Environmental Science Notes Sept 7, 2010

Front 1

a. the presence of chemicals at high enough levels in air, water, soil, or food to threaten the health, survival, or activities of humans or other living organisms

Back 1

pollution

Front 2

i. Chemicals found at high enough levels in air, water, soil, or food to threaten the health, survival, or activities of humans or other living organisms

Back 2

pollutants

Front 3

Pollutants can enter the environment _________

Back 3

Naturally

Front 4

Where are pollutants mostly found

Back 4

Industrial Areas

Front 5

The Pollutants we produce come from two types of sources, what are they?

Back 5

Point sources
Non-point sources

Front 6

single, identifiable sources.

Back 6

point sources

Front 7

larger, dispersed, and often difficult to identify

Back 7

Non-point sources

Front 8

What are the 3 types of unwanted effects of Pollutants

Back 8

1. they can disrupt or degrade life support systems for humans and other species
2. can damage wildlife, human health, and property
3. can create nuisances such as noise and unpleasant smells, tastes, and sights.

Front 9

What are the 2 basic approaches to deal with pollution.

Back 9

Pollution prevention (input pollution control)
Pollution cleanup (output pollution control)

Front 10

a measure of how useful a form of matter is to humans as a resource, based on its availability and concentration

Back 10

Matter Quality

Front 11

i. concentrated
ii. typically found near the earth’s surface
iii. great potential for use as a matter resource

Back 11

High quality matter

Front 12

i. often located deep underground
ii. dispersed in ocean or atmosphere
iii. usually has little potential for use as a material resource.

Back 12

Low Quality Matter

Front 13

the total amount of material needed to produce each unit of goods or services

Back 13

Material efficiency (resource productivity)

Front 14

What is the The Law of Conservation of Matter

Back 14

When a physical or chemical change occurs, no atoms are created or destroyed

Front 15

3 factors determine the severity of a pollutant’s harmful effects, what are they?

Back 15

i. Chemical nature
ii. concentration
iii. persistance

Front 16

. broken down completely or reduced to acceptable levels by natural physical, chemical, or biological processes

Back 16

degradable pollutants

Front 17

. Complex chemical pollutants that living organisms break down into simpler chemicals.

Back 17

Biodegradeable pollutants

Front 18

pollutants that take decades or longer to degrade

Back 18

Slowly degradable pollutants

Front 19

chemicals that natural processes cannot break down

Back 19

Non degradable pollutants

Front 20

Amount of biologically productive land and water needed to supply an area with resources and to absorb wastes and pollution
An estimate of the environmental impact of a country or an area

Back 20

ecological footprint