ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Environmental Science 099
Laboratory Manual
Fall 2020
School of Earth & Environmental Sciences
Queens College, CUNY
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Cover page picture shows a lake in Central Park, New York City where New Yorkers can relax in a
tranquil and bucolic setting in the midst of a bustling and busy urban jungle.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Table of Contents
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 3
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................... 4
Basic Laboratory Rules and Safety ........................................................................................................... 5
1.0 What is the scientific method? ............................................................................................................ 8
2.0 How can water pollution impact the biodiversity of a stream? ........................................................16
3.0 What does exponential population growth have to do with environmental issues? ....................... 24
4.0 Are you living a green lifestyle? ........................................................................................................ 30
5.0 How do I make sustainable food consumption choices? ................................................................. 40
6.0 Climate Change ................................................................................................................................. 47
7.0 What is the Clean Air Act and how has it affected emissions across the US? ................................. 54
8.0 Tracking Water Pollution ................................................................................................................. 62
9.0 What is really in our drinking water? ............................................................................................... 68
10.0 What is a Green Roof and how does it work? ................................................................................. 74
11.0 How can New York City become a zero waste city? ........................................................................ 79
12.0 Lab Final Project (Poster or Video) ................................................................................................ 84
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Introduction
The main goal of this Environmental Science Laboratory course is for you to think about how
we interact with the environment, our impacts and the results of these, not just in our
immediate vicinity but globally as we make everyday choices. We will focus on three main
topics; sustainability, pollution and climate change. I hope that by exploring the activities in
this lab manual, you will recognize the significance of your decisions and be challenged to think
about reducing your impacts by making more environmentally friendly choices that are based
on scientific evidence.
Each week you will explore one environmental problem that is common in most urban
environments, first by identifying the issue and looking at the research data to understand the
science behind the problem. Then you will examine possible solutions to these problems and
come up with ways in which these issues can be better addressed, especially from a grass root
perspective.
You will gain experience in accessing and collecting data from online environmental databases
and generating your own data by conducting simple experiments in the lab. While most of the
laboratory exercises require you to access online databases to gather scientific evidence and see
the process of science, for others you will be conducting your own experiment to collect data
that will help you in exploring the questions that will be addressed each week. Over the
semester as you work through the lab book you will also develop Microsoft Excel skills such as
creating tables, graphs, and basic calculations.
Most of you now spend a large amount of time on social media and for at least two of the
laboratory sessions you will get an opportunity to use it as a tool to demonstrate that you can
develop ideas and effectively communicate them to your peers and the public. Overall, this
course is intended to be both educational and fun as you learn about common urban
environmental problems and the role you play in leading to profound changes in lifestyles that
are sustainable.
Christine Ramadhin
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Acknowledgements
Christine Ramadhin would like to thank Dr. George Hendrey for the opportunity to work on
this project, his input with numerous ideas, guidance, encouragement and taking the time to edit
the drafts. Additionally, she appreciates the effort Eric Kutter made in helping to implement
these lab exercises, numerous suggestions, and insight on improving this manual, improving
the quality and practicality of it.
After teaching this lab course for several years, Elizabeth Farrell made significant changes to
this lab manual. Her intention was to enhance existing labs, streamline others, and create new
labs with more hands on activities. These changes reflect not only the interests of the students,
but also new topics like biodiversity, tracking the spread of water pollution on Long Island, and
green infrastructure. Additional material was also added to existing labs in order to reinforce
concepts from lecture and increase the amount of hands on data collection and
experimentation in the course.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Basic Laboratory Rules and Safety
For some sessions of this course you will be working in an Environmental Science
laboratory and it is important that you be mindful of the rules to minimize any risks, listen
carefully to your instructor and if some things appear to be amiss be sure to notify your
instructor immediately.
o Use your common sense: At all times in the laboratory or while attending other
activities as a part of this class, think about what you are doing.
o Be responsible: You are responsible for your actions as they apply not only to yourself
but also to others and to the facilities and equipment you are using.
o Keep a serious attitude: Whether in the lab or in the field, this class is not a time for
practical jokes, roughhouse or other play.
o Be careful: You may be using potentially dangerous materials and tools. Follow the
directions of your instructor regarding safe practices.
o Proper disposal of wastes: Be sure to properly dispose of waste chemicals, biological
waste or items such as broken glass or contaminated towels. If you are unsure how to
dispose of these items, ask the instructor. Most of these items are not to be placed in the
classroom trash bin, so be sure to follow instructions for proper disposal of laboratory
materials.
o No drinking or eating in the lab: This is not a safe place for eating or drinking. Be
careful not to put items that might be contaminated into your mouth. Water bottles and
food must be kept inside bags and may not be consumed in the laboratory.
o Be neat: Keep your workplace clean and orderly. Coats, backpacks and purses do not
belong on the lab bench and must not be placed where someone might trip on them. Discard
waste materials and liquids according to instructions, and use common sense. Before you
leave the lab place check your seat under the lab bench (or otherwise arrange it neatly), be
sure your workspace is clean, neat, and ready for the next class.
o Keep clean: If you have been handling materials that might be contaminated, wash your
hands when you are through.
o Electrical safety: Be careful with electricity. Do not handle electric cords with wet
hands. Be sure that electrical cords are arranged so that they will not be accidentally pulled
on. Do not allow them to get under foot. Tell the lab instructor if you see damaged, frayed or
worn out electrical cords
o Know where safety equipment is: You should know where the eye-wash, fire
extinguisher and other safety equipment are located, and how to use them. You should know
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
where the exits from the room and building are.Don’t be shy about problems: If there is a
spill of any liquid in any amount, an electrical arc or spark, or any accidental flame, tell the
instructor immediately.
o Respond to an emergency appropriately: In an emergency, follow
instructions from the lab instructor. If there is a problem the instructor cannot handle, report it
to the department office (Rm D-216) or to any faculty member. In case of fire or serious injury call
the campus police at (718) 997- 5911 or use the fire alarm as appropriate (inappropriate use of the
fire alarm is a serious offense).
o Be safe outdoors: The behavior rules listed above also apply when the class is outdoors.
Wear shoes and clothes appropriate to the field exercise and be prepared for inclement weather.
You will not be excused from a lab because you forgot to bring a raincoat or other proper field
clothing. Wearing appropriate clothes is a component of being prepared for the class, so be sure
to read the lab manual before class so that you know what to expect each week.
These laboratory rules and safety information were taken from Environmental Science 100
Laboratory Manual, School of Earth and Environmental Science, Queens College, CUNY, New
York.
Participation and Grading
1) Participation in all lab exercise is mandatory and will be factored into your lab grade.
Participation is worth 10% of your overall laboratory grade. You must attend lab each week and
turn in a lab report, these will be worth 80% of your overall laboratory grade. If you miss a lab
session, you will receive a grade of zero (0) for that assignment. You may not turn in a lab report
for a lab session that you did not attend. Even though make-up assignments will be offered if you
can show that your absence was due to a legitimate reason, it is not guaranteed especially if the
next laboratory section has moved on to the next laboratory topic. You cannot under any
circumstances miss more than three (3) lab sessions. Part of your grade will be based on your
active participation and this is based on things like punctuality, discussions, following lab rules,
working on lab experiments and cleaning up your lab station.
