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Environmental Science > EXAM 2 > Flashcards

EXAM 2 Flashcards

1
Q

Diseases that have historically been considered major causes of death worldwide (smallpox, flu, cholera, tuberculosis, malaria, plagues, and measles) have practically been eliminated in industrialized countries. Why is this?

A

Advances in health, sanitation, and nutrition.

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2
Q

Why are diseases like influenza, HIV/AIDS, diarrheal diseases, tuberculosis, measles, and malaria still primary killers in developing regions?

A

Poor environmental practices (water and land use)

Conditions are made worse by forced migration, civil wars, and the resulting famine.

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3
Q

What are the major causes of death in industrialized nations?

A

Cardiovascular diseases

Cancer

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4
Q

What are the two categories of diseases?

A

Transmissible

Nontransmissible

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5
Q

________________ ________ are not caused by living organisms, and do not spread from one person to another.

A

Nontransmissible Diseases

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6
Q

_____________ _______ caused by bacteria, virus, parasites, protozoa, etc. and spread from person to person.

A

Transmissible Diseases

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7
Q

Cardiovascular diseases, Cancer, Diabetes, Emphysema, and Malnutrition are examples of?

A

Nontransmissible Diseases

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8
Q

What is a pathogen?

A

An infectious agent.

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9
Q

What is a vector?

A

A non human carrier of a transmissible disease. Can be spread by air, water, food, body fluids, or insects.

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10
Q

What are some factors that affect the spread of transmissible diseases?

A

Changes in social patterns - new hosts, antibiotic resistance
Destruction of habitats - monkeys carrying diseases to humans
Destruction of forest areas destroy or reduce vectors’ predators
Humans moving into wooded areas
Migration of vector
Increase of breeding grounds for vectors
Increased rice cultivation
Climate changes
Natural disasters

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11
Q

What human activities have led to the creation and spread of new diseases?

A 
Invasion of wildlife habitats
Changes in agriculture
Destroying rainforests
Uncontrolled urbanization
Modern transport
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12
Q

Why does invading wildlife habitats cause and spread disease?

A

It puts humans in contact with animals and the microbes that they carry.

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13
Q

Why do changes in agriculture cause and spread disease?

A

New crops attract new pests and the microbes they carry to farming communities which exposes people to unfamiliar diseases.

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14
Q

Why does destroying rainforests cause and spread disease?

A

Going through rainforests put humans at risk of encountering insects and animals that harbor unknown microorganisms that may cause disease.

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15
Q

Why does uncontrolled urbanization cause and spread disease?

A

Rapid growth of cities causes people to be in extremely close proximity to one another with potentially poor sanitation, which fosters transmission of contagious diseases.

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16
Q

Why does modern transportation cause and spread disease?

A

Ships and cargo carriers unknowingly harbor insects and rats which spread disease over long distances.
Airplanes are able to carry people with infectious diseases unknowingly to faraway countries as well and infect the people there.

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17
Q

What is biomagnification?

A

The increase of concentration of a substance as it moves through the food chain.

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18
Q

Why does biomagnification happen?

A

Some fat-soluble organic compounds and some radioactive isotopes are stored in body fat and these chemicals are passed along to the carriers offspring.

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19
Q

What are hazardous chemicals that cause mutations (like radiation and some chemicals) called?

A

Mutagens

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20
Q

What are hazardous chemicals that cause birth defects (like chemicals, heavy metals and steroids) called?

A

Teratogens

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21
Q

Why is it that 99.5% of the commercially used chemicals in the U.S. are not regulated or studied?

A

Chemicals are not required to investigated for harmful effects until they are proven harmful.

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22
Q

Why aren’t chemicals required to be tested until proven hazardous?

A

Not enough funds, personnel, facilities, or test subjects to prove chemicals harmful.
Too expensive to determine interactions or multiple exposure effects

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23
Q

What factors are accounted for to determine whether or not a chemical is hazardous?

