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1 (4 points) Your name: _____________________________ Final – ENVIR 100 Fall 2009 (100 points total) You have 110 minutes to take this exam. Be sure to look at the point values and allocate your time accordingly, ask questions if necessary, and make sure your answers are clearly legible. Good luck! For grading purposes: Page 1 (this page, out of 4): Page 2 (JC, out of 16): Page 3 (JC, out of 15): Page 4 (JC, out of 19): Page 5 (YB, out of 16): Page 6 (GJ, out of 14): Page 7 (GJ, out of 16): 2 1) (4 points) In the left-hand space below, draw a curve that represents linear growth. In the right-hand space below, draw a curve that represents exponential growth.i 2) (6 points total, 3 point each) Biodiversity is relevant at three different levels. a. From smallest to largest, list these three levels. b. From smallest to largest, give one example for each type.ii 3) (6 points total) Draw a partial diagram of the carbon cycle; label the atmosphere plus two other pools, and label photosynthesis plus two other fluxes. (Make sure the fluxes include arrows. For half credit you can draw the nitrogen or water cycle.)iii 3 4) (15 points total) These questions are about local air pollutants.iv a. (3 points) Give one example of a local air pollutant that is subject to NAAQS and list one impact it has on human health or the environment. b. (3 points) What has been the general trend of emissions levels for these pollutants over the last few decades in the U.S.? Circle one: Emissions have ( gone up / gone down / been about the same ) and list one major reason why. c. (3 points) What has been the general trend of required attainment levels for NAAQS pollutants over the last few decades? Circle one: Attainment levels have ( gotten stricter / gotten looser / been about the same ) and list one major reason why. d. (3 points) According to Sheryl Magzamen, what is the source of 90% of the air pollution deaths in the developing world?v e. (3 points) What is black carbon and why is it “short-lived”?vi 4 5) (19 points total) Consider the IPAT equation I = P ∙ A ∙ T. a. (5 points) In the context of global climate change, I = World carbon emissions. Provide definitions for P, A, and T. (Your answers for A and T should be specific to global climate change, but for partial credit you can give general definitions. If you don’t know the answer to some or all of these initial questions, you can ask us and we’ll give you the answers—for zero points—so that you can answer the remaining questions.) (1 point) P (2 points) A (2 points) T b. (2 points) Which of these are projected to increase over the course of the 21st century under “business as usual”? Circle one or more: I P A T c. (2 points) Which (if any) of these are projected to decrease over the course of the 21st century under “business as usual”? Circle none, one or more than one: I P A T d. (2 points) Which one of these is projected to increase the fastest over the course of the 21st century? Circle just one: I P A T e. (2 points) For which of these is it easiest to argue that increases over the course of the 21st century are a very good thing? Circle just one: I P A T f. (2 points) Which one of these are many developed countries pledging to reduce in Copenhagen? (For example, which of these is the specific focus of the Waxman-Markey “cap-and-trade” bill?) Circle just one: I P A T g. (2 points) Which one of these are developing countries pledging to reduce in Copenhagen? Circle just one: I P A T h. (2 points) In approximate terms (i.e., within 15%), what is the current value of P and what is the “best guess” estimate for P in the year 2100?vii 5 6) (6 points total, 2 points each) These questions are about oil. a. About how many years will it take to run out of currently identified oil reserves if current consumption rates continue? Circle the best answer: 10 50 100 250 b. Despite increasing consumption, the ratio of oil reserves to current consumption (the approximate number of years you identified in the previous problem) is about the same as it was in 1980. Explain how this is possible. (Hint: Think about reserves versus resources.) c. The fact that we have not run out of oil is an example of which class metaphor?viii 7) (4 points total, 2 points each) These questions are about seagrass meadows. a. What did Aaron Wirsing identify as a key part of the explanation for why seagrass meadows in the Caribbean are suffering? b. The demise of seagrass meadows in the Caribbean is an example of which class metaphor?ix 8) (6 points total, 2 points each) These questions are about economic instruments. a. What is Lesson #1 about carbon taxes and cap-and-trade? b. What is Yoram’s main concern about the Waxman-Markey bill? c. Tom’s response to this concern was about the importance of having a “dial”; explain this further.x 6 9) (4 points total) Below is a bell-curve graph from David Battisti’s lecture, showing the distribution in summer temperatures in France between 1900 and 2007; clearly visible (and also marked with an arrow) is the summer heat wave of 2003. a. (2 points) “The scientific consensus is that the 2003 heat wave was caused by anthropogenic climate change.” Circle one ( True False ) b. (2 points) If you said True, draw on the graph below another bell curve that illustrates what the projected distribution in summer temperature in France is likely to be in 2100 under the business-as-usual scenario. If you said False, use the space to the right of the graph below to write a better sentence that accurately describes the scientific consensus about anthropogenic climate change and heat waves like the one in France in 2003.xi 10) (2 points) The Ehrlich and Pringle article argues that ecotourism is different than most other ecosystem services. Why?xii 