Discuss how cleaning an oil spill can be more harmful than the oil itself. What will be an ideal response?
The methods used to contain and clean up an oil spill sometimes cause more damage than the oil itself. Detergents used to disperse oil are especially harmful to living things. Cleanup of
the 1969 Torrey Canyon accident off the southern coast of England, one of the first large
tanker accidents, did much more environmental damage than the 100,000 metric tons of
crude oil released. Some resort beaches in the south of England were closed for two seasons,
not because of oil residue but because of the stench of decaying marine life killed by the
chemicals used to make the shore look clean. Even the more sophisticated compounds and
methods that were used in dealing with the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill seem to have done
more harm. About 8% of the oil was dispersed by chemicals injected at the wellhead or
sprayed on the ocean surface. The dispersants were toxic to the very organisms that would
metabolize the oil naturally. When mixed with the dispersant, oil that would normally float
was able to linger far below the surface and affect fishes and bottom-dwelling organisms.
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Dust in the atmosphere is responsible for which of the following?
a. Ozone formation acting as a catalyst for cloud destruction b. Neon formation acting as a catalyst for cloud destruction c. Argon formation acting as a catalyst for cloud construction d. Helium formation acting as a catalyst for cloud construction e. Methane formation acting as a catalyst for cloud destruction
Deforestation can be slowed by which of the following?
A) building new roads and homes in forest areas B) recycling more paper to reduce the need for pulpwood C) growing more timber on short rotations D) practicing shifting agriculture on forest land E) practicing clear cutting
In the northern hemisphere, cyclonic winds flow:
A) inward and counterclockwise. B) inward and clockwise. C) outward and counterclockwise. D) outward and clockwise.
Which of the possible future effects of climate change is most likely to occur according to current predictions from the IPCC?
A. economic collapse of industrialized nations B. decrease of sea ice C. decrease of water resources in Los Angeles D. increase in hurricane intensity