Human Impact 2

Which would not be a possible effect of increased greenhouse gas emissions on marine ecosystems?

• Intertidal zone distribution may change due to rising sea levels.

• Marine organism distribution may change due the the rising temperatures of the water.

• Reduction in the amount of hurricanes

• Coral reefs may undergo bleaching due to increased ocean acidification.

Each year, oil enters the marine environment in several ways due to human interference.  Which method causes the most damage to the marine environment?

• refinery spills

• oil tanker accidents

• runoff from city streets and waste oil

• oil rig accidents

Which of the following environmental issues might be responsible for the increase in skin cancer in Australia?

• ozone depletion

• the burning of fossil fuels

• greenhouse gasses

• global warming

A region of the country is rapidly growing in population, causing the demand for electricity to go up each year. As a result, a new source of electricity is needed. This particular region of the country has plenty of agriculture, rivers, and access to coal deposits underground. Which of the following would be the cheapest way for this region of the country to make electricity, have minimal impact on the environment, yet not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere?

• Build dams along the rivers to generate electricity.

• Build a fracking refinery in the middle of the region.

• Use the coal deposits to generate electricity in a few coal fired facilities.

• Use the agriculture biomass to generate a renewable fuel that can be burned to generate electricity.

Historically the United States has been dependent on nonrenewable energy resources, mainly petroleum. What is an environmental benefit of renewable energy resources?

• The fuel being derived increases costs of operation.

• They have little or no net carbon or greenhouse gas emissions.

• They depend on predictable weather patterns for their sources of power.

• They generate larger quantities of energy than traditional fossil fuel generators.

Runoff from land often contains harmful pollutants that end up in our ocean ecosystems.  Which would be an accurate example of a pollutant found in runoff and its impact on our oceans?

• Pesticide runoff can cause harmful algal blooms.

• Dioxins from paper mills can cause harmful algal blooms.

• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from electric plants can cause harmful algal blooms.

• Fertilizer runoff can cause harmful algal blooms.