introduction to energy & environment - uw oceanography€¦ · tendrils of bright red lengthen;...

Lecture 9-10 HAS222d-09

Introduction to energy & environment Air pollution

applying flux and concentration ideas to pollution and to basic atmosphere/ocean dynamics

•

The chapter in Spherical Cow on ‘steady state box models’ assumes simple, well-mixed reservoir with volume M with steady flow F in and out, giving a residence time M/F

for water or whatever the flowing material is. One can work in terms of volume or mass, using the density ρ

(kg/m3) to convert from one to the other.

Then if a pollutant is poured in upstream with a known rate (kg per second) the ultimate steady-state concentration of the pollutant in the reservoir can be calculated.

–

This model needs much improvement however:•

the flow or the pollutant injection may vary with time•

the reservoir may not be ‘well-mixed’ (as in smoke in the atmosphere)•

indeed the reservoir may not even be well-defined (as in the stratified global atmosphere ,where the pollutant never fills the whole region

•

the flux of pollutant or other trace substance (e.g.water

vapor) is expressed as a concentration C times a flux of mass of fluid:

mass flux = ρVA (kg/m3)(m/sec)(m2) …= kg/secwhere A is the cross-sectional area of the flow and V the velocity.

flux of pollutant or tracer = C ρVA where C is given as kg of tracer per kg of solution (water + tracer).

STIRRING AND MIXING: often a trace substance or pollutant is distributed complexly in a fluid. How does it become diluted in concentration? Think

of a red-colored pollutant. Since chemical reactions and molecular diffusion and heat flow occur where surfaces touch, the area of contact between the red fluid and clear fluid

is crucial. This is how we mix cake mixes…stirring and stirring until we have stretched out

the ‘red’ part enough for chemical reaction to occur along the edges of the red component.

In the same fashion, chaotic fluid flow stirs a pollutant (a ‘tracer’),stretching

it out until if finally ‘mixes’ by molecular diffusion. Tendrils of bright red lengthen; their surface area increases; finally all is uniformly pink.

The figures show a dye tracer being stirred in a fluid…while it is still a chaos of thin red curves before it has mixed to ‘pink’.

The biosphere as seen with satellite images of color (here ‘false color’ recoded to bring out detail). Chlorophyll of primary production of vegetable matter (‘grass of the

seas’) in ocean; snow-cover, forests, deserts on land and ‘blue deserts’ in ocean.

note the bands of wet and dry land..from

rain forests to deserts,which are tied to the cycling of fresh water evaporated from the

oceans

phytoplankton at the surface of the Mediterranean Sea

(false color SeaWiFS

satellite image) showing complex tendrils due to stirring by ocean currents. Biological communities have to adapt to this chaotic stirred environment: a complex place to raise a family!

water vapor in the middle levels of the troposphere, showing very long streaky

features extended by storm-like cyclonic weather systems.

MORTALITY:WHO

figures show an estimated 2.4M (million)

people die each year because of

air

pollution. This health impact represents about 4.3% percent of the total 56M deaths that occur annually in the world.

Indoor air pollution is found to cause 1.6M of these deaths

Smoking is not included in these numbers: smoking is estimated to cause 4.83M deaths per year from The Lancet, 2003 (primary, not secondary smoke).

The reliability of these numbers must be investigated, yet public health studies are now based on huge populations (which helps make reliable statistics). The numbers are so big than the dangerous effects of even individual pollutants can sometimes be found out.

