Section A Mining

1. Describe what the following mineral resources are used for:

1.Aluminum packaging, cans, motor vehicles, airplanes
2.Iron critical component of steel, used for buildings and motor vehicles
3. Manganese, cobalt, molybdenum, and chromium are all widely used to strengthen
alloys of steel
4.Copper Used for electrical wiring and plumbing
5. Platinum Used in electrical equipment and in catalytic converters in cars
6. Gold Used in electrical equipment, coins, chemical reaction catalysts, and
jewelry
7.Sand used to make glass, bricks, and concrete
8.Gravel roads and concrete
9.Limestone Used for road rock, concrete, cement, and building materials
10.Phosphate salts In inorganic fertilizers and in some detergents
2. List and describe the five types of surface mining (dont forget placer mining!)
Open pit mining - big pits are dug and ores are removed
Strip mining - for mineral deposits close to the earths surface that lay in horizontal beds.
Strips or trenches are dug, and as a trench is depleted and new trenches are dug, the
overburden is placed in the trenches
Counter strip mining - used mostly to mine coal on hillsides. A huge power shovel cuts
terraces into the side of a hill. If the land is not restored afterward, a highly erodible bank
if soil and rock called a highwall is left over.
Mountain-top removal - used predominantly in the Appalachian Mountain area of the
US. Explosives and large power shovels remove the tops of mountains, exposing seams
of coal and overburden is dumped in valleys, which often completely changes or ruins
streams, wetlands and rivers.
Placer mining - looking for metals and precious stones in river sediments. Used for
diamonds and gold.
3. Describe subsurface mining
Subsurface mining Used to remove coal and metal ores too deep in to be extracted
by surface mining.
4. What are some of the environmental impacts of both surface and subsurface mining?
Be specific
Surface mining in tropical areas destroys or degrades biodiversity when forests are
cleared and mining wastes pollute near-by streams and rivers. Subsidence (sinking
of the ground) is a problem with surface mining.

Subsurface mining disturbs much less land then surface mining, and produces less
waste material. However, it leaves more ore in the ground and is much more
dangerous for miners.
Part B: Urban Growth
5. What are the four trends with urban population dynamics?
1.Proportion of the global population living in urban areas is increasing.
2.Urban areas are expanding rapidly in number and size
3.Urban growth is much slower in developed countries than developing countries
4.Poverty is becoming increasingly urbanized, mostly in developing countries.
6. List and explain 8 issues associated with urban sprawl
1. Transportation - people forced to drive, pressure to own cars and drive greater
distances, increases dependence on nonrenewable petroleum, lack of mass transit
options, more traffic accidents
2. Pollution from transportation - CO2, nitrogen and sulfur containing air
pollutants, motor oil and road salt from roads and parking lots
3. Health - promotes physical inactivity because driving cars replaces walking,
increase in obesity and BP
4. Land use - less land in forests, fields, farmland, or ranchland, loss of ecosystem
services, recreation, aesthetic beauty, wildlife habitat
5. Economics - drains tax dollars from communities, for roads, water and sewer
systems, electricity, police and fire services, schools in new development
7. List and explain 8 ways to deal intelligently with urban sprawl (smart growth, zoning,
ect).
1. City planning - professional pursuit that attempts to design cities so as to
maximize their efficiency, functionality and beauty.
2. Regional planning - deals with same issues as city planning, but with broader
geographic scales that must coordinate with multiple municipal governments
3. Zoning - practice of classifying areas for different types of development and land
use
4. Urban growth boundaries (UGBs) - kept growth in existing urbanized areas
5. Smart growth - urban growth boundaries and other land use policies to control
growth
6. New urbanism - neighborhoods designed on walkable scale
7. Transit - oriented development - communities arrayed around stops on a major
rail transit line
8. Mass transportation - public buses, train, subways and light rail
8. List and explain the benefits and drawbacks of three types of transportation other than
cars.
Public buses, trains and subways, and light rail
Benefits: cheaper, energy efficient, cleaner and eases traffic congestion
Drawbacks: expensive to replace existing roads, differ in effectiveness
Section C: Solid Wastes

