Research Draft: Water Pollution: Humans Contributing to Their Own Downfall

Water pollution is an aspect of pollution that commonly goes below the radar; however, it is a huge aspect of pollution that has detrimental effects and must be handled effectively and quickly in order to obtain a clean environment. Water covers over 70% of the earth and is something we as the human species need to survive. Along with our bodies need for water, it also obtains all of our marine life, which is commonly used as food for the human species. The toxins and bacteria that can enter the food chain raise the possibility of the potential human health problems that can arise from water pollution. It is of our best interest to focus on the causes of water pollution and promote ways to decrease it. Although the human species’s survival is dependent upon water, humans actually are one of the main causes of water pollution because humans contribute to or take part in marine dumping, industrial waste, and mining, which are all huge contributors to water pollution.

Prior to examining the multiple ways humans infect the water and contribute to water pollution, it is first critical to understand how water pollution is classified. Sources of water pollution have been separated into two separate groups, point and non-point sources. Point sources, such as sewage, underground mines, oil wells and tankers, agriculture and various factories, are sources that discharge pollutants at specific locations through pipelines or sewers into the surface water. As point sources can be traced to a single site of discharge, non-point sources cannot. Non-point sources are ultimately harder to control and trace because they are sources such as traffic pollution and pollutants that use groundwater as their entryway into bodies of water (“Water Treatment Solutions,” 2009).

Through close analysis, it is clear that humans have the most influential effect on water pollution. Being a main cause, human activities are ultimately leading to their own downfall by promoting the unhealthy environment that has negative effects for them and the world around them. The Clean Water Act, passed in 1972, has unfortunately not been followed as closely as planned, ultimately resulting in the increase in water pollution today. Many states are failing to use the Clean Water Act, an act that was aimed to protect people and wildlife from water pollution. There has been an annual increase in the amount of illness due to drinking contaminated water, multiple beaches have been closed and many other restrictions have been put in place due to the negative human influence on water pollution and their failure to abide by the Clean Water Act and ultimately their failure to protect themselves and the world around them (“Most States,” 2000).

One of the main contributors of water pollution by humans comes from the marine transport sector. Ships today can carry near 5,000 passengers, some ships even more, and ultimately are carrying majority of the waste that is dumped into the ocean. Katsioloudis (2010) states that these ships have the ability to generate at least 11 million gallons of waste water daily. Annually, these ships have been estimated to produce and emit up to 1.6 million metric tons of waste. Katsioloudis (2010) refers to the ships as “floating cities” and these floating cities ultimately produce majority of the waste found in the oceans.

Of the marine sector, one of the most common forms of waste that is emitted into the ocean is sewage. Katsioloudis (2010) suggests that sewage may actually be the most universal form of marine pollution. Sewage being emitted into the water introduces a number of disease-causing microorganisms in the water and the resulting diseases and illnesses often find their way back to the humans who emitted the pollution into the water in the first place. Along with most, if not all sea life, some of the most common sea foods found in many markets today, such as oysters, clams and mussels, are also greatly effected by sewage pollution in the water. The bacteria and viruses emitted into the water are ultimately concentrated by the shellfish when they feed and can lead the human consumption of the bacteria or viruses.

Along with sewage, solid wastes play a critical part in water pollution from the marine transport sector. Katsioloudis (2010) states that “majority of solid waste generated on cruise ships includes large volumes of plastic, paper, wood, cardboard, food waste, cans, and glass.” Although most commonly, these forms of solid waste are incinerated on board and then disposed of into the water in ash form, it has also been known that many of these solid waste are simply thrown overboard prior to being incinerated. These floating debris have serious detrimental effects on a variety of marine animals. If the marine life ingest these debris, especially plastic, the resulting entanglement can ultimately be fatal. Parker (2011) states that in a study where they were investigating the death of marine life, they found multiple forms of human debris that have been discarded by humans into the ocean inside or wrapped around the dead marine life. Katsioloudis (2010) elaborates on the fact that the Coast Guard estimates that “more than one million birds and 100,000 marine mammals die each year from eating or getting entangled in plastic debris.” Estimations such as these are often found to be underestimated, which means more marine life could actually be effected by human actions and the dumping of sewage and solid wastes.

Along with the marine transport sector, industrial waste is another top running contributor to water pollution. Our nation is clearly an industrial one and with that comes a large amount of waste that ultimately find their way into the environment. Tarr (1985) agrees that most of these wastes that enter the environment and contribute to most of the water pollution are hazardous, while some still have unknown human health effects and could ultimately be more harmful than those we are already aware of. Effler (2009) notes that the increase of industrial wastes being emitted into waterways can ultimately lead to sever deterioration of certain waterways or areas and can ultimately result in a lose of use for these areas.

Industrial wastes are also known to emit asbestos, which is actually now banned in 52 countries. According to LaDou (2010), all forms of asbestos are now banned in those countries and what seemed to be safer products had replaced many materials that once were made with it. Although asbestos is banned, many countries are still using asbestos illegally. With the illegal use, asbestos is still finding its way into the water and polluting it. Unfortunately, one of the most common ways asbestos is still polluting water is mainly from industrial waste. Asbestosis and various forms of cancer can result from the polluted water and can only be stopped if critical measures are taken to stop industrial wastes and its contribution to water pollution.

