EVR 5
What is the difference between the amount of paper within the waste stream before and after recycling/composting?
11.2%
U.S. hydropower dam construction was greatest during the ________.
1930's to 1960's
The year ________ demonstrated the greatest volume of recycling
2008
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
Based on the yearly average values, calculate one person's residential electricity needs for a year. Based on the yearly average values, calculate the solar radiation per square meter for one year. 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. 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? 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
4,440 kWh per year 1,560 kWh per year 28.5 m2? 7.12 m2 12.5 years
As of 2008, the average American generates about ________ pounds of solid waste per day.
4.4
The average American produces how much trash per day?
4.4 pounds
How much uranium oxide did the United States produce in 2005? In what year did uranium oxide production peak in the United States? What was the net amount of uranium imported into the United States in 2005? Describe the trends in uranium oxide domestic production from the peak production year to 2005. If current trends continue, the United States is likely to
5 million 1980 45 million pounds Domestic production declined dramatically. decrease domestic production and increase imports and exports.
Approximately what percentage of overall U.S. energy consumption does bioenergy contribute? If solar, wind, and geothermal sources do play a larger role in U.S. electricity generation in the future, predict what graph (b) might look like in 2050. Select all that apply.
5% Solar, wind, and geothermal would make up a larger portion of the renewables bar. The fossil fuel slice of the pie chart would get bigger. The renewable slice of the pie chart would get bigger. ?
Approximately ________% of all U.S. residents are served by curbside recycling programs, and the part of the U.S. waste stream that is recycled is currently about ________%
50;25
Recycling aluminum cans saves ________% of the energy needed to make the same amount of aluminum from virgin bauxite.
95
According to the data in Step 1, by how much would solar have to grow to match the current level of hydroelectric power? According to the data in Step 2, which source represents 32% of renewables? Which energy source's annual growth rate is about four times greater than that of tidal power? Assuming that renewable energy sources will contribute more and more to power generation in the future, do you expect the growth rates for these renewable energy sources to increase or decrease over the next 30-year period (2000 to 2030)? Which projection has nonrenewables comprising roughly 50% of our energy production in 2050? Assume that the depletion of nonrenewables requires renewables to account for more than 30% of our energy production by 2040. What annual growth rate of renewables must be achieved in order to meet that goal?
About 60 times none of them solar These growth rates are relative to small absolute numbers. They will most likely decrease as the total contribution by renewables increases. projection 2 at least 15% annual growth rate
Why is there little to no growth expected for hydropower?
Almost all rivers that can be dammed for power generation have been dammed already.
Gasoline prices have doubled in a large Midwestern city and may continue to rise in the future. What may happen in this situation?
B, C, and D may all take place in this situation.
Bagasse and sugar cane-based ethanol are major items in the energy resources of ________.
Brazil
Which of the following is a positive effect that cities have on the environment?
Cities give people places to live with smaller land use
Which of the following actions is required for the recycling loop to be successful?
Consumers and businesses must purchase products made from recycled materials.
Which city on the graph has both low to medium density (between 10 and 30 persons per hectare) and low carbon emissions? Describe the relationship between carbon emissions and urban density as shown on the graph. Compare the population densities of the most and least dense cities on the graph. What is the population ratio of the most- to least-dense cities? Calculate the average population density of the cities on the graph. Does the city that has average population density also have average carbon emissions? You work for the city planning agency in Houston and successfully pass ordinances designed to double population density. Based on the graph, predict the approximate change in carbon emissions.
Copenhagen As urban density increases, per capita carbon emissions decrease. 7:1 No, carbon emissions are actually lower than average in the city with average density.? 50%
In the solar panel system presented in the video, which of the following was necessary to generate usable electrical current for a home? Which of the following best describes the energy conversion sequence in the solar panel system described in the video? Which of the following would indicate that a home is using solar power to generate electricity and is NOT using batteries? If a home uses a large supply of solar panels to generate electricity, but has no battery system, surplus electricity that is produced is usually __________. Which of the following is a challenge to using solar-generated electricity in places not connected to a power grid?
DC power had to be converted to AC. Photons carrying energy from the sun chemically react with silicon crystals to generate a flow of electrons. There are solar panels on the roof and power lines going to the home released into the power grid for others to use, generating a credit to the homeowner the lack of efficient and inexpensive battery technology
________ built the first offshore wind farm in 1991.
Denmark
Which statement about e-waste is accurate?
E-waste contains toxic heavy metals that can leach into the environment.
