EVR exam 5

Assume that photovoltaic conversion of solar energy has 10% efficiency. Calculate how many square meters of photovoltaic cells would be needed to supply one person's electricity for the year, based on the yearly average values.

28.5 m2

As of 2014, under the jurisdiction of the EPA, approximately ________% of hazardous sites identified under CERCLA as a national priority have been cleaned up.

30

How many megawatt hours (MWh) per year of savings did the students identify for computers at the Penn State Mueller Laboratory Building?

30 MWh

Based on the yearly average values, calculate one person's residential electricity needs for a year.

4,440 kWh per year

The average American generates approximately ________ lbs. of solid waste per day.

4.4

The average American produces how much trash per day?

4.4 pounds

What was the net amount of uranium imported into the United States in 2005?

45 million pounds

How much uranium oxide did the United States produce in 2005?

5 million pounds

Estimate the total energy use at the lab building and the total estimated savings. Approximately what percentage of the total electrical energy use do these savings represent?

62%

If efficiency of photovoltaic cells improves to 40%, how many square meters of photovoltaic cells would be needed for one person's yearly electricity use?

7.12 m2

Approximately ________% of all U.S. residents are served by curbside recycling programs, and the part of the U.S. waste stream that is recycled (not including composting) is currently about ________%.

70; 25

In 2000, how much solid waste did the average person in the United States produce?

770 kilograms per year

In 2013, how many millions of tons of U.S. municipal solid waste were either recycled or composted?

90

Recycling aluminum cans saves ________% of the energy needed to make the same amount of aluminum from virgin bauxite.

95

According to the figure, which of the following trends occurred from 1960 to 2000?

?

Electricity from hydropower composes approximately ________% of the total electricity produced in the United States.

?

From the 1960s to 2005, the trend was that ________ over time.

?

Which of the following statements is the best description of the per capita generation of solid waste between 1960 and 2010?

Between 1960 and 2000, per capita generation increased. After 2000, per capita generation declined.

Which of the following statements is the best description of the total MSW generation between 1960 and 2010?

Between 1960 and 2005, total MSW generation increased at a steady rate. After 2005, total generation leveled off.

Of the following renewable energy resources, which one has the highest life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions?

Biomass

Bagasse- and sugarcane-based ethanol are major items in the energy resources of ________.

Brazil

Which of the following actions is required for the recycling loop to be successful?

Consumers and businesses must purchase products made from recycled materials.

How is wind energy related to solar energy?

Wind energy is the result of the sun's producing wind.

________ built the first offshore wind farm in 1991.

Denmark

What are the goals of waste management?

Disposing of waste safely as well as effectively, minimizing the amount of waste generated, and increasing recovery

Describe the trends in uranium oxide domestic production from the peak production year to 2005.

Domestic production declined dramatically.

Which statement about e-waste is accurate?

E-waste contains toxic heavy metals that can leach into the environment.

Historically, large cities have tended to develop ________.

along trade routes

The bioenergy garden at Georgia Southern University is used to show plants that can be used __________.

as biofuels that will not add any extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

Heavy metals ________.

bioaccumulate in animal tissues

The United States consumes more ________ energy than any other renewable energy source.

bioenergy

Worldwide, the most widely used renewable energy resource is ________.

bioenergy

Which of the following consume the bulk of the electricity used in the United States?

buildings

What are green buildings?

buildings constructed out of sustainable materials, which limit the use of energy and water, minimize health impacts, control pollution, and recycle waste

LEED standards in the construction of new buildings establishes criteria that __________.

conserve energy and water and improve indoor air quality

The water reuse system on the campus of Georgia Southern University __________.

conserves water by using treated city wastewater instead of city tap water for irrigation

Substances that degrade the metals that make up storage tanks or equipment are called __________.

corrosives

If current trends continue, the United States is likely to

decrease domestic production and increase imports and exports.

The Neutral Gator program used methods that _____.

decreased production of carbon dioxide and reduced the amount of carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere

Why do industries tend to produce so much waste even though it is not the most efficient way to do business?

In most cases, there is no financial incentive for becoming efficient.

What is the basis for the use of hydrogen fuel cells?

It is extremely energy-efficient.

What is the greatest limitation for the use of geothermal power?

It is restricted to regions where we can tap energy from naturally heated groundwater.

How is compost used?

It is used to enrich soil.

What prevents the contamination of groundwater in landfills?

Locating them at least 6 meters above the water table and lining them with a heavy duty plastic

Which of the following statements about U.S. landfills is true?

More than three-fourths of the landfills in the United States have been closed since 1988.