2) Laboratory reports are due at the beginning of the lab session following the session in which
the lab work is completed unless otherwise mentioned. Turning in lab report late will
result in a deduction of 10% of the grade for that lab for each DAY it is late
(including weekends). If a lab report is not ready at the beginning of the lab in which it is
due, it will be judged to be a day late and will receive a deduction of 10%. All assignments must
be submitted via Blackboard as a PDF only prior to the start of class. If you are unsure how to
export a word or pages doc as a pdf, use Google or YouTube to look up instructions, it is just as
easy as saving a file. Labs must be submitted as one single file: tables, graphs and images must
be pasted into the word doc prior to exporting it as a pdf (you will lose points if a report is
submitted as more than one file). No email assignments will be accepted unless otherwise
authorized by your lab instructor. Some laboratory reports may cover two weeks, please note that
if you have an unexcused absence for one of these weeks then you can only submit a report that
covers the week you attended and will receive a grade of zero (0) for the week missed.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
3) A short quiz will be posted on Blackboard before the lab session, except for the first and
last labs, so you must read each lab in advance. The quiz will be about that day’s laboratory
exercise and may contain something from the previous week’s work; it is worth 10% of the
overall laboratory grade, so you must read each exercise in advance. These quizzes are due
BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE LAB SESSION. There will be no make-up
quizzes.
Academic Honesty
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. This includes – but is not limited to – plagiarism,
cheating on quizzes, the purchase or sale of academic papers, and the falsification of records.
If you are suspected of cheating or violating the academic integrity policy of Queens College,
you may be referred for College disciplinary action. This includes copying any part of your
lab assignment that is due each week. You must do your own assignments and write
them in your own words. For more detailed information, see
https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/legal-affairs/policiesprocedures/academic- integrity-policy/
It’s permissible to work together on lab exercises and in your lab groups, but
the assignments you turn in must be your own work written in your own words.
If even a portion of your assignment is copied from another student, from the
lab manual, or from any other sources without citing your references as
applicable, you may be referred for disciplinary action.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
1.0 What is the scientific method?
Research; the curiosity to find the unknown to make it known.
~Lailah Gifty Akita
1.1 What is the scientific method?
The scientific method is an approach to understanding the world. It is also a philosophy of life, a
way of evaluating all that we see, things we cannot see (like electrons, microbes, the edge of the
universe, etc.) and even those things we think that we know for sure. Science is based on
skepticism, that is, questioning all before us. In our daily lives, we do not doubt that gravity
works, but we wonder why it works and if there could be any exceptions to the attractive forces
between objects. The fact is, scientists and other philosophers have not been able to provide a
satisfactory answer to such a basic fact of nature. So, while we all accept the reality of
gravitational attraction, none of us, not even the wisest scientists or philosophers today, actually
knows why gravity works as it does. This curiosity about things we don’t understand motivates
scientists to delve deeper into the workings of nature, to try to understand and describe how and
why such a process or property works.
This unit outlines a series of steps that are followed by scientists as they work to acquire new
knowledge, or expand upon previous knowledge. It is important that there be discrete, well
understood steps that can be followed to help scientists ensure that the data they are collecting
is valid and appropriate to answer the question or problem they are concerned with, and to help
them analyze the data they have collected. By having a well-recognized order to the process, it
allows other scientists to repeat the same experiments to either manipulate different variables or
to verify the results of the first experiment, or find it invalid. This allows scientists and others to
be confident that they have collected the most reliable and accurate data possible to address
their initial questions.
As we introduce the individual steps of the scientific method, you will hopefully recognize that
science is a process. Science is not merely a collection of facts. It is a process by which we
attempt to come as close as we can to understanding the complex relationships in the physical
universe. Using science, or more specifically the scientific method, to answer a question or
address a problem, does not necessarily lead us to absolute truth. For example, we do not need to
absolutely “prove” a cause and effect relationship in nature with complete certainty before we
can demonstrate a cause and effect relationship within reason. This is because we don’t know,
and can never know, everything about the world around us, so some assumptions need to be
made. Stating these assumptions clearly is a critical step in science. Following the scientific
method allows us to gather information and to achieve the best possible answer to a particular
question with the information and observations available to us. The process of science and the
scientific method help us to collect information, or make observations, that relate to our
question or hypothesis and allow us to make reasonable, working predictions of processes into
the future.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
1.2. Steps of the scientific method
The steps followed for the scientific method are pretty much universal across all scientific
disciplines. Some studies may be more observational, such as studies of animal behavior in the
wild or gravitational interactions among galaxies, while some studies may be more
experimental, such as manipulating nutrient conditions in order to achieve more productive
plant growth. The wide diversity in application of the scientific process allows for some
variation within each step, but the order and the basic steps remain the same. These basic steps
are outlined below.
Typical steps in the scientific method are:
1. Observe something you do not fully understand. Science begins with an observation
that stimulates your curiosity.
2. Form a question. Referring to the observation, you may begin by asking, “Why does
that happen, and how does it happen?” Why does the sun seem to rise each morning and
set each night? Why are there more birds in my backyard in the summer than in the
winter? What is the structure of a protein that allows it to bind carbon dioxide and
function as an enzyme? We may have many questions and often we find that one question
leads to another. Although these questions often begin as very broad or general questions,
over time we refine the questions to be quite specific. When designing a study, you want to
make a question as specific as possible in order to reduce the number of variables involved
in finding the answer, and to make it easier to collect specific data.
3. Perform background research. Scientists don’t want to continually re-invent the
wheel (as the saying goes). To help design a scientific study, you need to know what is
already known about the problem you are trying to address. This begins with finding out
what others know about the question you are interested in. Scientists often rely on peerreviewed publications, for example, those categorized in the Web of Science
(www.webofscience.org), for their background research. Extensive background knowledge
will help you make your initial question more specific, and give you the information
necessary to design a sound scientific study to address your question. And quite
frequently, one is able to answer the question without going any further, because another
scientist has already addressed your question. But, another important part of the scientific
method is that observations and experiments must be repeatable.
4. Form a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a potential answer to your initial question. A
hypothesis is not a question (e.g. what color is the sky?); it is a statement that is testable
(e.g. the sky is blue). The hypothesis is posed in such a way that it can be tested and
evaluated. Your hypothesis should be based on current knowledge of the subject at hand,
and identify a specific concept to be evaluated. Often, there is a specific variable to be
tested to achieve an answer to your question.