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.
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.
How is cellulosic ethanol different from traditional corn-based ethanol?
It can be made from the nonfood portions of plants and from wood
What is the basis for the use of hydrogen fuel cells?
It is extremely energy-efficient
How is compost used?
It is used to enrich soil.
Hydropower uses the __________ energy of water to generate electricity.
Kinetic
Which of the following conditions results from the operation and subsequent use of old landfills built before 1976?
Leachate from old landfills can contaminate groundwater.
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.
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
________ leads the world in percentage of its electricity derived from hydropower.
Norway
What is true about the importance of location for cities that were founded over 100 years ago versus the cities that are rapidly growing today?
Older cities were founded along waterways or rail hubs so that goods could be easily transported.
Joan Ogden and Daniel Sperling view hydrogen as an ideal future fuel. Which of the following reasons do they discuss? Ogden and Sperling also discuss the challenges of using hydrogen as our major fuel. Identify the statement that is one of the challenges. In contrast to Ogden and Sperling, Joseph Romm views hydrogen fuel-cell cars as an "environmental dead end." Which of the following statements from the pro-hydrogen essay would he dispute? Ogden and Sperling argue that hydrogen is one of the only transportation fuels that can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. How might Romm respond to this statement? Use the information given by authors of both essays to select a strategy that achieves both short-term and long-term greenhouse gas emission reductions.
Several countries have committed billions of dollars in public funds to developing hydrogen energy.? Time is needed to develop mechanisms to store hydrogen on vehicles? "Technologies that use hydrogen, notably fuel cells, are making rapid progress."? No. Hydrogen technology is at least 50 years away from having an impact, so we should find a new alternative.? Invest in both hybrids and hydrogen fuel-cell research?
What is the greatest negative environmental impact that occurs when people live in suburbs instead of living in cities?
Suburbanites take up many times as much space as city dwellers.
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 the existence of densely-packed cities help preserve wilderness and rural areas?
The fact that populations are unevenly distributed across the face of the Earth allows for areas that are basically empty to exist.?
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.
________ strongly influences the amount of energy generated from hydropower.
The volume of water released and the height of the fall
Which of the following is one of the three current major drawbacks of solar energy?
This resource is intermittent in nature.
Which of the following statements about current U.S. waste disposal is true?
We landfill half of our trash and recycle a third of it.
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.
Which of these statements is NOT true of wind power?
Wind turbines take up large amounts of land that is then unsuitable for other purposes.
B20 represents ________.
a ratio of biodiesel to petrodiesel in alternative vehicular fuels
Corn-based ethanol production has a number of drawbacks, including ________.
all of the above are drawbacks of corn-based ethanol production
Around the world, most major cities are situated ________.
along rivers, oceans, roads, or train routes
The current state of e-wastes is that ________.
although recycling is improved, the rate of e-wastes going into landfills and incinerators is rising
A resource sink is ________.
an area that produces almost none of the things that it needs
What information is provided on the x-axis? What do the orange dots represent? In which nation or region do cities have the highest degree of urban sprawl? In which city do individuals have the highest rate of gasoline consumption? How do the rates of land use and gasoline consumption in Australian cities compare with those in U.S. cities? The amount of gasoline used by each person generally decreases as per capita land consumption increases. Which of the following statements is supported by the graph?
area per person, in square meters European cities United States Houston At any level of per capita land consumption, people in U.S. cities use more gasoline than those in Australian cities not supported As urban sprawl increases, automobile use also increases.
Which of the following types of transportation consumes the most energy (in BTU per passenger mile)?
automobiles
Heavy metals ________.
bioaccumulate in animal tissues
What is an example of an energy source that is renewable and has less environmental impact than fossil fuels?
bioenergy
Worldwide, the most widely used renewable energy resource is ________.
bioenergy
Of the following renewable energy resources, which one has the highest life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions?
biomass
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
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
How does an urban growth boundary attempt to limit sprawl?
by limiting future growth into already urbanized areas
Recently, how has Germany reduced its dependence on fossil fuels?
by utilizing the feed-in tariff system
Vegetable oil ________.
can be burned as fuel
________ are wastepaper contaminants that cannot effectively be recycled.
cereal boxes
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 __________.
compositing
________ is the conversion of organic waste into mulch or humus.
compositing
__________ is the process of recovering organic waste through decomposition.
compositing
Of the following, ________ is a method that governments use to improve urban transportation.
