Archive for year: 2024

Open Course Library ENVS&100 Learning Activities

READINGS FOR Module VI: The Atmosphere: Air, Weather and Climate

Week 1 of Module VI: Atmosphere, Weather, & Air Pollution

Before you do the usual readings:

1. Take National Geographic’s Pollution Quiz: http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/pollution-quiz/ 2. Tour the EPA’s Indoor Air Quality House (IAQ): http://www.epa.gov/iaq/IAQhouse_working.html 3. Read about the EPA’s Air Quality Index (AQI): https://www3.epa.gov/airnow/aqi_brochure_02_14.pdf 4. Read 3 sections of the ALA’s State of the Air 2014 Report: http://www.stateoftheair.org/2014/assets/ALA-SOTA-2014-Full.pdf

a. The State of the Air 2014 (pp. 5-11); b. Health Effects of Ozone & Particle Pollution (pp. 29-37); c. Washington State Table (pp. 166-167) ➢ Key Findings: http://www.stateoftheair.org/2014/key-findings ➢ You can use the Report Card to see what “grade” your local air has earned: http://www.stateoftheair.org (enter your ZIP code) ➢ You can download a State of the Air app here: http://www.lung.org/healthy-air/outdoor/state-of-the-air/app.html

The Habitable Planet Textbook http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/

• Unit 2 : Atmosphere The atmosphere is a critical system that helps to regulate Earth’s climate and distribute heat around the globe. In this unit, discover the fundamental processes that cause atmospheric circulation and create climate zones and weather patterns, and learn how carbon cycling between atmosphere, land, and ocean reservoirs helps to regulate Earth’s climate.

1. Introduction 2. The Structure of the Atmosphere 3. Radiative Balance and the Natural Greenhouse Effect

4. Major Greenhouse Gases 5. Vertical Motion in the Atmosphere 6. Atmospheric Circulation Patterns 7. Climate, Weather, and Storms

8. The Global Carbon Cycle 9. Feedbacks in the Atmosphere 10. Further Reading

• Unit 11 : Atmospheric Pollution Many forms of atmospheric pollution affect human health and the environment at levels from local to global. These contaminants are emitted from diverse sources, and some of them react together to form new compounds in the air. Industrialized nations have made important progress toward controlling some pollutants in recent decades, but air quality is much worse in many developing countries, and global circulation patterns can transport some types of pollution rapidly around the world. In this unit, discover the basic chemistry of atmospheric pollution and learn which human activities have the greatest impacts on air quality.

1. Introduction 2. Chemicals in Motion 3. Primary Air Pollutants 4. Secondary Air Pollutants 5. Aerosols

6. Smog 7. Acid Deposition 8. Mercury Deposition 9. Controlling Air Pollution 10. Stratospheric Ozone

11. Air Pollution, Greenhouse Gases, and Climate Change 12. Major Laws and Treaties 13. Further Reading

Supplemental • Environmental Science: A Self-Teaching Guide, by Barbara W. Murck – Ch.14: Air Pollution • Earth Science CK12 Flexbook (http://www.ck12.org and linked in Canvas)

o Ch.15: Earth’s Atmosphere (The Atmosphere; Atmospheric Layers; Energy in the Atmosphere; Air Movement) o Ch.16: Weather (Weather and Atmospheric Water; Changing Weather; Storms; Weather Forecasting) o Ch.22: Human Actions and the Atmosphere (Air Pollution; Effects of Air Pollution; Reducing Air Pollution)

• Our Ocean Planet: Oceanography in the 21st Century (http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/oceanography-book/contents.htm) o El Nino and the Role of the Ocean in Weather

1. El Niño and Tropical Heat 2. Equatorial Currents 3. Observing the Tropical Pacific

4. Forecasting El Nino 5. El Nino Teleconnections 6. El Nino Policy Issues

7. Ocean’s Influence on North American Drought

• Environmental Science in the 21st Century (http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/environment-book/contents.html) o Air Pollution and Ozone Depletion

1. Atmospheric Structure and Pollution Sources 2. Atmospheric Pollutants 3. Stratospheric Ozone and the Ozone Hole

4. Acid Rain and Acidic Deposition 5. Case Study: Texas Air Quality

• Air Pollution resources – http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/air-pollution/index.cfm • Indoor Air Pollution – http://indoorair.lbl.gov • Indoor Air Pollution Resources – http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/indoorairpollution.html • Outdoor Air Pollution Resources – http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/outdoorairpollution.html • Air Pollution Causes, Facts, and Solutions – http://www.nrdc.org/air/ • Air Pollution Facts, Effects, Solutions, Causes – http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/pollution-overview/ • Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) – http://www.epa.gov/iaq • Care for Your Air: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality – http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/careforyourair.html • Coord. Fed. Action Plan to Reduce Racial & Ethnic Asthma Disparities – http://www.epa.gov/childrenstaskforce/federal_asthma_disparities_action_plan.pdf • Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Risk – http://www.niehs.nih.gov/about/congress/impacts/cardiovascular/index.cfm

