BISC 102 EXAM 5
If a population of 1,000 had an average footprint of 2 global hectares per person, how many global hectares would a population of 2,000 require to have a similar impact on the environment?
1
The world's demand exceeds the earth's ability to meet that demand by...
10%
Although cities occupy __ of earth's surface and how only __ of the world's population, they consume more than __ of earth's natural resources.
2%, 50%, 75%
What percentage of earth's water is fresh water?
2.5%
As of 2006, the global hectare average was...
2.6 per person per year
Recent calculations put the global footprint per capita at __ and earth's biocapacity at __ global hectares.
2.6, 1.8
In the US, energy demands account for roughly __ of the Us ecological footprint.
50%
The current population of earth is roughly...
7 billion
Although __ of earth's surface is water, only __ is available for human consumption.
70%, 1%
What percentage of earth's fresh water is used for agriculture?
>90%
What is biocapacity?
Ability to sustain human demand given available resources
Where is the most fresh water located on our planet?
Antarctica
What spurred the growth rate of the human population since the 1950s?
Antibiotic development
Nonrenewable resources...
Are natural resources, take millions of years to form, supply our energy demands, and are not sustainable
Which pollutants released by the use of nonrenewable resources can cause bone and lung disease?
Arsenic and flourine
The human population is growing exponentially largely due to...
Available resources, lower death rates, higher birth rates, and improved medical treatments
Which building design or modification would be found in an environmentally friendly city?
Buildings located near trees for shading purposes, buildings with green roofs, buildings that are low, buildings made of material other than concrete
The biological demand for ___ has remained relatively the same over the last 45 years.
Built up land, grazing lands, fishing grounds, crop land
What do businesses use to counter-balance their fossil fuel use?
Carbon offsets
An ecologically friendly city that has housing, work, and schools located close to each other would decrease the requirement for what?
Cars
Which two countries have the greatest total ecological footprint?
China and the US
Which of the following is a drawback to using coal as an energy source?
Coal miners have increased risk of respiratory illness, mining damages land, greenhouse gases are released when it is burned (ALL OF THE ABOVE)
What is an ecological footprint?
Collective demand placed on natural resources; measure of how much land and water is required to supply the resources a person or population consumes and to absorb the waste produced
To determine the impact that human populations have on the environment, scientists use which measurement?
Ecological footprint
The biological demand for this overshoots the sustainability of earth by 40%.
Energy
The process of water going into the atmosphere is called...
Evaporation
The human population is growing...
Exponentially
Globally, which resource is relied upon MOST for energy production?
Fossil fuels
Which is not a renewable resource?
Fossil fuels
Which resource is currently in greatest demand globally?
Fossil fuels
Which contains the most fresh water on our planet?
Glaciers and ice caps
An ecological footprint is measured in...
Global hectares
How have humans affected other species?
Habitat destruction, competition for space, competition for food, and being the top predator of other species
All of the following are reasons for the rapid growth of human populations EXCEPT...
Increased travel by boat
Why has the global demand for fresh water increased during recent history?
Increases in population and agriculture demand
What is responsible for the six-fold increase in total fresh water in the 20th century?
Irrigation for agriculture
What does it mean if a building is LEED-certified?
It conserves energy and water, reduces waste sent to landfills, lowers greenhouse gas emissions, and is healthier and safer for occupants
A graph of the growth of the human population has what shape?
J
What does LEED stand for?
Leadership in energy and environmental design
Which correlates negatively with human population growth?
Marine populations, terrestrial populations, freshwater organisms, water use and availability
What are renewable resources?
Natural resources that are replenished after use, as long as the rate of consumption does not exceed the rate of replacement
Globally, which renewable resource is relied upon most for energy production?
Nuclear power
What is biodiversity?
Number of different species and their relative abundances in a specific region or on the planet as a whole
Which contains the least amount of fresh water on earth?
Oceans
This nonrenewable resource supplies most of the world's energy.
Petroleum oil
Rain, snow, and hail are examples of...
Precipitation
What are natural resources?
Raw materials that are obtained rom earth and are considered valuable even in their relatively unmodified, natural form
Which of the actions below would increase sustainability?
Reduce car travel, compost organic waste, recycle paper, glass, metal, and plastic, use cloth bags instead of plastic bags
In general, exponential population growth starts slow and rapidly increases until...
Resources become limited
Which of the following currently provides the greatest source of renewable energy?
Solar power
Which pollutants released by the use of nonrenewable resources contribute to acid rain?
Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide
Why is the current lifestyle of the human population considered unsustainable?
The biocapacity of earth is less than the global ecological footprint
What does an ecological footprint measure?
The impact on nature as determined by a population's lifestyle
What does the rise in human population correlate with?
The loss of biodiversity
Why would a non-developed country with a low per-capita footprint have a similar total footprint to a more developed country?
The non-developed country has a larger population
What is an environmental result from burning fossil fuels?
The release of greenhouse gases into the air
What are cons to using wind and solar power as energy resources?
They are more expensive, harder to store, and harder to transmit
Why is there reluctance to eliminate fossil fuels as an energy source?
They are relatively cheap to obtain
What may be a potential drawback to using biofuels as a renewable energy source?
They compete with growing food crops
Aquifers are...
Underground rock stores of fresh water
What is sustainability?
Use of earth's resources in a way that will not permanently destroy or deplete them; living within the limits of earth's biocapacity
To maintain a balanced water cycle, what must occur?
Water withdrawals can not exceed replenishment