PDS AP Environmental Science 8th Period 2010-11

I do not understand how nitrogen can produce both primary and secondary pollutants.
Also, how in depth do you think we should know the process of  scrubbers?

Good luck studying for the last test!

Hey guys,

I still do not understand the difference between mitigation and adaptation. Could someone maybe give me examples to help clarify the difference because the definitions from the book confuse me.

Two questions.

First off, Why would a company put VOCs on wood to put in a house. I know its shinier, but were they thinking, “Oh, lets put propane on this wood so the floor can go up in flames faster if it catches fire. Surely the loss of time of escape won’t be a problem.”?

Second, ventilation is a main relief on indoor pollution, even though it could also possibly allow pesticides from the outside to get inside the house. Or am I just applying smoke to other forms of pollution where it is not needed.

Thanks for the tip, and good luck on the test tomorrow.

Can someone explain to me the difference between net energy and EROI? I do not understand the difference. I know that they both deal with the amount of energy invested and returned but I do not understand the difference.

Does anyone know how natural gas compares to coal and oil in amount of carbon dioxide produced per unit of energy?

I don’t really understand the “run-of-river” approach in hydroelectric power. Do engineers divert a river in order to prevent less of an environmental impact? Wouldn’t that cause MORE of an environmental impact since more of a river is affecting a greater amount of land? Or is the point of it to prevent less of an accumulation of sediment and water because more water is being diverted away from behind the dam?

So I’ll probably have some more questions later, but which aquatic zone has the highest NPP per meter squared? Is it estuaries? Also, I can only find 5 of the 7 in our book. I have Open Ocean, Coral Reefs, Intertidal Zones, Salt Marshes, and Estuaries. Which ones are missing?

So I have 2 questions:

1. I’m confused about question number 4 in section V on the ch. 16 study guide, which is “What factors mask population declines in ocean fisheries and make global catch seem relatively stable?”The wording on this was unclear in the textbook. For one, it said that fishing fleets travel longer distances to reach less-fished portions of the ocean and they fish in deeper waters. But how exactly does fishing deeper and farther away mask population declines?

2. Also, on number 3 in section VI of the ch. 16 study guide, which asks about the issue of China’s fisheries data. I know the fisheries reported that they caught more fish than they actually did to fill a quota, but what is the environmental impact of this inaccurate reporting?

Thanks!

So I have a couple questions overall and then one for Mr. Willard…

Mr. Willard:
How much should we know about the different aquatic life zones between the two chapters? The study guide said that we would get a review sheet for them but I don’t think I have one.

Sorry for so many questions! Good luck studying!

If swamps can naturally clean waste water, wouldn’t that hurt the ecosystem of the swamp because run-off and feces from waste water will provide nitrogen, and thus start the process of Eutrophication?

Also, isn’t cleaned waste water and drinking water basically the same thing except drinking water has had chlorine added to it?