Lecture Exam 1 Study Guide | Trammell ENVR 1402 LSC

Which of the following statements is false?

In the less-developed countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, there is less indoor air pollution than in developed countries.

Formaldehyde is an especially problematic indoor pollutant because it is:

used in so many household materials.

Los Angeles has especially bad inversion problems because it:

is in a warm climate and is partly ringed by mountains.

Stable air masses over cities and warm updrafts between tall buildings often create ________ in and near cities.

dust domes of suspended pollutants

Native peoples living in the Canadian Arctic have some of the highest recorded PCB concentrations in their bodies because of:

long-range transport of airborne pollutants.

Which of the following irrigation techniques is least wasteful of water?

drip irrigation

Which of the following is NOT a factor in determining how much or how little precipitation a region receives?

vegetation

What two things does the hydrologic cycle do?

distributes and purifies water

Which of the following is NOT a part of the hydrologic cycle?

photosynthesis

Transpiration is the way plants

return large amounts of water to the atmosphere.

Evaporation is

liquid water turning to vapor well below boiling temperature.

The rainiest or snowiest zone on the mountain in the diagram would be in the area marked:

from A to B.

The rain shadow on the mountain in the diagram would be in the area marked:

from C to D.

Air moving in the direction indicated in the diagram will become warmer as it moves from:

B to D.

Air moving in the direction indicated in the diagram will become dryer as it moves from:

B to D.

Which of the following criteria pollutants is toxic to the human nervous system?

lead

As aggregate emissions of the six criteria pollutants ________ since 1970, gross domestic product has ________.

decreased, increased

Which of the following is not a component of acid precipitation?

ozone

When examining satellite images of Earth, it is possible to see aerosols and dust moving from the west coast of Africa across the Atlantic Ocean. The pollutant described is

particulate matter.

Which of the following would be considered examples of particulate matter? (select all that apply)

dust, plant spores, soot

The San Joaquin Valley in California has sunk because groundwater is withdrawn faster than it is replaced causing collapse of pore spaces underground. This is called

subsidence.

Which of the following is NOT an effect that urbanization has on water?

Urbanization increases transpiration.

As population has increased since 1900, all of the following uses have increased. Which of the following water withdrawals cannot be directly reduced by conservation efforts?

evaporation from reservoirs

How does the process of desalination generate fresh water?

Saltwater is either heated or filtered to separate the salt from the water

Why is there so little easily accessible fresh water on Earth? (Select all that apply.)

The vast majority of water on Earth is salty, so not fit for human consumption.

Most fresh water on Earth is frozen in glaciers or stored underground so it is difficult to access.

The principal source of infectious waste material in water is

human feces.

Examples of point sources of water pollution include

a sewage outfall from a city sewer plant.

Since the Clean Water Act of 1972, the quantities of nitrate and phosphate entering surface waters have

have decreased for point sources but not nonpoint sources.

About 1.5 million Americans get sick annually from fecal contamination producing large health costs. Preventive measures would cost

less

The Clean Water Act has turned out to be ________ in achieving its point source goals

very effective

The central goal of the U.S. Clean Water Act was to

make all surface waters swimmable and fishable.

Atmospheric deposition of pollutants is an example of point source pollution.

False

Eutrophication is a natural process that has been greatly stimulated by human activities.

True

Runoff of pesticides from lawns, fields, golf courses, and other areas is considered to be one of the most important sources of toxic organic pollution of water.

True

The greatest remaining need in rectifying remaining water pollution problems in the United States and Canada is solving the point source discharge problem.

False

Pollution of water in large aquifers is essentially irreversible in the short term (decades).

True

A 2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that resulted in the EPA dropping enforcement actions on at least 1,500 water pollution cases and the exclusion of the drinking water sources of over 117 million Americans was based on the court's interpretation of the word

navigable

Air pollution can lead to water contamination via a process called atmospheric deposition.

True

The use of water to cool industrial facilities

can result in a thermal plume and attract certain fish, birds, and marine mammals.

MTBE is a gasoline additive

intended to reduce carbon monoxide in vehicle exhaust and is a very serious source of groundwater pollution in the United States.

For each pound of waste produced by a person in Europe or Japan, on average, ________ is produced in the United States

two pounds

________ is/are readily recyclable

Glass

The largest share of U.S. waste is

agriculture

Ocean dumping

kills tens of thousands of fur seals each year.

Demanufacturing refers to a process by which

consumer appliances and computers are dismantled, and valuable materials are recovered.

The most preferable approach to municipal waste management, by far, is

reduction of production

Household wastes that properly can be flushed down the drain or toilet include all of the following except

herbicides.

Brownfields are

properties contaminated with hazardous materials that are abandoned or not being fully used.

Use of microbes and other life forms to remove toxic contaminants from soil and ground water

offers considerable promise for cleaning up contaminated material.

The per-ton cost of waste disposal is projected to continue to rise as fewer acceptable sites for waste disposal become available

True