Env and Hum Test #2, 3, 4

Air quality today is highly regulated. NAAQS have been set for major criteria air pollutants including

particulate matter, lead, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur, dioxide. and carbon monoxide

HennCo residents generate ____ waste per year

1 million tons

How much garbage per person per day?

2\.7 pounds

T or F: ocean currents act as the circulatory system of the ocean bodies, carrying warmer water to colder areas anf returning cool water to warm ocean environs

true

Americans use on average 4500 KWH of electricity a year… this is over two times more than

the Chinese and the europeans

The depth of the troposphere ranges from ____ km over the equator to 8 km over the poles

18

it is in the troposphere that

most of our weather occurs

The most prevelant greenhouse gas in our atmosphere is

water vapor in the clouds

What do both the London Fog and discovery of a hole in the ozone layer have in common?

both resulted in increased regulation of air emissions

The Milankovitch cycles are associated with all the following except

Increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere

Climate varies naturally according to

El nino and the Milankovitch cycles

Anthropogenic changes are changed causes by

Humans

T or F: Cumulonimbus clouds are most frequently associated with cold fronts and dramatic storm events

true

T or F: Climate variation over the long term is natural and is driven in party by phenomenon apart that occur on regular cycles

True

T or F: El Nino is a natural climate phenomenon occurring on a 3 to 5 year cycle of shifts in the atmospheric circulation and ocean events

True

When discussing conventional energy, there are more reserves than resources

false

T or F: energy is the capacity to do work and it is measuring in joules

true

T or F: in the next 10 years the US is planning to permit and construct new coal fired power plants that will double our capacity to generate electricity from coal

False

T or F: China uses more coal than the US and India combined

true

T or F: Coal is the least-abundant of fossil fuels

false

T or F: Coal power is efficiently generated by power plants located near coal mines and access to the electrical grid. If coal is exported, it must be transported to the destination of use, usually by rail, then by ocean vessel. This decreases the efficiency of the resources for a global perspective

true

T or F: oil provides over one third of our energy in the US and over one half of our energy worldwide

true

T or F: Natural gas is transported by a dedicated pipeline or as Liquified Nation Gas (LNG). LNG is 1/600th the volume of natural gas and one ocean vessel transporting it for export carries the explosive equivalent of a small atomic bomb

true

T or F: The three nuclear power plants in MN each generate over 1200MW of power

Solar Energy

converts 15-20% of sunlight to usable electricity

* diffuse, low-intensity

What does the energy chart look like?

Do EVs really run “clean” on “clean electricity”?

• Conservation –use less

• Transportation –IC engines are inefficient

T or F: Low albedo is exhibited by snow, ice, white pain and white sand

False

T or F: acid rain is much more of an issue now than it was in 1986

False

T or F: the earth is one of only two planets in our solar system that has an atmosphere that can sustain life

false

T or F: one watt of power is equal to one joule per second

True

T or F: CO2 and other green house gases make up less than 1% of the atmosphere

true

T or F: the london fog of 1952 killed over 4000 people in 5 days and eventually resulted in another 12000 deaths due to residual effects

true

T or F: the hole in the ozone occurs in the stratoshpere

true

Solar options

• Passive vs Active

• Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems, piping and liquid flow

• Power Tower (left) with mirrors

• Photo voltaic (PV) cells

Positives of Solar

• Solar works at household and community scales

• Solar allows for “feed-in tariffs”

• The cost of PV cells has dropped significantly

Negatives of Solar

• Solar panels require cobalt and other rare earth metals to manufacture

• Inconsistent power generation

• Large footprint and habitat impact

• Difficult to recycle and dispose

Wind turbines

• Wind turbines currently provide twice the energy solar does

• Wind turbines can operate day and night, while solar arrays can only operate during daylight

  • China now has over 200 GW of installed wind capacity

  • The U.S. has over 100 GW

  • Germany has over 60 GW

• But this is still only 1/3 of what we produce in hydropower and the turbines are EXPENSIVE

Wind Turbine options/poteintial

• The wind is FREE!

• Offshore wind farms (below)

• Vertical Axis wind turbines (right)

• An extra source of rural income

• There is significant potential for wind to supply “all our electricity and global energy needs” (Global Wind Energy Council)

Aquifer

a geological formation of porous rock or sand with interinterstitialstital spaces or voids filled with water

T/F? the depth of the troposphere ranged from 8-18 km over the equator to the poles

true

The Milankovitch Cycles

• orbital eccentricity: 1000,000 year cycle

• variation of tilt: 40,000 year cycle

• axial wobble: 26,000 year cycle

  • axis is wobbling

The El Nino

pushes warmer water and trade winds over to Australia normally, but every 3-5 years it goes the wrong way and ends up in California.

power plants define thier power in

watts

\#1 GHG

water vapor

T or F: Acid rain is much more of ani issue now than it was in 1986

false

there are more resources than

reserves

how many nuclear power plants do we have in MN?

2

Confined Aquifer

Confined aquifers contain water under pressure due to their position beneath a confining layer.

Unconfined aquifer

Unconfined aquifers reside over an impermeable layer and are represented by a water table at their upper limit

* results in a water table and well -- water must be pumped out

Anthropogenic

caused by humans

* our use of fossil fuels which pumps CO2 into the air

CO2 increases

in the winter --- due to vegetation

How much of our energy is produced by nuclear?

19-22%

92 nuclear power plants are currently in operation in the U.S. today

Xcel’s Prairie Island nuclear power plants is working with Bloom Energy to convert the plants to production of

Clean hydrogen -- by a process of high temperature electrolysis

Warm front

• cirrus clouds

• Often produces violent thunderstorms

• Advancing warm front air is warmer than the surrounding air

• Because warm air is less dense than cool air, the warm front slides up over the cooler air masses

• Forms a wide band of cloud formation up to 1,000 km (600 miles) ahead of warmer weather

• Often presents with high wispy cirrus clouds a day or two before the front itself arrives

• A moist warm front can bring days of drizzle and cloudy skies (London in 1957)

Cold front

• Cold air hugs the ground and pushes warm air up as it advances

• Water vapor in the warm air condenses into ice crystals or water droplets

• Often produces violent thunderstorms

• Narrow band of cloud formation

• Warm air in the stratosphere moves ahead of the cold front

• Leaves fluffy cumulus clouds after the storm

• Cumulonimbus cloud formations (drama)

Who uses this POWER as electricity or directly?

• Residences

• Commercial

• Industrial

• Transportation

Coal emissions and by products

• Managing overburden removal and disposition

• Air emissions are controlled by a variety of technologies and heavily regulated under the Clean Air Act.

• What are the contaminants associated with energy generation from coal?

  • CO2, mercury, arsenic, chromium, lead, uranium, SO2, NOx, particulate

  • Coal ash (CCR) are usually landfilled or impounded

Coal ash can be recycled into

concrete or wallboard

What waste is generated with coal?

• Fly Ash, a very fine, powdery material composed mostly of silica made from the burning of finely ground coal in a boiler.

• Bottom Ash, a coarse, angular ash particle that is too large to be carried up into the smoke stacks so it forms in the bottom of the coal furnace.

• Boiler Slag, molten bottom ash from slag tap and cyclone type furnaces that turns into pellets that have a smooth glassy appearance.

• Flue Gas Desulfurization Material, a material leftover from the process of reducing sulfur dioxide emissions from a coal-fired boiler.

• Air Emissions, including SO2, NOx, CO2, heavy metals (including mercury)

• Water Discharged under NPDES Permit, including impacted cooling water and treated water from the combustion process

MN Waste

• Waste is often managed on the County level

• More than 1 Million tons of waste per year

• Combusting the waste to produce energy reduces the waste to ash with 10% of the volume of the parent material.

