Author Archives: mfh5429

‘Global Climate Change and Ozone Depletion’ – Hendricks

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These graphs from the NOAA’s Annual Greenhouse Gas Index show that there is an issue occurring by the increasing amount of greenhouse gasses getting added into the atmosphere. Focusing specifically on the bottom left graph, we can see the rise of Methane (CH4) in parts per billion, from 1975 to 2020. The measurement of the amount of methane in our atmosphere can be measured in various ways. We can measure and get the data for these graphs by looking at the point sources, external tracers, enclosed chamber data collection, and micrometeorological techniques that measure total methane emissions from individual sources/small open source areas. Satellites are able to measure various gasses while orbiting the earth. 

This parameter of rising methane collecting in our atmosphere matters to the global climate because it is creating a barrier that is trapping in heat. This is contributing too much to the greenhouse effect causing too much heat to be trapped. This causes adverse effects that largely affect climate trends and the wellbeing of the planet. This graph is important because it is showing that the amount of methane getting omitted into the atmosphere is increasing over time. This data lets us know that our production methods that release methane have become too prominent and need to be lessened. 

This data trend means that on average, more methane is being released into the atmosphere. This graph shows the ppm of methane omitted which correlates to the amount of heat that becomes trapped in the atmosphere because of the properties of the collected gas. 

 

Human Health Hazards Blog – Hendricks

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DDT

The article titled “DDT: A Virtuous Compound or a Threat to the Environment?” by Melat, describes the properties and molecular structure of DDT, how it was seen as an ingenious invention to fight transmission by insects during the WW2 era, the fate of DDT in the environment, effects of the environment, and the effects of DDT on human health. 

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, or DDT is an organochlorine insecticide that has a half-life that varies from 30 days (river waters) to 15 years (soils). DDT is soluble in organic solvents and fat tissues, which makes it bioaccumulative through the upper trophic levels. This means species towards the end of the food chain experience the bioaccumulation the most and receive the most adverse effects. 

Because DDT was designed in a lab, it has certain functions that can’t be produced from natural occurrences. DDT is designed to attack specifically the nervous system of insects. This goes on to kill the pestering insects and temporarily make life more convenient for the people around. It’s not until years or generations later what the effects of this harmful substance catch up.

The presence of DDT in the environment 

When DDT enters the environment, it is degraded into its metabolites and is mostly found in soil. High temperatures allow the DDT compound to degrade but the compound is protected from degradation because of the coolness of the soil. Microorganisms have the ability to break apart DDT but it’s an extremely slow process. 

Through resistance, the insects that came in contact with DDT eventually adopted altered genes that were not negatively affected by the compound. This essentially built up a tolerance within the insects of DDT zones. Even if the DDT levels are not strong enough to directly affect humans the compound can become bioaccumulated and will eventually be harmful. 

How and where DDT was used by humans

DDT was invented by an austrian scientist to limit the spread of insect borne diseases. This initially worked and killed the insects in its path. DDT was critically acclaimed for making such a positive difference in the world. But over the years as bioaccumulation occurred the adverse effects if DDT come to light. Because of books such as Silent Spring which made the public aware of the negative impacts hazardous chemicals had on health. In the 1940’s and 50’s, DDT was a pesticide that was commonly used within households and other places that did not want invasive bugs. DDT was also available to farmers inside the US. 

The health impact of DDT on humans

The impact of DDT on human health can be very alarming. This carcinogen will build up and can be cancerous to the humans involved. This compound can also cause birth defects as it builds up in the environments of humans. 

Work Cited:

A, Posted byMelat. “DDT: A Virtuous Compound or a Threat to the Environment?” Enset, 18 July 2020, ensetb.com/2020/05/04/ddt/. 

 

‘Waste Management and Recycling’ blog entry – Hendricks

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  1. Paper and paperboard products are widely used and can be recycled. Paper products are useful because the aftermath of processed wood makes the product strong and rigid. Because of this construction, products such as cardboard and paper meet specific requirements for daily use. Through our booming online delivery services, cardboard boxes are constantly being delivered to houses and then quickly discarded. This leaves us with the question of what to do with this material once it has served its original purpose.
  2. According the the website of the University of Southern Indiana, the average American uses seven trees a year in paper, wood, and other products made from trees which equates to about 2,000,000,000 trees per year (1). The author of this site states that Americans use 85,000,000 tons of paper a year; about 680 pounds per person (1). The 680 pounds of paper needs to go somewhere after it is discarded. Compared to other countries, paper is recycled broken down from its original form very well. Put is is less likely that the sludge is turned into other material forms. A large portion of this sludge goes into landfills. 
  3. According to an article titled  Making Cardboard and Paper Recycling More Sustainable: Recycled Paper Sludge For Energy Production and Water-Treatment Applications, written by Roi Peretz, Peretz writes about the massively large amounts of sludge that is formed throughout the recycling process (2). This sludge can make up to around 40% input mass. But this sludge is mostly disposed in landfills, resulting in added economic and environmental costs to the recycling process.
  4. The advantages of recycling paper products is that at its simplest form, there are no hazardous components that have to be designed around. Because the product is made from an earthly material that is already incorporated into ecosystems, there is not a ton of pressure to keep it separated from the earth when compared to synthetic materials such as plastics. Because of this, I would argue that in the metrics of money, paper is a smart choice because it can go into the environment without having much cleanup afterwards. Compared to plastic, eventually we will need to orchestrate large scale cleanups of plastic that never goes away. 