9. List and describe the steps of IWM.

1) Minimizing the amount of waste we generate (source reduction)
2) Recovering waste materials and finding ways to recycle them
3) Disposing of waste safely and effectively
10. What are the largest three components of solid waste in the U.S.?
paper, yard debris, food scraps, and plastics are the principal components of
municipal solid waste
11. What is the largest source of solid waste in the U.S.?
Industrial Solid Waste
12. Describe the process of putting trash in a sanitary landfill, including leachate issues
and methane collection.
Sanitary landfill - waste buried in the ground or piled in large, engineered mounds
Leachate - will escape, liner will be punctured and leachate collection system not
maintained.
Methane - can be collected and then used as natural gas
13. What are the two big issues with incineration?
Incineration = a controlled process in which mixed garbage is burned at very high
temperatures. Hazardous waste disposed in hazardous waste landfill and hazardous
chemicals created and released during burning.
14. What are the benefits to composting, and how are individual and municipal programs
different?
Benefits - Reduces landfill waste, Diverts all yard clippings, Reduces the need for
chemical fertilizers, Makes healthier plants and more pleasing gardens
Individual -Householders place waste into composting piles, underground pits, or
specially constructed containers
Municipal -Divert food and yard waste from the waste stream to central composting
facilities
15. What are the three steps necessary for a successful recycling program?
Step 1 in the recycling loop is collection and processing of recyclable materials
through curbside recycling or designated locations
Step 2 is using recyclables to produce new products
Step 3, consumers purchase goods made from recycled materials
16. What are some items that can and cant be recycled for each of the following
categories:
A. Plastics - CANT - Styrofoam plastic bags,
B. Paper - CANT - gift bags,

C. Metals - CANT - Aluminum foil,

D. Glass - CANT - light bulb broken glass,
Section D Land Use
17. Fill in the following chart:
U.S. Land
Area

Government
Agency
Responsible

Purpose of this
land

Things that can be

done on this type
of land

Things that
cant be done on
this type of land

National
Forests

US Forest
Service

Manage national
forests for
greatest good of
the greatest
number in the
long run and
national
grasslands

Logging, mining,
livestock grazing,
oil and gas
extraction,
recreation,
hunting, and
conservation of
watershed and
wildlife resources.

Resource
Land
(BLM
land)

Bureau of
Land
Management

Equitably use
and develop our
nations National
Resources

Mining, oil and

gas extraction,
hunting, and
livestock grazing

No camping,
development

National
Wildlife
Refuge

US Fish and
Wilderness
Service

the system of
public lands and
waters set aside
to conserve
America's fish,
wildlife and
plants.

Outdoor
recreational
activities, hunting,
fishing,
photography, etc.

No camping,
few allow oil,
gas
development, or
mining.

National
Park

National
Park Service

Serves to extend
the benefits of
natural and
cultural resource
conservation.

Camping, fishing,
hiking, horseback
riding, wildlife
viewing, etc.

Cannot
disrespect or
feed wildlife,
explore off trail
or vandalize
surroundings.

Designated
Wilderness
Area

National
Wilderness
System

Serves to
preserve natural
wilderness and
forest lands

No flight of
unmanned
aircraft systems

18. What state of the US has the most federally managed lands (both as % of state land,
and as overall area)?
Nevada
19. List five goals or reasons to preserve area as a national park/preserve.

Protect scenic beauty, provide recreation, ecosystem management, preservation of

wildlife, camping, hiking, boating, fishing
20. What does the acronym HIPPCO stand for, and what is it used to describe?
H- Habitat Destruction
I- Invasive Species
P- Population Dynamics and Resources P- Pollution/Pesticides
C- Climate Change
O- Overexploitation (Poaching)
Describes the greatest threats to biodiversity
21. Define the following terms: habitat fragmentation, wildlife corridor, zones of
preservation in biosphere reserves, SLOSS
Habitat fragmentation - contiguous habitat is chopped into small pieces
Wildlife corridor - protected land that allows animals to travel between islands of
protected habitat
Zones of preservation - allows protection for animals and indigenous population
livelihood
SLOSS - Single Large Or Several Small
22. What type of animals need large areas for preservation of endangered species, what
organisms can do well with multiple smaller parks?
Rhinos and polar bears need large areas because they are larger animals. Animals that do
well in multiple smaller parks include penguins because of their small size and ability to
live in any sized habitat.
23. Define the following wildlife management terms: MSY, minimum viable population,
carrying capacity, optimum or maximum sustainable population.
MSY - is defined as the population size that yield maximum production, and allow the
population to be sustained indefinitely.
Carrying Capacity - maximum population size
Maximum sustainable population - If the population is estimated correctly, species
levels will stabilize.
24. What does NEPA require?
An environmental assessment to be completed for all projects involving federal
money or permits.
25. Define the following forestry terms: selective cutting, clear cutting, plantation cutting
Clear Cutting - All trees in the area are cut, Most cost-efficient, Greatest impact on
forest ecosystems, Soil erosion, Water pollution and destroy entire ecosystems
Selective Cutting - Majority of forest left standing, only select trees are cut
Plantation Cutting - Timber plantations are private areas of land owned by lumber
companies that are planted with the same type of tree, with the goal of harvesting timber,
not establishing a functional forest.