Ch. 19, 20, 21 – Flashcards
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____ strongly influences the amount of energy generated from hydro power
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The volume of water released and the height of the fall
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When we burn fossil fuels
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The greatest environmental impact is increased greenhouse gases
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Biomass energy ____
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Can be created by microbial action or burned directly as wood or dung
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Coal continues to be the main fuel used to generate electricity in the United States. This is partially because
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The country has such large reserves of coal
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The greatest damage to the environment caused by oil extraction is from
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Road construction and infrastructure development
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Biodiesel ____
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Can be used in vehicles with diesel engines without engine modification
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Before mining techniques improved in the 1700's, the resource that provided the greatest amount of energy for
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Wood
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Worldwide, the most widely used renewable energy resources is ____
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Biomass
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Natural gas ___
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Produces less greenhouse gases per energy unit than coal
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Biofules and nuclear power may prove useful as
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Energy to bridge the time between fossil fuel depletion and new renewables
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Of the available policy options regarding eventual conversion to renewable energy sources, environmentalists would probably prefer that
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We encourage, with subsides, tax rebates, and grants, the rapid development and widespread use of renewable alternative energy resources
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Which of the following characterizes U.S. nuclear power plants?
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Highly subsidized
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Atomic energy in power plants is created via
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Fissioning uranium atoms by bombarding them with neutrons
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Ultimately, all bio fuels are ____, because they are the result of ____
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Solar;photosynthesis
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The entire pool of oil is not extracted from a well because
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It is not cost-effective
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One of the obstacles to the rapid replacement of nonrenewable energy sources with renewable energy sources is
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The lack of government and private financial support for the development of renewable energy sources
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A major advantage of solar power is that
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Solar systems provide local, decentralized control over power
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The primary motivation to develop the new renewable energy sources come from
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Concerns over diminishing fossil fuel supplies and negative environmental impacts of fossil fuel use
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Offshore wind farms are being seriously considered because
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Wind speeds are higher and turbulence is lower
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The largest problem with adopting the new technology of renewable resources is
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That the start-up coast are high
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Potential energy sources from oceans ____
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motion of currents, waves and tides; ocean thermal energy
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Whether a hydrogen-based energy system is environmentally cleaner than a fossil fuel system depends on
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How the hydrogen is extracted
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The current practice of geothermal power generation may not provide a practical renewable energy source because
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In many causes, the heated groundwater is used much faster than it is recharged
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"new renewable" are
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Solar, wind, geothermal
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The safeguard against groundwater contamination, sanitary landfills are
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Lined with plastic and clay
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Industrial ecologists ___
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Seek to redesign industrial systems to minimize physical inefficiency while maximizing economic efficiency
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E-wastes are a source of
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Heavy metals
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which of the following represents criteria fro classifying hazardous waste?
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Corrosive, ignitable, reactive, toxic
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___ represents the largest source of unregulated hazardous waste
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Households
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Presently in the United States, low-level radioactive waste is
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Disposed of in New Mexico
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RCRA is a U.S. law enacted in the 1970's to
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Regulate how hazardous waste is handled
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The earthworms, fungi and bacteria in a compost pile will not be happy if you give them
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Plastic
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The best solution to the solid waste problem is to
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Reduce the amount of materials that enters the waste stream
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Our global society has a great potential to address concerns of sustainability today compared to previous societies because
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We have many thousands of scientists who study Earth's process and resources closely
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There is ample reasons to hope that we may achieve sustainability before doing too much damage to our planet, and to our own prospects, because of the human
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Ingenuity and determination
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Environmental protection can positively affect local economies by
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Creating jobs that will attract companies from the sectors of the economy
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Many proponents of sustainability believe that encouraging local self-sufficiency is important to building sustainable societies because
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When people are tied more closely to the area they live in, they will value the area more and seek to sustain its environment and its human communities
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The triple bottom line includes
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Environmental quality, social justice and economic well-being
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The term sustainability refers to
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Keeping the natural environment and human society in a happy, healthy and functional state
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It is imperative that developed countries assist developing countries in economic advancement for sustainability because
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There is a direct concern between poverty and those who suffer the most from environmental degradation
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We could, in theory, make all of our industrial process sustainable if we could ____
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Transform linear processes into circular ones
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Working to achieve sustainability on college and university campuses
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Will have long-term benefits to society when students graduate
