Science Section III Flashcards
Science
What is global climate change?
the large–scale physical and biogeochemical changes that have been taking place on Earth at an accelerating rate
How many people on Earth do not have access to safe drinking water?
1–2 billion people, mostly in developing countries
What are the 2 main categories of water pollution?
point–source pollution and non–point–source pollution
What is point–source water pollution?
pollution released from distinct, confined locations, such as a factory
What is non–point–source water pollution?
pollution that collects from large areas, such as runoff from parking lots
Why is it important to differentiate the type of source of pollution?
because it can help in controlling pollutant inputs to waterways
What might the city council do if they notice that the bulk of waterway pollution is coming from one or two sources?
they can target those sources and control them
Is it more difficult to control point–source pollution or non–point–source pollution?
non–point–source pollution
What are pathogens?
any organism that causes disease, for example, parasites, bacteria, and viruses
Do disease outbreaks from water systems occur often in the US?
no, they are relatively rare
Where are disease outbreaks from public water systems more common?
in developing parts of the world
What 2 main ways can pathogens enter water systems?
through point and non–point sources
What type of water pollution is when pathogens enter rivers and lakes when a sewage treatment plant malfunctions?
point source water pollution
What are the 2 main waterborne diseases?
cholera and heptatitis
What is oxygen–demanding waste?
material that contains organic matter that gets washed into a body of water and depletes the oxygen there
When does oxygen–demanding waste usually get into water bodies?
when it rains
Leaves and twigs are examples of which type of waste?
oxygen–demanding waste
When bacteria grow on and decompose an organism, they use more of which element?
oxygen
What inorganic compounds?
chemical compounds that don’t come from plants or animals
What are the most important inorganic compounds?
nitrogen and phosphorous
What do nitrogen and phosphorous do in a lake or stream?
they limit growth
What happens if there is too much nitrogen and phosphorous in a body of water?
they can overfeed the body of water, leading to eutrophication
What is eutrophication?
the excessive growth of algae due to an oversupply of nutrients
After eutrophication, what happens to the algae?
they die and decompose, leading to large amounts of oxygen being depleted from the water, and the fish population declines as a result of this
What are the major terrestrial sources of nitrogen?
farm runoff, sewage treatment plants, and acid precipitation
What are the major terrestrial sources of phosphorous?
natural rocks and minerals, fertilizer runoff, and in the past, detergents
Where do other inorganic pollutants come from? (point or non–point sources)
non–point–sources and point–sources
What are the main sources of nitrate and sulfate pollution?
acid precipitation
What is the main source of chloride pollution?
by–products of sewage treatment
What is the main source of toxic metal pollution?
industrial plants
Acid precipitation is an example of point–source or non–point–source pollution?
non–point–source pollution
Sewage treatment by–products are examples of point–source or non–point–source pollution?
point–source pollution
Industrial plants by–products are examples of point–source or non–point–source pollution?
point–source pollution
What are the most toxic water pollutants?
metals, specifically lead, copper, arsenic, and mercury
When did mercury receive a large amount of attention as an inorganic water contaminant around the globe?
the early 2000s
What are POPs? (Persistent Organic Pollutants)
toxic chemical created by humans for industrial purposes that stay in the environment for decades or longer and can accumulate in organisms and food webs
Are PCBs inorganic or organic compounds?
they are organic compounds
What are PCBs?
polychlorinated biphenyls, are highly toxic and carcinogenic chemicals
What were PCBs used in before they were banned?
they were used in manufacturing plastics and insulating electrical transformers
When did PCBs stop being used?
in 1979
Although PCBs are no longer used in the US, are they present in the environment?
