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AP Environmental Science > Chapter 14 + 21 > Flashcards

Chapter 14 + 21 Flashcards

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1
Q

Mineral

A

Subsatnce that occurs naturally in the earths crust as a crystalline solid

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2
Q

Resource

A

Products that we can extract and produce at an affordable cost

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3
Q

Reserve

A

Identified resources that we can extract the mineral at a profit

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4
Q

Ore

A

Whole rock with the metal and the unneeded parts as well

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5
Q

Overburden

A

The soil or rock that is covering a useful mineral deposit

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6
Q

Spoils

A

Piles of waste (everything) that are not needed after extraction.

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7
Q

Tailings

A

Pile of waste after removing metals from the rock (less material than spoils)

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8
Q

Gangue

A

Piece of waste that is removed from the metal. They make up tailings.

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9
Q

Open-pit mining

A

Dig big holes in the ground and search for useful material.

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10
Q

Strip Mining

A

Destroying the rock above a seam of useful material that are found in large horizontal beds

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11
Q

Contour mining

A

Cutting terraces into the sides of hills and then removing the overburden to extract the minerals

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12
Q

Mountaintop Removal

A

Large machines called draglines remove the top of mountains to expose seams of coal.

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13
Q

Subsurface mining

A

Underground materials are extracted through tunnels and shafts.

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14
Q

Surface mining

A

Removing all vegetations and rock and overburden to expose seams of minerals

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15
Q

Richter Scale

A

Measures the energy of an earthquake through a logarithm of the amplitude of waves. Therefore, it increases 10 times each number.

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16
Q

Where is Igneous Rock found?

A

Continental and oceanic crust (lithospere)

Mid-ocean ridge

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17
Q

Where is sedimentary rock found?

A

Under the sea in shells

On the continent through weathering and erosion

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18
Q

Where is metamorphic rock found?

A

Found in trenches and is formed by pressure

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19
Q

How many pounds of minerals does an American use per day?

A

38,000 lbs

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20
Q

Strategic Metal Resources

A

Manganese, cobalt, chromium, platinum

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21
Q

4 Countries who produce gold

A

Canada, US, Russia and China

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22
Q

Smelting

A

Using heat or chemical solvents to extract metals from the ores.

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23
Q

Economically depleted

A

When a mineral costs more to extract than it would to sell

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24
Q

Depletion time

A

The time it takes to use up a certain proportion (usually 80%) of the reserves of a mineral at a given rate of use. New technology, recycling, and raising prices all lengthen the depletion time

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25
Q

US General Mining Law of 1872

A

Allows anybody to claim a piece of land for mining but they have to promise they will spend $500 to imporve it for mineral development. You must then pay $120 per year for each 20-acre parcel of land

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26
Q

Solutions to Nonrenewable Resources

A

Do not waste mineral resources
Recycle and reuse 60-80% of mineral resources
Include the environmental costs of minerals in the costs of those items
Reduce mining subsidies

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27
Q

What % of the population are we and what % of the waste do we make?

A

4.5% of the pop. and 33% of waste

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28
Q

How many pounds of waste do we use per person per year? What percent is industrial and what percent is municipal?

A

We use 97,000 lbs per person per year and 98.5% is from industrial and the other 1.5% is from municipal waste.

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29
Q

What percent of waste goes to municipal landfills, what percent gets recycled and what percent goes to incinerators?

A

56% municipal landfills
26% recycling and composting
17% incinerators

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30
Q

Problems with landfills

A

Leaching
Methane
No decomposition
No buildings on top of them

31
Q

How can we improve landfills?

A

Leachate collection
Groundwater monitoring
Clay/plastic liner/cap

32
Q

What percent of the 98.5% of industrial waste is divided into mining, agriculture and industry?

A

Mining is 76%
Agriculture is 13%
Industry 9.5%

33
Q

What contributes the most amount of waste for municipal solid waste?

A

Paper and cardboard

34
Q

Integrated Waste Management

A 
First priority (Primary prevention): change in industrial production to use less harmful products
Second priority (Secondary prevention): Reuse, repair, recycle, compost
Last priority (Management): Treat waste, incinerate it, landfills
35
Q

6 way to reduce resource use/waste

A
  1. Redesign manufacturing processes and products to use less material and energy
  2. Develop products that are easy to repair, reuse, recycle, etc.
  3. Eliminate packaging
  4. Charge people for their waste
  5. Require companies to take back their products after used such as electronics
  6. Restructure urban systems to use mass transit
36
Q

Primary or closed loop Recycling

A

Materials are recycled to make the same products.

37
Q

Secondary Recycling

A

Waste materials are recycled into different products.

38
Q

How much waste is created to make one computer chip?

A

About 630 times it own weight

39
Q

What are two key questions to ask when recycling?

A

Is the stuff actually getting recycled? Are companies buying stuff that is being recycled?