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Environment Pollution May Cause 40 Percent of Global Deaths By Andrea Thompson, LiveScience Staff Writer posted: 10 September 2007 09:11 am ET Buzz up! Comments (0) | Recommend (2) In Dzerzhinsk, Russia, waste from 190 chemicals has turned the groundwater into a dangerous toxic sludge. Life expectancy there is 42 for men and 47 for women. Credit: Blacksmith Institute Full Size 1 of 1 Water, air and soil pollution, along with other environmental factors, contribute to 40 percent of deaths worldwide each year, a new study concludes. In a review of research into the effects of environmental pollutants and other sources of environmental degradation, Cornell University ecologist David Pimentel estimates that 62 million deaths per year (40 percent of all that occur) can be attributed to environmental factors, particularly organic and chemical pollutants that accumulate in the air we breathe and the water we drink. Though scientists and organizations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization have begun keeping tabs on the role environmental pollution plays and were aware of the enormous impact that some pollutants have, "we were surprised with the number," Pimentel said. This "suggests the importance of the environment as it's related to our deaths," he toldLiveScience. Dirty water With an estimated 1.1 billion people in the world lacking access to clean water (according to WHO estimates), it is little wonder that waterborne infections account for 80 percent of all infectious diseases in the world. "Water is one of the major concerns, without any question," Pimentel said, because everyone must use it for drinking, cooking, washing and bathing. Water contaminated with untreated sewage and fecal matter can facilitate the transmission of diarrheal diseases such as cholera (bacteria that live in feces), intestinal infections (which can compound health issues by causing malnutrition) and other diseases—all of which kill millions every year, especially children. A 2004 study by the Population Resource Center found that 2.2 million infants and children die each year from diarrhea, caused largely by contaminated water and food. And, according to their estimates, polluted water in Africa and India causes 1.4 million deaths each year as a result of diarrheal diseases such as cholera and dysentery. "Water sanitation and hygiene are, considered globally, one of the big, big causes of disease," said WHO scientist Annette Prüss-Üstün. Most of the problems from contaminated water are an issue in developing countries, where there is little infrastructure to deal with sewage and other water sanitation issues—people in developing countries dump 95 percent of their untreated urban sewage into the same lakes and rivers they use for drinking and bathing, according to the United Nations. "While in many countries there is still [a] water supply, proper disposal and treatment of sewage is a little bit less common in developing countries," Prüss-Üstün said. In India, for example, only a handful of cities have water treatment facilities, according to Pimentel. "It's a challenge just to get clean water," he said. Thick smoke Air pollution is another big killer. The WHO ranks it as the eighth most important risk in the burden of disease and deems it responsible for 3 million deaths each year through diseasessuch as pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and lung cancer. In developing countries, indoor air pollution is a major problem because most people rely on open stoves fueled by dung, wood, crop waste or coal to cook and heat poorly-ventilated homes. A little more than half of the world's households use these solid fuels for cooking, "which is huge," Prüss-Üstün said. The smoke from these stoves accumulates in abodes, exposing those inside—mainly women and children—to the hazardous pollutants released from the fuel. "In some houses you enter into the kitchen, and even though you might even have a permanent opening in the house ... you can hardly see ... the wall on the other side, so thick is the smoke," Prüss-Üstün said. More than 200 different chemicals can be found in the smoke, and 14 of them are known carcinogens, Pimentel said. Every year, this indoor air pollution kills 1.6 million people (or one person every 20 seconds), according to the WHO. Outdoor air pollution, on the other hand, accounts for some 800,000 deaths per year—about half as many as for indoor air—because the pollutants are much less concentrated. "Indoor air pollution can be 100 times more concentrated," Prüss-Üstün said. "There's really a big difference." But outdoor air pollution still impacts health—both in developing countries and cities in the developed world—through chronic respiratory problems, acute problems (such as asthma) in children and "a long list of cardiopulmonary diseases in adults," Prüss-Üstün said. And as the world's population continues to grow and shifts to urban areas, outdoor air pollution will become a more serious health threat, Pimentel added. Toxic chemicals Health is also affected by the tens of thousands of chemicals put into the environment by industrial processes and other sources. With most of these chemicals, the environmental and biological effects they may have, including their toxicity to humans, is largely unknown, particularly because so many are used in combination. "It's impossible to estimate," Prüss-Üstün said. "It's truly impossible to estimate more precisely, because ... there are so many toxins." But according to studies cited in Pimentel's review, detailed in a recent issue of the journalHuman Ecology, chemical exposures can contribute to cancers, birth defects, immune system defects, behavioral problems, altered sex hormones and dysfunctions in specific organs. Americans of all ages carry at least 116 foreign chemicals in their bodies, according to Pimentel's review, including the pesticide DDT (which still persists though it was banned three decades ago in the United States), lead and mercury (with coal-powered plants being the largest source of mercury pollution). The uncertainty in some of these connections has led to lower, more conservative estimates of the part that environmental pollution plays in the global burden of disease. WHO estimates have linked only 25 percent of the global disease burden to pollution, because they have included only the more firmly known links, Prüss-Üstün said. But what is clear, both Prüss-Üstün and Pimentel say, is that a large number of deaths could be prevented if developing countries were educated on and helped with the problems posed by water and indoor air pollution, which while fairly easy to solve in the developed world are beyond the means of those affected in developing countries to fix on their own. World's 10 Most Polluted Places What's Your Environmental Footprint? Top 10 Ways to Destroy Earth

