1. Announcements – Nov 13 Nov. 15 (Wednesday) - Exam 3 Nov. 17 (Friday) - no class

2. 3 rd exam Wed, Nov 15th Bring:#2 pencil Photo ID Student ID# NetID ( usually 1 st part of e-mail ) Arrive early Sit every other seat. Neighbors should have different exams (colored booklets)

3. Test Format 50 questions, multiple choice & T/F 2-3 extra credit questions 50 minutes

4. Test Material Any thing from lecture or readings is fair game “Points to know” Mostly fact-based questions, some concept application

5. Chapters from Book: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 Assigned Reading

6. Air: Climate and Pollution Chapter 9

7. Outline: Atmosphere and Climate Climate Change –El Nino –Human Causes Climate and Pollution –Kinds of Pollution –Sources –Transport Effects of Air Pollution Air Pollution Control

8. ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE Weather - A description of short-term physical conditions of the atmosphere. Climate - A description of the long-term weather pattern in a particular area. –Weather and climate are primary determinants of biomes and ecosystem distribution.

10. Troposphere –Ranges in depth from 18 km over the equator to 5 km over the poles. –Air circulates in convection currents. –Air temperature drops rapidly with increasing altitude. –Contains 75% of total air mass.

11. Stratosphere –Extends from troposphere to about 50 km. –Similar composition to Troposphere, but much more dilute. –Temperature increases with altitude. –Fraction of water vapor is 1000x less and ozone is 1000x more than in the troposphere. –Relatively calm

12. Mesosphere –Middle Layer. Minimum temperature is about - 80 o C. Thermosphere –Ionized gases and high temperatures. –Ionosphere - Lower Thermosphere »Aurora borealis (northern lights)

13. Energy and the Greenhouse Effect Solar Radiation –Solar energy not evenly distributed over the globe. –Of solar energy reaching outer atmosphere: 25% reflected 25% absorbed 50% reaches earth’s surface

14. Solar Radiation Visible light passes through atmosphere undiminished. Ultraviolet light is absorbed by ozone in the stratosphere. Infrared radiation is absorbed by carbon dioxide and water in the troposphere. Greenhouse Effect »Increasing atmospheric CO 2 due to human activities appears to be causing global warming.

15. El Nino Southern Oscillation Large pool of warm surface water in Pacific Ocean moves back and forth between Indonesia and South America. –Most years, the pool is held in western Pacific by steady equatorial trade winds. Every three-five years the Indonesian low collapses and the mass of warm surface water surges back east.

16. El Nino Southern Oscillation –During an El Nino year, the northern jet stream pulls moist air from the Pacific over the U.S. Intense storms and heavy rains. –During intervening La Nina years, hot, dry weather is often present.

17. Greenhouse Gases Carbon Dioxide - Fossil-fuel burning. Atmospheric levels increasing steadily. Methane - Ruminants, Coal-mines Absorbs more infrared than CO 2. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) - Refrigerants Declined in recent years Nitrous Oxide - Burning organic material Sulfur Hexafluoride - Electrical insulation

18. Controlling Greenhouse Emissions Switch to renewable energy sources. Capture and Store CO 2. –Trees and farmland –Inject into underground strata or deep ocean.

19. Conventional Pollutants US Clean Air Act designated seven major pollutants for which maximum ambient air levels are mandated. –Sulfur Dioxide –Carbon Monoxide –Particulates –Hydrocarbons –Nitrogen Oxides –Photochemical Oxidants –Lead

20. Indoor Air Pollution EPA found indoor concentrations of toxic air pollutants are often higher than outdoor. –People generally spend more time indoors. –Smoking is the most important air pollutant in the US. 430,000 die annually from a disease related to smoking. –Associated costs are estimated at $100 billion annually.

21. CLIMATE PROCESSES AND AIR POLLUTION Long-Range Transport –Fine aerosols can be carried great distances by the wind. Sensitive monitoring equipment increasingly reveals industrial contaminants in places usually considered the cleanest in the world. –Contaminants trapped by winds at the north pole, concentrate and eventually precipitate out, entering the food chain.

22. Stratospheric Ozone Discovered stratospheric ozone levels were dropping rapidly during September and October. –Occurring since at least 1960. At ground-level, ozone is a pollutant, but in the stratosphere it screens UV radiation. –A 1% decrease in ozone results in a 2% increase in UV rays reaching the earth.

23. EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION Human Health –EPA estimates each year 50,000 people die prematurely from illnesses related to air pollution. Likelihood of suffering ill health is related to intensity and duration of exposure. –Inhalation is the most common route, but absorption through the skin and consumption via food can also occur.

24. CLEAN AIR LEGISLATION Clean Air Act (1963) - First national air pollution control. Clean Air Act (1970) rewrote original Act. –Identified critical pollutants. –Established ambient air quality standards. Primary Standards - Human health Secondary Standards - Materials, environment, aesthetic and comfort.

25. Clean Air Act Revision (1990) - Included provision for: –Acid Rain –Urban Smog –Toxic Air Pollutants –Ozone Protection –Marketing Pollution Rights –Fugitive emissions of volatile organics –Ambient ozone, soot, and dust. –NO x emissions

26. Water: Resources and Pollution Chapter 10

27. Outline Hydrologic Cycle Water Compartments Water Availability Freshwater Shortages –Increasing Water Supplies Water Management and Conservation Water Pollution Water Quality Today Water Pollution Control Water Legislation

28. Water Use Withdrawal - Total amount of water taken from a source. Consumption - Fraction of withdrawn water made unavailable for other purposes (Not returned to its source). –Degradation - Change in water quality due to contamination making it is unsuitable for desired use.

