Reference no: EM133652528

Assignment:

Part 1

1. Worldwide, how prevalent is air pollution and how serious is it as a health problem?

2. How does air pollution negatively affect plants?

3. In general, what kinds of actions would reduce the production of acid deposition?

4. Why are high-elevation trees often more affected by acid deposition than trees lower on a mountain?

5. What are some sources of indoor air pollution you might face?

6. Describe the policy of cap-and-trade. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this policy option?

7. What was the purpose of the Clean Power Plan? How well is its replacement, the Affordable Clean Energy rule, expected to achieve the overall goal of both?

8. Why is an increase of a few degrees in average global temperature more concerning than day-to-day weather changes of a few degrees?

9. In the winter of 2010, the northeastern part of the United States had several large snowstorms that resulted in record-high snowfall amounts. How does this weather fit in with the notion of global climate change?

10. To what is recent sea-level rise attributed?

11. Outline the evidence for climate change. Do you feel that this evidence supports the conclusion that climate is changing? Explain.

12. What is albedo, and how does it affect climate?

13. What is the difference between a positive feedback loop and a negative feedback loop? Give a climate-related example of each.

14. Why do scientists conclude that current warming is largely due to anthropogenic factors?

15. How might climate change help some species while hurting others? Are any species currently being helped or hurt by climate change?

16. Describe the types of problems that global climate change causes for human health. Which do you feel is likely to cause the biggest problem? Why?

17. Compared to preindustrial times, how much have we already warmed, and what is the Paris Agreement's target for warming? How are we currently doing with regard to meeting this goal (not exceeding this target)?

Part 2

1. Define atomic number and mass number and explain how these differ between isotopes of the same element.

2. What does it mean for an isotope to be radioactive? Are all isotopes radioactive?

3. What is the purpose of the enriching step of nuclear fuel production?

4. Explain how a nuclear fission reaction is initiated in a fission reactor and how it proceeds to produce a chain reaction.

5. What is the purpose of the control rods in a nuclear reactor?

6. What is ionizing radiation, and why is it dangerous?

7. Distinguish among alpha, beta, and gamma radiation in terms of their makeup, penetrating power, and hazard posed to living things.

8. How are spent fuel rods currently disposed of in the United States?

9. Why is nuclear waste seen as a major, yet unresolved problem for the nuclear industry?

10. Why were the health and environmental impacts so much more severe at Chernobyl than at Fukushima?

11. Which renewable energy sources are expected to increase the most in the next few decades, and which will see little change? What might account for these trends?

12. Identify the disadvantages of wind power. Which do you feel is the most problematic, and how could it be addressed?

13. How were Native Americans and wild salmon populations adversely affected by the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam?