EVR Chapter 13
Based on the success of the Pollution Potential Index in China, it is implemented in parts of Africa to study air pollution and climate change. Which of the following will be needed to calculate the PPI?
Air temperature gradient anomalies and surface wind speeds.
What are the effects of carbon monoxide?
Suffocation in mammals
Which of the following statements properly describes the cause of a temperature inversion or its effects?
Temperature inversions can trap air pollution in one place for many days.
John Walke supports government regulation as the most effective approach for reducing air pollution. Which of the following statements expresses one of his reasons?
There is little or no economic incentive for polluters to pay pollution costs.
Forms from emissions of sulfur dioxide:________________
acid deposition
Leaches plant nutrients from soils:_____________
acid deposition
The most obvious cause of industrial smog is ________.
burning fossil fuels
This pollutant deprives organisms of oxygen by binding to the hemoglobin in red blood cells.
carbon monoxide
In developed countries, the two most deadly sources of indoor pollution are ________.
radon and cigarette smoke
Rank the biomes in terms of how much you expect plant growth to increase as a function of increased CO2 in the atmosphere.
ranked from smallest to largest increase in growth: desert grassland temperate forest tropical rain forest
A(n) ________ is a device designed to remove airborne pollutants from smokestack emissions.
scrubber
Caused by halocarbons, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs):__________________
stratospheric ozone depletion
Increases exposure of organisms to ultraviolet light:___________________
stratospheric ozone depletion
Montreal Protocol aimed to reduce emissions that cause this:_________________
stratospheric ozone depletion
The primary causes of acid deposition are ________.
sulfur and nitrogen oxides
A very high percentage of the emissions of this pollutant comes from coal combustion.
sulfur dioxide
In the troposphere ________.
temperature decreases nearly linearly with altitude
Occasionally, a layer of cool air forms under a layer of warmer air in the troposphere. This change from the normal temperature profile in the troposphere is called a ________.
temperature or thermal inversion
Which piece of legislation set strict standards for air quality and pollution control in the United States?
the Clean Air Act
Which of the following results in increased levels of pollution caused by automobile exhaust?
the construction of new highways
Which of the following can trap pollutants at ground level and cause dangerous smog?
thermal inversions
What was the percent change from 1970 to 2006 for vehicle miles traveled? If the U.S. population in 1970 was approximately 200 million people, what was the approximate population by 2006? Over the time period shown on the graph, both population and vehicle miles traveled have changed. Describe the relationship between the two factors. Energy consumption and aggregate emissions have also changed over time. Whereas the ratio of energy consumption to emissions was 1:1 in 1970, by 2006 the ratio was _________. In an effort to further reduce emissions, a government panel is considering several policy options. For the trends on the graph, which of the following policies could have the biggest long-term impact on lowering emissions?
+175% 300 million people By 2006, people were driving about twice as many miles per person as in 1970. 3:1 A mandated switch to electric cars with a solar and wind-powered electrical grid to "fuel" the cars
The Chinese winter monsoon continues to push east. What can people in Korea and Japan expect?
A cold winter.
Which of the following has contributed to longer life spans in the United States?
All of the listed responses are correct.
Based on information in the graph in Part A and what you know about the sources of various pollutants, which of the following recommendations might you offer to the congresswoman?
Although SO22 concentration dropped significantly relative to national standards following the CAA, maintaining or furthering this reduction requires continued enforcement of regulations on fossil fuel combustion by industries and power plants. Efforts to achieve reductions in the concentrations of air pollutants such as CO, PM2.52.5, and PM1010, should include strategies to prevent and control wildfires. Future regulations should target reductions of ground level ozone with strategies that might include subsidizing public transportation and limiting the use of vehicles in dense urban areas during summer months.
Using what you learned about the equation for photosynthesis and McCarthy's hypothesis, make predictions for the tree growth at each site. One has already been filled in for you.
