Transcript Green Generation

Green Generation:
A 2014Trial Event
Science Olympiad B and C Divisions
Description
• Students will answer questions involving
the history and consequences of human
impact on our environment, solutions to
reversing trends and sustainability
concepts.
• Teams of up to 2
• No impound
• Approximate 50 min.
Event Parameters
• Each team may bring:
– One 8.5” x 11” two-sided page of notes
containing information in any form from any
source.
– Any kind of non-graphing calculator
– That’s all folks!
Part 1 : ~30%
• Identify problems associated with
human impacts that harm the quality of
our environment related to:
• General principles of Ecology
– Energy source and cycling of nutrients
– Habitat, niche, food chains/webs(10% rule)
• Effects disruption and fragmentation
– Bioaccumulation/biomagnification
Part 1 : continued
• World Oceans and Estuaries
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General characteristics and locations
Role in biosphere
Eutrophication causes and effects
Coastal habitats and impacts at all latitudes
• Estuaries are mid-latitude
• Mangroves and coral reefs are tropical latitudes
• For H.S.
– Estuary characteristics and types (HS)[salt
wedge, well-mixed, partially mixed and Fjord]
Part 1 : continued
• Greenhouse gases and Climate changes
– Know principles of the greenhouse effect
– Greenhouse gases
• Water vapor, Carbon dioxide, CFC’s, methane, etc.
– Nitrogen and sulfur oxides contribution to
acid deposition
– Factors affecting climate – temp. and precip.
– Impacts of climate change
• Sea level, habitat range change, cycles of severe
weather, etc.
Part 1 : continued
• Endangered wildlife and habitats
– Anthropological impacts of agriculture,
forestry, mining, etc.
– Impacts of agriculture – fertilizer, pesticides,
water (usage and contamination of surface and
ground water), habitat, genetic diversity, etc.
– Feedlots and impact – high fecal coliform or ecoli runoff
– Characteristics of introduced/invasive species
that become pests
Part 1 : continued
• Consequences of oil spills
– Ways oil gets into the environment
– Types of treatment
– Factors affecting the type of treatment
used to cleanup
Part 1 : continued
• Consequences of air pollution
– Types and causes
– Impacts on environment and people
– Global mechanisms for movement of energy, air,
particulates and pollutants
– Primary and secondary air pollutants (acid
deposition and effects; acid shock)- methods to
prevent or removal of primary air pollutants
• Ozone formation in troposphere and
stratosphere and effects
• Stratospheric ozone loss and effects on people
and the environment
– Photochemical reactions (ozone and smog) HS?
Part 1 : continued
• Other man created threats to the
environment
– Fertilizers, pesticides, feedlots
• Impact on ground and surface water
– Mining
– Groundwater withdrawal
– Fecal coliform bacteria and water
contamination - causes and treatment
Part 2: ~ 50%
Proposed solutions to reversing/reducing human
impacts that harm our environment e.g. oil
spills, eutrophication, PCP’s, etc.
• Bioremediation
– Biodegradability requirements and organisms
involved
• Micro-organisms
• Bacteria
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) –
Environmental impact statement
• And other laws enacted to protect the
environment.
Part 2: continued
• Alternate, Renewable energy
– What are they?
• Solar/wind/tidal(perpetual), geothermal could
be perpetual if managed, biomass and its
variations could be renewable if managed
properly
– What are the concepts behind them?
– What are the benefits/setbacks?
Part 2: continued
• Non-renewable sources of energy
– What are they?
• All fossil fuels and nuclear(can be an alternative
to fossil fuel usage)
– What are the concepts behind them?
– What are the benefits/setbacks?
Part 2: continued
• Recycling
– Types (closed loop; open loop)
– How does it work
– What are the impacts
– What are the advantages/disadvantages
• Solid waste management – 4 R’s,
landfills, incineration, integrated waste
management (pros/cons for all)
Part 2: continued
• Composting
– How does it work
• Role of additives
– What are the impacts
– What are the advantages/disadvantages
Compost Additives
• A compost additive can be defined as something
you may add to your compost to start the
composting process or try to accelerate it. We
can classify them in 3 groups:
• Inoculants.
– They contain cultures of dormant bacteria and
fungi. They introduce microorganisms, which
should accelerate decomposition.
Compost Additives cont.
• Compost starters.
– They add nitrogen, enzymes and bacteria to
the compost, which should help start the
composting process at the beginning of the
cycle.
• Activators.
- They contain a source of nitrogen and can
be either organic or synthetic (such as
nitrogen fertilizers). They can help in some
cases if the compost contains materials
which are low in nitrogen.