A

Toxicity
Dose
Response

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24
Q

________ is a measure of how harmful a substance is.

A

Toxicity

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25
Q

____ is the amount of potentially harmful substance a person has ingested, inhaled or absorbed.

A

Dose

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26
Q

A ________ is type and amount of health damage that results from exposure to a toxic substance.

A

Response

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27
Q

What properties of a dose help to determine how harmful it is?

A

Size of dose
How often exposure occurs
The age of who is exposed
How well one’s kidneys or liver works

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28
Q

A response to a substance that immediate and severe is defined as _____.

A

Acute

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29
Q

A response to a substance that takes effect over a long period of time is defined as _______.

A

Chronic

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30
Q

What is risk perception?

A

One’s intuitive judgement of the probability of an occurrence and the severity of it’s consequences. Usually only takes into account the bad things that could happen instead of any of the good things.

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31
Q

What is risk acceptance?

A

One’s subjective balancing of the benefits and risks of a substance.

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32
Q

What are the two major types of agriculture?

A

Industrial

Subsistence

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33
Q

_________ Agriculture produces huge quantities of of a single species of crop or livestock.

A

Industrial

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34
Q

_________ Agriculture produces only enough crops or livestock needed for immediate survival.

A

Subsistence

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35
Q

Which type of agriculture uses mechanization that requires the burning of fossil fuels.

A

Industrial Agriculture

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36
Q

__________ Agriculture is a type of Industrial Agriculture that grows cash crops for large markets like rubber, tea, and coffee.

A

Plantation

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37
Q

In __________ _________ Agriculture, the crops are either used by the farmer or sold locally.

A

Traditional Subsistence

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38
Q

__________ ________ Agriculture is a step above subsistence agriculture and provides 20% of the world’s food.

A

Traditional Intensive

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39
Q

What major type of subsistence agriculture is often practiced in tropical rainforests and involves slashing and burning plots in the forest to release nutrients from the forest biomass to grow crops in?

A

Shifting Cultivation

Also known as Slash & Burn

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40
Q

How long can crops be grown on areas of forest that are slashed and burned?

A

2 to 3 years

After that the soil’s nutrients are depleted.

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41
Q

How many years of reforestation does it take for land that has been slashed and burned to have it’s nutrients restored to the biomass and crops can grow again?

A

10 to 30 years

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42
Q

What four nutrients do humans require for good health?

A

Protein
Lipids
Vitamins
Minerals

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43
Q

If someone is getting an insufficient amount of food and not getting enough calories, they are suffering from ___________.

A

Undernourishment

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44
Q

If someone is getting an insufficient amount of food and not getting enough protein or nutrients, they are suffering from ___________.

A

Malnourishment

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45
Q

If someone is getting an insufficient amount of food and only enough for meager subsistence, they are suffering from ______ ______.

A

Chronic Hunger

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46
Q

If someone is getting too much and too little exercise, they are suffering from ______________.

A

Overnutrition

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47
Q

Next to smoking, ____________ is the second leading cause of preventable death.

A

Overnutrition

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48
Q

Through genetic engineering, scientists can alter the make-up of a living organism by transferring one or more genes so that they would be _______ ________.

A

Genetically Modified

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49
Q

What is traditional plant breeding?

A

Crossing the same species of plants that occur naturally to get properties that the parent plants both have.

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50
Q

What is genetic engineering?

A

Exchanging genes between unrelated species that cannot naturally exchange genes with each other.

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51
Q

What is something good about the Green Revolution?

A

Less land is used and more crops are produced!

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52
Q

What is something bad about the Green Revolution?

A

More fossil fuels are used for running machinery and producing fertilizer.

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53
Q

What has happened to nutrients in crops over the past 40 years?

A

They have dropped 40-60%

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54
Q

What happens to the nutritional value of a crop when it is unnaturally large?

A

It decreases

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55
Q

What happens to the taste and aroma of crops that are unnaturally large?

A

It decreases

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56
Q

What happens to the amount of cancer-fighting chemicals and antitoxins of crops that are unnaturally large?

A

It decreases

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57
Q

What happens to the price of a crop that is unnaturally large?

