A City Prepares for a Warm Long-Term Forecast

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/science/earth/23adaptation.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss






     Climate Scientists have told citizens of Chicago that the climate change in  their area will make their air wet and steamy. The public was told to prepare themselves for this new weather. Drastic measures are being taken, like new air conditioners in schools. As Aaron N. Durnbaugh, deputy commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Environment, says, “Cities adapt or they go away,”. Not only are temperatures changing, but extreme weather events, like tornadoes, hurricanes, and blizzards, are on the rise. Scientists claim that if Chicago continues to burn carbons into the atmosphere then they would have summers like the deep south, with temperatures well over 90 degrees, before the end of the century. By 2070 Chicago can expect 35 percent more rainfall in winter and spring, but 20 less in the summer and fall, two major swings. The city also may run into problems with heat related death. Chicago needs to change drasctically if it wants to survive in global climate change.

     In class we are learning about the atmosphere, and the sector of the atmosphere clostest to earth is the troposphere. Most of the weather happens in the troposphere, so what is happening in global climate change relates directly to the atmosphere. I find it disturbing that Chicago, a city so far north, could turn into a warm, humid place. The global climate change must be very extreme if it has the capability to do this. What were are doing to the atmosphere is very dangerous and needs to stop immediately. I like the fact that Chicago is adapting to the new climate, but I'm afriad they may be too late. It's a shame Chicago didn't realize their faults sooner, and now must rely on changing their way of life to fix things.

Questions:
1. How many tax payer dollars are being spent on this adaptation?
2. How much air pollution does Chicago make?
3. Is there any way to reverse Ozone damage?
4. Are other cities in the same predicimate?
5. Why are people just realizing this now?

Stench from waste facility overwhelms Calif. town

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_stinky_town

Summary:

A town in California called Mecca, a poor, working class town, recently had an air quality issue. The town had a "rotten egg" type smell. The smell was so strong and disgusting, that it made people drop to their knees when they smelled it. When authorities investigated, they traced back the smell to a tribal soil recycling facility. The facility is known as Western Enviormental Incorporation and is located on an Indian reservation. The company treats dirt laced petroleum, heavy metals and other chemicals that are considered hazardous materials in California. They then ordered the recycling company to stop opperating, and searched to make sure no hazardous materials were being released. Though, the comunity fears once the media stops paying attention, the company will go back to realeasing the horrible smell.

Reaction:

I think this plant should be shut down. There is no excuse for a company to still be in buisness to hurt the community. The materials that they are releasing are also illegal. The authorities did the right thing by shutting down the plant to investigate. If the company goes back to realeasing the horrible smell again, the owner should be arrested for violating state laws. I can relate this to the Denora incident. Peoplee are getting sick from the air that contains pollutants from a factory.

Questions:

How is this different then Denora?

What can the government do to help the people?

If the company goes back to polluting the air, what shall be done?

What can the community do?

Is there anything we can do from Pennsylvania to help?

"Sustainable Decadence": A Wind-Powered Hot Tub Built From Scrap

Link:http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/05/sustainable-decadence-wind-powered-hot-tub.php?campaign=th_rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_cgn=Feed%3A+treehuggersite+%28Treehugger%29

Summary: Ross Stevens showed that he can do many things with junk when he completed what he called a "Sustainable Decadence" which is a wind-powered spa and hot-tub made of pure trash. Stevens believes that many of the joys in life can and should be connected to sustainable energy sources. His overall approach began by trying to locate objects that have already served their purpose in life. The hardest part for him was how to connect these different pieces into an overall structure. He used parts such as a walk-in fridge, many beer bottles for the turbine blades, and a reused tractor gearbox. In the end, Ross Stevens proves that there are ways to enjoy life while being environmentally friendly.

Reflection:

I think this is an amazing accomplishment for Ross Stevens. Not only did he make a wind power hot tub, but he made it using only trash. He saved fossil fuels and landfill space, and he did it in a way that he can enjoy it and have a true feeling of accomplishment. The only thing that confuses me is why he decided to use wind power to heat his hot tub, than some other source that directly creates heat, such as geothermal or solar. I though this idea was also very creative because most people try to find one contraption to prevent the use of fossil fuels, but he found a way and successfully built it single-handedly, using only trash. Hopefully, more people will be inspired by this and invent new ways to help the environment in multiple ways.

This reminds me of an article on geothermal hot tubs and how easily they can be made at home. They both use alternative energy to enjoy a hot tub, which can help the environment as well as help the stress on bones.

Questions:

1. What may be some possible disadvantages of his creation?

2. What are some other possible creations that can be made that help the environment in multiple ways?

3. In what ways can we use trash to replace the items we use daily?

4. How is wind power used to heat a hot tub?

5. How long will it be until we are completely independent of fossil fuels?

Plastic Eating Bacteria

Summary: In May of 2008 Daniel Burd age 16 won a science fair with his amazing discovery, of a new way to dispose of plasitc. As of now plastic is the most harmful thing to our enviroment. Accoridng to The Clean Air Council all of Americans use up to 1 billion plastic shopping bags per year. Which is equal to 300,000 tons of waste in landfills, when cheekced only about 1,000 plastic bags were recycled. However Daniel Burd's discovery will have major effects on our conseption and desposing on plastic. Burd knew that plastic decomposes it just takes about 1,000 years but he saught a way to make that faster. With this idea in hand he went to work. Burd used fine ground powedered plastic and put this into yeast. This produces microbial growth, then he sealed off the product with the most produtive organisms. In just six weeks he disovered that 43% of the plsatic had been decompsed.

