Geology (Environmental Science) Exercises (Very Few)

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NAMES: GEOL 0840: Introduction to Environmental Science Exercise 10: Air Pollution Spring 2018 Mandi Lyon & Tyler Rohan

Exercise 10: How Can We Reduce Air Pollution from Automobiles?

This week in recitation we’ll be exploring air pollution from automobiles. As they burn fuel, automobiles emit compounds that are hazardous and that react in air to form other substances that degrade air quality. Fuels for automobiles include both hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline and oxygenated fuels such as ethanol. In this recitation we will analyze how fuels combust in a car engine, how pollution is generated in an engine, and how engine conditions affect pollution and fuel economy. Note that throughout the recitation, the term “automobiles” will be used to refer to all types of gasoline-powered vehicles, whether cars, vans, trucks or motorcycles. This week’s recitation is adapted from an activity created by Howard Drossman, Wayne Tikkanen, and Sandra Laursen in 2003 for ChemConnections titled “How Can We Reduce Air Pollution from Automobiles?”.

Background While new options for powering vehicles are becoming technologically feasible and may, within the next century, become everyday alternatives, it will be a while before our society completely abandons the convenience and low cost of the gasoline engine. Meanwhile, consumers, gasoline producers, and car manufacturers are all taking steps to reduce one of the serious hazards of gasoline, the toxic combustion products that are released into the air we breathe. Gasoline produces energy by reacting chemically with oxygen in a process called combustion. As you will learn, one of the toxic byproducts, carbon monoxide, is produced when there is a shortage of oxygen in the reaction mixture. Catalytic converters are one solution to this problem, reacting the carbon monoxide as it emerges from the engine but before it exits the tailpipe. Converters have helped greatly to lower air pollution over the last three decades. Another solution is to add more oxygen to the reaction mixture by incorporating it directly into the fuel. Fuel additives such as ethanol contain oxygen and burn as fuels themselves. The resulting mixture is called oxygenated fuel.

The fuel we call gasoline is distilled from petroleum. Distillation separates groups of chemical compounds from petroleum, a complex mixture, according to their boiling points. As the mixture is heated, the most volatile, or easily evaporated, components, with the lowest boiling points, distill first and are collected in a separate container. The least volatile, with high boiling points, distill last. Gasoline is the portion of petroleum that separates in the temperature range 40-100°C. It may contain over two thousand compounds, with the composition varying markedly with manufacturer, location, and season.

The two major products from combustion of automobile fuel are CO2 and H2O. However, we will focus on compounds that are emitted in much lower quantity, but have known human health effects. These compounds include nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons (VOC’s), and carbon monoxide. These compounds have health effects of their own and can also combine in the atmosphere to produce other hazardous gases, such as ozone (O3), a component of the unpleasant

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NAMES: GEOL 0840: Introduction to Environmental Science Exercise 10: Air Pollution Spring 2018 Mandi Lyon & Tyler Rohan

pollution mixture known as smog. We will explore how combusting fuels in automobiles produces these compounds and the tradeoffs involved in reducing the emissions of each.

While there are natural sources of nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons (VOC’s), and carbon monoxide, anthropogenic, or human-generated, sources tend to be emitted in a concentrated space and time. Pollutants emitted by automobiles are concentrated in areas of high population and traffic density. There is not enough time for the pollutants to disperse before more pollutants are added daily, keeping the average level in the local atmosphere high. For example, more than 95% of the carbon monoxide in the atmosphere of metropolitan areas results from human activities. Local concentrations of carbon monoxide can be fifty to one hundred times greater than global average concentrations.

At high concentrations, those above 100 ppm (parts per million), carbon monoxide is lethal. At lower concentrations, adverse human health effects are less well documented but still serious. Carbon monoxide binds to the hemoglobin in blood very efficiently, thus inhibiting binding of oxygen. The reduced blood capacity for oxygen leads to acute effects of CO exposure such as headache, fatigue, and dizziness.

