http://www.cantonrep.com/news/x1842807482/Stark-air-quality-is-improving

Summary:
In Stark County, Ohio, has been considered an area with air pollution since 2007. The pollution came from diesel vehicles where the particles are so tiny that they are able to get deep inside the lungs causing a multitude of health issues. Now the air seems to be a lot fresher. The county wants to show that their air is cleaner. To prove that it is though they need to pass a few inspections given by the EPA. 1) the air quality levels have to be lower than it was in 2007. 2) The difference happens because of permanent solutions. And 3) they have to maintain the air quality for 10 years. Luckily Heidi Greismer, works for the EPA, states that there are going to be more changes regarding coal-burning power plants and diesel vehicles which will help with lowering the amount of air pollution. She also released a statement that said instead of just checking if the air is recovering but also if it is worsening.

Reaction:
I'm glad that Stark County was able to realize that the environment that they were living in was very unhealthy and make some changes. I believe that with them keeping cutting some of these pollution sources that the air quality would be back to normal in no time. I also like the idea that they are going to keep an eye out if the quality is either improving or worsening. I think more cities in the US should follow in there footsteps to create a healthy atmosphere.

Questions:
1) What else could the residents do to reduce air pollution?
2) How long do you think it will take for the air to return to normal? why?
3) Do you think that Hatboro- Horsham would be in the same position if it isn't already?

Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park: Worst Air Pollution

Associated Press

The Associated PressMay 29, 2012 04:00 A

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/05/28/MNC61OOM6M.DTL

This shows the thick smog Sequoia National Park is known for.

Summary: This section of our conutry showcases many of the biggest species on Earth, such as the Sequoia Redwoods, but you can barely see them from a distance in this polluted park. This park should have amazing views of these plants and trees, even mountains and beautiful parts of California, but it has become the national park with the worst air pollution. When thinking of national parks, people often think of clean, naturistic images. However, the smog level here compares to urban and city areas, even that of Los Angeles. The air is so dangerous that those who visit it are warned ahead of time of the areas where hiking is not the safest. The park employees are also wanred, and even attend annual classes on the lung damage tha smog can cause. That's of course if employees even accepted the job after the government warned them of the hazards to their health while working here. Ozone causing this issue also affects a handful of other naitonal parks in the U.S. With the parks violation of the Ambient Air Quality standard 87 times last June-September season, action must be taken.

Reflection: You would never think that a national park would be so hazardous. You would think that emplyees of a place like this would be exposed to such a clean air, being in nature and in such a naturistic area. It's really shocking, but at least the government is aware of the situation, and safety precautions are being taken. I think more money and research should go into how to prevent smog from ozone so that we can enjoy what these parks have to offer in the future.


1) What can be done to prevent/treat smog caused by ozone?
2) Has anyone ever suffered health problems in national parks where this is an issue?
3) Does this affect the wildlife living there?
4) What other parks have this problem?

Air Pollution to Close to WPHS

http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/570551/Stout--Air-Pollution--Too-Close-to-WPHS.html?nav=510

Picture: This is a diagram of natural gas drilling.

Summary: Chesapeake Energy wants to build a well that will release harmful gases such as methane, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde and benzene into the air right next to Wheeling Park High School. However, Ben Stout, father of WPHS students, and the Wheeling Jesuit University biology professor told the company to put its well somewhere else, instead of right next to the school. Natural gas drilling can have many harmful effects on the air and can release emissions that can harm human health. Also, since the fracking process uses so much sand, there likely will be silica in the air, which causes respiratory problems. This is why it is a major concern to have gas well built right near a school full of children. The Chesapeake Energy company is now trying to find a place to place their wells rather than right next to the school. 

Reaction: I am glad that Ben Stout did the right thing and stuck up for his beliefs and children's health. It is wrong of Chesapeake Energy to want to place a gas well right near a high school, and endanger the health of hundreds of kids. As stated in the article, gas wells release methane, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, and benzene into the air, which can be very toxic and bad for humans. Moving the Chesapeake Energy's well somewhere else was a great idea and I am proud that Stout did something about it. I know I wouldn't want gas wells near my school! 