Reflection: This I find to be amazing. How is it that a 16 year old kid figured this out, when we've been dying for a way to keep our plastic around forever. Yet I fear that people might see this as the answer. This could mean the stop to trying to be more eco friendly which I hope doesn't happen. I feel that this process should maybe be used to get ride of the platics in landfills now. Then the things that we can find no other alternative use, I stilll really believe that we should try hard to be eco friendly and cut down plastic conseption.

Questions:

1) How has this effected the community with plastic consuption?

2) Is this being used on a larger scale?

3) Is this being used at all?

4) Are there other wasy to speed up decompation of plastic?

5) Is this way enviromentally friendly?

Solar Fest celebrates renewable energy

By Tracy Idell Hamilton

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Summary: For the eleventh year in a row Maverick Park in San Antonio is having Solar Fest. It is a festival which includes live music, fun run, kids activities and more importantly countless solar exhibits. This festival is 100 percent ran off of renewable energy and promotes San Antonio’s Bring Solar Home campaign. This campaign links local residents with installers who lend low-interest solar loans. This campaign translated into 3 million dollars in economic activity. This has campaign has proven to work better than offering rebates to the community, only five homes signed up when they offered rebates but 70 signed up with the campaign. This festival also helps promote the building of green homes, hybrid and electrical vehicles and tree planting.

Response: This event seems like it is a really good one for the community and the future of renewable energy. I can’t believe that this is the eleventh you San Antonio is doing this. It is really helping promote solar energy in homes, which is good because that region of the country is a great candidate for solar energy considering the amount of sun they have. More cities around the country should start their own Solar Fest so we can expand the use of solar energy and even green housing and other things they are promoting. A lot of people are starting to use solar energy which is a promising source of energy. Three neighbors of mine already have about 30 panels each on the top of their roofs and more are enquiring about it. It is really great for the future of our country.

Questions:

1. How did this event start?
2. What is San Antonio, Texas a good place for this event?
3. Why is solar energy a good renewable resource?
4. Are they expanding this event to other cities around the country?
5. How come this event is mostly solar energy?

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/energy/article/Solar-Fest-on-Saturday-highlights-growth-of-1367921.php#ixzz1LgB1egIj

Solar & Engergy Efficiency are "Cute" But Not the Answer, Bill Gates Says. Nuclear Power Is.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/05/solar-energy-efficiency-cute-not-answer-bill-gates-nuclear.php?campaign=th_rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+treehuggersite+%28Treehugger%29




Summary: Bill Gates, along with many others, believe that we can "invent our way out of climate change." Huge loads of cash are spent (or some would say wasted) on trying to find one energy source that can cut our dependance on fossil fuels, have no harmful emmisions, and no dangerous byprouducts. Gates is optimistic that an energy source like this is possibly . In a journal report Gates called solar energy "cute", and saying it was rather ineffective. He thinks money would be better spent looking into nuclear power.  The article goes on to explain some advances madew in the nuclear energy department, some of which were funded in part be Gates.

Reflection:   I agree with Bill Gates on some of his arguement and disagree on other parts. I do think we should invest more in renewable energies. Fossil Fuels will run out and deteriorate the environment, and we definitely think they should be replaced. Until we do invent our way out of the climate change other alternative energies must be used. I disagree, however, with the use of nuclear power. I understand safety improvements are being made, but I still don't trust it. In class I had the role of "environmentalist" for nuclear power, so I know all the risks involved in this energy source. Until there is a completely safe way to dispose of nuclear waste we will have to rely on alternate sources.

Questions:
1. How much more powerful is nuclear energy than solar energy?
2. What scientists are looking into this "Ultimate" energy source?
3. Does Bill Gates get his electricity from nuclear power?
4. Who else is with Bill Gates?
5. What is the safest, most powerful alternative energy right now?

Solar Panels Rise Pole by Pole, Followed by Gasps of ‘Eyesore’

By: MIREYA NAVARRO

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/science/earth/28solar.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Summary:

In Oradell, New Jersey, PSE&G installed over 200,000 solar panels on the top of telephone poles just like in the picture above. It cost over $515 million. Oradell chose to install the panels because the state mandated that by 2021, 23 percent of New Jersey's electricity had to come from renewable resources. The only problem was, PSE&G never gave the citizens a choice or even told them they were installing the panels. This made a lot of residents extremely upset. Many residents felt that the panels were ugly and were devaluing their house.

Reflection:

I agree with what PSE&G was trying to do, but not how they went about it. It is a good idea to use renewable energy and solor energy is a good way to achieve this goal. It is cleaner for the environment and the solar panels do not take up very much space. I disagree with PSE&G because they should have informed the citizens before they installed the solar panels. I can relate to this because when I was in a soccer tournament in New Jersey, I saw the panels and I thought they looked wierd. At first I was not even sure what they were. Now I know that they are solar panels and towns are using them to comply with the renewable energy mandate. they are. I would have never expected full towns to be run on only solar power.

Questions:

1. Where did all the money come from to install the solar panels?

2. Why don't more states follow New Jerseys lead?

3. How long will it take for PSE&G to pay this off?

4. How much energy do the solar panels produce?