The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a long history of working toward sustainable outcomes in our country. To encourage progress, EPA developed a strategic approach to incorporate sustainability principles that guide its work. They are:
1. Conserve, protect, restore, and improve the supply and quality of natural resources and environmental media (energy, water, materials,
ecosystems, land, and air) over the long term.
2. Align and integrate programs, tools, incentives, and indicators to achieve as many positive outcomes as possible in environmental,
economic, and social systems.
3. Consider the full life cycles of multiple natural resources, processes, and pollutants in order to prevent pollution, reduce waste, and create a
sustainable future.
In considering the water quality in and around the U. S., the EPA analyzes these critical physical states: temperature, light, and hydrology including
rainfall, flow rates, and sea level. What key human activity could result in changes in all of the physical states listed here?
A)global warming
B)release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
C)an ever-increasing hole in the ozone layer in Earth's stratosphere
D)changes in the hydrologic cycle and rates of evaporation/precipitation