GLG
Explain how humans are increasing mercury in the atmosphere and how it threatens human health.
- enters atmosphere during combustion of coal - humans eat fish with mercury contamination
Which of the following is an example of a point source of pollution? Question options: A leaking sewage pipe A fertilized field Pesticide usage on a lawn Residual oil in a parking lot
A leaking sewage pipe
Which of the following terms is used to describe the reflectivity of a body? Question options: Absorbancy Gloss Albedo Sheen
Albedo
Which of the following statements is most true? Question options: Weather is how the climate behaves over extended periods of time. Climate is how weather behaves over extended periods of time. Climate is the state of the Earth's atmosphere at any given time and place. Climate and weather are synonymous terms.
Climate is how weather behaves over extended periods of time
Which of the following is responsible for the majority of sulfur dioxide emissions in the United States? Question options: Coal and natural gas power plants Nuclear power plants Ore refinement Automobiles
Coal and Natural gas power plants
Which of the following statements is NOT true of groundwater contamination? Question options: Unconfined aquifers are highly susceptible to contamination from surface sources. Confined aquifers are highly susceptible to contamination from surface sources. Polluted groundwater can pollute streams. It can take thousands of years for a polluted aquifer to be cleansed.
Confined aquifers are highly susceptible to contamination from surface sources
The expansion of deserts into formerly productive lands is referred to as __________. Question options: desertification desert migration global drying This is not a documented occurrence
Desertification
Which of the following terms describes the natural warming of the Earth's atmosphere due to the presence of certain gases? Question options: Global Warming. Greenhouse Effect. Hot House. This is not a documented occurrence.
Greenhouse Effect
Short-term variations in Earth's orbit and axial mechanics are referred to as __________. Question options: Milankovitch Cycles Mohorovicic Discontinuities Interglacial Periods Astronomical Eccentricities
Milankovitch Cycles
Imagine a small neighborhood consisting of several homes several miles from the nearest town. Which of the following represents the BEST way to deal with household liquid human wastes? Question options: Pit Toilets Sewage Treatment Plant Bed Pans Septic Systems
Septic Systems
Which of the following statements is NOT true? Question options: Anthropogenic activity has resulted in a significant increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Global warming is being driven primarily by an increased greenhouse effect. Climatic changes are a result of global warming. The increased level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is within normal range.
The increased level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is within normal range.
Describe the role the oceans have in shaping Earth's climate and weather patterns.
Thermohaline circulation move through the oceans and transport heat from the tripics to to polar regions
Explain how the greenhouse effect operates.
atmospheric gases trap heat and warm the planet
Describe how humans have disrupted the carbon cycle and how this affects the climate system.
disrupted by burning fossil fuels
Know the difference between point source pollution and nonpoint source pollution
point source= physically discrete poiht nonpoint source= contaminants released over a broad area
Know how hazardous waste is disposed of in the United States
solid hazardous waste: secured landfills Solid liquid waste: Deep well injections
Know what a threshold is and how it relates to abrupt and dramatic changes in climate.
some component of the climate system is pushed beyond a critical point causing the system to change
Know what gases cause acid rain and the types of human activity that generate these gases.
sulfur dioxide (Power Plants) Nitrogen Oxides (Engines)