The rotational energy of the blades of a wind turbine ________.

drives a generator inside the nacelle compartment to produce electricity

What is a potential, and likely, drawback to the deep-well injection of hazardous wastes?

Well casings can corrode leaking hazardous waste into soil, rock, and gravel.

Deep-well injection ________.

involves putting hazardous wastes into layers of porous rock deep beneath human water supplies

The Fresh Kills Landfill ________.

is being converted into a public park

As recycling and composting efforts have grown, what has occurred with the annual amount of waste sent to landfills?

it has stayed the same

Hydropower uses the __________ energy of water to generate electricity.

kinetic

Wind turbines convert the wind's __________ energy into electricity.

kinetic

Which of the following represents the largest waste disposal practice in the United States?

landfills

The EPA is charged with cleaning up brownfields, which are ________.

lands whose reuse or development is complicated by the presence of hazardous materials

All of the following are landscaping features of green buildings EXCEPT:

landscaping with AstroTurf in dry environments.

Of the following, ________ are classified as hazardous heavy metals.

lead, mercury, cadmium

Which type of analysis is performed by industrial ecologists when they examine a product from its beginning as a raw material until its disposal?

life-cycle analysis

To safeguard against groundwater contamination, sanitary landfills are ________.

lined with plastic and clay

While Kayla is driving along a busy highway just outside a major city, she suddenly comes to a standstill in traffic. For the first time ever, she notices that alongside the highway are stretches of forest and wetland. She hears the noise of frogs and insects and birds that she never would have noticed if not trapped in traffic. Why does Kayla never notice these natural wonders on her route?

noise pollution

Which of the following actions would not reduce the per capita generation of solid waste?

not " composting Kitchen scraps and yard waste"

What is the difference between the amount of paper within the waste stream before and after recycling/composting?

not "16.2"

A potential energy source from oceans is ________.

ocean thermal energy

More and more wind farms are being located ________ because winds are stronger there.

offshore

Which of the following is an example of a product found in a "throwaway society," such as the United States?

paper napkins

It costs less to operate an automobile in a small city than in a large city because ________.

people generally drive fewer miles to and from work in a small city than in a large city

The earthworms, fungi, and bacteria in your compost pile will NOT be happy if you give them ________.

plastic

Compared to the use of fossil fuels for generating electricity, wind energy ________.

produces no exhaust pollutants and contributes little to global climate change

The University of Florida's athletic program became carbon neutral because it _____.

promoted programs that reduced fossil fuel use and sequestered carbon

The original purpose of parks in eastern U.S. cities was to ________.

provide a European style experience of the beauty and intimacy of formal landscapes

Which of the following approaches best helps congested cities deal with the problems related to transportation?

provide access to rail and bus transportation in the inner city or other high-density areas

An urban growth boundary (UGB) is intended to ________.

provide guidelines for city development to separate areas desired to be urban from areas desired to be rural

Life-cycle analysis ________.

examines the life of products to increase efficiency

Which of the following are documented negative impacts of dams?

flooding, habitat destruction, alteration of river sediment deposition

One common way to increase the sustainability of a food system is to buy and consume __________.

foods that are grown locally

Fans attending University of Florida athletic events are responsible for providing carbon offsets for _____.

fossil fuels used to get fans to and from the stadium

Which of the following represents the proper ranking of total primary energy consumed in the United States from the greatest to least used?

fossil fuels, nuclear, hydropower, solar

Plastic ________.

from beverage containers is easily recyclable if uncapped, washed, and flattened

All of the following factors have contributed to movement of people to suburbs EXCEPT:

greater availability of mass transit.

What is one problem associated with the incineration of solid waste?

hazardous chemicals are often created and released into the atmosphere

The urban heat island effect is caused by ________.

heat-generating buildings and dark, heat-absorbing surfaces

E-wastes are a source of ________.

heavy and precious metals

Why does the average U.S. citizen create more waste today than 50 years ago?

higher rates of consumption

The form of energy delivered to an electrical generating turbine in a geothermal facility is in the form of ________.

hot water or steam

Ultimately, all biofuels are ________, because they are the product of ________.

solar; photosynthesis

What is the term that refers to the reduction of the amount of waste entering the waste stream?

source reduction

The first stage in generating power from a hydrogen fuel cell is to ________.

split hydrogen atoms into hydrogen ions (H+) and electrons

Ethanol produced from bioenergy starts with ________ produced by ________.

starch; corn or sugar cane

The birth of __________ initiated the phenomenon of sprawl.

suburbs

What are smaller communities that surround cities called?

suburbs

Mass transit systems include all of the following EXCEPT:

taxicabs.

