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Intro to Sus > Exam 1 > Flashcards

Exam 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What did the UNDP devise and what is it based on?

A

Devised on Human Development Index based on the following
- Life expectancy
- Education
- Income

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2
Q

What are the 3 dimensions and 4 indicators of the HDI

A

Dimensions:
- Health
- Education
- Living standards

Indicators:
- Life expectancy at birth
- Mean years of schooling
- Expected years of schooling
- Gross national income per capita

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3
Q

What is HDI?

A

It is a measure of economic development and economic welfare

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4
Q

What does HDI examine and how is it scored?

A

It examines three important criteria of economic development
1- Life expectancy
2- Education
3- Income levels

It uses this to create an overall score between 0 and 1

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5
Q

How is HDI measured

A

It combines
1- Life expectancy index (LEI)
2- Education index (MYS, EYS)
3- Income index (GNI at PPP)

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6
Q

What are the categories that UN categorizes countries based on HDI

A
  • Very high human development (HDI >= 0.8)
  • High human development (0.8 > HDI > 0.7)
  • Medium human development (0.7 > HDI > 0.55)
  • Low human development (HDI < 0.55)
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7
Q

What is the formula for II

A

II = (ln(GNIp) - ln(100)/(ln(75000)-ln(100)) = (ln(GNIp) - ln(100))/ln(750)

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8
Q

What are some current trends in HDI

A

Population numbers alone do not tell the whole story of resource consumption, the uneven distribution of scarce resources, and the desire of many people living in poverty to improve their access to food, water, energy, education, and economic development

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9
Q

What is sustainable design?

A

It is the design of products, processes, or systems that prioritize enhancing human life quality, fostering a supportive environment for healthy living, and safeguarding natural resources for sustainability.

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10
Q

What are the requirements for the engineer that practices sustainable design?

A

He must have a grasp of the social, environmental, and economic consequences of their design decision and a thorough understanding of the scientific principles of the technology available

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11
Q

How are the sustainable systems illustrated?

A

By those systems that balance eco-centric, techno-centric, and socio-centric concern

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12
Q

What are techno-centric concerns

A

They represent
- Human skills and ingenuity
- The economic system within which we deploy them

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13
Q

What are eco-centric concerns?

A

They representthe ability of the planet to sustain us - both by
- Providing material and energy resources
- By accomodating us and our emissions and wastes

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14
Q

What are socio-centric concers?

A

Represent human expectations and aspirations
- The needs of human beings to live worthwhile lives

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15
Q

What are the two dimensions of design

A
  • The first dimension involves a shift in thinking with regard to product
  • The second dimension involves a shift in thinking with regard to process
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16
Q

What is meant by a shift with regard to product?

A

Shift to Appropriate Technology:

Engineers and designers now focus on creating appropriate technologies for products and systems.

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17
Q

How is a technology considered appropriate

A

When it is compatible with local, cultural, and ecnomic conditions, and utilizes locally available amterials and energy resources, with tools and processes maintained and operationally controlled by the local population

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18
Q

What is meant by a shift with regard to product?

A

Checking if the product will be able to be developed and maintained by local people

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19
Q

What is the carrying capacity

A

It is the relationship between consumption of a natural resource, waste production, and regeneration of that reseource

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20
Q

How does Paul Bishop define the CC

A

The maximum rate of resource consumption and the waste discharge that can be sustained indefintely in a given region without progressively imparing the functional integrity and productivity of the relevant ecosystems

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21
Q

What are the requirements of a sustainable economic system operating with Earth’s CC

A
  • Usage of renewable resources is not greater than the reates at which they are regenerated
  • The rates of use of non-renewable resources do not exceed the rates at which renewable substitutes are developed
  • The rates of pollution or waste production do not exceed the capacitry of the environment to assiimlate these materials
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22
Q

How to calculate the carrying capacity?

A

A(t) = A_0 * e^k(t-to)

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23
Q

What are some technical approaches to quantifying sustainability?

