Pollutant Categories
What is the source of Acid Deposition pollution?
Burning fossil fuels.
What is the greatest contributing factor that threatens our oceans?
Tragedy of the Commons.( Everyone assumes everyone owns the ocean to use, but none owns it by agreed boundaries).
What is climate determined by?
Climate is determined by the long-term pattern of temperature and precipitation averages and extremes at a location.
How are nutrients lost from the soil?(2 ways)
Leaching and direct runoff.
How many sediment pollution BMPs are there?
There are seven.
List at least 2 of the 4 sources for sediment pollution.
Land erosion, logging, construction, agriculture.
What is the greatest threat to upland streams?
Development.
What changes the chemistry of ocean water?
Absorption of CO2 from the atmosphere.
What are the substances we think of most when talking about nutrient pollution?
Nitrogen and phosphorus.
What do Forestry BMPs do?
Reduce erosion on logging roads and forest land.
List at least 3 of the 5 examples of Heavy Metal pollution.
Mercury, Zinc, Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium.
What is thermal pollution?
The returning of heated water from power plants to rivers.
What dominates the energy and water cycles?
Covering 70% of the earth, the ocean exerts a major control on climate change by dominating the energy and water cycles.
Nitrogen and phosphorus are found in what?
Commercial fertilizers and animal wastes.
Give me 4 ways to catch sediment near water.
Use grassed waterways, filter strips, buffers, and riparian areas.
List at least 3 (of 5) examples of the pollutant category, Radioactive Materials.
Uranium, Cesium, Radon, Iodine, Thorium.
Why did people dump sewage and water into rivers?
They believed "dilution is the solution" so they thought the waters of the earth could take care of and dilute any type of wastes.
Why are the snow packs and mountain glaciers declining?
Due to global warming. Snow packs and mountain glaciers are water supply for some people.
What do BMPs prevent in water? (3 things)
Cultural Eutrophication, algae blooms, and depletion of oxygen in the water that can kill aquatic organisms.
What should we avoid that reduces ground cover and why?
Avoid overgrazing because if cows and other grazers eat all the grass, the sediment will easily be washed into water bodies.
List all 4 sources of Radioactive Material pollution.
Mining and processing of ores, weapons' production, power plants, natural sources.
Give at least 3 of the 5 Natural Threats to wetlands.
Erosion, Subsidence, Sea level rise, Droughts, Hurricanes and other storms.
What is the only explanation for climate change that is consistent with all available evidence?
Human impacts are playing an increasing role in climate change.
What is Animal Waste Management?
A BMP. Animal waste management refers to proper storage of the waste and proper rate of application to fields.
What do soil conservation practices include? (List all 5)
Conservation tillage, no till, cover crops, contour farming, strip-cropping.