Spring 2009 Midterm Exam: Environmental Science - Prof. Sarah T. Gille, Exams of Mechanical Engineering

Download Spring 2009 Midterm Exam: Environmental Science - Prof. Sarah T. Gille and more Exams Mechanical Engineering in PDF only on Docsity! MAE 124/ESYS 103 (Spring 2009) 1 Midterm Thursday, April 30, 9:30 am, in class, open note. Please write your name and student ID number on your blue book. 1. [50 points] Answer 5 of the following 7 questions: a. Why might water supplies for California change under changing climate? b. What is the Montreal Protocol, and why was it a success? c. What was the Kyoto Protocol designed to regulate, and how successful was it? d. Why would an immediate global shift to a 2 child per couple policy fail to stabilize global population right away? e. What is the Bali Declaration, and what issues is it intended to address? f. What links can you draw between burning fossil fuel and “the tragedy of the commons”? g. What limits the carrying capacity of the planet? 2. [50 points] On April 17, the New York Times reported: The Environmental Protection Agency on Friday formally declared carbon dioxide and five other heat-trapping gases to be pollutants that endanger public health and welfare, setting in motion a process that will lead to the regulation of the gases for the first time in the United States. The E.P.A. said the science supporting the proposed endangerment finding was “compelling and overwhelming.” The ruling initiates a 60-day com- ment period before any proposals for regulations governing emissions of heat- trapping gases are published. In a well-crafted essay, explain why carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases might be considered an endangerment to public health and welfare. What types of corporate and government actions would you expect following this E.P.A. ruling?