Test 1

Question 1

What are the four spheres of Earth

Answer 1

Hydrosphere (water), biosphere (green of Earth), atmosphere (clouds), and lithosphere (major plates of Earth)

Question 2

What is delta S

Answer 2

Change in stock

Question 3

what is residence time and the equation to calculate it

Answer 3

Average time a substance spends in a reservoir. Equation is the reservoir divided by flow in OR out. Only meaningful if the flow in is about equal to the flow out

Question 4

What is a non-excludable resource

Answer 4

A resource that you can’t stop people from over consuming even if barriers to entrance are put in place

Question 5

What is a rival resource

Answer 5

When use by one person makes less of the resource available to others

Question 6

What does a rival and non-exludable resource make and what is an example of one

Answer 6

Makes a common property open access resource. For example, fisheries

Question 7

What is the tragedy of the commons

Answer 7

When conscientious users get less, while those exploiting the resources get more resulting in a lack of incentive to conserve thus, the resource is over-exploited

Question 8

What is a non-rival resource

Answer 8

When use by one person does not take away from someone else’s use of the resource

Question 9

What are the features of a public good

Answer 9

Non-excludable and non-rival

Question 10

What are the features of a common good

Answer 10

Non-excludable and rival

Question 11

How is a public good different from a common good

Answer 11

Because it is non-rival, society can simultaneously benefit from a public good without drawing it down

Question 12

What are the problems associated with a public good

Answer 12

people over use the public good because they benefit from it but don’t help create it because it is too costly

Question 13

What are externalities

Answer 13

The “bad” behavior that degrades the commons or public good

Question 14

What are some ways to solve externality problems

Answer 14

Educate public so they voluntarily avoid bad behavior and attach a cost to the “bad” behavior

Question 15

How are aerosols removed from the atmosphere

Answer 15

rainfall

Question 16

What was the solution that scientists made to the deafing knock that cars used to make

Answer 16

Adding lead to gas to make tetraethyl lead

Question 17

What lead to Pattersons discovery that tetraethyl lead was dangerous

Answer 17

Was trying to date the Earth but kept getting the wrong answer leading him to discover that there was excess lead everywhere. Found that humans had 600x more lead in their bodies than normal

Question 18

How does acid rain affect the environment

Answer 18

Causes damage to native vegetation and declines in native fish as well as displacing essential plant nutrients (Ca+2, K+2) from soil and mobilizing aluminum killing fish

Question 19

What caused acid rain in the 19060s

Answer 19

Post WWII used a lot of electricity powered by coal. Burning coal released sulfur and nitrogen into the environment

Question 20

What policy was passed to get rid of acid rain and was it effective

Answer 20

Clean Air Act which let polluters figure out the least expensive way to reduce their acid rain emissions. Fixed amount of acid that can go in the air and factories could “trade” pollution. Improved pH levels from 4 to 5 in 3 decades

Question 21

What is the residence time of mercury

Answer 21

1-2 weeks

Question 22

How can mercury become more lethal

Answer 22

It is released from the atmosphere to the ocean where it can reacts with bacteria to become methyl mercury

Question 23

What is ASGM and how does it contribute to mercury levels

Answer 23

Artisinal and small-scale gold mining which burns mercury to get the gold it is bonded with

Question 24

What are the types of ozone

Answer 24

troposhere (bad ozone) is the inner layer and hold in ozone and stratosphere (good ozone) that is the outer layer that blocks UV light

Question 25

What are CFCs, how are they harmful, and what is their residence time in the atmosphere

Answer 25

Chloroflurocarbons destroy the ozone since they live in the stratosphere for a long time resulting in them releasing a Cl when reacting with UV light. 50 years

Question 26

What was done to decrease the amount of CFCs released into the atmosphere

Answer 26

Protocol was signed by every country to phase of the use of CFCs by the 2030s; allowed less developed countries 10 more years compared to more developed contries to mitigate emissions

Question 27

How effective was the protocol to mitigate CFC emissions

Answer 27

emissions have depleted but the ozone hole is still really bad since CFCs have such a long residence time

Question 28

When was the Clean Air Act passed

Answer 28

1970

Question 29

What did the CAA allow the EPA to do

Answer 29

Develop the NAAQS to regulate Criteria air pollutants (can cause health issues but not in small concentrations) and Hazardous air pollutants (carcinogenic and dangerous pollutants in small concentrations)

Question 30

What is de minimis risk

Answer 30

risks judged to be too small to be of concern or to justify the use of risk management resources for control

Question 31

How does the market based approach to air pollution work

Answer 31

permits are given to polluters that they are allowed to trade. Created a limit on pollution and did not dictate what technology could be used

Question 32

what are some cons to the market based approach to air pollution

Answer 32

Can create pollution hotspots, gives large firms (more money) market power, and takes away moral stigma associated with polluting