Sustainable Practices & Conservation Flashcards

A sustainable transportation plan reduces single-occupancy vehicle trips by 30%. The most direct air quality benefit is reduction of:

Answer: Mobile source CO, NOₓ, and VOC emissions

Fewer vehicle trips directly reduce tailpipe emissions of CO, NOₓ, and VOCs, which are primary mobile source air pollutants.

Carbon sequestration through urban forestry programs contributes to air quality by:

Answer: Absorbing CO₂ and intercepting airborne particles on leaf surfaces

Trees sequester carbon dioxide and their leaf surfaces physically capture airborne particulate matter, providing dual air quality benefits.

An air quality specialist recommends replacing a coal boiler with a natural gas unit. The primary sustainability rationale is:

Answer: Natural gas combustion emits significantly less SO₂, PM, and CO₂ per unit energy

Natural gas combustion produces substantially lower SO₂, particulate matter, and CO₂ emissions per BTU compared to coal, improving both air quality and climate impact.

In sustainable air quality management, the pollution prevention hierarchy ranks which option highest?

Answer: Source reduction (prevention at origin)

The pollution prevention hierarchy places source reduction at the top because preventing pollutant generation is more sustainable than treating or disposing of it after formation.

Which metric best quantifies the air quality sustainability of a manufacturing process over its entire product lifecycle?

Answer: Cradle-to-grave emissions intensity per unit of product

Cradle-to-grave emissions intensity accounts for all lifecycle emissions per unit of product, providing the most comprehensive sustainability metric.

Heat island mitigation strategies in urban planning improve air quality because:

Answer: Lower urban temperatures reduce ozone formation rates and energy demand

Reducing urban heat island temperatures slows the photochemical reactions that form ground-level ozone and reduces energy consumption for cooling, cutting power plant emissions.

A facility's environmental management system (EMS) certified to ISO 14001 demonstrates commitment to:

Answer: Continual improvement in environmental performance including air quality

ISO 14001 certification requires an EMS with documented processes for continual improvement in environmental performance, not necessarily zero emissions.