news item: Environment Pollution May Cause 40 Percent of Global Deaths

By

Andrea Thompson, LiveScience

Staff Writer

posted: 10 September 2007 09:11 am ET

Buzz up!

•

Water, air and soil pollution, along with other environmental factors, contribute to 40 percent of deaths worldwide each year, a new study concludes.

•

In a review of research into the effects of

environmental pollutants

and other sources of environmental degradation, Cornell University ecologist David

Pimentel estimates ???that 62 million

deaths per year (40 percent of all that occur)??? can be attributed to environmental factors, particularly organic and chemical pollutants that accumulate in the air we breathe and the water we drink.

•

Though scientists and organizations such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization have begun keeping tabs on the role environmental pollution plays and were aware of the enormous impact that some pollutants have, "we

were surprised with the number," Pimentel said.

•

This "suggests the importance of the environment as it's related

to our deaths," he toldLiveScience.

•

note: most estimates put death rate at 56M per year, ca. 2003 (e.g. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population ) PR 30.iv.09

http://www.livescience.com/environment/070910_pollution_deaths.html

Presenter

Presentation Notes

WIkipedia: World births have levelled off at about 137-million-per-year, since their peak at 163-million in the late 1990's, and are expected to remain constant. However, deaths are only around 56 million per year, and are expected to increase to 90 million by the year 2050. Since births outnumber deaths, the world's population isexpected to reach about 9 billion by the year 2040.[

http://www.livescience.com/php/contactus/author.php?r=at

http://buzz.yahoo.com/article/livescience/http%253A%252F%252Fwww.livescience.com%252Fenvironment%252F070910_pollution_deaths.html

http://www.livescience.com/environment/061018_polluted_places.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

http://www.livescience.com/environment/070910_pollution_deaths.html

The US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has set quality standards for 6 air pollutants, following the Clean Air Act created during

the Nixon administration.

carbon monoxide,ozone,lead,

nitrogen dioxide,particulate matter (also known as particle pollution)

sulfur dioxide

NOTE CO2 recently added!!!www.epa.gov/airtrends

•

However there are many more air pollutants of note:

–

nuclear debris (radioactivity from nuclear plants: e.g. Chernobyl–

naturally radioactive radon gas (in basements of houses)–

VOCs

(volatile organic compounds) of many kinds, for example in ‘scented household products’ There is a sad history where volatile compounds are developed and used widely, before finding that they are toxic. An example is pentachlorophenol, or ‘penta-preservative’ which is painted on exterior wood as a preservative. If you Google it, you will find industry

websites proclaiming it to be harmless to health and other sites describing serious efffects

of inhaling the vapors. I used to use it; an hours work would leave me dizzy. Professional painters continue to use it every day with anecdotal signs of serious health effects. Chemical sensitivity can change if you are exposed to toxic fumes: it is possible to end up unable to tolerate ‘normal’ smells, requiring the use of an air-filtering mask. It seems that government regulatory agencies have difficulty keeping up with the thousands of VOCs

now present in the human environment, each of which would require lengthy health studies, in order to develop regulations for their use.; Pentachlorophenol is ‘suspected of causing reproductive defects and cancer on the basis of animal studies’. (Marer & Grimes, Wood Preservation in Univ. of California statewide integrated pest management project, publication 3335) Ironically the university study finds that a non-toxic alternaive

made of paraffin wax, varnish and mineral spirits is equally effective at preserving outdoor wood surfaces.

–

formaldehyde derived from methyl alcohol, in carpets, wood sheathing of houses, walls of FEMA

modular homes set up for Katrina hurricane victims

…beware of ‘new carpet smell’–

asbestos in old ceiling tiles, insulation –

other fire retardants in clothing–

biological spores, pollens related to human allergies

•

particles: smoke, car exhaust, metal chips, blowing soils (e.g. Asian loess, Saharan red sand), important down to the scale of 0.1 micron, where they are invisible and float permanently in the air.

•

"Coal is the single greatest threat to civilization and all life on our planet." –

James Hansen, NASA's top climate scientist

•

Dirty air, acid rain and contaminated land and water. Health problems associated with coal pollution include childhood asthma, birth defects and respiratory diseases that take nearly 25,000 lives each year in the US.

•

mountaintop removal http://www.nrdc.org/energy/coal/mtr/default.asp

http://www.nrdc.org/energy/coal/mtr/default.asp

http://www.rainforests.net/graystreaks.jpg

burning of Amazonia

to grow crops…for a few short years.

http://www.rainforests.net/graystreaks.jpg

earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/

more burning in South America (fire sites shown)

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Hundreds, possibly thousands of fires (locations marked in red) were burning in South America when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite passed overhead on September 25, 2007, and captured this image. The most intense fire activity was in Bolivia, where fires are concentrated in the Santa Cruz Department, in the southeastern part of the country. Although naturally occurring fires can occur in the savannas and dry woodlands of southern Bolivia and northern Paraguay, this type of intense, widespread burning is likely the result of human activities. Agricultural fires (for example, fires for brush or crop-residue clearing) can get out of control and spread to surrounding forests and other natural areas. Thick smoke is hanging over much of the scene. The large image provided above has a spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily images of the region in additional resolutions.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14549

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14549

http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0906-nasa_africa_fires.html

Jan 2005 May July

1 km resolution images: seasonal change in location of fires in Africa

Presenter

Presentation Notes

This series of images shows the seasonal fire patterns in Africa throughout 2005. The images are based on fires detected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. Each image is a composite of 10 days of fire detections (marked in red and yellow) made by the sensors; the series includes images from every other 10-day period from January 1 through August 19, 2005. Each colored dot indicates a location where MODIS detected at least one fire during the compositing period. When MODIS detected a fire at a location only a few times during the 10-day period, the area is marked in red; when MODIS detected a fire at that location many times, the area is marked in yellow. The fire-detection locations are overlaid on the MODIS Blue Marble. ��The series of images begins with the first 10 days of 2005, during which fires were widespread across the area just south of the Sahara Desert. This region includes both the Sahel (a semi-arid zone of transitional vegetation between the Sahara and the rainier savannas to the south) and savannas. From January through early March, the "yellows" fade, indicating fewer fires at those same, northern locations; an exception to this gradual tapering off is on the coast of West Africa, in the region of Guinea and Senegal. Meanwhile, the number of fires is in on the rise in the equatorial forests in the heart of the continent. By May 1-10, the number of northern fires was greatly reduced, and by early July burning in the Sahel and northern savannas had dropped off almost completely, while Southern Africa was ablaze. ��Although fires are a part of the natural cycle of the seasonally dry grasslands and savannas of Africa, ecologists, climatologists, and public health officials still have reasons to be concerned about Africa's intense burning. The frequency with which fires return to previously burned areas helps determine what species of plants (and therefore animals) can survive. When the fire-return interval is too quick, the land may become degraded and unusable for farming or grazing. In the semi-arid and fragile Sahel, for example, land degradation through overuse of fire or overgrazing can create pockets of desert. The massive amount of burning that occurs on Africa each year creates carbon dioxide and aerosol particles, both of which play a role in global climate. Finally, the smoke and accompanying gases and particles create a public health hazard; during an area's burning season, the amounts of ground-level ozone and other air pollutants can become hazardous to human health. ��The high-resolution images provided above have a spatial resolution of 1 kilometer per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides these fires maps for the whole globe at multiple resolutions for selected 10-day periods from 2000-2005. �

http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0906-nasa_africa_fires.html

vertical structure of smoke layers from California Santa Anna fires 28 Oct 2003 thin layers of smoke/dust can cross entire oceans and then rain out: they are not well-mixed through the depth of the atmosphere!