Although asbestos generally goes under the radar as an industrial waste, oil is a common industrial waste that has been an issue for a number of years. Obviously, the public health can be greatly effected from oil spills as it clearly creates unhealthful water. When oil is exposed to water, it does not dissolve and ultimately results in a thick layer covering the surface of the water. That alone has detrimental effects on the marine life inhabiting that area of water. Klemas (2010) also acknowledges that oil spills can destroy marine life and have very negative effects for those it does not destroy. Katsioloudis (2010) states that oil enters the marine environment “from land runoff, natural seeps, vessels, pipelines, and offshore exploration and production platforms.” Once again, the marine transport sector is known to contribute to high percentages of accidental spills worldwide. The biological breakdown of petroleum products from these oil spills can create great threats to human health if ingested due to a variety of toxic compounds in the oil and their impact on internal organs. This also ultimately harms and can be fatal to many fish and wildlife. Not only are the marine life inhabiting the waters effected, but many other wildlife are effected, such as seabirds. Katsioloudis (2010) acknowledges the harm to these animals because the layer the oil creates on the ocean surface, which is where many of these seabirds spend most, if not all of their time. The effect of oil from industrial waste effects humans, the marine life, and wildlife and is a lead contributor in water contamination by humans.

Along with the marine transport sector and the variety of industrial wastes, mining also highly contributes to water pollution. The process of mining includes a wide variety of large metals and many ultimately become waste that enters many waterways. Ivanova (2005) states that heavy metals are actually amongst some of the most toxic and “environmentally dangerous pollutants.” A main element commonly known to be a waste product of mining is cyanide. Cyanide has been reported to contribute to malign tumor formations, and according to Ivanova (2005), the heavy metal and cyanide produced from mining waste showed to be some of the risk factors. Ivanova (2005) also explains that heavy metal and cyanide have known to have mutagen effects and they are potential threats to human health.

Mine wastes are dumped in a variety of locations; however, regardless of where they are dumped they have detrimental effects on marine life and human health due to the pollution of the water. Moran (2009) states that these dumping practices have produced “documented impacts to marine life and alleged impacts to humans.” Mining waste is produced due to the fact that most of the rock that is removed and processed ultimately ends as waste. The waste is supposed to be stored and managed; however, many companies find it easier to get rid of the waste else where in order to eliminate their responsibility with it. Moran (2009) gives details as to the processed rocks and their components, which generally include almost every element known to man. According to Moran (2009), some of the most common pollutants are “arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, zinc, and uranium.” Many other chemicals are required and critical to the actually processing of the metal ores. Most of these elements and chemicals are all known to be individually toxic to humans, marine organisms and ultimately intoxicates and contaminates our water.

Although the marine transport sector, industrial wastes, and marine wastes are a few of the many ways humans contribute to water pollution, there are numerous other ways humans contribute to water pollution daily. Not only does the water pollution ultimately effect us and our health, it also can have detrimental effects for our environment and the marine and wild life inhabiting it. The food chain plays a huge role in water pollution, as many humans ultimately rely on water and other wildlife or marine life as sources for food. Human bodies need water to survive, and many humans prefer to eat wildlife or marine life as food to get nutrients essential to our survival. Although human survival is based upon those needs, humans are unfortunately very irresponsible in their practices and are ultimately leading to their own demise. Humans are one of the main contributors to water pollution. For our own health, it would be wise to acknowledge this fact and take the initiative to begin creating solutions to our problems rather than continuing to create them.

Effler, S. W., Owens, E. M., Matthews, D. A., O’Donnell, S. M., & Hassett, J. M. (2009). Effects of Discharge of Spent Cooling Water from an Oligotrophic Lake to a Polluted Eutrophic Lake. Journal of Water Resources Planning & Management, 135(2), 96-106. doi:10.1061/ (ASCE)0733-9496(2009)135:2(96)

Ivanova, E., Staikova, T. A., & Velcheva, I. (2005). Cytogenetic testing of heavy metal and cyanide contaminated river waters in a mining region of Southwest Bulgaria. Journal of Cell & Molecular Biology, 4(2), 99-106. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Katsioloudis, P. J. (2010). Green Ships: Keeping Oceans Blue. Technology Teacher, 69(5), 5-9. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Klemas, V. (2010). Tracking Oil Slicks and Predicting their Trajectories Using Remote Sensors and Models: Case Studies of the Sea Princess and Deepwater Horizon Oil Spills. Journal of Coastal Research, 26(5), 789-797. doi:10.2112/10A-00012.1

LaDou, J., Castleman, B., Frank, A., Gochfeld, M., Greenberg, M., Huff, J., & Watterson, A. (2010). The Case for a Global Ban on Asbestos. Environmental Health Perspectives, 118(7), 897-901. doi:10.1289/ehp.100228

