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).

3/31/14

Tonight's homework is to complete Assignment 56 and read 23.9 - 23.12 (p. 537-543) in Botkin and Keller. See below for assistance.

Recycling Calculator

Optional Resource - I had mentioned the idea of changing how we think about and design the materials/items that we use. This is inspired by Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. McDonough gives an interesting TED talk here.

Assignment 55 Solid Waste Management Comprehension and Reflection Questions

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

1. What conclusions did you draw from investigating the impacts of recycling (or a lack thereof)?

2. Do you recycle? Why or why not?

3. What factors influence how a person is going to manage their waste? What could make it easier to recycle or reuse? Which factors could make it more difficult?

4. How does discussing solid waste management connect to our ideas and definitions of sustainability?

Reading Comprehension Questions – 23.9 – 23.12 (p. 537 – 543)

5. New York State history time! What happened at Love Canal?

6. What exactly is e-waste, and why does it cause problems?

3/28/14

This weekend's homework is the following:

12A - Complete Assignments 54 and 55. Resources for (e) are here and here.

Assignment 55 Urban Air Pollution Comprehension Questions

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

Some scientists estimate that by 2025 over 60 percent of the global human population will live in urban areas. Urban residents experience a variety of problems related to the physical environment.

(a) Describe how the temperature of urban areas like Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Chicago differs from that of surrounding rural areas.

(b) Identify and describe TWO differences between urban and surrounding rural areas that contribute to the temperature difference between them.

(c) Urban areas typically have levels of air pollution that are significantly higher than those found in surrounding rural areas. Identify a characteristic of the urban microclimate that leads to higher levels of air pollution and describe how that characteristic contributes to the increase.

(d) Identify and describe TWO actions that local governments in urban areas could take to reduce outdoor air pollution.

(e) Identify and describe why urban residents suffer from higher rates of asthma (especially among children) than surrounding rural areas.

12CD - Complete Assignments 54 (see Thursday's post for assistance) and 55. Complete today's notes by reading 21.4 and 21.5 (p. 486-493). Prepare for a check-in on Monday.

Assignment 55 Urban Air Pollution Free Response Practice Questions

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

1. Some scientists estimate that by 2025 over 60 percent of the global human population will live in urban areas. Urban residents experience a variety of problems related to the physical environment.

(a) Describe how the temperature of urban areas like Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Chicago differs from that of surrounding rural areas.

(b) Identify and describe TWO differences between urban and surrounding rural areas that contribute to the temperature difference between them.

(c) Urban areas typically have levels of air pollution that are significantly higher than those found in surrounding rural areas. Identify a characteristic of the urban microclimate that leads to higher levels of air pollution and describe how that characteristic contributes to the increase.

(d) Identify and describe TWO actions that local governments in urban areas could take to reduce outdoor air pollution.

(e) Identify and describe TWO ways in which the local hydrologic cycle of urban areas differs from that of nearby rural areas.

2. In recent years, results from scientific studies have increased public awareness of the possible damage to human health from exposure to indoor air pollution.

(a) Identify two specific indoor air pollutants and, for each, discuss the following.

(i) The type of building most affected by the pollutant

(ii) Source(s) of the pollutant

(iii) The pollutant’s effects on human health

(iv) The method(s) of prevention or cleanup of the pollutant

(b) According to the Environmental Protection Agency, at least 17 percent of the four million commercial buildings in the United States can be considered “sick buildings”.

(i) Explain what is meant by the term “sick building”.

(ii) Describe the criteria used for determining whether a building is “sick”.

3/27/14

Tonight's homework is the following:

12A - Assignment 54 is due on Monday. There will be a check-in class tomorrow.

Sample Data for Assignment 54 - NOTE: This data does not represent an urban school setting.

Mock Class Data (for an urban school setting)

	Card 1 (Inside Box)	Card 2 (Inside Classroom)	Card 3 (Outside Window)
Circle 1 (lumens)	4213	3656	3109
Circle 2 (lumens)	4824	3877	3187
Circle 3 (lumens)	4457	3788	3008
Average (lumens)
% Transmittance

Note: A lumen and a lux are both units that measure light. They are equivalent.

12CD - Score your answer to question #4 from Assignment 53. There will be a check-in class tomorrow.