Ambient x dry: low growth High x dry: medium growth High x wet: high growth
A haze hangs over the East China plains in winter. Which of the following will most likely disperse this haze?
An extended blast of cold air.
Based strictly on increases in air pollution over the past few decades, where would we expect to see the greatest decrease in life spans? We would expect to see a decrease in life span in __________.
Beijing, China
Indoor air pollution receives less attention than outdoor air pollution, yet it exerts severe health impacts on millions of people. Poverty worsens indoor air pollution in the developing world; high-technology products and chemicals contribute to it in the developed world; and certain lifestyle choices can affect all of us. Fortunately, many solutions are within reach to address the causes and lessen the consequences of this environmental health risk.
Causes: radon seepage into homes VOCs from paints, carpeting, and furniture inefficient indoor cookstoves Consequences: people ill from sick-building syndrome lung cancer; 20,000 deaths per year in the United States respiratory disease in developing countries Solutions: measurement of radon with a test kit; increase in ventilation purchase of low- or no-VOC paints, carpeting, and furniture conversion to more efficient
Which of the following pollutants has the longest residence time?
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Which of the following are the top two primary indoor air pollutants in the United States?
Cigarette smoke and radon gas
What process depends on the cyclical, vertical movement of air currents: sinking cold, dense and rising warm, less dense air masses?
Convective circulation
Suppose you are able to manipulate a plant's access to components in the photosynthesis equation. Drag each label to the appropriate bin to predict how that action will affect plant growth. For each increase or decrease, assume that every other component of the photosynthesis equation is unlimited.
Decrease Plant Growth: decrease sunlight decrease H2O decrease CO2 No Effect On Plant Growth: decrease C6H12O6 increase C6H12O6 Increase Plant Growth: increase H2O increase sunlight increase CO2
Which of the following conditions would most likely lead to extreme winter haze in the East China plains?
Heavy snow in Siberia and low levels of Arctic sea ice.
Suppose you are helping McCarthy choose her sample sites. You have the resources to conduct the study at only 4 sites. Pick the 4 sites that allow all 4 possible treatment combinations, while controlling for sunlight. Drag a check mark to each site you would use, and drag Xs to the sites you would not use. You should end up placing 4 check marks and 8 Xs. Labels can be used more than once.
High CO2: - 2 suns, 1 water - 2 suns, 3 water Ambient CO2: - 2 suns, 3 water -2 suns, 1 water
Taylor mentions the reduced demands on natural resources due to both reduced use of natural resources and the shift away from manufacturing economies to service economies. Imagine how Walke might respond to Taylor's statements in a debate.
I disagree; the shift to a service economy simply means that manufacturing has moved to other countries. Because air pollution does not respect borders, we will still need pollution regulation.
One key to the puzzle of Los Angeles's smog is the fact that ________.
Los Angeles and its suburbs are all ringed by mountains
Which of the following damaging pollutants is not closely tracked by the U.S. EPA?
Mercury
Which of the following results from acid deposition?
Objects made of stone, like marble headstones, are worn away.
Jerry Taylor considers better air quality a luxury good. What evidence does he give for this reasoning?
Once per capita income reaches a certain level, concentrations of pollutants begin to decline as rapidly as they had increased.
Developing a technique to effectively and economically remove which of the following from the atmosphere would directly decrease haze in an area the most?
Particulate matter
The authors of the two essays are quite opposite in their views, with Walke pro-regulation and Taylor anti-regulation. If you had to select a type of regulation that both authors would approve, which of the following might work?
Regulatory incentives that award subsidies to companies demonstrating technological changes in their processes that measurably reduce pollution
Based on the graph, which of the criteria air pollutants declined the most significantly relative to the most recent national standard between 1980 and 2015?
SO2
Which layer of the atmosphere tends to concentrate pollutants and extends 11-50 km above sea level?
Stratosphere
Can you use arrows to show whether these properties of the atmosphere increase or decrease with distance from the Earth?
