5/1/14

Tonight's homework is as follows:

12A - Continue your research and the development of your plan. Remember that the next portion of your project (a 3 to 5 page draft of your research and plan) is due on Monday.


12CD - Complete Review Assignment 8B. Use Chapters 8 and 9 of the Kaplan Review book as a guide. YOU SHOULD STUDY. IT WILL BE FUN.

 From class today... you can use this link to see which topics each free response question corresponds to. Then click here to access FRQs for practice.

4/30/14

Tonight's homework is as follows:

12A - Continue your research and the development of your plan. Remember that the next portion of your project (a 3 to 5 page draft of your research and plan) is due on Monday.

Introduction Overview Checklist

Background Information 

·      Hook the reader’s attention

·      Discussion of the significance of your topic

o  Establish the current situation/problem

§  In other words, why is your topic/action/experiment necessary?

o  Explanation of potential applications

§  What benefits could come about as a result of your action/experiment?

·      Demonstration of a clear understanding of your topic

o  Make use of definitions and examples to show your knowledge of your topic

o  Include citations using APA or MLA format

Experimental/Action Plan

·      Discussion of hypothesis/thesis/purpose of intervention

o  Make sure it is clear, specific, and measureable

·      Draft of procedure for experiment/plan for action (ex. letter to DOE)

12CD - Complete Review Assignment 8A and 8B. Review Assignment 8A will be collected, but 8B is due in class on Friday. Use Chapters 8 and 9 of the Kaplan Review book as a guide. Study your notes. Study the review packets. Study your old exams. Study, study, study. Almost there. Four more days!

4/29/14

Tonight's homework is as follows:

12A - Once your email has been sent and bcc'ed to me, you should continue your research and the development of your plan. Remember that the next portion of your project (a 3 to 5 page draft of your research and plan) is due next week.

12CD - Complete Review Assignment 7B. Use Part 7 of the Kaplan Review book as a guide. Study your notes. Study the review packets. Study your old exams. Study, study, study. Five. More. Days.

4/28/14

Tonight's homework is as follows:

12A - Continue your research and the development of your plan. Work on the draft of your email. Feel free to send me a draft if you want/need me to take a look.

12CD - Complete Review Assignments 6A and 6B. Study your notes. Study the review packets. Study your old exams. Study, study, study. Six more days.

4/25/14

This weekend's homework is as follows:

12A:  Continue researching/developing your investigative/experimental plan as you see fit (unless you did not submit the research/plan due today - then you need to turn it in ASAP).

12CD: Study the Important Environmental Laws/Treaties/Protocols handout distributed in class today and prepare for the assessment on Monday. Complete Review Assignment 5B. Study.

Remember that the APES Review Session will be taking place tomorrow from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm at Murry Bergtraum High School. Also, SoF is hosting its annual roof garden clean-up from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm. Extra credit will be awarded for participation in either.

Important Environmental Laws/Treaties/Protocols

I.               Agriculture

a.    Federal Environmental Pesticides Control Act –1972

                                     i.     All pesticides must be registered in US gov. before sale

b.    Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA)—1996

                                     i.     Pesticides need to be monitored for the safety of infants and children in regards to pesticide residues leftover in food

II.             Land use

a.    Antiquities Act (1906)

                                     i.     Establishes penalties for disturbing archaeological sites or relics on public lands

                                   ii.     Gives President the right to designate landmarks and areas of “historical/scientific interest”

b.    Wilderness Act (1964)

                                     i.     Legally defined “wilderness”—area of land left w/o human manipulation or presence

·      Established Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and U.S Forest Service

III.           Mining/Resource extraction

a.    General Mining Law (1872)

                                     i.     Allows companies to dig/prospect for materials on public lands, and purchase land if deemed valuable

b.    Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (1977)

                                     i.     Established protocols that regulate surface mining and proper ways to reclaim surface mining areas

IV.           Fishing

a.    Maguson Fishery Conservation & Management Act (1976)

                                     i.     Allows federal government to regulate fish in federal waters by reducing bycatch, rebuilding overfished fisheries, and protecting fish habitat