5. Test the hypothesis. You will design an experiment or a set of specific observations
to be collected to test whether your hypothesis was supported (data collected are
consistent with your hypothesis) or if it needs to be rejected (data collected suggest that
your hypothesis is incorrect). It is important to take careful notes during this process so
that you can describe very clearly the steps that you have taken so that the process could be
repeated by another researcher. Remember, the scientific process is repeated over and
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
over again to help refine our hypotheses and our understanding, so it is important to be
able to repeat your steps and to be able to make minor alterations the next time around.
On the practical side, in this class you will also need detailed notes to complete your
graded lab report.
6. Analyze the data and draw conclusions. After you have collected your data, you
need to analyze it. This will involve organizing the data into charts and tables, performing
any necessary calculations, making graphs and looking for trends or relationships in your
data. This is where you also draw conclusions about your hypothesis. Was your hypothesis
supported by the data? If it was not, you may need to do some further study, or you might
just reject the hypothesis.
7.
Report results. Once you have achieved your results, it is important to report it so
that this new knowledge can be shared with others. The original question and hypothesis,
background research, experimental and observational methods, data and analysis of data
should be included in the report. In this way other scientists, your peers who specialize in these
types of studies, can review your work and perhaps try to replicate it. This process of peer
review and re-analysis is critical to the scientific process. It helps to reduce bias and ensure
trustworthy results as we search for the best possible answers to your questions.
1.3. Data Analysis
Whether we collect our own data for each lab exercise or make use of other available databases,
you will be asked in each case to analyze the data, which is often most easily done by creating
graphs. Before this can be done however, there is almost always a mathematical component to
the analysis. Often, especially in large scientific studies, there may be hundreds or thousands of
data points collected that can be quite cumbersome to sort through. One common method of
analysis is calculating the average, or the arithmetic mean of a data set. For example, if there are
five students in the class and their scores on the quiz from lab one are: 90, 100, 84, 72, and 86;
the average score, or arithmetic mean, is 86.4
. Simply put, the equation is:
Equation 1
(Sum of the samples)/ Number of samples
This is a pretty simple, but very valuable tool. Another mathematical tool that will be employed
often in this class is the calculation of a percentage. “Per cent” comes from the Latin for “for
each one hundred” and gives you an idea of how many of something would exist or occur among
100 objects or actions. A percentage is a way of looking at a fraction in a whole number, making
it easier to understand and compare. For example, if you have 20 marbles and 4 are green in
color, you could state that 20 percent (20%) of the marbles are green. The formula for percent,
as an example, is:
4
20
=
.
100
Or: Equation 2
10
Part / Whole = X / 100
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Something else that must be done with data is conversion of the measurement units. Usually, our
study or experimental area is much smaller than the area included in our hypothesis. For
instance, if we were studying the chemistry of the ocean, we would find it impossible to test
every cubic centimeter (cm3) of ocean. We could not count all the particles floating in the ocean,
nor would we find it easier to even count all the fish. Therefore, we often select a small
representative example of an area to perform our testing on. We must then scale (or translate)
our results to the appropriate scale for our overall hypothesis or study area.
1.4. Statistics
In many of the exercises in this class, you will make observations that measure something.
Here, “measure” means to evaluate that “something” in numerical units: in other words, to
quantify it. We can measure the height of a tree in meters, the diameter of a sphere in
inches, the number of bacteria in a volume of water, or the number of colored marbles in a
large population of marbles. For example, in a lake there might be five different species of
fish, but what percent of them are trout? To find out, we need to know how many fish of all
species are in the lake, and how many trout there are in the lake, in order to calculate the
percent:
Equation 3
100 ∗ (
# 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑡
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 # 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑖𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑠
) = %𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑡
But, it is not easy to count all of the fish in a large lake, so the ecologist takes a sample.
That is, she tries to capture fish in a way that gives every fish an equal chance of being
caught. Then all the fish she catches makes up an “unbiased, random sample” of all the fish
in the lake. If there are 5 species, and there are a lot of each species, and she catches only 3
fish one of which is a trout, she has a very poor sample. She might conclude that 1/3 of the
fish are trout. If she catches 300 fish, and 30 are trout, then she might conclude that 10%
of the fish are trout. Obviously, the larger the unbiased random sample of all the fish, the
better will be the estimate of the fraction that is trout. Our ecologist captured the fish with a
net that has openings 2 inches wide. The smallest fish of the 300 she caught was 3 inches
long and 0.75 inches wide, and the largest was 18 inches long and 7 inches wide. The
“mean” (an estimator of the average) length was 6.3 inches (add the length of all the fish in
the sample and divide by 300 = mean length). Two fish were 5.9 inches long and there
were 149 fish longer than 5.9 inches and 149 shorter than 5.9 inches. Thus the “median” (a
different estimator of the average) length was 5.9 inches. Note that the median and the
average are not the same. If she caught only 100 fish all but 3 were shorter than 4 inches
but 3 were huge sturgeons, all 100 inches long, then it is easy to see that the median value,
which was 3.4, would be a better estimate of the average, than the median value, which
was 6.4 inches, including the huge sturgeon. That is, the median better represented the
condition of fish in the lake than did the mean.
1.5. Experimental Section: What Makes a Cricket Chirp?
Some say that if you listen to the sound of a cricket chirping, you can determine the
temperature. Is this true or is it just an urban legend? Do any other factors affect how fast a
cricket will chirp, such as humidity, wind, atmospheric pressure, or nearby crickets?
For this lab exercise, students will form into several groups and use a virtual lab to analyze
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
a cricket subject to collect data they will then share with one another.
1.6. Materials:
1.
Access to Blackboard
2.
Computer with Internet Access
1.7. Procedure:
1.
Ensure that you carefully read the background material including all of the lab lesson
before coming to the lab and participate in the laboratory discussion.
2.
Go to: http://webapp.gccaz.edu/academic/biology/scientific_method/ and begin the
Cricket Experiment. Read through the introduction, define the problem, collect information,
and then with your group members, formulate a hypothesis.
3.
To perform the experiment, your group needs to collect data on each of the parameters
(air temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, number of crickets nearby and wind speed).
Regardless of the hypothesis your group comes up with, you must select a different factor during
the “Formulate a Hypothesis” step of the cricket experiment in order to test that specific factor.
4.
Each lab group will collect information for each of the variables:





Air Temperature (5C – 45C)
Atmospheric Pressure (680mm – 790mm)
Humidity (10% - 80%)
Number of Crickets Nearby (0 – 20)
Wind Speed (0 – 7m/s)
5.
Your lab group must run the experiment several times for each of the variables, using the
values provided in the excel sheets. This will allow you to test the full range of each parameter.
6.
Enter your results in the data charts provided in Excel (Tables 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5). You
need to record on the excel sheet provided as you go because this website does not
work well if you use the back button!
7.
Once your lab group has collected all of the data needed, share your results with your lab
partners to fill in each of the tables in excel.
8.
Create scatterplots with smooth lines for all of your results by using excel.
9.
Discuss the results of your experiment including whether or not your data supported or
refuted your hypothesis, any sources of error, and suggestions for improvements to the
experimental design.
10.
