Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Water Testing Connection
Our group chose the topic water pollution
For the action project, our group plans on helping solve the problem of pollution in the Grand River. We plan to do this by raising awareness of all the major pollution problems affecting the river. This will help the community know what harmful activities they are doing to the river, and what they could do differently to prevent said activities. Awareness and community involvement is the best solution because "many hands make light a task".
In our biobottle lab, we will be testing on how excess amounts of phosphates in the form of fertilizer or cleaning solutions affect water, plant, and maybe animal life. We will be observing how phosphates react to a water type environment. Things we might be looking for may include ph level, temperature, and even plant health.
The river test we were assigned was to test for phosphate level in the water, and our action project is on water pollution. These two things are connected because too much phosphate in water is considered pollution. Phosphates, in moderate amounts, is healthy for water and improves the quality. When phosphates enter water in an excessive amount, then there is a problem. Excess phosphates increase the amount of algae, which takes oxygen from the water. With little oxygen, any animal life in the water slowly dies off. This process is called Eutrophication, the aging process of water. Humans are to blame for the excessive amounts of phosphates by fertilizer run off and the dumping of phosphate-rich chemicals into the water. Our action project is to stop the Grand River from going through this process before its time.
http://www.water-research.net/Watershed/phosphates.htm
For the action project, our group plans on helping solve the problem of pollution in the Grand River. We plan to do this by raising awareness of all the major pollution problems affecting the river. This will help the community know what harmful activities they are doing to the river, and what they could do differently to prevent said activities. Awareness and community involvement is the best solution because "many hands make light a task".
In our biobottle lab, we will be testing on how excess amounts of phosphates in the form of fertilizer or cleaning solutions affect water, plant, and maybe animal life. We will be observing how phosphates react to a water type environment. Things we might be looking for may include ph level, temperature, and even plant health.
The river test we were assigned was to test for phosphate level in the water, and our action project is on water pollution. These two things are connected because too much phosphate in water is considered pollution. Phosphates, in moderate amounts, is healthy for water and improves the quality. When phosphates enter water in an excessive amount, then there is a problem. Excess phosphates increase the amount of algae, which takes oxygen from the water. With little oxygen, any animal life in the water slowly dies off. This process is called Eutrophication, the aging process of water. Humans are to blame for the excessive amounts of phosphates by fertilizer run off and the dumping of phosphate-rich chemicals into the water. Our action project is to stop the Grand River from going through this process before its time.
http://www.water-research.net/Watershed/phosphates.htm
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
How we treat water in Eaton Rapids
Eaton Rapids water comes from 6 different wells. Three of these well are gravel wells 60 feet deep. These are the more monitored wells. The 3 other wells are rock-sediment wells, the water filters through the earths layers. These wells are below the Grand River, 300 feet deep. To this water they add different chemicals for different effects. Chlorine is added to help further "clean" the water. Fluoride is added to add bone-health benefits and dental benefits. Phosphate is the last chemical, and this added to prevent lead from leeching into the water from the pipes. The suprising thing I learned at the city water facility was the few number of people that took to run the facility. I thought there were only people going to be dozens of people to monitor such a crucial facility. Instead, there were only 2-3 people there. Lots of the systems were automated, and the others computer-assisted.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Water Treatment "Not Far from YOUR Home"
"[Eaton Rapids] water comes from 5 groundwater wells located in the northern portion of the city. The Iron Removal Plant removes iron and chlorine is added for disinfection, fluoride for dental benefits and phosphate for corrosion control."
http://www.ci.eaton-rapids.mi.us/documents/2009CCR_000.pdf
"Different treatment is used depending on the source of your water. Ground water taken from wells has been filtered through rocks, so it is usually quite free of particles. It can still contain chemicals and organic matter that must be taken out, though. If your water comes from a surface-water source, such as a river, some work must be done to get rid of particulate matter. In this case filters are used to screen out large particles, and at a minimum, chlorine is added to kill dangerous bacteria and microorganisms. Some systems have additional water treatment, such as adding chemicals to make matter bunch up and fall out of solution and adding chemicals to make the water less corrosive to metal."
http://www.purdue.edu/envirosoft/groundwater/src/faq.htm#13
How does road side salt "pollute" aquifiers?
http://www.ci.eaton-rapids.mi.us/documents/2009CCR_000.pdf
"Different treatment is used depending on the source of your water. Ground water taken from wells has been filtered through rocks, so it is usually quite free of particles. It can still contain chemicals and organic matter that must be taken out, though. If your water comes from a surface-water source, such as a river, some work must be done to get rid of particulate matter. In this case filters are used to screen out large particles, and at a minimum, chlorine is added to kill dangerous bacteria and microorganisms. Some systems have additional water treatment, such as adding chemicals to make matter bunch up and fall out of solution and adding chemicals to make the water less corrosive to metal."
http://www.purdue.edu/envirosoft/groundwater/src/faq.htm#13
How does road side salt "pollute" aquifiers?
