Monthly Archives: September 2018

Thinking about Carbon Dioxide

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Carbon dioxide, among other green house gases are naturally occurring. The green house effect/trapping of heat in Earth’s atmosphere is also naturally occurring. Warmed by the sun, our planet’s land and ocean surfaces constantly produce infrared radiation (heat). However, since the Industrial Revolution, there has been a lot of talk surrounding the use of carbon dioxide hurting our environment. The human population has been heavily reliant on the use of fossil fuels which exacerbates this issue of climate change. According to the video, “Climate 101,” we now rely on carbon-based fossil fuels to produce 85% of our energy, and humans produce up to 35 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually. Only 55% of this CO2 is absorbed by the ocean, land, and vegetation, while the rest is trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere causing an exponential increase in Earth’s temperatures. The biggest culprits to these numbers are fossil fuels, power plant and factories, and transportation. According to cilmate.gov, “Without this natural greenhouse effect, Earth’s average annual temperature would be below freezing instead of close to 60 degrees F.” Despite this seemingly positive process, the way society functions today is hugely detrimental to the condition of our planet. Not only will temperatures continue to increase, but an increase in CO2 in the atmosphere also means an excess of evaporation, leading to an excess of precipitation, which will have the potential to produce catastrophic storms.

Climate Central also raises an inconvenient truth about the climate reality the human population now faces. “The world has blown past the 400 million parts per million carbon dioxide milestone, and is unlikely to return below that threshold again in our lifetimes.” Now naturally growing plants in the northern hemisphere will decrease these parts per million slightly, but until humans no longer need to rely on carbon-based fuels, we will bring a “one-step forward” too many steps back.

Finding a solution for high CO2 levels

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A current environmental issue that is facing us today is how to control the rising levels of CO2 in the environment. CO2 levels have been increasing at a record rate, with the levels raising to 400.83ppm in 2015. This was an increase of 3.03ppm from the previous year, making it the first year that CO2 raised by more than 3ppm. Now, as of yesterday, the current CO2 levels are 405.19ppm. There is clearly a need to be concerned about the future of CO2 levels and a need to determine ways to slow their rising levels and begin to decrease the levels over time.

One idea that has been considered by scientists comes from the knowledge that trees consume CO2 in order to grow and, in turn, remove some CO2 from the environment. Additionally, they emit much-needed oxygen into the environment. In order to test the theory that trees may suck up CO2 and make strides in cleaning the atmosphere, scientists created a model environment that aimed to replicate the high CO2 levels that are inevitable in our future. They sprayed 2 tons of pure carbon dioxide into the canopies of trees in a 500 square meter plot every day for 6 months. This created an atmosphere with about 530 ppm of CO2, which is about 150% of what exists today.

Unfortunately, their experiment did not yield the results they had hoped for. The CO2 did not enhance the growth of the trees and leaves, rather the CO2 quickly passed through the bodies of the trees and quickly returned to the atmosphere. There was no decline in CO2 in the atmosphere and the extra CO2 did nothing to help with the photosynthesis of the trees or their oxygen emissions. Unfortunately, this demonstrates a need for more research to be done as to how to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere.

Article Link:

https://www.nature.com/news/2005/050822/full/news050822-7.html

Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Increases

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In reading an article from the Scientific American, I have learned that for the past five years, Carbon Dioxide levels in the atmosphere have increased at a rate of at least 2 parts per million, which is an “all time high” according to author Scott Waldman. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been keeping a close watch on increasing Carbon Dioxide atmospheric levels due to the intense environmental threat increases in CO2 levels pose. Pieter Tans is a lead scientist at the NOAA’s Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network, and he is especially concerned at the rate of the increases of CO2 in our atmosphere, “The rate of CO2 growth over the last decade is 100 to 200 times faster than what the Earth experienced during the transition from the last ice age,” Tans said. “This is a real shock to the atmosphere” (Waldman 2017). Why the concern? High levels of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere can cause sea levels to rise, increase the existence of droughts, extreme weather including hurricanes, blizzards, and more. Outside of this article, I see my own concerns for rising CO2 levels in our atmosphere. A direct impact on all living things on this planet by the extreme weather is our ability to grow food. As the environment changes and becomes more hostile, it is also much more difficult for agricultural endeavors to thrive. This will end up causing food shortages and disastrous effects on all living creatures as well as the economy. Action must be taken to reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions and Carbon Dioxide levels in the atmosphere so that life can continue to thrive on Earth.

Link to article here.

 

Measuring Carbon Dioxide

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The amount of carbon dioxide in earth’s atmosphere is significantly increasing due to human activity and a lack of environmental friendly practices used by the public. According to NASA, one third of the carbon dioxide released into the air is dissolved into the ocean, which can threaten the livelihood of the marine ecosystem. Half of the carbon dioxide remains in the air. It is unknown where the remaining carbon dioxide goes, so to track the amount of carbon dioxide and its location, NASA has developed an earth orbiting satellite called OCO-2.

