AP Environmental Science Unit 4-8

for my final :3

Top trash producing country?

China

Top trash producing country per capita?

USA

Two most common items that make up our waste?

Paper and yard waste

How many pounds of trash do Americans produce each day?

4.4 lbs

Ore mined to produce aluminum?

Bauxite

Ways to source reduce?

Reusable coffee cup or water bottle, reusable shopping bag, buy in bulk

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – which uses least energy?

Reduce, then reuse, then recycle

Most common way we dispose trash in the US?

Landfills

Most common problem with landfills?

Groundwater contamination

NIMBY stands for?

Not In My Backyard

What prevents building incinerators in US?

Clean Air Act

RCRA stands for?

Resource Conservation Recovery Act; established cradle

CERCLA stands for?

Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act; cleans sites, compensates victims, holds polluter responsible

Teratogen

Causes birth defects to developing baby

Acute toxicity

Results from single/short exposure (<24 hr.)

Chronic toxicity

Low level exposure over long time

Basel Convention

Illegal to send hazardous waste to 3rd world countries

Why aquatic birds dying?

Eating plastic & feeding it to babies

Eating fish = eating plastic?

Yes

Another name for CERCLA

Superfund

Gas produced in landfill

Methane (CH4)

PCB

Polychlorinated biphenyls; persistent organic pollutant

Synergism

Combination of two drugs causes effect greater than sum of individual effects

LC/LD

50

Population × Affluence × Technology

Factors affecting human damage

Benefits of standing forest?

Reduce erosion, habitat for species

5 factors of invasive species

High dispersal rate, high reproductive rate, generalist, high genetic variability, no natural predators

Aquatic invasive species entry?

Ballast water of ships

NEPA purpose?

Examine federal projects affecting environment & alternatives

External costs

Affect people other than buyer/seller

Problems with fishing?

Overharvesting, bycatch

Fish farming Atlantic salmon bad?

Feed wild fish, bioaccumulation

Fish farming tilapia good?

Land

Effect of invasive species on biodiversity

Reduces it

Forest Stewardship Council purpose?

Sustainable forestry info for consumers

Protect species in US

Endangered Species Act

Protect species abroad

CITES

Importance of diverse forest ages

Supports more bird species

Famous Pacific NW bird

Spotted Owl

Keystone species importance

Maintain ecosystem, preserve biodiversity

Marine Mammal Act protect fish?

No

1 reason for biodiversity loss

Habitat loss

2 reason

Invasive species

Invasive species definition

Human

Ecosystem services

Benefits humans obtain from ecosystems

Tree services

Oxygen, clean water, habitat for deer

Bird services

Insect/rodent control, pollination, seed dispersal

Problem with plantation forestry

Herbicides, pesticides, low biodiversity

Forest management

Sustained yield, multiple use

Sustainable yield

Cut and replant, not just cut

Causes desertification

Overgrazing, deforestation, bad farming

Atmosphere layers

Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere

Where do we live?

Troposphere

Bad ozone location

Troposphere

Most pressure

Troposphere

Least pressure

Thermosphere

Good ozone location

Stratosphere

5 primary pollutants

CO, Hydrocarbons/VOCs, Particulate Matter, NOx, SOx

Primary pollutants

Released in unmodified form

Largest CO source

Automobiles; 2nd largest: burning processes

Hydrocarbons source

Engines, solvents, fires

Particulates effect on humans

Lung accumulation

SOx source

Coal

NOx source

Fossil fuel combustion

Clean Air Act regulated pollutants

SOx, PM, Lead, O3, NOx, CO

Regulated by?

EPA

Photochemical smog definition

Chemical reaction activated by light

Ground

level ozone formation

Acid rain formation

H2O + SOx → H2SO4

Indoor pollutants: asbestos

Insulation; causes lung disease

Formaldehyde source & effect

Building products; irritates, cancer risk

Greenhouse gases

H2O, O3, N2O, CH4, CFCs, CO2; reduced by Kyoto Protocol

Stratospheric ozone destroyer

CFCs; reduced by Montreal Protocol

CO effect on humans

Binds hemoglobin

NOx, SOx, PM, HC, Lead, O3

All have specific environmental & human effects

Weathering types

Mechanical, chemical

Soil sizes

Clay, silt, sand, gravel

Loam

40% sand, 40% silt, 20% clay

Soil horizons

O (organic), A (topsoil), B (subsoil)

Topsoil + O horizon

Majority of organisms

Erosion problem

Losing topsoil faster than formation

Biggest movers of erosion

Wind & water

Deforestation → desertification

Soil loss

Plowing benefit

Bury weeds, bring nutrients to surface

Soil conservation techniques

Cover crop, windbreaks, contour, polyculture, strip farming

Cover crop

Protects soil, adds nutrients, fixes nitrogen

Green Revolution

Synthetic fertilizer & pesticides

4 main crops

Corn, rice, wheat, soy

Problems w/ Green Revolution

Pesticide resistance, eutrophication, low genetic variation

Macronutrients

N, P, K

Micronutrients

Boron, zinc

Pesticides

Biocides

DDT type

Chlorinated hydrocarbon; banned 1972

Pesticide treadmill

Kills good insects, need more pesticides

IPM

Integrated Pest Management; goal → manage not eradicate

FIFRA

Regulates pesticide use

CAFO problems

Eutrophication, antibiotics, smell, cruelty

CAFO benefit

Cheap meat

Nitrogen Cycle

the process that moves nitrogen through the atmosphere, soil, and living organisms.

Nitrogen Fixation

1, bacteria convert nitrogen gas (N₂) into ammonia.