Monday December 13th

Air &

Energy

Issues

Air

Issues• The Atmosphere

• The Grasshopper Effect

• Acidic Deposition

• Ozone Layer

The

Atmosphere• Comprised of a mixture of

particles, aerosols and gases

• Approximately 1000 km thick

• Sustains life on the planet

• Protects us from Ultra Violet Radiation

(UV) from the sun

The

Atmosphere• Green house Gases- carbon

dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone.

Represent a small portion of the atmosphere but

regulate temperature.

• The layer of the atmosphere we are most

concerned with is the Troposphere:

– Varied thickness from 9-16 km above the

earths surface

– Where weather occurs and pollution is found

The

Atmosphere

The

Atmosphere• Human activities have a profound effect on the

atmosphere since the time of the Industrial

Revolution in the early 1900’s

• Air pollution also has a large impact on peoples

health (especially young children, the

elderly, those with heart and respiratory

conditions)

– Environment Canada attributes over 5000 deaths/

year to air pollution

– An estimated $1 billion/year are spend on hospital

admissions, emergency room visits and absenteeism

is due to air pollution (Ontario Medical Assoc., 2007)

The

Grasshopper

Effect• Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)- highly

toxic substances used in pesticides and

industrials chemicals (i.e. PCB’s). They are

insoluble by water, and stay within the

environment for many years before breaking

down.

The

Grasshopper

Effect• A global issue in which POPs move from warmer

to colder regions.

• The pollutants evaporate, travel through the

atmosphere (on air currents), and then condense

in a new location.

• Tend to stay in colder regions because there is

less evaporation in those areas.

The

Grasshopper

Effect

Hotter

Equatorial

Regions

Colder

Polar

Regions

Temperate Regions

More Evaporation

Less Evaporation

Air

Issues• Acidic Deposition

–Acidic pollutants can be deposited as

a gas or a dust, or can be carried for

thousands of Km’s to be deposited as

acidic rain, snow, fog or hail

Air

Issues• Acid Rain (pg 288)

Air

Issues• Acidic Deposition– 95,000 of the 700,000 lakes in South Eastern

Canada are already classified as “acidic”

– Estimates by environment Canada (2009) state

that half of the acidic precipitation in eastern

Canada comes from U.S. industries

– The U.S. on the other hand claims that it

receives 88% of their pollution (in the eastern

US) from the Nantocoke generating station

near Toronto.

The Ozone

Layer• Forms the stratosphere and protects us from the

suns UV Radiation

• Human activities are upsetting the balance of this

gas

– In 1983 it was confirmed that there was a whole in

ozone (over Antarctica)

– In 1998 the hole measured 26 million Km’s (roughly

the size of Australia)

• How is it being destroyed?

– Chloroflouorocarbons (CFCs)- once they rise into the

stratosphere, they become exposed to UV radiation

and release chlorine atoms

– A single chlorine atom can destroy thousands of

Copy to your

notes:• Acidic Deposition Diagram pg 288

• Effects of Acidic Deposition Chart pg 290

• Effects of UV Radiation pg 294

• What is the Montreal Protocol?

Energy

Issues:Energy Use Worldwide:

• Industrialized Countries

– Non renewable- 90%

• Oil- 37%

• Coal- 25%

• Natural Gas- 25%

• Nuclear Power- 5%

– Renewable- 10%

• Hydroelectric, solar and geothermal- 7%

• Biomass- 3%

Energy

Issues:• Developing Countries

– Non renewable- 59%

• Oil -26%

• Coal- 25%

• Natural Gas- 7%

• Nuclear- 1%

– Renewable- 41%

• Hydroelectric, solar and geothermal- 6%

• Biomass- 35%

Energy

Issues:• Conventional Energy Uses

• Fuels- materials that are burned to produce heat

or power

• Traditional:

– Wood

– Field crops

– Fecal material

– Peat (decaying plant matter found in bogs)

Energy

Issues:• Conventional Energy Uses Continued

• Fossil Fuels:

– Coal

– Petroleum and Natural Gas

– Migration (crude oil and natural gas migrated

sideways and upward from the place of their

formation, permeate into sedentary rocks

Energy

Issues:• Alternative Energy Uses:

• Solar Energy

– Passive solar energy

– Active solar energy

– Solar cookers

– Photovoltaic cells

– Advantages and Disadvantages

• Hydroelectric Power (water)

– Energy from Oceans

– Advantages and Disadvantages

Energy

Issues:• Alternative Energy Uses Continued

• Geothermal Energy

– Advantages and Disadvantages

• Wind Energy

– Advantages and Disadvantages

• Nuclear Energy

– Advantages and Disadvantages

• Biomass

– Biogas

– Ethanol and Methanol

– Advantages and Disadvantages

Energy

Issues:• Alternative Energy Uses Continued • Hydricity (hydrogen)

– Means of storing electricity for future use

– Hydrogen can be stored and liquefied

– Helps for us to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and

more like western Europe/ Japan

Hydrocity

– Advantages

• Flexibility

• Reduce oil dependency

• Reduction of environmental damage = water

– Disadvantages

• Replacing current energy infrastructure

• Will take evolutionary change

• Cornucopian view for a sustainable future