Business Development

Q: Why might the location of the city of Las Vegas in the southwest desert be considered unsustainable? Consider using information about water scarcity and stress found in Chapter 11 Water Resources and Water Pollution.

Q: Runoff of eroded soil and chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides from cropland, feedlots, logged forests, urban streets, parking lots, lawns, and golf courses are examples of __________ sources.

Q: Pollution from synthetic inorganic fertilizers and pesticides can be prevented through ____________________ farming.

Q: ___________________ sewage treatment systems are those that work with nature and are sustainable alternatives to conventional systems.

Q: In the spring and summer of each year a(n) ____________________ occurs off the U.S. coast in the Gulf of Mexico mostly because of nitrates and crop fertilizers.

Q: When chemical pollutants reach a(n) ____________________, successful cleanup is often not possible or is too expensive.

Q: ANSWER: oxygen-depleted

Q: The cold temperatures of ____________________ slow down chemical reactions that decompose wastes.

Q: The desalination process called ____________________ (or microfiltration) uses high pressure to force saltwater through a filter that removes the salt and other impurities.

Q: When South Africa raised water prices, low-income consumers were helped be establishing ____________________, which give each household a set amount of free or low-priced water to meet basic needs.

Q: The LifeStraw is a portable ____________________ that eliminates many bacteria and viruses, making water safer to drink.

Q: Spaces in rock and soil called the zone of ____________________ are completely filled with water.

Q: Human activities can greatly accelerate the rate at which nutrients and organic substances enter aquatic ecosystems from their surrounding watersheds in a process called _________________________.

Q: In the United States, ____________________ supply nearly all of the drinking water in rural areas.

Q: Government ____________________ keep the price of water so low that users do not worry about wasting water.

Q: Withdrawing massive amounts of groundwater can cause land elevation to become lower, which is also called ____________________.

Q: One of the most serious overdrafts of groundwater is in the United States in the lower half of the ________________aquifer.

Q: ____________________ is the process where bodies of water are enriched with natural nutrients.

Q: The area of land adjacent to a stream called a(n) ____________________.

Q: The process called ____________________ involves removing dissolved salts from ocean water to increase supplies of freshwater.

Q: When a lot of water is pumped from an aquifer, or when there is a drought, the ____________________ may become lowered.

Q: ____________________ are deep underground sources of freshwater found between the porous geological layers of sand, gravel, or bedrock.

Q: How is an oxygen sag curve created? a. unlined landfills, household chemicals, mining refuse, and industrial discharges b. breakdown of biodegradable wastes by bacteria depletes dissolved oxygen c. bacteria from livestock and food-processing wastes, and excess salts from soils of irrigated cropland d. major erosion of sediments and runoff of toxic chemicals e. animal feedlots, food-processing facilities, paper mills

Q: What are the main sources of lead, mercury and arsenic water pollutants? a. electric power plants b. unlined landfills, household chemicals, mining refuse and industrial discharges c. sewage and inorganic fertilizers d. runoff from streets and parking lots e. land erosion from farms that have used chemical insecticides

Q: What is one characteristic of ecological sewage systems as opposed to most current sewage systems? a. Less centralized systems of underground sewage pipes b. Higher water and chlorination bills c. More difficult to clean up leaks and pollution d. More energy needed to pump and purify water e. Less political and community action involved for implementation

Q: How do composting toilet systems help improve sewage treatment? a. Sewage flows into a passive solar greenhouse. b. Waste is converted to a soil-like humus that can be used as a fertilizer. c. Water passes through an artificial marsh made of sand and gravel filtering out organic waste. d. Household sewage and wastewater is pumped into a settling tank. e. Aerobic bacteria remove as much as dissolved and biodegradable, oxygen- demanding organic wastes.

