Unit 11 Blog

Discussion Topics:

Connections Discussion:

Coral reefs are significant because they serve as habitats for many diverse species. The amount of biodiversity found in the coral reefs is astonishing! Coral reefs are often called "rainforests of the sea" because of their rich biodiversity. Due to higher sea temperatures from gobal warming, major bleaching events have occurred. These bleaching events were caused by the response of corals to the stress of warmer temperatures. The corals expel the colorful algae that live within them. Some coral are able to recover but the ones that aren't usually die. The entire ecosystem for which it forms the base, virtually disappears. Additionally, ocean acidification is a threat to coral. This occurs when oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The corals are restrained from growing due to oceans becoming more acidic. People might not want to tour these reefs if the main attraction, the coral, are dying out. Water quality is being improved by reducing water pollution from sources and improving watershed management of nearby lands are conservation efforts being made to reduce the destruction. 

The southern forests shelter many species and the diverse and beautiful ecosystem is critically endangered. Global warming and urban development have caused a loss in habitats of species and also droughts and wildfires have misplaced the homes of many of these species. The maintenance and restoration of the natural forest and wetland systems is required to keep the southern forests in tact. An alternative to this destruction would be to store ground water in aquifiers because global warming leads to more evaporation of lakes and reservoirs.

Ozone Discussion

Both the tropospheric and stratospheric ozone pose negative human health effects. For example, the tropospheric ozone irritates the respiratory system which causes throat irritation, coughing and decreased lung function. Additionally many diseases are associated with diseases of the respiratory system like asthma and bronchitis. This ozone can also irritate the eyes. The UVB from stratospheric ozone causes nonmelanoma skin cancer and plays a major role in malignant melanoma development. 

 The stratospheric ozone layer provides protection from ultraviolet solar radiation but can also pose negative human health effects due to anthropogenic contributions to ozone destruction. Chemical catalysts like chlorine enter the atmosphere in many ways. The major source of chlorine in the stratosphere is a class of anthropogenic compounds known as chlorofluorocarbons, a family of organic compounds whose properties make them ideal for use in refrigeration and air conditioning. The CFCs are extremely helpful because they are stable, inert, nontoxic, and nonflammable but these same features enable them to harm the stratosphere. 

First, UV-C radiation breaks the bonds holding together the oxygen molecule (O2), leaving two free oxygen atoms. Oxygen is then converted to ozone in the presence of ultraviolet radiation. Ozone is broken down into O2 and free oxygen atoms when it absorbs both UV-C and UV-B ultraviolet light. The free oxygen atoms and molecular oxygen may again react to produce ozone molecules; thus, ozone is continuously formed and continuously broken down in the presence of sunlight, maintaining a steady state concentration of ozone. 

During high-temperature combustion, combustion in automobile engines, combustion in fuel-burning power plants and burning of fossil fuels, nitrogen reacts with oxygen or nitric oxide reacts with oxygen and that is how photochemical smog is formed.

Positive and Negative Feedbacks
Positive Feedbacks: Global soils contain more than twice as much carbon as the amount currently in the atmosphere. Higher temperatures are expected to increase the biological activity of decomposers in these soils. This decompostion leads to the release of additional CO2 from the soil to the atmosphere. With more CO2 in the atmosphere, the temperature change will be amplified even more. This is expected in tundra biomes containing permafrost. As atmospheric concentrations of CO2 from anthropogenic source increase, the Arctic regions become substantially warmer and the frozen tundra begins to thaw.

Negative Feedbacks: Plants respond to increases in atmospheric carbon. Because carbon dioxide is required for photosynthesis, an increase in CO2 can stimulate plant growth. More plants will cause more CO2 to be removed from the atmosphere. This negative feedback causes carbon dioxide and temperature increases to be smaller than they otherwise would have been. This negative feedback appears to be one of the reasons why only about half of the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by human activites has remained in the atmosphere.

Big Picture

Human Impact: People use coal and oil every day. In order to acquire coal and oil, many corrosive gases are released into the atmosphere. For example, Sulfur dioxide comes primarily from combustion of fuels such as coal and oil. This gas serves a respiratory irritant and can also exacerbate asthma. Additionally, people use motor vehicles as the main source for transportation. This and stationary fossil fuel combustion are the primary anthropogenic sources of nitrogen oxides. Nitrogen oxides also serve as respiratory irritant and increase susceptibility to respiratory infection. Furthermore, due to vehicle exhaust and most other combustion processes carbon monoxide gas is formed. This gas bonds to hemoglobin thereby interfering with oxygen transport in the bloodstream. Moreover, it causes headaches in humans at low concentrations and can cause death with prolonged exposure at high concentrations. 

