PDS AP Environmental Science 8th Period 2010-11

Since it was such a busy week with prom and since most of you met your scribe post obligations during the energy project, I did not assign scribes over the last few days. So, here is a collection of links from last year’s class on Global Climate Change for those that missed class: Intro to [...]

First, we talked about smog. Term coined by combining smoke + fog to get smog. Here are the two types we learned: Sulfur-based Smog: “industrial smog” Nitrogen-based Smog: “photochemical smog” Sulfur-based Smog takes on a gray color. When coal is burned compounds within the coal interact with atmospheric oxygen which then causes iron oxide and [...]

We didn’t have time to discuss some “new” sources of fossil fuels, namely oil (tar) sands and oil shale. Your book briefly mentions these resources. Our neighbor to the north happens to rich in oil sands, which contains oil in a semi-solid state known as bitumen. This substance must be heated before the liquid crude [...]

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. Image source: Scientific [...]

For those who missed the first day of our energy unit, here is the kick off: Mining Practices & Impacts View more presentations from Derrick Willard. I tried to give you a sense of just how destructive surface mining can be to habitats and biodiversity. I’ve also found a great slideshow by a photographer named [...]

So…I forgot to make sure there was a scribe for this lesson, so I got this one.  Maybe a model of what those that handle other cycles can do? Since we are all “carbon-based life forms,” this cycle is crucial to life.  We reviewed a little biochemistry in class, noting that carbs, lipids, nucleic acids, [...]

Did you guys hear this yet? It’s true….check out the developing story: Boston.com:  Oil Sheen Spreading from Gulf Oil Platform NPR.com:  Production Platform on Fire South of Louisiana, Coast Guard Reports