EES Exam 2

The most widely supported economic strategy for combatting climate change is:

"Putting a price on carbon" through a carbon tax or "cap and trade" mechanism.

In a landmark epidemiological study of ambient air pollution and mortality in six U.S. cities, Dockery et al. (1993) found a ____ higher mortality rate in the city with the highest pollution compared to the city with the lowest

26%

According to the 2010 Global Burden of Disease Study (Lim et al., 2012), ambient particulate matter, one type of air pollution, was responsible for over _____ premature deaths and ________ of global disability-adjusted life years in 2010

3,200,000, 3.1%

The impacts of climate change on food and agriculture include all of the following EXCEPT:

Reduced growth of most weeds, enhancing crop production.

How is regional air pollution related to other health and environmental issues?

Regional air pollution is related to other health and environmental issues because it is a major contributor to adverse human health conditions such as asthma to cardiovascular disease to premature death. The major contributors to environmental issues include scarce water sources due to contamination and the increasingly high ozone levels in the atmosphere

Which of the following statements about heat waves is true?

Risk factors for death during heat waves are well defined.

Health concerns related to nuclear power include all of the following except:

Substantial contributions to climate change

What actions can be taken to lower air pollution emissions? Please describe three actions, one each at the individual, community, and government levels.

Various actions can be taken to lower air pollution emissions, which can be at the individual, community, and government level. As an individual, you can make conscious decisions to reduce air pollution. For example, you can make the decision to eat less meat or become fully a vegetarian because our consumption of animal products greatly affects air pollution and our environment, in general. At the community level, one can decide to utilize the benefits of carpooling and traveling in groups rather than individually to reduce the emissions from transportation. Finally, governments can plan to reduce toxic emissions from industrial sources and move towards renewable energy sources

All of the following except which affect an air pollutant's ability to penetrate the respiratory system

Weather

Ambient concentrations of an air pollutant can be highest under conditions of stagnant winds and ________

temperature inversions

Which of the following is true regarding public belief in climate change?

Family and friends are powerful determinants of a person's beliefs about climate change.

Nuclear energy is essential in the fight against climate change. Please make a health-based argument for or against this position. Use evidence!

Nuclear energy is a low-carbon electricity generator and does not release CO2 into the atmosphere. Nuclear energy is caused by fission, and therefore doesn't release any harmful greenhouse gasses.

In general, which particle size category is likely to penetrate most deeply into the lung

PM2.5

Global climate change contributes to each of the following EXCEPT:

Peak petroleum production

The "energy ladder" refers to a sequence of energy courses. In general, as a society moves up the energy ladder, each of the following increases EXCEPT:

Adverse health impacts

Which of the following is NOT a fossil fuel?

Biomass

The vast majority of the world's energy comes from which of the following?

Coal and petroleum

Conservation is not only the least expensive source of energy, but it is also the healthiest. Please make a health based argument for or against this position. Use evidence!

Conservation is healthy because, for example, switching from cars to walking/transit reduces noise, car accidents, and air pollution. It also promotes human health in the form of physical activity. In addition, there are a lot of zero-waste stores popping up around the country. Choosing to shop at stores like these will not only reduce your consumption of materials, but also allow you to shop for your household necessities sustainably

Pick a technical innovation that reduces work and thus improves energy efficiency, such as a smaller, more fuel-efficient car or a well-insulated building with little air circulation. Describe the resulting co-benefits to energy and health and the potential trade-offs (such as the increased risk of injuries from driving a smaller car or increased exposure to respiratory pathogens in a building with little ventilation). How might a health impact assessment determine the ultimate value of the innovation?

Efficiency is getting more service from each unit of energy. Over the years, there have been multiple innovations that reduce work and therefore, increase energy efficiency. For example, air conditioners have been extremely helpful in keeping closed areas cool and can help those with asthma, especially in the warmer months of the year. However, with this invention, there are also some trade-offs that people may not know exist. In particular, a recent study has found that waste heat from air conditioners can warm the outside air by one degree celsius which ultimately contributes to urban heat islands

The process of hydrofracking a shale deposit permits extraction of natural gas resources. Please describe the physical process of "fracking." The fracking process has come under close scrutiny in New York and Pennsylvania lately. Please make a health-based argument either supporting or not supporting the use of fracking in shale gas production. Use evidence!