Environmental Impact: The release of excess Sulfur dioxide into the air can harm stomates and other plant tissue. The SO2 gas converts to sufluric acid in the atmosphere which is harmful to aquatic life and some vegetation. Similarly, the release of excess Nitrogen oxides convert to nitric acid in the atmosphere which is also harmful to aquatic life and some vegetation. Also, it contributes to overfertilizing of terrestrial and aquatic systems. In addition to these gases harming the environment, global warming has serious consequences for the environment and organisms. The melting of polar ice caps, glaciers, and permafrost and rising sea levels are effects that are already occurring which are damaging the environment. Other effects are predicted to occur in the future, including an increased frequency of heat waves, reduced cold spells, altered precipitation patters and storm intensity, and shifting ocean currents, but it is less clear whether they will actually occur.

Economic Impact: Due to the release of notorious gases in the atmosphere, the creation of new industrial chemicals have sparked up. Also, pollution control includes prevention, technology, and innovation. A lot of money is spent on these innovations in order to reduce the amount of pollutants being released into the air. For example, beginning in 1975, all new automobiles sold in the United States were required to include a catalytic converter. This converter reduced the nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide emissions. In order to operate properly, the precious metals in the catalytic converter could not be exposed to lead. This, in turn, meant that gasoline could no longer contain lead. Although this was beneficial to human health, a lot of time and money was put into the improvements in the combustion of technology of power plants and factories to reduce air emissions of lead. 

Government Legislation:

Clean Air Act: require that EPA establish standards to control pollutants that are harmful to human health and welfare. 

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS): the EPA periodically specifies concentration limits for each air pollutant. For each pollutant the NAAQS note a concentration that should not be exceeded over a specified time period

Unit 10 Blog

Discussion Questions

List #1: Rank the sources in order of MOST environmentally friendly to LEAST environmentally friendly based on what you have learned in class.  Next to each source, give an example of the type of pollution produced by that source.

1. Hydroelectric: Although hydropower has no air quality impacts, construction and operation of hydropower dams can significantly affect natural river systems as well as fish and wildlife populations.

2. Geothermal: There is a large amount of land required to maintain a geothermal plant 

3. Natural Gas: Significant source of emissions of methane

4. Nuclear: Produce radioactive waste

5. Solar: Some manufacturing processes are associated with greenhouse gas emissions. Nitrogen trifluroide and sulfur hexafluoride have been tracked back to the production of solar panels.
6. Wind: Emissions associated with other stages of a wind turbine’s life-cycle, including materials production,
materials transportation, on-site construction and assembly, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning and dismantlement.
7. Oil: Oil spills in the ocean. They can't dissolve in water so the oil just stays there.
8. Biomass: Burning leads to the release of carbon monoxide
9. Coal: Coal plants release Sulfur dioxide into the air which takes a major toll on public health

List #2: Rank the sources based on the MOST used to LEAST used source in the US.

1. Oil
2. Natural Gas
3. Coal
4. Nuclear
5. Biomass
6. Hydroelectric
7. Wind
8. Geothermal
9. Solar

List #3: Rank the sources based on the MOST used to LEAST used source WORLDWIDE.
1. Oil
2. Coal
3. Natural Gas
4. Biomass
5. Nuclear
6. Hydroelectric
7. Wind
8. Solar
9. Geothermal

List #4: Rank the sources based on the MOST amount of useful energy generated versus LEAST amount of useful energy generated by the source.
1. Wind
2. Hydroelectricity
3. Natural gas

4. Coal

5. Nuclear

6. Biomass

7. Oil

8. Geothermal

9. Solar

   

Biofuels are actual fuels that form well when biological matter decomposes. Biofuel exist in gas, solid, and liquid, in all of the three states of matter. Biofuels can be made immediately while Fossil Fuels can take as long as a lifetime to build. Biofuels are renewable resources while fossil fuels are not. Using biofuels is better than using fossil fuels even though they release the same pollutants because biofuel is a renewable resource. 

The use of fossil fuels is not sustainable because there is no way to limit our consumption to the rate at which they are being formed. Fossil fuel combustion leads to the release of excess amounts of CO2 and its contribution to global warming is very high. Production, transportation, and use of oil can cause water pollution. Oil spills, for example, leave waterways and their surrounding shores uninhabitable for some time. Such spills often result in the loss of plant and animal life. The burning of fossil fuels impacts the carbon cycle because carbon that is locked in these fossil fuels does not cycle through the earth. When humans burn fossil fuels, the stored carbon is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. This carbon is then free to cycle through the earth upsetting the natural balance of the carbon available.  

jj Biofuel is produced to reduce greenhouse gas emission sand to mitigate the effects of global warming produced by fossil fuels. However, some unintended impacts of biofuel production are on land, water and biodiversity. They are affected by agricultural production and if the agricultural production is intensified then the side effects are even greater. The common conception is that growing crops for biofuels will offset the greenhouse gas emissions because they directly remove carbon dioxide from the air. This removal of carbon dioxide disturbs the balance of the carbon cycle.  