11) (8 points) Give one example of each of the following types of ecosystem services. (Hint: Ecotourism can be one of your examples :)xiii Provisioning services Cultural services Supporting services Regulating services 7 12) (3 points) Give an example (related to climate change or to some other environmental phenomenon) of a positive feedback loop.xiv 13) (3 points) Explain the concept “umbrella species” using the wolf or the killer whale (both discussed on the Endangered Species poster) as an example.xv 14) (3 points) Explain the ecological concept “condition dependent trade-off between food and safety” using the sea turtle as an example.xvi 15) (3 points) Choose another concept relevant to class for which the sea otter is a good example, and explain. Do not use “umbrella species” or the other phrases above.xvii 16) (4 points total) Using examples from class (lectures, readings, and/or posters, especially the Water Scarcity poster), give one positive aspect of dams and one negative aspect of dams. For partial credit you can give non-class examples.xviii 8 i Two points each, all-or-nothing except extraordinary circumstances. Genetic diversity, such as different colors of toucans within the same species; species diversity, such as different species of birds in the same forest; and ecosystem diversity, such as rain forests, coral reefs, deserts, etc. on the planet. iii One point for each pool and one point for each flux. iv 3 points for CO, lead (Pb), SOx, NOx, VOCs, ozone, or PM (CO2 is not a local air pollutant) and appropriate health or environmental impact. Then 1 point for levels having gone down and 2 points for catalytic converters, scrubbers, or improved emission control technologies, tight Clean Air Act regulations, etc. Then 1 point for attainment levels getting more strict and 2 points for something like scientists discovering additional health impacts on vulnerable populations. v Indoor air pollution, primarily from open cooking fires indoors. vi Black carbon is particulate air pollution caused by incomplete combustion; it’s “what makes sooty smoke blackish or brownish.” It’s short-lived because it gets washed out of the atmosphere by rain in a matter of days or weeks. vii Carbon emissions (or GHG emissions), Population (1 point, all or nothing), GDP per capita (1 point for general answer of Affluence or Activity), and emissions per unit GDP (1 point for general answer of Technology); IPA (1 point for partial answer); T; A; A; I; T (these are all all-or-none); 6.8 billion now, rising to 9-10 billion (partial credit as appropriate). viii (a) About 40 years. (b) Oil reserves measure the amount of oil in the world that can be profitably extracted at current prices using current technology, so changes in price and technology and new discoveries have increased reserves at the same time that consumption has decreased reserves. (c) The invisible hand. ix (a) Lack of tiger sharks in the Caribbean means unchecked consumption of seagrass by turtles. (b) The tragedy of the commons: each turtle as an individual benefits from lots of reproduction and consumption, but all together it leads to the demise of the seagrass. x (a) They’re very similar. (b) The cap is too weak. (c) Once a policy is in place it can be adjusted (e.g., “dialed up or down”) as circumstances change. xi The correct answer is No because science cannot draw a causal connection between anthropogenic climate change and any one event like the 2003 heat wave in France. (It is also wrong to say that climate change “caused” Hurricane Katrina.) A correct statement is that anthropogenic climate change makes it more likely that we will have events like the 2003 heat wave in France. xii Ecotourism is easy to charge people money for; it’s hard to charge people for (say) the nutrient-cycling services provided by ecosystems. xiii 2 points each. Provisioning services including providing goods like food and fuel; cultural services include recreation and religion; supporting services include primary production, soil formation, and nutrient cycling; and regulating services include flood control and climate regulation. xiv Mountain pine beetle or albedo feedback. Minus 1 for minor mistake, minus 2 for major mistake, minus 3 for some intelligent thought. xv These umbrella species are at the top of the food web, so the health of these species reflects the health of the entire ecosystem. In order to protect wolves, for example, you need to pay attention to their prey (deer, etc.) plus the plants that the deer consume, etc. ii 9 Even simpler: these umbrella species, such as wolves and grizzly bears, cover a tremendous amount of territory or habitat. If you protect the territory or habitat, you capture lots of other species and habitats. Saving one saves many. xvi When the sea turtles are healthy they avoid the richest seagrass beds and instead stay at the edges where it’s safer; when they’re less healthy they risk it by heading into the rich seagrass beds where they’re more vulnerable to predation. xvii Keystone species is one option. Keystone species is a species whose ecosystem role is disproportionate to its number. Sea otters are a keystone species because they are relatively small in number but have a profound effect on the ecosystem: when sea otters were killed sea urchin populations exploded and the sea urchins destroyed the kelp forests that provided habitat for fish, etc. xviii For both of these, give 2 points for a good example from class and 1 point for an example not from class. Positive aspects include power generation and irrigation water. Negative aspects include changes in water temperature or nutrient cycling that affect ecosystems, international conflict over water impounded behind dams, and increased salinity and pollution in some downstream waters.