Fracking begins with a pumper truck injecting a mix of sharp sand, water, and chemicals into the well that is over 7,000 feet deep. Once the well turns horizontal in the Marcellus Shale, the shale is fractured by the pressure inside the well, causing fissures or cracks to release natural gas. The natural gas then flows out of the well and is piped to the market. In terms of health, fracking decreases greenhouse gas emissions but poses the threat of methane leakage. It also has potential health impacts such as water contamination, and earthquakes

The extraction of unconventional gas involves which set of health related hazards:

Fracking flowback and production waters

Identify two current environmental health problems likely to be exacerbated by climate change. How might existing public health practices be altered to anticipate these effects of climate change?

Heat rash, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke Two current environmental health problems that are likely to be exacerbated by climate change are mental health and infectious diseases. Existing public health practices can be altered to anticipate these effects of climate change through mitigation and adaptation.

Climate change has been called the major environmental health challenge of the twenty-first century. Do you agree or disagree? Explain your reasoning.

I agree that climate change is the major environmental health challenge because it is primarily caused by greenhouse gasses, and rising atmospheric CO2, events that dramatically affect human health.

In urban areas with high ground-level ozone, ozone concentrations tend to vary during the day, peaking in the late afternoon and early evening-the very time of day when school sports teams are practicing. As a result, student athletes may be exposed to high levels of ozone. This is a special concern since they may breathe deeply and at a fast rate while practicing, increasing their exposure. How would you advise school officials to handle this situation? Consider the need to balance two health-promoting strategies: encouraging physical activity and minimizing exposure to potentially unhealthy air

I would advise school officials to prioritize the health of their student athletes because high ozone days have historically been associated with increased asthma attacks, hospitalizations, and mortality. Therefore, they should take initiative for air pollution prevention and control. For example, nonattainment areas (exceeding NAAQS) develop state implementation plans to control emissions. Additionally, officials can also approach the issue by changing vegetation, building placements, implementing white roofs, and considering architectural design can all mitigate the risks of an urban island

Suppose your local health department hired you to oversee climate change planning and preparedness. What steps would you take in your first sixty days on the job? In your first year?

In this position, I would address the changes in the earth system as a result of climate change such as warming temperatures, more severe weather events, loss of arctic and antarctic ice, and rising sea levels. I would do this within the first sixty days so that we could implement serious change within the first year on the job. Understanding what is happening and why it is affecting our climate is the first step to enacting real change. Then, I would work on a public health response that would include adaptation which aims to reduce the public health impact of climate change. For example, if we anticipate severe weather events such as hurricanes, then preparation by emergency management authorities and medical facilities can minimize morbidity and mortality.

The process of hydrofracking seeks to:

Increase porosity in tight reservoir rocks through injection of high pressure fluids and soilds.

Climate change may contribute to water contamination through all of the following mechanisms EXCEPT:

Increased chlorine concentrations due to water treatment malfunctions

Which of the following statements about the human health impacts of energy use, at the scale of societies or countries, is true?

Increasing per capita energy use is associated with improved health but only up to a point; after that, increasing energy use confers no further health benefit.

All of the following are true about tropospheric ozone except

It protects us from ultraviolet radiation

The United States Clean Air Act mandates health-protective national ambient air quality standards for which group of key outdoor pollutants (i.e., the criteria pollutants)

Lead, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulates, ozone

Which of the following statements about climate change mitigation and adaptation is true?

Mitigation includes both reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, and promoting the removal of greenhouse gases from the air through sequestration.

Major health impacts of fossil fuel combustion include all of the following EXCEPT:

allergies

Which of the following is NOT a significant greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming?

carbon monoxide

Which of the following air pollutants is NOT expected to increase as a result of climate change?

dioxins

Which of the following is NOT a primary energy source?

electricity

Each of the following sources of energy is considered renewable EXCEPT:

natural gas

Each of the following is a vector-borne disease that has expanded its range in recent years, in a pattern consistent with climate change contributions, EXCEPT:

polio