env 101 final

According to tide gauge data, what was the approximate increase in global average sea level between 1880 and 2010?

210 mm

__________ exposure to a chemical occurs at low levels over a long period of time.

Chronic

Which of the following results from acid deposition?

Objects made of stone, like marble headstones, are worn away.

Explain how photochemical smog differs from industrial smog, and give two examples of the health risks posed by the outdoor air pollutants in smog.

Photochemical smog is produced by reactions with light. Industrial smog is produced from burning coal in factories. Weather moves smog with wind currents and topography can force smog to stay between mountains and/or valleys. A health risk from toxic air pollutants is respiratory problems. Another health risk posed by outdoor air pollutants in smog are cardiovascular problems. this answer didn't get full credit

Explain how scientists identify and assess risks from substances or activities.

Scientifists identify and assess risks through the processes of Risk Assessment and Risk Management. Risk assessment is used to identify risks by probability of an outcome. Risk management is comprised of strategies and decisions made to minimize risks. this answer didn't get full credit

Describe how solar energy influences weather and climate, including how Hadley, Ferrel, and polar cells help to determine climate patterns and the location of biomes.

Solar energy influences weather and climate through temperature and amount of sunlight. Convection cells include Hadley cells, Ferrel cells, and polar cells that each regulate temperature. They also regulate barometric pressure so that biomes can prosper at their present locations. this answer didn't get full credit

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.

What is a system in which utilities and industries seek financial gain through competing to reduce emissions?

cap-and-trade

What is the planet's albedo?

its ability to reflect light

Wind turbines convert the wind's energy into electricity.

kinetic

A __________ pollutant interacts with a part of the atmosphere and becomes a __________ pollutant.

primary; secondary

Which of the following is a living museum of genetic crop diversity?

seed banks

In which layer of the atmosphere is the highest concentration of ozone found?

stratosphere

Which three factors have the greatest effect on Earth's climate?

sun, atmosphere, and ocean

What is the ultimate energy source for biomass (also known as biomass energy)?

sunlight through the process of photosynthesis, in which the chemical potential energy of biomass originates

Nicotine and alcohol have been shown to be harmful to a fetus in the womb in that they can lead to birth defects. Nicotine and alcohol are, therefore, potential

teratogens

The EPA tracks six "criteria" pollutants. Which of these is true of the criteria air pollutants?

total emissions of the six have declined by over 50% since 1970

Which of the following soil horizons is most severely affected by erosion?

A

Describe and contrast the processes of bioaccumulation and biomagnification.

Bioaccumulation is the buildup of toxicants in the tissues of an animal. Biomagnification is the magnification of the concentration of toxicants in an organism caused by its consumption of other organisms in which toxicants have bioaccumulated.

What happens as toxicants, such as fat-soluble DDT, are taken in by organisms from the lowest trophic level to the highest trophic level?

Biomagnification occurs in the tissues of each successive higher trophic level organism. The levels of a given toxicant increase more or less exponentially at each successive trophic level.

Describe how coal is used to generate electricity, including all the steps from extraction to conversion to electricity to waste disposal.

Coal is used to generate electricity but first it must be extracted, which can be done by room and pillar mining (where parts are mined in order to keep above rock intact), longwall mining (where a hydraulic support system holds up the rock), or strip mining (where the top layers of the ground are blasted away to mine the coal underneath). Then the coal is prepared by crushing it down to a smaller size and removing non-coal materials. Sometimes the coal is also washed in water or a chemical bath. Much of the leftover wash from cleansing the coal is left in large wastewater ponds or reservoirs. Coal is converted into electricity by grinding the coal, burning it to make steam, and then running the steam through a turbine to generate electricity. The remaining sludge left over from burning coal is often sent to landfills or reservoirs. Sometimes this leftover sludge can contaminate drinking water and harm local ecosystems.

Which of the following statements about the United States and Europe are historically true regarding toxins?

European nations tend to use the precautionary principle, whereas the United States follows the innocent-until-proven-guilty approach.

Why is epidemiology important for understanding human toxicology?

Following individuals with exposure to toxicants or mutagens allows for the calculation of the rates at which health problems are likely to develop.

Which of the following revolutions came about as a response to our dramatically rising human population numbers?

Green Revolution

How are warming temperatures causing a cycle (positive feedback) that is leading to enhanced warming?

Ice and snow reflect light, but as they melt, Earth absorbs more energy from the Sun's rays.

Which of the following statements about biomagnification is true?

It is the increase in toxicant concentration as it moves up to the top trophic levels in the food chain.

Which gas makes up 78% of the molecules in the atmosphere?

N2—nitrogen

The initial degradation of plants by microarthropods, bacteria, and fungi occurs in the __________ soil horizon.

O

Describe how scientists study past, present, and future climate change.

Scientists study the past, the present, and the future to predict climate change. Scientists are able to study past climate change through fossil records to understand how climate change impacted the world in the past and to predict how it may affect the world in the future. Scientists can look at changes in temperature through animal migration patterns and different plants in different landscapes becoming popular or losing popularity, sometimes even going extinct. Scientists look at the past climate change to predict the future and modern climate change is studied through temperature, patterns, and interactions between plants and animals and the environment. this answer did not get full credit

Describe how sunlight is used to generate electricity in a concentrated solar power plant (for example, a plant with a central power tower).