Moran, R., Reichelt-Brushett, A., & Young, R. (2009). Out of sight, Out of Mine: Ocean Dumping of Mine Wastes. World Watch, 22(2), 30-34. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Most States Ignore Leading Causes Of Water Pollution, NWF Finds. (2000). International Wildlife, 30(4), 6. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Parker, L. (2011). Oceans of Rubbish. Australian Geographic, (101), 114-118. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Tarr, J. A. (1985). Industrial Wastes and Public Health: Some Historical Notes, Part I, 1876-1932. American Journal of Public Health, 75(9), 1059-1067. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Water Treatment Solutions (2009). Water pollution FAQ Frequently Asked Question. Retrieved from http://www.lenntech.com/water-pollution-faq.htm

Research Rough Draft 1: Alaska is the Energy Frontier

Research Draft:  Alaska is the Energy Frontier

The current use of unsustainable resources to supply a growing energy demand will lead to an energy collapse unless better methods are developed to power our world.  According to Energy and the Environment by Robert Ristinen, in 2005 86% of the energy used in the U.S. came from nonrenewable resources including petroleum, coal, and natural gas.  Energy must come from renewable sources if humans are to survive but the only way demand can be met is if local communities utilize the strongest sources of clean energy in their area.  Renewable sources must become the backbone of our energy economy, not the decoration.  The only way to achieve this is to build large scale industrial facilities that can replace existing coal or gas turbine plants.  Although a national emphasis has been placed on renewable energy, the best use of sustainable resources is to redistribute load onto many small scale sources because it will reduce the impact of large infrastructure, give communities energy independence and create a more stable energy system.

Humans are destroying the world.  One of the biggest ways we do this is by the ways we produce electricity.  Unfortunately for us and the Earth, the biggest and most abundant source for energy, the sun, remains relatively untapped compared to coal, oil and natural gas reserves.  The reason why this is still the case is because existing infrastructure is built around these fossil fuel technologies and the industries providing power via these sources has considerable inertia.  Fortunately the winds of change are blowing as America is starting to realize the size of the hole that is being dug.  Unfortunately, it will require a massive reinvestment into new technologies and infrastructure.

Alaska is the energy frontier for America and has a fantastic opportunity to lead the charge towards an electric economy because of its many sustainable energy sources.  Although Alaska’s high latitude makes it less suitable for large solar plants, because of its large size, it is privileged to have more coastline than the rest of the United States combined (citation needed).  Where the land meets the sea, there is wind, where there is wind there is energy potential waiting to be tapped, and traced back far enough, all wind is generated by the sun unequally heating the Earth.  On top of fantastic wind resources, Alaska’s size and latitude again give the benefit of large glaciers and ice fields which provide long term supplies for hydroelectric projects.

Wind:  Nearly every Alaskan city and village has a grid-tied wind turbine and many have one or more large utility scale turbines that supply a substantial portion of its energy needs.  A short list includes:  Shaktoolik, Kotzebue, Wales, St. Paul, Port Heiden, Selawik, Toksook Bay, Kasigluk and Kodiak (Alaska Energy Authority).  The reason why all these communities are opting for expensive wind turbines is because diesel fuel is even more expensive.  For small communities that exist far from the main grid, the standby technology to produce electricity is diesel.  Large generators run continuously to provide these small outcroppings of civilization with usable power, and are also costing then massive amounts of money.  In the village of Toksook Bay three 100 kilo-Watt (kW) wind turbines will keep 52,000 gallons of fuel a year from being burned, saving approximately $200,000 a year depending of fuel prices.  These systems pay for themselves quickly.  Unfortunately the downside is that the wind does not always blow at the exact speed to maximally produce AC electricity at 120 volts and 60 Hz.  This problem is termed “penetration”, describing the ability of a wind system to offset the amount of diesel being burned.  To overcome this hurdle, considerable research is being done to store excess wind energy to keep penetration high even while the wind is not blowing.  One way this is achieved is by storing the surplus energy in large batteries.  The Alaska Center for Energy and Power is one entity currently conducting research in this field.  Another problem connected with wind power comes when a power outage occurs when the main source of electricity goes down.  During a power outage, although the main source is down, the turbine is still operating and pumping electricity into the grid, leaving the power lines charged.  If the power from the wind turbine is not switched off immediately when the grid loses main power, it is possible for line men to enter a dangerous environment if they are working on or near energized lines that they think are dead.  This problem is successfully avoided with advanced switchgear that cuts power from the wind turbine once main power is lost.

Hydro: With our world carefully balanced on the precipice between self-destruction and self-salvation, the 49^th state is poised to show what can be done.  Hydropower is not new to the state.  Juneau’s Annex Creek plant has been operating since 1915.  Many other hydro projects in Alaska provide clean energy for nearby communities.  Bradley Lake near Homer is tapped via a 18,610 foot tunnel that funnels water from the lake at 1,080 ft to a powerhouse at sea level, producing the cheapest energy along the railbelt in Alaska and spreading its coverage to 72% of the state’s population (citation).  Eklutna Lake supplies 10-15% of Anchorage’s power and the city of Gustavus now receives all of its power from the new Falls Creek hydro project that opened in July of 2009, bringing electric costs down from 39 cents a kilo-watt-hour (kWh) to under 20 cents per kWh (Daily News Miner citation).  Alaska is extremely active in the movement towards cheaper sustainable power.   Much deliberation has occurred over the development of a Susitna River dam by 2022.

