Ch 13 - Environmental Problems

Question 1

Tar Sands

Answer 1

Large, naturally occurring deposits of sand, clay, water, and a dense form of petroleum (that looks like tar)

Question 2

Tar Sands Oil

Answer 2

Oil that results from converting tar sands into liquid fuel. It is known as the world’s dirtiest oil because producing it requires energy and generates high levels of greenhouse gases (that cause global warming and climate change), and also leave behind large amounts of toxic waste

Question 3

Bioinvasion

Answer 3

The intentional or accidental introduction of plant, animal, insect, and other species in regions where they are not native

Question 4

Environmental refugees

Answer 4

Individuals who have migrated because they can no longer secure a livelihood as a result of deforestation, desertification, soil erosion, and other environmental problems

Question 5

Planned Obsolescence

Answer 5

The manufacturing of products that are intended to become inoperative or outdated in a fairly short period of time

Question 6

Environmental Injustice

Answer 6

Also known as environmental racism, the tendency for marginalized populations and communities to disproportionately experience adversity due to environmental problems

Question 7

Greenwashing

Answer 7

The way in which environmentally and socially damaging companies portray their corporate image and products as being “environmentally friendly” or socially responsible

Question 8

Pinkwashing

Answer 8

The practice of using the color pink and pink ribbons to indicate a company is helping to fight breast cancer, even when the company may be using chemicals linked to cancer

Question 9

Ecosystems

Answer 9

The complex and dynamic relationships between forms of life and the environments they inhabit

Question 10

Deforestation

Answer 10

The conversion of forestland to nonforestland

Question 11

Desertification

Answer 11

The degradation of semiarid land, which results in the expansion of desert land that is unusable for agriculture

Question 12

Environmental Footprint

Answer 12

The demand that each person makes on the earth’s natural resources, often measured in terms of global hectares (gha) per person

Question 13

Acid Rain

Answer 13

The mixture of precipitation with air pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide

Question 14

Global Warming

Answer 14

The increasing average global air temperature, caused mainly by the accumulation of various gases (greenhouse gases) that collect in the atmosphere

Question 15

Greenhouse Gases

Answer 15

Gases (primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) that accumulate in the atmosphere and act like the glass in a greenhouse, holding heat from the sun close to the earth.

Question 16

E-waste

Answer 16

Discarded electrical appliances and electronic equipment

Question 17

Fracking

Answer 17

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as “fracking” involves injecting a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals into drilled wells to crack shale rock and release natural gas into the well

Question 18

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Answer 18

Also known as “environmental illness” a condition whereby individuals experience adverse reactions when exposed to low levels of chemicals found in everyday substances

Question 19

Biodiversity

Answer 19

The diversity of living organisms on earth

Question 20

Light Pollution

Answer 20

Artificial lighting that is annoying, unnecessary, and/or harmful to life forms on earth

Question 21

Radical Environmental Movement

Answer 21

A grassroots movement of individuals and groups that employs unconventional and often illegal means of protecting wildlife or the environement

Question 22

Deep Ecology

Answer 22

The view that maintaining the earth’s natural systems should take precedence over human needs, that nature has a value independent of human existence, and that humans have no right to dominate the earth and its living inhabitants.

Question 23

Ecoterrorism

Answer 23

Any crime intended to protect wildlife or the environment that is violent, puts human life at risk, or results in damages of $10,000 or more

Question 24

Green energy

Answer 24

Also known as clean energy, energy that is nonpolluting and/or renewable, such as solar power, wind power, biofuel, and hydrogen

Question 25

Kyoto Protocol

Answer 25

The first international agreement to place legally binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions from developed countries

Question 26

Sustainable Development

Answer 26

Occurs when human populations can have fulfilling lives without degrading the planet

Question 27

Green Revolving Funds (GRFs)

Answer 27

College and university funds that are dedicated to financing cost-saving energy efficiency upgrades and other projects that decrease resource use and minimize environmental impacts