Enviromental Science

What is the environment?

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words: Select an air or water pollutant that affects your community or household (emissions, chemical, pesticide, etc. – be specific about the contaminant). What are the environmental and health impacts of the pollutant? What are some strategies for reducing or removing the negative environmental and human health impacts?

Case study: An operator was scooping an active pharmaceutical ingredient powder (MIE = 15 mJ) from a Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container (FIBC) into a sieve when an explosion/flash fire occurred in the vicinity. The sieved powder (fine particulates) flowed through the sieve into a stainless steel bin on nylon wheels as can be seen in Figure 1. Though not specifically shown in Figure 1, the procedure required that the bin be covered with a plastic sheet to “reduce” dust emission (as shown in Figure 2). The procedure also required the bin to be earthed with a clamp to a nearby ladder (as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 3). The sieve itself rested on nylon wheels but contained an electric motor which was earthed. The operator was wearing conductive shoes. (i) Develop a plausible scenario that describes the most likely cause of the explosion/flash fire. (ii) Describe the various control measures you would implement to minimize the likelihood of such an explosion/flash fire re-occurring in the future.

The annual population increase throughout the world is currently 1.2%. This figure is determined by using the world’s birth rate (the number of births per 1,000 people) and death rate (the number of deaths per 1,000 people). While this number may sound small, today’s population will double in just 58 years if it continues to grow at this rate. This growth is by no means uniform across the world. At current rates, many countries will double their populations in less than 25 years, while others have reached zero population growth (ZPG) — a point when the birth and death rates are roughly equal — and do not expect to grow at all. Some countries are seeing negative population growth (NPG) when the birth rate is lower than the death rate leading to a decline in the population. The annual rate of growth for a population is calculated using its birth and death rates as follows: Birth rate – death rate = rate of growth, For example, if the United States has a birth rate of 13.83 per 1,000 people and a death rate of 8.38 per 1,000, then the annual rate of growth is 5.45 people per 1,000. (Note: These figures represent the rate of “natural increase” and do not include immigration or emigration. For example, the annual population increase in the U.S. would be greater if immigration were included.) View the following videos and then respond to the Discussion topics that follow: Distilled demographics: Deciphering population pyramids Distilled demographics: The birth rate Distilled demographics: The death rate Population Reference Bureau. (2015, March 6). Distilled demographics. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL75500EACFAA7552F Topic: Human Population Change At the beginning of the week, respond to the following: Using your own prior knowledge and the provided resources, discuss the factors that you believe could affect a country’s birth and death rates. What could cause increases or decreases in either of these? Choose one country from the “A” list and one from the “B” list below. You can also choose one country on your own, not on either list. Visit the following website to explore the birth and death rates for the two countries you have selected. Using this information, determine the annual change in population size for each country using the formula as shown above.  The World Factbook: CIA. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/docs/profileguide.html A-List: Mexico, China, India, Bolivia, Nigeria B List: Japan, United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, Italy, Russia Use the information that you and your classmates have collected and discussed the following: Which figures differ the most between countries, the birth rates or the death rates? What do you believe could cause these significant differences? Use the cia.gov website to help with your analysis; you can find additional useful information about each country there. Can a country grow indefinitely? Why or why not? Are there any countries at risk of running out of people? Why or why not? Be sure to address all Discussion Board topics in an original, well-thought-out, respectful manner. Main posts should fully and completely discuss each question posed and make frequent, informed references to this unit’s material. Engage in ongoing, productive conversation by responding to a minimum of two classmates per topic. Responses to classmates should be at least 50 words. Remember, you will learn more by sharing ideas! Please note: Borrowed material (quotes, summaries, or paraphrases) should make up no more than 10% of the total word count for all written assignments in this course, including Discussion. All writing must be in your own words and borrowed material must be properly cited and referenced. For more information on Human Population Change read this:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