Nitrogen oxides are produced in engines as a side effect of fuel combustion, the reaction at high temperature of the nitrogen and oxygen both naturally present in the air needed to combust the fuel. Because air is needed to react the fuel itself, there is no way to avoid this additional reaction. For a chemist, the nitrogen oxides include NO, NO2, and N2O. Atmospheric scientists, however, are most concerned by the toxic and highly reactive compounds NO and NO2, and refer to these collectively as “NOx”, where x can be equal to 1 or 2. These two compounds can be grouped because they rapidly interconvert in the atmosphere and thus have a joint role in producing smog. Atmospheric oxidation of NO leads to higher oxides of nitrogen and eventually nitric acid, a significant source of acid rain, second only to the sulfur oxides. The sunlight- catalyzed reaction in the atmosphere between hydrocarbon molecules (VOC’s) and NOx leads to photochemical smog, the brown haze often seen above large cities. One product of these reactions is ozone, a pollutant in the lower atmosphere that is a respiratory irritant.

Hydrocarbons are a large class of compounds formed from carbon and hydrogen, and thus are sometimes collectively designated “CHx”. The term “volatile organic compound,” or VOC, is often used in referring to hydrocarbon emissions. This term is broader and recognizes the fact that partially burnt hydrocarbons are not, strictly speaking, hydrocarbons, because they incorporate some oxygen in their structures. Examples of this group include formaldehyde (HCHO) and acetaldehyde (CH3CHO). Thus the term “VOC” includes both the oxygen- containing compounds and the original hydrocarbons. While some VOC’s are carcinogens or respiratory irritants, many compounds formed by atmospheric oxidation of hydrocarbons, including the aldehydes and irritating smog components such as peroxyacetylnitrate (PAN) and ozone, exhibit their own adverse health effects.

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NAMES: GEOL 0840: Introduction to Environmental Science Exercise 10: Air Pollution Spring 2018 Mandi Lyon & Tyler Rohan

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NAMES: GEOL 0840: Introduction to Environmental Science Exercise 10: Air Pollution Spring 2018 Mandi Lyon & Tyler Rohan

1) The figure below (Figure 1) shows carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations and traffic patterns throughout a typical weekday in New York City. (½ a point each)

! Figure from Johnson, K. L.; Dworetzky, L. H.; Heller, A. N. Science 1968, 160, 67.

a. Describe the pattern of hourly average carbon monoxide concentration.

b. Describe the pattern of hourly traffic count.

c. How does Figure 1 provide evidence for automobiles as a source of carbon monoxide?

d. What might account for the time lag between the traffic increase and the CO increase in the graph?

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NAMES: GEOL 0840: Introduction to Environmental Science Exercise 10: Air Pollution Spring 2018 Mandi Lyon & Tyler Rohan

e. How would you expect the pattern of traffic and carbon monoxide to differ on a weekend day or holiday?

f. The Clean Air Act of 1970 required automobile manufacturers to reduce pollutants resulting from fuel combustion. One very effective response to these requirements has been the introduction of catalytic converters in the US since 1975. What differences would you expect to see in the graph above now that catalytic converters are required in automobiles?

2) Figure 2 below shows the daily variation in the concentration of certain smog-related pollutants in a city. (½ point each)

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NAMES: GEOL 0840: Introduction to Environmental Science Exercise 10: Air Pollution Spring 2018 Mandi Lyon & Tyler Rohan

! a. Assuming traffic patterns similar to New York City in Figure 1 and recalling that

automobiles are a major source of NOx to the atmosphere, during what times of day would you expect NOx concentrations to be highest in a city?

b. How does this graph help explain the role of NOx in formation of ozone?

Oxygenated fuel additives are combustible compounds that contain oxygen in their molecular structure. Most oxygenated fuel additives are also octane enhancers, providing higher octane ratings when mixed with gasoline. Oxygenates were first introduced to the US as octane enhancers and as domestic substitutes for oil during the Arab oil embargo of the early 1970s. The

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NAMES: GEOL 0840: Introduction to Environmental Science Exercise 10: Air Pollution Spring 2018 Mandi Lyon & Tyler Rohan

EPA regulations state the total mass of oxygen that must be present in a given mass of a fuel. Ethanol is one of the most commonly used oxygenates. Methanol has properties similar to ethanol but is toxic. MTBE, methyl tert-butyl ether, was used regularly in the past, but because it is a carcinogen and has recently appeared in drinking water, it is being phased out.

