Environmental Science Section 4

What color are lichens?

gray-green or orange.

What is a lichen made of?

a fungi and an algae (cyanobacteria) in a symbiotic relationship

What are lichens indicators of?

Sulfur Dioxide, Nitrogen oxides, ozone and toxic metals

What is a bioassay?

measurement of the concentration or potency of a substance by its effect on living cells or tissues

Why are lichens good as bioassays?

Because they rapidly accumulate pollutants into their tissues.

Where in the US are certain lichen species missing and why?

In eastern US except for Florida and Maine), because a high concentration of pollutants like nitrogen and sulfur

What is "one of the most polluted regions in the world"?

The South Ural mountains of Russia, (measured by lichens)

Where is a study being used with lichens as indicators of air pollution? How long?

In the copper smelting town of Karabash. 2 - 3 months

Describe the study at Karabash?

Led by Dr William Purvis from the Natural History Museum in London

transplanted 600 lichens to areas near the copper smelting and observed.

Discovered the closer they were to the smelter, the more likely they were to exhibit tissue damage.

In Karabash, what elements did the lichens accumulate?

Lead, Zinc, Uranium, Particulate Matter

Why did Dr Purvis use both transplanted and native lichens?

Because transplanted lichens are good for showing short term effects while native lichens are good for showing long term effects

What is air pollution defined as?

The emission of compounds into the atmosphere at a level high enough to harm plants, animals, and buildings as well as adversely impact ecosystems

Air pollution usually refers to pollution where?

In the troposphere, the first 10 km above the Earth (6 miles)

Tropospheric pollution is sometimes called what

ground level pollution

What act was passed when against air pollution?

The clean Air Act in 1970

What are the 6 criteria pollutants of the CAA?

1. Sulfur dioxide

2. Nitrogen oxides

3. Carbon Monoxide

4. Lead

5. Particulate matter

6. Ground level Ozone

How is sulfur harmful?

1. It causes lung problems for MAMMALS when inhaled and reduces lung function and

2. also creates acid rain through the creation of sulfuric acid

What forms Nitrogen oxides?

Combustion in the atmosphere

How is Nitrogen oxides harmful?

1. They form other bad gases such as ozone

2. They can create nitric acid and contribute to acid rain.

How is Carbon Monoxide made?

Incomplete combustion of gasoline or other organic matter.

Pb is part of the Earth's ______ and can be found where?

Crust, can be found in the air, the ground and in water

When did the use of leaded gas end globally?

In 2021, when the last stocks were used up in Algeria

Besides neurotoxin, what can leaded gas affect?

An animal's blood production, producing anemia

Where do particulate matter come from?

It comes from combustion of coal, oil and wood and gasoline, from "dirty burning ' these fuels such as low-efficiency wood stoves

Where is particulate matter a major problem?

In northern states and countries

What are natural souces of paticulates?

Forest fires and Volcanoes

How big are particullates?

From 0.01 micron to 100 microns in diameter, thickness of the human hair

Most particulates are what diameter

2.5 to 100 microns

How big is oil smoke?

2.5 microns

What are coarse and fine particles?

Particles over and under 2.5 micron (all are under 10 microns)

Particulates of what size can be inhaled?

10 microns

Are coarse or fine particulates more dangerous and why?

Fine because they go deeper in the respiratory tract before depositing deep in the lungs.

Why does LA have so much smog?

The surrounding mountains trap it.

What are the harmful effects of particulate matter?

It can collect in lungs, and it can block out sun for photosynthesis.

What do photochemical air pollutants comprise?

Smog

how are photochemical air polluants formed?

From Sun + oxides

Formation of photochemical pollutants equation

Sun + NO + O2 + VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) = 03+HNO3 (nitric acid) + organic compounds

Examples of photochemical pollutants

Ozone, Nitric acid, PANs, Aldehydes.

What is good and bad about Ozone?

In the stratosphere, it absorbs ultraviolet radiation but in the troposphere it is an oxidant harmful

What is particulate matter suspected of causing?

it is suspected of causing lung cancer.

What are volatile organic compounds?

Substances containing carbon that evaporate very quickly, usually made by humans in the manufacture of paints, pharmaceuticals and refrigerants.

What part of the CAA are the criteria pollutants organized under?

The National Ambient Air Quality Standard.

How is mercury primarily produced?

Burning of coal

What part of the CAA is mercury under?

Hazardous Air Pollutant section

What are primary and secondary pollutants?

Primary pollutants are directly emitted, secondary pollutants are primary pollutants that have reacted in air

Example of a secondary pollutatnt

smog, nitric acid, sulfuric acid.

When did a wildfire occur where and what effect did it have?

In 2023, in the Pacific Northwest and northern Canada, which doubled Canada's carbon emissions maximum, caused bad air quality in US and Europe.

What was teh wildfire caused by?

extreme weather conditions of eastern Canada

What VOCs do living plants create?

Ethylene (conifers) and Terpenes(citrus)

What mountains in the US are named because of their forests?

