Environmental Science Lecture Notes

Flashcards about air pollution, water, and energy

Carbon Monoxide

Incomplete combustion of fossil fuels.

Formaldehyde

Found in adhesives and glues; can cause respiratory irritation and lung cancer with long-term exposure.

Radon

Found in the foundation of homes; can seep in through cracks and cause lung cancer.

Asbestos

Found in the insulation of old homes, exposure can lead to mesothelioma lung cancer.

Carcinogen

Chemicals that cause cancer

Scrubbers

Used to reduce primary pollutants released when coal is burned

Wet Scrubbers

Use a liquid base, such as sodium hydroxide or lime water, to react with sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, converting them from a gas to a solid.

Dry Scrubbers

Uses a solid base, such as calcium carbonate, to react with sulfur oxides or nitrogen oxides, precipitating them into a solid for collection and disposal.

Crushed Limestone

Crushed calcium carbonate; when added to a furnace, it reacts with sulfur oxides, precipitating them out and reducing SOX emissions.

Fluidized Bed Combustion System

Has a steady stream of oxygen that allows coal to burn at a lower temperature, reducing NOx formation.

Electrostatic Precipitators

Reduces Particulates by passing an electric charge in the smoke stack charging the particles and attracting them to oppositely charged plates.

Baghouse Filters

An alternative way to reduce particulates

Catalytic Converters

Converts NOx into N2 and O2, carbon monoxide into CO2, and VOCs into CO2 and water vapor.

Industrial Smog

Comes from the burning of coal

Photochemical Smog

Comes from the burning of gasoline in cars.

Thermal Inversion

Occurs when warm air gets trapped close to the ground by cold air, trapping pollutants and increasing air pollution levels.

Eutrophication

Excess fertilizers, manure, and sewage containing nitrogen and phosphorus lead to algal blooms and depletion of oxygen in water bodies.

Mercury

Must be converted to methylmercury by bacteria to bioaccumulate in living things.

POPs

Persistent organic pollutants that are soluble in fat, accumulate in tissue, and increase in concentration as they move up the food chain.

DDT

A persistent organic pollutant that is a pesticide and endocrine disruptor.

High Dissolved Oxygen

Indicates good water quality.

Low Dissolved Oxygen

Indicates bad water quality due to high decomposition from organic waste.

Booms

Barriers used to prevent oil from spreading

Nuclear Power Plants

A major source of thermal pollution.

Cooling Ponds/Towers/Canals

Used to cool water from nuclear power plants before it is released.

Endocrine Disruptors

Disrupts the hormonal system of living things.

Primary Treatment

Removes solids from sewage using screens, filters, and settling tanks.

Secondary Treatment

A biological treatment that removes organic waste from sewage by adding bacteria and oxygen in an aeration tank.

Tertiary Treatment

An optional sewage treatment to remove nitrates and phosphates.

Disinfecting Water

Done using Chlorine, UV, or Ozone

Desalinization

To make freshwater for domestic purposes.

Industrial Fishing Techniques

Includes long lining, trawler nets, and purse seining; has disadvantages such as bycatch and depletion of wild fish populations.

Aquaculture

Raising fish for food in cages or tanks; reduces bycatch and depletion of wild fish but can transmit disease, spread antibiotics, and cause eutrophication.

Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

An environmental problem caused by exposure to antibiotics, where susceptible bacteria die and resistant ones survive and pass on their genes.

Renewable Energy

Energy that will be replenished in a short period of time (solar, wind, hydroelectricity, etc.).

Nonrenewable Energy

Energy sources that take thousands or millions of years to form and are in a fixed or finite amount (fossil fuels, nuclear).

Fossil Fuels

Formed from fossilized remains of plants and animals; release carbon dioxide and air pollutants when burned.

Coal Extraction

Done through Open pit mining strip mining, mountaintop removal; causes deforestation, habitat loss, and uses fossil fuels.

Oil Extraction

Done through Drilling that can lead to oil spills; oil is volatile and hazardous to wildlife.

Natural Gas Extraction (Fracking)

Done through Hydraulic fracturing that pumps fracking fluid into rock at high pressure to break it and release gas; can contaminate groundwater and cause earthquakes.

Hydroelectricity

Uses a reservoir, dam, and generator to convert the energy of water into electricity.

Sunlight

The source of passive solar energy (windows, thermal mass flooring, and insulation).

Active Solar Energy

Uses moving parts, such as reflective mirrors, to concentrate solar energy and boil water to spin turbines.

Photovoltaic Cells

Have a black antireflective surface and contain silicon atoms that get excited by sunlight, causing electrons to move through an external circuit and produce electricity.

Hydrogen Fuel Cells

Involves hydrogen and oxygen going into a battery and producing water vapor and power.

Five Greenhouse Gasses

Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and CFCs.

CFCs

Banned because they depleted the ozone layer.

Sea level rise

Melting of continental ice causes this

Landfills

Areas where waste is deposited and covered with soil; as waste decomposes, methane gas is released.

Incineration

Burning waste, which reduces its volume but releases air pollutants; can be used to generate electricity.

Composting

Decomposing organic waste, such as food scraps and yard waste, into fertilizer.

Recycling

Reprocessing discarded materials into new products; reduces the need for raw materials and lowers energy consumption.

Integrated Waste Management

Using a combination of waste reduction, recycling, composting, and disposal methods to manage waste effectively.

Primary Air Pollutants

Pollutants released directly from the source (vehicles, power plants, factories).

Secondary Air Pollutants

Pollutants formed when primary pollutants react in the atmosphere.

Volatile Organic Compounds

Organic chemicals that evaporate easily; found in paints, solvents, and cleaning products.

Ozone

A secondary pollutant formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds react in sunlight; a component of photochemical smog.

Nitrogen Oxides

Released from burning fossil fuels; contributes to smog and acid rain.

Sulfur Oxides

Released from burning coal; contributes to acid rain.

Particulate Matter

Tiny particles of solids or liquids suspended in the air; can cause respiratory problems.

Keystone Species

A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance; removal can drastically alter the ecosystem.

Indicator Species

Species whose presence, absence, or abundance reflects the health of an ecosystem; useful for monitoring environmental changes.

Invasive Species

A non-native species that spreads rapidly and causes harm to the environment, economy, or human health.

Rangelands

Grasslands used for grazing livestock; can be prone to overgrazing and desertification if not managed properly.

Deforestation

The clearing of forests for other land uses (agriculture, urbanization); leads to habitat loss, soil erosion, and climate change.

Monoculture

The cultivation of a single crop in a given area; can increase yields but also increases susceptibility to pests and diseases.

Pesticide Treadmill

The cycle of increasing pesticide use to overcome evolved resistance in pests; can lead to environmental contamination and health risks.

LD50

The lethal dose 50; the amount of a substance required to kill 50% of a test population; used to measure the toxicity of chemicals.

Trophic Cascade

Occurs when the removal or addition of a top predator affects lower trophic levels in an ecosystem.

Biomagnification

The increasing concentration of a substance, such as a toxic chemical, in the tissues of organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain.

Afforestation

The process of planting trees in areas that were previously not forested; can help sequester carbon and restore ecosystems.

Green Revolution