A

It increases

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58
Q

Instead of buying everything organic, what is a more cost-efficient solution?

A

Buying some foods organic instead of all foods so you may increase the amount of organic food in your diet without making expensive purchases or switching your entire diet.

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59
Q

__________ Agriculture is a modification of agriculture techniques in industrial and traditional systems to provide needs for the needs of the current and future generations while conserving natural resources.

A

Sustainable

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60
Q

What is the goal of Sustainable Agriculture?

A

To increase the yield of crops without depleting or degrading soil, water, or biodiversity.

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61
Q

What are the risks of using pesticides?

A 
human health effects
livestock poisoning
loss of beneficial insects
water comination
wildlife losses
evolution of pesticide resistance in harmful insects
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62
Q

What percentage of pesticides reach their intended target?

A

At least 10%

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63
Q

What percentage of pesticides accidentally poisons organisms that share their environment with pests?

A

Up to 90%

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64
Q

True or false: Pesticides never reach their intended target with 100% proficiency.

A

True

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65
Q

True or false: The application of pesticides can sometimes create new pests.

A

True

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66
Q

What is climate?

A

The long term atmospheric conditions that characterize a region or the long term average of all daily weather events.

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67
Q

What is weather?

A

The daily fluctuations of temperature, winds, humidity, and precipitation in an area.

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68
Q

What three factors determine the temperature of Earth?

A
  1. The amount of sunlight Earth receives
  2. The amount of sunlight Earth reflects
  3. The atmospheric retention of re-radiated heat
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69
Q

What are some factors that heat Earth?

A

Greenhouse gases

Effusive volcanism

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70
Q

What are some factors that cool Earth?

A

Aerosols
Non-effusive volcanism
Bolide impact

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71
Q

What are some factors that could cool or heat Earth?

A

Plate tectonics
Orbital parameters
Solar output

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72
Q

What role does Earth’s orbital motion play in climate change?

A

It determines how much radiation Earth intercepts from the Sun.

73
Q

Geological factors cause climate change through what process?

A

Volcanism

74
Q

Hawaiian or effusive volcanoes, like Kilauea and Flood Basalts in Eastern Washington, release ___ __ __ ___.

A

little to no ash

75
Q

Non-effusive volcanoes, like Mt. St. Helens and Pinatubo, release ____ ___ ___ ___.

A

more ash than CO2

76
Q

What are Milankovitch Cycles?

A

Combined effects of parameters caused by Earth’s orbital motions that could produce periods of extreme cold or heat.

77
Q

Earth draws its thermal energy from the Sun.
Atmospheric gases form a protective cover that
makes our planet hospitable to life by doing what?

A

Transmitting visible light
Blocking harmful UV rays
Keeping our planet a comfortable temperature by moderating the escape of heat

78
Q

What types of incoming solar radiation does Earth receive?

A

Ultraviolet (UV), Infrared (IR), and Visible light

79
Q

What type of light does Earth absorb and re-radiate?

A

Infrared (IR)

80
Q

What does the greenhouse gas effect do to air?

A

Heats it up

81
Q

What are the greenhouse gases?

A 
CO2 (Carbon Dioxide)
CH4 (Methane)
H2O (Water vapor)
NO2 (Nitrogen Dioxide)
O3
82
Q

What are the major Carbon Dioxide (CO2) point sources?

A 
Large fossil fuel or biomass facilities
Major CO2-emitting industries
natural gas production
synthetic fuel plants
fossil fuel-based hydrogen production plants
83
Q

What are aerosols?

A

Tiny particles of liquid or dust suspended in the atmosphere

84
Q

What aerosols have a cooling effect on the climate?

A

Soot from volcanic eruptions
biomass burning
dust from desert sandstorms
burning of oils and coals

85
Q

What are the three steps to evaluating causes of global warming?

A
  1. Demonstrate global warming (show that it’s happening)
  2. Evaluate natural factors that could be responsible
  3. Evaluate other potential sources
86
Q

What’s most likely the cause of global warming?

