Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Environmental Systems Fall Semester Final
n/a
137
Environmental Studies
12th Grade
12/12/2010

Additional Environmental Studies Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
The greatest amount of solid waste material thrown away today is ____
Definition
paper and cardboard
Term
which of the following is a problem with solid waste disposal?
Definition
all of the above (cost, groundwater hazard, maintaining air quality)
Term
which of the following marked a cultural shift towards consumerism
Definition
WW2
Term
Which of the following is not a method of waste management?
Definition
secondary recovery
Term
in a modern landfill, the nasty water that leaches from the site...
Definition
has to be treated by pumping it out of landfill to remove toxins
Term
which of the following is NOT a method of "source reduction"?
Definition
composting of municipal park leaves
Term
the major problem with recycling plastics is...
Definition
the inability to mix different plastics
Term
the type of plastic most commonly found in water bottles, and used for making Patagonia fleece jackets:
Definition
#1 polyethylene therephthalate PETE
Term
the most immediate problem resulting from the increase in MSW is
Definition
a shortage of space in landfills
Term
the selection of a modern landfill site is based on
Definition
all of the above (understanding groundwater geology, soil type, sensitivity to concerns of local citizens)
Term
future management of municipal solid wast will be an approaching utilizing...
Definition
all of the above (landfills, incineration, source reduction, recycling)
Term
one of the benefits of incineration
Definition
it reduces the weight and volume of solid waste
Term
one Sunday edition of the NY times consumes about ___ trees
Definition
60,000
Term
what decade became known as the "disposable" decade?
Definition
1950's
Term
the usa produces about ___ tons of solid waste every year.
Definition
200,000,000
Term
t/f: the long term success of recycling programs is tied to economic incentives
Definition
true
Term
the most fundamental strategy for reducing solid waste is....
Definition
reducing how much is used initially
Term
According to the EPA, what is OSW?
Definition
a government agency
Term
According to the textbook, the total amount of plastic being thrown away over the last 50 years
Definition
has increased
Term
the second most common item in MSW is
Definition
yard waste (ex. grass clippings)
Term
what gas is produced by landfills at such high level that expensive equipment must be used to detect and manage it?
Definition
methane
Term
t/f: consumers are often willing to pay a higher price for materials made from recycled products.
Definition
true
Term
a type of incineration used in European countries to produce marketable energy is
Definition
mass burn
Term
a process of reducing MSW and burning it is called
Definition
incineration
Term
waste produced by densely populated communities
Definition
MSW
Term
the propaganda stating "our economy will collapse" if consumeristic behaviors are modified to be more conservative
Definition
forced consumption
Term
three r's of solid waste management?
Definition
reduce, reuse, recycle
Term
t/f: environmental science is a narrowly defined field of physical and biological sciences
Definition
false
Term
t/f: the forest fires that swept through Mexico in 1998 only effected citizens in Central America; the US was not impacted in any way.
Definition
false
Term
environmental science is an interdisciplinary area of study that deal with all of the following except
Definition
astrology (politics, economics, ethics, ecology)
Term
the 1997 Kyoto Summit was an international commitment to:
Definition
reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses
Term
bioaccumulation of pollutants in the food chain results in
Definition
a high concentration of toxins is top predators
Term
in the south, ____ creates a situation that encourages industries to take advantage of nearby communities by developing sites at the expense of environment or these communities.
Definition
long-term poverty
Term
in the article, "Water connections," which government decision in 1983 most led to the loss of food sources for the endangered Siberian crane in the Keoladeo National Park in India?
Definition
preventing farmers from grazing their buffalo in the park
Term
Dominated by large metropolitan complexes; left over toxic waste from old industry
Definition
Great Lakes region
Term
Severe climate; takes long time to repair permafrost
Definition
wilderness north
Term
Much is native American or government owned; irrigation with groundwater causes salination (salt) of soil
Definition
Dry West
Term
conflict between logging industry wildlife habitat along Pacific coastal region
Definition
Forested west
Term
unwise development of barrier islands (think hurricanes)
Definition
diverse south
Term
water often polluted by fertilizers, pesticides, and hormones; air pollution from wind-blown soil
Definition
agricultural middle
Term
most closely associated with conflict between ranchers and preservationist; overgrazing a huge issue
Definition
dry west
Term
Often water is so polluted that fishing and recreation are prohibited
Definition
great lakes region
Term
what species of animal was re-introduced into Yellowstone National Park in recent decades, leading to increases in number of beaver, aspen, and willow trees?
Definition
grey wolves
Term
what is the common name for the UNCED meeting in Rio de Janeiro in 1992?