A
  • A measure of sustainability is a value that is quantifiable against a standrard at a point in time
  • A sustainability metric is a standardized set of measurements or data related to one or more sustainability indicators
  • A sustainable indicator is a measurement or mettric based on verifiable data that can be used to communicate important information to decision makers and the public about th eprocesses related to sustainable design or development
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24
Q

What are sustainability indicators

A

They are those measurable aspects of economic, environmental, or societal systems that are useful for monitoring the continuation of human and environmental well-being

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25
Q

What are the 4 major categories of indicator outcomes?

A
  • Adverse outcome indicator (AOI): It indicates destruction of value due to impacts upon individuals, communites, business entreprises, or the natural environment
  • Resource flow indicator (RFI): indicates pressures associated with the rate of consumpetion of resources, including materials, energy, water, land.
  • System condition indicator (SCI): Indicates state of the systems in question
  • Value creation indicator (VCI): Indicates creation of value through enrichment of individuals, communities, business entrprises, or the natural environment.
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26
Q

What is a sustainability index?

A

It is a combination of individual indicators. It is a numerical based scale used to compare alternative designs or processes with one another

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27
Q

What is the rationale behind the IPAT equation

A

In the early 1970s, Paul ehlrich suggested that environmental impact from human activities was the result of three contributing factors, and he proposed a conceptualized mathematical formula to represent this concept

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28
Q

What is the IPAT equation

A

I = PAT

I: Env impact
P: Population
A: Affluence
T: Technology

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29
Q

What does the IPAT indicate?

A

It indicates that the only way to achieve sustainable growth without creating much greater environmental impact is to use current technologies more efficiently or to develop new technologies that have a lower overall environmental impact

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30
Q

What is biocapacity?

A

It refers to the capacity of a given biologically productive area to generate an ongoing supply of renewable resources and to absorb its spillover wastes

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31
Q

How can the biocapacity be compared to the consumption of resources by human society?

A
  • Consumption rates that are less than bio-productivity rates are generally sustainable over time
  • Consumption that outpaces bio-productivity will erode the natural capital of ecosystems and likely reduce future bio-productivity over time and would therefore be unsustainable
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32
Q

What does ecological footprint measure?

A

It measures how much land and water area a human population requires to produce the same resources and it to absort the carbon dioxide emissions using prevailing technology

It is a resource accounting tool used by governments, businesses, educational institutions and NGOs to answer a specific resource question: How much of the biological capacity of the planet is required by a given human activity or population

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33
Q

How is the ecological footprint calculated?

A

Consists of measurements of average utlliization of resources consisting of carbon emissions, cropland, grazing and forests, urbanisation, and fish caught based on data for individual nations.

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34
Q

What is the ecological footprint

A

It is the total of the consumptive activities of human society.

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35
Q

What is an ecological overshoot

A

When ecological footprint exceeds the biocapacity of the planet.

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36
Q

What does overshoot lead to?

A

It leads to a depletion of the planet’s life supporting biological capital and/or to an accumulation of carbon dioxide emissions

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37
Q

What is the relationship between HDI and ecological footprint?

A

A country’s ecological footprint increases as HDI value increases

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38
Q

What is the atmosphere?

A

It is a mixture of gases extending from the surface of the Earth toward space

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39
Q

What is lithosphere?

A

It is the soil crust that lies on the surface of the planet where we live

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40
Q

What is hydrosphere?

A

It is the portion of the Earth that accounts for most of the water storage and consists of oceans, lakes, streams, and shallow groundwater bodies

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41
Q

What is hydrology?

A

It is the science that treats the waters of the Earth, their occurrence, circulation, and distribution, their chemical and physical properties, and thie reaction with the environment, including the relations to living things

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41
Q

What is the hydrological cycle

A

It describes the movement of water from one biogeochecmical cycle to another

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42
Q

Describe precipitation

A

It allows water to move from the atmosphere to the surface of the planet.

It may occur when the atmosphere becomes completely saturated with water and the droplets have enough mass to fall from the atmosphere

Evaporation from the oceans and eventual cooling of the water vapor from the oceans account for approxiumetly 90% of Earth’s precipitation

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43
Q

Describe Infiltration

A

Some fraction of precipitation seeps into the ground through a process called infiltration

Groundwater tables are replenished and sustainable when the rate of infiltration is equal to or greater than the rate of withdrawal from the groundwater table

Groundwater table, upper level of an underground surface in which the soil or rocks are permanently saturated with water.

