AP Environmental Science : Salt Water
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Example Question #2 : Water Resources
Desalinization plants are becoming popular in the Middle East and heavily proposed in drought states like California to satisfy the public's use of fresh water. What is the dominant issue with establishing desalinization facilities?
Desalinization requires a lot of heat energy to create freshwater vapor, and is generally a very expensive process.
Most of our planet's oceans are heavily polluted and desalinating sea water will remove the salt, but harmful pollutants and toxins that affect human health can remain present.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires environmental impact statements be conducted for any federally-funded project, and involves too much red tape for a desalinization plant to be economically feasible.
Building desalinization facilities offshore is legally difficult due to international regulations on ocean management.
Desalinization removes most of the salt content, but not all of it, posing a serious risk of dehydration or heart problems when consumed by humans.
Desalinization requires a lot of heat energy to create freshwater vapor, and is generally a very expensive process.
Desalinization involves heating seawater to a boil, resulting in pure, distilled water vapor with no impurities. While any ferally-funded project is subject to environmental assesments, the major roadblock for these facilities is the heat energy required to distill the seawater.
Example Question #1 : Water Resources
In sea water, carbon is mostly found in the form of __________.
glucose
methane gas
phosphoric acid
carbon monoxide
bicarbonate ions
bicarbonate ions
When atmospheric carbon dioxide reacts with ocean water, they combine to product the bicarbonate iron, or 
Example Question #2 : Water Resources
Aquifers provide water for millions of people. But when aquifers are used at faster rate than they can replenished a deficit occurs which causes a number of problems.
What is it called when aquifers in coastal areas start to fill with ocean water?
Saltwater instusion
Groundwater
Confined
Artesian
Depletion
Saltwater instusion
Aquifers are part of groundwater. Saltwater intrusion occurs because of aquifer depletion. The empty space can then be filled with sea water. Confined and artesian are types of aquifers.
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