Questions: 
1) Would you want a gas well next to your school? Explain.
2) What other problems does this well cause?
3) Do you agree with Stout's decision to try and move the location of the well? Explain.

http://discovermagazine.com/2012/apr/07-does-rain-come-from-life-in-the-clouds/?

Summary:  In an April 2012 article in Discover magazine called “Does Rain come from Life in the Skies,” Douglas Fox reports on a growing number of scientists who believe that there are biological ecosystems in the clouds.  These scientists claim that it is these biosystems and how they work that answers the question, why certain clouds form raindrops and other very similar clouds do not.  Scientists already know that pure water can drop in a cloud to -40 degrees F before it freezes and forms ice which is the beginning of rain.  It confused some scientists to find that with dirt or other seeding of the clouds, that rain could form earlier.  The reason it is confusing is that sometimes even though there isn’t enough dust and other debris to form rain and the temperature is not cold enough, it still rains.  Fox flew with atmospheric chemist Kimberly Prather who along with others believe that it is the amount and type of bacteria that gets kicked up with the dust that determines whether raindrops are formed.  When studying clouds they have found bacteria with “ice genes” which make it easy for these bacteria to form ice.  Microbiologists are now finding and listing bacteria that have this particular ability to cause rain and believe that it is an entire ecosystem that creates rain.  Even more amazing is that it is bacteria and dust from Asia and Africa which effect rain in the United States and bacteria from the United States that effect Europe.  Also, the cloud systems are interesting because clouds that may look as though they are not moving or doing anything special are still involved in the constant process of evaporation and condensation.  The maximum amount of time a water droplet can condense before evaporating is 1 hour and clouds last and travel for many hours.  Scientists have discovered that there is a particularly strong bacteria found on rotting leaves called Pseudomonas syringae that can make water freeze at a relatively warm 28 degree F temperature. Obviously there are other scientists which disagree on the importance of bacteria in the clouds and it still remains a question as to whether it is a true biosystem or if it is just another thing that seeds the clouds and makes the weather harder to predict.

Reaction:  The reason I found this article interesting is that it always seems like the weather people struggle to predict the weather correctly. Maybe some how determining the amount and type of microbes in the clouds, meteorologists could better predict weather patterns. Also, it is weird to think that bacteria in the clouds could influence the weather and rain amounts. If it turns out to be true, maybe we can control the weather and how much rain certain areas get.

Questions

1)      Will this information someday help us to figure out ways around droughts since we can now use more than chemicals to seed clouds?

2)      Could this information be helpful to control flooding by decreasing rainfall when an area is already over come with too much water?

3)      If there are microbes in clouds, then how does air pollution effect them?

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/04/30/no-easy-scapegoat-for-hong-kong-pollution/?KEYWORDS=air+pollution

No Easy Scapegoat for Hong Kong Pollution

Summary: It seems Hong Kong's long smoggy skies cant be blamed on polluting factories in mainland China no longer. A new analysis has been released showing the city's air pollution is all to blame on Hong Kong itself. According to a recently released report for air quality Pearl River Delta area, their skies have been improvement over this past year.  Cleaner industrial production, better energy efficiency can all be thanked for this improvement.  But according to then Clean Air Network (local environmental group) the city's pollution has actually worsened, especially roadside pollution. The Delta region's nitrogen dioxide (a big part of roadside pollution) has dropped 13% but in Hong Kong a rise of 28% was seen, and this was from 2006 data! " Indeed, for concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, Hong Kong ranks second among 32 major Chinese cities, surpassing even notoriously smoggy Beijing, according to official Chinese data." For such a wealthy city many people are disappointed in the lack of leadership there. Many measures have started to be taken except for ones that could be one of the biggest contributors, boats and ships. The Clean Air Network has posted the blame on the city's rising car ownership and the aging of its car fleet. Several cities are taking action against this by paying people to retire their old cars and many experts say Hong Kong should join them.               

Reaction: I found this article interesting because before reading it I had no such knowledge of this problem in Hong Kong let alone several other Chinese cities. This really concern me that the problem is so bad its own residents walk around with masks on so they don't have to breathe the air! To see this problem in such a wealthy city it disappoints me they haven't done anything earlier. Tourists let alone the people have been scared off by the smog. I really hope to see follow ups on this, I would like to know how much progress they make and how it might really help us to have such knowledge of methods. And to improve upon these methods if our own cities see this horrible drop in air quality.

