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ENVR 51 THIRD HOUR EXAM NAME ____________________________
11/13/97

MULTIPLE CHOICE (circle the single best answer, 1.5 pts each)

1. The trouble with the large amounts of agricultural waste we produce is that it ________. a. cannot be recycled

b. is classified as toxic and hazardous

c. reduces agricultural productivity

*d. produces vast amounts of nonpoint source pollution

2. "Waste stream" is a term describing ________. a. production of only domestic and commercial waste

*b. the steady production of varied waste products

c. disposal of solid waste specifically

d. the intermittent production of particular wastes

3. Landfills differ from open dumps in that ________. a. landfills are smaller

b. dumps are cleaner and smell less

*c. landfilled waste is compacted and covered

d. landfills and dumps do not differ at all

4. Under the Clean Air Act, electrical power plants are required to control emissions of ___________ to protect ____________. a. primary pollutants, human health.

b. primary pollutants, non-human resources.

c. secondary pollutants, non-human resources.

d. All of the above are correct.

*e. Both a and c are correct.

5. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about pollution treatment technology? a. Each increment of additional treatment is usually more costly in terms of energy.

b. When pollutant is removed from one medium (water, soil, and air), its mass is put into another medium.

c. The production of some chemicals used to treat pollution can cause negative environmental consequences when and where they are produced.

*d. Environmental benefits of pollution treatment always outweigh the environmental costs.

6. Refuse-derived fuel differs from normal garbage in that it ________. a. has coal added

b. is unsorted

*c. is sorted

d. is selectively collected

7. Ash from a municipal solid waste incinerator is ______________________. a. a good source of agricultural fertilizer

*b. tainted with a variety of toxic substances

c. extremely pure carbon, with no nutrients

d. tainted with toxics in some rare cases

8. Which of the following represents the correct priority of the "three Rs" of waste disposal? a. reuse, reduce, and recycle

b. reduce, recycle, and reuse

*c. reduce, reuse, recycle

d. reuse, recycle, and reduce

9. "Refuse" is solid waste produced by ____________. a. agriculture

*b. households

c. industrial facilities

d. commercial enterprises

10. Packaging makes up what percentage of the municipal solid waste stream? a. 10 - 20%

b. 20 - 30%

*c. 30 - 40%

d. 40 - 50%

11. Increased product durability is an example of a/an ____________ to reducing the amount of solid waste landfilled. a. output approach

b. throughput approach

c. end point step

*d. input approach

12. Personal efforts to reduce the volume of municipal solid wastes __________________. *a. have enormous cumulative effects

b. are useful mainly in demonstrating to corporations that reducing solid wastes is possible

c. have little effect but make people feel better

d. matter very little

13. Photodegradable plastics break down ________. a. when exposed to heat

*b. when exposed to UV light

c. as they age

d. when exposed to pressure

14. Which of the following industries generates the majority of hazardous wastes in this country? *a. chemical and petrochemical

b. metal processing

c. mining

d. electrical utilities

15. CERCLA _____________ and establishes ____________________. *a. addresses abandoned hazardous waste sites; strict, joint, and several liability

b. encourages complete destruction of wastes whenever possible; a database of compounds

c. addresses abandoned hazardous waste sites; a database of compounds

d. encourages complete destruction of wastes whenever possible; strict, joint, and several liability

16. Power is the ________________________. *a. rate of energy delivery measured in horsepower or watts

b. amount of energy available measured in joules

c. capacity to do work measured in BTUs

d. All of the above are correct.

17. Fossil fuels currently supply about _____ percent of all world commercial energy supplies. *a. 90

b. 75

c. 50

d. 33

18. Black lung disease results from _______________________. a. the radioactivity in coal and around coal-fired power plants

b. careless strip mining methods

c. coal dust literally filling lungs like dust in a vacuum cleaner bag

*d. coal dust causing inflammation and fibrosis of the lungs

19. The main pollutant released by coal burning is ________________________. a. ozone

b. methane

*c. sulfur oxides

d. volatile organic compounds

20. Natural gas is the _______________ source of commercial energy in the world. a. largest single

b. second largest

*c. third largest

d. fourth largest

21. Which is the preferable order of the hierarchy of options for handling hazardous wastes? a. in-plant options, perpetual storage, conversion to less hazardous material

b. conversion to less hazardous material, perpetual storage, in-plant options

c. conversion to less hazardous material, in-plant options, perpetual storage

*d. in-plant options, conversion to less hazardous material, perpetual storage

22. Most of wasted energy results from _______________________. a. a failure to turn off lights

*b. inefficient production and conversion technologies

c. the fact that more efficient energy conversion is not possible

d. poorly insulated walls

23. Net energy yield differs from energy efficiency in that net yield takes into account ________. a. energy lost in conversion from heat to electricity

b. energy saved in waste heat capture

c. lifetime energy consumption of all users of the energy produced by a plant or generator

*d. the energy costs for the entire energy system including construction, fuel extraction, energy conversion, etc.