GEOG/ENVS 600 FINAL EXAM PART 2 – SHORT ESSAYS  INSTRUCTIONS: Choose TWO prompts from the following list and respond to BOTH for the essay portion of your final exam. Aim for about 1 page/500 words for each response. Submit your responses in one document via the Turnitin link in iLearn before Friday, December 18 at 11:59 p.m.  ESSAY OPTIONS (CHOOSE 2): 1.     Are recent trends in America’s uses of forms of energy trending towards using more renewables or more non-renewables? Is this trend good or bad, and why? What makes a form of energy renewable, and what makes a form of energy non-renewable? Provide examples of three renewable forms of energy and three kinds of non-renewable forms of energy in your response. (500 words) 2.     What is the difference between climate change adaptation and climate change mitigation? Provide an example of each. Then, the state briefly how adaptation to climate change relates to human well-being, OR how it relates to environmental well-being (your choice). Finally, provide an example from lecture, reading, or assignment topics of climate adaptation – adapting to what environmental issue? (500 words) 3.     We covered a variety of environmental problems and potential solutions over the course of the semester. Choose ONE topic/problem that has been of particular interest to you and explain its importance. Then, discuss the solution(s) to this problem, evaluating how realistic/useful stated solution(s) could be. Use examples from readings, lectures, and other course content to support your points. (500 words) For more information on Climate Change Adaptation read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_adaptation

Write a 750-1,000-word essay about water quality in your community that addresses the following points: Obtain a water quality report from your local municipality within the last two years and discuss what you found in the report? Identify a water quality issue happening in your community and where the pollution comes from? This includes point sources (for example, water discharge from a factory; contamination from a Superfund site), Non-point sources (for example, agricultural runoff), and Natural sources. Describe how the pollution source is impacting the environment and human health in your community, and provide two examples of each. Identify three management practices to minimize water pollution. Remember to support your data and information with appropriate citations. A minimum of five peer-reviewed references must be included. For more information on Water Quality read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Quality

In Chapter 7, “The Environment – Part II,” Hite and Seitz (2016) discuss the existing tension between development and the environment. The development brings economic growth as well as social and environmental changes. To a developing country, economic growth may be of a higher priority than the consequences to the long-term health of its citizens or its environment. On the other hand, poverty can also harm the environment, such as when searching for land to farm contributes to deforestation. Do wealthy nations using the labor of developing nations have responsibilities to the people and environment of that country? Why or why not? Be sure to use examples of existing companies to support your response. Review the posts of your classmates and respond to at least one other post, offering a substantive comment on that classmate’s position. For more information on Hite and Seitz read this:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_issue

Topic: Global Melting Read the following article on the melting ice sheets and conduct some additional research on your own. Then, answer the following: Ferris, R. (2016, 19 August). Arctic sea ice is vanishing far faster than anyone thought possible. CNBC. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/19/arctic-sea-ice-is-vanishing-far-faster-than-anyone-thought-possible.html In what state or region do you live? Would the melting of glaciers impact you directly (e.g., through inundation or loss of a source of water)? How would the melting ice caps affect you indirectly? This problem is a significant one for scientists, and there is no easy answer. What do you think can be done to fix the problem: in the short term? in the long term? How will the melting ice sheets impact plant and animal life? Be sure to address all Discussion Board topics in an original, well-thought-out, respectful manner. Main posts should fully and completely discuss each question posed and make frequent, informed references to this unit’s material. Engage in ongoing, productive conversation by responding to a minimum of two classmates per topic. For more information on Global Melting read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Warming?wprov=srpw1_1

 It was arduous when building an outline for climate change, yet the experience was extremely educational on what global warming represents in healthcare. The challenges I encountered would be not articulating more to deliver the message I wish to portray efficiently.  Therefore sentences were too simple and required more clarification when providing evidence. The biggest obstacle is searching for the most optimal answers to the research proposal’s primary questions. “What you plan to accomplish, why do you want to do it, and how are you going to do it. This article aims to highlight the essential concepts and not to provide extensive details about this topic” (Al-Riyami, 2008).      The majority of resources are peer-reviewed for credible information is essential for working on the outline. There could be a possible chance of working with environmental disasters in the future and understanding the causes of people’s death or sickness. I would know global warming and assisting greatly in finding solutions. Google Scholar is a reasonable choice, but I use the trident library for more trusting resources in my preference. References: Al-Riyami, Asya (2008). How to prepare a research proposal. Oman Medical Journal, 23 (2), 66–69. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3282423/pdf/OMJ-D-08-00005.pdf 250-275 words, scholarly source

Write 6-7 page essay on “Air pollution in India”.  you should have professional materials, not just newspaper articles. similarly, websites from organizations that specialize in issues related to pollution, environment, and health are appropriate but personal websites, opinion blogs, things like that are not ok. For more information on Air pollution in India read this:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_pollution_in_India