Deck 14: Human Impact on Earths Environment

Question 1

As of the mid-twentieth century, what was the doubling time for human population?

A) 5000 years
B) 1125 years
C) 152 years
D) 47 years

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Observations indicate that the global volume of ice has remained fairly constant for the past several decades.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Significant scientific question still remains regarding whether or not Earth's climate is warming

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The oil window is located between ___ and ___ kilometers depth in the Earth's crust.

A) 5, 10
B) 1, 2
C) 2, 5

Question 5

A geologic structure or rock type that creates an impermeable layer that inhibits the upward migration of oil is called an oil

A) trap.
B) barrier.
C) reservoir.

Question 6

Approximately 22% of the world's remaining oil reserves are found in

A) the United States.
B) Saudi Arabia.
C) Central and South America.

Question 7

The United States consumes about ___ times more barrels of oil than it produces each year.

A) two
B) three
C) ten

Question 8

What is the term for hard coal?

A) lignite
B) anthracite
C) bituminous

Question 9

The Three Mile Island nuclear reactor accident occurred in

A) 1979.
B) 1986.
C) 1995.

Question 10

Which of the world's currently used non-renewable energy resources is thought to exist in greatest abundance?

A) uranium oxide
B) coal and lignite
C) crude oil
D) natural gas

Question 11

What does "Hubbert's Peak" indicate about U.S. oil production?

A) U.S. oil production will peak in 2010
B) U.S. oil production will peak in 2050
C) U.S. oil production peaked in 1970
D) U.S. oil production peaked in 2004

Question 12

Which grade of coal has the highest carbon content?

A) peat
B) lignite
C) bituminous
D) anthracite

Question 13

At current rates of use in the U.S., about how long are domestic coal resources projected to last?

A) about 50 years
B) about 100 years
C) a few hundred years
D) more than 500 years

Question 14

Which list ranks fossil fuels in order of increasing carbon dioxide released per unit of energy produced?

A) coal, natural gas, oil
B) coal, oil, natural gas
C) natural gas, coal, oil
D) natural gas, oil, coal

Question 15

The resources of an earth material are greater than the reserves, but the calculation of resources is less certain than the calculation of reserves.

Question 16

In 2004, about what percent of U.S. energy consumption was supplied by solar energy?

A) 0.06%
B) 1.2%
C) 6.4%
D) 11%

Question 17

Where is the Three Gorges Dam hydroelectric facility being built?

A) The United States
B) India
C) China
D) Brazil

Question 18

Where is the world's largest facility for producing electricity from natural steam?

A) California
B) France
C) Iceland
D) Japan

Question 19

Recently, the United States has increased the rate at which new nuclear power plants are being installed.

Question 20

Energy experts expect that in the coming decades U.S. hydroelectric power will decline in the proportion it contributes to overall U.S. energy production.

Question 21

While in principle biomass is a carbon-neutral energy source, in practice it is not.

Question 22

Rapid global warming during the Holocene epoch resulted in _________.

A) mass extinction of many large mammal species
B) global rise in sea level
C) ecosystem migration
D) all of the above

Question 23

Which of the following components of air has the longest residence time?

A) oxygen
B) sulfur dioxide
C) nitrogen
D) water vapor

Question 24

Which conditions maximize residence time of a material in a reservoir?

A) large flux, small reservoir
B) large flux, large reservoir
C) small flux, small reservoir
D) small flux, large reservoir

Question 25

In the carbon cycle, the greatest flux of carbon occurs between which two spheres of the Earth System?

A) Biosphere - atmosphere
B) Biosphere - hydrosphere
C) Hydrosphere - atmosphere
D) Hydrosphere - lithosphere

Question 26

The weathering of silicate rocks removes carbon from the atmosphere.

Question 27

Although anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions rose in the 1990's compared to the 1980's, about the same amount of carbon dioxide was added to the atmosphere in each decade.

Question 28

According to paleoclimatologist William Ruddiman, when did civilization begin to release significant amounts of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere?

A) 200 years ago
B) 8000 years ago
C) 2000 years ago
D) 500 years ago

Question 29

How has atmospheric carbon concentration changed compared to pre-industrial values?

A) It has increased by 5%.
B) It has increased by 36%.
C) It has increased by 64%.
D) It has increased by 125%.

Question 30

Complete the following sentence. In the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) business-as-usual scenario, by the year 2100 atmospheric carbon dioxide will increase by _____ over preindustrial levels.

A) 75%
B) 125%
C) 300%
D) 500%

Question 31

Recent climate warming has been more extreme over the continents than it has over the oceans.

Question 32

According to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climate models suggest that rapid conversion to alternative energy sources could stop global warming by the year 2050.

Question 33

The predictions of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are based on only one climate model run under different scenarios.

Question 34

What is the consequence to Earth's albedo and climate that results from a reduction of the area on Earth covered by ice?

A) an increase in albedo leading to further warming
B) an increase in albedo leading to lessened warming
C) a decrease in albedo leading to further warming
D) a decrease in albedo leading to lessened warming

Question 35

Which of the following is not predicted to lead to a rise in sea level?

A) warming ocean temperature
B) melting of sea ice
C) melting of glaciers on land
D) All of these will lead to an increase in sea level.

Question 36

Currently, what is the approximate rate of sea level rise?

A) about 3 millimeters per year
B) about 30 millimeters per year
C) about 10 millimeters per year
D) about 100 millimeters per year

Question 37

According to the United Nations, about what percent of the total resource of tropical rainforest is converted to other uses annually?

A) 0.01%
B) 0.5%
C) 1%
D) 5%

Question 38

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has documented that since 1970 there has been an increase in North Atlantic hurricane activity.

Question 39

In the U.S. energy system, about how much energy is wasted for every 100 quads of energy produced?

A) 10 quads
B) 35 quads
C) 60 quads
D) 90 quads

Question 40

Currently, which country releases the most greenhouse emissions into the atmosphere?

A) United States
B) India
C) China
D) Canada

Question 41

Complete the following sentence. Together the United States, Canada, Japan, and the European Union comprise 25% of the world population but are responsible for ______ percent of global increase in atmospheric greenhouse gasses.

A) 20
B) 40
C) 75
D) 90

Question 42

About how many 1-megawatt windmills must replace coal-fired power plants in order to save 1 gigaton of the carbon emissions from coal-fired power generation.

A) 2000
B) 20,000
C) 200,000
D) 2,000,000

Question 43

In the carbon-emission stabilization scenario proposed by Pacala and Socolow (2004) what does one wedge represent?

A) one gigaton of carbon emissions
B) one-seventh of the projected carbon increase
C) one proposed solution
D) all of these

Question 44

The United States does not participate in the Kyoto Protocol.