•

visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=16620

Presenter

Presentation Notes

new instrument in orbit aboard NASA’s ICESat satellite—the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS)—reveals another dimension of the California wildfires. By transmitting a green beam of laser light downward at the Earth and then precisely measuring how much of that light is backscattered back up into space, GLAS can determine the vertical structure of clouds, pollution, or smoke plumes in the atmosphere. This GLAS observation over the eastern Pacific Ocean, acquired on October 28, 2003, shows the thick smoke plumes emanating from several large wildfires burning in southern California. The image represents a vertical slice of Earth’s atmosphere, from sea level to 16 km in altitude. The image inset (upper left) reveals the precise path (green line) of GLAS’ observation path as the ICESat satellite flew overhead, as compared to the same scene observed about 7 hours earlier by Aqua MODIS. The zig-zag features toward the lower left of the image show the smoke plumes from the fires rising up as high as 5 km above the surface. The much thinner features toward the upper right are high-level cirrus clouds. The large black feature jutting up above sea level shows the mountain range separating Santa Barbara from the San Joaquin Valley. Note the low-lying pollution over San Joaquin Valley. The colors of the features in the air in this image represent how much laser light a given feature reflects back to space. This measure, called “backscatter coefficient,” directly relates to the density of smoke and clouds. The thickness of the smoke plumes increase as the colors graduate from blue (low values), to green (intermediate values), to orange, and finally to white (very high values). Note the “shadows” under the thickest portions of the smoke plumes. The ICESat sensor is now making these same measurements over biomass burning sites every day all over the world. Such measures are helping scientists understand how smoke is carried by winds, how smoke mixes with and modifies clouds, and how smoke affects the heating of Earth’s atmosphere as the smoke scatters and absorbs incoming solar radiation. Large-scale biomass burning is unusual in the United States. However, it is a common practice in many parts of the world, especially in South America and Africa, where fire is a primary tool used in agriculture as well as to help clear away forests for human development. Scientists are interested in observing the smoke from biomass burning on a global scale because it can significantly affect climate.

http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=16620

summer fires in the US northwest: increasing in frequency and acres burned, subjecting many people to smoke

smoke particles smaller than 1 micron (10-6m) linger in the air for long times and get deep into the lungs. Combustion (cars, factories, power plants) are not the only sources. Agriculture puts fine particles into the air, some smaller than

the measured particle sizes; so the countryside is not completely ‘clean’.

we know precisely how fast heavy particles fall through still air….which tells us that below about 1 micron (10-6m) particles almost ‘don’t fall out’

Presenter

Presentation Notes

get formula

Note here the ‘pulmonary region’ refers to the deeper lung passages.The clearing of soot from the lung is carried out by viscous fluid whichslowly flows; yet the narrow passages where much of the oxygen transferoccurs are too small for this fluid cleaning mechanism to work. It is thesmallest particles that can reach these regions, where they can remain for life and destroy lungfunction. From Chemistry of the Upper and Lower Atmosphere, Finlayson-Pitts and Pitts,Academic Press, 2000

Small particles get deep into our lungs:

•

The human nose is remarkably able to sense small concentrations of chemically active particles/gases…fragrances (but animals are

vastly more able to, for example, smell a human being hundreds of meters away). However, are sense of smell is easily dulled. This works against us, allowing us to live in smoky environments… ’getting used to it’. Research into pheromones (the science of

chemical production of smell by animals) is exciting, as it relates to remarkable abilities of animals to hunt prey, migrate and navigate, as well as relating to ‘relationships’.

An experiment: next time you leave the city for more than a day in the country see if you can smell individual cars as they drive by..I

have noticed this particularly in dry air, e.g. in the Colorado mountains.

one of the most abundant potential energy sources is coal, particularly in the US. Yet it comes at a steep environmental price all the way from damaging mining practices to sooty

air, to global warming


coal sources: mountain-topping in Appalachia


on average, our air is getting cleaner. PM10

is the measure of particles of size about 10 microns. This average result is in part due to dilution of intensely polluted source air

(which you would not expect to affect the ‘average PM10’ yet it seems to. There remain intensely polluted regions…’hot-spots’

PM 10 concentrations US and UK;cost (?) of smoke in US ($ per person)

Indoor air seems to be one of the ‘hot spots’ of pollution. It is not clear why, but

asthma occurrence is increasing with time (indoor air pollution; life-style changes, with more time spent indoors?)