V.             Pollution

a.    Air Pollution Control Act (1955)

                                     i.     First legislation passed by U.S. that identified air pollution as a problem/hazard

b.    Clean Air Act (1963—amended in 1967, 1977, 1990)

                                     i.     created to control levels of air pollution—governed by the EPA

                                   ii.     assesses air pollution created by transportation and & industrial sectors

                                 iii.     assigned levels to acceptable acid rain, ozone depletion, and toxic air pollution

                                   iv.     assigned new levels of acceptable gasoline pollutants—primarily lead, NOx, SOx levels

c.     National Environmental Policy Act (1970)

                                     i.     Established the EPA in the U.S.

d.    Montreal Protocol (1989)

                                     i.     agreement between international countries to stop using CFCs and other ozone depleting gases

e.    Kyoto Protocol (1997, 2001)

                                     i.     Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas (although primarily CO2 b/c it’s the most biggest problem) emissions by 5% of the 1990 levels.

f.      Clean Water Act (1972)

                                     i.     Set water quality standards for pollutants/contaminants in surface waters

                                   ii.     Allowed EPA to set wastewater standards for industry

g.     Safe Drinking Water Act (1974)

                                     i.     Established U.S. standards for safe drinking water

h.    Ocean Dumping Ban Act (1988)

                                     i.     Bans dumping of sewage/industrial waste into ocean

i.      Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) 1976

                                     i.     Prohibits dumping of solid waste

                                   ii.     Makes municipalities responsible for managing municipal/nonhazardous solid waste, especially in landfills

                                 iii.     Product manufacturers are responsible for product from “cradle-to-the-grave” of a product (product needs to be manufactured and disposed safely through its production system)

j.      Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, Liability Act (CERCLA—aka “Superfund)-- 1980

                                     i.     Companies have to “pay to cleanup” if they dumped toxic waste—made companies responsible for dumping hazardous waste

                                   ii.     Allots money into a “fund” to help pay for contamination sites, if a guilty party couldn’t be found

k.     Toxic Substance Control Act (TOSCA)—1976

                                     i.     Allows EPA to track chemicals used in the U.S., and ban as deemed necessary if a risk is assessed

VI.           Biodiversity Protection/Conservation

a.    Endangered Species Act (1973)

                                     i.     Protects and implements plans to ensure the survival of plants and animals and their habitats

b.    The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) 1963

                                     i.     Makes trade of endangered species illegal

c.     Marine Mammals Protection Act (1972)

                                     i.     Grants federal protection to all marine mammals

4/24/14

Tonight's homework is the following:

12A - Continue researching and working on your choice of topic. Your one page submission of your topic, your research so far, and a bibliography are due tomorrow in class.

12CD - Complete Review Assignment 4. Use Chapter 4 from the Kaplan book as a guide.

4/23/14

Tonight's homework is the following:

12A - Continue researching and working on your choice of topic. Your one page submission of your topic, your research so far, and a bibliography.

12CD - Complete Review Assignment 3. Use Chapter 3 from the Kaplan book as a guide. Make sure that #2 from Review Assignment 2 is complete as well.

Spring Break(!) Homework

Your spring break homework is as follows: 

12A - Complete Assignment 62.

Assignment 62 Designing Eco-Town, USA!

Introduction

Congratulations! Your architecture firm just progressed to the final round of the illustrious Design Anytown, USA town planning contest. You will be the lead designer for a proposed town of 50,000 to be located and built according to your specifications. Your supervisors have decided that your firm’s best chance at winning (and thus securing the prize money and prestige) is to focus on winning the Eco-Town category (since, sadly, there are not many applicants this year).

Now, you need to get planning and create the best plan for your potential town.

You can choose:

·      The town’s location (it just needs to be part of the United States)

·      The major type of industry in town (ex. factories, education, retail, etc.)