Environmentally, the groundwater was contaminated. Initial contamination of the groundwater may have been introduced by method of disposal used for the Red Forest. Much of the Red Forest was bulldozed and buried in trenches. Because of the trees decaying, the radiation was leached into groundwater contaminating and upsetting the animals living in that area.
Economically, all activities had to be stopped until the area was restored. 
This accident caused many people to get sick because of the radiation caused by the plant. Approximately 203 people were hospitalized and a few people around the area fell ill.  
On March, 11, 2011, three of Fukushima Daiichi reactors cooled which caused a nuclear accident in Japan. All three cores largely melted in the first three days. Many people were affected by this accident and are currently facing the consequences of this accident. Some people were hospitalized while others had to evacuate their homes. 
Nuclear waste is stored in either a wet or dry environment. The wet storage currently stores the nuclear fuel in specially designed pools at individual reactor sites around the country. This is beneficial because it shields the waste from radiation for anyone near the pool. There is a plant in California called the Diablo Canyon plant which uses the wet storage method. 


This biome is classified as the Tundra, and it's susceptible to damage and considered fragile because there are only about 45 species in this biome. These species are both found in water and on land. These mammals are allowed to flourish without human impact.
Environmental and economic impacts of drilling include exploitation of the area. This exploitation intrudes on the habitats of the limited mammals living in the biome. Additionally, an oil spill could occur. This oil spill could also alter many habitats and lead to various economic costs. It would require a lot of money to restore the land. 
Economically, there is enough land to provide for the mining of oil. The more oil that is produced the less it will cost. Since it is one of the largest sources of energy, the economy will benefit. 
Environmentally, the limited and unique species living in this Tundra would get hurt by the drilling of oil. Their habitats would get disturbed causing them to leave the area.

Two suggestions for how we can reduce overall consumption of the oil needed for transportation is to use alternative fuels. More vehicles need to be capable of running on alternative fuels. In order to do this, we need to open fuel standards so we can level the playing field for alternative fuels. Additionally, we need to coordinate standards on the provision of public goods, namely infrastructure, in order to enable more alternative fuel vehicles to enter the market. Moreover, just by supporting the deployment of a nation-wide charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and acting upon it we can make a difference.

We can consume electricity by unplugging things that are not in use. For example, unplugging chargers and using power strips to turn off televisions can not only save electricity but also reduce your utility bill! Also, by enabling the "sleep mode" on your computer allows it to use less power when it is inactive. 

Human Impact: People can play a big role in the conservation of energy. For example, turning down the thermostat and driving fewer miles are examples of steps individuals can take to conserve energy. Additionally, buying appliances that use less energy and switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs are examples of steps individuals can take to increase energy efficiency. Reducing the demand for energy can be an equally effective or more effective means of achieving energy sustainability than developing additional sources of energy

Environmental Impact: Coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear fuels are used as common energy sources. Although they are essential for human survival, these energy sources pose many environmental threats. Coal combustion is a major source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Because the combustion disperses throughout the atmosphere, climate is affected. Additionally, petroleum is used for transportation. This fuel is used more than any other fuel in the United States and therefore produces the most amount of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, oil spills are a major hazard to organisms and habitat. Moreover, natural gas is a relatively clean fossil fuel but the accidents and radioactive waste that occur due to natural gas serve as major environment hazards. 

Economic Impact: The cost of renewable energy has been falling. Since the prices have been dropping dramatically, more people have been willing and able to buy these energy sources. State and federal subsidies and tax incentives also help to lower the price of a technology. Tax credits and rebates have been instrumental in reducing the cost of solar and wind energy systems for consumers. Furthermore, in 2008, the energy conservation increased when oil prices rose rapidly to almost $150 per barrel and and gasoline in the most of the United States cost more than $4.00 per gallon. People used public transportation more than often, drove more fuel-efficient vehicles, and carpooled more than they did before the price spike. 

Government Legislation:
The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP): analyzes energy management legal authorities, develops guidance documents and publishes notices and rules
The Federal Power Act: put electricity sale/transportation regulation under Federal Power Commission
The Public Utility Holding Company Act: regulates size of electric utilities, limiting each to a specific geographic area
The Natural Gas Act: regulates gas pipelines under Federal Power Commission 
The Department Of Energy Organization Act: created federal Department of Energy

Unit 9 blog

DISCUSSION

Landfill Discussion

Electronic waste, or e-waste, consists of consumer electronics that include televisions, computers, portable music players, and cell phones. 

