Exam 2 Flashcards
- The price of gas today is very low. Which one of the following is a potential unfavorable environmental outcome that could result from today’s low gas prices.
a. lower prices could encourage drivers to take more frequent and-or longer road trips.
- This is not a consequence of urban sprawl:
a. lower incidence of obesity and high blood pressure
- How might coral bleaching in the ocean be caused by urban sprawl?
a. Cutting down trees–>decreased removal of CO2 from atmosphere–>increased CO2 in atmosphere–>increased CO2 in ocean–>decreased ocean pH–>unhappy zooxanthellae (colorful symbiotic algae)–>algae and color go away
- Which one of the following most likely describes (and provides an example of) a city with a high degree of urban blight and a low degree of urban sprawl?
a. low car ownership levels, high density housing, strained public resources, less air pollution e.g., New York, NY
- The ability of an ecosystem to replenish itself leads to
a. sustainability
- When completed, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan will
a. redirect much of the water flow southward
- We expect that as mangroves continue to be destroyed worldwide
a. coastal erosion will increase.
4.Compared to forests using sustainable forest management, commercial forests managed for maximum sustainable yield of commercially valuable species will most likely
a. have greater erosion problems.
- The growth of the global fish harvest in the last 20 years has mostly been due to increases in what?
a. aquaculture
- An example of consumptive use of a natural resource is ____.
a. wild boar (pigs) hunted for personal use (eating)
- The maximum population of a given species that an ecosystem can support without being degraded or destroyed in the long run is called
a. carrying capacity
- The maximum sustainable yield for most populations must be recalculated every year because
a. changing environmental conditions create variations in carrying capacity
- Maximum Sustainable yield is ____.
a. the maximum amount of a resource that can be taken out while the system still maintains or replenishes.
- The greatest potential for sustainable growth in fisheries is in ____.
a. aquaculture
- Which one of the following best illustrates consumptive use of a resource?
a. a farmer in Indiana shoots a wild turkey for his Thanksgiving dinner.
- Which one of the following best represents the productive use of a natural resource?
a. a woman gathers mushrooms from a forest to sell in the local produce market.
- In general, humans can harvest renewable resources of plants and animals at sustainable levels because
a. organisms naturally produce many more offspring than are needed to maintain their populations.
- Increases in ocean temperatures often result in coral bleaching, in which
a. the symbiotic relationship between corals and their algae is disrupted.
- In the state of Arizona, the use of groundwater has been aggressively managed since about 1980. Before that time, agricultural, commercial, and private demands for water were growing at levels that were not sustainable. Before water regulation of any sort, demand for water in all its forms in the state of Arizona illustrated the
a. tragedy of the commons
- The total allowable catch of a marine fish used for human food would be determined by calculating the
a. maximum sustainable yield.
- In the hydrologic cycle, water enters the atmosphere through (1) ___ and (2) ___, and its destinations when it returns to the earth’s surface are (3) ___, (4) ___, and (5) ___.
a. (1) evaporation, (2) transpiration, (3) reabsorption, (4) percolation, (5) runoff
- The percentage of the world’s water that is saltwater is (1)___. The percentage that is available freshwater is (2)___. The percentage that remains frozen in polar ice caps and glaciers is (3)___.
a. (1) 97.5, (2) 0.77, (3) 1.7
3.Where is a majority of the Earth’s freshwater stored?
a. icecaps
- Why are recharge areas important?
a. they allow reabsorption of water into the soil which ultimately feeds groundwater.
- According to the hydrologic cycle, when rain falls to the Earth’s surface, it has 3 main destinations. What are they?
a. absorption by plants, percolation into groundwater, and runoff into a nearby body of water
- The 3 steps of transpiration are:
a. (1) uptake of water by roots, (2) migration through stems, (3) release into atmosphere
- Why don’t houses in south Louisiana have basements?
a. because the water tables are too close to the soil’s surface
1.Where does acid rain come from?
a. sulfuric acid and nitric acid released into the atmosphere are absorbed into water dropleTS
- I have a fishing camp on the coast of Louisiana. For the past 30 years, I have drunk water from a well that was dug by my grandmother. Recently, though, the water has developed a salty taste. This is most likely due to ___.
a. saltwater intrusion into aquifers
- Two major approaches to non-fossil-fuel energy alternatives are renewable energy and _____
a. nuclear power
- The greatest demand for electricity would occur in homes in the state of Louisiana
a. about noon during a hot summer Wednesday
- Which of the following statements is true or accurate about the Deepwater Horizon event of 2010?
a. much of the spill was broken down by bacteria or evaporated from the water’s surface.
- The oil spill that destroyed BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 affect all of the following catastrophically, except
a. agricultural production in the northern parts of the Gulf states
- Fossil Fuels represent
a. a large amount of paleozoic and mesozoic biomass buried anaerobically millions of years ago
- The pH’s of coca-cola, household ammonia, and the ocean are approximately 3,11, and 8. How do their hydrogen ion concentrations compare?
a. a liter of ocean water has 1000 times more H+ than a liter of ammonia, and a liter of coca-cola has 100,000 times more H+ than a liter of ocean water.
- Oil production is a misnomer for the process used by oil companies because
ago.
a. the oil was produced hundreds of millions of years
- The most sustainable way to drive a car would be to use
a. an all-electric car using electricity from a windmill or solar photocells.
- Fossil fuels are considered non-renewable sources of energy because
a. their formation is so slow
- What is the largest use of water worldwide?
a. irrigation
- In some coastal areas experiencing rapid population growth over the past few decades, fresh water wells now yield salty water. The most likely cause of this is ___.
a. saltwater intrusion
- The process of soil and humus particles being physically picked up and carried away by wind and water is called
a. soil erosion
2.The process by which nutrients are washed from the soil by water is called ___.
a. leaching
- Which one of the following must soils have to support plant growth?
a. porous structure
- What is the difference between soil degradation and soil erosion?
a. soil degradation is when soil attributes required for plant growth deteriorate, and soil erosion is when soil particles are carried away by water and wind
- You live in coastal Louisiana, and you love to host crawfish boils every April. Over the years, you’ve noticed that your property taxes have decreased. This is because your property value has decreased. You consult with your brother, who took Introduction to Environmental Sciences, and he tells you this change is because of two reasons. One: your backyard has gotten smaller and smaller as your soil has fallen into the Gulf of Mexico. Two: your front yard no longer grows azaleas or another other plants because you have been dumping the salt water you use to clean your crawfish into your flower beds. Thus, your decreased property value is because of (a)___ and (b)___, respectively.
a. (a) soil erosion, (b) soil degradation
- Radon is an odorless radioactive gas that you cannot taste or see. Exposure to this naturally occurring gas can be dangerously high in any home in North America. Homes must be specially tested for exposure levels for residents to understand their risks. If risks are high, venting systems can be installed to significantly lower indoor levels of exposure. The most likely health problem associated with long-term exposure to this radioactive gas is
a. lung cancer
- You’re arguing with your sister about a plot of land willed to you by your great-great-grandparents. The land has been taken over by tall weeds. Your sister wants to dig up all of the weeds to make the plot less unsightly, leaving only soil behind, and you think the plot should be left alone. Who’s the most right, and why?
a. you because keeping roots in the ground will prevent soil erosion, even if the roots belong to unsightly weeds.