ISAT321_Exam1 study guide-1

ISAT 321: Exam 1 Study Guide

Exam Format

• Types of questions: multiple choice, fill-in the blank, short answer, drawing, problem-solving.

Key Lecture Topics

Environmental Ethics, Laws, and Regulations

• Continuum of Ethics: From anthropocentric to holistic.

  • Utilitarianism: Promotes greatest good for the greatest number; views resources for human use.

  • Conservation: Emphasizes indefinite benefits from environmental conservation.

  • Preservation: Advocates for nature's intrinsic worth; nature should be preserved for its own sake.

  • Ecological Ethics: Regards the landscape as an interconnected system, including human impact; focuses on ecosystem health.

  • Sustainability: Balances social, economic, and environmental needs; aims for long-term ecological preservation.

Tragedy of the Commons

• Definition: Individuals act in self-interest regarding common resources, leading to degradation.

• Avoidance strategies:

  • Implementation of laws and regulations.

  • Use of incentives for conservation or taxes for excessive use.

  • Possible use of cap-and-trade systems.

3-Streams Model of Policy Development

• Problem Stream: Indicators and public awareness.

• Policy Stream: National mood and public opinion.

• Political Stream: Solutions and feasibility of alternatives.

• **Significant Events from the 1960s/1970s: **

  • Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, air quality crises, sewage problems, fear of nuclear energy, Cuyahoga River fire.

Understanding Regulatory Processes

Laws vs. Regulations

• Laws: Created by Congress with limited scientific input; public participation through politics.

• Regulations: Created by agencies (e.g., EPA); more robust scientific input; formal public participation.

Major Environmental Laws

• Water:

  • Clean Water Act (CWA) covers discharges.

  • Safe Drinking Water Act protects drinking water quality.

• Air:

  • Clean Air Act (CAA) deals with atmospheric emissions.

• Waste Management:

  • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for waste handling.

  • CERCLA addresses hazardous waste sites.

• Hazardous Chemicals:

  • Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for toxic substance regulation.

  • FIFRA for pesticides.

• Others:

  • NEPA assesses environmental impacts; ESA protects endangered species.

Data Management for Decision-Making

Indicators and Indices

• Indicator: Simplifies environmental data into a score (e.g., North River health metric).

• Index: Combines multiple indicators into one measure (e.g., Air Quality Index).

Iceberg Model of Complex Problems

• Visible Top: Analyses based on events.

• Tier 2: Patterns of behavior derived from indicators.

• Tier 3: System structures and models.

• Bottom Layer: Mental models originating from beliefs and ethics.

Models in Environmental Studies

Usefulness and Limitations

• Benefits: Simplification, visual understanding, predictive capabilities, scenario analysis.

• Limitations: Cannot account for all factors; may oversimplify complex problems.

Mass Balance Concepts

Key Units for Mass Balance

• Area: m²

• Volume: m³

• Velocity: m/s

• Flowrate: volume/time

• Concentration measures: mass/volume, ppm, ppmv.

Mass Balance Problem Types

• Steady-state: No mass accumulation.

• Non-steady state: Mass accumulates.

• Conservative Systems: No internal transformations.

• Non-conservative Systems: Internal transformations occur.

Risk Assessment Framework

• Definition of Risk: Probability of unwanted occurrence.

• Risk formula: Risk = probability x severity.

• Two Types of Risk Assessment:

  1. Human Health: Considers risk to people.

  2. Ecological: Considers risk to ecosystems.

• Risk Perception Factors: Change perception based on voluntary vs. involuntary risks, familiarity, control, and trust.

Specific Hazards and Terms

• Acute Toxicity: Harm from brief exposure.

• Chronic Toxicity: Harm from long-term exposure.

• Understand definitions and methods for assessing carcinogenic risks.

Contaminant Pathways & Mechanisms

• Fate and Transport: Physical movement of contaminants through environment.

• Routes of Exposure: Ingestion, dermal contact, inhalation.

Identifying Receptors and Endpoints

• Receptors: Species potentially impacted by stressors.

• Endpoints: Parameters for measuring ecological effects.

Exposure Pathway Modeling

• Understand how to visualize contaminant flow from source to receptor.

Dose-Response Testing

• Key metrics: LD50, ED50, LOEL, NOEL, RfD.

Cancer vs. Non-Cancer Risk Evaluation

• Cancer risk follows a linear model with no threshold; non-cancer risk has a threshold.

Risk Management Strategies

• Information from risk assessment informs actions for public and environmental safety.

Federal Environmental Acronyms

• NPDES: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.

• TSCA: Toxic Substances Control Act.

• EPA: Environmental Protection Agency.

• FIFRA: Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.

Air Quality Management

• Air Quality Index (AQI): Measures air pollution levels, categories from good to hazardous.

• Success of Clean Air Act in regulating pollutants via emission standards and permitting.

Air Quality Permit Process

• Includes reviews, emissions calculations, and public communications.

Problems to Prepare For

• General unit conversions, mass balance problems, cancer/non-cancer risk calculations, and understanding complex case studies.