Deck 34: The Environment and Energy

Question 1

Automobiles powered by a gasoline-burning engine and battery-operated electric motor are called

A)hybrid vehicles.
B)ethanol-fueled vehicles.
C)fuel-cell vehicles.
D)bipolar vehicles.

Answer 1

hybrid vehicles.

Question 2

The growth control movement in California

A)was hurt by a U.S.Supreme Court decision overturning the Petaluma "no-growth" plan.
B)drew major support from residents of poor neighborhoods who opposed all forms of commercial development.
C)resulted in voter approval of more than 1500 slow-growth measures throughout the state in the 1980s and 1990s.
D)lost its momentum by the late 1990s.

Answer 2

resulted in voter approval of more than 1500 slow-growth measures throughout the state in the 1980s and 1990s.

Question 3

California's major renewable sources of energy include

A)solar power.
B)wind power.
C)biomass.
D)all of the above.

Answer 3

all of the above.

Question 4

By the early 2000s the problem of California's dependency on petroleum as a fuel for transportation

A)had essentially disappeared.
B)remained unresolved.
C)was significantly reduced by the development of ethanol.
D)was mitigated by a major decrease in gasoline usage in the Los Angeles basin.

Question 5

By the early 2000s California's use of petroleum to generate electricity

A)was reduced to less than 1 percent.
B)soared to more than 40 percent.
C)rose in direct proportion to population increases.
D)remained unchanged from the 1970s.

Question 6

Climatologists warned that global warming could harm California by causing

A)a significant increase in heat-related deaths.
B)water supply chaos.
C)the inundation of coastal areas.
D)all of the above

Question 7

The Global Warming Solutions Act

A)mandated a reduction of emissions of carbon dioxide.
B)was the world's first economy-wide program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
C)championed by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger.
D)all of the above

Question 8

California business and labor interests have tended to oppose environmental legislation in California.

Question 9

Photovoltaic panels were devices using

A)recycled photo equipment to produce petroleum.
B)voltage meters to combat cancer cells.
C)solar cells to convert sunlight into electricity.
D)recycled computer monitors to combat global warming.

Question 10

The California "smog" problem

A)was worsened by the elimination of annual car inspections in the early 2000s.
B)was ignored by state and local governments.
C)showed steady improvement in the San Francisco Bay area and the Los Angeles basin between 1980 and 2000.
D)improved significantly in the medium-sized cities of the Central Valley during the 1990s.

Question 11

The movement to Save the Bay was launched by

A)Governor Jerry Brown.
B)the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission.
C)a group of dedicated women.
D)San Francisco Bay Scavengers and their allies.

Question 12

The collapse of the annual salmon runs was caused in part by

A)cooler ocean temperatures.
B)removal of dams and reservoirs needed for spawning.
C)accumulated pollutants.
D)all of the above

Question 13

President George W.Bush's plan to increase the number of trees cut in the Sierra Nevada was

A)supported by Governor Gray Davis.
B)ruled illegal by a federal court.
C)implemented by his successor Barack Obama.
D)opposed by Governor Pete Wilson.

Question 14

The California Coastal Commission

A)was created in part as a reaction to the Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969.
B)was enthusiastically supported by Governor Jerry Brown.
C)was weakened by subsequent Republican governors.
D)all of the above

Question 15

The water policy reforms enacted by the legislature in 2009

A)permitted a 20 percent increase in per capita water usage.
B)dismantled hundreds of levees to restore waterfowl habitats.
C)strengthened the monitoring of groundwater usage.
D)abolished the antiquated Delta Stewardship Council.

Question 16

Between 1988 and 2008,California's reliance on foreign sources of petroleum

A)declined precipitously.
B)rose from just 5 percent to nearly 50 percent.
C)entered "terminal decline."
D)remained steady as the nation fought wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Question 17

According to the textbook,most scientists have concluded that the primary cause of global warming was the

A)increased concentration of greenhouse gases released by human activity.
B)reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.
C)melting of the polar ice caps.
D)thickening of the ozone layer.

Question 18

The protection of endangered species in California was

A)strengthened by the actions of Governor Pete Wilson.
B)strengthened by the actions of Governor Gray Davis.
C)set back by a voter rejection of two key conservation bond measures in 2000.
D)all of the above.

Question 19

In the battle over Mono Lake

A)environmental groups opposed the city of Los Angeles.
B)the Supreme Court ruled against the environmentalists.
C)biologists asserted that the environmental threat to the lake had been "grossly overstated."
D)residents of Los Angeles went on a "water strike."

Question 20

According to the textbook,e-waste was a problem because it

A)was ignored entirely by pro-business governor Gray Davis.
B)contained toxins that could leach into groundwater.
C)threatened the re-sale market for computer monitors.
D)led to the dismantling of the Toxic Substances agency.

Question 21

The presidential administration of Republican George W.Bush banned private timber companies from national forests.

Question 22

Because of its unique geographical setting the San Francisco Bay area has been able to avoid a severe smog problem.

Question 23

Summarize the major environmental problems facing California in the coming decades.What are the prospects that Californians will be able to deal with them successfully?

Question 24

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC)was a model for the creation of other regional agencies to control development.

Question 25

Describe briefly the California electricity energy crisis of the early 2000s.What caused the crisis? How did the state respond? Who was harmed and who benefited from the crisis?

Question 26

By the early 2000s,the water quality of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta had deteriorated to the lowest level in more than two decades.

Question 27

In the early 2000s,environmentalists expressed growing concern about threats to the state's biological diversity.

Question 28

As a result of sustained opposition from antinuclear groups in California,the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission refused to allow full production of nuclear power at the Diablo Canyon plant.

Question 29

Identify and briefly explain the major alternative sources of energy in California.Which ones promise to be the most significant in the state's future?

Question 30

By the early 2000s,solar energy was used to produce nearly 10 percent of California's electricity.

Question 31

California has a wide variety of alternative energy sources.

Question 32

In the early 1990s state and federal air pollution regulations were relaxed in California.

Question 33

The state's dependency on petroleum as a transportation fuel remained unresolved by the early 2000s.

Question 34

Energy experts agree that worldwide petroleum production peaked in the early 1970s.

Question 35

As governor,Jerry Brown was a strong supporter of the California coastal commission.

Question 36

Major automakers supported enthusiastically the state's requirement for the mass production of electric cars.

Question 37

Explain the major struggles between the forces of environmental protection and economic development in recent California history.What have been the gains and setbacks for both sides? How do you respond to the notion raised in the textbook that "environmental protection and economic growth are not mutually exclusive?"

Question 38

Assess the present status of California water use,distribution,and supply.Respond to the assertion of one water expert: "We've lived an illusion,creating an environment we could not support".

Question 39

The Peripheral Canal was supported by most San Francisco Bay area elected officials.