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Shape preserving population scaled map o What do we notice? India and China have very large populations – when we talk about the different places, population plays an important role o We talk about the relationship between the population of developing/developed countries, the resources they use, and their environmental impacts Resource use and atmospheric impacts o Global warming o Air pollution Breathability in cities Smog in China o Acid rain Not as much media coverage as it used to – doesn’t mean the problem has gone away Who is responsible for acid rain in the eastern US? – Midwestern area, OH – automotive industry, coal industry Sulfur dioxide coming from smokestacks (coal mining industry) Nitrous oxide – associated with automobiles, regulated to the point that we’re trying to decrease the amount of nitric acid in water Pesticides are also responsible for creating acid rain o Ozone layer The difference between ozone layer depletion and global warming Different compounds in the atmosphere that are causing both Where is acid rain a problem? o In VA – what is the cause of the impact on the environment o 1984 – pH of about 4.3 across VA – acidic pH pH of 4.3 acidity from H2 ions – could drink it pH of stomach acid = 2-ish o pH 7 = neutral neither an acid or a base H2 ion concentration is equal Balance of H2 and OH- ions o Why isn’t rain water pH = 7 (without us)? CO2 – when it reacts with water, creates carbonic acid Natural acidity of rainwater is determined by amount of CO2 in the atmosphere Increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere increases acidity What is the pH of natural rainwater? About 5- Any pH about 5 is considered a natural pH; pH of below 5, carbonic acid can’t explain the acidity, turn to sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide (acid rain has a pH of below 5) o How does rain water become acidic? Air – naturally CO2 = carbonic acid Soils – naturally organic acids (Humic) Humans – SO2 (Sulfuric acid), NOx (Nitric acid), CO2 (Carbonic acid) Cars, coal-burning, or natural (volcanic eruptions)? Primary pollutants Cars, coal-burning power plants, volcanic eruptions (figure 19-3) o In the US (figure 19-7)
Low pH in the east more than in the west Who is responsible in the US? Coal-burning power plants in the Midwest (wind blows west east) o There isn’t very much sulfur associated with western coal o The EPA and individual states have more regulations to decrease the concentrations of sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide Roanoke Times, 10/10/ AEP (American Electric Power) agreed to pay $4.6 billion to settle charges that it pumped out acid rain-causing chemicals (process took 10 years) o Many power companies are using “low sulfur coal” to minimize sulfur emissions (VA). Sulfur can also be stripped from the emissions stack If we can strip sulfur, can we also strip CO2? – yes, but it’s expensive Price per kilowatt of CO2 has been estimated to increase between twice as much and five times as much as it is now – to strip the CO o Mid-1980’s = height of sulfur dioxide emissions – we have improved, just not enough Sulfur dioxide emissions to the atmosphere Sulfur dioxide emissions in the US peaked in 1973 1970 and 1990 Clean Air Acts led to a 38% decrease in emissions in the late 1990’s o What are the consequences of acid rain? Many aquatic species and plants cannot survive in acidic waters At pH of 4.0, only frogs can survive (out of trout, bass, perch, grogs, salamanders, clams, crayfish, and mayflies) If you can see mayflies around a stream, there is a fairly good chance that that stream is good (higher pH) o Should Dominion Power build another coal-burning power plant near Wise, VA?
Acid rain affects VA’s trout o Only 50% of VA’s mountain streams support brook trout populations – down from 82% 100 years ago Researchers believe acid rain is primarily to blame o Unless acidic emissions from power plants and other sources are reduced dramatically, that number will be about 42% by 2050 – May 14, 1999 The Statue of Liberty as well as other monuments are dissolving faster than expected because of acid rain Acid rain, soil, and rocks o How does rain water get neutralized? Naturally, alkaline soils and rocks (base) Carbonates CaCO 3 + H+^ Ca2+^ + HCO 3 - Silicates In VA, we’re treating many river systems to counteract acid rain o 200 tons of limestone (specific example) dumped into river systems to counteract acid rain effects Acid deposition effects on trees
Gold, silver, mercury complexation o Sulfuric acid copper Choropampa, Peru o Metallic mercury spill and associated clean up Lost about 150 kg of mercury human health and environmental health concerns o By-product mercury from Peru’s largest gold producer was being transported to market and 150 kg of metallic mercury accidentally spilled over 41 Km of highway in rural Peru Metallic mercury o Heavy liquid, evaporates easily under certain conditions o Uses? Thermometers, thermostats One mine left that mines mercury – in Spain Potential pathways of human exposure o Drinking water o Fish consumption, etc. Potential impacts to the environment o Stream biota, etc.