Yes, they are due to their persistence
What are sediments?
nonchemical pollutants that become mobilized when the soil is disturbed
Sand, silt, and clay are examples of _____________.
sediments
What are housing and shopping center development and road construction main sources of?
they are main sources of sediment
How does sediment affect the organisms in rivers and lakes?
they can clog fish gills, hinder fish from obtaining oxygen, particularly bottom dwellers like oysters and clams, and reduce productivity
How does sediment affect the sunlight going into the body of water?
increased sediment in a body of water can reduce the infiltration of sunlight, which can also reduce productivity
Any time humans alter water flow so that water moves more slowly, receives more sunlight, or enters shallower water, what happens to the temperature of the water?
it increases
What is the result of humans heating up the water in the water cycle?
thermal pollution
Does increasing water temperature increase or decrease the amount of oxygen that can be dissolved in the water?
it decreases the amount of oxygen that can be dissolved in the water
Organisms in warmer waters use _______ oxygen.
more
Increased respiration rate in organisms in warmer waters can cause what?
them being more susceptible to disease and the increased temperatures may also affect their reproduction
What are the greatest culprits for ocean pollution?
crude oil and other petroleum products
Is oil easy to remove when spilled in oceans?
No, it is very difficult to remove oil from oceans once it is spilled
What and when was the most notorious recent spill?
the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010
Where was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill?
the Gulf of Mexico
How many gallons of oil was spilled in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill?
210 million gallons
People use chemical dispersants to break oil down into what?
particles small enough to be broken down by sunlight and bacteria
Since which decade has the dumping of solid waste in open waters been reduced?
the 1980s
What effects can plastic bags and plastic ring holders for beverages have on animals?
they can strangle many animals
What threat does medical waste pose to humans and animals?
it can be very toxic, especially to children
Plastic debris in landfills or waterbodies can degrade over time into __________________ or _________________.
microplastics, nanoplastics
How large are microplastics?
smaller than 5mm
How large are nanoplastics?
smaller than .0001mm
What type of food contains the most microplastics?
seafood
What is wastewater?
water from houses and buildings that is going to a sewage treatment plant or septic system
What wastewater is less harmful to the environment?
wastewater from places that aren’t the toilet, for example, water from sinks and showers
Wastewater from sources other than toilets is called what?
gray water
What can gray water be repurposed for?
activities such as watering lawns
What element does human sewage demand?
oxygen
Where are traditional sewage plants mostly used?
in developed countries
Traditional wastewater treatment is accomplished in which 2 phases?
primary and secondary treatment
What percent of solid waste material does primary treatment remove?
40%–50%
The solid material that settles out during the primary treatment is eventually dried and classified as ________.
sludge
What does sludge contain significant amounts of?
metals
Sludge will have a higher metal content if it comes from which place?
a municipality, such as an industrial business
What is the secondary treatment of wastewater?
it accelerates the breakdown of organic matter that would occur naturally
What percent of pollutants are removed after the secondary treatment of wastewater?
85%–90%
What is done to the wastewater after it goes through secondary treatment and is disinfected?
it is returned to a river or lake and is again part of the water cycle
About how many years ago were most harbors and waterways badly polluted?
40–50 years ago
When was the Clean Water Act passed?
1972
When was the Drinking Water Act passed?
1986
When were the Water Resources Development Acts passed?
1986–1992
What did the Drinking Water Act and the Water Resources Development Acts do?
they worked together to protect surface water by managing water supply, flood control, navigation on waterways, and hydroelectric power
What do the Water Quality Standards do?
they place an upper limit on the concentration of specific pollutants in major water bodies
What is required to achieve the standards of the Water Quality Standards?
an establishment of the Total Maximum Daily Load for each pollutant
What is the Total Maximum Daily Load?
it is the maximum amount of a pollutant that is allowed to enter a waterbody
What is air pollution?
the emission of compounds into the atmosphere at levels high enough to harm plants, animals, humans, and other nonliving materials
Air pollution refers to pollution in the _________________.
troposphere
What is the troposphere?
the first 10 kilometers (6 miles) of the atmosphere above Earth’s surface
What is tropospheric pollution also referred to as?
ground–level pollution
Environmental science was used in the development of which regulations?
the regulations of pollutants, specifically air pollutants
The US Clean Air Act (CAA) is an example of what?
legislation that regulated air pollutants
When was the CAA passed?
in 1970
What did scientists do as a part of the development of the CAA?
they identified the 6 most common and harmful pollutants and used these as their primary focus
What were the 6 most common and harmful pollutants the scientists identified for the CAA?
sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, lead, particulate matter, and ground–level ozone
What is sulfur dioxide? (SO2)
a gas released in nature through volcanic eruptions and by humans through the burning of fossil fuels
How is SO2 produced when burning fossil fuels?
all living things contain sulfur and fossils were once living
Which people does SO2 particularly affect?
people with asthma or other respiratory illnesses
What does SO2 do to people?
it can irritate someone’s lungs
SO2 can undergo a chemical reaction to form which harmful acid?
sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is one of the main components in _______ ________.
acid rain
What percent of the atmosphere is nitrogen gas?