Environmental: The older-style electronics carry more weight so they contain one to two kg of the heavy metal lead as well as other toxic metals such as mercury and cadmium. Mercury and cadmium get released into the environment disrupting habitats of various species.
Human: E-waste from the United States is exported to China where adults as well as some children separate valuable metals from other materials using fire and acids in open spaces with no protective clothing and no respiratory gear. This can harm the people coming into contact with the e-waste. 
Another type of material that should not be placed in a landfill is medical waste unless it has been decontaminated. It is hard to separate the medicine from the waste and some of the medicine might actually remain the waste while it is being cleaned out. This could pose a threat to humans and potentially kill them because viruses could emerge. Also, many people are allergic to some types of medicine. This is also a threat to the environment because it can get onto land and disrupt habitats and land used for crops. 
Additionally, lead acid batteries should not be placed in a landfill. For humans, both lead and cadmium can be taken only be ingestion or inhalation. Mercury another harmful metal can even be absorbed through the skin. These harmful substances pose environmental consequences also. They permeate into the soil, groundwater and surface water through landfills and also release toxins into the air when they are burnt municipal waste combustors. 


Methods: Recycling and the reusing of materials is a method for reducing the amount of substances that enter MSW input. Reusing the waste for another application saves resources that could be used for other things. Reusing batteries is beneficial because it takes a long time to dispose of batteries. Recycling oil to gas stations benefits the economy. 
Another method for reducing the amount of these substances is the substitution of alternate energy sources that do not produce hazardous wastes such as wind, solar, hydroelectric or geothermal.

Recycling Discussion

Plastics: More commonly known by its trade name, Styrofoam, is particularly useful for food packaging because it minimizes temperature changes in both food and beverages. Also, it is lighter, insulates better, and is less expensive than the alternatives. This benefits the economy because trading is more feasible and it is also easier to export materials. The more plastic that is recycled the more it can be used which benefits the economy. A plastic cup requires three grams of petroleum and petroleum is limited and expensive. It would cost a lot of money to make multiple cups therefore hurting the economy. 
Plastic are lighter than other alternatives. Since they are lighter, it is easier to make and transport them generating less air pollution. One cost of recycling plastics on the environment is that plastics take a while to recycle although they are easy to make. In the process of recycling plastics, separate factories need to be established. The gases from these factories actually have a negative affect on the environment. 
Paper: Recycling paper benefits the environment by reducing the denudation of woodlands and exhaustion of water supplies. It could also hurt the environment because a lot of paper is consumed but most of it is not recycled so the output is more than the input. 
Recycling paper hurts the economy because it uses more resources to make the recycled paper than to actually make new paper. The resources are not conserved but more are used in making recycled paper. Also, a lot of money is being put into these resources to make the recycled paper. It can benefit the economy if people used less paper and recycled more of it.
Aluminum: Recycling aluminum benefits the economy by satisfying an increasing demand. The more aluminum that is recycled the more it is available to the public so the demand remains high and so does the supply. It can hurt the economy because many resources go into recycling aluminum and it might not be worth the cost to recycle it.
Recycling aluminum benefits the environment by reducing the carbon footprint. It can also hurt the environment because a lot of energy is being put into the recycling of aluminum. This energy is released into the air and negatively affects the environment 

I would choose plastics because they require no wood or bark so trees remained unharmed. Also, there are many health costs associated with recycling paper and aluminum. Although there are health costs with recycling plastics, they are less drastic than recycling paper and aluminum. Without proper disposal, the recycling of paper and aluminum could pose risk to human health.

I would persuade them by exposing the advantages to them. Recycling helps the environment because deforestation is cut down and other natural resources are conserved. Also, recycling reduces energy consumption. A large amount of energy is consumed by processing raw materials at the time of manufacture. Recycling helps to minimize this energy consumption saving more energy which is crucial for massive production. 

Superfund/Brownfields Discussion

Superfund site is different from a Brownfield site because it uses different methods to accomplish its objectives. Superfund sites deal with the nation's worst hazardous sites. The sites vary widely in size and location, and in the type and severity of contamination. Brownfield sites are generally abandoned or underutilized industrial or commercial facilities, and are often made up of small parcels with multiple owners. An example of a Superfund site in the US is the Tar Creek in Ottawa County in Oklahoma. An example of a Brownfield site is Big Tex Grain in San Antonio. 

Two problems associated with removing contaminated soil is the need to find a place to dispose soil and some may only be able to move in one other specific location. Another problem is exposure of the contaminants to the workers or residents. 
Two problems associated by planting vegetation that would decontaminate the soil are that there is less habitat disruption because the soil is not being moved. Also, the amount of material taken to the landfill has been sharply reduced. 