What does the red line on the graph represent?

the average amount of solid waste generated by each person in the United States per year

To determine whether using a food crop as a source of biofuels is environmentally sustainable, one would have to consider all of the following EXCEPT:

the corporate profits that would be made.

Passive solar power involves using ________.

the energy of sunlight without relying on electrical or mechanical devices

This figure shows the population of Portland, Oregon, from 1850 to 2015. What is the explanation for the population trend from 1950 to 1980?

the exodus of residents to the suburbs

How can solid waste incineration be of benefit?

the heat from waste combustion can be used to generate energy

All of the following are drawbacks of corn-based ethanol production, EXCEPT:

the inability to store the product.

One group proposes to convert the base to a new city suburb, with low-cost housing for several thousand of the current inner-city residents. A possible major problem with this might include ________.

the lack of jobs and lack of transportation to jobs

Volume of waste recovered by composting was insignificant until ________.

the late 1980s

A city undergoing gentrification is experiencing ________.

the loss of working-class people from traditional neighborhoods as housing prices become too expensive

LDPE is ________.

the plastic used to make grocery bags

What environmental problem is being addressed by the use of bio swales, large vegetated ditches or depressions, on the campus of Georgia Southern University?

the pollution of streams by oily runoff water from parking lots

What is the ultimate source for geothermal energy?

the radioactive decay of elements deep within Earth

Whether a hydrogen-based energy system is environmentally cleaner than a fossil fuel system depends on ________.

the source of energy used to produce the hydrogen

Which of the following is a problem that occurs within cities because of the concentrated use of energy in buildings and vehicles and the large amount of dark surfaces that absorb solar energy?

the urban heat island effect

As an ecological resource manager, your preliminary environmental studies should include inquiry into whether ________.

the wetlands include oyster beds and shallow estuaries that are habitats for shrimp, crabs, and fish which are supporting many local industries

What is the goal of "new urbanism"?

to create functional neighborhoods in which most of a family's needs can be met close to home without the use of a car

Closing the recycling loop refers to ________.

purchasing items made from recycled materials

Which of the following approaches would earn points toward LEED certification?

recycling all construction wastes

Industrial ecologists ________.

redesign industrial systems to maximize physical and economic efficiency

The best solution to the solid waste problem is to ________.

reduce the amount of material that enters the waste stream

What is the goal of an industrial ecologist?

reduce the waste in industrial systems

RCRA is a U.S. law enacted in the 1970s to ________.

regulate how hazardous waste is handled

Which of the following follows the philosophy of "building up, not out"?

smart growth

Harvesting fuelwood at unsustainably high rates often leads to ________.

soil erosion and desertification

A major advantage of solar power is that ________.

solar systems provide local, decentralized control over power

The practice of classifying areas for different types of development and land use is referred to as ________.

zoning

How many MWh per year of savings are possible for HVAC?

1,500 MWh

Based on the yearly average values, calculate the solar radiation per square meter for one year.

1,560 kWh per year

Commercially available household photovoltaic systems cost approximately $20,000. The average cost of electricity in the United States is approximately $0.09 per kilowatt hour. At these prices how long would it take for the photovoltaic system to generate $20,000 of electricity? Assume the system will produce enough kilowatt hours for a four-person household in Topeka, Kansas.

12.5 years

In what year did uranium oxide production peak in the United States?

1980

Which decade was associated with the greatest percentage increase in the amount of waste disposed of in landfills?

1980's?

The student report estimated $45,500 in electricity savings. What was the approximate cost of electricity in cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) used to calculate this savings?

2.7 cents per kWh

Why is there little to no growth expected for hydropower?

Almost all rivers that can be dammed for power generation have been dammed already.

________ can contaminate wastepaper and decrease the value of collected paper and cardboard.

Cereal boxes

________ is the conversion of organic waste into mulch or humus.

Composting

__________ is the process of recovering organic waste through decomposition.

Composting

What sort of threat does wind energy pose to certain kinds of wildlife?

Flying creatures such as birds and bats are killed when they fly into wind turbine blades.

Which of the following statements is NOT accurate regarding geothermal power?

Geothermal power generators are one of the true fully sustainable energy sources.

Which of the following statements about ethanol is true?

Growing corn for ethanol requires substantial inputs of fossil fuel energy.

Pat and Terry are considering moving from near the center of a large city into the suburbs. Which of the following discussion points is valid?

It will be easier to have a place for a vegetable garden if they move to the suburbs.