·      How the town will generate electricity

·      How the town will dispose of waste and minimize pollution

·      The infrastructure (ex. roads) that allows citizens and visitors to move about and through the town

You will need to produce a write-up including:

·      A paragraph naming your town, identifying its location in the USA, and defending that choice of locale

·      A one to two page write-up detailing the type of facility/facilities that will be constructed to provide electricity for all of your town’s citizens and explaining why that choice is best

·      A brief, yet detailed, explanation (one to two pages) of either how your town will go about either reducing air/water pollution OR dealing with wastewater or solid waste as well as support for pollution/waste management plan

To curry extra favor (or credit) with the judges, you could also develop:

·      A visual plan for the layout of your town

·      A written transportation plan for your town describing how you will guide the citizens’ transportation choices/options

12CD - Complete Review Assignment #1.

4/9/14

Tonight's homework is simply to study for tomorrow's exam on climate change, air pollution, waste management, and water pollution. Good luck.

4/8/14

Tonight's homework is to complete Assignment 61 (if you have not already done so) and do some reading. The pollution and global change exam will be on Thursday and Friday. Please look over your notes.

Reading Assignment
Mandatory - 10.3 (p. 201-205)
Recommended - 10.2 (p. 189-201)

4/7/14

Tonight's homework is to complete Assignment 60 if you did not previously and to begin preparing for Thursday and Friday's exam on air/water pollution, climate change, and waste management.

4/4/14

This weekend's homework is to complete Assignment 60. You may not be able to completely answer #1, but the rest of the questions should be straightforward enough.

 Assignment 60 - Water Treatment Post Lab Questions

Answer all of the following to the best of your ability in complete sentences.

1a. Use your observations to form inferences.

1b. Evaluate your hypothesis and support your conclusion(s) with your observations.

2. The filtration and treatment processes removed a great deal of rich, organic material from the initial sample of polluted water. An actual water treatment plant removes tons of organic wastes from water during the treatment process. Describe some applications for this material.

3. What parallels can be drawn between water treatment and wetlands? If you are not immediately familiar with wetlands then review your notes from earlier this semester and/or do some research to refresh yourself.

4. How is our discussion of water pollution and treatment connected to what we know about sustainability?

4/3/14

Tonight's homework:

1. Prepare for tomorrow's check-in (solid and e-waste and water use/pollution)
2. Read 19.2 - 19.9 in Botkin and Keller and add to today's notes.
3. Complete Assignment 59. See below.
4. Review/revise your hypothesis for submission tomorrow. Of the following methods (aeration, adding alum, filtration through sand, filtration through activated charcoal, adding chlorine, fine filtration), which do you think will clean the wastewater most effectively (measured through solids being present, clarity, odor, and/or color)? Support your hypothesis.

Optional: Check out Vice's "America's Water Crisis - Part 1" if you get a chance. The narrator is a bit of a trip and there's some swearing (exciting!), but it's good content. 

Assignment 59 Water Pollution Comprehension and Application Questions

Answer all of the following questions to the best of your ability in complete sentences.

In 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire, an embarrassing spectacle that led to a new era of environmental regulation in the United States. This was actually just one of several burning water bodies that raised public awareness about water pollution, while around the same time visibly terrible air quality led to similar pushes for curbs on air pollution.

a. What are some pollutants that might results in a water body catching fire, and what impact might these have on the aquatic environment?

b. Describe one possible point source for this pollution and one possible nonpoint source.

c. Name and describe the central tenets of one environmental law in the United States that deals with preventing or limiting water pollution.

d. You are the mayor of a small city that sits on the edge of a large lake. What steps can you take to limit the discharge of nonpoint source pollution into the lake?

4/2/14

Tonight's homework is to complete Assignment 58, read sections 19.1 and 19.10 (p. 400-401 and 414 - 417), and form a hypothesis about which type of water treatment (from section 19.10 - ex. primary treatment or chlorine treatment, etc.) will be most effective in cleaning the wastewater observed in class today.

Assignment #58 Water Usage Comprehension Questions

Answer all of the following questions to the best of your ability in complete sentences. Or don’t. See if I care.