What controls the distribution of metals, energy, and non-metallic resources? 60% of world’s petroleum is beneath the Persian Gulf Solar Energy – Fusion Reactions; Earth’s “internal” energy – fission reactions Map of Earthquakes and Volcanoes (hydrothermal systems) – distributed along plate boundaries on the surface of the earth o Why are there so many earthquakes in CA versus N. VA? San Andreas Fault – two plates are moving past one another; energy is built up until it releases With advanced GPS systems we can look at the plates and try to predict their movements o Why do plates set up as they do, and what is controlling their relative motion? o Why are mountain ranges where they are today? Past earthquakes and volcanoes
Resources get re-distributed at plate boundaries – geologists go to these areas to look for re-distributed materials Driving force of plate tectonics o Convection – response of the Earth to transfer heat from the interior o Black smoker vents o Figure 15- o Figure 3-6: the Earth’s internal heat engine Plate tectonics o Convection o Density differences in continental rocks and oceanic rocks Continental plates are heavier, oceanic plates are lighter (silica) o Dynamic system allows elements, minerals, resources to concentrate Mid-Atlantic ridge – mountain range under water; Iceland is the end of this ridge above water o Iceland: has geo-thermal systems very close to the land surface b/c they are on top of a plate boundary Seafloor vents producing potential resources Tectonics and resources o Divergent – massive sulfide deposits Copper, zinc Ridges (Mid-Atlantic ridge) o Convergent plate boundary: Figure 15- Forcing cool material down, begins to melt becomes more buoyant makes way up to surface and comes out a volcano Trenches Tectonics and resources o Convergent – volcanic, hydrothermal systems Gold, silver Transform boundaries o Rock neither created nor destroyed o San Andreas Fault – Pacific plate moving north, North American plate moving south o No resources anomalies
Review o Controls of Resource distribution External and internal processes o Plate Tectonics Convection Core, Mantle, Crust Density o Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Resources o Divergent Black Smoker example o EffeConvergent o Transform Global Warming versus Ozone Depletion? o US isn’t experiencing much ozone depletion
No coal plants in the entire country captures CO2 coming from their plants – if they do, the cost of using coal as an energy source will go up – the questions is how much? Coal is nowhere near as much as petroleum is in the US The coal price and demand is going up especially in Asia – prices are going up because of high demand levels o We can’t satisfy this demand – the price of the commodities increases When it comes to an energy source, there are a lot of things we need to think about, and there will always be advantages – example: coal is cheap o Energy-providing companies are in competition with one another to provide the cheapest energy Energy providers (chart on blackboard) o Russia – has had and will have a lot of petroleum to produce o US – we produce a lot of petroleum, but we need to import more than we produce o OPEC – Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries – controls most of the petroleum in the world today (they control the amount of petroleum) Last fall, VT got graded on sustainability; we got a C- o Good news – someone else came in and told us we weren’t doing a good job; things have changed quite a bit since then o Where does the majority of the energy on this campus come from? Coal (more than 80%) Coal used is bought from AEP (Appalachian Power) – some is from the power plant on campus US and World Energy Use (Chapter 16&17) o Where are we today/where are we going to be in terms of supplying ourselves with energy; where are we today/where are we going to be in terms of demand for energy? o Energy Yearly total world energy use is greater than 400 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) 1 Btu = energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 lb of water by 1 degree Farenheit o US energy use Non-renewable, renewable 99%, 1% 90%, 10% - US energy use 80%, 20% - world energy use 60%, 40% 50%, 50% Figure 16- 2/3 of our oil source comes from other countries – we haven’t found a new major oil discovery in the last 15-20 years; most were made in the 1930s and 1940s Non-renewable: oil, coal, natural gas, nuclear power; renewable: hydropower, geothermal, solar, wind, biomass Iceland and Norway – two of the best countries in terms of renewable energy By 2020, world use is expected to increase to 600 QBtu o Where? DOE research and development funding over last 50 years: 60% - nuclear energy [fission and fusion]; 20% -fossil fuels, 10% - renewable energy, 10% - energy efficiency [conservation] Net energy efficiency for space heating – 86%; net energy loss with nuclear
o Figure 17- Energy waste in the US o Figure 17- o 43% of the energy produced is wasted (nearly ½ of the energy is wasted and we could be using it)
