What is one disadvantage of renewable resources such as wind and solar power?

They are worse for the environment.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of using nonrenewable resources?

They take millions of years to form.

They can be used over and over.

They are very expensive to collect.

They are good for the environment.

What does it mean when something is sustainable?

able to meet the current demand for a resource without depleting the future supply

to increase in number or amount; to pile up, collect, or gather

gases in the atmosphere that trap energy

where more carbon is released than absorbed

Why are the remains of ancient organisms buried so deeply within the earth?

They were buried by natural processes

They were buried by the meteor strike that killed the dinosaurs

They were swallowed up by major earthquakes

Most ancient organisms lived underground

Why is burning fossil fuels bad for the environment?

It adds harmful mercury to waterways

The clouds it creates bring excess rain and flooding

What is the key difference between renewable and non-renewable resources?

Non-renewable resources exist in limited quantities; renewable resources don't.

Non-renewable resources must be refined before humans can use them; renewable resources don't.

Non-renewable resources exist in unlimited quantities; renewable resources don't.

All non-renewable resources pollute the environment; renewable resources don't.

Using public transportation, like trains and buses, rather than cars helps conserve nonrenewable resources because public transportation -

uses less fossil fuels to move people from place to place

needs more water to maintain than the same number of cars

requires the removal of trees to make roads and tracks

involves using much more paper for printed materials

A student created a chart classifying resources as renewable or non-renewable, but has made a mistake. Which resources should actually be classified as non-renewable and why?

Animals, because they grow old and die

Minerals, since they are replaced very slowly

Plants, because there are so many kinds

Wind, because sometimes the wind does not blow

Daily choices that humans make affect the environment. Sometimes, our lifestyles can harm the environment. For example, fossil fuel power plants generate waste in the form of air emissions, thermal releases and climatic impacts. Which of the following statements would be most helpful in protecting the environment from fossil fuel power plants?

Using solar power to generate electricity.

Using natural gas as a fuel source instead of petroleum

Buying fewer mass produced products.

Buying paper products made from harvested trees.

Offshore drilling is a common practice for obtaining oil for human use. Oil can be used for transportation fuels, production of plastic, and making electricity. Which of the following statements best describes an environmental concern with using offshore drilling to obtain oil?

Offshore drilling can lead to a contamination of marine ecosystems that threaten the organisms living there.

Offshore drilling requires a large amount of energy input to obtain a small amount of oil.

Offshore drilling produces oil that cannot be used directly, therefore requiring further expensive processing.

Offshore drilling is not cost effective because it requires specialized equipment to drill the oil.

Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. Predict a negative effect that could occur over the next 50 years if coal mining increased.

Coal mining creates nuclear energy that causes immediate death.

Coal from mining can wash into bodies of water and cause an overgrowth of algae.

Coal mining can reduce the natural environment in the surrounding land.

Coal mining could produce acid rain causing burns to human skin.

Scientists are currently researching new ways to obtain energy from our natural, renewable resources. Which statement gives the best explanation of the benefits of renewable resources.

Renewable resources generates energy that produces no greenhouse gases.

Renewable resources are natural, but cause destruction of land surrounding production.

Renewable resources are versatile and emit various amounts of pollution.

Renewable resources are nonrenewable and expensive to produce.

Oil is one of the most common non-renewable resources on Earth. Human consumption of oil is happening at a rate that may cause concern. Which of the following would be evidence that humans have reached peak oil consumption?

Oil requires greater lengths and expenses to obtain.

The cost of oil has dropped in many developed countries.

Oil is easily accessible in many locations on Earth.

There is a decreased demand for oil globally.

The chart shows energy consumption sources in the United States. Which conclusion can be made regarding both the distribution of energy consumption in the United States and the impact this energy consumption has on the environment?

The majority of energy consumed in the United States is produced using nonrenewable resources, which has a negative impact on the environment.

The majority of energy consumed in the United States is produced using nonrenewable resources, which has a positive impact on the environment.

The majority of energy consumed in the United States is produced using renewable resources, which has a positive impact on the environment.

The majority of energy consumed in the United States is produced using nonrenewable

Increased use of fossil fuels as an energy source has increased the amount of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. The graph below shows the levels of carbon dioxide emissions among renewable and nonrenewable resources. How does the monitoring of carbon dioxide emissions with atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide affect our decisions on both renewable and non-renewable energy sources?

Renewable resources generally result in lower carbon dioxide emissions, therefore our goal should be to increase our use of renewable resources in order to slow our increase in levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Non-renewable resources generally result in lower carbon dioxide emissions, therefore our goal should be to increase our use of non-renewable resources in order to slow our increase in levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Renewable and non-renewable resources both result in similar amounts of carbon dioxide emissions, so this data does not affect our choice of renewable and nonrenewable energy resources.

Renewable resources generally result in lower carbon dioxide emissions, but they are much more expensive when compared with non-renewable energy resources. Our goal should be to increase our use of non-renewable resources in order to save on the costs of using renewable resources.

Which of the following is an advantage of using coal for energy?

dangerous to mine and creates pollutants in the air when burned.

abundant resource that is used for most transportation around the globe

very small amount of uranium is used for a large quantity of energy

it's cheap, can be mined from mines for transportation, and plentiful