Temperature: Troposphere goes down stratosphere goes up mesosphere goes down thermosphere goes up Pressure: Troposphere goes down stratosphere goes down mesosphere goes down thermosphere goes down Density: Troposphere goes down stratosphere goes down mesosphere goes down thermosphere goes down Oxygen: Troposphere goes down stratosphere goes up mesosphere goes down thermosphere goes down
Why do pollution and smog often become trapped in Los Angeles and other similar urban areas?
The combination of temperature inversions (because of being surrounded by mountains) and extended periods of sunlight result in the buildup of smog in Los Angeles.
Which of the following layers of the atmosphere is responsible for the weather that we experience on the surface of Earth?
Troposphere
Both authors refer to voluntary actions and their effect on pollution control. Which of the following statements best describes one author's viewpoint?
Walke; Voluntary programs are unsuccessful. For example, in a voluntary EPA program, only one-fourth of the participants committed to reducing emissions.
What sorts of constituents do atmospheric pollutants (such as sulfates and nitrates) react with to initiate the process that results in acid deposition?
Water, oxygen, and oxidants
Which of the following U.S. states experiences the lowest levels of acid rain?
Wyoming
On average, it appears that over the past 25 years, improved air quality in the United States has resulted in __________ in the lifespan of the average individual.
an increase of about five months
By how much did the reduction of PM1010 concentration exceed the reduction of PM2.52.5 concentration by 2015?
approximately 30%
Carbon monoxide ________.
blocks oxygen transport in human blood
What is largely responsible for the ozone hole?
chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants
Which of the following describes the greatest health risk posed by air pollution? Air pollutants __________.
damage blood vessels in human lungs
What is one of the greatest sources of pollution in Mexico City that has persisted even after the government successfully lowered overall pollutant levels?
emissions from automobile exhaust
In 1970, ________ was/were the source of most of the airborne lead emissions in the United States.
gasoline
One of the problems that occur as a consequence of CFC pollution is ________.
increased rates of skin cancer in humans
In the stratosphere, ________.
increases of temperature and ozone levels are strongly correlated
The Coriolis effect ________.
is caused by Earth's rotation
Tropospheric ozone ________.
is produced through the interaction of heat and UV light, with nitrogen oxides and carbon-containing compounds
Before the 1980s, gasoline combustion was a major source of this pollutant.
lead
If all of the stratospheric ozone suddenly disappeared, ________.
most life on Earth would cease to exist because of the amount of UV radiation penetrating the atmosphere
This pollutant contributes to the formation of photochemical smog and acid deposition.
nitrogen dioxide
The Acid Rain Program established under the Clean Air Act of 1990 has been successful in reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide and ________.
nitrogen oxides
Pollutants in this category are classified according to diameter.
particulate matter
A reaction between pollutants and atmospheric compounds that creates over 100 different chemicals:__________________
photochemical smog
Concentrations are elevated by hot, sunny days __________________
photochemical smog
Most pronounced in cities prone to inversion events:___________________
photochemical smog
A __________ pollutant interacts with a part of the atmosphere and becomes a __________ pollutant.
primary; secondary
What information is given on the x-axis? What does the red line represent? What was the temperature at 9:00 A.M. on Day 1? Which day had the greatest range in temperature? What is the best description of the relative humidity between 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. on Day 1? In which part of Days 1 and 2 was the humidity lowest? When was it most likely to have been foggy? What is the best description of the relationship between the two variables on the graph?
time in 4-hour intervals temperature 12 °Celsius Day 2 The relative humidity dropped from 100% to 55%. late afternoon/evening Day 2, between 5 A.M and 9 A.M. As the temperature rises, it causes the humidity to fall.
This pollutant's chemical structure is three bonded oxygen atoms. Its concentration is strongly influenced by sunlight levels and air temperature.
tropospheric ozone
Air near Earth's surface tends to be ________.
warmer and wetter; then it rises, expanding and cooling
The huge dust storms that took place in the United States in the 1930s ________.
were the result of poor farming techniques