The upper surface of this zone of saturation is called water table. The saturated zone beneath the water table is called the aquifer, and aquifers are huge storehouses of water

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44
Q

What is the process of infiltration?

A
  • Wells can be drilled into the aquifers and water can be pumped out
  • Precipitation eventually adds water into the porous rock of the aquifer
  • The rate of recharge is not the same for all aquifers, and that must be considered when pumping water from a well
  • Pumping too much water too fast draws down the water in the aquifer and eventually causes a well to yield less and less water and even run dry
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45
Q

What are the key components to the hydrological cycle

A
  • Green water (soil moisture)
  • Blue water (Groundwater, lakes,..)
  • Blue water (engineering)
  • Grey water (reusable wastewater)
  • Virtual water (water embodied in production of goods and services)
  • Desalination (Augmentation in water scarce areas)
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46
Q

What is watershed and when does a stream form?

A

It is the region that collects rainfall. When the height of the groundwater table is equal to the surface, a stream is formed

47
Q

What is the role of runoff?

A

The precipitation may also flow over saturated land through runoff in small rivulets and may be collected into intermittent streams

The intermittent streams flow into groundwater-based stream or river systems. The river systems transport the water back to the oceans

48
Q

What are the 3 synonymous terms that refer to the topographic area that collects and discharges surface stream flow through one outlet

A

Drainage basins, catchments, and watersheds

49
Q

How does the runoff within a watershed exit?

A

It exits a single point downhill or downstream from all other points in the watershed

50
Q

What is water budget

A

It balances the flows of water in and our of a watershed system.

51
Q

What are watershed boundaries used for?

A

They determine the boundaries for the system of concern. In natural watersheds, the highest points in those watersheds create teh watershed boudnaries

52
Q

What is the formula for water budget

A

Inputs = Outputs + Storage
P = R + I + E + T + S + C
P: Precipitation
R: runoff
E: Evaporation
T: Transpiration
I: Infiltration
S: Water stored in system
C: Consumptive water use

53
Q

What is consumptive water use?

A

It is when water removed from available supplies without return to a water resources system

54
Q

What are withdrawal and non-withdrawal use?

A

Withdrawal use is the use of water for any purpose which requires that it be physically removed from the source.

Non-withdrawal use is the use of water for any purpose which does not require that it be removed from the original source, such as water used for navigation

55
Q

What is a sustainable level of consumption

A

A sustainable level of consumption is one where the net storage term is greater than zero for a watershed

56
Q

What is the role of technological advances?

A

Technological advances in water development and energy development have the potential to help meet the growing water demand

57
Q

What is a water footprint and how can it be measured?

A

It is a measure of humanity’s appropriation of fresh water in volumes of water consumed and / or polluted

The water footprint measures the amount of water used to produce each of the goods and services we use.

It can be measured for a single process. The water footprint can also tell us how much water is being consumed by a particular country in a specific river basin or from an aquifer.

58
Q

What are the 3 types of water footprints

A

Green water footprint:
Water from precipitation that is stored in the root zone of the soil and evaporated transpired or incorporated by plants. It is particularly relevant for agricultural, horticultural and forestry products

Blue water footprint:
Water that has been sourced from surface or groundwater resources and is either evaporated, incorporated into a product taken from one body of water and returned to another, or returned at a different time. Irrigated agriculture, industry and domestic water use can each have a blue water footprint

Grey water footprint:
The amount of fresh water required to assimilate pollutants to meet specific water quality standards. The grey water footprint considers point-source pollution discharged to a freshwater resource directly through a pipe or indirectly through runoff or leaching from the soil, impervious surfaces, or other diffuse sources

59
Q

What is the water crisis

A
  • Nearly half of the people in the world do not have access to improved sanitation and one quarter lack access to improved safe drinking water
  • 1.1 billion people without access to a protected well or spring within reasonable walking distance of their homes
  • Far more people endure the largely preventable effects of poor sanitation and water supply than are affected by war, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction combined
60
Q

What is your role as an engineer in solving water crisis?

