Sustainability & Resource Management Flashcards
7 cards from real CEP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Sustainability & Resource Management flashcards as text
Which framework uses the concept of 'planetary boundaries' to define a safe operating space for humanity?
Answer: Stockholm Resilience Centre model
The Stockholm Resilience Centre developed the planetary boundaries framework identifying nine Earth-system processes with safe limits.
A city wants to reduce urban heat island effect while managing stormwater. Which green infrastructure approach best addresses both goals simultaneously?
Answer: Constructing bioswales with native vegetation
Bioswales with native vegetation filter stormwater runoff while the vegetation provides evapotranspiration cooling that reduces urban heat island intensity.
Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, what is the primary planning tool used to protect drinking water sources from contamination?
Answer: Wellhead Protection Program
The Wellhead Protection Program designates and protects recharge areas around public water supply wells to prevent contamination.
Which solid waste management strategy ranks highest in the EPA's preferred waste management hierarchy?
Answer: Source reduction and reuse
The EPA's waste hierarchy places source reduction (preventing waste generation) and reuse at the top as the most preferred strategy.
A regional plan aims to protect agricultural land from urban sprawl. Which land use tool permanently restricts development on farmland?
Answer: Purchase of Development Rights (PDR)
PDR programs permanently retire development rights by purchasing agricultural conservation easements, legally restricting land to farming in perpetuity.
What does the term 'embodied carbon' refer to in the context of sustainable building?
Answer: GHG emissions from material extraction, manufacturing, and construction
Embodied carbon encompasses all greenhouse gas emissions associated with building materials and construction processes throughout their lifecycle, excluding operational energy use.
Which water conservation concept describes the practice of treating and reusing wastewater on-site for non-potable purposes like irrigation?
Answer: Greywater recycling
Greywater recycling captures lightly used water from sinks and showers for on-site reuse in toilet flushing and irrigation, reducing potable water demand.