 

 

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Open Course Library ENVS&100 Learning Activities

READINGS FOR Module VIII: The Geosphere: Mining and Energy

The Habitable Planet Textbook http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/

• Unit 10 : Energy Challenges Industrialized nations rely on vast quantities of readily available energy to power their economies and produce goods and services. As populations increase in developing countries and citizens demand better standards of living, global energy consumption will continue to rise, along with demands for non-fuel mineral resources such as iron and steel. Learn about new technologies that can produce ample supplies of energy without some of the environmental costs linked to current energy resources.

1. Introduction 2. Thinking About Supply 3. Fossil Fuels: Coal 4. Fossil Fuels: Oil and Gas 5. Unconventional Fossil Fuels and Technologies 6. Nuclear Power 7. Biomass Energy and Feedstocks 8. Hydropower and Ocean Energy

9. Geothermal Energy 10. Wind Power 11. Direct Solar Energy 12. Hydrogen Power 13. Material Resources: Metals 14. Other Material Resources 15. Increasing End-Use Efficiency of Energy and Materials 16. Further Reading

Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air (synopsis) http://www.withouthotair.com/synopsis10.pdf

• Read the short synopsis of the book “Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air”. (Also available: Videos & Downloadable Book)

Energy Literacy – Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts for Energy Education http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/09/f18/Energy_Literacy_Low_Res_3.0.pdf

• Read the guide “Energy Literacy – Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts for Energy Education”.

Supplemental

• Environmental Science: A Self-Teaching Guide, by Barbara W. Murck – Ch.10: Mineral Resources; Ch.11: Energy Resources • Earth Science CK12 Flexbook (http://www.ck12.org and in Canvas)

o Ch.5: Earth’s Energy o Ch.20: Human Actions and Earth’s Resources

• Life Science CK12 Flexbook (http://www.ck12.org and in Canvas) o Ch.25: Environmental Problems

• Environmental Science in the 21st Century (http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/environment-book/contents.html) o Shared Resources

• Environmental Science Activities for the 21st Century (OER Commons) o e.g., Renewable Energy: Solar/Wind/Hydropower; Fossil Fuels: Oil/Coal/Natural Gas; Nuclear Decay/Energy/Power; Home Energy Audit/Analysis/

Capstone; Acid Rain; R-Factor • The Great Energy Challenge (National Geographic) – http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/energy/great-energy-challenge/ • Key Topics in Mining: Oil, Gas, and Mining Unit (World Bank) • Sustainability (University of Idaho) – Online course with video “docu-lecture episodes” Open University’s Open Learn: • Why Sustainable Energy Matters

o Present energy sources: Fossil Fuels; Nuclear Energy; Bioenergy; Hydroelectricity o What are renewable energy sources? o Renewable energy sources: Solar Energy; Wind Energy; Wave Power; Tidal Energy; Geothermal Energy o Sustainability of renewable energy sources

• Treading Lightly on the Earth o Carbon footprints; Lightening your carbon load; Treading lightly on the Earth; Who’s responsible for lightening carbon footprints?

• An Introduction to Energy Resources o Renewable and non-renewable energy supplies

• An Introduction to Sustainable Energy • Geothermal Energy • Petroleum • Nuclear Power: Friend or Foe?

 

 

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Question #1

Write an essay consisting of at least 550 words addressing all of the following topics (a through d):  Intext citations and APA format. At least two sources

a. Describe the U.S. Bureau of Land Management including when it was formed and its purpose.

b. What was the purpose of the Wilderness Act of 1964? Was the act effective?

c. How does the Clean Water Act impact wetlands?

d. How has implementation of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 varied from 1968 to the present?

QUESTION #2

Write an essay consisting of at least 550 words addressing all of the following topics (a through d):  Intext citations and APA format. At least two sources

a. Describe U.S. energy policy in the 1970s.

b. Discuss the 1992 Energy Policy Act.

c. Present similarities and differences in energy policy between the President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama administrations.

d. List at least three U.S. laws that affect offshore oil spills.

