PDS AP Environmental Science 5th Period 2010-11

After watching Who Killed the Electric Car (2006), we took a look at some of the new plug-in electric cars from Chevy, Ford, Nissan, and Tesla now on the market. Are electric cars really the answer for ending our dependence on foreign crude oil? Could it be that simple? This Daily Show clip (8 minutes) is one of my favorites on the history of American presidents trying to get us to cure our addiction to oil:

So, your text had a section on carbon offsets, but we never discussed it in class. There are many companies out there now marketing carbon offsets to reduce your “carbon footprint.” Terrapass is a popular one. You can offset one year’s worth of air travel (an estimated 8,000 pounds of carbon emitted) for just $50.60 as of 5/5/2011. Your money goes to support wind farms and methane capture projects-that’s how the carbon is “offset.” Some companies will even plant trees to offset carbon produced by your lifestyle.

So, does this approach mitigate (lesson) global climate change or encourage “cheating?” Watch this clever parody of carbon offsetting by a couple of Brits:

*If you want to learn more, visit www.cheatneutral.com

So, what do you think?

*Try www.carbonfootprint.com to for a carbon calculator if you want to assess how much carbon dioxide results from your lifestyle.

As we approach the final day before the AP exam, have you reviewed the nutrient cycles? Knowledge of these cycles is critical-they tie everything together.  In the fall we learned primary reservoirs, key chemical reactions, and anthropogenic impacts.  I also had each of you write a creative short-story of a cycle.  Here is a good one by JoeY:

Being a nitrogen in a nitrate ion was getting boring, especially as I drifted through the sea. I needed to get as far away from here as possible. One day, as I am minding my own business, a denitrifying bacteria comes up to me and asks, “ Want a little adventure in your life?” I couldn’t say no to a ticket out of here. Suddenly, I am pulled away from my oxygen parts, and I start floating up into the clouds. What a view! The atmosphere was so high up that I could see everything! And I also met many of my fellow nitrogen molecules. I started drifting back down to see land beneath me. Then, as soon as I was close enough to a legume, a nitrogen-fixing bacteria takes me in and fixes me up with some hydrogen ions. But as soon as this happened, a plant sucks me into its roots. I stayed in the plant for a while, but when the plant died, I was decomposed and returned to the soil. When I was in the soil, I went through a similar process and became ammonium. But I met some new bacteria friends that converted me into a nitrite ion. Then, another bacteria transformed me back into just nitrogen, and I floated back into the atmosphere. But my time in the air didn’t last long. I was fixed into ammonium again, but this time, I was in the ocean. Some nitrifying bacteria turned me into a nitrite ion. Then I was immediately turned into a nitrate ion. What an adventure!
So, do you remember the steps of the nitrogen cycle? Do you remember the formulas for these forms of nitrogen? Do you recall all the ways humans alter this cycle?

I know things are winding down, but I was amazed by all the recent news stories that deal with our units of study. At this point in the course, reading the news is a way to study. This AP exam is constantly being rewritten as new research is published or new environmental disasters occur! Check out any that interest you:

NPR: Fukushima Vs. Chernobyl: Still Not Equal

BBC: BP oil spill: The environmental impact one year on (yes, it’s been a year already!)

NPR: Researchers Link Extreme Rains To Global Warming

NPR: Washing Away The Arctic Coastline (more on sea level rise)

NPR: Climate Change Trends: Carbon Emissions Giants (data/maps)

NPR: Tapping The Earth For Energy Savings Year-Round

NPR: Our ‘Toxic’ Love-Hate Relationship With Plastics

NPR: Repelling Bugs With The Essence Of Grapefruit

NPR: The Worldwide ‘Thirst’ For Clean Drinking Water

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

If you did notice lately, it is very “hip” to “green.” I’m watching my favorite Thursday night NBC comedy shows, and seeing all these public service announcements for “green week.” Heck, even the NBC peacock logo is green this week! Check out NBC’s slick website: http://www.nbc.com/Green/

And, FOX is getting in on the act too. Check out their slick website: http://www.fox.com/greenitmeanit/

This type of public relations stuff is called “greenwashing.” Here’s a definition (can’t find or recall the source):

Greenwashing is the unjustified appropriation of environmental virtue by a company, an industry, a government, a politician or even a non-government organization to create a pro-environmental image, sell a product or a policy, or to try and rehabilitate their standing with the public and decision makers after being embroiled in controversy.

So, why is what NBC or Fox doing this week considered sorta sly? Well…do you think the network executives are doing it for the network or us (or both)? You decide.

