Test 2 Environmental Health Flashcards
(99 cards)
1
Q
Biomes
A
broadly defined life zones that contain similar climates, topographies, soil conditions, soil conditions, and biological communities
2
Q
What is the centigrade to fahrenheit conversion
A
28 centigrade= 82 Fahrenheit
3
Q
Tropical rainforests
A
most biodiversity
all nutrients in canopy
soil is nutrient poor
all months above freezing
4
Q
Tropical savannahs and grasslands
A
easily grown back
monocots
temp always above freezing
5
Q
deserts
A
desertification: difficult to undo
always a lack of water temp always above freezign
6
Q
temperate grasslands
A
winter season
topsoil is wonderful
precipitation pretty even
7
Q
temperate forests
A
larger tress
decent precipitation
stable precipitation
8
Q
temperate rainforest
A
pacific coast
couple of cold months
huge tress
lots of precipitation except in July and August
9
Q
tundra
A
freezing most of the time doesn't get much rainfall water doesn't evaporate trees have short growing season Permafrost: top layer of soil is frozen drunken trees from melting of permafrost
10
Q
boreal forest
A
pretty cold most of year
slow growing trees
little precipitation
little evaporation
11
Q
What are the 5 things aquatic communities are affected by
A
nutrient availability depth temperature current floor characteristics
12
Q
What is the epilimnion
A
layer of aquatic system where most light and oxygen is dissolved and photosynthesis occurs here
13
Q
swamp versus marsh versus bog
A
forested versus unforested wetland versus acidic marsh
14
Q
What are the 3 types of biodiversity
A
genetic- different genes in pop.
species- number of different kinds of species in a place
ecological- different types of lands in a place
15
Q
How many species remain unidentify and how many could exist
A
1.5 mil. and 50 mil.
16
Q
What are some benefits of biodiversity
A
food
drugs and medicines
ecological benefits
aesthetic and cultural benefits
17
Q
how many species are we losing per day
A
25
18
Q
what is the ultimate goal of conservation biology
A
preserve biodiversity and prevent extinction
19
Q
how many previous extinction events have there been
A
5
20
Q
what is the 6th extinction
A
caused by humanity 100 higher than it would be without humanity mammals that weigh more than 100 pounds
21
Q
what human activities threaten animals with extinction
A
burning fossil fuels
releasing greenhouse gases
22
Q
What is the total annual wood consumption
A
3.7 billion metric tons
firewood is 50%
80% in developed countries
23
Q
What are some causes of tropical deforestation
A
logging for valuable hardwoods such as mahogany
clearing of land for cattle ranches and export crop production
24
Q
What are the four requirements for successful regeneration
A
seed supply, abundant moisture, lack of flooding, lack of predators
25
Whats the problem rangelands face
overgrazing causes desertification
| need to rotate
26
who was the head of the first forest service
John Myer
27
SLOSS debate
is it better to have single large or several small reserves
28
ecotourism
tourism directed toward exotic, often threatened, natural environments, especially to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife
29
What happened in the London smog
1952
caused 4000 deaths
stayed there for 5 days
30
What is normal air made up of
look at notes
78% nitrogen
Oxygen 21%
31
Lapse rates
when you increase in altitude temperature decreases
normal: loss of 65 centigrade from sea level to 12 km
theoretical: rate 10C/km
environmental: is lapse rate at an actual place
32
how is ozone in troposphere harmful to human health
can release free radicals in cells that cause oxidative damage
irritate eyes, nose, throat, and lungs
33
Coriolis force
```
caused by the rotation of the earth
causes air to flow in regions of low pressure in a cyclonic motion
warm air rises cool air sinks
high pressure: clockwise
low pressure: counterclockwise
```
34
atmospheric inversions
when hot air gets trapped beneath cool air
subsidence: trapped in valleys
radiation: happens every night
35
DHEW
Department of Health Education and Welfare 1955
36
1963 Clean Air Act
first federal legislation regarding air pollution control
37
Title 1
provisions for attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS
| want to strengthen the provisions for pollutants
38
what is average time and primary standard for pollutants
average time: how you test for the particular pollutant in what time period
primary standard: the amount below which protects human health
39
how many people live in countries that fail to meet the air quality standards for one or more criteria
46 mil.