Read over the questions and then answer all the questions for this lab. You should have
a working draft of your lab report before you leave the lab class; the introduction and conclusion
paragraphs can be added later along with your finishing touches.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Table 1.1
Table 1.2
Effect of Wind Speed on Cricket Chirp
Rate
Effect of Temperature on Cricket Chirp
Rate
Wind Speed (m/sec)
Chirp Rate
(chirps/min)
Temp (celcius)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Table 1.3
Table 1.4
Effect of Humidity on Cricket Chirp Rate
Effect of Atmospheric Pressure on
Cricket Chirp Rate
Humidity (%)
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
13
Chirp Rate
(chirps/min)
Chirp Rate
(chirps/min)
Pressure (mmHg)
680
690
700
710
720
730
740
750
760
770
780
790
Chirp Rate
(chirps/min)
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Table 1.5
Effect of Nearby Crickets on Cricket
Chirp Rate
Chirp Rate
(chirps/min)
# of Crickets
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
1.8. Questions
Q1. Fill in Tables 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5 in Excel using the data collected by your group.
Q2. Create scatterplots with smooth lines using the data in Tables 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and
1.5 using Excel. Make sure to give your graphs appropriate titles, and label your axes.
Q3. What is the difference between an independent and a dependent variable?
Q4. Based on the information given, what is the best statement of the problem to be
investigated?
Q5. Write a hypothesis for your experiment (which factor increases cricket chirping) in the
“If…then” format.
Q6. Identify the independent variable in your
experiment. Q7. Identify the dependent
variables in your experiment.
Q8. Why is it important to test only one
variable at a time? Q9. Did your data support or
refute your hypothesis?
Q10. According to the data, which factor (if any) effects cricket chirp rate and cite evidence
from the lab to support your statement (how do you know?)
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Q11. If this experiment were to be performed in real life, would there be any
sources of error? Q12. Suggestions for improvements to the experimental design.
The report for this lab will be due at the beginning of the next lab period.
Please be sure that the report is typed and neatly organized according to the lab report
outline given by your lab instructor, including your purpose/objectives/goals and
an appropriate conclusion.
References
Williams, Wayne, and Paul Williams. “Scientific Method.” Cricket
Experiment. Glendale Community College, n.d. Web. 08 Jan, 2018.
http://webapp.gccaz.edu/academic/biology/scientific_method/
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
2.0 How can water pollution impact the biodiversity of a stream?
If we pollute the air, water and soil that keep us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that
allows natural systems to function, no amount of money will save us.
~David Suzuki
2.1 A Reflection of Health
The concept of “biological diversity” is multifaceted and complex. It includes the concept of species
diversity, or the total of all species in a given area or habitat, but can also refer to genetic diversity within
a species. Biodiversity can even refer to the diversity of habitats in a given region. Biodiversity is
important as it reflects the environmental health of a species, region, or habitat. On a global scale,
biodiversity is being lost at an alarming rate, largely due to habitat destruction. In this lab we will use a
model that explores biodiversity equilibrium, and provide data for various estimates of biodiversity.
2.2 Quantifying Stream Biodiversity
It is common to hear ecologists talking about biodiversity, particularly in terms of conservation biology.
The most common definition of biodiversity refers to the number of different species in a given area or
species diversity. The greatest biodiversity by this measure would be the number of different species
found in tropical rain forests which is estimated to be in the millions.
Biodiversity, in the broad sense, can also refer to variation within species, or among populations. Many
species have populations which can be differentiated by morphology or behavior. Typically this occurs
within species with large ranges. Consider for example, the extraordinary differences among human
populations across the globe. This variation reflects underlying differences among populations and is
called genetic diversity. Genetic diversity is of special concern to endangered species because small
populations tend to lose genetic diversity through random genetic drift. Without genetic diversity,
populations lose their ability to adapt to changing environments, and are more susceptible to be
decimated by disease. In populations with normal genetic diversity there will a range of disease
resistance among individuals.
On a larger scale, we can consider ecosystem diversity. In this case we are not considering individual
species, rather a species assemblage in a particular habitat. Ecosystem diversity is a broad concept,
encompassing any level of ecological organization above species (e.g. habitat, community, and
ecosystem). An example of a major threat to ecosystem diversity in the US is the loss of wetlands to
development. It is not easy to quantify ecosystem diversity, as the edges of things like habitat and
communities are hard to define. However, it can be argued that the most natural way to preserve all
levels of biodiversity is to protect as much and as varied habitat as possible, and then let nature take
care of the rest.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
2.3 Materials:
Computers with Internet access, Microsoft Word, and Excel
2.4 How the Model Works
When the model opens, the world-view will show a section of stream, with sixteen sample buckets below
(Figure 2.1). Various controls (Table 2.1) and data monitors (Table 2.2) surround the world-view.
When ‘Run’ is clicked the stream will begin to flow, and a variety of invertebrates (Table 3) begin to
flow downstream (as if stirred up by an unseen researcher upstream). The appearance of animals in the
stream is stochastic, both in how many, and in what species are in view at any given time.
Figure 2.1 Screenshot of model upon opening
Table 2.1 List of controls for model
Table 2.2 List of data models for model
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
When ‘Open Seine’ is clicked, a net will appear in the middle of the stream, and remain open for the
amount of time set on the ‘Sampling-Time’ slider, or until ‘Close Seine’ is clicked. Animals which get
caught in the seine are immediately sorted into their appropriate bins which are labeled in their
corresponding count monitors below. In actual stream sampling you would sort through the net after a
round of seining, but during the simulation, students can observe the progression of the species
discovery curve shown in the ‘Cumulative Species vs. Time’ plot (Fig. 2.1).
The ‘Reset’ button will clear all monitors and the plot. Students can replicate rounds of seining and
overlay curves on the plot by clicking ‘Release’ (which lets all the captured animals go downstream),
and then re-opening the seine. Clicking ‘Clear Plot’ will erase all the traces on the plot. Along with the
plot, the model continuously monitors the counts of each species caught (individual species abundance),
the total number of individuals caught (total abundance), and the number of different species caught
(species richness).
The primary variable that students will explore the effect of is the level of pollution and its effect in the
stream. This variable can be set to none, moderate, or severe, from the ‘Pollution’ drop-down menu,
and changes the probabilities of each animal appearing in the stream based on their sensitivities to
pollution (Fig 2.1). When ‘Pollution’ is set to none, all species have similar probabilities of appearing.
In the moderately polluted stream, the pollution sensitive species have very low probabilities of
appearing, the less-sensitive species have intermediate probabilities, and the tolerant species have
higher probabilities. When pollution is severe, sensitive species will not appear, less-sensitive species
have a low probability, and most of the species captured will be pollution tolerant.
2.5 Estimating Stream Diversity
The model we will be working with is loosely based on the water quality monitoring procedure of the
Save Our Streams project of the Izaac Walton League of America. The underlying premise is that water
quality affects the biodiversity of a stream. Thus, surveying the macroinvertebrates in a stream
is a way to indicate water quality.