 

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An adaptation is a characteristic of a population that develops over time and that proves beneficial to that population in surviving and reproducing in a new habitat. Describe one adaptation that modern humans have made that might not have been shared by our distant ancestors but that allows us to survive and reproduce better in our current habitat. Provide at least one reason as to why you chose that adaptation in your response.

• Speculate one adaptation that humans might have in the future and the reason for it.
• Population distribution can be random, uniform, or clustered. In your own words, describe one characteristic that helps define the distribution pattern of the human population in the United States. Next, decide whether or not you believe this pattern is optimum, from an environmental perspective; then, suggest two ways that we could change our population distribution to make it even less environmentally damaging.
  • Debate if population distribution or human intervention has the most impact on the environment. Support your answer with at least one quality resource.
  • Respond to at least one of your classmates. Do you agree or disagree? Support your position with at least one quality resource.

 

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Environmental Science

EVR 1009

Research Paper Requirements

 

Format

 

· Papers are to be formatted in a modified Modern Language Association (MLA) format as follows. Additional guidance can be found at https://mlaformat.org/the-format-of-the-research-paper/

· Paper is to be standard 81/2’ by 11”; 20 pound bond

· Fonts will be 12 point Arial

· Margins will be one inch on top, bottom and sides

· Use block format and double spacing

· Use parenthetical citation format (Author’s Last Name, Page #, Citation #) when directly quoting material or paraphrasing someone else’s idea, place the author’s name and the page number(s) in which you obtained the information from in parentheses. For Example: (Casey, pg. 27, # 5)

· Pages are to be numbered and include the student’s name preceding the page number

· Paper must have a cover page with student’s name, Professor’s name, due date and course number

 

Contents

 

· Topic must be one from the approved list or one of your choosing and approved by the Professor

· See Professor at the end of Lecture Two, to register your topic

· Students must register their topic with the Professor by 17 January 2019

· Must be at least eight (8) typewritten pages of prose but no longer than ten (10) pages of prose

· Graphs, tables, illustrations and pictures are encouraged to be used to assure content is clear to the reader

· Graphs, tables, illustrations, and pictures do not count as part of the eight (8) page minimum. Note however that they may be very useful in the 3-5 minute presentation at the Environmental Forum

· Must have a Reference List containing at least seven references. If a website is referenced, provide the complete page address. For example:

www.epa.gov/dioxin is appropriate for a reference regarding dioxin; www.epa.gov is not an acceptable reference

· Must contain a Literature Cited Table if direct quotes or close paraphrasing of another’s work is incorporated

 

 

Plagiarism steals not only from others but mostly from you!

 

Environmental Science

EVR1009

Research Paper Topics

 

 

Sustainability

· Compare the Corporate Social Responsibility Plans and Sustainability Initiatives of two Corporations traded on a major a stock exchange (London, Tokyo, NY etc.)

· Sustainable Agriculture

· Conflict Minerals

· Sustainable Siliviculture

· Sustainable City Plan

· EMERGY (See Center for Environmental Policy)

 

 

Pollution Problems

· Plastic Ocean

· Ocean Acidification

· Emerging Pollutants of Concern (Sources, effects, solutions)

· Acid Mine Drainage (causes, effects, solutions)

 

 

Human Health

· Endocrine Disrupters and Developed Countries

· Indoor Air Quality

· Air Quality, Monitoring & Control in ________________ (Major City)

 

 

Ecology

· Extinctions in the developing world (Causes, Effects, Solutions)

· Deforestaion in the developing world (Causes, Effects, Solutions)

· Wetland System & their Biology

· Biodiversity decline

 

Eco Business & Regulation

· Carbon Taxes (Concepts/Markets/Efficacy)

· Alternative Power Systems (Technology/Costs/Regulatory issues)

· Ecotourism

· Electronics Recycling

· Alternative Materials as Feedstock

· Solid Waste Recycling

 

 

Pollution Abatement Technologies

· Municipal Water Treatment

· Municipal Wastewater Treatment

· Industrial Air Pollution Control

· Petroleum Contaminated Land Reclamation and Clean up

 

Specific Pollutants in Atmosphere Sources, Sinks & Effects

· Ozone

· Sulfur Oxides

· Nitrogen Oxides

· Mercury

· Particulate Matter

· Methane

· Hydrogen Sulfide and Related compounds

 

Solid & Hazardous Waste Management

· Recycling

· Heavy Organics Collection

· Composting

· SUPERFUND

 

Environmental Disasters Case Studies

· Flint, Michigan Water Supply

· Deepwater Horizon

· Love Canal

· Bhopal

· TVA’s Kingston Fossil Plant

· Donora Smog 1948 & Great London Smog 1952

 

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