A

Environmental engineers apply the basic principles of science and engineering to design water treatment systems for drinking water and treating human and industrially contaminated wastewater

61
Q

What is the engineer’s role in water treatment?

A

Design water treatment systems to protect public health while balancing environmental, economic, social, and political constraints. These methods include:
- knowledge of the constituents of concern
- the impact of these constituents
- the transformation and fate of the constituents
- treatment methods to remove or reduce the toxicity of the constituents
- methods to dispose of or recycle treatment byproducts

62
Q

Why is it important to adopt water treatment technologies?

A

Leads to rapid decline in typhoid fever death

63
Q

What are the advantages of recycling water?

A
  • Lower costs
  • Reliable water source
  • Fewer impacts from excessive water withdraw to ecosystems
  • Less costly infrastructure investments needed compared to building large reservoirs or conveyance systems
64
Q

What is the concept of water reuse

A

It provides a more sustainable approach to meeting the demand for water in many growing communities

65
Q

How is water treated?

A

Wastewater is discharged from homes, commercial establishments, and industrial plants by means of sanitary sewers

  • The system of sewers has to be designed so that the collecting sewers, which collect the wastewater from homes and industries, all converge to a central point where the water flows by trunk sewers to the wastewater treatment plant
  • Sometimes it is impossible or impractical to install gravity sewers, so the waste has to be pumped by pumping stations through force mains or pressurized pipes
66
Q

What does water demand management consider?

A

It considers the total quantity of water abstracted from a source of supply using measures of control waste and excessive consumption

67
Q

What are some things to consider in water demand management?

A

Efficiency, effectiveness, and demand management vs providing for maximum possible demand

68
Q

What is the NAAQS defined for?

A

PM
NO2
CO
So2
PM10
Lead

69
Q

What are primary pollutants?

A

Ozone:
When it’s up in the Earth’s stratosphere, it protects us. however, ground level ozone can cause coughing, chest tightness or pain, decrease lung function, and worsen asthma and other chronic lung diseases

It comes from emissions from vehicles, power plants, industrial boilers and other fossil fuel burning facilities react with sunlight

Particular matter:
It refers to small particles that can enter the lungs and cause respiratory problems.

Carbon monoxide:
A colorless odorless gas that forms when carbon does not burn completely. Most CO pollution comes from vehicles, but it is also caused by industrial combustion, wood burning stoves, and wildfires.

Because CO decreases the amount of oxygen reaching the body’s organs, it can cause flu-like symptoms and chest pain and sometimes death

Sulphur dioxide:
Produced when coal and oil fuels containing sulphur are burned in power plants and refineries. Long term exposure can aggravate asthma and other chronic lung cardiovascular diseases. It can also contribute to the formation of particulate matter

Oxides and nitrogen:
NO2 is formed from the missions of combustion processes from both mobile and stationary sources. It causes an individual’s susceptibility to pulmonary infections. Individuals are generally exposed to highest level of NO2 concentrations in automobiles

70
Q

How is ozone a pollutant?

A

When it’s up in the Earth’s stratosphere, it protects us. however, ground level ozone can cause coughing, chest tightness or pain, decrease lung function, and worsen asthma and other chronic lung diseases

It comes from emissions from vehicles, power plants, industrial boilers and other fossil fuel burning facilities react with sunlight

71
Q

What is AQI and what does it reflect?

A

Air quality index:
- Helps communicate air quality trends to the public
- Provide warnings to the public on days that a region is not in compliance with NAAQS

An AQI score < 100 is acceptable
> 100 unhealthy

72
Q

How to calculate AQI from pollutant concentration data?

A

It is a piecewise linear function of the pollutant concentration. At the boundary there is a jump of one AQI unit

1- Identify highest concentration among all of the monitors within each reporting area and round as follows:
Ozone (ppm) – round to 3 decimal places
* PM2.5 (μg/m3) – round to 1 decimal place
* PM10 (μg/m3) – round to integer
* CO (ppm) – round to 1 decimal place
* SO2 (ppb) – round to integer
* NO2 (ppb) – round to integer

2- Using the table, find the two breakpoints that contain the concentration
3- Using the equations for Ip, calculate the index
4- Round the index to the nearest integer

73
Q

US AQI ranges

A

check slides

74
Q

What is required to reduce the risk and negative impacts associated with air pollutants?

