Environment - House System, Energy, Air Pollution

Envierment

1.) HOUSE SYSTEM

Consider your home as a system. The walls, roof, and floor define its boundaries.

a) Describe the sources of energy into your home. Describe how that same amount of energy leaves your home? (3 points).

b) How does water enter your house? How does the same amount of water leave your home? (3 points)

c) How does food enter your home? Where does it go? Give at least three (3) different pathways out of your home. (4 points)

2.) WATERSHEDS

A watershed is the area of land that drains all the water to a common outlet. A healthy watershed supports a host of ecosystem goods and services.

a) How much is it worth (in dollars) for a watershed to supply clean, drinkable water? You may give your answers per gallon or for a full 200 million gallon per day system. (5 points)

b) How much is it worth (in dollars) for a watershed to supply recreational hiking experiences? Justify your answer. (3 points)

c) What food can you gather in your watershed for free? What is it worth? (3 points)

d) What is a good view worth? For example, an experience watching the sunrise over the ocean. (2 points)

3.) ENERGY

Burning fossil fuels produces excess greenhouse gases and leads to climate change. We will need to shift to carbon-free energy by 2050 to avoid some of the largest impacts of climate change.

a.) Explain how electric vehicles get more miles per the energy equivalent of a gallon of gasoline than most cars. In other words, why are electric vehicles more energy efficient than cars that use internal combustion engines? How is energy usage measured in electric cars (i.e. what units? (4 points)

b.) What are some of the benefits of using offshore wind power to generate electricity? What are some of the limitations? Please be specific. (4 points)

c.) What is one way to use solar power to reduce your energy footprint? (2 points)

4.) AIR POLLUTION

A)

B)

Air pollutants are released into the troposphere where humans live and breathe and often react quickly so change throughout the day.

a.) Why does nitrogen dioxide (NO2) (black line) peak in the morning (Figure A)? (2 pts)

b.) Why does urban ozone (O3) concentration (red line) peak in the afternoon in Figure A? (2 pts)

c.) What would be different about these curves if it was a rainy day? How might these patterns be different on the weekends? (3 pts)

d.) Please explain the decreasing trend of NO2 concentrations in major cities during the onset of COVID in 2020 (Figure B). (3 pts)

5.) SUSTAINABILITY

Biosphere 2 is an American Earth System Science research facility located in Oracle, Arizona.

a.) Given the 10% rule of trophic energy transfer, do you think the people in the Biosphere 2 were vegetarian, pescetarian, or omnivorious? Explain your answer. (4 points)

b.) How did the people in Biosphere 2 obtain clean drinking water? Please explain. (4 points)

c.) If each of the people in Biosphere 2 lost ten (10) pounds over the two-year experiment, would you expect the concentration of CO2 in Biosphere 2 to increase, decrease, or stay the same? Where did this mass go? Please explain. (4 points)

6.) SYSTEMS

Extreme weather is becoming more common due to climate change.

a.) Climate change is predicted to lead to a warmer and wetter New England. How might these conditions be measured in terms of more extreme weather? In other words, how could these conditions be dangerous for humans and/or ecosystems? (4 points)

b.) If warmer weather leads to earlier melting of snow in the Sierra Mountains in California, what might this mean for water supplies in Los Angeles? Please explain. (3 points)

c.) Phenology refers to the seasonal timing of plant and animal life. While we might not know the exact dates, do you expect the following phenomena to get earlier in the year, later in the year, or about same time of year over the next 20 years: 1) date of leaf out-first sign of leaves on maple trees in New England, 2) peak fall foliage in New England-when maple leaves turn color, 3) spring arrival of the warbler (a small songbird) in New England. (3 points)

7.) WATER

A

B

Discharge is the volume of water moving down a stream or river per unit of time, commonly expressed in cubic feet per second. In general, river discharge is computed by multiplying the area of water in a channel cross section by the average velocity of the water in that cross section.

a.) Explain the data in the top graph. How do you explain so many sharp peaks? (2 points)

b.) Explain the data in bottom graph. Why are there fewer sharp peaks? (2 points)

c.) How is the data of the two rivers consistent? They are located less than 10 miles apart. What do they say about the rainfall in summer and fall of 2022? (3 pts)

d.) How are the characteristics of these two watersheds different? Which one is more likely to have floods? (3 points)