Q: What does the EPA discharge trading policy use to reduce pollution? a. stocks and bonds b. tax credits c. public policy statements d. fair trade laws e. market forces

Q: The majority of the oil pollution of the ocean comes from ____. a. blowouts (rupture of a borehole of an oil rig in the ocean) b. tanker accidents c. environmental terrorism d. runoff from land e. normal operation of offshore wells

Q: What aquatic ecosystem is most capable of diluting, dispersing, and degrading large amounts of sewage, sludge, and oil? a. estuary b. swiftly flowing stream c. deep-water ocean d. coastal parts of the ocean e. slow-moving river

Q: What aquatic ecosystem receives the vast majority of the global inputs of pollution? a. benthic zone of abyssal plain b. swiftly flowing stream c. deep-water ocean d. coastal parts of the ocean e. slow-moving river

Q: What is the only effective way to protect groundwater? a. pollution prevention b. community-based local clean up c. bioremediation d. sewage treatment e. stream restoration

Q: What can take decades to thousands of years to cleanse itself of slowly degradable wastes? a. lakes b. soil c. groundwater d. oil contaminated surface waters e. urban waterways

Q: Eighty-five percent of what exists near major U. S. population centers and have some degree of cultural eutrophication? a. coastal waters b. rivers c. large lakes d. ponds e. streams

Q: What causes cultural eutrophication? a. natural nutrient enrichment of a shallow lake c. increase in aerobic bacteria d. increase of plants such as duckweed e. input of nutrients from human activities ANSWER: e

Q: What decreases photosynthesis in bodies of water? a. disease-causing organisms b. inorganic plant nutrients c. eroded sediment such as soil or silt d. heat e. organic chemicals

Q: What class of pollutant can cause excessive growth of algae? a. sediments from land erosion b. oxygen-demanding wastes from sewage and animal feedlots c. plant nutrients from industry, farms, and households d. organic chemicals from industry, farms, and households e. infectious agents from human and animal wastes

Q: What class of pollutant are acids, salts, and metals? a. oxygen-demanding wastes b. organic plant nutrients c. inorganic plant nutrients d. inorganic chemicals e. sediment

Q: What causes a child to die every 18 seconds, on average, from diarrhea? a. disease-causing agents b. poor hygiene c. contaminated food sources d. contaminated drinking water e. malnutrition

Q: What is an example of nonpoint source pollution? a. drain pipes b. oil wells c. golf courses d. underground mines e. sewage treatment plants

Q: What is by far the leading cause of water pollution? a. unlined landfills b. organic wastes c. untreated sewage waste d. agricultural activities e. oil and natural gas production and development

Q: What is an example of point source pollution? a. offshore oil wells b. livestock feedlots c. urban lands d. croplands e. parking lots

Q: What is the best approach to reducing flood damage? a. funding scientific research on flood prevention b. education of the public c. avoid living on floodplains d. prevention through preserving natural environments e. control through engineering solutions

Q: Wetlands that can increase sustainable agriculture and forestry can be found in ____. a. floodplains b. swamps c. coastal areas d. near lakes e. in areas with high rain

Q: What has resulted along floodplains from channelization and loss of vegetation? a. increased droughts b. reclamation of wetlands c. lower rates of pollution d. increased flooding e. decreased biodiversity

Q: What action could help decrease the single largest use of domestic water in the United States? a. Use a drip system in your garden. b. Install a low-flow shower head. c. Use native plants in your landscaping. d. Install a water-saving toilet tank. e. Use gray water to water your houseplants.

Q: What in Brazil has reduced household water bills by 40%? a. water taxes b. water meters c. national education campaign d. subsidies e. smart cards

Q: According to water resource experts, what are the two main causes of water waste? a. lack of government subsidies for improving the efficiency of water use and ignorance about the amount of water being wasted b. low cost of water to users and lack of government subsidies for improving the efficiency of water use c. industrial agricultural practices and over irrigation d. lack of information about efficient irrigation systems and lack of regulation of water use e. unsustainable management and overpumping of aquifers

Q: What is the most efficient form of irrigation? a. flood irrigation b. center-pivot irrigation c. low pressure irrigation d. precision sprinkler irrigation e. drip irrigation

Q: What type of irrigation commonly used in developing nations loses 45% of the water applied? a. center pivot b. drip c. gravity d. flood e. sprinkler

Q: What is a major disadvantage of desalination? a. reverse osmosis and transpiration b. it is expensive c. not enough brackish water to make it worthwhile d. water cannot be used for irrigation e. polluted sea water

Q: What percentage of the water that people use throughout the world is lost through evaporation, leaks, and inefficient use? two-thirds a. one-tenth b. one-fourth c. one-third d. one-half e. two-thirds

Q: Why did Saudi Arabia announce in 2008 that it would stop producing grain? a. Its major deep aquifer has been depleted by drawing water for irrigation. b. Multiple years of severe droughts have depleted the water table. c. Its very rich, oil-financed economy can easily import food rather than grow its own. d. Desalinization of seawater around Saudi Arabia has contaminated local freshwater reserves. e. Oil seepage from oil fields has contaminated local freshwater reserves.