Definition
Earth Summit
Term
the international Join Commission (1990) came from a treaty signed by the US and
Definition
Canada
Term
a region where organisms and the non-living physical surroundings form an interacting unit is best defined as a
Definition
ecosystem
Term
in the textbook's discussion of the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, what single factor was most to blame for the loss of soil to erosion, destruction of natural ecosystems and the loss of water resources?
Definition
human population growth
Term
Point at which there is no significant health or environmental risk
Definition
negligible risk
Term
use of facts to estimate the probability of harm to human health that may result from exposure to pollutants, toxins, or management decisions
Definition
risk assessment
Term
substance that causes cancer
Definition
carcinogen
Term
decision-making process that uses input such as risk assessment and economic impacts
Definition
risk management
Term
expenses borne by someone other than the individuals who are using the resource
Definition
external costs
Term
amoung of product that consumers are willing and able to buy at various prices
Definition
demand
Term
mathematical statement about how likely something will happen
Definition
probablity
Term
using renewable resources in harmony with ecological systems to produce a rise in real income and improved standard of living
Definition
sustainable development
Term
gift to private enterprise by government when the enterprise is in temporary economic difficulty or to foster governmental goals
Definition
subsidy
Term
relationship between available supply of a commodity or service and its price
Definition
supply/demand curve
Term
in some pollutants like mercury, the risk is not cancerous but is perhaps linked to birth defects or neurotoxicity. instead of referring to risk as a probability, researchers refer to levels of exposure estimated to be without harm, also known as a
Definition
reference dose (RfD)
Term
accoring to professional regulators of EPA, which of the following is of greatest danger to the public, especially since the public does not perceive its risk?
Definition
indoor air pollution
Term
t/f: accorind to supply/demand, when the quantity of a resouce devreases, it's price will increase
Definition
true
Term
in extended produce responsibility, major companies strive to:
Definition
all of the above (make packaging re-usable, make products from materials that are less toxic to ecosystems, use materials that are esily recycled and/or reused)
Term
which statement best describes the benefits of 3M's "pollution prevention pays[3P]"
Definition
by following it;s policies of adopting strict pollution-controls, the corporation has actually made billions more
Term
Debt-for-nature allows:
Definition
debtor countries to substitute environmental advances for debt owed to others
Term
t/f: even if funding was available, risk could not be totally eliminated
Definition
true
Term
which of the following is not apart of risk assessment?
Definition
prioritizzation of risk
Term
in cost rican rain forests, which is true
Definition
the government realizes the value of natural settings and has set 20% of the land aside as protected refuges and parks for tourism
Term
according to the text's. "issues and analysis" article, in 200, under the Clinton administration, a program to limit mercury failed due to political pressure from power companies. In 2003 under the Bush administration, mercury emissions were controlled by using tradable permits. according to the articles, what is the great concern about mercury contamination?
Definition
it bioaccumulates in fishes' omega-3 fatty acids, which impacts our food chain
Term
which of the following is not true?
Definition
morals do not change over time
Term
environmental justice is best described by which statement?
Definition
"It's interesting that they always locate hazardous-waste disposal sites closer to poor neighborhoods than rich ones"
Term

t/f: corperations are legal entities desined to operate at a profit, and usually have a greater influence on government policy than politicians and the public.

 

Definition
true
Term
the kyoto protocol was an international agreement about...
Definition
reducing the amount of carbon dioxide and toehr greenhouse gasses emitted by nations
Term
which attitude would state, "Nature is a goddess that needs to be protected rfom the virus of mankind"
Definition
preservationist
Term
based on text essay, Water Connections, which of the following is untrue about water on our planet?
Definition
because our planet's surface is mainly covered with water, which evaporates and rains back down, there are no real water problems today
Term
which ethic would state, "the earth belongs to mankind to do with what he sees fit"
Definition
development
Term
of the 3 theories of moral responsibility, which declares that the environment is an entity that has value at least equal to that of man?
Definition
ecocentric
Term
t/f: poop people in underdeveloped countries make less of an 'ecological footprint' than people in developed nations.
Definition
true
Term
This naturalist from California organized the Sierra Club in the 1890's, and encouraged all city-dwellers to spend time appreciating the wilderness
Definition
John Muir
Term
this writer published Silent Spring in 1962, which dramatized the deadly effect of pesticides on wildlife, and led to changes in laws in the USA.
