ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH 6011 EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (VERIFIED
AND UPDATED)
Explain how energy influences human health - ANS energy consumption improves health and
quality of life; every person in the US consumed about 40,000 lbs of minerals per year; diseases
of the affluent: non-communicable, chronic diseases; Great Recession in 2008 caused by oil
Define ethical considerations on what is meant by sustainable development - ANS sustainable
energy = better occupational health
Explain how COAL is used and the percent contribution to US energy - ANS 14%; most
abundant fossil fuel, harder to get; mountain top removal; Black Lung disease; coal mines going
bankrupt leads to taking shortcuts in health and safety; coal more expensive when factoring in
societal burdens such as lung cancer and asthma
Explain how NUCLEAR energy is used and its percent contribution to US energy - ANS 9%; 3
mile island was a small event but scared people; chernobyl happened because of human error
and overriding 19 safety features; fukushima caused by a tsunami; proper location is key for
nuclear power plants - to have no seismic activity; 2 problems: need a lot of backup and no
good waste management system; small modular reactors are air pollution and GHG free
Explain how HYDRO energy is used and its percent contribution to US energy - ANS 3%;
rotting wood leaks methane into atmosphere; hoover dam + colorado river = lake mead; Dam
stores water, penstock carries water to turbines, then turbines rotate and generate electricity
@2026/2027 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, Explain how RENEWABLE energy is used and its percent contribution to US energy - ANS 8%;
biomass 5%; wind 2%; solar .6%; geothermal .2%; geothermal - heating water up to make
electricity, geothermal heat pump; ocean - using kinetic motion of waves, durability and cost are
issues; wood energy; solar energy - sun boils water, making steam to produce electricity; wind
energy - one of the cheapest forms of energy, brings in lots of jobs
Explain how NATURAL GAS is used and its percent contribution to US energy - ANS 29%;
methane leaks into atmosphere, burns cleaner than coal but have to look at methane leaks
Explain how PETROLEUM is used and its percent contribution to US energy - ANS 37%;
Evaluate the health impacts of fossil fuel at the local level - ANS emissions, pollutants, health
of the workers to extract fossil fuel from earth, disease, burden, accidents and explosions
Evaluate the health impacts of fossil fuel use at the global level - ANS global warming, GHG,
limited resource sold and used in highly developed countries, politics of whose oil it is
What are the health impacts of Tar Sands - ANS demands more energy to remove oil from
sand, leaves sand dead so no trees and plants can grow which leads to less removing CO2 out of
the environment; one gallon of gasoline made of tar sands produces 15% more carbon
emissions than conventional oil; water pollution - 1 gallon of gasoline produced takes 5.9 gallons
of fresh water (3x more than conventional oil), waste water ends up in toxic waste ponds
Explain health impacts of mountain top removal - ANS removing plants = less removal of
CO2; degrades water to streams which causes flooding and impacts subsistence fishing; blowing
top of mountain to get to coal, fill valleys w/ waste rock which has higher acidity --> coal ash
slurry into ponds which can spill into waterways
Explain health impacts of changes to infrastructure like pipelines and rail - ANS pipelines -
controversial because it would put carbon in atmosphere and quadruple canadian tar sand
production; rail now being used to move tar sands
@2026/2027 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (VERIFIED
AND UPDATED)
Explain how energy influences human health - ANS energy consumption improves health and
quality of life; every person in the US consumed about 40,000 lbs of minerals per year; diseases
of the affluent: non-communicable, chronic diseases; Great Recession in 2008 caused by oil
Define ethical considerations on what is meant by sustainable development - ANS sustainable
energy = better occupational health
Explain how COAL is used and the percent contribution to US energy - ANS 14%; most
abundant fossil fuel, harder to get; mountain top removal; Black Lung disease; coal mines going
bankrupt leads to taking shortcuts in health and safety; coal more expensive when factoring in
societal burdens such as lung cancer and asthma
Explain how NUCLEAR energy is used and its percent contribution to US energy - ANS 9%; 3
mile island was a small event but scared people; chernobyl happened because of human error
and overriding 19 safety features; fukushima caused by a tsunami; proper location is key for
nuclear power plants - to have no seismic activity; 2 problems: need a lot of backup and no
good waste management system; small modular reactors are air pollution and GHG free
Explain how HYDRO energy is used and its percent contribution to US energy - ANS 3%;
rotting wood leaks methane into atmosphere; hoover dam + colorado river = lake mead; Dam
stores water, penstock carries water to turbines, then turbines rotate and generate electricity
@2026/2027 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
, Explain how RENEWABLE energy is used and its percent contribution to US energy - ANS 8%;
biomass 5%; wind 2%; solar .6%; geothermal .2%; geothermal - heating water up to make
electricity, geothermal heat pump; ocean - using kinetic motion of waves, durability and cost are
issues; wood energy; solar energy - sun boils water, making steam to produce electricity; wind
energy - one of the cheapest forms of energy, brings in lots of jobs
Explain how NATURAL GAS is used and its percent contribution to US energy - ANS 29%;
methane leaks into atmosphere, burns cleaner than coal but have to look at methane leaks
Explain how PETROLEUM is used and its percent contribution to US energy - ANS 37%;
Evaluate the health impacts of fossil fuel at the local level - ANS emissions, pollutants, health
of the workers to extract fossil fuel from earth, disease, burden, accidents and explosions
Evaluate the health impacts of fossil fuel use at the global level - ANS global warming, GHG,
limited resource sold and used in highly developed countries, politics of whose oil it is
What are the health impacts of Tar Sands - ANS demands more energy to remove oil from
sand, leaves sand dead so no trees and plants can grow which leads to less removing CO2 out of
the environment; one gallon of gasoline made of tar sands produces 15% more carbon
emissions than conventional oil; water pollution - 1 gallon of gasoline produced takes 5.9 gallons
of fresh water (3x more than conventional oil), waste water ends up in toxic waste ponds
Explain health impacts of mountain top removal - ANS removing plants = less removal of
CO2; degrades water to streams which causes flooding and impacts subsistence fishing; blowing
top of mountain to get to coal, fill valleys w/ waste rock which has higher acidity --> coal ash
slurry into ponds which can spill into waterways
Explain health impacts of changes to infrastructure like pipelines and rail - ANS pipelines -
controversial because it would put carbon in atmosphere and quadruple canadian tar sand
production; rail now being used to move tar sands
@2026/2027 ALLRIGHTS RESERVED.