Questions:              

1. Except for the car retirement, what else do you think are some effective methods for lower the air pollution?
2. How would you feel as a resident? Who you breathe this air knowing of the pollution, or would you wear a mask like the women we see in this picture?
3. What is the number one most air polluted city in China?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203986604577257770238882852.html?KEYWORDS=alternative+energy+sources

Natural Gas to Power Pickups

 

 Summary: "U.S. auto makers are introducing pickup trucks powered by natural gas as they look to catch the growing wave of interest in the fuel as an alternative to gasoline"(Bennett).  Several motor companies have started to feature CNG-powerd cars, which run on both natural gas and gasoline. Chrysler Group LLC has just annouced the first production line pickup truck powered by natural gas. They are promising at least 2,000 heavy duty ram bi-fuel trucks, by the end of the fourth quarter. General Motors is also offering a bi-fuel Chevrolet Silveroda and GMC Sierra. They will be made by GM and sent to a supplier that willl refitt them for compressed gas use. Ford Motors has been offering a CNG prep kits for at leats six of thier vechiles. And will soon expand this to its large Ford 650. Honda Motor Co. is also in on the CNG market, it has been selling a only natural gas car since 1998.  The biggest problem with CNG cars is refueling. "Today there are fewer then 400 public CNG fueling stations in the US"(Bennett).

Reaction: I think this could be a great way to cut our oil use and emissions assuming the emissions from the CNG aren't as enviromentally harmful as those from regular gas engine cars. I really like these because I love hearing new ways to sway us from our gas operated cars and bring to a cleaner way of transportation without taking away the convenence of our personal cars. The only problem would be establishing public fuel stations all around th US. Overcoming this problem with all the money it would cost would most likely make a huge amount of jobs, experts say this industry could produece a huge 600,000 jobs by the end of this decade alone. Which is just a great plus along with helping our enviroment.

Questions:

1. What did president Obama have to say about this?
2. If this industry takes off what effect do you think it will have on the oil indusrty?
3. Would the natural gas for these cars be cheaper then oil?
 

Article: 4 Bold Ideas to Make America’s Energy Supply Safer, Cleaner & Virtually Inexhaustible

 http://discovermagazine.com/2011/nov/04-bold-ideas-energy-safer-cleaner-inexhaustible

Summary:  This article indicates that there is a new way to view our “energy crisis” These author characterize an “energy transition” between the types of energy used and the way we produce it.  We cannot rely on imported oil being 42 % of our trade deficit, nor fossil fuels being 95% of carbon emissions.  The four ideas are to reengineer the grid around electric vehicles.  The author argues we need to integrate our electric grid with the transportation infrastructure, so that electric cars can help reduce our carbon emissions.  Some of the savings to the system will be to provide incentives to have people charge their cars during off hours, so that electric companies will be using green, less carbon dependent fuel to make the electricity.  The technology to enhance the efficiency of batteries is coming of age and cost of these types of cars will decrease.

Reaction:  I really liked this article because as I have indicated before I like creative ways to solve problems.  Rather than just trying to use less gas or less fossil fuels this assumes we will use at least as much energy as before but we will be smarter about it.  We will be using electric cars that are better on emissions and we will build an infrastructure that allows people to  charge their cars and do it at non-peak times when costs are less and the fuel used to produce the electricity are more from sun/wind or nuclear.  We would not only improve pollution but make great headway on our dependence on foreign oil.  This reduction in trade deficit means that the country will have less debt which will stimulate the economy further.

Questions:

1)      Would employers be willing to help employees charge cars at would by building parking lots connected to their electrical grids, if they were allowed to vary the electric power draw based on when they could get energy cheaper?

2)      Could we get politicians of both parties in Washington to create tax breaks to help create an infrastructure of electricity around the country to someday replace gas stations?

3)      What responsibility does government have in trying to retrain the people who would be displaced by the decline in oil use?  That is with less refineries and gas stations how do we convert those jobs into a whole new industry?