A
  • Reducing their emissions at the source
  • Adding pollution control equipment to prevent emissions from escaping into the environment
75
Q

What is a pre-requisite to controlling emissions and reducing negative impacts

A

The ability to estimate and measure air pollutant emissions

76
Q

How can air pollutants be determined from?

A
  • Direct measurement at the source
  • Mass balance calculations based on chemical inventories
  • Tabular emission factors for similar processes
  • Fundamental relationships based on similar industrial processes
77
Q

Why were the emission factors developed?

A

The EPA developed a comprehensive set of emission factors that attempt to relate the quantity of pollutants released to the atmosphere based on an activity associated with the release of that pollutant

78
Q

How to calculate the emissions?

A

EM = AC * EF * (1 - ER/100)

EM: pollutant emission rate
AC: activity or production rate
EF: Ap-42 emission factor
ER: percent overall emissions reduction efficiency, including removal and capture efficiency

79
Q

What are the ratings of the emission factors?

A

A: Excellent
B: Above average
C: Average
D: Below average
E: Poor

80
Q

How does dispersion of air pollutants occur?

A

Dispersion occurs owing to the mean air motion that moves pollutants downwind, turbulent fluctuations that disperse pollutants in multiple directions, and mass diffusion of the pollutants that causes pollutant migrations from areas of high to low concentration

The density, shape, and size of the pollutant also influence movement

81
Q

How to represent topographic and meteorological conditions?

A

A simple three dimensional box model. It is useful for estimating worst-case scenarios for exposure or for developing long-term average concentrations in a topographical bound air shed.

82
Q

How is the box model most accurate?

A

It is most accurate when topographic boundaries are available such as a city or a town that lies in a valley between two mountain ranges:

In this case the width of the model box is the distance between the two mountain ranges

The height of the box is the height of the meteorological boundary layer

83
Q

What are air pollution control technologies?

A

The control technologies and physical chemical properties that make control systems effective are quite complex

Air pollution control devices are conveniently divided into those used for:

  • Controlling particulates
  • Controlling gaseous pollutants
84
Q

How to calculate mass or volume rate accumulated?

A

Mass = Mass or volume rate in - mass or volume rate out + mass or volume rate produced - mass or volume rate consumed

85
Q

How is the air pollution in lebanon?

A
  • 93% of emissions of CO, 67% of non methane volatile organic compounds, and 52% of NOx are estimated to originate from the on-road transport sector
  • 73% of emissions of SO2, 62% of PM10 emissions, and 59% of PM are estimated to originate from power plants and industrial sources
  • Studies of the spatial distribution of emissions also showed that Beirut and its suburbs encounter a large fraction of the emissions from the on-road transportation sector
  • Urban areas such as Zouk, Jiyeh, Chekka and Selaata are mostly affected by emissions originated from the industrial and energy production sectors
86
Q

What is a global mean surface temperature

A

Estimated global average of near-surface air temperatures over land and sea ice, and sea surface temperatures over ice-free ocean regions, with changes normally expressed as departures from a value over a specified reference period

87
Q

What is pre-industrial

A

The reference period 1850–1900 is used to approximate pre-industrial GMST

88
Q

Global warming

A

The estimated increase in GMST averaged over a 30-year period, or the 30-year
period centred on a particular year or decade, expressed relative to pre-industrial
levels unless otherwise specified.

89
Q

What is net zero CO2

A

Net zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are achieved when anthropogenic CO2
emissions are balanced globally by anthropogenic CO2 removals over a specified
period.

90
Q

What is Carbon dioxide removal?

A

Anthropogenic activities removing CO2 from the atmosphere and durably storing it
in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products. It includes existing and
potential anthropogenic enhancement of biological or geochemical sinks and direct
air capture and storage but excludes natural CO2 uptake not directly caused by
human activities.

91
Q

What is total carbon budget?