40
what are the criteria pollutants
```
carbon monoxide
nitrogen dioxide
sulfur dioxide
particulates PM10 and PM2.5
ozone
lead
```
41
what is defined as a corse or as a fine particle
corse: 2.5-10 micrometers
fine: 1-2.5 micro meters
42
Title 2
provisions relating to mobile sources
| tighter pollution standards for emissions
43
Facts about planes
jumbo jets burn 3,250 per hour
3.5% greenhouse gas emissions
landing and departing equivalent of car driving 5600 miles
44
Title 3
air toxics
reduce air toxics
minimum achievable control technology
chemical safety board for accidental release
45
Title 4
acid deposition control
sulfur oxides are main precursor to acid deposition
market based trading
46
what are some ways to reduce sulfur emissions
switching to low sulfur coal
using scrubbers to remove SO2
washing coal
advanced combustion technologies
47
Title 5
permits
| regulated sources must obtain a permit
48
Title 6
stratospheric ozone and global climate protection
| phased out the production of substances that deplete the ozone layer
49
How much time does the average person spend indoors
90% of day
| Some spend all day indoors
50
What are some sources of indoor air pollution
Coal, gas, oil, cleaning products, furnishings, carpets, paints, radon, moisture, molds, persona care products, smoking
51
Ventilation
Natural: open windows and doors
Infiltration: draw in through cracks
Mechanical: whole house fans
52
How many chemicals are in tobacco smoke
```
4,000
Contributes to 500,000 deaths each year
Mainstream
Side stream: burning end
Environmental tobacco smoke: second hand smoke
Third hand: hair clothes etc
```
53
Radon
Colorless odorless gas that occurs naturally by the decay of radium 226
Causes 5,000-20,009 deaths a year
54
Biological contaminants
Molds, mildews, viruses, bacteria, dust mites, cockroaches, pollen, animal dander, and cat saliva, moisture
55
How do humans change climate
Temp increased by .9 degrees
| CO2 levels increasing by 5% a year
56
Mantle
Convective current liquid slow moving
Inner core
Iron hot
57
Iron in crust versus on earth
Lots of iron on entire earth 33%
| Only 6% on earth's crust
58
Mineral
Something with a crystalline structure/pattern that makes up rocks
59
Ore
If the Rock has something important enough in it to mine for
60
Igneous
Stuff from the mantle cooling
61
Basalt
What we get if mantle cools quickly
62
Granite
When mantle cools slowly
63
Sedimentary
Silt or material that settles down and is compressed into rock
Limestone
64
Metamorphic
Rock that has undergone transformation by heat, pressure, or other natural agencies
65
Tailings
Surface waste deposits, deposited behind dredge in spoil banks, dig them up to get what you are interested in
66
Open pit Mining
set up to extract or dig for ore or building materials and remove large portions of the earth in the process
releases toxic heavy metals
67
Mountaintop Mining
Remove the top of the mountain and place the rubble and tailing into the adjoining valley
habitat destruction
68
Strip Mining
50% US COAL IS STRIP MINED
| The practice of mining a seam of mineral by removing a long strip of overlying soil and rock
69
Placer mining
Alluvial deposits are dredged and sifted in enormous rockers called cradles to separate out the ore
causes acid and sediment to runoff
70
Heap-leach mining
Industrial process to extract precious metals, copper, uranium etc. via a series of chemical reactions that absorb specific materials and then re-separate them after their division from other earth materials.
71
surface mining control and reclamation act 1977
requires restoration of strip mined lands
| 50% of US coal is strip mined
72
What are some nonmetal minings
```
sand and gravel
rock salt, gypsum, potash
sulfur
limestone
soils
phosphate
```
73
work
the application of force through a distance
74
energy
the capacity to do work measured in BTU's or calories
75
power
the rate of flow of energy of the rate at which work is done measured in watts
76
fossil fuels
formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms
77
energy consumption percentages
industry 38%
residential and commercial buildings 36%
transportation 26%
78
how much energy is lost when you convert primary fuels to more useful forms
half
2/3 for coal
10% to go to houses
79
How much energy is lost for natural gas
10%
80
How much energy does the US consume in relation to the average person in an LDC
300 times as much
81
What are some negatives of coal extraction
dangerous to workers and environment
| single largest contributor to acid rain
82
what are the releases from burning coal
1 bil. tons of coal are burned in the US each year
chin burns 3.7 bil. tons
150 years worth of coal remains
83
oil facts
most used for transportation
Middle East controls 2/3rds Saudi Arabia with most
US has used 40% of its resources
oil combustion creates substantial air pollution
84
Who as biggest non conventional oil deposits in world
Venezuela 20%
85
natural gas facts
world's third largest commercial fuel 23%
produces 1/2 as much CO2 as equivalent amount of coal
less than 70 years left
difficult to ship places
fracking
86
nuclear power facts
7% US energy production
Eisenhower Atoms for peace speech
70% use pressurized water reactor
87
how much radioactive waste exists now
200 mil. tons
88
what happened with the energy crisis in 1973
embargo of oil
shortage of petroleum
forced people to think about where their energy was coming from
89
energy efficiency
a measure of energy produced compared to energy consumed
90
Passive and active solar energy
passive: solar energy green houses, facing windows certain way, insulation
active: pump system, solar water heating
91
photovoltaic energy
photovoltaic cells capture solar energy and convert it directly to electrical current by separating electrons from parent atoms and accelerating them across a one way electrostatic barrier
92
pumped hydro storage
Pumping water against gravity into a reservoir/ water tower when the sun goes down/when it’s winter you release that water and it goes with gravity and turns turbine
93
distributional surcharges
small charge levied on all utility customers to help finance research and development
94
renewable portfolio
mandate minimum percentage of energy from renewable sources
95
green pricing
allow utilities to profit from conservation programs and charge premium prices for energy from renewable sources
96
Fuelwood crisis
currently half of the worldwide annual wood harvest is used as fuel
85% harvested in developing countries
40% of world relies on firewood and charcoal as their primary energy source 3/4th don't have adequate supply
97
Dung as fuel
directly burned in an open fire
90% potential heat lost
deprives fields of nutrients and reduces crop production
methane for fuel is better option
98
Alcohol from biomass
ethanol: grain alcohol
Gasohol: gas and alcohol helps reduce emissions
methanol: wood alcohol
both methanol and ethanol make good fuel for fuel cells
99
Hydropower
3 million MW
only use 10% of potential supply
drawbacks are displacement, destruction, wildlife losses, sedimentation, etc.