You are a member of a student committee at your college that is evaluating building energy use and potential savings. If your committee finds that your college's potential savings would be similar to those shown for Penn State, action in which area or combination of areas would result in approximately 5% energy savings?

Lighting

Hydroelectric power accounts for approximately how much of the world's electricity production?

One-sixth

What is the largest component of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream?

Paper and paper products

From the 1950s to the 1970s many cities experienced a loss in population as people left for the suburbs. Which one of the following is not a factor that led to this migration?

People sought out the better public transportation options present in the suburbs.

Which of the following types of hazardous waste are unstable and pose dangers when in contact with other compounds?

Reactive

Which of the following is not something urban-sustainability advocates suggest that cities follow using ecosystem-centered models?

Reduce recycling initiatives

What is an abandoned waste site that poses a direct threat to health and the environment, designated to have U.S. government funds applied to its cleanup?

Superfund site

Which of the following statements is true regarding sustainable cities?

Sustainable cities tend to be livable cities that provide a good quality of life for their residents.

How is the generation of municipal solid waste likely to change in the next 20 years?

The answer cannot be determined from the graph.

How did the University of Florida help address the problem of global warming?

The athletic program reduced local energy consumption and planted trees.

How can an engineered cover on landfills reduce decomposition of the trash?

The cover keeps the landfill dry, which decreases the ability of bacteria to decompose trash.

How does planting trees offset carbon generated by the University of Florida athletic program?

The planted trees will sequester carbon dioxide from the air as they grow.

How is the sun's energy production different from the process in which energy is produced in current nuclear power plants?

The sun releases energy through nuclear fusion, whereas our current nuclear power technology releases energy through nuclear fission.

Between 2000 and 2010, per capita generation of solid waste declined, but the total amount of MSW remained relatively constant. What caused the difference in these two trends?

The total population was increasing.

________ strongly influences the amount of energy generated from hydropower.

The volume of water released and the height of the fall

LEED-certified buildings could be described by all of the following EXCEPT:

Their construction usually costs less than for conventional buildings.

Paper and plastic waste share which of the following characteristics?

Their increased consumption leads to increased waste.

What is one of the major concerns for using hydrogen as a fuel source?

There are concerns that hydrogen gas could deplete stratospheric ozone.

What do chromium, mercury, copper, and tin have in common?

They are heavy metals.

Which of the following is true regarding zoning laws?

They can encourage sprawl.

Which of the following is one of the three current major drawbacks of solar energy?

This resource is intermittent in nature.

Passive solar energy collection includes which of the following technologies?

buildings designed and building materials chosen to maximize their direct absorption of sunlight

The best way to reduce plastic in landfills is to ________.

buy products produced locally with minimal packaging

How can consumers decrease waste generation?

by choosing minimally packaged goods

Recently, how has Germany reduced its dependence on fossil fuels?

by utilizing the feed-in tariff system

Biodiesel ________.

can be used in vehicles with diesel engines without engine modification

Although photovoltaic electricity is considered a "clean" power source, one issue with this electricity is that it ________.

cannot be stored easily in large quantities

Which of the following occupations is tasked with designing cities in such a way as to maximize their efficiency, functionality, and beauty?

city planner

The role of zoning is to ________.

classify areas for different types of urban development and land use

The conversion of organic waste to mulch or humus usable for enriching soil by encouraging natural biological processes of decomposition in a controlled manner is called __________.

composting

Worldwide, the fastest growing cities today are mostly ________.

in developing nations, such as Delhi, India

Urban sprawl typically results in ________.

increased commuting distances

Which of the following was most influential in shifting the population of developed countries from the farms to the cities?

industrialization

Of the following, ________ produce(s) the largest amount of hazardous waste.

industry

Which of the following sectors produces the most hazardous waste?

industry

All of the following are considered to define types of hazardous waste except ________.

inert

What does the left y-axis represent?

total generation of municipal solid waste, in metric tons per year

Since 2009, for the first time ever, more people in the world are living in __________ areas than __________ areas.

urban; rural

People who seek to improve resource sustainability of our cities urge us to ________.

use renewable energy sources and recycle materials

Which of the following methods would be considered a type of passive solar energy collection?

using heat-absorbing construction materials

Photovoltaic technology is best described as ________.

using sunlight to directly generate electricity

What sort of waste is predominantly generated by U.S. industrial facilities?

wastewater

What two waste products are produced by hydrogen fuel cells?

water and heat

What sort of process converts the mechanized energy in the ocean into electricity?

wave energy

Which of the following would be characteristic of sprawl?

widely spaced homes spread evenly across a vast tract of land