GEOG 324: water, waste, and comsumption

what is the great pacific garbage patch

the largest of the oceanic gyres and contains over 2 million pieces of plastic per square mile

where is the pacific garbage patch located

between the west pacific gyre and the east pacific gyre

what are the most common type of waste

bags

what is the main type of waste found in high income regions

fishing-related waste

what is the main waste found in east asia and pacific

wrappers — plastic bags and plastic bottles

what is the main type of waste found in south asia

plastic bottles and fishing related items

what is the main type of waste found in latin america and the caribbean

plastic bags

what is the main type of plastic in sub-saharan africa

plastic bottles

what is the main type of waste in north africa and the middle east

food containers

what is the history of bottled water

water is a common property resource, but recently, water has increasingly become privatized and turned into a commodity

what has bottled water been traditionally identified with

wealth, health, and something for the elite

how does the IPAT equation explain who drinks bottled water

population pressure - more people may increase demand for bottled water, affluence - populations tend to consume more bottled water as part of lifestyle preferences, technology - advances in bottling and distribution make bottled water widely available

what are the three types of water scarcity

hydrological scarcity, techno-economic scarcity, perceptual scarcity

what is hydrological scarcity

refers to the physical lack of sufficient water resources due to climatological and hydrological factors

who is hydrological scarcity mitigated

with affluence and technology — can purchase bottled water or use expensive processes as desalination

what is techno-economic scarcity

lack of water due to lack of infrastructure (pipes), treatment, pollution, or industrial overuse

when does techno-economic scarcity occur ? what is an example?

in rapidly urbanizing, underdeveloped or overused areas — mexico

what is perpetual scarcity ? where is an example

water is perceived to be scarce or hazardous even where there is widespread availability of potable water — developed countries - europe, united states

what is overproduction

the industry produce too much of a product or too many choices, so companies have to increase their market share through marketing and packaging

what is an environmental impact of plastic bottle comsumption

life cycle analysis

what is life cycle analysis on environmental impacts

fossil fuels use to make and transport the bottles, bottles discarded improperly or in landfills

how much garbage has space travelers left on the moon

181,000 kg

how many spacecrafts are on the surface of the moon

70

why will trash remain on the moon for a long time

because the moon has a very thin atmosphere = lack of atmospheric processes like wind or rain

according to the ASU scientist mark robinson, what will eventually break down the waste ? how long will it take?

micrometeorites - 10 to 100 million years

what happens to objects in lower orbits

can return quickly — re-enter the atmosphere after a few years and burn in atmosphere

what happens to debris or satellites at higher altitudes

can continue to circle earth for hundreds or even thousands of years

how many active satellites in earths orbit

2000

how many dead satellites in earths orbit

3000

how many pieces of junk larger than 10 centimeters

34,000

how many pieces of space junk larger than 1mm

128 million

how many tonnes of estimated total mass of all space junk encircling the planet

7500

how is space debris tracked ? what does it track

U.S Space surveillance network; larger than 5cm in low earth orbit, larger than 1 meter in geostationary orbit

what are the risks of a collision that requires maneuvering

1 to 10000

what were the 2 notable collisions

2021; chinese satellite broke due to collision, 2009; satellite destroyed in space debris collision

what is Kessler Syndrome ?

Donald Kessler warned that if there is too much space debris in orbit, it could trigger a chain reaction involving debris colliding with satellites or other debris, creating even more fragments

what would happen overtime according to Kessler Syndrome

process would produce thousands of smaller debris particles, exponentially increasing risk of collisions

what would happen if Kessler Syndrome were to actually occur

amount of debris could render Earth’s orbit unusable for satellites, space exploration, or communications systems

what did the united nations request companies to do in relation to space debris? whats the issue with this?

remove satellites from orbit within 25 years after the end of their mission — enforcement is difficult due to limited monitoring and accidents, such as satellite malfunction

what are some proposed solutions to space debris removal

maneuvering dead satellites back to earths atmosphere, use harpoon to grab them, catch debris in net, utilize magnets to attract debris for collection, firing lasers to heat debris

what are space debris removal nets

net captures debris, which can then be reeled in and managed

what did the test for space debris removal nets show

demonstrated that active debris removal technologies could effectively address the challenge of space junk