One societal benefit is that the cleaned up land improves property values because people are more willing to buy cleaner land. One environmental benefit is that it creates green spaces which creates habitats for plants, insects and animals. 

BIG PICTURE 

Human Impact: Human health is affected by a series of diverse diseases due to waste disposal. Some of these diseases include plague, malaria and tuberculosis. These diseases are passed between hosts. Plague is one of the most familiar diseases in human history. It is caused by an infection from a bacterium that is carried by fleas. Fleas attach to rodents such as mice and rats, giving fleas tremendous mobility. Malaria is another widespread disease that has killed millions of people over the centuries. Malaria is caused by an infection from any one of several species of protists in the genus plasmodium. Many young children die from this disease. Additionally, tuberculosis is a highly contagious disease caused by a bacterium that primarily affects the lungs. It is spread when a person coughs and expels the bacteria into the air. This diseases pose great risk to humans. 

Environmental Impact: Disposing of waste can cause serious problems on the environment. In many places much waste is buried in landfill sites- holes in the ground, sometimes old quarries, sometimes specially dug. Some of this waste will eventually rot and in the process it may smell or generate methane gas. This gas is explosive and contributes to the greenhouse effect. Leachate produced as waste decomposes may cause pollution. Badly-managed landfill sites may attract vermin or cause litter. 

Economic Impact: Disposing of waste requires a lot of manpower. Therefore there is an availability of jobs when it comes to the disposing of waste properly. This helps the economy and increases the full employment rate. Since many regions have access to infrastructure, waste can be more readily disposed of in the proper way. This leads to greater economic stimulation. The added positive impacts of diversion come from sales of the separated recyclable materials; their processing into feedstock, sales of energy from transformation and biomass products, and the value-added in manufacturing that uses recycled feedstock. 

Government Legislation:
RCRA: Resource Conservation and Recovery Act is designed to reduce or eliminate hazardous waste. It ensures that waste is tracked and properly disposed of.
CERCLA: Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act puts a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries.

Unit 8 Blog

Freshwater Resource Discussion

Underground aquifers: Because of where underground aquifers are located, groundwater typically is protected from pollutants while normal surface waters usually are not. Because of the slow movement of contaminants and subsurface water, there is not a requirement in cleaning the water which saves money. Also this underwater resource provides clean water for many. Approximately two billion of the world's population rely on underground aquifers for clean drinking water. 

Also, aquifers provide water for surrounding ecosystems. They actively contribute to giving water to the ecosystems through springs. Trees are able to live and grow through underground aquifers. 

Human impact: Certain irrigation practices can increase groundwater salinity and can increase nitrate and pesticide leaching. 

Lakes: Many lakes benefit ecosystems by provisioning both food and water and buffering flood flows. Also, lakes support extensive biodiversity and some species are only found in lakes and nowhere else on the planet. 

Lakes support transportation, recreation, and other cultural amenities. Because of the Lakes' beauty, many tourists come to visit them positively contributing to the economy. Also, lakes provide food and fiber to many communities and attract many tourists.  

Human impact: The extensive use of industrial and agricultural chemicals contaminate the water. Excessive nutrients can lead to eutrophication which is the over-productivity of organisms in water. This leads to the creation of algal blooms and the depletion of oxygen concentrations threaten many animal and plant species.

 

Rivers: Because rivers are readily available and easy to access, more than two-thirds of terrestrial species use them for daily use. Rivers also provide for global biodiversity attracting many species to their freshwater.  

Some rivers carry historical importance such as the Mississippi River which increases the attraction of the river causing people to come and visit them. Also, rivers serve as a way to transport goods. 

Human impact: From agricultural runoff and domestic wastes, rivers are negatively affected by humans. Agricultural runoff and domestic wastes causes alterations of the rivers and allow pollutants to disperse throughout the air.  

Wetlands: Wetlands store nutrients and pollutants in the soil by trapping and holding water. This allows for cleaner water to flow. Also, wetlands moderate water flows, providing for sediments to settle out before the water is released to other wetlands, lakes or streams. Because there is less sediment, the water is cleaner and it provides a better environment for aquatic life. 

Additionally, wetlands are great places to canoe, hunt, fish or explore and enjoy nature. They provide economic commodities such as cranberries and fish. They also provide spatial amenities to developments. 

Human impact: Widespread land development and clearing of trees have caused increased erosion in upland areas leading to increased sedimentation in lowland wetlands.   

Water Diversion Discussion

Colorado River: The Colorado River aqueduct is a canal that carries water 400 km from the Colorado River to Los Angeles. The water go to the cities but so much water is removed from them, at multiple locations, that they go dry before they reach the ocean. The creation of aqueducts costs a lot of money and requires the use of many resources. Through construction of the aqueducts, various natural habitats are disturbed. On the other hand, because these structures are more efficient in carrying water, more water can be carried out providing for more people. People not only buy this water for drinking purposes but they also buy it for agricultural use. Many species live along these aqueducts or come to these aqueducts for water. These aqueducts allow for species to remain in their habitats. 