Indoor air pollution is thought to cause about ½ of the air pollution illness &

mortality, roughly 1.6M deaths per year globally.

note logarithmic scale, it’s worsethan it appears at first sight

•

Air pollution attributable postneonatal

infant mortality in U.S. metropolitan areas: a risk assessment study

•

Reinhard

Kaiser1 , Isabelle Romieu2 , Sylvia Medina3 , Joel Schwartz4 , Michal

Krzyzanowski5

and

Nino Künzli1,6

•

Results•

The estimated proportion of all cause mortality, sudden infant death syndrome (normal birth weight infants only) and respiratory disease mortality (normal birth weight) attributable to PM10

above a chosen reference value of 12.0

μg/m3

PM10

was 6% (95% confidence interval 3–11%), 16% (95% confidence interval 9–23%) and 24% (95% confidence interval 7–44%), respectively.

•

Environmental Health journal

•

Spatial distribution: going beyond ‘average’ pollution and averages of other measures of the environment: the connection with industrial production, ‘intensity’ of the global economy

The world is not flat: energy use (via the Earth at Night lighting proxy)

(R.Florida, Atlantic Monthly Oct. 2005) Note that since 2005 it is likely that the energy use in China has risen noticeably relative to this map, as they have come to dominate the production of many commodities. China has recently surpassed the US in carbon emissions, and is close in total energy use (though at a rate only roughly 15% of US in energy use per person). Wikipedia

lists China at 1.5 kW

per person, US at 10.4 kW

per person, for the 24/7 use of marketable energy. In terms of

total rate of energy use, US is still ahead at 1. x 1020

J/year versus China at 0.63 x 1020

J/year 2004, source Wikipedia) Apparently China’s use of more coal puts them ahead in carbon emissions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_energy_consumption_per_capita (2004, source Wikipedia)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_energy_consumption_per_capita



The world at night: lighting correlates surprisingly well with industrial output; after correcting for ‘technology’ it also relates to the distribution of particle pollution, SO2

and NOx

oxides of nitrogen.This

image can be used to estimate global distribution of industrial

activity, energy use and also ‘prosperity’ You can see major cities and highways in this light map

NO2

nitrogen dioxideseen by satellitespectrometer European SpaceAgency

Akimoto, Science 2003

units: 105

molecules per cm2

SO2

here is an example of the ‘geography’ of pollution.Asia is worsening while Europe improves (above)

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/GGGDV4TZ0GC_index_1.html

http://www.esa.int/esaCP/GGGDV4TZ0GC_index_1.html

ozone...here the lower atmospheric ‘bad’ ozone which is produced when the sun shines on nitrogen oxides pollution (often car exhaust).

Akimoto, Science, 2003 These figures compare the

pre-industrial world (modelled)

with present conditions

Some overall statistics of air pollution (plots from The Skeptical Environmentalist, by Bjorn Lomborg). Here smoke and SO2

(sulfer

dioxide) average concentrations estimated from 1600 to 2000

OZONE (O3

) left and nitrogen dioxide (NO2

) The daily cycle of ozone production by sun shining on oxides of nitrogen shows their out-of-step behavior in time (through 2 days)

The map below shows the eastern USdeveloped corridor is a concentration ofozone.

lower-atmosphere ozone

GOOD ozone: in thestratosphere, our shield against destructive UVBradiation (~ 300 nanometerwavelength compared with visible light at 500 nanometers)

further signs of improvement: US average NO2

concentration declining with time (1980-2007). Source: US Environmental Protection Agency

right: Seattle region

http://epa.gov/airtrends/nitrogen.html

http://epa.gov/airtrends/nitrogen.html

Oxides of nitrogen: sources

From WIkipedia: Oxides of NitrogenThis section refers to the chemical term for nitrogen oxides produced during combustion. For other definitions see NoxThe term

nitrogen oxide

typically refers to any

binary compound

of

oxygen

and

nitrogen,or to a mixture of such compounds:

•Nitric oxide

(NO), nitrogen(II) oxide•Nitrogen dioxide

(NO2

), nitrogen(IV) oxide•Nitrous oxide

(N2

O), nitrogen (I) oxide•Dinitrogen

trioxide

(N2

O3

), nitrogen(II,IV) oxide•Dinitrogen

tetroxide

(N2

O4

), nitrogen(IV) oxide•Dinitrogen

pentoxide

(N2

O5

), nitrogen(V) oxide(Note that the last three are unstable.)Chemical reactions

that produce nitrogen oxides often produce several different compounds,the proportions of which depend on the specific reaction and conditions. For this reason, secondary[clarification needed]

production of N2

O

is undesirable, as NO and NO2

— which are extremely toxic —

are liable to be produced as well.

Nitric oxide, NO Nitrogen dioxide, NO2

Nitrous oxide, N2ODinitrogen

trioxide, N2O3

Dinitrogen

tetroxide, N2O4

Dinitrogen

pentoxide, N2O5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nox

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_compound

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinitrogen_trioxide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinitrogen_tetroxide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinitrogen_pentoxide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitric_oxide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_dioxide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrous_oxide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinitrogen_trioxide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinitrogen_tetroxide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinitrogen_pentoxide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nitric-oxide-3D-vdW.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nitrogen-dioxide-3D-vdW.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nitrous-oxide-3D-vdW.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dinitrogen-trioxide-3D-vdW.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dinitrogen-tetroxide-3D-vdW.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dinitrogen-pentoxide-3D-vdW.png

sulfur dioxide…from coal fired power plants

lead……thanks Mr. Midgely

www.epa.gov/airtrendsl

US air quality 1990 -

2007

1980 vs 2007

1990 vs 2007

CO -76 -67

O3 (8-hr) -21 -9

Pb -94 -80

NO2 -43 -35

PM10 (24-hr) --- -28

PM2.5 (annual) --- -11

PM2.5 (24-hr) --- -9

SO2 -68 -54

http://www.epa.gov/airtrendsl

percent change in US emissions 1980-1990-2007 www.epa.gov/airtrends

1980 vs 2007

1990 vs 2007

CO -55 -44

Pb -97 -72

NOx -39 -33

VOC -50 -35

Direct PM10 -65 -33

Direct PM2.5 --- -51

SO2 -49 -45

www.eps.gov/airtrends: US only. Of key importance of course is not

just the US average but the ‘hot spots’ of pollution which are numerous. Here more than ½ the US population lives with some form of excess

pollution (in excess of federal health standards). And recall that the US EPA only regulates a few pollutants.

http://www.eps.gov/airtrends

•

Solutions…Our parents and grandparents generally ingested vastly more pollutants than we do…but it’s a moving target. VOCs (volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, smoke particles…are still with us but less visible, and their impact not yet understood. –

prosperity (but not too much)–

monitoring–

epidemiological studies: quantitative connections between pollution and health

–

remediation: capping emissions, changing energy modes, improved

cures for pulmonary disease and cancer

–

new technologies to clean the air and the deposition sites–

simple technologies to clean household air (responsible for ½ the human fatalities)

•

coaxial air exchangers bring in clean outdoor air, jet out the bad indoor air, yet retain heat and moisture indoors

•

solar box cookers in sunny developing countries instead of burning wood for cooking, water purification

•

electrostatic air cleaners in homes–

activism: extreme pollution sources go unnoticed for long periods of time,and

the danger thresholds are constantly being revised…–

global consensus to drown out short-term economic thinking–

banning of pollution ‘export’ •

loess from China•

smoke from Africa, South America, SE Asia•

SO2

from US, Europe, Asia–

special efforts for developing world…the early rising pollution curve,

•

Finally, this is all human centered (as McNeill admits in his book). What about the global ecosystem and the impact of air pollution on plants and animals? A complex, multi-dimensional set of issues!