Definition
Rachel Carson
Term
this naturalist founded the field of game management, and believe that regulated hunting could be used to help control balance in ecosystems by limiting populations of certain species
Definition
Aldo Leopold
Term
this early naturalist had a profound influence on the life of Thoreau; he was one of the first critics of rampant, uncontrolled economic development
Definition
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Term
this well-educated naturalist spend over a year in the woods, learning to live off the land, and eventually writing about it in Walden
Definition
Henry David Thoreau
Term
regulated the production of organic pollutants/toxins
Definition
Stockhom Convention
Term
regulated the trade in endangered species
Definition
CITES
Term
Controlled release of chamicals that were destorying our Ozone Layer
Definition
Montreal Protocal
Term
inorganic phosphorus enters the cycle from:
Definition
mineral rock
Term
inorganic carbon enters the cycle from
Definition
atmosphere
Term
each step in the flow of energy in an ecosystem's food chain is called a
Definition
trophic level
Term
t/f: all biogeochemical cycle must pass through a consumer
Definition
false
Term
inorganic nitrogen is primarily stored in...
Definition
atmosphere
Term
as food energy passes through a food chain, how much of its energy is converted into living material of the next level?
Definition
10%
Term
which of the following is a producer?
Definition
grass
Term
which of following is a secondary consumer?
Definition
wolf
Term
which of the following is not a decomposer?
Definition
grass
Term
Hookworms living in the intestines of a small child is an example of a
Definition
endoparasite
Term
an organism's functional role in its habitat is known as its...
Definition
niche
Term
t/f: energy does not flow through ecosystems--it recycles itself
Definition
false
Term
what term is used to describe food chains that overlap each other?
Definition
food web
Term
a tick feeding on your neck is an example of
Definition
ectoparasite
Term
another name for primary consumers is:
Definition
herbivores
Term
t/f: most of the energy used in ecosystems today originates on the earth
Definition
false
Term
everything that affects an organism during its lifetime is collectively known as its
Definition
environment
Term
the local temperature, soil type and amount of percipitations can best be called
Definition
abiotic factors
Term
according to text article, "water connections", the food chains of the Great Lakes is becoming drastically altered by:
Definition
introduced zebra muscles
Term
the specific space in which an organism lives is
Definition
a habitat
Term
in North America the keystone species for developing our prairie ecosystems were
Definition
bison
Term
t/f: because the air is primarily made of nitrogen, atmospheric nitrogen is easily used by plants and rarely is a limiting factor for plant growth
Definition
false
Term
t/f: predation is a type of symbiotic relationship
Definition
false
Term
heartworms in your dog
Definition
parasitism
Term
yucca moth and yucca plant
Definition
mutualism
Term
cattle egret and cattle
Definition
commensalism
Term
oxpecker and giraffe
Definition
mutualism
Term
cat and songbird
Definition
predation
Term
wolf and mountain lion
Definition
interspecific competition
Term
two dogs, one milk-bone
Definition
intraspecific competition
Term
this bacteria converts nitrogen gas into ammonia; found in soil or in roots of legumes
Definition
nitrogen-fixing
Term
this bacteria converts ammonia into nitrite, making it easier for some plants to uptake
Definition
nitrifying
Term
this bacteria lives in anaerobic conditions and removes oxygen from nitrite to nitrogen gas
Definition
denitrifying
Term
the process by which rock and mineral soil is turned into an ecosystem
Definition
primary succession
Term
those organisms that first move into an ecosystem
Definition
pioneer
Term
another name for succession stage
Definition
sere
Term
t/f: in cool mountain streams, most of the organic matter comes from the land
Definition
true
Term
t/f: an established climax community cannot ever experience primary succession again
Definition
false
Term
shallow, warm, nutrient-rich lakes are called
Definition
eutrophic
Term
those plants that are rooted in the bottom of littoral zones and appear above water are called
Definition
emergent
Term
a frequent pioneer species on a rock
Definition
lichens
Term
deserts are cool at night because
Definition
have little water to hold the heat
Term
in vegetation type
Definition
high altitude is like high latitude
Term
in primary succession of land...
Definition
it requires soil formation over great time
Term
phytoplankton in the oceans are
Definition
producers
Term
high rainfall, steady temperatures, poor soil
Definition
tropical rain forest
Term
usually in mountains or boreal regions; evergreens; snowfall
Definition
taiga
Term
hardwoods; four distinct seasons, undisturbed climax
Definition
temperate deciduous forest
Term
low rainfall, temperature extremes each day, animals with special adaptations to survive
Definition
desert
Term
low rainfall, good soils, often wildfires
Definition
grassland
Term
Lichen is a mutualistic symbiosis between 2 creatures: an ascomycete (fungi) together with a _______
Definition
algae or bacteria
Term
Betsy loves to fish for large mouth bass. when she wades into the shallows of the pond amongst the water plants to cast her lure, she is standing in the _____ zone
Definition
littoral
Term
what two factors determine the type of terrestrial biome?
Definition
precipitation and temperature
Supporting users have an ad free experience!