If you want to know more, here are a few “watchdog” sites that monitor greenwashing:

Sourcewatch:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Greenwashing

Greenwashing.net

http://www.greenwashing.net/

Corpwatch:

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=102

So, be a smart consumer, not all that is green is good. ANY group can claim to be green-there is no government standard! Love to discuss any of this with any of you here or in class one day…can you think of other examples you’ve seen?

We can only take so many field trips, but this is one I would love to do if we had the time.  We discussed coal-fired power plants in class, but this short interactive tour (with real pics and computer animations) will give you a better feel than the diagrams in your text.

Many assume these cooling towers mean this is a nuclear plant, but they can be found a coal-fired plants also.

Image source: Scientific American

According to this recent NPR story, China is planning to build 500 coal-fired plants over the next decade-that’s almost one a week!!!

Yes, I had to do it. I try to teach environmental science without preaching, but this one topic is hardest for me to avoid. There are probably hundreds of other posts out there on the topic, but I still feel the need to let this out (sorry as it is a bit long with the 3 video clips). If you agree with my arguments, forward the blog link to a parent or friend…

I was born in 1968. I am trying hard to remember (without a Google search) on when I first saw bottled water for sale. Can you? I cannot recall bottled water for sale in college in the late 80s, or when I was in the Army in the early 90s. Must have been the late 90s…at least in my memory.

I found this graph, but I have failed in locating the original source (I think it is at the bottom):

Growth of the Bottled Water Industry (double click on graph for a larger version)

Ok, regardless of my memory, the stuff has become very popular….

So, why my opposition? Well, I don’t drink bottled water for FIVE reasons:

1. Cost. This may be the ultimate rip-off. Let’s say you can buy a 16-ounce bottle for 69 cents…8 of those bottles equals $5.52/gallon (8 x 16 = 128 ounces or 1 gallon). If you drink one a day for 365 days, that’s $252/year on water alone and $2,520 dollars for 10 years! It is more like you paid $1.50, not 69 cents–so double that! Now, last time I checked my tap water costs $1.25/ccf (or about 750 gallons) at the lowest price tier. Not really sure I need to do the math for you, but seems like I’ve got safe water at less than a penny a gallon? Ok, it is 0.16 cents/gallon if you must see the math. Is there really any need to extrapolate my tap water costs out to a year or ten? And, that rate includes what the city charges me for stormwater and sewage treatment facilities–so the price just drinking water is even less.

2. Safety-Water quality. Ok, lots has been published about this over the last 10 years. You check it out for yourself. First, there was the NRDC report in 1999. On the issue of water quality (safety), here is the NRDC answer to the question “is bottled water safer than tap water?:”

“No, not necessarily. NRDC conducted a four-year review of the bottled water industry and the safety standards that govern it, including a comparison of national bottled water rules with national tap water rules, and independent testing of over 1,000 bottles of water. Our conclusion is that there is no assurance that just because water comes out of a bottle it is any cleaner or safer than water from the tap. And in fact, an estimated 25 percent or more of bottled water is really just tap water in a bottle — sometimes further treated, sometimes not.”

So, that was 1999. Has much changed since then? I guess you could start with the EPA, if you trust the government. Here is an answer from the FAQ section of the EPA website on Ground Water & Drinking Water:

Is bottled water safer than tap water?

Bottled water is not necessarily safer than your tap water. EPA sets standards for tap water provided by public water systems; the Food and Drug Administration sets bottled water standards based on EPA’s tap water standards. Bottled water and tap water are both safe to drink if they meet these standards, although people with severely compromised immune systems and children may have special needs. Some bottled water is treated more than tap water, while some is treated less or not treated at all. Bottled water costs much more than tap water on a per gallon basis. Bottled water is valuable in emergency situations (such as floods and earthquakes), and high quality bottled water may be a desirable option for people with weakened immune systems. Consumers who choose to purchase bottled water should carefully read its label to understand what they are buying, whether it is a better taste, or a certain method of treatment. More information on bottled water is available from the International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) (www.bottledwater.org/), which represents most US bottlers.

On top of all that, some bottled water is missing flouride treatment which most cities add to prevent tooth decay from bacteria. While toothpaste does contain flouride, those that drink only bottled water are getting considerably less floride. Note: The benefits of flouride is hotly debated…that’s another story. Regardless, the EPA requires Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities to send me a report on my drinking water quality each year. You can access the 2009 report here. Does your favorite bottled water company send you these?