Geothermal:  Alaska has more geothermal energy potential than any other state.  In interior Alaska, a few geothermal features exist which may be tapped for energy.  The only hot spring which has been tapped is Chena Hot Springs, and all of the resort’s power comes from the hot springs.  The greatest challenge for geothermal power lies in the temperature of the hot springs.  With a moderate to low temperature of water seeping from the hot springs, it is more difficult to extract energy.  Chena Hot Springs Resort operates at the lowest temperature of any geothermal plant in the world.

Home systems will also play an important role in providing energy for specific communities.  While a community may perhaps be inadequate for a utility scale wind system, a single home perched high on a ridge line may have perfect access to high winds ripping across the ridge which could spin a small 5 or 10 ft turbine.  If every home had some kind of renewable system either tied into the grid or just dumping heat into the home, large utilities would have to produce less.

Economic feasibility is the issue that looms over every energy project.  Coal is cheap to mine and there is a large infrastructure built around it, which is why the technology has not been immediately replaced.  However, as coal-fired power plants age and replacement is in sight, renewable sources are primed to step in and fill the space.  The solution is not composed of a single technology.  The solution to the energy demand of now and the future will be a gracefully connected system of hydro, wind, geothermal, and solar.  Because of its size and unique environment, Alaska and its communities are a perfect proving ground for renewable energy technologies.

 

 

Research Part 3: 1st Rough Draft: Battling Global Warming…Winner Takes the World.

 

Homes may be torn apart, lives may be lost, and the world may end. One question weighs heavily out in the open, will the sun really shine tomorrow? Global warming, although a slowly progressing process, still poses a threat to the environment in the form of temperature changes.  Even a single degree in temperature change can lead to worldly destruction.  It is extremely important that people across the globe learn the real toll global warming takes on our planet, and how the devastating effects will last for many decades to pass until finally Earth becomes unable to provide for the needs of it’s inhabitors.  Something as serious as global warming has been proven over and over again to potentially cause numerous devastating events. Simply put, global warming can no longer be ignored; the human race depends on it.  Although global warming is not an immediate threat, extreme temperature changes cause the environment to become less able to sustain certain species of life because of the spread of climate-sensitive diseases, a decrease in natural habitat,  and an increasing number of weather-related catastrophes.

  Increasing temperatures pose an immense problem when it comes to the topic of climate-sensitive diseases. To begin with, climate-sensitive diseases are diseases in which the temperature effects different variables of the disease such as the spread of the disease, whether or not it is reoccurring, and how long the disease will last.  A typical example of the effect of global warming on a climate-sensitive disease can be demonstrated with influenza.  The flu is generally a winter-existing disease in North America however, in a tropical climate influenza is present all year round.  With minor temperature increases, many areas in North America will have environmental changes quite similar to those of the tropics and thus, influenza all year round!  As for the unfortunate souls living in flooded areas, evacuation methods force families into overly crowded and unsanitary conditions prone to mold and disease carrying insects (Manning 2007).  The more flooding that occurs, the more risk of malaria carried by mosquitos.  In the other corner of the court, drought brings with it many respitory diseases such as asthma due to increasing winds formed over warm bodies of water that transport sand particles caused by the drought as well as large amounts of pollen collected from the augmented plant life (NWF 2011).

 As if health problems weren’t a big enough problem, global warming is also placing an attack on the environment!  Warming temperatures are melting ice caps and the natural habitat that many species of life thrive in.  Polar bears and penguins are feeling the extreme effects of the melting habitat first hand, but the second hand reprocussions are just as serious.  Melting ice caps are causing the sea level to rise which is putting large amounts of land habitat literally under water (Climate Institute 2010).  Global warming is taking the Earth from one extreme to the other. Drought is causing animal species to migrate to water, while flooding is causing many species to migrate to dry land.  Also, warmer waters are the cause for coral bleaching, which kills the corals.  Coral reefs are a huge part of marine biology, and a habitat to numerous species of fish and other marine life.  Droughts cause byy global warming may dry upwards of ninety percent of the Earth’s wetlands which serve as breeding grounds for migrating animals (NWF 2011).

After numerous testing has been performed on different regions of the planet, it is proven that geographical features may play a distinct role in the vulnerability of a specific environment (Hattermann, Levermann 2010).  Tropical regions are of some of the worst environments that are likely to be effected by global warming (Laurance, Carolina Useche, Shoo, Herzog, Kessler, Escobar, Del Coro Arizmendi 2011)  Tropical environments provide roughly fifty percent of the streams, rivers and other bodies of water that are present on land which empty into the ocean(Schmidt 2010).  These on land water sources not only support hundreds of different species of vegetation and animals on land, but they also support all the underwater marine life as well. Realizing that those environments are the ones most vulnerable to global warming, and what the destruction of such a crucial part of the globe would cause, is reason enough to think twice before carelessly emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (Shepardson, Niyogi, Soyoung, Charusombat 2011).  All it would take is one catastrophic attack of global warming upon the tropics to set an imbalance all over the world. But surely, not just the tropical environments are being effected.