constructing light rail and expanded bus systems
LEED-certified buildings could be described by all of the following, except ________.
construction costs much less than for conventional buildings
Substances that degrade the metals that make up storage tanks or equipment are called __________.
corrosives
The ________ drives the move to the suburbs from cities.
desire to live in less stressful, more peaceful park-like conditions
What are the goals of waste management?
disposing of waste safely as well as effectively, minimizing the amount of waste generated, and increasing recovery
Regarding PV cells, what is released from the "p-type" layer and transferred to the "n-type" layer, thus initiating an electrical current?
electrons
Life-cycle analysis ________.
examines the life cycle of products for ecological efficiency
From where does the food that most city-dwellers consume originate?
farms surrounding the suburbs and from long distances away from the city
Of the following, ________ represent proper ranking of the U.S. total primary energy consumed from the greatest to least used.
fossil fuels, nuclear, bioenergy, hydroelectric, new renewables
Plastic ________.
from beverage containers is easily recyclable if decapped, washed, and squashed
The world's urban populations are ________.
growing faster than the population as a whole
American cities in the northern United States, such as Chicago, Illinois, ________.
have steadily lost population over the past 40 years
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 surface
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
________ represent(s) the largest source of unregulated hazardous waste.
households
What are two components of sprawl?
human population growth and per capita land consumption
The United States generates more electricity from ________ than from any other renewable energy source.
hydroelectric
Of the following, ________ represent criteria for classifying hazardous waste.
ignitable, corrosive, reactive, toxic
Then, in 2010, Metro Portland made a historic agreement between landowners and citizens which ________.
included a regional plan to identify exactly where urban growth would be allowed
Any consideration of the true costs of sprawl must include ________.
increased use of fossil fuels
The operating costs for transportation ________.
indicate that, when all operating costs are included, rail is the most sensible means of transport
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
Deep-well injection ________.
injects mostly liquid hazardous wastes into porous rock isolated by impervious clay deep beneath human water supplies
According to the graphs, the energy consumption per passenger mile ________.
is higher for all types of road use than it is for rail use
As recycling and composting efforts have grown, what has occurred with the annual amount of waste sent to landfills?
it has proportionally decreased
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
Of the following, ________ are classified as hazardous heavy metals.
lead, mercury, cadmium
Over the past 50 years, most U.S. citizens who could afford to do so ________.
left the cities for the suburbs
Current events
less than 0.25% the CEO of a large coal-fired power plant? California as soon as possible as the subsidies are being phased out During the daytime.
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
Air travel, the Internet, cheap fossil fuels and television all have allowed people to ________.
live in less centralized communities
What prevents the contamination of groundwater in landfills?
locating them at least 6 meters above the water table
People who live entirely within an urban environment ________.
may become disconnected from nature and from the true costs of their needs and activities
Deep inside landfills, bacteria decompose organic wastes in a low oxygen environment. This anaerobic decomposition results in a mix of gases called landfill gas, which consists of about 50% ________.
methane
The Trash Track project ________.
monitors the movement of trash items to improve efficiency of management processes
From the 1960s to the present, the trend has been that ________ over time
more overall waste was produced
More and more wind farms are being located ________ because winds are stronger there.
offshore
A city planner needs to consider ________ as a first priority.
optimal land use strategies for different areas of the city
Which of the following categories comprises the greatest proportion, by weight, of solid waste before recycling in the United States today?
paper
What is the largest component of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream?
paper and paper products
Which of the following is an example of a product found in a "throwaway society," such as the United States?
paper napkins
Oregon's strong policy of enforcing UGB's (urban growth boundaries) to create livable cities has been exemplary for many years, but between 2004 and 2007, voters ________.
passed a bill giving property owners the right to ignore UGB's
Designing buildings to maximize absorption of sunlight during winter and to keep the interiors cool during summer is referred to as ________.
passive solar energy collection
Harnessing energy by designing buildings to maximize or minimize the absorption of incident solar radiation are ________.
passive solar energy collection
The earthworms, fungi, and bacteria in your compost pile will NOT be happy if you give them ________.
plastic
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
Closing the recycling loop refers to ________.
purchasing items made from recycled materials
Which of the following types of hazardous waste are unstable and pose dangers when in contact with other compounds?
reactive
In Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, glass is ________.
recycled into reflective paint and signs
Industrial ecologists ________.
redesign industrial systems to minimize physical inefficiency and maximize 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
Corn-produced ethanol ________.
results in higher food prices for corn and corn products
In developing nations, such as India and Nigeria, ________.
rural people are moving to the cities in large numbers
What happens to unused electricity generated by solar panels on a home? The extra electricity is __________. Where would you most likely find a solar thermal power plant in the United States? The major problem impeding the widespread use of solar panels on residential buildings is the __________. Massive solar thermal power plants generate electricity by __________.
sent back into the electrical grid for others to use in the southwestern states cost of solar panels using sunlight to boil water, generate steam, and turn the blades of a turbine?
