatest from human production
28
Most air pollution in the world is associated with agriculture, transportation and energy production, or nuclear power plants?
transportation and energy production
29
How many vehicles are on the roads in the US vs how many licensed drivers?
254 M vs 190 M
30
mantle
Surrounding the molten outer core is a hot, pliable layer of rock called the mantle. The mantle is much less dense than the core, because it contains a higher concentration of lighter elements, such as oxygen, silicon, magnesium
31
What is capital and how do economists distinguish between the different kinds of capital?
weath that can be used to produce more wealth. Financial, manufactured or built (tools, infrastructure, tech) natural, human, social
32
Outline the environmental effects of resource extraction
mining produces dust, acid, toxis metal pollutants. Metal is extracted by smelting and chemicals
33
what is the Clean Air Act
1970. Established National air quality standards. Required States to develop plans. Ammended 1977 and 1990.
34
transpiration
occurs when plants absorb water and return it to the atmosphere
35
What are the ten largest, oldest mainline environmental organizations in the U.S.?
* National Wildlife Federation * World Wildlife Fund * Audubon Society * Sierra Club * Izaak Walton League * Friends of the Earth * Greenpeace * Ducks Unlimited * Natural Resources Defense Council * The Wilderness Society
36
Hydrologic cycle main events
**evaporation** of water off the earth's surface driven by solar energy; **condensation** of gaseous water into droplets, liquid or solid; winds **distribute**; the **gravitational** pull of water or ice droplets to earth as rain or snow. Organisms emit through **respiration and perspiration**.
37
What Env Law required registration of all pesticides?
Fed Pesticide Control Act of 1972. Major modifications in 1996.
38
What law required restoration of land to original contours after mining?
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977
39
aerosols
minute particles and droplets suspended in the air. Atmospheric aerosols capture, distribute or reflect energy.
40
how many people live in slums, shantytowns and squatters around cities
1 Billion
41
how much of the world's fresh water supply is in glaciers and ice caps
90%
42
What is eutrophication, and what causes it?
increase in nutrients and bio activity; a natural process that has been greatly stimulated by human activities
43
What is the Clean Air Act of 1972
Set National Goals and created permits for polluting. Amended 1977 and 1996.
44
What is the dew point?
the temperature at which gaseous water condenses to form liquid
45
When and why did the world begin using fossil fuels as an energy source?
latter 1800s. largely to replace oils from animal sources (notably whale oil) for use in oil lamps.
46
-Toxic Release Inventory
inventory of pollutant releases to air, water and land
47
How does hydropower work, and how has its use changed worldwide over the past century?
40% in 1925; 20% today
48
-What are wicked problems and why are they difficult?
* A lack of definitive formulation. * No stopping rule that determines when a solution has been found. * Good or bad solutions rather than true or false solutions. * Lack of immediate and ultimate tests of solutions. * Solutions are “one-shot” operations rather than trial and error. * Lack of criteria that indicate all solutions have been identified. * The uniqueness of every wicked problem. * Any wicked problem could be viewed as a symptom of another problem. * Any discrepancies in wicked problem can be explained in multiple ways.
49
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is
a United Nations working group of 2500 scientists around the world; formed 1988
50
nuclear fusion/fission
Fission: releasing energy and more neutrons. Fusion: Nuclear fusion reactions are the energy source for the sun and for hydrogen bombs.
51
Know the layers of the atmosphere in order.
troposphere strasophere mesophere thermosphere
52
Which emissions have not decreased in the last 40 years - carbon monoxide, lead, particulate matter, or sulfer dioxide?
particulate matter
53
Rocks formed from solidified magma are known as ________ rocks.
igneous
54
-environmental impact statement
Every EIS must contain the following elements: (1) **purpose** and need for the project, (2) **alternatives** to the proposed action (including taking no action), (3) a statement of positive and negative **environmental impacts** of the proposed activities. make clear the relationship between short-term resources and long-term productivity, as well as any irreversible commitment of resources resulting from project implementation.
55
The movement of energy from the tropics toward the pole is accomplished principally by …
convection currents caused by cold fronts
56
Convection currents
move energy within the atmosphere; are the main cause of evaporation of water; Are particularly strong ocean currents having substantial effects on coastal weather. Warm air rises above a cool-dense layer.
57
What law charged the BLM with mgmt public lands, ended homesteading and most sale of public lands?
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
58
what is The Precautionary Principle
When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not yet fully established scientifically. The European Union has adopted this approach. 4 Tenets of the Precautionary Principle: If suspect that something bad is about to happen, **try and stop it**; **Burden of proof rests with proponents**, not the general public; Before using a new technology, examine all the **alternatives**. ;Decision making should be **open** and include affected parties.
59
what are the two biggest energy users in the American home
Cooling and heating: 47% of energy use; Water heater: 14% of energy use
60
what is the most widespread toxic metal contamination problem in N America
mercury released from coal-burning power plants
61
Know the processes of primary, secondary, and tertiary sewage treatment.
primary - physical; secondary - bio; tertiary - nutrients
62
Energy is defined as
the capacity to do work.
63
What are tectonic plates, and why are they important to us?
blocks of continents

Envs115 (2 decks)

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