Water
How does a place that does not naturally have nearby access to fresh water become habitable?
Water dispersion - water transported to these places using infrastructure.
Why do we experience seasons?
While it is summer in the US, what season would it be in Argentina?
Due to the Earth’s axial tilt, we experience seasons.
The southern hemisphere experiences seasons opposite to the northern hemisphere. So… while it is winter in the US, it is summer in Argentina.
What are VOC's? Where do they come from?
Air pollutants that have the highest potential to rise to dangerous levels in office buildings.
Paints, aerosol sprays, air fresheners. Cleaners and disinfectants. Building materials and furnishings. Copiers and printers, correction fluids, and carbonless copy paper. Glue, adhesives, permanent markers. Also building insulation often contains high levels of VOCs
What is ozone? What is the formula for the molecule?
Ozone is “smog” – Very unhealthy for us to breathe and have at ground level, but protective up in our atmosphere. Attacks our lungs through chemical reactions. Typically formed from nitrous oxides and VOC’s.
O3 - Trioxygen.
What is climate? Why is climate heavily influenced by latitude?
The long-term prevailing atmospheric conditions / weather in an area.
Most influenced by latitude because the amount of solar energy differs by distance from the equator. Latitude is a measurement of distance from the equator. More solar energy falls on the equator, and less on the poles (due to the position of the planet, and how the sun’s rays hit Earth).
What is the difference between surface water and groundwater? Where would you find surface water? How are the two connected?
Surface water - Found on Earth's surface.
Groundwater - Found beneath the surface of the Earth.
Surface water becomes groundwater as it moves and drains through the soil.
List 2 effects that the ocean has on climate.
Carbon is trapped by the ocean and buried at the ocean floor.
Ecosystems located near the ocean experience the most precipitation.
What are two prominent sources of air pollution from cars?
Nitrous oxide from exhaust.
VOC fumes that escape when filling the gas tank.
What is sick building syndrome? Where might one be at risk of this - describe the environment.
Happens when people spend time in buildings that have very poor air quality.
Most common in hot places where buildings are air conditioned and tightly sealed to keep out the heat.
Ventilation is the key to high indoor air quality.
What is a key difference between climate change trends now, and trends from the past? How do we know that humans are responsible for these changes? (There are many reasons why we can very obviously state human impact is a major factor, like the fact that we pump out billions of tons of CO2 per year and CO2 is proven to trap infrared light (heat), BUT STILL)
Our current climate change trends are drastically more rapid than any previous climate period in all of history, and by a long shot. Rather than taking tens of millions to see a ~10-15 degree shift in global temperatures, we are estimated to see a ~10 degree shift in about 250 years.
Using these stats / predictions from our notes / graphic that I shared with you, this means we are raising global temperatures about 240,000 times faster than our most recent "natural" global temperature change in the past.
What two types of filtering are done in the water treatment process?
Why would something like chlorine be added to water in the process of filtration?
Physical and chemical filtration.
Chemical treatment includes chlorine to kill and prevent bacterial growth / pathogens.
What is light pollution? Why is it problematic?
What are 3 ways we can reduce light pollution?
Brightening of the night sky caused by streetlights and other manmade sources, which has a disruptive effect on natural cycles and inhibits the observation of stars and planets.
How to decrease light pollution - Dimmers, Motion sensors, Timers, Directing lighting downwards, Switching to LEDs, Turning off unnecessary lighting
What is point source pollution? Provide two examples.
Pollution from a specific site.
Ex - Waste entering water from a sewer pipe. Smokestacks. Factories and Power Plants. Drainage ditches.
What part of the atmosphere is the ozone layer located in?
What were we releasing that was damaging the ozone layer? How have we started to repair the ozone layer?
Why is the ozone layer important (what does it do for you)?
Stratosphere
CFCs - Chlorofluorocarbons
Lies high up in the atmosphere and shields us from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays that come from the sun. Contains a high concentration of ozone in relation to the rest of the atmosphere.
What is the greenhouse effect? What is the difference between this and global warming?
The greenhouse effect is a process that occurs when energy from a planet's host star goes through its atmosphere and warms the planet's surface, but the atmosphere prevents the heat from returning directly to space, resulting in a warmer planet. The gases themselves physically trap the heat that is radiated out from Earth.
Global warming is possessing too many of these greenhouse gases leading to too much heat.
What are three benefits of building dams?
What are three consequences of building dams?
Benefits - Flood control. Drinking water with reservoirs. Generating power.
Consequences - Displacement of people and organisms - ruins natural carbon sinks. Slows / heats up the water and leads to increase in pathogens / bacteria and increase in release of greenhouse gases. Alter / destroy habitats.
What percentage of water globally is used for the production of animal products and meat? What is the main reason that this number is as high as it is, where is the water going?
~27%
Most of this water goes towards producing the crops that feed the animals.
Why is groundwater pollution hard to clean? Give 3 reasons.
Hard to reach deep groundwater.
Time consuming.
Pollutants can stick to materials in the aquifer.
What (or who) is the largest producer of primary air pollutants in the US? Why does this result in so much pollution - what are they doing? How could this pollution be reduced?
The largest producer of primary air pollutants in the US is the energy industry – generating electricity.
Burning fossil fuels to generate energy.
Using green methods of generating electricity, such as solar, hydropower, geothermal, wind, nuclear, etc.
What are the four greenhouse gases we have mentioned in this class? What is one example of how each greenhouse gas would be released into the atmosphere?
Water Vapor - Water evaporating.
Carbon Dioxide - Burning fossil fuels.
Methane - Cow burps / farts, melting permafrost.
CFCs - Aerosol cans.
What percentage of water globally is used for agriculture?
What else is used in agriculture that affects local water sources?
What is eutrophication? What causes it? Why is it problematic?
~70%
Fertilizers - Adding nitrogen and phosphorus.
Increase in the amount of nutrients in the water (such as phosphorus and nitrogen) leading to algal blooms that can cut off oxygen and suffocate other aquatic organisms. Caused by fertilizers and detergents.
How is acid rain created? What is acid rain?
Gas from the burning of fossil fuels reacts with water to create acid rain.
A pH of 5 or less indicates that a rain sample is acid rain.
What is a primary air pollutant? A secondary? Name 1 example of each.
Primary - Pollutant put directly into the air by humans. Ex - Soot from smoke, VOCs, particulate matter.
Secondary - Form when primary pollutants react with other primary pollutants or with naturally occurring substances like water vapor. Ex - Ground level ozone, nitric acid.
What is a thermal inversion?
Why is it a problem? What does it cause?
Thermal inversions – A layer in the atmosphere in which air temperature increases with height. An inversion is present in the lower part of a cap.
Results in a greater buildup of smog.
What are six major consequences that our planet faces as a result of a rising global temperature?
Melting ice caps and glaciers.
Rising sea levels.
Spread of disease and release of preexisting diseases.
More frequent and severe storms, droughts, heatwaves.
Warming oceans, more acidic oceans.
Loss of biodiversity.