 With numbers of people ranging in the tens of thousands now being effected by tropical cyclones, global warming threatens lives all across the globe. With both an increase the the rise of sea level as well as the intensifying hurricanes errupting all over the world, the real issue of weather-related catastrophes has now arrived with a bang (Mousavi, M., Irish, J. L., Frey, A. E., Olivera, F., & Edge, B. L. (2011). Global warming and hurricanes: the potential impact of hurricane intensification and sea level rise on coastal flooding. Climatic Change, 104(3/4), 575-597. doi:10.1007/s10584-009-9790-0).  True, weather-related catastrophes has caused destruction since the beginning of time, but in this day and age with the resources readily availiable for extensive testing and research, it is apparent that the disasters are getting increasingly worse as time goes on. Storms are gaining strength and the wrath of the ocean is a real force to be reckoned with. Suffering and panic are evident, and one can only hope that the real life examples of the power of mother nature can serve as an eye opener showing the need for change.

  Drought in Russia sheds a small amount of light on how serious major natural disasters can truely be.  The heat wave that is currently taking over the Russian climate has cost their citizens at least fifteen-thousand lives and fifteen billion dollars due to the lack of water and the extensive fire damage (Foxx 2010).  The small country of Pakistan has also dealt with serious consequences caused by flooding in the region.  With fifteen hundred lives lost and 3.5 million children facing disease caused by the unsanitary environmental conditions that exist after a flood, people in Pakistan have also paid the ultimate price.  China has also spent billions recovering from the flood conditions as well as successfully evacuating their people to safety while  in Guatemala, a sinkhole caused by increased precipitation sank a whole entire building (Romm 2011).

  The world is succumbing to the ever changing negative affects that global warming is responsible for.  Until actions are taken to resolve the cause of global warming, the temperature will continue to rise.  A single degree in temperature has the ability to destroy billions of lives.  Global warming may be a slow process, but evolution is an even slower process.  With the Earth unable to sustain life, climate-sensitive diseases, the lack of natural habitat, and the increase in weather-related catastrophes will ultimately lead to the desecration of life as we know it.

References:

Climate Institute. Human Health. 2007-2010. 11 02 2011 <http://www.climate.org/topics/health.html&gt;.

Foxx, Michael. Weather Catastrophes Linked to Global Warming. 30 09 2010. 11 02 2011
http://www.guilfordian.com/world-nation/weather-catastrophes-linked-to-global-warming-1.1658838
.

 

Hattermann, T., & Levermann, A. (2010). Response of Southern Ocean circulation to global warming may enhance basal ice shelf melting around Antarctica. Climate Dynamics, 35(5), 741-756. doi:10.1007/s00382-009-0643-3

 

Laurance, W. F., Carolina Useche, D. D., Shoo, L. P., Herzog, S. K., Kessler, M., Escobar, F., & … del Coro Arizmendi, M. M. (2011). Global Warming, Elevational Ranges and the Vulnerability of Tropical Biota. Biological Conservation, 144(1), 548-557. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2010.10.010

Manning, Anita. USA Today. 23 05 2007. 13 02 2011
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/globalwarming/2007-05-22-climate-change_N.htm
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Mousavi, M., Irish, J. L., Frey, A. E., Olivera, F., & Edge, B. L. (2011). Global warming and hurricanes: the potential impact of hurricane intensification and sea level rise on coastal flooding. Climatic Change, 104(3/4), 575-597. doi:10.1007/s10584-009-9790-0

National Wildlife Federation. Effects on Wildlife and Habitat. 1996-2011. 10 02 2011 <http://www.nwf.org/Global-Warming/Effects-on-Wildlife-and-Habitat.aspx&gt;.

Romm, Joe. Climate Progress. 4 01 2011. 13 02 2011
http://climateprogress.org/2011/01/04/munich-re-pielke-extreme-weather-damages-climate-change/
.

Schmidt, C. W. (2010). A Closer Look at Climate Change Skepticism. Environmental Health Perspectives, 118(12), A536-A540. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Shepardson, D. P., Niyogi, D., Soyoung, C., & Charusombat, U. (2011). Students’ conceptions about the greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change. Climatic Change, 104(3/4), 481-507. doi:10.1007/s10584-009-9786-9

Research: Draft #1

Ever since it became fashionable to care about the planet, we have been focusing on reducing emissions, when we should be focusing on eliminating them. Even a small amount of greenhouse gases released by a very large number of people becomes a large amount of greenhouse gases. If we are going to “save” the planet we are going to have to return to a preindustrial level of greenhouse emissions. This means that technologies and measures which merely reduce our emissions will merely delay the destruction of our environment. While “solutions” such as alternative fuels may seem like a good idea because they require only minor modifications to existing technologies, they don’t bring us any closer to a real solution. That is because any meaningful solution would require a re-engineering of current technologies to eliminate the use of combusted fuels, or invention of new ones which don’t use them. The same thing applies to systems of filtration, recapturing gases, and cleaner burning. They all reduce emissions to various degrees, but none of them will eliminate them. Although reducing emissions may seem like a good idea, we should be trying to eliminate them through the use of non-combustion technologies because we need to eliminate emissions to stop global warming, even small emissions multiplied by billions of people is results in a substantial effect, and reducing emissions doesn’t bring us any closer to technologies which eliminate emissions.

Attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation in recent years have focused primarily on increasing fuel economy, emissions control technologies, and alternative fuels. Increasing the fuel economy of vehicles has a relatively small effect on total greenhouse gas emissions. According to Schipper (2011), annual distances driven increase as fuel prices decline (np). Schipper (2011) also states that driving distances increase as the GDP increases (np). This indicates a correlation between cost of fuel and annual distances driven. From this one can infer that vehicle use will increase as improved fuel economy results in a lower cost of operation. This would result in a mitigating effect on any potential fuel savings. Thomas (2009) shows that hydrogen combustion vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles, and battery electric vehicles offer the greatest reductions to greenhouse gas emissions (np). During the 1970′s, around the start of the global warming scare, automakers began research and development for hybrid and electric vehicles.

Greenhouse gases in the industrial sector are controlled using carbon capture and storage. Olajire (2010) discussed the three primary carbon capture techniques: pre-combustion decarbonization, post-combustion, and oxy-fuel combustion (np). Post-combustion uses chemical solvents, membranes, or low temperature distillation to separate CO₂ and other pollutants from the flue gas after combustion of the fuel. Post-combustion carbon capture typically requires large amounts of energy to regeneration the solvents once they have been used. Pre-combustion uses air and steam to produce hydrogen and CO₂ from carbon-based fuels. The CO₂ is then separated from the hydrogen and captured, and the hydrogen is used for fuel. Pre-combustion carbon capture has lower energy requirements than post-combustion, does not require the use of chemical solvents, and is more efficient at capturing CO₂. Oxyfuel combustion is a post-combustion technique which uses pure oxygen in the combustion process. According to Olajire (2010) this creates a high concentration of CO₂ in the flue gas, which simplifies the separation and capture of the CO₂ and eliminates NO_x emissions (np). Oxyfuel combustion does not require the use of chemical solvents, but has a large energy cost and oxygen is difficult to aquire. The CO₂ separation techniques used to collect CO₂ from the gas stream include absorption, adsorption, membranes, and cryogenics. In chemical absorption a solvent is used to absorb CO₂ from the gas stream, and then heat is applied to separate the CO₂ from the other gases and create a pure CO₂ stream. According to Olajire (2010) Amine absorbtion is capable of filtering CO₂ with 98% efficiency (np). Adsorption passes a gas through a solid material, and the desired pollutants attach themselves to its surface. Cryogenic methods involve cooling the CO₂ until it liquifies, separating it from the gas stream. Membrane methods rely on semi-permeable membranes to filter out the desired gases. Note that Olajire (2010) indicates that because of the relatively small quantities of non-CO₂ greenhouse gases, emission reduction efforts are primarily concerned with the capture of CO₂ (np).

Because of the widespread infrastructure for combustion produced power, alternative fuel sources are a popular target for reducing green house gas emissions. The types of alternative fuels include biomass, organic oils, biofuels, and hydrogen. Of these, hydrogen is the cleanest burning producing primarily water vapor in the combustion process. Presently there is little infrastructure in place for methane production or combustion as a fuel source. Because it is difficult to retrofit existing operations, one of the other options are generally preferred. Biomass is raw plant matter including wood. Biomass can be converted to energy either by burning, or by a process of gasification. Organic oils are oils made from plants such as soybean or peanut oil. They are popular for diesel modifications since individuals can collect leftover frying oil from restaurants. Biofuels are gasoline and diesel fuels derived from plant matter. The plant matter has to undergo a costly and energy intensive process to be turned into biofuel, but it can be used in gasoline or diesel engines. The emissions savings from the use of plant derived fuels is questionable. However, the emissions released from combusting these fuels came from the atmosphere and will eventually be reabsorbed by the next generation of plants, creating a closed loop. It is important to keep in mind that this process only works if we are able to grow as much fuel as we use in a given year.