3. Dangers of plastics: I try to live by the precautionary principle on this one. Yes, there are many fears about the dangers of chemicals that may leach out of plastic bottles. Most of this is “frontier science” at the moment–it will probably take years for us to have solid data on health effects. The folks that make the plastic resin (PET) that holds most bottled water say the stuff is safe. A recent study by a professor at the University of Heidelberg documented antimony values (in ppt) hundreds of times higher than that of pristine groundwater. Long term exposure of antimony can cause such as headache, dizzness, depression and in large doses, violent vomiting and death…Others fear the leaching of pthalates into bottled water. Some studies suggest some pthalates act as endocrine disruptors-in particular mimicing the female hormone estrogen.

Even if you don’t buy into the possible health effects on humans, consider the effects of all that plastic on the ecosystem. Oil-based plastics are not biodegradable, but they are photodegradable–that means they will simply break into smaller pieces due to weathering in the sun. So, plastics never go away, they just fragment into smaller pieces. All of this plastic has a tremendous impact on marine ecosystems. Watch this 7 minute TEDTalks segment by Captain Charles Moore for a quick lesson on plastics in the Pacific Ocean:

*To learn more about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, click here.

4. Infrastructure: In Charlotte, North Carolina, my water bill pays for the water treatment facilities and pipes that carry drinking water (as well as for stormwater drains/pipes and wastewater treatment). My property taxes do not. So, for every dollar I give to bottled water companies, that is a dollar less Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities has to treat and transport my tap water. So, as bottled water companies prosper and grow, our public water infrastructure crumbles…The America Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recently graded our drinking water infrastructure at “D-.” According to ASCE, we face an $11 BILLION shortfall each year in shoring up this infrastructure. How will we pay for it if more and more dollars go to soft drink companies peddling bottled water?

5. Taste: I honestly cannot tell a difference. But, yes, some folks think bottled water tastes better…I think this short video from the Showtime series Penn and Teller: Bullshit puts the issue to rest:

So, what do you think? Do you buy bottled water? Why? Which of these 5 reasons would you disagree with? If you refuse to drink bottled water, why? If you’ve never taken a stand, do so now! Post a response/comment…

Ok..so I am biased? Here is a rebuttal from the Competitive Enterprise Institute :

Note: “The Competitive Enterprise Institute is a public interest group dedicated to free enterprise and limited government. We believe that the best solutions come from people making their own choices in a free marketplace, rather than government intervention. Since it was founded by Fred L. Smith, Jr. in 1984, CEI has grown to a team of over 40 policy experts and staff.” This boilerplate was taken from the www.cei.org.

Alum Richard Gee (’10) just sent me this link to a The Economist article and map about which countries are growning genetically modified crops. I wish we had more time to spend on GMOs, but with me out of town it was not meant to be this year. I’m not too concerned for you all on the AP exam as GMOs made it as a free response topic two years ago, so I doubt it will come around again this soon. Interesting regardless as this is becoming more prevalent as industrialized agriculture spreads. Key points from the brief article:

As can be seen in our map, GM technology has been enthusiastically embraced in the Americas and in many Asian countries. By contrast, many European countries are subject to severe restrictions on growing GM crops. Developing countries are planting GM crops at a more rapid rate than rich countries.

Click to enlarge the image.

GMO Crop Production by Country

Ironic, to me, that in the age of plastic that plastic bags are dying AND in the digital age printer paper is booming. Check these stories out:

Cities/countries banning plastic bags-
China
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080110-AP-bags.html

San Francisco

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89135360

HP CEO discusses why printing on paper NOT declining-
http://www.fastcompany.com/1725332/innovation-agents-vyomesh-joshi-evp-of-imaging-and-printing-group-at-hp

So, today we tried to debate the pros/cons of recycling. If you found it interesting, here are some more resources:

1. Here is a follow up to the 1996 John Tierney article. How have things changed in the last 15 years? Is recycling NOW worth it?

2. If you have 30 minutes: Laugh out loud as Penn and Teller deconstruct the value of recycling in this episode of their show, Bullshit. The show seems to be based on the John Tierney article we read, “Recycling is Garbage.” Warning-if you are in public-some language is inappropriate (at least for school).

3. Check out what photographer/artist Chris Jordan does to document our consumption, from Bill Moyer’s Journal. I think some of these were shared by the Env. Club in assembly last year. Amazing images!

4. Like history? Watch this 19-minute video called Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage based on the book of the same title by Heather Rogers:

Enjoy!