•

Notice, though Nature’s resilience: why are leaves so clean?

tree leaf 400 micron image

water on a tulip

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Microscopic Observations of Water on Plant LeavesZhenmeng Peng Department of Mechanical Engineering / Materials Science Program University of Rochester, Rochester NYBACKGROUNDIt is well known that water drops can roll at samll tilt angles when placed on lotus leaf surfaces. This ability to remain clean in water, or self-cleaning behavior, has been popularized as the Lotus Effect. It has been attributed to the structure and composition of the lotus surface. Previous studies have shown that the surface of the lotus leaf is covered with micrometer scale bumps and nanometer scale hairlike structures. The two-level roughness and the presence of wax are believed to be responsible for the Lotus Effects.Just not long ago, several papers were published using in situ enviromental scanning electron microscope to oberve these phenomena. The results show that although the drops appear to have a high contact angle with respect to the plane of the leaf, they actually have a small contact angle with respect to the side walls of the bumps as seen from the contact edges. The geometric relationship is shematically shown below.

for example: solar cooking and water purification

In India, where a reported 90 percent of cooking is done over wood-

and dung-fueled fires, several studies have documented that “indoor air pollution leads to 400,000-550,000 premature deaths … from lower respiratory infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. … The burden falls disproportionately on women and children, who inhale soot and other particles from smoke released by the burning of biofuels.” This soot combines with outdoor air pollution to form atmospheric brown clouds (ABCs) that “envelope most of India and the Indian Ocean … [leading] to a large reduction of sunlight at the ground and … atmospheric solar heating

Presenter

Presentation Notes

In India, where a reported 90 percent of cooking is done over wood- and dung-fueled fires, several studies have documented that “indoor air pollution leads to 400,000-550,000 premature deaths … from lower respiratory infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. … The burden falls disproportionately on women and children, who inhale soot and other particles from smoke released by the burning of biofuels.” This soot combines with outdoor air pollution to form atmospheric brown clouds (ABCs) that “envelope most of India and the Indian Ocean … [leading] to a large reduction of sunlight at the ground and … atmospheric solar heating

India is well-known for delicious food, and the kitchen is considered to be a sacred place in any Indian home. And now India has something else to be

proud of: the world’s largest solar kitchen. The system has been installed as a collaboration between the

Academy for a Better World

and

Brahma Kumaris

World Spiritual University, with technology from

Solare-Brücke, Germany. With 84 receivers and cooking at 650 degrees, the system can produce up to 38,500 meals a day when the sun is at its peak!

The system generates temperatures of up to about 650 degrees, and 3500-4000 kg of steam per day. The food is cooked in 200-400 liters capacity cooking pots, producing an average of 20,000 meals a day, and up to 38,500 meals per day

during periods of peak solar radiation maximum.A total of $5 million has been spent on this endeavor.

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The solar kitchen has been set up at Taleti, near Mount Abu, situated at a height of 1219 m above sea level inRajasthan. It boasts of a six-module solar steam cooking system and a total of 84 parabolic dish concentratorsshell type receivers. Each oval parabolic concentrator has a reflective surface area of 9.2 square meters, and reflect sunlight on the receivers by special white glass pieces. Steam is collected in the header pipes, which is then directed via insulated pipes to cooking vessels in the kitchen. The system generates temperatures of up to about 650 degrees, and 3500-4000 kg of steam per day. The food is cooked in 200-400 liters capacity cooking pots, producing an average of 20,000 meals a day, and up to 38,500 meals per day during periods of peak solar radiation maximum. A total of $5 million has been spent on this endeavor. The Academy for a Better World is interested in renewable energy technologies and the program is part of a special demonstration project of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of In

http://www.brahmakumaris.org.in/about.htm

http://www.bkun.org/index.html

http://www.solare-bruecke.org/

the pollution-prosperity curve:as a society progresses it develops industry, increasespollution as well as wealth. Then,predictably, the society decidesto clean up its nest and airquality improves.

air quality measuring stations…western Washington. Sustained observations (‘time-series’) are keys to understanding pollutantbehavior…and to deciding where you want to live!

Clearing the Air: US EPA2002 SO2 . NOx

The process of seeking a cleaner environment involves many challenges; one idea is ‘biomimicry’, in which we imitate Nature in our buildings, fuels and

materials. This is discussed in the book Natural Capitalism.

Costa Rica: Rancho Mastetal. The hooch was designed and built by last year’s course and finished by volunteers. The instructors stayed there this year. Structural bamboo is a sustainable crop in Latin

America, and makes a fine house.

introduction to energy & environment - uw oceanography€¦ · tendrils of bright red lengthen;...

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