Topic 2-Contemporary Issues

Question 1

What is a temperate zone?

Answer 1

area above 23.5 and below 66.5

Question 2

What is the climate like in the temperate zones?

Answer 2

Differ based on proximity to water bodies, latitude

Question 3

What provides water to the regions in temperate zones?

Answer 3

Rockies-drier regions
Cyclones-warmer regions (i.e. Texas, Florida)

Question 4

What are some characteristics of a temperate zone?

Answer 4

large land mass, large amount of freshwater and dense human population

Question 5

Why does petroleum production bring issues?

Answer 5

oil spills and OSPW

Question 6

What percent of oil spills are large oil spills?

Answer 6

10%

Question 7

What are the components of oil that make them so toxic and where are they present iin?

Answer 7

metals and hydrocarbons-benzo-a-pyrene
present in water but also atmospheric and then depose

Question 8

Why are tailing ponds problematic?

Answer 8

They can leak

Question 9

What is the main factor contributing to nutrient pollution?

Answer 9

Increased fertilizer usage due to increased need of food due to rising population

Question 10

What is eutrophication?

Answer 10

over enrichment of aquatic environments with nitrogen and phosphorous leading to algal blooms and anoxic environments

Question 11

What are algal blooms?

Answer 11

blue-green algae caused by cyanobacteria that produce toxins and deplete aquatic environments of oxygen

Question 12

How do algal blooms cause anoxia?

Answer 12

algae die, sink to the bottom, microbes feed on them and use up oxygen

Question 13

What are the two examples of cyanobacteria given in class and what do they do?

Answer 13

Microcystins-heptatoxin
Saxotoxin-PSP

Question 14

What was one of the global examples given in class about the effects of industrialization?

Answer 14

cancer villages in China due to factories pouring effluent into rivers

Question 15

What is the first step in WWT?

Answer 15

physical barrier for sediments and grease and oil skimming

Question 16

What is the second step in WWT?

Answer 16

Biological-using bacteria and protozoa to consume lipids and sugars

Question 17

What is the third step in WWT?

Answer 17

effluent polishing-using UV or ozone to sterilize water

Question 18

What type of compounds are not removed from tertiary WWT?

Answer 18

EDCs and PPCP

Question 19

What are two examples of EDCs talked about in class?

Answer 19

Triclosan and coprostanol

Question 20

What is the main chemical in RoundUp and what is its MOA?

Answer 20

glyphosate- blocks amino acid synthesis

Question 21

What are the non target organisms affected by the RoundUp and why?

Answer 21

amphibians, surfactant lowers surface tension and then kills frogs also waterflies

Question 22

What is Bt corn?

Answer 22

insecticidal corn made from a bacterial toxin

Question 23

What are the effects from coal mining?

Answer 23

when tops of mountains are taken off and put into valley and then metals like selenium runs off

Question 24

What are fly ash slurry’s?

Answer 24

stacks of coal and then the ash stored in pond

Question 25

What is considered a tropical zone?

Answer 25

equitorial regions in between tropic of Cancer and Capricorn

Question 26

What are the three climates of the tropical regions?

Answer 26

wet-dry, wet and dry

Question 27

What climate is most problematic with toxicological issues and why?

Answer 27

Wet-dry and because the flooding can cause pulse in contaminants

Question 28

What are the issues with having high biodiversity?

Answer 28

increased biodiversity means shorter food chains and harder to extrapolate into sensitive species

Question 29

What are some benefits with having larger and primarily herbivourous fish?

Answer 29

lower bioaccumulation with eating plants and then increased growth means you can dilute chemicals

Question 30

What are cash crops and why are they probelmatic?

Answer 30

cotton, coffee, and tropical fruits-problematic cause they account for 16% of pesticide use

Question 31

What is a banned pesticide commonly used in cash crops and what is its MOA?

Answer 31

Endosulfan-ATPase inhibitor-neurotoxin

Question 32

What are the issues with artisanal gold mining?

Answer 32

mercury is used in the process of hand mined gold as it almongomates the gold

Question 33

How does artisanal gold mining release mercury?

Answer 33

when the gold is heated it releases mercury into the environment and when the sediment is distrurbed it can release mercury and increase turbidity

Question 34

What are the issues that stemmed from preventing malaria?

Answer 34

DDT was used to prevent mosquitoes which is very persistent and increased trophic transfer and eggshell thinning

Question 35

What are the attributes of the antarctic?

Answer 35

antarctic is coldest and windiest continent on the planet, 98% land mass covered by ice, holds 70% of freshwater ice, 200mm wettest part

Question 36

What are the attributes of the Arctic?

Answer 36

treeless permafrost and ice covered oceans, Indigenous populations

Question 37

What is the main risk for the contaminants in the Arctic?

Answer 37

Long food chains, bioaccumulation and leads to issue for people

Question 38

What is long range transport?

Answer 38

Grasshopper effect- rises with hot air and then deposits in colder areas-seen with POPs

Question 39

What are the toxicological effects of the melting ice in Arctic?

Answer 39

shrinking of ice caps expose land rich in metal mines and oil and gas, tailing ponds