This new satellite will track and measure the carbon cycle and provide information as to where the remaining carbon dioxide will end up. During the ice ages, carbon dioxide levels were around 200 parts per million (ppm), or .2 g/L, and increased to 400 ppm, or .4 g/L, in 2013. It is important to know this information and be able to measure the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere so we can better prepare for changes in the environment. For example, an increased amount of carbon dioxide may cause extreme natural disasters and negatively impact food sources and animals. NASA’s new satellite will help to not only measure the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but it will also keep scientists informed about what to expect in the future regarding where the carbon dioxide will be absorbed and how this may impact the planet over time.

Progress & Natural Resources

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Today we live in large industrial world that depends heavily on the extraction of natural resources and its mass consumption. Through technological development, nations can thrive in the economic field when exporting natural resources but there are negative factors that hurt the atmosphere. In the U.S. 60% of americas live in high polluted areas, with rising high levels of natural resource consumptions. The levels of pollution in the world is rising and the U.S. is in the middle of the development.

In the reading by the Union of Concerned  Scientists, concluded that every 10,000 U.S. homes powered with with natural gas instead of coal avoids the annual emissions of 1,900 tons of NOx, 3,900 tons of SO2, and 5,200 tons of particulates. There are renewable energy that is present and can be used by governments and private industries, but the business aspects of natural resources creates a challenge switching energy consumptions methods.

The removal of natural resources from the environment often creates bad living conditions for locals to to make a living. Many countries in Latin America are suffering from the exploitation from corporations that remove the natural resources without concern for the negative effects. Latin America is responsible for 974.6 million metric tons of CO2 emissions from fuel combustion, with high rates in the manufacturing, and transporting sectors. They are responsible for a large factor of the rise in pollution because of the exploitation of the natural resources.

Countries like Brazil that are abundant in nature resources tends to have high rates of air pollution due to its industrialization. The cost of air pollution to the health sector is estimated to be more than $670 million and causes more than 4,000 premature deaths each year. The negative effects of pollution are continually increasing but the solution is alternative energies, which are slowly being implemented into society.

Carbon Dioxide from Deforestation

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An article from the Union of Concerned Scientists explains how we measure the amount of CO2 from deforestation in our atmosphere. The study concludes that deforestation contributes to around 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere per year; that is, about 10% of all CO2 emissions.

Simplifying these numbers and their units to a more easily understandable human term is extremely helpful in cases such as this. Explaining that 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide is different from 3 billion tons of bricks is essential in this understanding. So just how big (or small) is 3 billion tons of CO2, and how would we find out?

We can start by using the unit factor method to compute this number into human terms. For instance, we could express 3 billion tons of CO2 as the equivalent of 13 million railroad cars, stretching around 125,000 miles or half way to the moon. By using a familiar term such as the size of a piece of land or animal, we get to see a big number from a different perspective. That being said, the total amount of CO2 from deforestation is equivalent to the total emissions from all of Western Europe combined.

Finally, the article takes into consideration the approximation and estimations that we read about in the textbook this week. The author described two approaches that one might take to compute these numbers. In one approach they explain using the most certain and comparable numbers, focusing on specific dates and measuring only one thing (CO2). The next approach brings in other aspects with complete and up-to-date information, calculating all possible variables creating a more substantial result.

There are many different ways and units to measure numbers with. In this specific case, all calculations came out to around the same conclusion: 10% of all CO2 emissions are from deforestation itself, or the equivalent of 600 million cars (twice as many than there are in the entire US).

 

Transportation’s Detrimental Impact On Our Earth

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In today’s modern era, we are so fortunate to have the luxury of different forms of transportation, specifically automobiles. Cars make every day travel so efficient and easy that we rarely have to think about getting from place to place regardless of whether or not we own a car considering ubers, taxis, and buses. Even though vehicles enable an easier life, their immense carbon dioxide emissions strain the earth and continues to contribute to global warming.

According to the the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s article titled Greenhouse Gas Emissions, for every 1 mile that an average passenger vehicle drives, 404 grams of carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere which is .1 short of a pound. 1 gallon of gasoline contains 8,887 grams of CO2 which is roughly 19 pounds and a gallon of diesel contains 10,180 grams or 22 pounds carbon dioxide. Just as we discussed in class, a number can have much more meaning depending on its relevance to another number. A typical passenger car holds 16 gallons of gas which multiplied by the amount of carbon dioxide in 1 gallon is for one car alone 142,192 grams. Similarly, the amount of CO2 that a car emits after driving one mile is not significant alone until the entire distance that one drives is considered. For example, it is 142 miles from my home to Union College one way driving which multiplied by the amount of carbon dioxide that a car emits per mile equals 57, 368 grams or 126 pounds. Four of my school friends are from the same area that I am from, though only one of them carpools leaving three cars plus my own to drive the same distance up to Union one way for a grand total of 229,472 grams of carbon dioxide or 207 pounds.

