Current topic 2.0 2026

point source

any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged, such as a pipe, ditch, ship or factory smokestack.

industrial facilities

Factories, oil refineries, and paper mills can discharge heated water, chemicals, heavy metals, and other toxins through pipes or smokestacks.

wasterwater treatment

Release treated or untreated sewage, which can contain nutrients, bacteria, and other pollutants, directly into rivers or coastal waters.

CAFO

concentrated animal feeding opertions:

CAFO

Can release bacteria and nutrients into water.

CWA

Protects American water quality from point-source pollutants, but non-point sources like groundwater are much harder to trace to one specific origin

CWA

Also regulates sewer and drainage systems

directly

to qualify for the CWA the polluted waterbody must ____ connect to large rivers, lakes, and oceans used for shipping and commerce

NPDES

program under the Clean Water Act that requires a permit for any facility that discharges wastewater, setting limits on the quantity and quality of pollutants that can be released.

WQS

water quality standard developed by state and federal agencies

impaired

Waters that don’t meet water quality standards are designated as ______ and subject to additional protections

TMDL

• NPDES calculates a daily maximum water pollution from all sources of pollution that can enter a body of water and still meet Water Quality Standards

Wetland Dredge or Fill permit

requires a permit before dredged or fill material may be discharged into waters of the United States (dredging is removing sediment from the bottom of water)

Agriculture

Excessive nutrients from fertilizers and manures(Nitrogen, Phosphorus)

• Toxins like pesticides can also enter groundwater and degrade sources of drinking water (rivers and such)

agriculture

• Soil disturbing activities

• Sediment pollution: can overwhelm aquatic ecosystems, smother breeding areas, and degrade coastal and marine ecosystems—including coral reefs

• Pesticides (kill non-target species)

• Herbicides

hydromotification

include channelization and channel modification, dams, and streambank and shoreline erosion

hydromodification

This can  diminish suitability of instream and streamside habitat for fish and wildlife

hydromodification

• Increases runoff

• Can alter instream patterns of water temperature and sediment type

hydromofication

Changes the rates and paths of sediment erosion, transport and deposition

hydromodification

the alteration of natural watershed hydrology and stream channel morphology due to land-use changes, urbanization, and water engineering

mines

Abandoned mine drainage is water that is polluted from contact with mining activity, and normally associated with coal mining

acid mine drainage

the formation of highly acidic water rich in heavy metals, caused by the chemical reaction of surface or groundwater with sulfur-bearing minerals (harmful when it mixes with other water sources/groundwater)

stream banks

streamside vegetation  stabilizes:

road construction

• pushes sediment into waterways which can increase turbidity and reduce the ability of aquatic organisms to successfully live, forage, and spawn

timber harvesting

• can reduce the streambank shading that regulates water temperature and by removing vegetation that stabilizes the streambanks. ​​These changes can harm aquatic life by limiting sources of food, shade and shelter, as well as decreasing areas suitable for species intolerant of warmer temperatures. 

roads

 sediment from construction of ____ can make its way into waterways

urban areas

• the ubiquity of concrete doesn’t allow for any water to be absorbed into the ground. Pollutants from cities include:

  • Sediment

  • Oil, grease, and toxic chemicals from cars

  • Pesticides and nutrients from gardens 

  • Viruses and bacteria from failing septic systems

  • Road salts

  • Heavy metals

  • Thermal pollution from impervious surfaces

sedimentary pollution

• can smother submerged aquatic vegetation, cover shellfish beds and tidal flats, fill in riffle pools, and contribute to increased levels of turbidity and nutrients

turbidity

• Can clog gills of aquatic organisms

• Reduce organisms’ resistance to disease

• Limit ability to hunt/see

• Hinder growth (no light means no photosynthesis)

• When particles settle on the bottom, they can smother fish eggs

• Can also increase water temperature because rocks trap heat

• Heat dissolves oxygen

• Can build up stream beds

dead zone

•  an area of hypoxia (low to no oxygen) in the water

• Can kill fish and marine life who need Oxygen to live

gulf hypoxia program

• established by the EPA to help solve the hypoxia problem in the Gulf of Mexico by reducing nutrient runoff

red tides

A harmful algal bloom, where lots of toxin-producing grow due to excessive nutrients (N and P)

karneia brevis

One common harmful algae is the _______, which produces brevotoxins and causes red tides in the Gulf of Mexico

respiratory

People near a red tide can inhale sea spray in the air, which causes _____ problems

fish

Can’t eat_____ in an area during a red tide

green infrastructure

• Can also lower air temperatures (urban heat problem in many American cities)