A

Estimated cumulative net global anthropogenic CO2 emissions from the pre-
industrial period to the time that anthropogenic CO2 emissions reach net zero that
would result, at some probability, in limiting global warming to a given level,
accounting for the impact of other anthropogenic emissions.

92
Q

What is remaining carbon budget

A

Estimated cumulative net global anthropogenic CO2 emissions from a given start
date to the time that anthropogenic CO2 emissions reach net zero that would result,
at some probability, in limiting global warming to a given level, accounting for the
impact of other anthropogenic emissions.

93
Q

What is temperature overshoot?

A

The temporary excedance of a specified level of global warming.

94
Q

What are impacts?

A

Effects of climate change on human and natural systems. Impacts can have
beneficial or adverse outcomes for livelihoods, health and well-being, ecosystems
and species, services, infrastructure, and economic, social and cultural assets.

95
Q

What is risk?

A

The potential for adverse consequences from a climate-related hazard for human
and natural systems, resulting from the interactions between the hazard and the
vulnerability and exposure of the affected system. Risk integrates the likelihood of
exposure to a hazard and the magnitude of its impact. Risk also can describe the
potential for adverse consequences of adaptation or mitigation responses to
climate change.

96
Q

What is the IPCC and why was it created?

A

IPCC: International panel on climate change, which are a group of scientists from many nations that are involved in better understanding changes to the Earth’s climate.

It was created to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and potential future risks, as well as to put-forward adaptation and mitigation options

97
Q

What are the main purpose of IPCC?

A

The main activity of the IPCC is the preparation of assessment reports, special reports, and methodology reports.

Through its assessments, the IPCC determines the state of knowledge on climate change. It identifies where there is agreement in the scientific community on topics related to climate change, and where further research is needed

98
Q

How are the IPCC reports drafted and how are they issued?

A

They are drafted and reviewed in several stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and transparency.

The reports are neutral, policy-relevant but not policy-prescriptive

99
Q

Does the IPCC conduct its own research?

A

NO

100
Q

How to response to climate change?

A

Mitigation and adaptation

101
Q

What is mitigation and what is its goal?

A

It addresses the causes of climate change.

The goal is to stabilize greenhouse gas levels in a timeframe sufficient to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed sustainably

102
Q

What is adaptation and what is its goal?

A

Adaptation addressed the impacts of climate change.

The goal is to reduce our vulnerability to the harmful effects of climate change while making the most of any potential beneficial opportunities associated with climate change

103
Q

How can the combustion of fossil fuels be described as?

A

Fuel + oxygen —> energy + CO2 + water

104
Q

How did the industrial revolution affect the carbon cycle?

A

Over 240 PgC have been added to the atmosphere since the industrial revolution

105
Q

What is the effect of the combustion of fossil fuels?

A

The combustion of fossil fuels causes carbon to migrate from fossilized deposits in geological reservoirs to the atmosphere and oceans

106
Q

What is the residence time?

A

It is the term used to describe how long a substance remains as a defined volume, such as the atmosphere, a lake, or a small reactor in a lab

107
Q

How to find the residence time?

A

tr = V/Q
tr = m/m*

108
Q

What is the greenhouse gas and what is the greenhouse effect?

A

A greenhouse gas is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range.

The greenhouse gases cause the greenhouse effect

The greenhouse gas effect makes the planet much more hospitable by increasing its average surface temperature by 33 degrees

109
Q

How will changes in the concentration of greenhouse gases impact the Earth’s energy balance and climate over the next century?

A

The change in concentration of the future greenhouse gases will create a change in the energy balance
due to a change in the radiative forcing that will influence how the Earth’s climate will respond over the
next century and farther into the future.

110
Q

How can we complement technology-based mitigation strategies?

A

Changing consumption patterns, dietary change, and reduction in food wastes

111
Q

Is individual behavior changes sufficient for mitigating climate impacts?

A

No

112
Q

What is decarbonizing electricity generation?

A

It is a key component of cost effective mitigation strategies

113
Q

What is the challenge of decarbonization?

A

Global emissions must be cut in half by 2030 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees and achieve net zero emissions by 2050

114
Q
A

Intro to Sus (3 decks)

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