24. Which of the following is the LEAST efficient use of an energy source for heating buildings: *a. fuel-powered electricity generation

b. coal combustion

c. crude oil combustion

d. passive solar

25. Which energy source has the highest quality? a. solar

*b. nuclear

c. coal

d. crude oil

e. hydroelectric

26. Why would a passive solar house have a carefully designed roof overhang? a. to increase thermal mass

*b. to block sunlight from warming the interior in the summer

c. to heat space directly

d. all of the above

27. Electricity generating windmills that operate best in low winds are those that have ___________________________. *a. many blades

b. two or three large blades

c. horizontal axis eggbeater designs

d. two or four very small blades

28. The most effective way developed so far to produce solar energy concentrated enough to run steam-powered electric generators is to use _____________________. a. eutectic materials

b. passive heat absorption

c. fuel cells

*d. parabolic mirrors

29. Geothermal energy uses _________________ to produce usable heat or electricity. *a. naturally occurring hot groundwater

b. artificially heated water injected below ground

c. moving tectonic plates

d. temperature differences between different layers of groundwater

30. Tidal power stations operate by using ________. a. the differential heat of inshore and offshore water

b. electrolytic decomposition of saltwater

*c. turbines that spin in the flow of tide water

d. all of these together

31. High temperature solar technologies are the most effective in which of the following areas? *a. large deserts

b. densely populated urban spaces

c. regions with heavy precipitation and cloud formation

d. regions with high bird populations

32. Photovoltaics essentially operate like a _________ and utilize the sun’s energy to create __________ . a mirror, electricity

*b. battery, electricity

c. battery, heat

d. steam engine, heat

33. Anaerobic digestion of cow manure produces ________ and can be described as a __________. *a. methane; biomass energy source

b. oxygen; refuse-derived fuel source

c. electricity; non-renewable resource

d. heat; cogeneration process

34. Economic growth has to do with increasing the wealth ________ while economic development is a measure of the growth ________. a. per person; among poorer classes

b. among poorer classes; for a country

c. per person; in the total wealth of a country

*d. for a country; of income per person

35. The concept of the "tragedy of the commons" is based on the view that _______________. a. communal systems can be sustained and promoted

b. community members will attempt, without success, to sustain a resource for future generations

*c. only privatization or strict laws can overcome people’s selfish and greedy nature

d. individuals will try to maximize gain for the group at a loss for the individual

36. When a factory pollutes a river, the costs and losses that affect people downstream would be called ________. a. discounted costs

*b. external costs

c. direct costs

d. internal costs

37. Cost-benefit analysis ________. a. is strictly an objective economic activity

b. includes many subjective judgements

c. is partially a political decision-making process

*d. Both b and c are correct.

e. Both a and c are correct.

38. Isotopes are elements with the same atomic number but different ___________. a. numbers of protons

*b. numbers of neutrons

c. numbers of orbiting electrons

d. numbers of "bullets"

39. If

decays by emitting a b particle, the daughter product will have an atomic number of ________ and an atomic mass of ___________. a. 17; 36

b. 23; 41

*c. 20: 40

d. 20; 36

Be sure to answer the multiple-choice question at the top of the next page!

40. Pretend that this room contains 600 atoms of Franciscotope, a fictitious radioactive isotope with a half-life of 100 years. How long will it take for this room to contain 150 atoms of Franciscotope? a. 300 years

b. 2 years

*c. 200 years

d. 400 years

TRUE OR FALSE (mark with a "T" or "F", 1.5 pts each) 41. __T__ Sometimes secondary air quality standards are more stringent than primary air quality standards.

42. __T__ Any time you burn anything in air, nitrogen oxides are produced.

43. __T__ Solid waste separation at the source is more efficient than separation after the materials have been discarded.

44. __T__ The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is designed to prevent the production of hazardous substances.

45. __F__ One of the big advantages of using a secure chemical landfill for disposing of hazardous wastes is that keeping records of the identity of the hazardous wastes that are stored there is not required.

46. __F__ Illegal dumping and storage of hazardous waste has become a problem mainly since passage of the Superfund Act.

47. __F__ Coal currently provides the greatest source of energy in the U.S..

48. __T__ Generally, the 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics losses that occur in the fuel cycle decrease the amount of energy available for the end use.

49. __T__ Experts predict that there is 100 times more energy available from energy conservation and increased energy efficiency than from new supplies of conventional forms of energy.

FILL IN THE BLANK (1.5 pts each) 50. What is the primary purpose of the membrane and clay liners in a hazardous waste landfill? ____________PREVENT LEAKS__________________________________ ESSAY QUESTIONS ARE ON THE NEXT PAGE. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING ESSAY QUESTIONS (#51 and #52a or #52b or #52c) IN A BLUE BOOK, WHICH IS PLEDGED

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION (10 points):

51. The governments of the Earth will convene in Kyoto, Japan in about 3 weeks to negotiate a treaty which will limit the emission of greenhouse gases (especially CO₂) into the atmosphere by decreasing the use of fossil fuel energy. The late Carl Sagan was a strong advocate of burning less fossil fuel for reasons that are not related to global warming. Discuss the reasons that our society might consider burning less fossil fuel to be beneficial. ANSWER ONE (1) OF THE FOLLOWING THREE (3) QUESTIONS (15 points): 52a. It is likely that the energy sources as well as energy system of the future will be somewhat different from today's. Discuss how your energy sources and use of energy would change if you were a willing participant in a soft path energy system.

52b. It is clear that our society must decrease the amount of refuse disposed of in sanitary landfills.

1. Diagram and describe a sanitary landfill.

2. What environmental or health hazards is a sanitary landfill designed to prevent?

3. What opportunities does the individual have to decrease the demand for sanitary landfill space?

52c. You have read about some emerging energy technologies that were not discussed in class. 1. Describe how tidal power and ocean thermal electric conversion work.

2. Speculate as to the environmental consequences of each.

3. Discuss the limitations on the use of such sources.

PLEDGE I HAVE NEITHER GIVEN NOR RECEIVED UNAUTHORIZED AID WHILE WRITING THIS EXAMINATION _________________________________________________________________ Signature (11/13/97)