The continental crust of the earth is _____________ while the oceanic crust is _____________.
thicker and lighter than the oceanic crust; similar in composition to the mantle
________ in the mantle and core make tectonic plates move.
Convection currents
Subduction" is the process of a tectonic plate
being forced below another plate.
Which of the following statements regarding tectonics is true?
When oceanic plates collide with continental plates, the continent usually rides up over the seafloor.
Rocks are _______ in the process called the rock cycle.
broken down and re-formed
Rocks are classified according to their
All of these are used to classify rocks.
Fossil fuels currently supply about ____ percent of all world commercial energy supplies.
87
The United States, making up less than 5 percent of the world's population, uses more than ___ of the world's commercial energy production.
1/4
Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland have higher standards of living by most measures than Americans or Canadians
even though their energy use is much less than ours.
Which of the following statements is true?
The United States has only enough proven oil supplies to last 2.5 years at current rates of consumption.
Worldwide, coal deposits are
widespread and extensive.
Most useful oil deposits are usually found
saturating porous rocks, like water in a sponge.
Waste stream" is a term describing
the steady production of all waste products that humans produce.
In the United States about two-thirds of a ton of waste is generated for each person (including children). Compared to the United States, Japan and Europe generate about half that amount. One of the factors that probably does not contribute to this differ
that people in the United States have a higher standard of living than Japan and Europe.
In recent decades, unregulated open dumps have ____________ in developing countries.
remained the primary disposal method
Landfills differ from open dumps in that
landfilled waste is compacted and covered.
Choosing the site of a landfill depends on
All of these are correct.
In the case of sanitary landfills, the cost of disposing of wastes is _____ as technology provides safer alternatives.
sharply increasing
The main method for disposing of municipal wastes in the United States is ___________ while _____ is the main method in Japan.
landfilling; recycling
In 1950 only ____ percent of the world's population lived in cities.
38
In 2000 what continent had the highest percentage of people living in urban areas?
North America
Ecological economics is different from the other economic theories because it recognizes the
human economy as one part of a dynamic world system.
Natural capital is that which is created by
natural Earth processes.
Renewable resources are those that
will always renew themselves unless we destroy them.
An example of an intangible resource, or one that is difficult to place a monetary value on, is
satisfaction.