Air Pollution in US Cities

Title: "Report names U.S. cities with foulest, cleanest air"

Author: , Reuters 4/27/2011

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42786101/ns/business/

The American Lung Association recently released a report on the amount of air pollution present in US cities. Thankfully, the study discovered some good news; pollution in the 25 previously "smoggiest" cities has decreased. Honolulu, Hawaii and Santa Fe, New Mexico were found to be the cities with the cleanest air. The report wasn't without its bad news, however. Over 150 million Americans, half the population, are still forced to contend with unhealthy levels of airborne pollutants like ozone and soot. Among the most ozone-polluted cities were Los Angeles and Bakersfield, California while one of the most soot-polluted, Pittsburgh, is right here in Pennsylvania.

It's a good idea to look at statistics/studies every now and then because they can either be indicators of progress or even more problems. In this case, the ALA found mixed results, which is better than the "all bad" news that is so often used just to attract viewers. Anyway, I think it is promising that city governments are taking action about the gray hazes that form over their heads so frequently. This is one of those issues that demands a response, even if it's not strictly for the sake of the environment, because of the bad reputation that smog gives cities. In fact, I think that giving out ratings on the "dirtiest" and "cleanest" air is a great idea because of the motivation it provides to city goverments. As long as a city has a bad rating, politicians will, under pressure of losing votes, take action to make things right.

However, I did find it shocking that "half of the population" lives in areas with unsafe levels of air pollution. It is depressing to discover the many ways in which humanity is paying the price for its embrace of the "money now, thinking later" ideology. I just finished watching the video about Donora that Mrs. D posted on the website, and it has helped me realize that this is exactly the type of thinking that is responsible for the deaths of 20 citizens. People thought only about the money when they installed the zinc refinery in Donora while they failed to consider any impact on people or the environment. The only "smell of progress" in the air was the noxious cloud that blanketed the town and choked all its occupants. This same thing is happening all across the country, and while this reality does bother me, I can't help looking at the flip side. Now that disasters have happened and people are ready to pay attention, real work is being done to undo the mess created by the uninformed previous generation.

How does it make you feel that, according to the ALA, you have a coin toss' chance of living with unhealthy air pollution?

I happen to have really bad allergies, so I know what it feels like to breathe "bad air". Have you felt any physical effects of air pollution?

What would go though your head if you had to choose between public health and economic prosperity like the people of Donora and lawmakers of today?

China's Trash Problem

Title: "Islands of Garbage, Washed In By Rain, Threaten to Overrun China's Three Gorges Dam"

Author: Rebecca Boyle, Reuters 8/2/2010

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-08/islands-garbage-washed-rain-threaten-massive-chinese-dam

When China built their gigantic Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric facility, they probably weren't counting on it becoming a giant garbage trap. However, according to this article, that is exactly what is happening. The 37.5 billion dollar dam, which is located on the Yangtze River, is not only causing environmental problems but is also accumulating millions of cubic feet of trash. The garbage itself either runs off from the land during rains or is dumped directly into the river upstream. In some places it is so thick that it is possible to walk on the layer of floating waste. Although 3,000 tons of garbage are being removed from the dam every day, Chinese media states that it still has the potential to clog the dam's locks, stopping ships from being able to pass.

This article both put the world's waste management challenges in perspective for me and exposed some of China's issues as a country. I think that it is ironic that the Communist Chinese government built this enormous symbol of power only to have it be compromised by mountains of trash. I also think it's pretty sad that, according to the article, environmentalists had suspected that the dam's reservoir would fill with debris but apparently weren't given much attention. If China has such a huge trash problem, as we saw from the video in class, why is so much effort being poured into giant construction projects rather than solving the issue at hand? Anyway, I feel bad for the Chinese people who have to endure living amongst their own garbage. The video we watched in class really had an emotional impact on me, especially during the scene where a Chinese woman picked through an illegal dump for food. The Chinese government may be working hard to give China a shining face (the Bejing Olypics opening ceremony comes to mind), but beneath all of those theatrics is a nation that is far from perfect.

China, and the whole world for that matter, needs to get on top of the garbage problem. Unfortunately, until a serious disaster happens as a result of the trash (say, the dam does jam or we become buried under tons of waste) I am inclinded to think that attention will be focused elsewhere. Sooner or later, though, all of those high-tech landfills we learned about are going to fill up. I just hope that we will be able to come up with a more long term solution before that time so that we can avoid the turnmoil that a "forced" change would cause.

Do you have any ideas for long-term solutions to the trash problem?

What is your opinion about the actions of the Chinese government?

What is your reaction to the China segment in "The Secret Life of Garbage" along with the issue presented in this article?

Using earthworms to Process Hazardous Materials containing Heavy Metals

ScienceDaily (Dec. 6, 2010)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101206101241.htm

This article is about the new idea using earthworms to process hazardous material containing high concentrations of heavy metal for the bioremediation of landfills. The new method was created by researchers in South America. Researchers reliezed that worms have been encouraged to process garden waste and soil for generations. They took this idea and realized the Eisenia fetida could be a useful tool in the processing of solid wastes. Scientists performed tests using compost produced by worms as a successful absorbent substrate for remediation of waste. The test was successfull. Earthworms now can be a great bioremediation alternative to complex and costly industrial cleanup methods.



I believe this method is great. We all know that accumulation of solid wastes in landfills causes lots of contamination. Earthworms offer a inexpensive and effective alternate. We are creating more and more hazardous material everyday and soon we won't be able to get rid of it all without harming our environment. Earthworms can save our environment by processing the toxic waste. This article reminded me of when i would play with the worms in my garden when i was little. I never knew what their job as worms were. Earthworms now have a new job. After doing the activity in class on where our trash goes. Landfills are very crowded and these worms could help.


