Deck 18: The Urban Environment: Creating Sustainable Cities

Question 1

The largest source of anthropogenic greenhouse gases in the United States is .

A) tropical deforestation
B) transportation
C) electricity generation
D) agriculture
E) nuclear power plants

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Milankovitch cycles .

A) describe upwelling and downwelling in the ocean
B) describe the timing of the northern lights in the thermosphere
C) are changes in Earth's rotation and orbit that may trigger climate variation
D) refer to shifts in the temperature of surface water in the middle latitudes of the Pacific Ocean
E) describe the transpiration, evaporation, and precipitation of Earth's water

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following states is expected to experience the greatest increase in temperature by the year 2100?

A) Florida
B) Hawaii
C) Alaska
D) California
E) Iowa

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following technologies is currently allowing us to decrease carbon emissions from automobiles?

A) wind -powered vehicles
B) nuclear cars
C) solar cars
D) hydrogen fuel cells
E) the internal combustion engine

Question 5

Which of the following greenhouse gases has (have) experienced at least a 50% increase in atmospheric concentration since 1750?

A) carbon dioxide and methane
B) carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide
C) methane only
D) nitrous oxide only
E) carbon dioxide only

Question 6

The Kyoto Protocol .

A) increased federal funding for controlling greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants
B) required increases in nuclear power generation
C) was intended to reduce emissions of six greenhouse gases to levels lower than those of 1990
D) required equal concessions from all countries involved in greenhouse gas emission
E) would have resulted in overall increases in greenhouse emissions

Question 7

Carbon dioxide is _.

A) produced during the combustion of fossil fuels
B) the only greenhouse gas presently increasing in the atmosphere
C) more potent (per molecule of gas) than methane
D) the most potent (per molecule of gas) of the greenhouse gases
E) the most abundant greenhouse gas

Question 8

In the wake of the U.S. failure to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, .

A) U.S. cities and states are setting their own programs for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
B) many nations have severed diplomatic relations with the United States
C) dozens of other nations pulled out of the Protocol
D) oil exporting nations have refused to sell to the United States
E) the United States has shown that it is a leader in carbon emission reduction without having signed the Protocol

Question 9

Public transportation is _.

A) a reliable and convenient option in most U.S. communities
B) currently serving only 3% -4% of passenger trips in the U.S.
C) more widely used in the United States than in Europe
D) already declining in use in most U.S. cities.
E) more widely used in the United States than in Canada

Question 10

The greenhouse effect involves warming of Earth's surface and the _.

A) stratosphere
B) mesosphere
C) ionosphere
D) thermosphere
E) troposphere

Question 11

All of the following are anthropogenic factors contributing to climate change EXCEPT .

A) breathing
B) the combustion of fossil fuels
C) raising livestock
D) growing rice
E) deforestation

Question 12

Earth's atmosphere can cause global warming because .

A) molecules in the atmosphere trap heat radiated from Earth's surface
B) plants release CO2
C) fossil fuels release heat when they are burned
D) warm air cannot escape, as in a greenhouse
E) plants absorb CO2

Question 13

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is an international panel that .

A) constructed the Kyoto Protocol
B) reports on how climate change influences wildlife, ecosystems, and society
C) performed the research included in the climate change findings
D) could not achieve its objectives because of lack of popular support
E) fines companies that pollute

Question 14

The Kyoto Protocol uses the 1990 emission levels of each nation as a baseline target for greenhouse gas reductions. Which of the following countries showed the greatest increase in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 2012?

A) Australia
B) United States
C) Russia
D) Japan
E) Canada

Question 15

The average automobile is only about % efficient at moving itself down the road.

A) 27
B) 14
C) 62
D) 6.5
E) 85

Question 16

Which of the following may result in a positive feedback mechanism that would intensify climate change?

A) A large volcano emits huge quantities of sulfate aerosols into the atmosphere.
B) Warmer temperatures result in the melting of permafrost.
C) Warmer temperatures result in increased evaporation of water, leading to an increase in cloud cover.
D) An increase in rainfall results in increased plant growth.
E) At higher temperatures, trees increase rates of photosynthesis.

Question 17

Keeling's reports from Mauna Loa demonstrated .

A) the presence of El Niño
B) that sediments deposited on the seafloor can yield clues about past climates
C) that as distances from cities decreased, CO2 concentrations increased
D) an increase in tropospheric CO2 from the 1950s to present
E) that CO2 levels have been stable over the last 40 years

Question 18

If anthropogenic factors continue to increase, then in the future .

A) the lines for all three models and for observed data should show marked decreases
B) all of the lines will look more like the line for observed data
C) the lines for all three models should show decreases while the observation line would be expected to increase
D) the observed temperature trends shown in the figures should continue
E) the lines for all three models should level out

Question 19

Which of the following is an adaptation response to climate change?

A) a Pacific island nation building higher seawalls
B) building a nuclear power plant to replace an outdated coal -burning power plant
C) increasing fuel efficiency of new automobiles
D) replanting a tropical rainforest
E) replacing incandescent light bulbs with LED bulbs

Question 20

Human sources of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere include all of the following EXCEPT .

A) burning fuel wood
B) feedlots
C) synthetic nitrogen fertilizers
D) automobiles
E) chemical manufacturing plants

Question 21

Why do environmentalists and scientists advocate immediate action, including stricter laws to limit power plant carbon dioxide emissions and subsidies for renewable energy?

A) Environmentalists do not want to anger farmers, even though agriculture produces the most carbon dioxide.
B) Power companies do not have labor unions that oppose legal restrictions.
C) These industries export goods to all other nations on Earth.
D) No laws currently exist to regulate these industries.
E) These industries produce the most greenhouse gases.

Question 22

Evidence from polar ice core analysis shows that, until now, global carbon dioxide levels have never exceeded ppm in the last 800,000 years.

A) 25
B) 300
C) 200
D) 1000
E) 500

Question 23

One factor contributing to U.S. resistance to legal intervention regarding global climate change is .

A) the precautionary principle
B) lack of scientific evidence supporting global climate change
C) lack of support from other developed nations around the world
D) political influence of the petroleum, coal, and automobile industries
E) the success of voluntary reductions of carbon dioxide emissions by U.S. power plants

Question 24

Small island nations such as the Maldives are in the international spotlight because they .

A) opposed China's proposals for global carbon neutrality at the Copenhagen Conference in 2009
B) have exceeded the emissions reductions set by the Kyoto Protocol
C) are the largest emissions producers in their respective areas
D) may be among the first nations to be completely flooded by rising sea levels
E) are accepting climate change refugees from other nations

Question 25

Recent research indicates that the variation in solar output _.

A) has a radiative force of 20 watts/m2
B) is greater than all the anthropogenic factors affecting climate change
C) is the major factor driving temperature change
D) is less than any of the anthropogenic factors affecting climate change
E) will increase by a hundredfold over then next century

Question 26

Which of the following is an alternative fuel that could decrease carbon dioxide emissions in the transportation sector?

A) coal
B) gasoline
C) compressed natural gas
D) nuclear fuel rods
E) vaporized water

Question 27

What proportion of incoming solar radiation reaches Earth's surface?

A) 67%
B) 47%
C) 54%
D) 77%
E) 7%