78%
Combustion in the atmosphere leads to what?
the formation of a wide variety of nitrogen oxides or NOx
NOx can undergo chemical reactions to form which harmful acid?
nitric acid
What is Carbon monoxide? (CO)
a colorless, odorless gas that forms when an incomplete combustion of organic matter occurs
CO combines with what to interfere with the transportation of oxygen in the mammalian body?
it combines with hemoglobin
What is hemoglobin?
an oxygen–transporting protein in the mammalian body
What impacts can CO have on the human body?
it can lead to dizziness, headaches, confusion, loss of consciousness, and possibly death
When was the use of leaded gasoline ended globally?
2021
Which country was the last to use leaded gas?
Algeria
What effects does lead have on people and animals?
it can adversely impact an animal’s blood production, producing anemia, and it can have a wide range of adverse neurological impacts
What is particulate matter
solid or liquid particles suspended in air
Where do particulates come from?
most combustion products, such as wood, coal, oil, and gasoline
Particulates come from which class of pollutants resulting from what?
dirty–burning fuels, such as low–efficiency wood stoves
What are natural sources of particulates?
Forest fires and volcanoes
What size do particulates range in?
0.01 microns to 100 microns in diameter
Particulates have the average thickness of what?
a human hair
What problems in the human body are caused by particulates?
lung cancer and other ailments in the lungs
Particulates block __________.
sunlight
Photochemical air pollutants are a class of air pollutants formed by what?
action by the Sun on compounds that are oxides, such as NO2 and SO2
What is photochemical smog?
a type of photochemical air pollutant refers to the haze that appears over cities, especially in ones surrounded by mountains, which trap the smog
What is the most important type of photochemical air pollutant?
ozone or O3
Ozone is 3 _____________ molecules bound together.
oxygen
Why is ozone the most important photochemical air pollutant?
because of its positive and negative effects
Where does ozone form?
in the stratosphere
What type of light does ozone absorb?
it absorbs UV light, keeping harmful UV radiation from reaching Earth
What is ozone in the troposphere?
an oxidant harmful to humans and plants
What are primary pollutants?
most of the criteria pollutants
What are secondary pollutants?
pollutants resulting from chemical reactions in the atmosphere which result in things like acid rain or smog
What powers the formation of smog?
solar energy
What type of pollutant is smog?
it is a secondary pollutant
A significant percent of air pollution comes from where?
natural sources
Volcanoes, forest and grassland fires, living plants, and dead plants all release compounds that can be classified as _____________.
pollutants
What pollutants do volcanoes release?
SO2, CO, and NOX
What pollutants do forest and grassland fires release?
CO and NOX
What occurs when a warm layer of air at mid–altitude covers a cooler layer below it?
atmospheric inversion
Where are atmospheric inversions most common?
in cities with high concentrations of vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions are easily trapped by an inversion layer
What are primary energy sources?
non–renewable and renewable energy sources
Electricity is an example of what type of energy source?
it is a secondary energy source
How do non–renewable energy sources produce electricity?
the source is used to produce steam, which turns a turbine, which turns a generator
How many years ago were the plants and animals buried to become fossils?
160–400 million years ago
What are the different types of coal?
peat, lignite, bituminous, and anthracite, this is arranged in lesser to greater energy content
Why is coal so commonly used for the generation of electricity?
because it is very energy–dense and plentiful
What are the 2 general ways coal is mined?
Deep shaft mining and surface mining
What is deep–shaft mining?
When tunnels as deep as 2,000 feet are dug into the Earth and people descend into shafts, mine the coal, and bring it to the surface
Mining creates what adverse environmental impacts?
it emits harmful air pollutants, degrades the water quality of nearby water bodies, and creates a problem called acid mine drainage
What is petroleum?
the mixture of hydrocarbons, water, and sulfur that occurs in underground deposits
