PDS AP Environmental Science 5th Period 2011-12

So, what’s the latest trend in energy sources these days? The use of geothermal energy is heating up all over the United States. In just 2011 the industry was heating areas in 9 states and had projects in 15 states. Geothermal energy uses the heat from the Earth’s crust to provide energy with low CO2 emissions (clean energy). Other than having low CO2 emissions, it is also a renewable resource and except for the expenses of building the pumps to access the heat, it’s fairly inexpensive. So why not hop on the steam engine to success? California seems to be “full steam ahead” but is it really? This NPR article talks about California being on board to converting their energy sources by 2020 to all renewable sources but it seems that the geysers they’ve been tapping for steam are running out.

Photo: California Geysers located in Mayacamas Mountains, San Fransisco, CA are part of the first geothermal energy plant. Here, workers are trying to repair the 50 year old site. Click here to learn more about The Geysers.

Their solution is to drill down into the Earth’s crust where the temperature is around 500 degrees and use that heat, but of course it can’t be that easy. Building geothermal energy facilities can not only be expensive, but can cause minor earthquakes too. Eventually the AltaRock group, a company that leads in energy production and technology for geothermal energy, gave up at sites in California and moved on to try Oregon.

In Oregon, geothermal energy developers plan to pump water into a dormant volcano for energy. Read about this plan here!

This short clip can give you an idea of what the scientists had in mind regarding the volcano in Oregon (on a much greater level of course)At the Timanfaya National Park, water was poured into a bore hole that heated the water and shot it back out.

The United States aren’t the only ones trying to lower their carbon footprint and use geothermal energy. Here’s a 2minute video talking about Canada’s plans regarding geothermal energy.

As you can see, geothermal energy has become quite a hot topic recently and it is predicted to become an even bigger project in the future.

Sources:

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/04/09/geothermal-energy-use-rise/

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129282183

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snEzaSW1fH8&feature=related

Although it seems like it’s just sea water out there, we seldom forget about the black liquid that taints our deep blue. Oil is always finding its way into the ocean whether it’s through 1) natural seeps (47%), 2) consumption of petroleum/ run off (38%), 3) transportation of petroleum/leaks and oil spills (12%), or 4) extraction of petroleum (3%). However, a great amount of oil found its way into the ocean during the Exxon Valdez oil spill. A tanker that was destined for Long Beach, CA crashed into a reef in Prince William Sound and spilled 38,800 metric tons into the ocean. After this accident congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 which required double hulled tankers and a plan for clean up given that a spill occurred. This plan included a contingency fund, or a fund if an accident occurred. Good thing congress thought of that because in 2010

a well blew out and spilled 666,400 metric tons (a years worth of natural seeps) of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. This was known as the BP Deepwater Horizon spill. We jotted down some facts to compare the two in class, and came to the conclusion that the BP oil spill was worse in terms of amount of oil spilled. Despite this, both had major environmental impacts.

IMPACTS OF OIL SPILLS:

Wildlife:

• Oil in the pelts of otters or feathers of birds doesn’t let the animals trap heat and they die from hypothermia. It also reduces buoyancy and makes it harder for the animals to swim
• Animals could also die from ingestion and suffocate from smothering.

These bird most likely died from suffocation and smothering, and these pictures are only two of many thousands of animals that died in the accident.

However, actions to remediate the damage done by the oil, were taken.

• Mechanical methods: Booms, absorbents, skimmers, and blotters were used to reduce the amount of oil in the water.
• Absorbent booms skim and absorb water off the top
• Chemical Methods: Coagulants and dispersing agents like fire were used to get rid of the oil
• Biological: The use of bacteria or plants to neutralize contaminants: bioremediation.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/01/us/20100501-oil-spill-tracker.html

It really is unbelievable the impact of these spills. At least now we know what measures can be taken in the event of another spill and can be prepared if another happens. We just have to learn from our mistakes..

A funny video that explains the chain of events of the Deepwater Horizon Spill…

On my flight to Hawaii I was eavesdropping on the conversation behind me and apparently she was traveling from Des Moines, IA to Hawaii because waste connection a company that handles recycling and waste management is having a meeting here. I rolled my eyes…apes is stalking me.

Alrighty, so I know that meat production can be split up into CAFOs and free range, however, I noticed that there is also traditional agriculture mentioned in the book. Traditional agriculture can be classified as shifting agriculture or nomadic grazing. I was wondering if any, which category traditional agriculture would fit in. It seems that it would lean towards the Free Range category, but I was wondering if maybe it’s actually just it’s own category all together. It seems like these systems wouldn’t be used for mass production but rather the family farm or maybe a small town. What do you guys think?

In my notes I had written maximum sustainable growth is 1/2 of the carrying capacity, and I was a bit fuzzy on what that really meant. I looked it up in my text and it basically said that the amount that can be harvested in order to not harm the environment is half of what the area can hold (the carrying capacity). Wouldn’t this idea completely contradict the idea of clear cutting? Or does it not pertain because areas that are used for clear cutting aren’t meant to be sustained..In other words, does maximum sustainable growth not matter for areas that are used for clear cutting and economic profit? Where does MSY apply? Only in areas that are moderately restricted? Also, how does it affect biodiversity of an area?