India-Bangladesh rivers: India proposed a large-scale water diversion project, involving more than fifty rivers, that has caused Bangladesh some major concerns. These rivers originate in the Himalayas of India and flow into Bangladesh. By diverting water from these rivers, India benefits greatly by increasing their water supply for agricultural and household use. While India benefits from this diversion, Bangladesh suffers. From losing massive amounts of water, their local fish population depletes and negatively affects their river navigability for commerce. The project may reduce the flow of fresh water and salinity may rise. Species in India benefit from this diversion while species like fish don't. 

Aral Sea: This is the most infamous river diversion project that happened in the 1950s. This is when the Soviet Union diverted two rivers that fed the Aral Sea in Central Asia. Diversion of the rivers dramatically decreased freshwater input into the Aral Sea. Therefore, leading to the increase of salinity in the remaining lake water. The diversion also drastically reduced the surface area which caused the Aral Sea to split into two. Although there were many costs associated with the diversion, there were many benefits too. The production of cotton increased creating a greater demand for it and an increase in supply of the cotton. Also, many species benefited from the split of the sea. They don't have to share as much water anymore.

Water Quality Discussion

We did a pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, nitrate and phosphate test to access the health of the ecosystem and observe the water quality. 

We took a slip of pH paper and dipped it into the water and determined what it was on the pH scale based on the color. This test is to show how many things are in the water such as rocks. If the pH deviates from seven then is it same to assume that the water is not clean.

Then, we took a thermometer and put it into the water for thirty seconds then took it out and recorded the temperature. This test indicates the affect of thermal pollution on the water.  

The dissolved oxygen consisted of the temperature and pH. 

For the nitrate test, we took a sample of the water and put into a vile and then put nitrate in it. After that we shook the vile for five minutes for the nitrate to dissolve into the water. This test helped show the affect of chemical fertilizers on the water. 

For the phosphate test, we followed the same procedure as we did for the nitrate test except we put phosphate into the vile instead of nitrate. This test helped show all the forms of phosphorus present in the water. 

An example of a biological indicator species is fish tissue contaminants. It detects contaminants such as a number of organochlorinated pesticides, PCB congeners, and heavy metals including mercury. If there is an increase or decrease of these contaminants then the scientists will know that there is an increase or decrease of fish tissue. 

Water Conservation Discussion

Agriculture: Two ways to conserve freshwater better agriculturally are through Zai Pits and through drip, or micro-irrigation. Zai planting pits are hand dug holes about ten inches wide and deep. They are three feet apart used to trap water and increase soil fertility, especially in arid regions. When digging the pits, the excavated soil is used to make a small ridge around the pit to help capture rainfall. Drip, or micro-irrigation delivers water and fertilizer on the soil surface or directly to the roots of plants through systems of plastic tubing with small holes and other restrictive outlets. By distributing these inputs slowly and regularly, drip irrigation conserves fifty to seventy percent more water than traditional methods while increasing crop production by twenty to ninety percent. The water and fertilizer are also more easily absorbed by the soil and plants, reducing the risks of erosion and nutrient depletion.

Industry: Two ways to conserve freshwater through industry are to buy less things and knowing the source of your drinking water. By buying less things, less things are produced and less factories are needed for production. Also by knowing the source of your drinking water, you are less likely to waste water since industries are the reason our water is fresh.

Household: Two ways to conserve freshwater better at home is to recycle and install a low-flow showerhead. By recycling plastics, glass, metals, and paper, reusable products are being made and not wasted since it takes water to make mostly everything. By installing a low-flow showerhead, hot water is saved and so is money. 

BIG Picture Discussion

Human Impact: People built Levees, Dikes and Dams. Leeves were built to prevent rivers from flowing over their banks and onto the floodplain. Dikes were built to prevent ocean waters from flooding to adjacent land. Lastly, Dams serve as a barrier that runs across a stream to control the flow of water. Also, people came with up new ways to alter water. For example, fish ladders were created to help migrate fish upstream. Also, aqueducts were made to serve as canals and ditches to carry water from one location to another location. Additionally, people came up with the process of desalinization. Desalinization is the process of removing the salt from water to obtain more freshwater. New ways to alter water proved to be beneficial in many cases but one flaw in altering water was diverting water from rivers and seas. This caused many devastating impacts on the rivers and seas. 