Q: What has increased the annual reliable runoff available for our use by nearly 33%? a. sustainable water use practices b. dams c. aquifers d. drip irrigation e. water conservation subsidies

Q: What is formed when extreme sudden subsidence occurs within a depleted aquifer? a. sinkholes b. freshwater scarcity stress c. virtual water d. lowered water table e. an impermeable layer that prevents recharge

Q: Large dams and reservoirs ____. a. reduce danger of flooding upstream b. disrupt migration and spawning of fish c. cannot be used for outdoor recreation d. allow extensive downstream transport of sediments e. have created lakes over of otherwise unproductive land

Q: What is the primary problem with drawing groundwater from near ocean coastlines? a. pollution travels faster through sandy soils b. sand clogs up the wells c. sinkholes d. land subsidence e. saltwater can be pulled into freshwater aquifers

Q: What is the main problem with the Ogallala, the worlds largest aquifer that is located in the U.S.? a. government subsidies b. it is essentially a one-time deposit of liquid natural capital with a very slow rate of recharge c. land subsidence d. pollution e. over-irrigation

Q: Why would an aquifer be considered nonrenewable? a. lack of rainfall b. contamination and overpumping c. located in arid regions d. desertification e. excessive irrigation

Q: In addition to natural drought cycles, what could cause as much as 45% of Earths land surface to experience extreme droughts? a. lack of rainfall b. insufficient water for some urban areas c. climate change d. pollution of rivers, lakes, and groundwater e. freshwater scarcity stress

Q: Approximately 70% of the water withdrawn worldwide each year is used for ____. a. industrial processes b. cooling towers of power plants c. irrigation of croplands and raising livestock d. domestic use e. water theme parks in tourist areas

Q: We can say that the United States has ____ freshwater scarcity stress. a. no b. very little or minimal c. average d. spotty e. widespread

Q: Freshwater that is used indirectly is called ____, which is the freshwater that is not directly consumed but is used to produce food and other products. a. industrial water b. irrigation water c. virtual water d. gray water e. ground water

Q: What phenomenon can alter the hydrologic cycle on a global scale? a. gravity b. climate change c. electricity d. geothermal energy e. wind

Q: What is the portion of surface runoff that we can generally count on as a stable source of freshwater? a. surface water b. drainage basin c. reliable runoff d. watershed e. precipitation

Q: What is a water resource that can be considered nonrenewable? a. water vapor in the atmosphere b. precipitation c. surface water in lakes and streams d. deep aquifers e. snowpack

Q: Explain how growing corn in the Midwest creates a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Q: Explain the benefits of using perennial plants rather than annual plants for food crops.

Q: Discuss the relative costs of organically grown food and conventionally produced food. In your answer, explain the reason for these costs. Also give a possible example.

Q: Clearly explain the relationship between irrigation and salinization of soils.

Q: Briefly discuss how governments can save children from the harmful health effects of poverty.

Q: Discuss how governments can use policies to improve food security.

Q: Michael Pollan, in his landmark book The Omnivores Dilemma, investigates and discusses the practices of meat production in modern, industrialized agriculture in the United States. After his extensive study, he writes that he believes hunting for meat may be the more humane and wise choice. He cites the fact that game animals at least live their lives in a free, uncaged environment, compared with beef cattle that spend much of their lives confined in feedlots, standing in manure and eating grain they are not designed to digest. Additionally, the game animal typically has a relatively quick and painless death. Discuss this issue. Include in your discussion aspects of feedlots, energy consumed in meat production, and the relative impacts of farming versus hunting on biodiversity.

Q: It is well-documented that while some synthetic pesticides have caused great harm to living creatures, others have saved lives. Give a brief account of one that has, ironically, saved human lives: DDT.

Q: Polyface Farm in the U.S. state of Virginia raises beef, chickens and pigs. A particular practice on Polyface Farm is to bring chickens into a pasture after the cows have eaten the grass. The chickens eat the insect grubs that are found in the cow manure. While the chickens fatten up on the insect grubs, they also produce waste, which in turn fertilizes the grass the cows will later eat. Explain this process in terms of sustainable agriculture and the basic principles of sustainability.

Q: Animal manure, compost, and green manure are all types of ____________________ because they are derived from plant or animal materials.

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