While transportation is incredibly useful, it should not be abused considering that more often than not the same people aspire to travel to the same place. Carpooling is a sustainable option to preserve our earth and prevent more CO2 emissions from destroying our future generations life and health. While it may seem inconvenient to walk to the store a mile down the street, the amount of countless times that one chooses to drive back and fourth from home to the market will only further negatively and needlessly impact our earth  from CO2 emission.

https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle

Carbon Dioxide and its’ Effect on Agriculture

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Although living organisms emit carbon dioxide (CO2), in this context it is considered as a pollutant. For this specific context, CO2 is defined also as the modes of transportation, the use of power plants, factories and so on. And as industries are expanding, more of the gaseous CO2 is being released resulting in an increased overall atmospheric temperature in addition to affecting the growth of agriculture.

Furthermore, plants need CO2 to survive. One way in which this process is completed is by taking advantage of photosynthesis. In a study completed by researcher, Elliot Campbell, data found that over the past decade, humans have contributed to the identified increase in photosynthesis. This increase of photosynthesis has been at a rate of 30%.  At first, the results overall suggested that with increased amounts of carbon dioxide present, there will be an increase in crop abundance, which therefore benefits the farmers.

But, the results are not as simple as they may sound. Increased amounts of photosynthesis does not translate to a direct increase in produce. Other influential factors of agricultural growth are due to the advancements of seed variants, irrigation systems and fertilizers. Surprisingly, research has found that more CO2 can make plants less nutritious. With an increased presence of CO2 it has been found that plants contain lower concentrations of  important nutrients such as potassium, nitrogen and copper. Higher rates of carbon dioxide also result in a faster rate in which microbes take up nutrients. This acceleration in microbe action prevents the plants from taking up valuable nutrients through their roots. The lack of nutrients further can make humans more vulnerable for diseases including pneumonia and malaria. Furthermore, increased carbon dioxide levels have also influence the concentrations of iron. Iron is a crucial in helping pump oxygen throughout the body.  This research suggests that the “rate of iron deficiency” will increase from 21% to 27% in the next 10 years. 

            There needs to be an increase in awareness and communication about how to decrease an individuals’ carbon footprint. Our own use of fossil fuels decreases the nutrient value in our produce and weakens our immune system.

Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide’s Effect on Marine Life

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Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide rates are now higher than at any point in the last 800,000 years. According to a study conducted by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, CO2 concentration in Earth’s atmosphere has not been this high since Earth’s average temperature ranged from 2-3 degrees Celsius, which is equivalent to 3.6-5.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Because Carbon Dioxide is a gas that absorbs heat, it also releases this heat gradually over time. As more fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, are burned annually for energy, the CO2 is being released at a higher rate, thus heating up the earth more quickly, and contributing to climate change. The NOAA predicts that this increase in atmospheric CO2 is likely responsible for two-thirds of the total energy imbalance that is causing Earth’s temperature to rise.

Throughout the NOAA’s report, they explained how Carbon Dioxide plays an interesting role in Earth’s system because it dissolves into the ocean. When CO2 reacts with these molecules of water, it produces Carbonic Acid, which lowers the ocean’s pH. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the ocean’s pH has shifted from 8.21 to 8.10. This ocean acidification drop of approximately 0.1 is extremely vital in the survival of marine life. This very small change in pH creates a 30 percent increase of acidity to the ocean.

Ocean acidification goes into the idea of measurements we had previously discussed in class. Looking from an outside perspective, without knowing the consequences, we would assume that a 0.1 acidity increase is virtually nothing. However, it’s effect is more detrimental than we think.  The 30 percent acidity increase makes it more difficult for marine life to extract calcium from the water to build their shells and skeletons. Therefore, through our study of scales and measurements, the context of each situation is extremely important when analyzing sustainability issues.

 

 

Source: Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

Sustainability’s influence in my life

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Until recently, I never really thought about the concept of sustainability. While some people have careers that revolve around ecological matters, others are busy students or stressed adults/parents working a 9-5 hour office job and probably rarely think about sustainability. It wasn’t until I recently tossed my plastic bottle into the regular trash can that my mother commented “well, it is your generation’s future.” That comment impacted me and resonated with me because while it is easy to quickly flash forward to what ones ideal future looks like, that picture perfect life probably doesn’t include the logistics and effort it takes to get there. How can either of us even fathom a future living in a world with our children and our children’s children if considerable collective effort isn’t met to upkeep a sustainable earth? Everything that my generation chooses to do now in terms of strengthening or weakening the economic and ecological aspects of life will impact how we all live life later on. After that comment that my mom made, I really make an effort now to complete those small but meaningful tasks that my parents have always nagged me about like turning off the lights when I’m not in the room, unplugging the outlets when I don’t need to use them, recycle the recyclables and filling up my reusable bottles. It is our world and we decide if its future is going to flourish or decline into inevitable destruction.