2.6 Instructions
1.
Go to the website:
http://virtualbiologylab.org/NetWebHTML_FilesJan2016/StreamDiversityModel.html
Here we will be changing the parameters (settings) of the model in order to observe how different levels
of pollution can impact the biodiversity of an ecosystem (a stream).
2.
For the first run, we will set the following parameters:

Set Pollution to None

Set Sampling-Time to 180
3.
Click “Open Seine”
4.
Click “Go”
5.
Observe the model as different organisms get caught in the seine and allow the model to run.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
6.
Once the sampling time has finished, you are now ready to check out the results of this first run
of the model (the seine will have disappeared. Fill in the appropriate data in Table 2.3.
7.
Click RESET. Go back to Step 2 and change the Pollution to Moderate and proceed through
step 3-6.
After you have completed steps 2-6 for Moderate Pollution:
8.
3-6.
Click RESET. Go back to Step 2 and change the Pollution to Severe and proceed through steps
1. Fill in Table 2.3 with the total number of species, total catch, and the number of pollution sensitive
species, pollution less-sensitive species, and pollution tolerant species for each pollution level (each
time you run the model):
Pollution Level
None
Moderate
Severe
caddisfly
mayfly
stonefly
Total Pollution riffle
Sensitive Species beetle
water
penny
gill snail
dobsonfly
Total Pollution
Less-Sensitive
Species
cranefly
dragonfly
crayfish
sowbug
worm
Total Pollution
Tolerant Species
black fly
midge
leech
lung snail
Table 2.3
Once you have run the model three times (once for each pollution level) you will now have collected the
data you need.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
2.7 Questions
1. Open excel and enter the data you have collected. Next you will simplify your data by summarizing
it in Table 2.4
Pollution
Level
None
Moderate
Severe
Total
Species
Next, add how many total
individuals you caught and enter
this into the Total Catch row.
Total
Catch
Total
Pollution
Sensitive
Species
Then, add how many individuals you
caught for each category and enter
these into
Total
Pollution
Sensitive
Species,
Total
Pollution
Less-Sensitive
Species, and Total Pollution
Tolerant
Species
rows,
respectively.
Total
Pollution
LessSensitive
Species
An example of how to simplify data
from Table 2.3 into Table 2.4 is
given below.
Total
Pollution
Tolerant
Species
Table 2.4
Pollution Level
None
Moderate
Severe
caddisfly
1
0
0
mayfly
2
0
0
5
0
0
2
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
Total
Pollution stonefly
Sensitive riffle beetle
Species
water penny
gill snail
dobsonfly
0
1
1
cranefly
1
3
0
dragonfly
0
1
1
crayfish
2
4
1
sowbug
2
1
2
worm
Total
Pollution
1
2
16
black fly
1
1
5
Tolerant
midge
3
0
1
Species
leech
1
0
3
6
2
2
Total
Pollution
LessSensitive
Species
20lung snail
To simplify the data, you should
count how many different species
you caught and enter this into the
Total Species row.
Pollution
Level
None
Moderate
Severe
Total
Species
12
10
9
Total
Catch
27
17
32
10
2
0
5
10
5
12
5
27
Total
Pollution
Sensitive
Species
Total
Pollution
LessSensitive
Species
Total
Pollution
Tolerant
Species
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
2. Using the data in your simplified table 2.4, create a labeled bar graph using Microsoft Excel
showing the total species and total catch for each pollution level. See the example below:
Figure 2.2: Bar graph showing biodiversity changes due to pollution
3. Calculate the percentage of each group of species (pollution sensitive species, pollution lesssensitive species, and pollution tolerant) in Table 2.5.
Pollution Level
None
Moderate
Severe
Percent Total Pollution
Sensitive Species
Percent Total Pollution
Less-Sensitive Species
Percent Total Pollution
Tolerant Species
Table 2.5
4. Using the percentages you calculated in table 2.5, create three labeled pie graphs using Microsoft
Excel showing the percentage of pollution sensitive species, pollution less-sensitive species, and
pollution tolerant species for each pollution level. See the example below:
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Figure 2.3: Pie Charts of Species Evenness
5. What factors determine the biodiversity of an ecosystem?
6. From the data you collected identify which pollution level that has the highest biodiversity and
which has the lowest biodiversity. Give your reasons. Remember that biodiversity is calculated by
taking into consideration both species richness and species evenness.
7. What is the percent difference in the number of pollution sensitive species in the three different
pollution levels? What is the percent difference in the number of pollution less-sensitive species in
the three different pollution levels? What is the percent difference in the number of pollution
tolerant species in the three different pollution levels?
8. How does the pollution level impact the level of biodiversity?
9. Do you think it is important to monitor water pollution? Why or why not.
10. Look at the graph below in Figure 2.2:
Figure
2.2
Past
and
projected
global
waste
generation,
source:
https://www.nature.com/news/environment-waste-production-must-peak-this-century-1.14032
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Based on this information, do you think the amount of pollution generated will increase or decrease
in the coming years? How do you think this will impact biodiversity?
2.8 Conclusion
In a short paragraph, summarize the objectives and findings of today’s laboratory exercise and discuss
the relationship between pollution and biodiversity. What are some things you can do to help preserve
biodiversity and slow down the current rate of extinction? Explain why these would be important
concepts to consider.
References
Virtual Biology Lab: an inquiry-based learning environment. Web. Date Accessed:
2019. www.virtualbiologylab.org
14
Jan
Hoornweg, Daniel, et al. “Environment” Waste production must peak this century.” Nature News. 30
Oct 2013. Web. Date Accessed: 14 Jan 2019. https://www.nature.com/news/environment-wasteproduction-must-peak-this-century-1.14032
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
3.0 What does exponential population growth have to do with
environmental issues?
Man begets, but land does not beget.
– Cecil Rhodes
3.1. Global Population Growth
Human population growth rates have drastically increased since the Industrial Revolution in
the late 18th Century to the present exponential growth rates seen in the 21st Century. Before
the Industrial Revolution, growth rates were quite stable. Subsequently, due to improved
sanitation, medicine, and Agricultural development, death rates decreased, leading to an
explosion in human population growth. The exponential growth rate of the human population
has been coupled with an increase in the use of resources. According to the World Population
Clock website [http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/] current growth rate is
currently at 1.14% per year but this reflects a decrease from its peak of 2.19% in 1963 and our
current population now stands at 7.3 billons and is projected to hit 8 billion by 2024. FIG. 3.1
taken from NOVA PBS website helps to illustrate the changes in the human population over
time.