The Fresh Kills Landfill ________.
site will be converted into a public park
Which of the following follows the philosophy of "building up, not out"?
smart growth
Current events
solar power china underground lake strong state and federal incentives eucalyptus
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 and sugar cane
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
The greatest general problem with suburbs is ________.
that they spread environmental impact over a larger area
What is the process behind tidal energy?
the difference between high and low tides
How can solid waste incineration be of benefit?
the heat from waste combustion can be used to generate energy
A development group wishes to turn the area into a recreational facility, including an RV resort, a major-league sports arena, a small-craft harbor for water sports, a hunting lodge, and off- road activities, including motocross racing and dune buggy areas. An important concern ecological about this proposal would be ________.
the impacts on the woodlands, wetlands, and waterways
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 1980's
What occurs as sprawl increases in, or adjacent to, a city?
the need for cars increases
LDPE is ________.
the plastic used to make grocery bags
What this figure does not tell you is ________.
the proportion of U.S. energy consumption that comes from non-renewable sources
What is the ultimate source for geothermal energy?
the radioactive decay of elements deep within Earth
What is electrolysis?
the splitting of water into component hydrogen and oxygen
The ultimate source of energy that drives wind power is __________. A typical wind farm in the United States consists of __________. The year 2030 goal set by the US Department of Energy is to generate __________. Electricity in a wind turbine is generated __________. Producing electricity using wind instead of fossil fuels __________.
the sun many very large wind turbines clustered in a region with a low human population 20% of electricity using wind-powered systems when spinning magnets move past a coil of copper wire generates no carbon dioxide in the process?
One of the things that contribute to sprawl is ________.
the trend toward increasing land area per capita
The second step in the recycling loop is ________.
the use of recyclables by industry to manufacture new products
Video
the way soils, air, and water are needed to sustain people in the city Make cities self-sufficient They plan to rely more on recycling and up cycling. Future cities should have identical building designs, using one common construction block that can be used everywhere.?
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
Paper and plastic waste share the following characteristics: ________.
their increased consumption leads to increased waste
What do chromium, mercury, copper, and tin have in common?
they are heavy metals
L'Enfant's 1791 Plan of the U.S. capital represented the first ________.
thorough city planning program
The only energy source(s) from ocean water so far put into commercial production are ________.
tidal electrical generators
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
Given the energy consumption and operating costs per passenger-mile, one of the best overall strategies for cities to consider is ________.
to create or improve a convenient, affordable, rail transit system
What does the left y-axis represent? What does the red line on the graph represent? In 2000, how much solid waste did the average person in the United States produce? Which of the following statements is the best description of the per capita generation of solid waste between 1960 and 2010? Which of the following actions would not reduce the per capita generation of solid waste? Which of the following statements is the best description of the total MSW generation between 1960 and 2010? 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? How is the generation of municipal solid waste likely to change in the next 20 years?
total generation of municipal solid waste, in metric tons per year the average amount of solid waste generated by each household in the United States per year? 770 kilograms per year Between 1960 and 2000, per capita generation increased. After 2000, per capita generation declined. installation of waste-to-energy incinerators Between 1960 and 2005, total MSW generation increased at a steady rate. After 2005, total generation leveled off. The total population was increasing. The answer cannot be determined from the graph.?
Which of the following choices best describes a surface impoundment used for hazardous waste disposal?
used to store and concentrate dilute liquid hazardous waste before it is moved to a permanent disposal option
What sort of waste is predominantly generated by U.S. industrial facilities?
wastewater
Which of the following would be characteristic of sprawl?
widely spaced homes spread evenly across a vast tract of land
Members of several local environmental groups propose that nearly all of the buildings be removed and the area turned into a regional hiking and camping area, with very limited vehicle access. This will preserve the natural areas while providing recreation for the city dwellers. One issue that is raised by opponents is ________.
will revenue generated from users pay for the changes and the maintenance of such a facilit
The practice of classifying areas for different types of development and land use is referred to as ________.
zoning