In order to better understand the effect of global emissions, it is necessary to understand the biocapacity of the Earth. Biocapacity is the volume of pollutants which a system is able to process. According to Jansson et al. (2010), a total of 3 gigatons of carbon is sequestered annually by terrestrial systems (p685). Jansson et al. (2010) also estimated that 2 gigatons is sequestered annually by oceanic systems (p685). This provides a total of almost 16.5 gigatons of CO₂ sequestered annually world wide.  Living plants and other organisms provide only short term sequestration of CO₂. Once the plant or organism dies, the CO₂ will be released back into the atmosphere. Thus, living organisms mostly represent a static storage of carbon. If the number of plants increases, then more carbon will come out of the air, and if the number decrease, more carbon will make it into the air. Because of this, they can change the short term levels of CO₂, but will not greatly affect the long term levels. The soil, on the other hand, represents long term storage of CO₂. Jansson et al. (2010) state that inorganic carbon stored in the soil may remain there for millennia (p687). This capacity for soil to store carbon for long periods represents an effective way to reduce total atmospheric CO₂ levels. Plants transfer some of the CO₂ in the air to the soil through their roots. Because of this, and their potential to moderate short term CO₂ levels, plants are instrumental in managing CO₂ in the atmosphere. According to Jansson et al. (2010) estimates for the total capacity for organic C sequestration in soil ranges from 44 to 537 gigatons of carbon (p687). Jansson et al. (2010) believe that 80 to 130 gigatons of organic carbon may be sequestered in the soil over a 100 year period through improved land management practices (p687).

 

References

Jansson, C., Wullschleger, S. D., Kalluri, U. C., & Tuskan, G. A. (2010) Phytosequestration: carbon biosequestration by plants and the prospects of genetic engineering. Bioscience, 60, 685-696. doi:10.1525/bio.2010.60.9.6

Olajire, A. A. (2010). CO₂ capture and separation technologies for end-of-pipe applications – A review. Energy, 35, 2610-2628. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2010.02.030

Schipper, L. (2011). Automobile use, fuel economy and CO₂ emissions in industrialized countries: Encouraging trends through 2008? Transport Policy, 18, 358-372. doi:10.1016 /j.tranpol.2010.10.011

Thomas, C. E. S. (2009). Transportation options in a carbon-constrained world: Hybrids, plug-in hybrids, biofuels, fuel cell electric vehicles, and battery electric vehicles. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 34, 9279-9296. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2009.09.058

Research Draft: Improved Forest Management

Improved Forest Management

The forest industry is extremely concerned with the future of forests. In order to continue to harvest wood, convert it to demanded products and market those products at reasonable prices, it must be done safely and in a way that the forest will be renewed with healthy, well-stocked stands of trees. It is very important to develop multiple uses of forest land by doing everything practicable to protect soil, water, wildlife, recreational, aesthetic, and other environmental values. (Sierra Pacific Industries, 2011). Fortunately, trees are a renewable natural resource. Proper forestry practices will insure a never ending supply of trees to me the worlds demand for forestry products and uses (McEvoy, 2008).  Although timber harvests and logging techniques of the past may have been destructive to the environment, modern forestry practices prevent destruction to the environment from timber harvests and logging because of erosion prevention and water quality control, the ability of foresters to choose the appropriate harvest methods, and the reclamation of logging sites for future forest development.

Forest management activities associated with logging, road construction, and timber harvest often disturb soil. This in turn may cause erosion and sedimentation which seriously jeopardizes water quality in nearby streams, lakes and watersheds. The continuation of high quality water and the fertility of soil are important goals and objectives for land managers aside from the maximization of harvest yield. It is very important for loggers, foresters, and landowners to make the appropriate decisions and follow through with well planned actions.  Their methods and choices will have long lasting and wide ranging effects (Sierra Pacific Industries, 2011). Land managers, foresters, and land owners may even be held liable for water contamination or pollution resulting from timber harvesting operations.

Streamside management zones are relatively undisturbed buffer areas. They are located around perennial and intermittent streams, vernal ponds, lakes, natural springs, and reservoirs. These buffer areas trap and filter out suspended sediments before they can enter waterways. Buffer areas always require special attention in a harvest or logging operation.  While some trees may be harvested from the streamside management zones, operations in this area should not cause any soil disturbance. If soil disturbance does occur, the area should be stabilized immediately and monitored.  Sediment barriers should be installed between the stream and the disturbed area if necessary.

There is a lot of road construction associated with logging practices.  Techniques have been developed to help minimize and reduce soil erosion.  It all begins with the planning of roads, trails, and landing locations prior to harvest.  Logging roads and trails should be made to minimize their length and width. Landings for logs and equipment should be made to minimum size.  All of these land alterations should be on firm, well-drained ground. Slash and residue piles should be made away from drainages or streams.  Ground disturbance should be minimized and fixed properly.  There should be as few stream crossings during logging activity as possible.  Stream Crossings require the use of structures to allow the water to pass under the road. In most cases this will be a culvert pipe that is correctly sized for drainage of the land area above the stream crossing location.

The timber harvest, as part of forest management, is designed to utilize trees at the proper time of their life cycle, start a new stand of desired species on the harvested area, and provide space for their growth. This makes the removal of surplus cull trees, also called thinning, a part of improved harvest cutting.  Several different improved harvesting methods may be used either on their own or in combination with other methods. The timber harvest methods most commonly used are selective cutting, diameter-limit cutting, shelter wood, and Clear cutting. The first two methods result in uneven-aged stands and the later two in even-aged stands (Pulkki, 2010).

