Environmental Science Review Questions

Chapter 9:

(2) If the rate of increase of the world population is 2%, what is the doubling time of the population?

The doubling time would be approximately 35 years.

(3) What variable is used to gauge the strength of a nation’s economy, and what is the approximate range of this variable?

The variable that is used to measure a nation’s economic strength is the Gross National Product (GNP), also called the Gross National Income (GNI). Another variable to gauge the strength of a nation’s economy is the Gross Domestic Product (GNP). The approximate range of this variable is related to the rate of resource consumption by a country.

(6) What are three problems associated with the heavy use of biomass as an energy source?

The three problems of using biomass as an energy source are the actual amount of energy received is unknown, it leads to deforestation, and can breakdown the Ozone.

(7) What are three environmental consequences related to increased reliance on coal as an energy source?

The three environmental consequences related to using coal as an energy source are that coal is a nonrenewable resource, coal is a dirty fuel that emits carbon dioxide, and the use of coal depletes the Ozone.

(10) The following conversions hold…?

According to this conversion, the total amount of coal would be 12.88 billion metric tons.

(11) How has the use of various types of energy in the United States changed during the last 150 years?

Over the past 150 years an awareness of the importance of our energy source has emerged. Although the United States still uses nonrenewable fossil fuels, it has sought ways to reduce their dependency to such energy sources. They have used biofuels, solar, nuclear, and continued to improve renewable energy sources.

(19) What percentages of the world's total oil and gas resources are located in the Middle East?

The Middle East produces 29% of the oil, and holds 65% of the world reserve of oil. They also produce 7% of the world’s natural...