PDS AP Environmental Science 5th Period 2010-11

Wind Energy, put simply, is using the wind to move turbines, which then in turn provide power. The turbines are mounted atop very tall towers in order to capture the most wind. This is by far one of the most sustainable and cleanest types of energy available. The wind turbines produce no toxic or heat trapping emissions, creating an extremely viable energy alternative. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, Wind Energy is becoming much more cost-competitive and is on the rise. In 2007 and 2008 alone more wind turbines were installed than in the last 20 years combined, making this an almost 27 billion dollar investment. The turbines are pretty complex pieces of material, so I hope this pictures helps to show the parts. Although they do seem complicated they are becoming incresingly cost-efficient

I found a really good video to use to help explain this process throughly and simply. Unfortunately my computer is not letting me embed this video so I hope it’s not too much trouble to navigate away from the page, it’s definately worth it.

http://science.discovery.com/videos/deconstructed-how-wind-turbines-work.html

Also found a great link to an article explaining how these wind turbines are becoming more and more efficient in creating energy. The article comes from the Alternative Energy group and is pretty neat.

http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/efficiency-of-wind-turbine-blades/

Monday in class we learned about factors that affect the Crude Birth Rate (CBR) and the Crude Death Rate (CDR). First, however, we viewed a poulation map of the world which is as follows.

The larger the country the larger the total population. We then reviewed the equation for AGR, also called the Rate of Natural Increase, which is (CBR-CDR)/10.

The Factors which affect CBR/ Total Rate of Fertility (TRF)/ Replacement Fertility (RF)

1. As value of kids as labor increases the number of births also increase. The more reliant each parent is on the kids to work for them as labor the more likely it is they produce more offspring for greater efficency.

2. As cost of raising kids increase the number of births decrease.

3. As availability of legal abortion increases the number of births decrease.

4. As the availability of birth control increases the number of births decreases.

5. As infant mortality rate increases the number of births also increases.

6. As the availability of a Pension System increases the number of births decreases.

7. Availability of education/opportunities for women increases the number of births decrease.

8. As the average age of marriage increases the number of births decreases.

9. As urbanization increases the number of births decrease.

10. Religon/Tradition/Gov is the wild card, could increase or decrease the number of births

Factors affecting CDR

1. As medicines increase the number of deaths decrease.

2. As sanitation increases the number of deaths decrease.

3. As conflicts increase the number of deaths also increase (War, etc.)

These are the main 3 for CDR but their are others such as food, natural disastor, etc.

So this wasn’t exactly asked in the simulation but why did the shorter seasons cause a smaller variation in the moose population?

So I know that Amensalism is the relationship between members or different species in which one organism is harmed and the other is unaffected, but I forgot to write an example and I cant think of one. Anyone have any ideas?

Alright so i’m not understanding where the social concerns fall on the scale thats economy-ecology, and also whats the enviromental justice part of it mean?

Out biggest and most pressing environmental issue, though there are many more also important, is the reliance on fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources in the United States. The use of these fossil fuels, such as oil, cause a huge increase in the amount of carbon dioxide and other pollutants in the atmosphere. This increase in pollution can cause acid rain, which can destroy crops and pollute rivers, as well as global warming. Global Warming is a related problem with our reliance on fossil fuels because if we continue on this path of self-destruction our glaciers will melt, seas will rise, violent weather change will be recorded, as well as the destruction of marine and reef ecosystems.