The EPA mandates that oxygenated gasoline mixtures include at least 2.7% oxygen by mass in fuels sold in carbon monoxide non-attainment areas. A non-attainment area is one that is not currently meeting EPA standards for the particular pollutant in question. The requirement for oxygenated fuels in CO non-attainment areas is known as the Wintertime Oxy-Fuel program. Carbon monoxide tends to accumulate when the air is not well mixed, and this occurs more often in the winter, when temperature inversions can trap a stagnant layer of air near the surface. These weather conditions are also more common in the western U.S., particularly in cities bordered by mountains, which tend to help trap the inversions. In ozone non-attainment areas, the EPA requires at least 2.0% oxygen by mass. This program is known as the Summer Reformulated Gasoline (RFG) program.

3) Based on what you know already about smog formation from your readings and the background, why do you think the program for ozone non-attainment areas is required in the summer? (½ point)

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NAMES: GEOL 0840: Introduction to Environmental Science Exercise 10: Air Pollution Spring 2018 Mandi Lyon & Tyler Rohan

4) Figure 3 below shows the daily maximum 8 hour ozone concentration measured at air quality monitoring stations in Allegheny County during the year 2011. The EPA standard for daily maxium 8-hour ozone concentration is 0.08 ppm. (½ point each)

! a. Using figure 3, do you think Pittsburgh was an ozone non-attainment area in

2011? Be sure to explain your reasoning.

b. During what time of year is Pittsburgh most likely to experience ozone concentrations above the EPA standard?

5) For each of the oxygenated fuel additives in Table 1 below, use a periodic table to calculate the mass percentage of oxygen in the pure additive. Methanol is shown as an example. Try the methanol calculation first, and check your answers with the table. (1 point)

6) Compute the mass percentage of that additive needed to meet the EPA standard of 2.7% oxygen by mass (for carbon monoxide non-attainment areas). Methanol is shown as an example. Try the methanol calculation first, and check your answers with the table.

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NAMES: GEOL 0840: Introduction to Environmental Science Exercise 10: Air Pollution Spring 2018 Mandi Lyon & Tyler Rohan

(1 point)

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NAMES: GEOL 0840: Introduction to Environmental Science Exercise 10: Air Pollution Spring 2018 Mandi Lyon & Tyler Rohan

Table 1: Oxygenated Fuel Additives and Amounts Needed to Meet EPA Standard of 2.7% O by Mass for CO Non-attainment Areas

In some states and urban areas where ground-level air pollution is a problem, automobiles are tested for emissions of CO, exhaust VOCs and NOx. In order to pass the test, cars must be properly tuned to provide the engine with the correct mixture of fuel and air to optimize combustion.

7) Why do air quality officials in these areas believe that altering the fuel-air mixture in an engine will affect air pollution? (1 point)

Combustion of gasoline is a chemical reaction and all chemical reactions must conserve mass, as expressed by the balanced chemical equation. Thus, to combust a given amount of gasoline, a specific amount of oxygen will be required to react it completely. Fuel is fed in from the gas tank, and the oxygen comes from air, which is about 21% oxygen. You might suspect that the ideal fuel-air mixture is this stoichiometric mixture, a mixture that is prepared according to the “recipe” given by the balanced chemical equation. The engine should add just the right amount of oxygen to react all the gasoline and leave no leftover reactants. However, the amounts of air and fuel mixed in a real engine varies, depending on the driving conditions and the tuning of the engine. These variations affect both the engine’s performance and the chemical content of tailpipe emissions. A rich mixture is rich in fuel, with more fuel than the stoichiometrically balanced fuel-to-air ratio, while a lean mixture has less fuel than the stoichiometric ratio calls for. In most modern automobile engines, electronic sensors act together with the fuel injection system to vary the air to fuel (A/F) ratio during operation to match driving conditions.

Additive Chemical formula Mass % oxygen in pure additive Mass % additive in fuel mixture meeting

an EPA standard

methanol CH3OH 50% 5.4%

ethanol CH3CH2OH

MTBE (CH3)3COCH3

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NAMES: GEOL 0840: Introduction to Environmental Science Exercise 10: Air Pollution Spring 2018 Mandi Lyon & Tyler Rohan

Figure 4 below shows the typical emissions of pollutants from gasoline engine as a function of intake air to fuel ratio (A/F) from an experiment. The ratio values are based upon mass. Note the different scale for hydrocarbons (HCs), which is 10 times the value for nitric oxide (NO).

! From Figure 1.2, Ch. 1 “Air Quality” in Interagency Assessment of Oxygenated Fuels, National Science and

Technology Council, Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, Office of Science and Technology Policy, June 1997.