A

Humans

87
Q

True or False? No single theory by itself has satisfactorily
accounted for all the climatic variations of the
past.

A

True

88
Q

Are global carbon dioxide emissions increasing or decreasing?

A

Increasing

89
Q

How will the global mean surface temperature change in the near future?

A

Increase by 3’ - 7’

90
Q

What events will we be able to see a rise in frequency and intensity in as global warming continues?

A

Heatwaves, heavy precipitation, and other extreme events

91
Q

Why is the sea level rising?

A

Global ice sheets are melting quickly, arctic sea ice is thinning and melting rapidly.

92
Q

What kind of effects should we expect from global warming?

A

Climate change, violent storms, rising sea levels,

93
Q

What are the two main types of sources of air pollution?

A

Stationary and Mobile

94
Q

What is a stationary source of air pollution?

A

A fixed emitter of air pollutants.

Smokestacks from energy producing plants.

95
Q

What is a mobile source of air pollution?

A

A non-stationary source of air pollutants.

Cars, trains, ships, etc.

96
Q

What is a point source of pollution?

A

Any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged

97
Q

What is a non-point source of pollution?

A

Pollution that comes from many diffuse sources.

98
Q

What are the types of non-point sources of air pollution?

A

Fugitive (dirt roads, farmlands, mines, etc)

Area (several sources in a defined area, like a town)

99
Q

A ______ pollutant is emitted directly into the air.

A

Primary

100
Q

A _________ pollutant is produced when primary pollutants react with normal atmosphere compounds.

A

Secondary

101
Q

Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitric Oxide (NO), Nitric Dioxide (NO2), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) , Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Chloroflourocarbons (CFxCLx), and Ozone (O3) are ____ _______ pollutants.

A

smog forming

102
Q

What are some sources of smog-forming pollutants?

A

Automobile exhaust, power plants, factories, consumer products

103
Q

What even is smog?

A

a complex mixture of ground-level ozone, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons.

104
Q

What bad shit does smog do?

A

Affects health (causes asthma, reduces resistance to lung infections and colds, eye irritation), inhibits plant growth, and causes damage to crops and forests.

105
Q

CO2 is important to the _________ ______.

A

greenhouse effect

106
Q

______ ______ and ______ ______ are Important in the formation of both acid precipitation and photochemical smog.

A

Nitric Oxide (NO) and Nitric Dioxide (NO2)

107
Q

______ _______ contributes to acid deposition and acid precipitation.

A

Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

108
Q

Rain, snow, fog, humidity, and dust with acidity

lower than pH 5.6 is considered _____ _____.

A

Acid Rain (or Deposition)

109
Q

What are some sources of acid deposition?

A

fossil fuel combustion
power plants that burn coal
paper and wood pulp processing plants

110
Q

What effects does acid deposition have?

A

Heavily impacts organisms living in the water
Releases toxic chemicals in rocks
Raises mortality rate of animals that feed on insects
Alteration of soil chemistry, nutrient availability, and plant growth
Plants become vulnerable to insects, diseases, and fungus

111
Q

_______ ______ is produced as an artificial byproduct of

photochemical smog, and is hazardous to human health.

A

Surface Ozone

112
Q

__________ _____` is produced naturally and helps to protect life from the harmful effects of solar ultraviolet radiation.

A

Stratospheric Ozone

113
Q

___________________ have been banned since the 1960s.

A

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

114
Q

What effects would increased UV radiation have on humans?

A

Increased types of skin cancer

bigger, badder sunburns

115
Q

What effects would increased UV radiation have on crops?

A

decreased productivity of food plants

plant damage

116
Q

What effects would increased UV radiation have on marine biological processes?

A

Damages plankton life. Planktons could be a major source of CO2 and would snowball into an increase of greenhouse gases.

117
Q

What is the Clean Air Act?

A

Mandates pollution control requirements for sources of
air pollution Requires deep reductions in power plants’ sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions in order to meet these public health standards.

118
Q

Is the Clean Air Act working?

A

It looks like it is

119
Q

How much water on Earth is usable by humans?