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
My Carbon-footprint
1) http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/
2) This wasn't really a good site for anyone that doesn't own a home or know what they buy for maintaining their home. Even the personal calculator asked house based questions.
3) My carbon-footprint, while living in my parent's house, is 16 tons of CO2 every year.
4)
a) Three ways of reducing the carbon-footprint for myself would be to: reducing the amount of "vampire" devices I own, to purchase electronics that have more "environmentally-friendly features", and not use paper-bags everyday for lunch.
b) Three ways of reducing the carbon-footprint of my school would be for the school to: offer tray recycle bins at lunch, invest in solar panels atop the roof, and have the school buses run on clean fuel.
c) Three ways for the Eaton Rapids community to reduce its carbon footprint would be to: offer more recycle facilities, cut down on the amount of plastic bags (Family Fare?), and to offer more knowledge on how to "go green" to the community as a whole.
5) Everything we do as humans goes back to our local water source. Water is the "number 1 key" to survival. No usable water means death to all living beings. The amount of toxins and waste we submit to our water is not kind to our "1 key". This carbon footprint calculator should be a wake-up call to most people about how much pollution they admit in everyday life. The more they do to reduce pollution, the better quality our water will be, and thus the better quality our life will be in the long run.
2) This wasn't really a good site for anyone that doesn't own a home or know what they buy for maintaining their home. Even the personal calculator asked house based questions.
3) My carbon-footprint, while living in my parent's house, is 16 tons of CO2 every year.
4)
a) Three ways of reducing the carbon-footprint for myself would be to: reducing the amount of "vampire" devices I own, to purchase electronics that have more "environmentally-friendly features", and not use paper-bags everyday for lunch.
b) Three ways of reducing the carbon-footprint of my school would be for the school to: offer tray recycle bins at lunch, invest in solar panels atop the roof, and have the school buses run on clean fuel.
c) Three ways for the Eaton Rapids community to reduce its carbon footprint would be to: offer more recycle facilities, cut down on the amount of plastic bags (Family Fare?), and to offer more knowledge on how to "go green" to the community as a whole.
5) Everything we do as humans goes back to our local water source. Water is the "number 1 key" to survival. No usable water means death to all living beings. The amount of toxins and waste we submit to our water is not kind to our "1 key". This carbon footprint calculator should be a wake-up call to most people about how much pollution they admit in everyday life. The more they do to reduce pollution, the better quality our water will be, and thus the better quality our life will be in the long run.
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LIGHTNING
Lightning strikes all over the world, very numerously in fact. Satellite data suggests there are "3 million lightning flashes worldwide per day". It can happen anywhere there is a storm cloud brewing.(4)
Storm clouds are generally cumulonimbus clouds. These are massive, towering clouds often reaching high in the atmosphere. They usually form when a cold front meets a warm front. The air also has to be moist enough for the clouds to form. Inside the clouds there are strong updrafts. This is the start of how lightning is made. (3)
The exact science how lightning is made is a mystery. There a few theories, but perhaps the most popular one involves ice particles. When a cumulonimbus cloud reaches a precipitation capacity, water is carried up the cloud by the updrafts. Here the water collides with ice particles in the upper portions of the cloud. These collisions supposedly create a charge, which the negative portion going towards the bottom of the cloud and the positive towards the top. The difference in charge becomes too great, and thus, lightning is born. (1)
To summarize, for lightning to exist, there must be a cumulonimbus cloud. Inside the water must collide with enough ice particles to make a great enough charge. If a cumulonimbus cloud produces lightning, then it is classified as a "thunderstorm". (3)
On a side note, lightning ALWAYS exists with thunder. (1)
Technology does exist that detects lightning, but it is hard to predict lightning, for it is random. The detected lighting is almost always CG (cloud-to-ground) Lightning detectors have been in place in the US since the 70s. These antennae detectors are hundreds of kilometers apart and detect the radio-frequency pulses that lightning gives off. The location is where the vectors intersect. Since 1994, this system is one combined network run by Global Atmospherics Inc. These instruments provide lightning strike indicators to provide early storm intelligence and give people an early heads up. (4)
