BIO-108: Exam 4

• Only humans generate wastes that...

  cannot be used by other organisms.
• municipal solid waste


  refuse collected from households, small businesses, and institutions such as schools, prisons, municipal buildings, and hospitals
• Single use items...

  wind up in waste streams the fastest.
• Three factors that affect the amount of MSW generated by individuals:

  (1) Socioeconomic status or affluence

  (2) Developing vs. developed

  (3) Time of year (season)
• Composition of municipal solid waste:

  > Paper: 31%

  > Organic materials (yard waste, food scraps, and wood): 33% (64% of MSW is compostable)

  > Plastic: 12%

  > Durable goods (appliances and tires): 18%
• e-waste


  > electronic waste

  > ex. televisions, computers, and cell phones that contain toxic metals
• The three Rs of waste management:

  (1) Reduce

  (2) Reuse

  (3) Recycle
• Ways to reduce waste:

  > Waste minimization

  > Waste prevention

  > Source reduction (e.g., print on both sides of a page)
• Examples of reusing:

  > Reusing a disposable cup

  > Reusing refillable beverage bottles
• recycling


  the process of collecting materials and converting them into raw materials for use in producing new objects
• Environmental benefits of recycling include:

  > Reducing the effects on land from mining

  > Reduces the energy required to transport and process mined materials, such as ore

  > Decreases MSW
• compost


  organic material that has decomposed under controlled conditions
• The environmental benefits of composting include all of the following:

  > Reduced volume of material ending up in a landfill

  > Generation of rich organic fertilizer

  > Reduced amount of methane generated in landfills

  > Reduced amount of energy needed to transport material to a landfill
• sanitary landfills


  engineered ground facilities that hold MSW with minimal contamination of the environment
• leachate


  water that becomes contaminated by traveling through solid waste and picking up various chemical compounds sent to wastewater facilities
• Five advantages of sanitary landfills:

  (1) No open burning

  (2) Little odor

  (3) Low groundwater pollution if sited properly

  (4) Low operating costs

  (5) Can handle large amounts of waste
• Five disadvantages of sanitary landfills:

  (1) Noise and traffic

  (2) Air pollution from toxic gases and trucks

  (3) Releases greenhouse gases (methane and CO2) unless they are collected

  (4) Slow decomposition of wastes

  (5) Output approach that encourages waste production
• incineration


  the process of burning waste materials to reduce volume and mass, sometimes also generating electricity and heat
• Five advantages of incineration:

  (1) Reduces trash volume

  (2) Less need for landfills

  (3) Low water pollution

  (4) Concentrates hazardous substances into ash for burial

  (5) Sale of energy reduces cost
• Five disadvantages of incineration:

  (1) Expensive to build

  (2) Costs more than short-distance hauling to landfills

  (3) Difficult to site because of citizenship opposition

  (4) Some air pollution and CO2 emissions

  (5) Output approach that encourages waste production
• hazardous waste


  > liquid, solid, gaseous, or sludge waste harmful to humans or ecosystems

  > ex. drain, toilet, and window cleaners; paint thinners, solvents, and strippers; dry-cell batteries (mercury and cadmium); pesticides; gasoline; antifreeze; battery acid
• global climate change


  changes in the climate (average weather) of the Earth
• global warming


  > one aspect of climate disruption the warming of the oceans, land masses, and atmosphere of the Earth
• Major greenhouse gases:

  (1) Water vapor

  (2) Carbon dioxide (most important)

  (3) Methane

  (4) Nitrous oxide

  (5) Ozone
• Some indicators that humans are causing global warming:

  (1) Rising tropopause

  (2) Cooling stratosphere (less heat escaping to space)

  (3) More fossil fuel carbon in the air

  (4) More heat returning to Earth

  (5) Nights warming faster than days
• Four natural sources of greenhouse gases:

  (1) Volcanic eruptions (mainly carbon dioxide)

  (2) Methane (from decomposition)

  (3) Nitrous oxide (from denitrification)

  (4) Water vapor
• Four anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases:

  (1) Burning of fossil fuels (mostly coal)

  (2) Agricultural practices

  (3) Deforestation

  (4) Landfills
• Which countries produce the most greenhouse gases?

  (1) China

  (2) United States of America

  (3) Russia

  (4) India

  (5) Japan
• As CO2 rises...

  global temperature rises.
• consilience


  the linking together of principles from different disciplines especially when forming a comprehensive theory
• Temperature changes over thousands of years are indirectly measured in a number of ways, including:

  > Chemical analyses of ice

  > Fossil coral reef growth

  > Tree ring growth patterns

  > Historical pollen records

  > The geological record

  > The fossil record

  > Sea/land ice records

  > Changes in species composition
• Six consequences to the environment because of global warming:

  (1) Melting of polar ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica

  (2) Melting of many glaciers around the world used for seasonal drinking

  (3) Melting of the permafrost

  (4) Rising sea levels as a result of the melting of glaciers and ice sheets and because warm water expands

  (5) Increase in storm intensity

  (6) Waterbody infiltration (e.g., salt water seeping into fresh water)
• Six consequences to living organisms because of global warming:

  (1) Predictable and unpredictable effects on wild plants and animals

  (2) Changing growing season for plants, becoming longer or shorter in different areas

  (3) Harming of organisms if they cannot migrate to more suitable climates

  (4) Relocation of humans as a result of coastal and island flooding causing mass migration

  (5) Increasing rates of diseases, such as those carried by mosquitoes (e.g., malaria and yellow fever)

  (6) Economic impact
• Five health consequences to humans because of global warming:

  (1) Respiratory and heart diseases

  (2) Pest-related diseases (e.g., Lyme disease and West Nile Virus)

  (3) Water- and food-related illnesses

  (4) Injuries

  (5) Poor mental health
• What is the IPCC and what does it do?

  The IPPC is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a scientific group assembled by the United Nations, that monitors and assesses all global science related to climate change.
• carbon sequestration


  the process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
• Examples of how carbon sequestration can be done:

  > Storing carbon in agricultural soils

  > Retiring agricultural land and allowing it to become a pasture or a forest
• Goals of the 2015 Paris Accord:

  (1) To keep global temperatures "well below" 2.0ºC (3.6ºF) above preindustrial times and "endeavour to limit" them even more to 1.5ºC

  (2) To limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity to the same levels that trees, soil, and oceans can absorb naturally, beginning between 2050 and 2100

  (3) To review the contribution each country makes to cutting emissions every five years so they scale up to the challenge

  (4) For rich countries to help poorer nations by providing "climate finance" to adapt to climate change and switch to renewable energy
• sustainability


  the ability to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
• A market occurs whenever...

  people engage in trade.