FIG. 2.1 World population 2000 years ago at 300 million (left) and world population in
October 1999 at 6 billion. On these figures, each dot represents a million people. (Adapted from
NOVA PBS website, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/globalpopulation-growth.html)
3.2 Population Growth and Environmental Issues
It is important to understand the relationship between the dynamics of population and
environmental issues to develop sustainable solutions. The results of exponential population
growth can lead to overpopulation and tremendous stress on natural resources. The larger the
human population, the greater the stress it places on the environment. As technological
development continues to spread across the globe allowing enhanced resource extraction and
demand,
this
environmental
stress
is
intensified.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Some nations have tried to manage their population using family planning services, education,
and policies. Some examples include China’s one child policy where Chinese couples are
encouraged to have only one child, although this has recently been relaxed, allowing each couple to
have two children per family. Bangladesh has been improving the availability of family planning
services, especially to women in rural areas, where these may have been scarce in the past. Brazil
has an interesting and entertaining way of addressing population management. Here, soap
operas or telenovelas have been linked to a drop in birth rates as they encourage smaller families
and are widely watched by the people of Brazil.
To get a better grasp of how human population growth rate has changed over the years, look at Table
3.1 below, which contains the average population from preindustrial days to modern day.
Year
1
Population
(billions)
0.2
1000
0.275
1500
0.45
1650
0.5
1750
0.7
1804
1
1850
1.2
1900
1.6
1927
2
1950
2.55
1960
3
1974
4
1980
4.5
1987
5
1999
6
2011
7
2020
8
Table 3.1 Human population over the past 2000 years, and projection to the year
2020. (Adapted from World Population Clock Website; http://www.worldometers.info/worldpopulation/.)
3.3 What Influences the Growth Rate of a Country?
There are several factors that have been shown to influence how fast a population will grow. In the
developing world, economics, politics, religion and civil unrest keep birth rates high and
contraceptive use low. Total fertility rate (TFR) is the number of children born to an average
woman during her lifetime. In more highly developed countries, the TFR tends to be lower due to
higher education and personal freedom for women. A desire to spend time and money on other
goods and activities offsets
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
the desire to have children. When women have the opportunity to earn a salary, they are less likely to
stay home and have many children. Education and socioeconomic status are usually inversely related
to fertility in richer countries. Responsible economic development, education, women’s rights, and
high-quality health care (including family planning services – ie: access to birth control), must be
accessible to everyone if population growth is to be slowed.
3.4. The Carrying Capacity of the Earth
Even though the human population and demands on resources have increased dramatically and will
continue to grow, the world’s natural resources are finite. Thomas Malthus (1798) stated, “Organism
populations increase exponentially, whereas the environment is fixed.” The rapidly increasing
population means that there is a greater need for the basic requirements of life such as food supplies,
clean water, shelter, land, and energy. At the same time, anthropogenic sources of pollution also
increase, which depletes available natural resources even further. This progressively rising demand
for natural resources, along with increasing pollution and depletion of Earth systems resilience
means that the human population has exceeded the carrying capacity of the Earth. We have
exceeded the Earth’s capacity to supply non-renewable resources for the growing human population,
depleting resources at a rate greater than the resources can be renewed. The resilience of a system is a
measure of its ability to recover after a disturbance or perturbation.
The carrying capacity of the Earth is the total number of people that can be sustained indefinitely at
given consumption rates. This is on average the total number of individuals that can be supported
continuously by the Earth’s resources. Because we have the ability to modify how we consume natural
resources, this number can be variable. According to the UN World Population Monitoring 2001, the
carrying capacity of Earth is approximately 10 billion people, but this is debatable as some studies
suggest lower values while others are higher. Based on what you have read so far about human
population growth, when do you think the human population will reach this number?
3.5. Materials:
Computers with Internet access and Microsoft Word and Excel
3.6. Procedure:
1.
Your lab instructor will introduce you to the topic of Exponential Population Growth and
Sustainability with an introduction discussion and pre-lab quiz.
2.
Ensure that you read the background material carefully before coming to the lab and participate
in the laboratory discussion. Participation during laboratory sessions will be factored into your grade.
3.
During the lab, read over the questions and work in groups of two to discuss and then answer
all the questions for this lab. You should have a working draft of your lab report before you leave the
lab class; the introduction and conclusion paragraphs can be added later along with your finishing
touches.
3.7. Questions
1.
Using the data given in Table 3.1, create a labeled graph using Microsoft Excel showing the
human population change over time, be sure to add a trend line. From your graph identify the point
where you think the Industrial Revolution started and give your reasons for choosing that time.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
2.
What is the current human population? How is this expected to change by 2020, 2050? You may
look up the most current information to answer this question, be sure to cite your source.
3.
List and describe at least three (3) environmental impacts that an ever-increasing population
will have on the environment. Do you think that available natural resources will increase or decrease?
Give your reasons.
4.
Based on the background material and your own personal research, do you think that the human
population has reached an overshoot of the carrying capacity of the Earth? Why? If not, when will this
happen? State your reasons for choosing that time or give evidence to support your answer.
5.
The World Population Clock [http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/] estimates the
2019 populations and annual growth rates of the following countries to be:
Country
Population
United States
326,766,798
China
1,415,045,928
DR Congo
84,004,989
Annual Growth Rate
0.6%
0.43%
3.2%
Using this information calculate yearly population of each country though 2030, filling in Table 2.2
below. Please be sure to show your work.
Estimate for US population 2019 - Worked example:
Population from 2018 * 0.7% + Population from 2018 = Population for 2019
326766798 ∗ (
0.7
) + 326766798 = 329,054,165.6
100
You also will calculate the % change of the population from 2020 through 2030 – worked example:
𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 2030 − 𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 2020
𝑃𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛 2020
∗ 100 = % 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
Table 3.2
Year
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
% Change
27
Estimated Population of Estimated
the US
of China
Population Estimated Population
of DR Congo
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
6.
Which country will have the largest percent change in their population? What are some factors
that play into the growth rate of a country? What is the TFR of each country? Can you see that reflected
in the percent change of each population? Give reasons for differences in TFR.
7.
Thinking about the differences in these three countries, how do you think population growth
can have an impact on the cycle of poverty that less developed countries experience?
8.
Describe what is meant by the term “Carrying Capacity” and then explain what happens when
this is exceeded.
9.
In today’s lab exercise, we considered the consequences of overpopulation on the environment
and the resulting impacts on the human population. List at least two possible ways in which you as an
individual can help reduce the impacts (not overpopulation itself) of the overpopulation problem.
10.
What are some advantages of reducing human population? Do you think that government
should play a role in slowing population growth through education, free birth control, and so on? If
not, why? Consider the attempts that some governments have used to manage the population in your
answer.
3.8. Conclusion
In a short paragraph, summarize the objectives and findings of today’s laboratory exercise and discuss
the relationship between population growth and sustainability. Explain why these would be important
concepts to consider.
The report for this lab will be due at the beginning of the next lab period. Please be sure
that the report is typed and neatly organized according to the lab report outline given by your lab
instructor.
References
Withgott, J., and S. Brennan. 2015. Essential Environment: the science behind the stories with
Mastering Environmental Science 4/e. 5th Edition. Benjamin Cummings. San Francisco. ISBN-10:
0321984579, ISBN-13: 978032198457-9.