8) Use the information in Figure 4 to explain why there is a trade-off when using the air-fuel ratio to address CO and NOx? (1 point)

9) How does the air-fuel ratio affect the two main air pollutants that serve as pre-cursers to ozone formation? (½ point)

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NAMES: GEOL 0840: Introduction to Environmental Science Exercise 10: Air Pollution Spring 2018 Mandi Lyon & Tyler Rohan

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Advanced Pollution Prevention

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Instructions

Please write a research paper addressing the following:

How important is corporate philosophy to a company’s  pollution prevention   efforts? Please use an example of one or more companies to  support your   position.

The completed  assignment must be a minimum of 4-5 pages in length, not   including the title  page and reference page. The paper should have a minimum   of  three sections: an  introduction, a body, and a conclusion. A minimum of   three  references should be  used, and at least one of these must be from a   scholarly,  peer-reviewed journal.  All sources used, including the textbook,   must be  referenced; paraphrased and  quoted material must have accompanying   citations.  You may use articles cited in  previous portions of the course but   you must  write new, unique content that was  not in any of your previous   submissions in  this (or any other)  course.

Resources
 
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5 Pages Final Essay

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-Topic: Geographies of Gender Violence in South Asia

-Due: Dec 6th noon.

-5 scholarly or non-scholarly references needed.

-5 pages, double spaced.

-APA format.

– Recommended resources:

Geographies of Gender Violence in South Asia • Four Things to Know About Gender-Based Violence in Asia – https://asiafoundation.org/2018/03/14/four-things-know-gender-basedviolence-asia/ • UN Report: South Asian Women Need More Domestic Violence Protection – https://www.voanews.com/a/un-report-south-asian-women-need-moredomestic-violence-protection–125160294/167731.html • In South Asia, Violence Against Women is On the Rise – https://www.fairobserver.com/region/central_south_asia/south-asia-violenceagainst-women-news-headlines-89152/

 

 
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Approaches To Environmental Issues

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Approaches to Environmental Issues

To prepare for this Assignment

Review Chapter 11 in the course text International Organizations: The Politics and Processes of Global Governance. Pay attention specifically to the approaches IGOs and NGOs use to address environmental issues.
Review Chapter 10 in the course text Controversies in Globalization: Contending Approaches to International Relations.Consider how governments around the world are approaching environmental issues such as climate change.
Search the Internet for international organizations (IGOs and NGOs) that address environmental issues of interest to you.
Select one international organization (e.g., World Wildlife Federation, Greenpeace, Sierra Club, or Rainforest Alliance) to use for this discussion.
Think about approaches that the selected international organization uses to address environmental issues.
Select one approach and consider strengths and limitations of the approach.
Think about an alternative approach you might take to address the environmental issue.
The Assignment 1.5 pages must include:

1.A brief description of the international organization and the approach you selected

2. Explain one strength and one limitation of using the selected approach to address an environmental issue of interest to you.

3. Explain a different approach you might take to address the environmental issue. Be specific and use examples to illustrate your points.

Cite all resources used in APA format.

 
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Slides

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1. Modern life exposes people to a variety of manufactured chemical pest controls. Some have known health effects, whereas the human effect of many others is still being researched. In 220 WORDS  Explain the problem of bio magnification.

2.  Answer each of the following in 150 to 200 words using the textbooks, the University Library, or other resources.

1. Explain the problem of zebra mussels, and invasive species (see Case Study 11.1 in Natural Resource Conservation). Describe their spread in North America. Explain the environmental and economic problems associated with zebra mussels. What are some methods that are being used to control them?

2. Identify a pathogen that has a significant impact on human health. What are its health effects? How is it spread? How might climate change or increased global connectivity (such as international travel) affect the spread of the pathogen? Explain how pathogens might be used in bioterrorism.

3. Describe two problems facing marine fisheries. Choose three regulations or economic incentives and explain how they could foster sustainable marine fisheries?

4. Explain the costs and benefits of clear-cutting versus selective cutting when harvesting trees. How does integrated pest management help improve forest health? How do controlled burns and the “Let It Burn” policy contribute to forest health and sustainable forestry?