I’m still a little bit confused about the two types of succession: Primary and Secondary. Right now, my understanding is that primary succession is basically when an environment grows from nothing, and secondary is when it has been disturbed but not completely destroyed. I guess what I’m asking is what is their purpose? They both rebuild an ecosystem, so why does it matter that one comes from nothing and the other comes from almost nothing? Does one or the other build different or stronger communities? Also, I don’t think this falls under the same category, but were the plants that keep coming back called annuals? Or are annuals the plants that you have to plant every year. I can’t seem to find the answer..

If the availability of pension (or retirement system) increased, why would births decrease? Should countries make this less available to keep births from decreasing? In other words, how would this factor have a positive effect?

There are 1.8 million births, and .8 million deaths, which means there’s a net population of 1 million, EVERY FIVE days. If this estimate is drawn out further, we see that the world gains about 73 million people a year, so within the next 11-12 years we will have gained another billion people. Actually, just recently (this year, 2011) the 7 billionth person entered the world. Our world is growing exponentially and this population growth contributes to the majority of our environmental problems. In class, we discussed this photo…It gives averages of what each American will use in their lifetime. It seems like a lot right? Well that’s the issue, our resources are limited and we’re constantly growing, and are therefore in need of more resources.

The study of all of the human population is called demography. In addition to viewing our population and the need of Americans, we also discussed cartograms: maps that show countries in proportion to, not their land masses, but their populations. Here is an example..This cartogram shows the order in which countries are ranked by population.

We viewed a cartogram and decided the top 5 countries with the greatest populations: 1. China (1.3 bill) 2. India (1.1 bill) 3. USA (.31 bill) 4. Indonesia (.23 bill) 5. Brazil (.19 bill)

However, total population is not the only issue, density is also an issue. As you remember from the previous unit, an overly dense environment can cause problems like disease and increased competition. So, the question is how do we control this? How can we control this in an ethical way? But first of all, How did we get here? This link is to a video that shows the growth of populations of the world over time and predicts future populations as well.

While looking over some notes about R and K selected species, I stumbled upon the question, which puts a species at a greater risk for extinction? I was also wondering if anyone could explain niche generalist and niche specialist and how they affect the chances of a species surviving an environmental disturbance. (It’s number 17 in the Chapter 5 Study Guide).

Today we began our study of the four Biogeochemical Cycles aka Nutrient Cycles. Of the four cycles, Water, Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus, we started with the carbon cycle. It is the most important because all living things are based on carbon. So, how exactly does life react with nonliving components? We were able to answer this question with a circle of desks and balloons. The circle consisted of different groups each representing either oceans, rocks, or fossil fuels (what living things depend on for cycles). First, we had to find out where carbon was stored. Each group had a certain number of balloons that represented the amount of carbon they contained. By counting, we came to the conclusion that rock (sedimentary) contained the greatest amount, then oceans, fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, gasoline), and lastly biomass. Each of these were major pools or “reservoirs”-areas were carbon is stored. Next, we had to figure out how carbon traveled, or its flow (the chemical, biological, or physical process that moves carbon).

Carbon first starts out in the atmosphere then moves to the biosphere through photosynthesis (6CO2 + 6H2O= C6H12O6 + 6H2O). From the biosphere, it undergoes the burial process and becomes rock/crust or fossil fuels. The fossil fuels can then release carbon into the atmosphere through combustion (burning of coal- C(s)+O2=CO2, burning of natrual gas- CH4+ 2O2=cO2 +2H2o, or burning of gasoline- 2C8H18+25O2=16CO2+ 18H2O). So what? Well, the burning of fossil fuels increases the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere causing a rise in temperatures. Not only that, but because of deforestation, less CO2 is being subtracted from the atmosphere. As a result the atmosphere is heating up.

However, not only does the cycle occur on land, but water too. Through the process of diffusion, CO2 enters the ocean. From there, water subtracts CO2 and uses it for photosynthesis to help plants grow. Then it releases it back through respiration. However, if it is not released back when the plant dies, the CO2 turns into sediment. When CO2 and water combine, they create carbonic acid or H2CO3. The acid loses a H+ ion and leaves bicarbonate HCO3-. After losing another H+ ion, we are left with carbonate which, when added with calcium, creates limestone (CaCO3) shells, or it can create more sediment.

Source of photo: http://www.google.com/imgres?q=carbon+cycle&um=1&hl=en&biw=1280&bih=631&tbm=isch&tbnid=GnY5JaK1FxmX_M:&imgrefurl=http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/co2_cycle.html&docid=vLDvvDftCYNsYM&w=360&h=360&ei=oPGMTsnCONC9tge9kOyMDA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=174&vpy=166&dur=44&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=159&ty=117&page=1&tbnh=126&tbnw=126&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0