40
Q

What percent of waste does the US recycle?

A

33%

41
Q

Materials recovery facility

A

Machines and workers who separate waste to recover valuable materials within

42
Q

Source Separation

A

When homes and corporations themselves separate the materials instead of MRFs

43
Q

How much of the world’s industrialized tree harvest is used to make paper?

A

55%

44
Q

Why does it make sense to recycle paper?

A

It uses 64% less energy and produces 35% less water pollution and 74% less air pollution.

45
Q

What percent of plastics do the US recycle? Why?

A

4% because the resins in the plastics are hard to breakdown and separate.

46
Q

3 pros and cons of recycling

A

Pros: reduces energy and mineral use and air/water pollution, reduces greenhouse gases, reduces solid waste
Cons: Can cost more than burying it, reduces profits for landfills and source separation is inconvenient for some.

47
Q

What are WTEs? Explain.

A

Waste-to-energy Incinerators: Incinerates trash to create energy, then burns some and brings the rest to a landfill.

48
Q

3 Pros and Cons of WTEs

A

Pros: reduces trash, produces energy, concentrates hazardous substances into ash
Cons: expensive to build, produces a hazardous waste, emits some CO2

49
Q

3 Pros and cons of sanitary landfills

A

Pros: Low operating costs, can handle large amounts of waste, filled land can be reused
Cons: Noise, traffic and dust, greenhouse gases, encourages waste production

50
Q

What are the three levels of priorities in dealing with hazardous waste?

A
  1. Produce less hazardous waste
  2. Convert to less hazardous or nonhazardous substances (decomposition, incineration, thermal treatment, dilution)
  3. Put in perpetual storage
51
Q

Where does 70% of our e-waste end up?

A

CHINA

52
Q

How much e-waste was recycled and how much was sent overseas?

A

18% was recycled and 80% was sent overseas

53
Q

Physical and Chemical Detoxification of Hazardous Wastes

A

Physical: filter and separate and then store
Chemical: use chemical reactions to convert toxins to be non-hazardous

54
Q

Bioremediation

A

Bacteria and enzymes destroy or convert toxic substances

55
Q

Phytoremediation

A

Natural or genetically engineered plants that absorb, filter and remove contaminants from polluted soil and water

56
Q

Surface impoundments

A

Pools or retention ponds that hold hazardous wastes.

57
Q

Deep-well disposal

A

Hazardous wastes are pumped into porous rocks that are far beneath aquifers.

58
Q

Plasma Arc

A

Burns the material (hotter than the surface of the sun) into glassy material in order to encapsulate the toxins

59
Q

RCRA

A

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act: EPA sets standards for the managements of several types of hazardous waste. Use a cradle-to-grave system to keep track of waste from point of generation and disposal site.

60
Q

CERCLA

A

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act: Identify Superfund sites and clean them up.

61
Q

NIMBY, NIABY, NOPE

A

NIMBY: NOT IN MY BACKYARD
NIABY: NOT IN ANYONES BACKYARD
NOPE: NOT ON PLANET EARTH

62
Q

What are POP’s and how pervasive are they on the planet?

A

Persistent Organic Pollutants: Identifies 12 widely used contaminants. They have cause many countries to ban them.

63
Q

Biomimicry

A

The science and art of discovering and using natural principles to help solve humna probelms.

64
Q

Brownfield

A

Abandoned industrial site that hasn’t been cleaned up

65
Q

What percent of brownfields are old landfills?

A

41%

66
Q

What percent of hazardous wastes are covered by the cradle to grave method?

A

5%

67
Q

Subduction

A

When two plates converge and one slides under the other into the maybe. This process creates volcanoes that rise from the mantle as rock

68
Q

Difference between weathering and erosion

A

Weathering does not involve movement and erosion does.

69
Q

What are the three kinds of weathering? Explain each.

A

Mechanical - changes the rock to a smaller piece. Still same composition
Chemical weathering - changes in chemical composition
Biological weathering - weathering resulting from the action of organic materials. Not a process of its own

70
Q

What is mass wasting and what are some examples?

A

When rock and soil move down a slope (mudslide).

Creeps, landslides, flows, slump and falls

71
Q

Rhizofiltration

A

Roots of plants such as sunflowers dangling roots on ponds or in greenhouses can absorb pollutants

72
Q

Phytostabilization

A

Plants such as willow trees and poplars can absorb chemicals and keep them from reaching groundwater or nearby surface water

73
Q

Phytodegradation

A

Plants such as polars can absorb toxic organic chemicals and break them down into less harmful compounds which they store and release slowly into the air

74
Q

Phytoextraction

A

Roots of plants such as Indian mustard can absorb toxic metals such as lead and arsenic and others and store them in their leaves. Plants can then be recycled or harvested and incinerated

AP Environmental Science (8 decks)

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