Environmental Impact: There is a surplus of mercury dispersed throughout the air as a result of the burning of fossil fuels. Exposure of the mercury usually occurs through the consumption of fish which is an example of bioaccumulation in aquatic food chains. Also, acid results from the burning of coal from industrial plants. These compounds react with water in the air making sulfuric acid and nitric acid which falls back to the earth as acid rain. It also lowers the pH in large bodies of water. The low pH of water causes iron to precipitate out of solution and form a rusty red oxidized iron. This problem destroys many streams also disturbing the habitat of many species. 

Economic Impact: There has been a massive development of technology over the past few years to treat wastewater. Wastewater treatments are needed and bought by large communities with dense human populations and less open land. Since these technologies are more environmentally friendly, they are more likely to be purchased and used aiding the economy. Also, because of periods of high industrialization there is a widespread pollution. In efforts of getting rid of this pollution, people try to improve the quality of their waterways. They do this by purchasing the technologies necessary to do so. 

Government Legislation: The Clean Water Act (1972): This act supports the "protection propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and recreation in and on the water" by maintaining and, when necessary, restoring the chemical, physical and biological properties of natural waters. 

The Clean Water Act issued water quality standards that defined acceptable limits of various pollutants in the U.S. waterways. 

The Safe Drinking Water Act (1974, 1986, 1996): This act sets the national standards for safe drinking water. Under this act, the EPA is responsible for establishing maximum containment levels (MCL) for 77 different elements or substances in both surface water and groundwater. 

Water regulations have greatly reduced contamination of waters and nearly eliminated major point sources of water pollution. 

Unit 7 Blog

Forestry Discussion

Benefit: There are many benefits in deliberately setting fires. For example, when a fire gradually makes its way through the forest, it liberates nutrients tied up in dead biomass. These nutrients help in enhancing the forest by creating a nutrient-rich habitat for early-successional plant species. These plant species attract many animals such as elk and various herbivores.

Not only did these prescribed burns benefit the species in the forests but they also benefited the people encompassed by these forests. For example, there were more resources available to them like the species and plants found in these forests.

Moreover, there is an economic impact to prescribed burns. Since Yellowstone National Park was founded then later burned, 58 national parks have been established. The exposure of these parks lead to tourists which assist in profiting the economy.

Cost: Prescribed burns can always go wrong. Instead of burning a desired area of the forest, there is always a chance of the whole forest being burnt down. The whole forest being burnt down can lead to many deteriorating effects. For example, the heat caused by the fire can remove certain necessities from the ecosystem such as nitrogen and and sulfur.

Also, the people that once relied on the trees of these forests can't anymore since trees take time to grow. They have to wait until the trees are fully grown to cut them down and use them for various things. This also impacts the economy by people moving away from such areas because they are not able to acquire the resources that are essential for them.

Global Nutrition Discussion

The agricultural resources that should be diverted to people are instead diverted to animals. Since animals consume about forty percent of the grain grown in the world, there are less amounts of food available for people.

Meat production is more costly than gain production because of the amount of land required. One person eating only corn can obtain sufficient calories from 0.02 ha (0.05 acres) of land. It would take twenty times that much land for one person eating only beef.  It takes twenty kg of grain to produce one kg of beef. So it would take 0.4 ha (1 acre), to feed a person who ate only beef.

Also, the amount of energy and resources needed for meat production is a lot more than the amount needed for grain production. There is a loss of land, food and other essential resources that are being absent due to the production of meat. Raising animals for food now uses a staggering thirty percent of the Earth’s land mass. Approximately two hundred and sixty million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to create cropland to grow grain to feed farm animals.

Furthermore, raising animals for food is grossly inefficient. This is because animals eat large quantities of grain, soybeans, oats and corn but can only produce comparatively small amounts of meat, dairy products or eggs in return.

There is also a negative impact of meat production on the environment. It takes more than eleven times as much fossil fuel to make one calorie from animal protein as it does to make one calorie from plant protein. In result this burning of fossil fuels pollutes the air and when people breathe this air the pollutants get into their system.

Genetic Engineering Discussion

In genetic engineering of food plants, scientists remove one or more genes from the DNA of another organism, such as bacterium, virus, or animal, and “recombine” them into the DNA of the plant they want to alter. By adding these new genes, genetic engineers hope the plant will express the traits associated with the genes. This modification of food plants can have various economic and environmental advantages and disadvantages.

Environmental

Cost: Genetic engineering of food plants is risky because when the genetic material is inserted into the plant, you have no idea where it will go. In result, the food plant can cause many health issues. Also bees are hugely important in the pollination of many food crops, but are extremely endangered by Gm crops. Monarch butterflies are specially at risk from GMO maize plants. These bees and butterflies are at risk because of the toxicity caused by the surrounding chemical pesticides and herbicides that are commonly used with GMos. These chemical pesticides and herbicides not only affect us but they affect the other organisms living in the environment.

