Envi 101 final Flashcards
Municipal waste
waste from your household
What percent of municipal waste goes to landfills?
50% ish
most to least preferred methods of reducing waste
- source reduction and reuse
- recycling/composting
- energy recovery
- treatment and disposal
features of a sanitary landfill
- landfill, compact waste, cover with dirt (decrease odors, prevents litter from blowing away, prevents animals from scavenging)
- impermeable clay or plastic to keep waste and runoff contained
- drainage system that catches any harmful runoff before it affects the groundwater
incinerators
- separate hazardous waste
- burn waste
- residual ash is sent to landfill
- reduces the quantity of waste that would otherwise be sent to landfills
- heat derived incineration can be used to produce energy
reprocessing discarded materials into new, useful products
recycling
type of recycling that converts organic waste to soil-enriching organic fertilizer
composting
hazardous waste
any discarded material, liquid or solid that contains substances known to be:
1. fatal to humans or laboratory animals in low doses
2. toxic, carcinogenic, or causing birth defects in humans or other life forms,
3. ignitable with a flash point less than 60˚C
4. Corrosive
5. Highly explosive or highly reactive (undergoes violent chemical reactions either by itself or when mixed with other materials)
RCRA
- resource conservation and recovery act
- requires testing and management of toxic and hazardous substances in companies
- from cradle to grave
- cant dump your hazardous waste wherever you want
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
act that addressed where waste had already been dumped and helped fund emergency clean-up
- allowed EPA to bring suits to companies responsible
- identifies superfund sites
Superfund sites
pot of money available to initiate an immediate clean-up of a determined hazardous area
Phytoremediation
using plants to clean up waste
examples of phytoremediation
- sunflowers help with cleaning up radioactive waste
- bracken ferns can absorb arsenic in the soil
- trees that can extract mercury from the soil and convert it to a less harmful form
What percentage of the world’s population lives in cities?
56% (4.4 billion)
What are cities defined based on?
function of the area
rural areas
- lots of farms
- agriculture is a major industry
- harvesting of other natural resources
urban areas
people working in manufacturing, commerce, governments
Why are cities growing in size?
natural increase, increased immigration
natural increase
- access to medical care and better medicine
- better sanitation
increased immigration
more people are leaving rural areas and moving to cities
- push factors
- pull factors
examples of pull factors
- persecution
- political issues
- war
- climate change/drought/environmental issues
- cost of living
examples of pull factors
- job opportunities
- access to social services, education, medical care
- convenience (proximity to amenities), transportation options
Problems with urban growth
- air pollution
- wastewater treatment
- water shortages
- rising sea levels
- informal settlements
urban sprawl
the unlimited outwards extension of city boundaries that lowers population density, consumes open space, generates freeway congestion, and causes decay in central cities
Characteristics of urban sprawls
- unlimited outward extension
- low-density residential and commercial development
- leapfrog development that consumes farmland and natural areas
- fragmentation of power among many small units of government
- dominance of freeways and private automobiles
- no centralized planning or control of land uses
- widespread strip malls and “big box” shopping centers
- great fiscal disparities among localities
- reliance on deteriorating older neighborhoods for low-income housing
- decaying city centers as new as development occurs in previously rural areas
environmental problems with more cars
- take up a lot of space (parking lots, roadways, highways
- pollution
- accidents
- cost
smart growth
strategies for well planned developments that make efficient and effective use of land resources and existing infrastructure
- creating mixed use places
smart growth charactersitics
- mix land uses
- take advantage of compact building design
- create a range of housing opportunities and choices
- create walkable neighborhoods
- foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place
- preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty, and critical environmental areas
- strengthen and direct development towards existing communities
- provide a variety of transportation choices
- cluster development
- conservation development
- open-space zoning
conservation development
trying to change zoning to preserve at least 50% of the area
conservation development
A social science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services to satisfy people’s needs and wants
economics
Economics are determined by
supply, demand, and price
any form of wealth
capital
natural resources or ecosystem services that help support life (does not come in a monetary form)
natural capital
the physical and mental talents of people who provide labor, create innovations, manage, organize, etc
human capital
relationships with other people, overall connections
social capital
buildings, roads, tools, materials, etc
built/manufactured capital
view the earth’s natural capital as a part of the human economic system - the potential for economic growth is unlimited - and we can find substitutes for any resource or ecological service that is depleted or degraded
neoclassical economics
there are no substitutes for many natural resources - including clean water, clean air, fertile soil, biodiversity, and they provide important ecological services
ecological economics
a value placed on something just because it exists
existence value
a value placed on a forest or species due to its beauty
aesthetic value
benefits and drawbacks of calculating ecosystem services and nonuse values in monetary values?
- numbers and money are more understandable
- “money talks”
- putting a number to something can diminish its value, lead to exploitation, or profit
comparing estimated costs and benefits of actions such as implementing pollution control regulations, building a dam, preserving a forest, etc
cost-benefit analysis
what is price?
all the raw materials, labor, shipping, and the markup for the dealer associated with the production of a good
external/hidden costs
things that are not included in the price but would be considered costs of making the car
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
- the annual market value of all goods and services produced by all firms and organizations, foreign and domestic, operating within the country
GPI
Genuine Progress Indicator
- beneficial transactions and harmful environmental
effects
- environmental indicators
Environmental Performance Index
Evaluated progress toward environmental and ecological health and overall sustainability goals
the laws and regulations enacted and enforced by the government
policies
the process by which individuals and groups try to influence or control the policies and actions of government at the local, state, national, and international levels
politics
- problem recognition
- research
- policy formulation
- budgeting
- policy implementation
- monitoring
- policy adjustment
- evaluation
repeat
policy lifecycle
legislative branch
- house of reps and senate
- introduces bills
executive branch
president, vice president, president’s cabinet
judicial branch
supreme courts and lower federal courts
laws are passes by the ______ branch
legislative
regulations are instituted by the ________ branch to put these laws and programs into effect
executive
funding is approved by ________ and the _________ to finance these programs to implement and enforce
congress and the president
hiring people to go to the capitol and frequently talk to officials
lobbying
the right to take part in legal proceedings (valid interest in the case)
Standing
the president makes a rule and bypasses congress to pass it
executive order
the (lack of) power with executive orders
things can get done fast, however, can be reversed just as quickly with a change in administration
- fall under the executive branch
- political appointees (change with change of president)
- must follow the rules when writing rules
- regulatory capture
regulatory agencies
- head of the EPA
- air quality specialist
Michael Regan
head of DOI
Deb Haaland
- USDA
- previously served under Obama
- involved in the dairy industry
Tom Vilsack
Earth day
April 22, 1970
- protest against pollution of the environment
- started on college campuses
- largest demonstration in American history
1970
Clean Air Act
- national air quality standards
1972
Clean Water Act
- limited emissions of raw sewage and other pollutants from surface waters
1974
Safe Drinking Water Act
- EPA sets and monitors national quaanity standards
1980
CERCLA
- establishes superfund for emergency response, spill prevention, and site remediation for toxic wastes
- established liability for clean up costs
NEPA
- oversees actions by federal agencies (USDA, US Forest Service, Department of Transportation, etc) and requires agencies to complete and EIS before any development project or action