Solar power is used to generate electricity by using mirrors/lenses to gather sunlight in a large area and convert it into a small area. The concentrated light is solar thermal heat and drives a heat engine that has a steam turbine connected to a power generator. The steam created by the concentrated sunlight turns a turbine and generates power by dragging a magnet over coils which creates electricity. A plant with a central power tower generates electricity by gathering sunlight and concentrating it in the central power tower.

Compare and contrast the techniques used in industrial versus sustainable agriculture.

Sustainable farms use less synthetic pesticides and herbicides than do industrial agriculture. Industrial farms tend to view profit as more important and so the overuse of pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides do not matter to them. Sustainable farming uses land responsibly and tries not to cause damage to the land. INdustrial farming tends to harm the land through soil erosion and pollution with the technique of using pesticides and herbicides. Sustainable farms uses crop rotating and composting methods to keep soil safe. They try to avoid monocultures. INdustrial farms have a lot of topsoil erosion and depletion of aquifers.

Describe the changes in agriculture associated with the Green Revolution.

The Green Revolution resulted in the introduction of synthetic herbicides and pesticides as well as chemical fertilizer that can lead to higher-yielding crops. Agriculture was able to produce a lot more food on less land. Costs of production went down. Some disadvantages brought on by the Green Revolution are soil erosion, desertification of soil, pollution of soil and adjacent water systems, lower soil quality, and much more.

According to the IPCC, what are the current and future trends for global temperature, sea level, and precipitation patterns?

The current and future trends for global temperature, sea level, and precipitation patterns are that water availability, biodiversity, renewable resource availability and non-renewable resource availability are all declining. The current trend of global temperature is rising and the predicted trend for future global temperature is rising. Sea levels are rising now and are predicted to rise in the future. Precipitation is predicted to go down in the future as dramatic weather patterns continue to get worse.

Why is renewable energy use growing?

There is increasing concern over the environmental impacts of fossil fuel combustion.

Which layer of the atmosphere extends to 500 km?

Thermosphere

Which of the following statements about the sun's energy is true?

Thirty percent of the sun's energy is reflected off Earth and back into space.

How do toxicants get transported over vast distances?

Toxicants are carried by the wind as well as the waters of streams and the oceans.

Which of the following is an example of synergistic effects?

Two pollutants combined have different effects than the individual pollutants.

Which of the following would be considered a monoculture?

a 100-acre field, all of which is planted with the same variety of corn

A low LD50 indicates

a high toxicity

We will be able to support more people with the same amount of food supply if most people eat which of the following types of diet?

a vegetarian diet

What is the greenhouse effect?

a warming of Earth's atmosphere by greenhouse gases that trap reflected heat rather than allow it to escape into space

Which of the following contributes to atmospheric cooling?

aerosols (particularly sulfur compounds) and dusts

Passive solar energy collection includes which of the following technologies?

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

Most of the indoor air pollution in developing countries comes from

burning fuelwood

How is a dose-response curve developed?

by graphing the response of model systems or organisms to specific doses of toxicants

Desertification of soil

can be caused by overgrazing

The predominant greenhouse gas produced by human use of fossil fuels is

carbon dioxide

What is a situation in which NO net carbon is emitted?

carbon-neutrality

Which two pollutants are the top two responsible for lung disease in the United States?

cigarette smoke and radon gas

Which of the fossil fuels is most abundant on Earth?

coal

Which of the following soil conservation strategies prevents erosion by using furrows plowed sideways across a hill, perpendicular to the slope of land?

contour farming

What drives long-term climate patterns, such as the Hadley Cells at the Equator, over large geographic scales?

convective air currents

What two processes emit the most carbon in the United States?

electricity generation and transportation

Recombinant DNA technology is used for which of the following purposes?

genetically modifying plants

In the United States, which renewable energy source makes the largest contribution to electrical production?

hydropower

Which of the following is a renewable energy source?

hydropower

In many waterways around the United States, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have contaminated the sediments and wildlife. Given that most of the PCBs in the environment were released before 1980 and are still present in these ecosystems, which of the following choices best describes this phenomenon?

long persistence

What compound that results from hydraulic fracturing gives rise to air pollution?

methane

Fill in the blanks: ozone is made of __________ and is broken down by __________.

oxygen; chlorine

The process of __________ turns crude oil into the type of gases that can be used for cooking, in cars, and for other human purposes.

refining

Which lifestyle choice would cause the greatest reduction in greenhouse emissions?

riding a bike

Point sources of air pollution are

specific spots--such as a factory's smokestacks--where large quantities of pollution are discharged

Which one of the following United States federal agencies does NOT handle risk management decisions concerning environmental health and toxicology?

the United States Forest Service (USFS)

Which of the following contributed to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s?

the removal of native prairie plants

What is the ultimate source for geothermal energy?

the radioactive decay of elements deep within Earth

Which of the following can trap pollutants at ground level and cause dangerous smog?

thermal inversions

The United States and other industrialized nations devote the greatest proportion of their oil use to

transportation

Why is variety in crop plants important for "food security"?

varities contain genes that, through conventional breeding, might confer resistance to disease

Erosion usually begins when

vegetation is removed either naturall or by humans