It is estimated that $4-5 billion damages occur each year because of lightning. Money spent to safeguard sensitive equipment from lightning damages is also enormous. Between the years 1979-2008, lightning killed an average of 58 people each year. Lightning can travel through a power line to an electrical appliance, and anyone using that appliance. It can also travel through plumbing pipes and water to a person in contact with either of those, examples primarily being shower and bath. One out of 5 lightning strike victims die, and 70% of the lucky survivors suffer serious long-term after effects. (4)
Lightning also affects the environment around us greatly. Forest fires are generally caused by lightning strikes to a dense group of trees. Power outages can be traced back to lightning hitting a power grid. However, not all the affects of lightning are negative. Lightning maintains the Earth's electricial balance. It returns the negative charges back to the Earth. Lightning also produces o-zone, which is necessary for the Earth's protection against the sun's harmful UV rays. (1)
1) "About Lightning..." http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/. 8 Feb. 2010. Web. 28 Oct. 2010
2) Bellante, Anthony. "How Lightning Is Formed." http://www.helium.com/. Web. 28 Oct. 2010
3) "Cumulonimbus Clouds." University of Illinois. http://www.atmos.uiuc.edu/. 7 Aug. 2010. Web. 28 Oct. 2010
4) Henson, Bob. "Lightning:FAQ." http://www.ucar.edu/ 5 Apr. 2000. Web. 28 Oct. 2010
http://www.maniacworld.com/lightning-strike-in-tree.html
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/faq/faq_ltg.php/
http://www.helium.com/items/1522307-how-lightning-is-formed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLJ6oqToKrc&feature=related
Storm clouds are generally cumulonimbus clouds. These are massive, towering clouds often reaching high in the atmosphere. They usually form when a cold front meets a warm front. The air also has to be moist enough for the clouds to form. Inside the clouds there are strong updrafts. This is the start of how lightning is made. (3)
The exact science how lightning is made is a mystery. There a few theories, but perhaps the most popular one involves ice particles. When a cumulonimbus cloud reaches a precipitation capacity, water is carried up the cloud by the updrafts. Here the water collides with ice particles in the upper portions of the cloud. These collisions supposedly create a charge, which the negative portion going towards the bottom of the cloud and the positive towards the top. The difference in charge becomes too great, and thus, lightning is born. (1)
To summarize, for lightning to exist, there must be a cumulonimbus cloud. Inside the water must collide with enough ice particles to make a great enough charge. If a cumulonimbus cloud produces lightning, then it is classified as a "thunderstorm". (3)
On a side note, lightning ALWAYS exists with thunder. (1)
Technology does exist that detects lightning, but it is hard to predict lightning, for it is random. The detected lighting is almost always CG (cloud-to-ground) Lightning detectors have been in place in the US since the 70s. These antennae detectors are hundreds of kilometers apart and detect the radio-frequency pulses that lightning gives off. The location is where the vectors intersect. Since 1994, this system is one combined network run by Global Atmospherics Inc. These instruments provide lightning strike indicators to provide early storm intelligence and give people an early heads up. (4)
It is estimated that $4-5 billion damages occur each year because of lightning. Money spent to safeguard sensitive equipment from lightning damages is also enormous. Between the years 1979-2008, lightning killed an average of 58 people each year. Lightning can travel through a power line to an electrical appliance, and anyone using that appliance. It can also travel through plumbing pipes and water to a person in contact with either of those, examples primarily being shower and bath. One out of 5 lightning strike victims die, and 70% of the lucky survivors suffer serious long-term after effects. (4)
Lightning also affects the environment around us greatly. Forest fires are generally caused by lightning strikes to a dense group of trees. Power outages can be traced back to lightning hitting a power grid. However, not all the affects of lightning are negative. Lightning maintains the Earth's electricial balance. It returns the negative charges back to the Earth. Lightning also produces o-zone, which is necessary for the Earth's protection against the sun's harmful UV rays. (1)
1) "About Lightning..." http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/. 8 Feb. 2010. Web. 28 Oct. 2010
2) Bellante, Anthony. "How Lightning Is Formed." http://www.helium.com/. Web. 28 Oct. 2010
3) "Cumulonimbus Clouds." University of Illinois. http://www.atmos.uiuc.edu/. 7 Aug. 2010. Web. 28 Oct. 2010
4) Henson, Bob. "Lightning:FAQ." http://www.ucar.edu/ 5 Apr. 2000. Web. 28 Oct. 2010
http://www.maniacworld.com/lightning-strike-in-tree.html
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/faq/faq_ltg.php/
http://www.helium.com/items/1522307-how-lightning-is-formed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLJ6oqToKrc&feature=related