36: Pollution and the Great Lakes Flashcards

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1
Q

What is pollution?

A

any physical, biological, or chemical change in water quality that adversely affects living organisms or makes water unsuitable for desired uses

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2
Q

What are point sources of pollution?

A

discharge pollutants at a specific location
- easy to identify, monitor and regulate

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3
Q

What are nonpoint sources of pollution?

A

scattered and diffuse
- cannot be easily traced to any single site
- hard to regulate and monitor
- usually, runoff from agriculture or from cities

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4
Q

What are the great lakes?

A

Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior

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5
Q

What are the states that border the great lakes?

A

Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York

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6
Q

What are the 2 Canadian provinces that border the great lakes?

A

Ontario and Quebec

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7
Q

Where are the great lakes?

A

in boundary between Canada and United States

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8
Q

How much of the Earth’s surface freshwater do the great lakes hold?

A

20% of Earth’s surface freshwater

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9
Q

How much area do the great lakes cover?

A

cover 95,000 square miles

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10
Q

What surrounds the great lakes?

A

surrounded by very industrialized areas that produce a lot of garbage that end up in the lakes

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11
Q

How many people rely on the great lakes?

A

more than 40 million people in the US and Canada rely on the Great Lakes

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12
Q

What is the description of lake erie?

A

very shallow and small; polluted the most

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13
Q

What is the description of lake superior?

A

very large and very deep; less pollution is going to be here

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14
Q

How were the great lakes in the 1960s?

A

many rivers that end up in the Great Lakes were so polluted that they were catching fire (Buffalo, Chicago, Cuyahoga, St Louis River in MN)

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15
Q

How were the great lakes in 1972?

A

the US and Canada signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement
- ecosystem approach (look at land, air, and water)

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16
Q

What are toxic pollutants?

A

organic compounds that can cause illness or death
- pollutants that will make you ill or kill you, like poison

17
Q

What are examples of toxic organic pollutants?

A

oil, gasoline, plastic, solvents, detergents, pesticides (DDT), insecticide (Mirex), dioxins, and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs)

18
Q

What are toxic organic pollutants known to be?

A

persistent chemicals
- cause bioaccumulation and biomagnification

19
Q

What are persistent chemicals?

A

they are not going to be degraded over time by bacteria or weather
- some are banned (DDT, dioxins)

20
Q

What are examples of toxic inorganic pollutants?

A

acids, salts, arsenic, toxic metals (mercury, lead)

21
Q

What are solutions to toxic pollutants?

A
  1. regulate discharge of toxic substances from point sources
  2. clean up toxic substances from areas of concern
  3. fish advisories
    - statewide safe eating guidelines
22
Q

What are infectious agents?

A

organisms that are harmful to human health

23
Q

What are examples of waterborne infectious agents?

A
  1. bacteria (childhood diarrhea, typhoid fever, cholera)
  2. virus (hepatitis)
  3. protozoa (amoebic dysentery, malaria, giardia)
  4. worms (schistosomiasis)
24
Q

What is the source of waterborne infectious agents?

A

untreated human and animal waste from sewers, sceptic tanks, feedlots, etc.

25
Q

What are fecal coliform bacteria?

A

E.coli and other bacteria normally present in human and animal intestines and feces

26
Q

What can fecal coliform bacteria indicate?

A

good indicator of the presence of other infectious agents because their presence indicates that the water has been contaminated with fecal material

27
Q

What are fecal coliform bacteria measured in?

A

measured in the number of bacteria per 100 milliliters of water (0 in drinking water, 200 to swim)