The Blue Ridge and the Smoky Mountains in SE US(these forests create VOCs and create smog around them)

Atmospheric Thermal Inversion

Usually, cold air goes up and warm air down, but when a blanket of warm air traps the air underneath, can lead to accumulation of pollutants in the troposphere

There is an association between exposure to smog and

child asthma

What do researchers use to predict certain aspects of pollution?

Predictive air pollution model

What is the CAA's preferred method of estimating pollution distribution?

Math models

Where is math models of emissions required?

In state plans

Why are models critical?

Because it is not possible to collect enough data from enough different sites enough times to make accurate predictions.

Why can no one model predict emission levels and pollutio ndistribution?

Because both these characteristics are the function of the characteristics of the source and local topography and weather patterns

What do some of the math models approved by the EPA do?

1. model emissions and downwind movement from aluminum reduction plants

2. Estimate concentration of pollutants from highway traffic

3. Model dynamic ways weather conditions change across time and location affect pollutant transport

4. Account for settling and deposition of particles as a function of downwind distance

5. Separation of individual point sources.

What is the most common unit for the comparison of energy sources?

Btu (British thermal unit)

What is the Btu

The amount of heat required to raise 1 pound of water 1 degree F at its highest density (39F)

How much energy did the US use in 2021

97 quadrillion Btw of energy (15 zeroes)

What is the country with the msot energy consumption? When did they pass America, how much do they use?

China, 2010, 2021, used 165.168 quad Btw

What are the boundaries of the US's energy system?

Physical, social and technological

How much energy did the US use in 2022?

100 quads

Distribution of energy sources in 2022 for the US

79% from fossil fuels, 13% renewable, 8% nuclear

Why are patterns of energy usage different in different countries?

Because they use whatever resource is most abundant

Is Uranium renewable?

No ( L )

Describe how fuel mix varies by country region and time of year (5)

1. In central US, steel manufacturing uses coal both for energy and for steel, so a lot of coal mining.

2. In CA and the Pacific Northwest are tech-based industries and use renewable.

3. More coal is burnt in the Midwest and Southeast than the Northeast, which uses nuclear, natural gas and hydropower because they have more coal.

4. Coal combustion is usually not done when near cities.

5. In Northern US, more oil and gas are used in winters for heating

Approximately how much efficiency does turning on a light have?

34%

Accoding to whom, global energy efficiency is how much,

The UN Development Program World Energy Assessment: 37%

Transportation accounts for

36% of total energy in US and over 2/3 of oil use.

What is GGE

gas gallon equivalent: the amount of energy in a gallon of gasoline.

The average US car can travel how much on one gallon?

25 miles

How many steps does using an electric stove top have compared to pure combustion?

7 to 1

What are the 2 types of energy sources (not renewable/nonrenewable)

Primary and Secondary

What efficiency for different plants?

1. Older plants have 36%

2. Newer coal plants have up to 42% with theoretically over 50%

3. Combined cycle natural gas-fired power plant: 60%

How much off electricity generation does nuclear make? (not TOTAL ENERGY)

18%

Decrease in coal and increase in natural gas production

50% coal in 2005, 19.5% in 2022

15% natural gas in 2000, 40% in 2022

(percent of total electricity produced)

How is coal made in the natural world?

Around 160-400 million years ago, tropical plants get covered with sediment, preventing decomposition and because of the temperature and pressure, the organic materials harden and turn into coal.

Why is coal ideal for generation of electricity?

It is energy dense and plentiful

Types of coal, ranked by the amount of energy they contain

1. Anthracite

2. Bituminous coal

3. Lignite

4. Peat

What are the ways of getting coal?

Deep shaft mining (2000 ft) and surface mining (pit or mountaintop)

What can coal extraction emit?

1. Sulfur dioxide

2. Particulate Matter

3. Mercury

4. Acid mine drainage

What is petroleum made of ?

Hydrocarbons, water and sulfur

How did petroleum form?

Ocean plankton around 65-250 million years ago, in porous rocks like sandstone capped by non-porous rocks, which trap them and over time, they migrate upward.

What 2 components are in petrol?

Oil and gas

Whn gas is taken out of petrol, what do we get?

Crude oil.

What can crude oil be refined into?

1. Gasoline,

2. Diesel fuel

3. Kerosene

(Separated by Weight)

What is "currently the greatest energy source in the US"?

Petrol

Compared to coal, what is clean burning?

Oil, because sulfur and other impurities can be removed from it, although this does make it more expensive.

How much carbon does oil release?

85% as much as coal

What is natural gas mostly made of?

Methane (80-95%)

Is natural gas or oil more dense?

oil, so natural gas is in the layer above the oil.

Is natural gas clean?

60% CO2 as coal, impurities can be removed, but CH4 bad (x25)

Why has natural gas overtaken oil as the main energy source?

because of fracking and horizontal drilling

What is hydraulic fracturing?

Injecting high pressure water, and chemicals into bedrock to create wells

What chemicals are used for fracking?

Methanol, Ethylene Glycol, Propargyl Alcohol

Chemicals used for fracking can cause what environmental damage?

We're not sure.

How much water does fracking use?

1.5 trillion gallons since 2011, 40 millions per wll.

Where is much of fracking taking place?

In droughty areas like Texas.