Review o Tech and sustainability o Energy, World, US Supply, demand Non-renewable Fossil fuels o Petroleum Producers, consumers Importers, exporters o Coal, natural gas Renewable o Energy in versus energy out US energy consumption o The US uses about 25% of the world’s energy today – 5% of the population; 25% of the energy o Slope of the line of fossil fuels energy use continues to increase – we will need a lot more fuel for the future at this rate Chapter 16, page 364 – projected US oil consumption o Use about 25 million barrels per day; 25 billion barrels per year The US government hasn’t addressed the situation in a long time, and we still haven’t completely addressed the issue Strategic petroleum reserve in LA less than 6 months’ supply (about 4 billion) US Energy, 2000 o Imports: 28. o Adjustments: 2. o Production: 71. o Consumption: 98. o Exports: 4. US energy use – primary methods o 1800 Wood o 1900 Coal o 1950 Petroleum Also started to use other forms of energy o 2010+ Petroleum Natural gas Coal We’re in transition – where are we going from here? o Figure 17- Also shows energy use in the future – not sure if it’s true
Review: o US Energy Transportation Residential Industrial and Commercial Past, present, future o Fossil Fuels, carbon based Petroleum Coal Natural gas o Carbon cycle Organic, inorganic Final Exam change: Will be Wed, April 30 2:30 – 3:45 (last day of class) Largest Carbon Reservoir: Sedimentary Rocks Largest Flux: Oceans <-> Atmosphere o During winter – all the plants “shut down” – the change is 8 parts per million Plants are fairly inefficient at taking CO2 out of the atmosphere compared to the rates of burning fossil fuesl At the rate of production of CO2 going into the atmosphere, planting trees is going to have a very small impact on the overall levels of CO2 in the atmosphere Atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa (in Hawaii) Observatory o 1960 – 2008: concentration in parts per million 320 380 parts per million California has leveled off their energy demand over the past 20 years – it is doable Figure 16-8: CO2 emissions per unit of energy o Coal-fired electricity – 286% o Synthetic oil and gas produced from coal – 150% o Coal – 100% o Oil sand – 92% o Oil – 86% o Natural gas – 58% o Nuclear power fuel cycle – 17% o Geothermal – 10% Buildings account for about 1/3 of the energy consumed in the US, o Heating/cooling systems use 60% of this energy, lights/appliances use the other 40% o Manufacturing and transporting building materials requires additional energy By carefully applying design principles that capture natural breezes and the sun’s energy and light, and by using solar water heating systems, energy use in buildings can be reduced dramatically o These renewable energy practices save money, result in more attractive buildings, save money, and they improve the environment and strengthen the economy by reducing the need for fossil fuels and non-renewable energy What controls Earth surface temperatures? o Sun o Clouds/cloud cover Asteroids/huge volcanic eruption o Atmosphere Composition Average earth temperature w/o it?
o Ground “color” Kyoto Protocol o Called for 38 major industrial countries to reduce emissions of CO2 to below or at 1990 levels by 2012 Does Kyoto put any restrictions on China? India? o No constraints on developing countries
Slowing the rate of increase of CO2 in atmosphere o Prevention o Clean-up (Carbon Sequestration) These alternatives are neither cheap nor easy Figure 16-2 – fossil fuels o Petroleum, coal, natural gas Formation of Oil Deposits o Plankton in the ocean dies o And falls to the seafloor o And is buried along with the sediment (sedimentary rocks) o Temperature and pressure convert organisms into oil o Oil moves through the rock until it reaches an Impermeable zone If it’s buried too warm, the plankton makes its way toward a natural gas US oil production o Gulf of Mexico – 27% o Texas – 20% o Alaska – 17% o California – 12% Refining crude o Distillation Heat crude oil to 500 degrees Celsius and separate (Figure 16-5) Products made from a barrel of crude oil… How much liquid crude is left, years to peak production of oil? US? World? o M. King Hubbert’s peak… o US – peak in the 1970s, we’ve been declining ever since o Alaska Oil production and Texas oil production – declining since the 1970s World oil demand and vehicles World oil discoveries peaked in the 1960s
At present rates of world oil consumption, Saudi reserves will last about 10 years o We need to find reserves equivalent to those in Saudi Arabia every 10 years World uses approximately 29 billion barrels of oil (bbo) per year Petroleum demand – Hybrid vehicles Hybrid Limitations today o Cost o Battery technology Guarentees
Iron Hydroxide precipitation in the streams in W. VA “Muddy water” The amount of total suspended sediments (muddy water) is a problem for the Biota in the water o Air CO2 production Twice as much as natural gas Acid rain Sulfur Nitrous oxides Mercury emissions Fly ash What is left over when coal is burned – can see it If it isn’t captured, it’s released into the air Can leach metals