Selective Cutting is the removal of selected stems throughout the range of merchantable sizes at more or less frequent intervals indefinitely. Trees are selected and marked for removal either singly or in small groups. Diameter-limit cutting is the periodic harvest of all trees above a set size, usually the diameter at stump height. Although this is a form of selective cutting, usually removes only the largest trees from the stand at each harvest. This is in contrast to true selective cutting which removes merchantable trees in all sizes in a controlled manner. Diameter limits should be varied by species in most stands, and set so that adequate stocking remains after each harvest (Craig and MacDonald, 2009). The method is most useful in low-grade timber like interior Alaska’s Boreal Forest where more intensive methods are not justified (Fleming and Baldwin, 2008).

Shelter wood Cutting is the harvest of the entire stand in two or more cuts spaced over several years. The main purpose is to insure renewal of a new stand of trees before the final harvest. It is best adapted to the more shade-tolerant species. In actual practice, nearly all hardwood stands renew themselves even after a burn, without keeping an over story (Thompson et. al., 2007). Clear cutting is the harvest of all merchantable trees from an area and the killing or cutting of all non merchantable stems larger than about 2 inches in diameter at breast height or more than 25 feet tall (Rosenvald and Lohmus, 2008).  The purpose of removing the non merchantable stems is to allow the new natural reproduction to grow vigorously without serious competition from residual trees. Under the clear cutting method, trees are harvested by selected areas rather than by selected stems (Pulkki, 2010).

At the completion of forest harvest operations, reclamation of the logging site and roads is required to stabilize any disturbed soil and to minimize the potential for erosion and sedimentation. Successful reclamation may require the use of lime and fertilizer along with a seed mixture to encourage and ensure seed germination and growth (Timoney et. al., 1997). In addition, skid and haul road reclamation requires removal of large berms, out sloping, the smoothing of road surfaces, and installation of water bars. Reclamation activities should begin as soon as work is completed in each area of operation (Timoney et. al., 1997).

As part of the reclamation process, soil may need to be scarified before seeding if it is compacted. Native grasses and other fast growing plants provide quick ground cover for soil stabilization and seeding is recommended (Busby et. Al., 2009). Dry sites and areas where the subsoil is exposed may require lime and fertilizer. The amount of lime or fertilizer needed is site specific and can be determined by conducting soil tests and referring to soil professionals. Slash (which includes limbs, tops and unused logs) remaining from the timber operation can also be dispersed in the forest area to supplement soil protection (Nix, 2011).

Forests provide humans with many products and services.  It is essential to manage these renewable resources in such a way so that they can be useful and enjoyable to future generations. Logging operations in the past degraded the land and water surrounding the harvest areas.  These poor logging practices have been replaced by modern management and improved harvesting techniques.

Foresters, land managers, environmental scientists, and natural resource specialists have a good understanding of how to prevent land and water degradation, promote forest regeneration, maximize growth, efficiently harvest selected trees in the appropriately harvest method, and reclaim the land making it able to grow trees again. I am studying forestry here at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and graduating this spring.  I am confident that I can manage land for the maximization of profits from harvesting and growing trees while protecting and maintaining the land for future forests and harvests.

 

Sources

Busby, P. E., Foster, D. R., Motzkin, G., & Canham, C. D. (2009). Forest response to chronic hurricane disturbance in coastal New England [electronic resource]. Journal of vegetation science, 20(3), 487-497. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Craig A. and Macdonald S.E. (2009). Threshold effects of variable retention harvesting on understory plant communities in the boreal mixedwood forest, Forest Ecology and Management 258, pp. 2619–2627.

Fleming R.L. and Baldwin K.A. (2008). Effects of harvest intensity and aspect on a boreal transition tolerant hardwood forest. I. Initial postharvest understory composition, Canadian Journal of Forest Research 38, pp. 685–697.

McEvoy, T.J. (2008). The Path to Good Forestry is Riddled with Myths. Retrieved from http://www.farmingmagazine.com/print-38.aspx

Nix, S. (2011). Beyond the Harvest. Retrieved from http://forestry.about.com/cs/homeworkhelp/a/ClrcutBASF.htm

Pulkki, R.P. (2010). Harvesting Methods and Systems Defined. Retrieved from www.borealforest.org/world/innova/harvesting.htm.

Rosenvald R. and Lohmus A. (2008). For what, when, and where is green-tree retention better than clear cutting? A review of the biodiversity aspects, Forest Ecology and Management 255, pp. 1–15.

Sierra Pacific Industries. (2011). Sierra Pacific Forest Management. Retrieved from http://www.spi-ind.com/html/forests_management.cfm

Timoney K.P., Peterson G. and Wein R. (1997). Vegetation development of boreal riparian plant communities after flooding, fire, and logging, Peace River, Canada, Forest Ecology and Management 93, pp. 101–120.

Thompson, R. D., Lewis, K. J., & Daniels, L. D. (2007). A new dendroecological method to differentiate growth responses to fine-scale disturbance from regional-scale environmental variation [electronic resource]. Canadian journal of forest research, 37(6), 1034-1043. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.