Free essay on environmental science

1. What is the difference between a primary and secondary drinking water standard?
Primary drinking water standard is a set of regulations mandatory for detecting contaminants in drinking water before consumption by the public whereas a secondary drinking water standard is a non- mandatory set for quality standards checking fifteen contaminants of water.
2. What is a benthic plant?

A benthic plant is one that lives around and sometimes inside its seabed.

List four benthic plants
They include Chlorophyta, phaeophyceae, seagrasses and cyanophyte.
Under what conditions do benthic plants thrive?
Sea ice is a very good condition for survival of benthic plants and this is because it provides nutrients and enough light. Melting of sea ice makes it fall to its floor and then becomes a source of food for benthic plants and this food is later absorbed into the plants’ food web.
Sea mud has organic remains of a very high percentage and this is possible because of the high accumulation of organisms that die and sink including the pelagic ones. It is also a good habitat for benthic plants especially with the sticky mud.

Under what conditions do benthic plants decline?

Shorelines are poor habitats for benthic plants especially those characterized by sand, rocks and coral. The shorelines have no conditions for the survival of the plants and instead produce chemical reactions unnecessary for plant survival. Steep areas can also never support survival of benthic plants and this is of the fact that they are normally rocky and sloppy thus cannot allow sediments that further act as benthic habitat to stick on them.
3. List three sources of water pollutants in each of the following sectors
a. Agriculture

They include runoff from agriculture, soil caused by erosion and residue from plants.

b. Industries

These include oil spills, paper wastes and sugar wastes.

c. Home owners

Such include waste water, non-bio degradable matter like polythene and sewage discharge.

4. Based on figure 18-20 in your text list three countries where the potential for water conflict is minimal. Provide me with a reason that conflict would be minimal in these countries.
Such countries include Canada, Norway and Columbia. They have a water resource in abundance and are referred to as water-rich with sufficient fresh water and rare cases of water related diseases or drought occurrence.

Works Cited

Laws, Edward A. Aquatic Pollution: An Introductory Text. New York [u. a.: Wiley, 2000. Print. Nebel, Bernard J, and Richard T. Wright. Environmental Science: The Way the World Works. Englewood Cliffs, N. J: Prentice Hall, 1993. Print.
Dring, M J. The Biology of Marine Plants. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Print.