Benefit: Genetic engineering can increase food production in several ways. It can create strains of organisms that are resistant to pests and harsh environmental conditions such as drought or high salinity. They also produce essential nutrients for humans. Also, the need for the use of pesticides can be resisted since certain genes are inserted into the new organisms.

Economic

Cost: Recently, there has been a decline on the amount of GMOs that are being purchased. This has resulted in farmers being unable to export their produce. Also GM seeds are more expensive and the technology used for GMOs increases the farmers’ fee by forty percent. For the farmers, this is a very bad thing since the technology is costly and they are not exporting what they produce.

Benefit: Because pesticides are very costly, GMOs have the potential to reduce these expenses as they do not need the use of many pesticides. In addition, because GMO crops often produce greater yields, there is also the potential for an increase in revenues. Both of these changes can lead to higher incomes for farmers, lower food prices for consumers or both.

Sustainable Agriculture Discussion

Two farming techniques that can be used to prevent soil erosion and improve soil quality are crop rotation and contour plowing. Crop rotation rotates the crop species in a field from season to season. On the other hand, Contour plowing helps prevent erosion by water while still allowing for the practical advantages of plowing.

Benefit of Crop rotation:

You can take the same species and rotate them in a field which helps in your overall program of avoiding diseases and pests. This is because crops in the same botanical family tend to suffer from the same pest and disease problems. By crop rotation it is easier to avoid potentially harmful diseases.

Benefit of Contour plowing:

Contour plowing can reduce soil erosion by as much as fifty percent from up and down hill farming. By reducing sediment and runoff, and increasing water infiltration, contouring promotes better water quality

Pest Management Discussion

IPM stands for Integrated Pest Management. It is an environmentally effective approach whose programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.

Two examples of how the IPM works is the Set Action Thresholds and Monitor and Identify Pests.

Before taking any pest control action, IPM first sets an action threshold. This threshold encompasses areas in which potential pests can be found. Just because one pest is caught by the eye does not mean that control is needed. The level at which pests will either become an economic threat is critical to guide future pest control decisions.

Also, not all insects, weeds, and other living organisms require control. Monitoring and identifying pests is an alternative to this practice. Some organisms can be beneficial so it would be naive to kill all the organisms. By monitoring pests, it's feasible to identify which of the pests are innocuous and which of the pests are beneficial. Action is taken according to the identification of the pests. Monitoring and identification removes the possibility that pesticides will be used when they are not really needed or that the wrong type of pesticide will be used.

Both of these examples are environmentally friendly because they improve the quality of the food supply by not adding a surplus of unnecessary chemicals into the environment. They also save many resources that we can use for other things.

These practices are more effective than the use of pesticides because pesticides bear many disadvantages. For example, pests may evolve resistance to pesticides over time so it is a waste to put such harmful pesticides in the environment. With IPM, the right pests are wiped out without being able to resist. Since pest populations are large and contain significant genetic diversity, it is essential to not only identify them but it is also essential to eliminate them.

BIG Picture Discussion  

Human Impact:

Many people think that resources are unlimited which is false. There is a lack of incentive for people to conserve common resources so they overuse them. After consuming these resources, they do not bear the cost of using the resources which leads to depletion of these resources. This is called tragedy of the commons. Also, a rapidly growing population needs increasing amounts of food to sustain it. There is more of a need in the agriculture business. Since farmers have been practicing agriculture for centuries now, farmers have been able to increase the world's agriculture output with improved technology. The need of more food aided in improving technology.

Environmental Impact:

Various operations and aquaculture facilities allow for efficient animal growth and inexpensive food production, but can have negative environmental impacts. For example, the concentrated animal waste and the introduction of antibiotics and other waste products into the environment can lead it to deteriorate.

Also, the urban sprawl has environmental consequences. The urban sprawl leads to the dependence of cars which leads to traffic congestion. More cars are being used to for greater periods of time and these cars release hazardous gases to the atmosphere.

Economic Impact:

Because of the Green revolution, agriculture has been transformed from a system of small farms relying mainly on human labor into a system of large industrial operations relying mainly on machinery of fossil fuels. This industry leads to available and sufficient jobs for many people. Also, this machinery causes the ecosystem to be damaged and the arrival of pests. To get rid of these pests, people hire people that work in agencies like Terminix to come and rid their houses of pests.

Government Legislation:

There are many laws and regulations that are ratified which influence the use of private and public lands.

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) mandates an environmental assessment of all projects involving federal money or federal permits.

The Endangered Species Act is a law designed to protect species from extinction.

Also, Urban sprawl has been influenced by federal and local laws and policies.

The Highway Trust Fund pays for the construction and maintenance of roads and highways.

The Federal House Administration (FHA) was established to jump-start the economy by creating new demand for housing.