 
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Sustainable Living Guide Contributors, Part 1 Of 4: Sustaining Biodiversity And Ecosystems

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Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read Chapters 1 and 4 in the Turk and Bensel’s Contemporary Environmental Issues textbook (2014).

I selected the Term  Endangered Species Act

Download the Week 1 Assignment Template and replace the guiding text with your own words based upon your online research.  Please do not include a cover page.  All references, however, should be cited in your work and listed at the the end, following APA format expectations.

In the template you will

Define the term thoroughly

Clearly relate the term to the week’s theme.

Explain how the term affects living things and the physical world

Relate the term to the challenge of achieving environmental sustainability

Justify if the term represents an obstacle to that goal, or perhaps a technique or technology that might promote it

Suggest two specific actions we can take to promote sustainability in relationship to this term.

Provide detailed example to support your ideas.

Please do not include a cover page, or even a place your name directly on work.

Minimum of three paragraphs in length

Must use at least two credible and /or scholarly sources in addition to the course text.  To receive optimal credit, use at least one scholarly source from a peer-reviewed academic journal.   Use a separate page for reference

 
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Module 5

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Should we mount a massive effort to restore ecosystems that we have degraded even though this will be quite costly? For this weeks environmental controversy we explore this question. Using the textbook, and any additional outside resources, answer the questions below. Write a 1-2 paragraph response to the questions posed to you. Remember to cite your sources using APA.

Ecological restoration, which is discussed in your textbook, has a critical role in protecting and understanding the Earth’s environments. Unfortunately, even if personnel and financial resources are available, many sites are too damaged to be effectively restored. In such cases, alternatives to restoration must be pursued, including: rehabilitation, remediation, replacement, or the creation of artificial ecosystems.

Some individuals worry that large-scale ecological restoration could mislead the public into believing that any amount of environmental damage can be undone. Ultimately, a massive and expensive restoration program could be offset by weakened regulations and increased environmental damage in other areas. Furthermore, alternatives to ecological restoration may be able to repair more sites at less cost.

Based on what you have read and researched, do you believe that the loss of biodiversity is a concern for humans? Should the government not only preserve but restore ecosystems that we have degraded the biodiversity even though this will be quite costly?

 
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SCI207-Wk1-D1

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Ecological Footprints   [WLO: 3] [CLOs: 3, 6]

The ecological footprint is a tool for helping us to visualize the impacts we make on the environment. For a brief overview of the concept, please watch this one-minute video The Ecological Footprint Explained (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. prior to beginning work on this discussion.

In this week’s class discussion, you will have the opportunity to learn more about how connected you are to the ecosystems and biosphere that you inhabit. Everyday choices can impact our environment; through those choices, we can either add to our environmental impact, or reduce it.

In a course-long project beginning this week, you will take on the challenge of lessening your impacts on the environment, through reducing the size of your ecological footprint. Specifically, you will identify possible lifestyle changes that would reduce the amount of resources you use and/or the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that you produce. In a course-long experiment, you will determine whether or not it is possible to make a measurable difference in your environmental impact through a few simple actions in your daily life. The first step, of course, is to determine your ecological footprint right now. To do that, you will calculate three footprints: an overall ecological footprint that takes most of our daily behaviors into consideration; a carbon footprint that focuses on our daily carbon emissions that are contributing to global climate change; and a water footprint that assesses daily water use.

Part A: Ecological Footprint

Use the footprint tool from the web page What Is Your Ecological Footprint? (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. to calculate your ecological footprint. At every opportunity, please select the “add details to improve accuracy” option. At the end of the footprint activity, make a note of how many earths would be required if everyone lived like you. Then click on “see details” to obtain the following information:

  • Your ecological footprint, in global hectares (a hectare is about two and a half acres).
  • Your top three consumption categories.
  • Finally, research some ways you might reduce your      footprint, identifying a few specific ones that you might put into      practice throughout the course.

Part B: Household Carbon Emissions Footprint

Next, use the Carbon Footprint Calculator (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. to calculate your household carbon emissions footprint. After answering all the questions:

  • Make a note of your carbon emissions footprint in      pounds. Is that above or below the average household carbon footprint      in the US?
  • Also, explore specific actions you might take to reduce      your footprint. Which of them might be practical to undertake in the next      five weeks?