(source: EPA) (3)

Citations

(1) “Main Navigation.” University of Southern Indiana, www.usi.edu/recycle/paper-recycling-facts. 

(2) Peretz, Roi, et al. “Making Cardboard and Paper Recycling More Sustainable: Recycled Paper Sludge For Energy Production and Water-Treatment Applications.” Waste and Biomass Valorization 12.3 (2021): 1599-1608.

(3) “National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 28 Jan. 2021, www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials#recycling.

 

Air and water pollution blog post

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Photochemical smog (smoke + fog) is a type of pollution that is created when ultraviolet light reacts with NOx (nitrogen oxides) and VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) which are found in the atmosphere. This can only occur when there is sunlight and is most prominent in the morning and afternoon. Warm sunny days with gentle winds and a lower level inversion combined with the pollutants derived from the combustion of hydrocarbon and NOx cause this to happen. Even though the combustion of hydrocarbons and NOx is mostly omitted from the burning of fossil fuels, these pollutants can also be sourced from volcanic eruption, and forest fires.

When broken down, photochemical smog occurs when nitrogen and oxygen combine in the combustion process to form nitric oxide. The nitric oxide created oxidizes in the atmosphere to produce nitrogen dioxide. Sunlight breaks down nitrogen dioxide into nitric oxide and an oxygen radical. The oxygen radical combines with molecular oxygen to form ozone. This ozone produced is the main component of photochemical smog. 

The result of this photochemical fog is that it visibly lingers in the air causing a haze in the air. This smog can cause detrimental effects on the human respiratory system and can have serious strain on the heart and circulatory system. These effects cause humans to become mildly sick but can also be as serious as contributing to death. 

Photochemical smog can also adversely affect the environment. It can decrease crop production, the termination of photosynthetic plants, and have poor effects on any animal dependent on clean air. Photochemical smog can even corrode hard surfaces that make up buildings and cities. 

LA is an ideal place for photochemical smog to occur. It’s low valley creates a good place for the smog to settle once the emissions of its overcrowded car population are created and put into the atmosphere to interact with sunlight. Instead of burning coal to create electricity a better alternative is to combust natural gas because it has cleaner emissions. By limiting the emissions of electricity production, you can directly reduce the photochemical smog occurring. LA created a phasing out of certain pollutants that can be held responsible for the decrease in smog in the area. 

 

Sources 

Chameides, W. L., et al. “The role of biogenic hydrocarbons in urban photochemical smog: Atlanta as a case study.” Science241.4872 (1988): 1473-1475.

Tiao, G. C., G. E. P. Box, and W. J. Hamming. “Analysis of Los Angeles photochemical smog data: a statistical overview.” Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association 25.3 (1975): 260-268.

 

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Resources’ blog assignment – Hendricks

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From the EIA graphic, it’s apparent that the transportation sector uses a larger amount of petroleum than any other industry listed. It’s also important to note that the transportation sector dominantly uses petroleum over other energy sources. From the American Economic Association, author Christopher Knittle states that Gasoline and diesel fuels alone account for 60 percent of oil consumption (1). Knittle explains that the price of petroleum is set in a global market, and government taxes on petroleum vary. Because the US is the leading consumer of oil, it seems evident that whatever regulations we put on petroleum will affect the rest of the world and their petroleum consumption. But it’s not as easy as saying that we need the US to ban petroleum consumption to positively influence the rest of the world. Because petroleum is currently so lucrative, other ideas must be implemented so that the market of petroleum is shifted.

My proposition of means of addressing the declining oil supply in the transportation sector is to create an incentive for businesses profiting off of petroleum to invest in other forms of energy sources for their uses. The transportation sector cannot wait until the oil has run out to start innovating other ways of transportation. The time is now to do so. Part of my proposed incentive for companies to use less oil is to propose a 5% tax on any company that does not diversify their innovation of transportation technology. The potential result of this incentive would push companies to innovate in increasing the potential of biofuels, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. This would accelerate the diversity of transportation options so that in the future when extractable oil runs out, there will be capable energy sources to fall back on.

 

Work Cited

  1. Knittel, Christopher R. “Reducing petroleum consumption from transportation.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 26.1 (2012): 93-118.