1. If water is one of our most abundant resources, why are we concerned about its availability in the future? How does our discussion of our water supply connect to sustainability?

2. Think about your own personal water usage. What could (or especially would) you do to reduce your daily consumption of freshwater?

Math Fun! (you’re  welcome)

3a. Your old school showerhead uses 150 L for a 10-minute shower, whereas a reduced-flow showerhead uses only 100 L. If you take one shower per day, how many liters of water would you save in 1 year if you replaced your older showerhead?

3b. Also, your ancient toilet uses 25 L per flush, whereas a replacement toilet uses only 5 L per flush. If you flush the toilet four times per day, how many liters of water would you save in 1 year if you replaced your older toilet?

3c. How much water could both of your innovations and improvements save in a year?

4. Here’s your dam review. The Colorado River runs 1,450 miles from the headwaters of the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California. The river has many dams, aqueducts, and canals that divert water in order to supply water for electricity, irrigation, recreation, and domestic use.

a. Describe and discuss two environmental problems that are associated with water diversion.

b. If there is a shortage of water, choices will have to be made as to whether water should be diverted to urban areas, agricultural areas, or natural ecosystems. Make an argument for diverting water for urban consumption and an argument for permitting the flow of water to natural areas.

c. Identify another example (other than the Colorado River) of a large-scale water-diversion project. Discuss two environmental problems that have resulted, or might result, from this project.

4/1/14

Tonight's homework is to complete Assignment 57B (and make sure that Assignment 57A is complete as well if it was not finished in class). See below.

Resources:
"The Vice Guide To Congo"
"Following The Trail Of Toxic E-Waste"

Assignment 57A - Can We E-liminate e-waste?

Use the video clips and the ensuing discussion to answer the following questions to the best of your ability.

1. What are the issues that surround the production, use, and disposal of electronics like computers, cell phones, etc.?

2. What do you think should be done, if anything, about these issues? Support your opinion.

Assignment 57B - Recycling Free Response Practice

After reading the following editorial from The Fremont Daily, answer the questions that follow.

IS RECYCLING SMART ECONOMICS?

Debates about recycling often become highly charged and passionate. Over the past decade some headlines
have heralded that “trash is treasure” while others have proclaimed that “recycling is garbage.”
The antagonists in these debates are disagreeing over public policy and its role in shaping decisions about
resource use. Both sides in these debates frequently have broad policy agendas that go far beyond choosing
the most efficient way to manage solid waste. Both sides also promote their political agendas with
unsupported assertions and incomplete information. Determining what amount of recycling will result in
efficient resource use requires systematic analysis.

Proponents of recycling argue that recycling saves resources. For example, most manufacturers of aluminum
cans currently depend on recycled aluminum for more than 50% of their needs. This recycled input reduces
the economic and environmental costs associated with mining and landfills.

A common argument for the antirecycling side is that recycling wastes resources. It takes resources to
recycle. For example, it takes human effort to sort aluminum cans from other trash and energy to move
aluminum cans from the consumer back to the manufacturer.

It may not make economic sense to recycle all materials or all of any single material, but numerous studies
have shown that there are net benefits to society at low or modest levels of recycling most materials. The
question is, Which has the higher environmental cost: using recovered materials or using virgin materials?
Do recovered or virgin materials cost more in resources? The answer is complex and changing.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your next environmental decision is fast approaching. Should you put this copy of The Fremont Daily in the

recycling bin or should you put it in the trash?

(a) Consider the arguments regarding aluminum presented in the editorial, then make

 (i) a similar argument in favor of recycling the newspaper, and
(ii) a similar argument against recycling the newspaper.

(b) For each of the following, describe two pieces of scientific information that would be needed to evaluate

(i) the environmental benefits of recycling the newspaper, and
(ii) the environmental costs of recycling the newspaper.

(c) If a community can afford to begin a recycling program for either aluminum or newspaper, but not both,
which one would you recommend to be recycled? Provide two reasons why your recommendation is better
than the alternative.

(d) Discuss two difficulties that the community might face in implementing the recycling program in part (c).