Do you think many countries will start using these worms?
Could these worms really make a big difference in the amount of waste in landfills?
Could our environment be saved by these worms?

Title: Denmark Boasts a 100% Renewable Community

By: Richars Cook

Publication and date: CleanTechies on Dec 29, 2010









This article is basically about Denmark and how they are on the verge of becoming 100% alternative eneergy country. According to the article, many big companies like Siemens and Vestas are booming there, providing alternative energy sources. The country uses many different types of energy like wind, solar and hydrogen. It is predicted that in a couple of decades, this country will be the first one to be 100% reliant on renewable energy. This project is called the Lolland Hydrogen Project. Not only are they setting up alternative energy plants around the country, they are also turning the excess energy from windpower into hydrogen to be used for other things. This organization is trying to set an example for the rest of Europe and try to get them to do the same.

I think that it is great that countries are now realizing that we do not have unlimited resources and our only way to survive is going to be through alternative energy. I think that if this keeps up, others will start to catch on and try to do the same thing and try to use more aternative energy methods. Along with that, I thought it was really clever how they were using their excess wind energy to make hydrogen. With all the things that is possible with hydrogen, this idea will soon catch on and maybe one day we will all be doing what Denmark is doing now.


Do you think other countries will catch on and start using this idea?

When do you think Denmark will be completely reliant on alternative energy? why?

If you had to persuade the president to follow Denmarks ideas and use more alternative energy, how would you do it?

Helios

Helios Prototype:

The forerunner of 21st century solar-powered "atmospheric satellites"

No author

12.01.09

NASA

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-068-DFRC.html

Helios is a gigantic (247 foot wing span), flying, flexible wing with fourteen propellers spread across the front of it. It has no pilot, but is remotely controlled. It is mostly made of composite materials as to avoid being too heavy. It can fly up to months at a time at altitudes of up to 100,000 feet.

The thing is, this is all solar powered, with the optional edition of a fuel cell for flying at night. A fuel cell takes hydrogen and oxygen and combines them to create electricity. However, unlike a traditional gasoline engine, the stuff that comes out of the exhaust pipe is H2O. The 62,120 solar cells on the top of the wing, plus some lithium ion batteries, and plus the fuel cell are what enables this strange aircraft to fly for so darn long and none of these contribute negatively to the environment. All of these energies also allow for an aircraft to travel at 170 miles per hour at extremely high altitudes for extremely long times. The picture below illustrates this.

I think that Helios is a great idea. It seems so cool that you can fly a plane without any gasoline. It really shows that alternative energies do not mean limitations. I hope that someday we will be able to people in these things and send them across the world with no negative effect on the environment or the climate. I can also see Helios being used for a lot of scientific research. They could use it as a satellite that you don't have to send all the way into space.

Do you think that planes like Helios could be used for commercial flight?

How do you think Helios will impact future transportation?

Do you think that these technologies will catch on and someday be in public use?

Brooklyn Bridge Park: Greenest Destination in New York City

Title: Brooklyn Bridge Park: Greenest Destination in New York City

Author: None Given

Publication and Date: Alternative Energy website, April 27th, 2011

Picture of the new site
they installed by the bridge

In Brooklyn, New York the Brooklyn Bridge Park is getting even greener! They recently added a new solar-powered recharging station for their electric vehicles. They added this to their already lush green parks, and made it an even more incredible spot for the residents and tourists who roam Brooklyn. A renewable energy company that is based in Brooklyn, Beautiful Earth Group (BE), gave this as a gift to the park system. BE is hoping other parks and recreation systems will follow suit and switch to enviornment friendly things like this. The charging system stores the energy into battery packs and then the battery packs get transferred to the trucks. The parks are saving $200,000 in gas prices and preventing apprx. 530 tons of carbon dioxide from being released into the air. You can learn all about the Brooklyn Bride Parks and how they're helping an environmental project, plaNYC, here.

In my opinion, this is a fantastic idea. This is one of the best i've actually heard in awhile. After reading about plaNYC, and the Brooklyn parks I can honestly see that New York is making an effort to help out the environment. I can relate this solar powered machine to the activities we're doing now in science, with the solar and wind stations. It helped me understand a little bit how this could actually be used in real life, and how it can help us make a change in our own communities. Imagine if in future years a lot of our cars were powered by these solar machines! The amount of money and carbon dioxide we would save is rediculous if you think about it!
Do you think that our society could move towards this change?
How effective do you think this would be for our community?
Would you be willing to make this change for the environment?

U.S. Meats Tainted With Bacteria

by Marianne English

Discovery News

Fri Apr 15, 2011

http://news.discovery.com/human/drug-resistant-bacteria-common-in-us-meats-110415.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1

The picture below is staphylococcus aureus also known as staph.

Staph bacteria contaminated nearly half of U.S. meat samples in a recent analysis, with 96 percent of bacteria showing resistance to at least one type of drug. The scientists took meat from five cities and 26 stores. Greater than three fourths of the turkey had staph, chicken and pork had about fourty percent and 37 percent of the beef had staph. the staph in the turkey was resistant to more than three antimicrobials. The scientists also found MRSA. Cooking meals at the right temperature can kill these bacteria. However, you can still get these bacteria from handling uncooked meat. Staph is not included in the list of bacteria that the U.S. inspects for. The authors believe that the overuse of antibiotics has resulted in this.

I think that it is absurd for bacteria like this to be allowed in meat. I can consider myself a carnivore, so this is kind of scary to think that the only thing protecting me from bacteria like staph is the cooking temperature. Farms should stop this overuse of antibiotics because it is leading to these super bacteria.

What is your opinion on this amount of infected meat?

Should this be against the law?

Should the meat industry have to test for staph?