Part C: Water Footprint

Finally, use Water Footprint Calculator (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. to calculate your daily water footprint. After answering all the questions:

  • Make a note of your gallons per day water footprint.
  • Record the top three contributors to it.
  • Scroll down the page to access a series of “Tips”      buttons you can click on for advice on reducing your footprint. Again,      make a note of some specific ideas you see that might be practical to      implement over the next five weeks.

Discussion Post Requirements

Your discussion should include all the information you gathered about your consumption habits from your three footprint calculations, including all numbers with units.

Then, examine the numerical results of your three footprint calculations by answering the following questions:

  • What did you learn that surprised you about your      consumption habits?
  • Propose a minimum of five lifestyle changes you could      make that would reduce one or more of the three footprints. (These do not      have to be the ones you use in this course-long project; over the course      of the discussion, you may opt to select other ones based upon classmates’      recommendations. You will be recording your final choices for lifestyle      changes in your Journal at the end of the week.)
  • For each lifestyle change, identify which footprint you      would be lowering by doing it. Discuss potential obstacles to making those      changes, and then suggest ways you might overcome those obstacles.
 
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8-10 Pages Essay

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Requirements for research paper

 

 

Formatting/size/parts: The paper should be 8-10 pages double space, 12 pt, with 1 inch margins using a normal size font, and should have page numbers. Papers that are under 8 page will receive a significant cut in grade. The paper should have a title with your name taking up minimal space on the first page – or you can have a separate title page not included in your page count. The paper should have a full bibliography covering all works cited in the paper that also is not included in your page count.

 

Topic: The paper can be on any topic on environment or disease in China or in China’s international relations. Research must be on a topic beyond class material, not one that replicates lectures. If you are doing a paper on international relations, more than half the paper must focus on the Chinese side.

 

Sources: The paper must include some primary sources as well as peer reviewed or fact checked secondary sources with credible referencing. I don’t count Wikipedia or other on-line encyclopedia type websites as real sources. Please don’t use them! Please carefully check the publisher of all online sources. Many are propaganda from the Chinese government.

 

Referencing: Footnotes (not endnotes) are strongly preferred. However, if you have already written most of your paper using parenthetical referencing, I will accept it. I take referencing very seriously in this paper. You should have a minimum of 3 references per page and hopefully more. I don’t care which style you use for notes and bibliography, but it should be internally consistent and one of the normal scholarly styles used. Make sure that all references whenever possible have exact page numbers.

 

Thesis: The most important part of this paper is that you have a strong, specific argument that you spend the paper proving. It should not be a personal opinion, but rather something you can argue based on what YOUR SOURCES are telling you. This argument should also not be just common sense, but something you really need to prove. In fact, the entire paper should be about proving a single thesis. If you can’t figure out how a section or part of your background specifically helps prove your argument, then cut it out. If part of your paper seems necessary, but isn’t covered by your current thesis, then rewrite the thesis so it covers the whole paper. The thesis is usually placed near the end of the first paragraph.

 

Writing Center: While not required, I strongly suggest going to the Writing Center and having them go over the paper with you. It’s a free service and will save you a lot of trouble.

 

Grading: What am I looking for when grading the final paper?

1. Does it have a specific thesis that covers the whole paper? If not, it’s already a B paper at best.

2. Do the arguments throughout the paper make a good case for the thesis? Do they seem to build on each other in a logical way?

3. Does it have excellent referencing?

4. Is the organization of the paper, of sections, and of paragraphs coherent/make sense?

5. Does it have introductions and conclusions for the paper, for sections, and for each paragraph?

6. Does it have decent English with sentences that make sense? Does it have spelling errors or other easy to correct problems that show a lack of caring on the part of the author? Does it use slangy language and contractions which should not be in a formal paper? (This doesn’t mean that I appreciate very uptight language with unnecessarily fancy vocabulary either.)

 

A review of sources:

· Primary sources?

· Things written or produced (like a picture or a chair) at the time

· Secondary sources?

· Analysis written now by scholars who read or look at primary sources

· Tertiary sources?

· Textbooks and encyclopedias. Authors mainly base their analysis on secondary sources, i.e. other scholars’ analyses. This is the furthest away from original sources and should basically not be used in a research paper.

· Trustworthy sources?

· Peer reviewed journals

· Books from academic presses (University of X Press) and some high-end commercial academic presses

· High-end newspapers with fact checking. Please take into account most newspapers’ have a political bias.

· Internet sources?