• HERC recovers 11,000 tons of scrap metal annually, more than double the rate collected through curbside recycling

  • Minnesota has 9 Waste-to-Energy incinerators

low power objective (blue)

objective magnification: 4x

eyepiece magnification: 10x

total magnification: 40x

medium power objective (green) medium

objective magnification: 10x

eyepiece magnification: 10x

total magnification: 100x

high-dry (yellow)

objective magnification: 40x

eyepiece magnification: 10x

total magnification: 400x

oil immersion (red)

objective magnification: 100x

eyepiece magnification: 10x

total magnification: 1000x

how many objective are on the microscopes we use in lab?

4

compost is composted in

windrows

how are aquafers recharged?

the water/hydrologic cycle

* respiration, transpiration, and precipitation

renewable resource

things that can be renewed (and fast)

* bamboo, water

Recycling Rate

Recycling rate is stagnating, though the tons recycled is continuing to grow

As of 2020

WE ONLY RECYCLE ABOUT 5% OF OUR PLASTIC

Minnesota-style

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

The Genetically Modified seed ownership issue

GM crops must be purchased annually and the largest pesticide producers these seed producers

North Star Solar

• North Branch, MN

• 100 MW facility on 626 acres

• Serves 20,000 homes

Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant

• Xcel Energy's Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant

• Permitted to operate until September 8, 2030.

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

Landfills are regulated under this act

RCRA Subtitle D Landfills

solid waste

RCRA Subtitle C landfills

hazardous waste that needs immediate attention

Comprehensive Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)

AKA superfund legislation (1980)

• Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York

Bioreactor Landfill

municipal solid waste landfill (MSWLF) in which liquids are added to help bacteria break down the waste

what does MSW stand for?

Municipal Solid Waste

1950-1975

It is estimated that 5 Billion tons of hazardous chemicals were improperly disposed of in the U.S.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s

Minnesota was the site of several contentious legal battles over landfills that had not been regulated prior to 1976, when RCRA was initiated.

The State of Minnesota’s Closed Landfill Program

(In 1994) To remediate and close contentious landfill sites across the state

\# of closed landfill sites in MN

114

\

CLP sites where PFAS has been detected

• On Feb. 20, 2018, the state of Minnesota settled its lawsuit against the 3M Company in return for a settlement of $850 million.

• The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are co-trustees of these funds.

3M involvement in the CLP

• Washington County Landfill Reconstruction

• 3M contributed $8 million to the $18.5 million cost of reconstruction

• Work began with design investigation and design in 2007

• Construction was initiated in 2009 and completed in 2012

• Solar was installed in 2015

closure and post-closure care

* takes at least a year and includes placement of the final cover and establishment of vegetation
* Post-Closure Care: regulatory requirements consider 30 years

3 types of rocks

* Igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic

Most fossils are found in

in sedimentary rocks

* lake beds and underwater

Mechanical weathering

wind, glaciers, “river rock”

Chemical weathering:

oxidation and subsequent mechanical weathering

* Ex: acid rain and the karst topography in southeastern Minnesota

Geological Hazards

*  earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, landslides, floods, and beach erosion
* Ex: Elkhorn Escarpment which shows where the San Andreas fault is

How many minerals are there?

* Over 4,400 different minerals identified

Metals

most valuable and rare

Non-metals

• sands/gravel, aggregate mines

• most common and mega volume

Gemstones

• also Non-metals

• much more rare and often more valuable

8 most common chemical elements

* Iron, oxygen, silicon, magnesium, nickel, calcium, aluminum, sodium
* No nitrogen in the magma or core of earth because 80% of in the air

nitrogen cycling

1- nitrogen fixation

2- nitrification

3- assimilation

4- ammonification

5- denitrification

Healthy soil aggregates (top) look like

cottage cheese

* looks healthy because of nematodes, bacteria, earthworms