A

Less than 1%

120
Q

________ is a major consumer of water.

A

Agriculture

121
Q

Water use in poor countries is dominated by __________ use.

A

Agricultural

122
Q

What causes differences in water supplies in different areas to determine what their local water supply is like?

A
  1. average annual precipitation
  2. evapotranspiration (sum of evaporation and plant transpiration)
  3. runoff
123
Q

If precipitation happens more than evapotranspiration, what happens?

A

Surface water fills channels, infiltrates soils, and

replenishes groundwater.

124
Q

What is groundwater overdraft?

A

When groundwater withdrawal exceeds natural recharge rates.

125
Q

Is groundwater considered a renewable source?

A

No

126
Q

Where is the Ogallala aquifer?

A

Under the midwestern states.

127
Q

What important roles do wetlands play in our environment?

A

Act as a natural filter system
Store water
Act as a buffer zone for storms and high waves
Provide habitat for animals

128
Q

What happened to wetlands in the US by the 1950s?

A

Half of them had been drained

129
Q

What was the state of rivers by the end of the 1960s?

A

Most of them were considered dead and some could be ignited.

130
Q

What were rivers historically used for?

A

Carrying away sewage and garbage.

131
Q

What did the Clean Water Act do?

A

Worked to clean up America’s rivers by establishing standards for drinking water quality and controling “point
source” discharge. Today waste water must be treated before it’s pumped back into river systems.

132
Q

What are the main concerns involving water pollution today?

A

Polluted runoff from roads, parking lots, and lawns
Runoff from farms and animal feedlots (pesticides,
fertilizers, and animal waste)
Livestock damage to riparian areas (reduces near-stream filtering)
Logging, construction, and mining operations

133
Q

Why is it bad for organic and other external waste to end up in surface waters?

A

The waste is decomposed by aerobic bacteria or serves as nutrients for algae which is decomposed by aerobic bacteria. This puts extra demand for oxygen on dissolved water.

134
Q

What negative effects do sediments have on surface water?

A

Chokes off waterways and spawning beds
Causes greater flooding
Decreases water clarity
Culprits: poor development practices, mining, ‘canes, cattle

135
Q

What is Eutrophication (Anoxia)?

A

The excessive growth of algae caused by excessive flux of nutrients into the water.

136
Q

The EPA sets standards for drinking water that covers approximately __ contaminants.

A

90

137
Q

What are the three types of groundwater pollutants?

A

biological pollutants
hazardous chemical waste
petroleum products

138
Q

What are some point sources of water pollutants?

A

Gas storage tanks
Sewage Treatment Plants
Laundromats and carwashes
Industrial Plants

139
Q

What are some non-point sources of water pollutants?

A

fertilizers
pesticides
herbicides applied to fields, gardens, and lawns
leaking sewers in a city

140
Q

What are some point sources of air pollutants?

A

a pipe
ditch
ship
factory smokestack

141
Q

What can be used from most hydrocarbons which can be

decomposed by microbial activity?

A

In situ bioremediation

142
Q

What is a dangerous effect of biomagnification?

A

Many hazardous chemicals and heavy metals may

concentrate up the food chain.

143
Q

What is biomagnification?

A

the concentration of toxins in an organism as a result of its ingesting other plants or animals in which the toxins are more widely disbursed.

144
Q

What are the properties of fossil fuel?

A 
Gas: natural gas. 80% methane, CH4; but also
ethane, propane, butane, hydrogen
Liquid: petroleum, crude oil, gasoline
Semi-solid: tar
Solid: coal
145
Q

When were the fossil fuels we use today formed?

A

245 - 400 million years ago

146
Q

What is oil?

A

Fossil fuel trapped in porous rocks, a blend of

hydrocarbons (compounds containing Hydrogen & Carbon) with some Nitrogen, Sulfur, and Oxygen impurities

147
Q

How is petroleum formed?

A

Phytoplankton, zooplankton and other single-celled organisms, deposited in shallow marine settings

148
Q

How does the amount of fuel that America consumes compare to how much fuel America produces?