Current World Population." World Population Clock: 7 Billion People. Web.
http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ Date Accessed: 17 June 2015.
Lewis, Susan. (2004). NOVA PBS website, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/earth/globalpopulation-growth.html Date Accessed: 17 June 2015.
UN
World
Population
Monitoring
2001
http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpm/wpm2001.pdf Date Accessed: 17
June 2015.
Cunningham, W., and M. Cunningham. 2017. Principles of Environmental Science 8th
Edition. McGraw Hill Education. Boston. ISBN 10: 1259664236, ISBN-13: 9781259664236.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
4.0 Are you living a green lifestyle?
Anything else you're interested in is not going to happen if you cannot breathe the air and drink
the water. Don't sit this one out. Do something.
~Carl Sagan
Going meatless reduces our carbon footprint and helps us lead the way towards climate change.
~Marcus Samuelsson
4.1 What does it mean to be green?
Being green means to make lifestyle choices that are environmentally sustainable. Moreover,
as Brundtland, (1987) famously said: "Sustainable development is development that meets
the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs.” Notice it says meet the needs of the present, which means that we do not have
to go back to the dark ages, but that we can make educated choices that meet our existing
needs but in a way that is environmentally safe. This concept of living green or developing a
lifestyle that is ecofriendly where our ecological footprint is as small as possible has been
growing in popularity. Ecological footprint is a measure of the land and ocean space needed
to supply resources and assimilate your waste. Schneider Electric, a European company, has
started an annual competition called “Go Green in the City” where innovative thinkers are
challenged to present their winning strategy on energy conservation. Business and
Engineering students are eligible to compete; the URL to their website is shown below, you
may go to the site and check it out to get a better understanding of how people around the
world are working on this idea of “going green” and you may even consider being part of the
competition yourself.
http://www.gogreeninthecity.com/
4.2 Concept of “Ecological Footprint”
We need the Earth to provide us with various ecological services that enable us to survive and
in this way our use of these resources does make an impact. In today’s lab exercise you will
have an opportunity to evaluate the sustainability of your lifestyle by determining your
ecological, carbon and water footprints. At the end of the lab you should evaluate your
findings about your consumptions and decide how sustainable your lifestyle is based on your
footprints.
Ecological Footprint is defined as the total area of biologically productive land and water
required to provide the resources and assimilate all the waste produced by a person (Withgott
and Laposata, 2015). It helps to give us a visual idea of how much we are impacting both local
and global resources. According to the Global Footprint Network an average American has
an Ecological Footprint of about 10.3 hectares (or 25.4 acres). They state that if the 7.2 billion
people on Earth lived as an average American, a total of five planet Earths would be needed.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Ecological Overshoot
Global Footprint Network1 showed that the world is now currently placing such a large demand on
natural resources that we need 1.5 Earths to support us. This means that we are already in an ecological
overshoot which if continued can lead to a collapse of some systems, for example, fisheries and fresh
water supplies. We can end ecological overshoot by consciously making an effort to develop and
encourage sustainable life styles or living within the bounds of one Earth since we only have one. And
as Johan Rockstrom explains in his Ted talk2 humanity has developed the ability to aggressively exploit
the natural resources of the Earth; it means we also have the ability to develop sustainable living
practices.
4.3 Concept of “Carbon Footprint”
Withgott and Laposata, (2015) describes the Carbon Footprint as the total amount of greenhouse gases
that are emitted to provide us with all the resources we need to support our lifestyle, i.e. our
contribution to climate change.
Nature.org website [http://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/] says that the average
American emits 27 tons of CO2 equivalents per year while the world average per person is 5.5 tons of
CO2 equivalents per year.
These greenhouse gases (GHGs) are a primary driver of the recent increases observed in the average
global temperatures. The greenhouse effect is caused by greenhouse gases such as CO2, methane, water
vapor and others, absorbing outgoing thermal radiation from the Earth’s surface and re-radiating it
back in different directions, some of which is back to the Earth’s surface, which results in additional
warming. Although this effect is a natural one, increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases
enhances this effect, so, the global average temperatures have started to increase, leading to
consequential changes in various Earth systems. These changes, some of which have been foreseen, are
already causing significant ecological impacts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
reports that continued emission of CO2 and other GHGs will lead to disastrous consequences over many
parts of the Earth3.
4.4 Concept of “Water Footprint”
The Water Footprint is a measure of all the water used to produce the goods and services to maintain
your current life style. This enables us to get a perspective of the quantity of daily water use and
possibly inspire us to use water sustainably. Even though we live on a planet that is about 70% water,
fresh water is a limited resource and availability varies regionally. This is also true for Water Footprints
where the United States have an average Water Footprint of 7,786 liters per day and China 2,934 liters
per day. At our current rate of use it is expected that by 2030 there will be an overshoot by 40%, which
will lead to issues with security, as nations compete for this limited resource, decreased crop
production and added costs for manufacturing processes.
1 [http://waterfootprint.org/en/water-footprint/national-water-footprint/]
2 [http://www.ted.com/talks/johan_rockstrom_let_the_environment_guide_our_de
velopment/transcript?language=en#t-82000],
3 See reports from the IPCC at:
https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data_reports.shtml
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
4.5 Why should we care about being green?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains that, since our actions affect the environment, as
individuals we have a responsibility to choose actions that will protect it instead of destroying it. We all
play a role in contributing to the environmental issues seen today; we can help reduce our impact by
reducing waste along with energy and water conservation. Developing a greener lifestyle usually means
making choices that are healthier such as biking to work or school as opposed to driving; you not only
cut your carbon emissions, but exercise plays a significant role in being healthy. The environmental
damage seen all around us should be motivation to make choices that make our world better for
ourselves and future generations.
According to Hoornweg et al., (2013) waste generation, especially in urban areas, has rapidly increased.
In 1900, the world’s cities produced 300,000 tons of rubbish daily, but by 2000 this rose to 3 million
tons of solid waste per day. This immense amount of waste production results in contamination of the
world’s ocean by plastic material while landfill sites are growing, leading to increasing risks of ground
water contamination as these locations age.
4.6 Practical ways we can go green in New York City
The idea of going green in the concrete jungle of New York City with the crowded sidewalks, traffic,
pollution and stretches of buildings may seem daunting, but the city and its inhabitants are becoming
more conscious of their ecological footprint and the beneficial effects of becoming green. As a result,
the development of green opportunities such as local organic food stores, community gardens,
composting and public transportation is increasing.
Eating locally grown and organic foods
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) sets the standards that organic farmers must use
to label their food “organic” and they describe these as foods grown using sustainable practices with no
artificial pesticides, herbicides or fertilizer added to the soil and livestock are fed natural diets, given
no growth hormones or antibiotics. They ensure that these standards are adhered to with inspections
and residue testing before issuing the organic certification. You can determine if the product you are
buying is truly organic by looking for the USDA Organic seal.