• Economical solutions to cities’ flooding problems, as opposed to replacing or adding to sewers/pipes

green infrastructure

____ methods are various ways of reducing runoff, mitigating flooding, and treating rainwater (mimicking the water system)

green roofs

roofs covered in vegetation to absorb rainwater, reducing runoff

rain gardens

planted areas designed to collect and absorb rainwater from rooftops, driveways, and lawns, allowing it to filter into the ground

bioswales

vegetated channels or depressions that guide stormwater runoff as it travels across a landscape, and the soil filters it

permeable pavements

porous paving materials used in parking lots, sidewalks, and alleys that allow rainwater to soak into the ground rather than running off

rainwater harvesting

collecting rainwater and using it later

trees

Planting _____ and such to intercept rainfall (evergreens and conifers found to intercept 35% of water that falls on them)

ad hominem attack

Relies on attacking the character, motives, or attributes of the person making a claim

ad hominem attack

Ex: One of the Congressmen in support of a certain bill cheated on his wife, so you shouldn’t trust his opinion and the bill shouldn’t be passed.

appeal to tradition

Used to justify a claim/action because “it’s always been done that way”

appeal to tradition

Ex: SDS has always had a dress code, so we should continue to have one.

appeal to authority

Uses support from an influential person or expert to back up a claim, even if that person isn’t an expert or authority on the particular subject that’s being discussed

appeal to authority

 ex. My Dad is an astrophysicist and he says nonpoint source pollution isn’t that bad for the environment, so it must be true.

appeal to emotion

 -emotional manipulation instead of facts

 -can be negative or positive

appeal to emotion

Officer, I know I was speeding, but please don't give me a ticket. I'm already struggling financially, and this will make my life so difficult". (Personal circumstances are irrelevant to the violation).

appeal to ignorance

saying that a claim is true because it has not been proven false

appeal to ignorance

 -Ex: "No one has proven ghosts don't exist, therefore they must exist".

argumentum ad populum

-claiming something is true because other people believe it

argumentum ad populum

 -"Smoking can't be that bad for you; millions of people have smoked for decades".

personal incredulity

A fallacy where the speaker does not personally believe something, and asserts that it must be objectively false.

personal incredulity

“I cannot imagine how cheese sticks could be a good snack, therefore they must (factually) not be a good snack.”

association

A fallacy where the speaker states that if 2 things fall under the same category, they must share the same properties

association

Ex: Since Top Gunnn and Ant-Man are both action movies, and Top Gunnn is about flying planes, Ant-Man must also be about flying planes.

Fallacy fallacy

Stating that since an entire argument contains a fallacy, that argument’s claim must be false.

fallacy fallacy

Ex: Camden says, “Since meatball subs are better than spaghetti and meatballs, sandwiches are better than pasta.” So Cooper says, “That’s a hasty generalization fallacy - so you’re wrong, pasta is better than sandwiches.” Even though spaghetti and meatballs are indeed better than meatball subs (in this example), and Camden did indeed use a fallacy, Cooper is wrong - sandwiches are still better than pasta (in this example).

cherry picking

 Only selecting and using data that boosts your claim, and withholding data that doesn’t boost or boosts a counterclaim. The more data withheld the more fallacious the argument

cherry picking

Person 1 has 2 pieces of data that supports their claim and 3 pieces of data that supports the counterclaim. Person 1 only shows the 2 pieces of data that support their claim.

false cause

Assumption that two things have a cause and effect relationship

false cause

Example: Person 1 believes that since they bring an umbrella when it rains, then it won’t rain if they don’t bring an umbrella

hasty generalization

Drawing a conclusion based upon a small sample

hasty generalization

Example: Fudge, Rocky Road, and PB and chocolate ice cream all have chocolate in them, so every ice cream must have chocolate in it

red herring

irrelevant information is introduced to distract from the original argument, allowing a speaker to abandon the main issue

red herring

Ex. a reporter asks a political about their plan to address climate change, they respond by discussing how their tax cut boosted the economy

single cause

occurs when a complex event with multiple contributing factors is wrongly attributed to a single cause; oversimplifies reality

single cause

Ex. The increase in wildfires is only because of bad forest management (ignores climate change, lighting, etc)

slippery slope

where an arguer claims that a relatively small first step will inevitably lead to a chain of related, and typically catastrophic event, without providing sufficient evidence for why that chain reaction is certain to occur

slippery slope

If you don’t lock your car, it will get broken into, then they’ll steal your house keys, and then they’ll rob your home

strawman

refuting an argument different from the one actually under discussion, while not recognizing or acknowledging the distinction

• Exaggerating (sometimes grossly) an opponent's argument, then attacking this exaggerated version.

strawman

Ex:  In 2016 Hilary Clinton once said that she believed in open trade borders (in the context of the market).  Donald Trump took this out of context in a 2018 speech to say that Democrats want open borders (in relation to immigration). 

loaded question

a form of complex question that contains a controversial assumption (e.g., a presumption of guilt).

loaded question

^{Example:  Has Camden stopped cheating on tests?}