Part 2: continued
H.S. only – the 12 EPA principles of green chemistry
• Prevention: It’s better • Less Hazardous Chemical
Syntheses: Design
to prevent waste than
synthetic methods to use
to treat or clean up
and generate substances
waste after it has been
that minimize toxicity to
created.
human health and the
environment.
• Atom Economy: Design
synthetic methods to
• Designing Safer Chemicals:
maximize the
Design chemical products to
incorporation of all
affect their desired
materials used in the
function while minimizing
process into the final
their toxicity.
product.
Part 2: continued
H.S. only – the 12 EPA principles of green chemistry
• Safer Solvents and
• Use Renewable Feedstock:
Auxiliaries: Minimize the
Use renewable raw material
use of auxiliary substances
or feedstock whenever
wherever possible make
technically and
them innocuous when used.
economically practicable.
• Design for Energy
• Reduce Derivatives:
Efficiency: Minimize the
Minimize or avoid
energy requirements of
unnecessary derivatization
chemical processes and, if
if possible, which requires
possible, conduct synthetic
additional reagents and
methods at ambient
generate waste.
temperature and pressure.
Part 2: continued
H.S. only – the 12 EPA principles of green chemistry
• Real-time Analysis for Pollution
• Catalysis:
Prevention: Develop analytical
Catalytic reagents
methodologies needed to allow
are superior to
for real-time, in-process
stoichiometric
monitoring and control prior to
reagents.
the formation of hazardous
substances.
• Design for
Degradation:
• Inherently Safer Chemistry for
Design chemical
Accident Prevention: Choose
products so they
substances and the form of a
break down into
substance used in a chemical
innocuous products
process to minimize the potential
that do not persist
for chemical accidents, including
in the environment.
releases, explosions, and fires
Part 3: ~ 20%
• Applying concepts utilizing lab skills
– Analyzing and interpreting given data from
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Tree rings – to determine environmental impacts
Tables
Graphs
Charts
Determining %change, calculating kilowatt
hours, etc.
By counting the
rings of a tree, we
can pretty
accurately
determine the age
and health of the
tree and the
growing season of
each year. In
general, the wider
the ring the
wetter the year.
1.Wide rings indicate that the
tree was growing fast that year,
probably because the weather
was good
2.Narrow rings indicate slow
growth, probably linked to
regional drought or cold
temperatures
All of these trees were growing in the same general climate,
so if they were alive at the same time, they should show the
same ring patterns. Can you match any ring patterns
between cores? Once you have found some pattern matches,
line up the cores so that the patterns overlap. You will need
to print the samples, cut them out individually, and then line
them up
Links that might be helpful
• Ecology
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecology
• World oceans/estuaries
– http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/207.html
– http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/
– http://omp.gso.uri.edu/ompweb/doee/science/
descript/whats.htm
• Endangered wildlife/habitats
– http://www.iucnredlist.org/
– http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/
• Pollution
– www.epa.gov/airnow
More Links that might be helpful
• Bioremediation
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–
–
–
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es2013227
http://home.eng.iastate.edu/~tge/ce421-521/matt-r.pdf
Science Direct article in pdf
http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0167779997010330/1-s2.0S0167779997010330-main.pdf?_tid=1104ce3e-328f-11e3a03600000aab0f26&acdnat=1381507759_d535bc3eeb1190e5974
3817dc9712dc2
• Energy
– Alternate
– http://saveenergy.about.com/od/alternativeenergysources/a
/altenergysource.htm
– Non-renewable
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-renewable_resource
– http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=nonrenewable_ho
me-basics
More Links that might be helpful
• Recycling and solid waste management
– http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/292.html
– http://www.nrdc.org/recycling/
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling
• Composting
– http://homeguides.sfgate.com/define-compost-additives78990.html
– ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/wntsc/AWM/neh637c2.pdf
• EPA 12 principles
– http://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/june2011/principles.htm
• Calculating watt-hours
– http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/cost.html
– http://www.energylens.com/articles/kw-and-kwh
– http://www.ehow.com/how_4902973_calculate-kilowatthours.html
–
More Links that might be helpful
• Greenhouse gases/climate change
– http://www.arkive.org/climate-change/
– http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence
• Dendrochronology/dendroclimatology
– http://web.utk.edu/~grissino/principles.htm
– http://www.planetseed.com/relatedarticle/proxy-dataprovides-clues
– http://www.climatedata.info/Proxy/Proxy/treerings_intro
duction.html
– http://planet.botany.uwc.ac.za/nisl/Climate_change/page_1
7.htm
• Tree rings and climate
http://eo.ucar.edu/educators/ClimateDiscovery/LIA_less
on5_9.28.05.pdf
– http://ltrr.arizona.edu/about/treerings
ppt on tree rings http://www.docstoc.com/search/treerings