A

America does not produce as much fuel as it consumes.

149
Q

What percentage of energy that that we use comes from non-renewable fossil fuels?

A

90%

150
Q

What percentage of our fossil fuels are imported?

A

40%

151
Q

What percentage of the energy that we use from fossil fuels is lost as waste heat?

A

49%

152
Q

What are tar sands?

A

Natural sands or sandstone that contains

tarry hydrocarbons.

153
Q

True or false. Despite the increase of production in the fracking industry, the US still uses more fuel than it produces so it doesn’t last for long.

A

False.

There is a surplus of oil and we are actually running out of storage space.

154
Q

How is coal formed?

A

From the decomposition of organic materials that have been subjected to geologic heat and pressure over millions of years.

155
Q

What are the types of coal?

A

Lignite (forms the quickest, closest to top)
Sub-bituminous
Bituminous
Anthracite (forms the slowest, deepest down)

156
Q

As coal’s ______ increases, carbon content and heat value increases, volatiles and moisture decrease.

A

grade

157
Q

Coal’s _______ is based on the percentage of carbon and the heat value on combustion of the coal.

A

ranking

158
Q

True or false. Despite scientists calling oil a nonrenewable resource, there is still plenty of oil for us to use and we cannot see a perceivable end.

A

False.

We’ve reached peak production and have already used half of the oil that scientists believe existed.

159
Q

____ of oil being produced today is from fields discovered before 1973.

A

80%

160
Q

How long will our known petroleum resources last?

A

Much less than the remainder of this century.

161
Q

How much CO2 is released each year for each person on Earth?

A

1.2 tons

162
Q

_________ is the leading hydroelectric power producer in the Nation. Hydroelectric power accounts for nearly 3/4 of the state’s electricity generation.

A

Washington

163
Q

In Washington State, what are the two items are the most responsible for household energy consumption?

A 
Space Heating (60%)
Hot Water (24%)
164
Q

Why is Yucca Mountain being investigated a potential place for a nuclear waste repository site?

A

It’s far away from a lot of people.
The land is owned by the government
Yucca Mountain is not an active volcano

165
Q

What are some problems associated with nuclear fission?

A

radioactive mine waste
plant safety is sketchy
disposal of nuclear waste is almost impossible
core meltdowns and explosions are major problems

166
Q

Why should we consider using natural heat from Earth’s interior as geothermal energy?

A

1% of geothermal energy in the upper 10-km of crust, it would amount to 500 times the amount of energy in our oil and gas reserves.

167
Q

What is a downside to using geothermal energy?

A

It can only meet about 10% of our electrical needs despite the vast amount of heat produced.

168
Q

Would geothermal energy last forever?

A

No

169
Q

What is hydroelectric power?

A

Energy from moving water

170
Q

How much of the total electricity produced in the US comes from hydroelectric power?

A

15%

mostly the northwest

171
Q

Would hydroelectric power be able to satisfy all of human’s electrical needs?

A

No. It would only satisfy a third.

172
Q

What kind of wind is needed for wind energy?

A

Consistently high winds of at least 20 km/hr

173
Q

How much of the US has the right kind of wind for wind energy?

A

13%

174
Q

True or False. A few weeks worth of solar energy reaching Earth’s surface is equal to the energy stored in all known petroleum and coal reserves.

A

True

175
Q

What is the biggest problem with solar energy?

A

Trying to figure out how to make it something that is usable and relatively inexpensive.

176
Q

Rank the energy sources by highest environmental cost to lowest environmental cost. (8)

A

Coal, Nuclear, Oil, Natural Gas, Biomass, Solar Cells, Wind, Geothermal

177
Q

Give sources that produce the most greenhouse gas emissions from greatest to least. (6)

A

Coal-fired electricity, Synthetic oil and gas produced from coal, Coal, Oil, Natural gas, Nuclear power

178
Q

Rank energy sources based on how much land they use from most land to least land. (5)

A

Coal, Solar thermal, solar cells, wind, geothermal

Environmental Science (2 decks)

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