· Look for the same trustworthy sources listed above. If a book or article does not have referencing, it’s a very bad sign! If its published by a group that has a strong agenda (the Chinese government, a coal mining industrial group talking about mining), do not indiscriminately believe it.

 

Some ideas about referencing for those unclear about it:

· Why do it?

· To prove what you are saying.

· To give credit to other researchers.

· To help future researchers

· When should one cite?

· Any time one quotes (right after the quote)

· Any idea not commonly known

· Any specific facts or data

· Any time you are taking an argument or point from another author

· Basically if you didn’t know it and got your information from a particular source, then you have to give that source’s author credit.

· What counts as a quote?

· Five or more words in a sequence taken from a piece of writing.

· If you copy five words without using quote marks, even if you use a citation, you are committing plagiarism

 

 

Formatting footnotes vs. a bibliographic item?

(Note that I will accept many different footnoting/bibliographic formats as long as they are internally consistent. I’m giving you one example among many.)

· How is a footnote different than a bibliographic entry?

· A footnote MUST tell the exact page number where you found something; a bibliography just lists the whole book or article.

· Sometimes people add extra data or interesting side points that don’t exactly fit in the paper in the footnotes.

 

· How is the format different?

· Footnotes are one long sentence. All the pieces are usually connected by commas. They also use a first name last name format (Unless it’s a Chinese name which retains its normal last name first name format.) Footnotes use a full format the first time, and a short format (like name, short title, page #) every time after.

· Bibliographic items break each piece up into a mini sentence using periods. They are organized alphabetically based on a last name, first name format (Unless it’s a Chinese name which doesn’t use the comma).

· Biographies are single-space, but have a space between each reference item. They have the same font size (usually 12 pt) as the paper. Footnotes are also single-space, but they have no spaces between them, and they are in a 10pt font. If you use footnotes in Word, it will automatically format them this way for you.

 

· Examples

· Bibliography: Ebrey, Patricia Buckley, ed. “The Haifeng Peasant Association.” Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, 2nd Edition. New York: The Free Press, 1993.

· Footnote, 1st time: Patricia Buckley Ebrey, ed., “The Haifeng Peasant Association,” Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, 2nd Edition, New York: The Free Press, 1993, 365.

· Short footnote form used after: Ebrey, Haifeng, 366.

· If two or more footnotes in a row are from the same source. For example, the first, second, and third are all from Ebrey, then the second and third have an ultra-shortened format: Ibid., 367. Ibid. is short for ibidem, which is Latin means “in the same place.” Because it’s an abbreviation, it always has a period after it.

· If a chunk of information is based equally on more than one source, feel free to add all of them in a single footnote. Separate sources with a “;”. For example: source 1; source 2; source 3.

 

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Energy Resources

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Assignment Details

Power’s on, Power’s Off!

How convenient is it to have electricity come right to your home? We use electricity for so many things: lighting, heating, cooling, entertainment, cleaning, food storage and preparation, and even for taking this class!

Generating electricity from any source creates varying levels of environmental damage, including ecosystem disruption, water contamination, or polluting gas emissions. If we reduce energy use, then we reduce these environmental impacts.

We make choices about our energy use based on how we feel about conservation, the environment, and convenience. Reflect on your energy use, and review the following resources:

  • Review the tips at this site for ideas to reduce energy use at home.
  • Review this site for power outage readiness.

Respond to the questions for ONE of the following scenarios:

  1. Power’s off!
    1. When the power goes out, explain your biggest inconvenience. What do you manage to live without?
    2. If the power is out for 3 days or more, what are your main concerns? What are the absolute essentials? How do you know food is safe?
    3. Explain what the best back-up source for a power outage would be (for example, solar panels, a gas-powered generator, or even a power inverter for your car).
      • Include 1 benefit and 1 drawback. What is your back-up plan?
  2. Power’s on!
    1. In the U.S., heating, ventilation, and air conditioning accounts (HVAC) for 48% of home electricity costs (DoE, 2018). Describe one behavior you can change to reduce heating or cooling energy use.
    2. Americans pay 9% of their electricity costs for lighting (EIA, 2018a). Explain how changing all of your light bulbs to LEDs can help save energy.
    3. On average, 18% of home electricity costs go to heating water (EIA, 2018b). Describe one way to reduce hot water use. How easy or difficult is this to do?
 
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