29. Quantities of Water Used Water use has been increasing twice as fast as population growth over past century. –Worldwide, agriculture claims about 70% of total water withdrawal. In many developing countries, agricultural water use is extremely inefficient and highly consumptive. –Worldwide, industry accounts for about 25% of all water use. Cooling water for power plants is single largest industrial use.

30. FRESHWATER SHORTAGES Estimated 1.1 billion people lack access to an adequate supply of drinking water. –2.4 billion lack acceptable sanitation. A country where consumption exceeds more than 20% of available, renewable supply is considered vulnerable to water stress. –Globally, water supplies are abundant, but, along with capital resources, are unevenly distributed.

31. INCREASING WATER SUPPLIES Seeding Clouds –Condensation Nuclei Towing Icebergs –Cost Desalination –Most common methods are distillation and reverse osmosis. Three to four times more expensive than most other sources.

32. Dams, Reservoirs, and Canals –Displacement of People Three Gorges Dams in China will force relocation of over a million people. –Evaporation, Leakage, Siltation Evaporative losses from Lake Mead and Lake Powell on the Colorado River is about 1km 3 per year (264 billion gallons). Dams slow water flow, allowing silt (nutrients) to drop out. –Loss of Free-Flowing Rivers

33. Domestic Conservation Estimates suggest many societies could save as much as half of current domestic water usage without great sacrifice or serious change in lifestyle. –Largest domestic use is toilet flushing. Small volume of waste in large volume of water. Significant amounts of water can be reclaimed and recycled. –Purified sewage effluent

34. Environmental Geology and Earth Resources Chapter 11

35. Outline Tectonic Processes Minerals and Rocks Economic Geology and Mineralogy –Strategic Resources Environmental Effects of Resource Extraction –Mining Restoration Conserving Geologic Resources Geologic Hazards

36. Strategic Metals and Minerals Of the 80 industrial metals and minerals, between one-third and one-half are considered strategic resources. –A country uses, but cannot produce. Considered capable of crippling national economy or military strength if supplies were cut off. –Many less-developed nations depend on steady mineral exports for foreign exchange.

37. CONSERVING GEOLOGIC RESOURCES Recycling –Aluminum must be extracted from bauxite by electrolysis. Recycling waste aluminum consumes one-twentieth the energy of extraction from raw ore. –Nearly two-thirds of all aluminum beverage cans in US are recycled. –Other metals commonly recycled: Platinum, gold, copper, lead, iron, steel.

38. Solid and Hazardous Waste Chapter 13

39. Outline: Solid Waste Waste Disposal Methods Shrinking the Waste Stream –Recycling Hazardous and Toxic Wastes –Federal Legislation RCRA CERCLA –Management Options

40. WASTE According to EPA, US produces 11 billion tons of solid waste annually. –About half is agricultural waste. –More than one-third is mining related. –Industrial Waste - 400 million metric tons. Hazardous/Toxic - 60 million metric tons. –Municipal Waste - 200 million metric tons. Two kg per person / per day.

41. Waste Disposal Methods Exporting Waste –Although most industrialized nations have agreed to stop shipping hazardous and toxic waste to less- developed countries, the practice still continues. Garbage imperialism also operates in wealthier countries. Indian reservations increasingly being approached to store wastes on reservations.

42. Recycling Potential Problems –Market prices fluctuate wildly. –Contamination Most of 24 billion plastic soft drink bottles sold annually in the US are PET, which can be melted and remanufactured into many items. –But a single PVC bottle can ruin an entire truckload of PET if melted together.

43. HAZARDOUS AND TOXIC WASTES EPA estimates US industries generate 265 million metric tons of officially classified hazardous wastes annually. –At least 40 million metric tons of toxic and hazardous wastes are released into the environment each year.

44. Hazardous Waste Disposal Federal Legislation –Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) - 1976. Comprehensive program requiring rigorous testing and management of toxic and hazardous substances. –Cradle to grave accounting.

45. Superfund Sites EPA estimates 36,000 seriously contaminated sites in the US. –By 2000, 1,551 sites had been placed on the National Priority List for cleanup with with Superfund financing. Superfund is a revolving pool designed to: –Provide immediate response to emergency situations posing imminent hazards. –Clean-up abandoned or inactive sites.

46. Superfund Sites Total costs for hazardous waste cleanup in the US are estimated between $370 billion and $1.7 trillion. –For years, most of the funding has gone to legal fees, but this situation has improved over past several years. Studies of Superfund sites reveal minorities tend to be over-represented in these neighborhoods.

47. Sustainability and Human Development Chapter 14

48. Outline Sustainability and Resources –Classical Economics –Neo-Classical Economics –Ecological Economics Resource Accounting Trade and Development Urban Development Urban Problems in Developing Countries Smart Growth

49. SUSTAINABILITY AND RESOURCES Sustainability is a critical theme of environmental science. –Resources should be used in ways that do not diminish them. Sustainable Development –Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Must be available to all to be enduring. –Goal to decrease uneven distribution of resources.

50. Economics and Sustainable Development Sustainable growth is a contradiction – can’t keep growing indefinitely Sustainable use applies only to renewable resources – use them at rates within their capacity for renewal

51. Ecological Economics Developed in recent decades, and applies ecological ideas of system functions and recycling to the definition of resources. Acknowledges dependence on essential life- support services provided by nature. Regards some aspects of nature as irreplaceable and essential. Principle concern is fair and even distribution of resources and rights.

52. Good luck!