Eating locally grown foods ensures that the food has not racked up many gallons of gas as it traveled
halfway around the world to get to your market. You also have the added benefit of supporting your
local economy when you buy locally produced goods. In New York City, fresh organic produce is
available in the organic sections of supermarkets and farmer’s markets located at various locations.
You should be able to find one in the vicinity of your neighborhood. For example, in my neighborhood,
there is Forest Hills Greenmarket located on Queens Boulevard and 70th Avenue, Queens New York,
every Sunday. There you have a wide variety of locally grown and produced goods; it is not guaranteed
that these are all organic. However, since it is locally grown then the embedded energy, which is the
energy required to produce and make a product available, is a lot smaller. Additionally, shopping at the
local farmers’ market allows you the benefit of interacting with the actual farmers who are very friendly
and can give information on how the food was grown.
You can also consider growing your own little garden perhaps in your yard or in pots located on a
porch or balcony depending on your space availability; these can also be a great source of fresh
herbs for tasty homemade meals. You can bring these indoors during the winter months to line
the windowsills. We also have an initiative by Green Thumb that runs a gardening program for
31
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
New Yorkers that you can join; look for a location in your neighborhood by going to their
website and choosing “Find a garden”. http://www.greenthumbnyc.org/
Reduce garbage production
Garbage production by city dwellers is on the rise; we can reduce our own garbage production by buying
locally so there are less packaging materials, and use reusable bags. Remember the three R’s: Reuse,
Reduce, and Recycle. Think of ways in which you can reduce your trash and how you can improve on
those.
An additional part of going green would be looking at all your detergents and cleaners around the
apartment and looking up eco-friendly alternatives for each of these. A simple and easy way we can
reduce waste is grass cycling in the summer. The EPA says that when we mow the lawn when it is 23inches in height, then the grass clippings can be left on the ground where they decompose and return
nutrients to the soil. We can also consider apartment furnishings, choosing natural products helps to
reduce indoor air pollution and gives a sense of a natural calming ambiance that you can escape to,
away from the grime of city life. Going on vacation away to some idyllic countryside enjoying the
outdoors is a luxury for a city dweller but in New York City, there are numerous green spaces such as
Central Park and the Highline and others. You can find these easily by looking them up on your phone.
These parks make for a fascinating mini picnic lunch getaway.
Conserve energy
Energy conservation is also a great way for us New Yorkers to jump into the green living lifestyle.
Ensuring our homes are properly insulated to avoid energy loss, setting heating and cooling to the
recommended limits4 are some of the most efficient ways to conserve energy as they are among the
largest energy uses. In New York City about 40% of all energy consumption is for residential heating
and cooling. Turning off electrical appliances when not in use and choosing energy efficient devices
that are rated as “Energy Star” can also save substantial energy. Using a bike, driving slower and less
aggressively, car-pooling whenever possible and using public transportation also help in reducing our
carbon footprint. Did you know that Brooklyn boasts one of the city’s first solar-powered subway train
station? Do some research and see if you locate this eco-friendly train station and write it in your lab
report. The next time you stop by this station, take some time to look at the arched solar roof.
Water Conservation
Water is essential for life, and its availability is finite. Despite this, it is thought to be a cheap and widely
available resource, which leads to it being wasted. The EPA estimates that ten percent of homes have
leaks that waste 90 gallons of water per day; therefore, they encourage everyone to check for leaky
faucets, shower heads or toilets. Water is a precious resource enabling our urban life and businesses to
survive but can easily become scarce in a drought or because of aquifer depletion.
4
Department of Energy guides for heating and cooling: http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/thermostats
32
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
As part of this week’s lab exercise, go through your house or apartment and look for leaks and fix
them; this will not only make your home more Earth friendly but budget wise you will be happier.
For how to fix
leaks at
home
take a
look
at
this
EPA
website: http://www.epa.gov/watersense/our_water/howto.html
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) estimates that the
average New Yorker uses 60 - 70 gallons of water per day with 50-75% of this use occurring in
the bathroom. Do you use a standard toilet (4.5 - 7.0 gallons per flush) or a lower consumption
one (1.6 gallons per flush)? How much water do you think you use on a daily basis?
4.7 Materials:
Computers with Internet access and Microsoft Word and Excel
4.8 Procedure:
1.
Your lab instructor will lead the class in a discussion about the concept of footprints and
how your ecological, carbon, and water footprints contribute to environmental issues.
2.
Ensure that you carefully read the background material before coming to the lab and
participate in the laboratory discussion. You may be asked by your lab instructor to form groups
that will discuss the concept of footprints and how they are being used and to share that
information with the rest of the class.
4.9 Questions
1.
What is meant by ecological overshoot? List some of the consequences of maintaining an
ecological overshoot.
2.
Go to the website below and calculate your ecological footprint by completing the online
ecological footprint calculator quiz. Be sure to click ADD DETAILS TO IMPROVE
ACCURACY when completing the quiz.
http://www.footprintcalculator.org/
When you complete the quiz, click see details.
Insert a screenshot of the detailed results of your quiz as an answer for
Question 2. To take a screenshot, hold down ctrl + print screen
3.
According to the Global Footprint Network an average American has an Ecological
Footprint of about 10.3 hectares.
 Make a column chart using Microsoft Excel of your ecological footprint (in
hectares) and that of an average American.
 How do they compare (support your answers with the numbers in the data. How
much
higher or lower is your footprint)?
 Address specific items such as food, carbon footprint, housing, and other factors
(what category comprises the highest percentage of your footprint? the lowest?).
 Do you think there are areas that you can work on to reduce your impact?
4.
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What is meant by Carbon Footprint?
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
5.
Determine your Carbon Footprint by completing an online carbon footprint calculator quiz.
You may use the website below
https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/consider-your-impact/carbon-calculator/
When filling out the quiz, put down one person as your household in order to calculate your
personal carbon footprint. If you do not know how much electricity, natural gas, heating oil, or
water your home uses, you may use the following average quantities:

Electricity:
2,600 kWh/year

Natural Gas: 24,000 cuft/year

Heating Oil: 70 gallons/month

Water Usage:leave at 1x
When you complete the quiz, click on the small bar graph icon to see the how your footprint
compares to similar households.
Insert a screenshot of the results of your quiz as an answer for Question 5.
6.
Nature.org website [http://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/] says that the
average American emits 27 tons of CO2 equivalents per year while the world average per person
is 5.5 tons of CO2 equivalents per year.



Make a column chart using Microsoft Excel of your Carbon footprint (in tons of CO2), that
of an average American and the world average per person.
How does your Carbon Footprint compare with that of an average American (support
your answers with the numbers in the data. How much higher or lower is your
footprint)?
State two (2) ways you can reduce your Carbon footprint.
7.
Go to the website below and calculate your Water Footprint by completing the online
Water Footprint calculator quiz.
https://www.watercalculator.org/
Insert a screenshot of the results of your quiz (make sure to include the bar graph showing where
your water usage comes from) as an answer for Question 7.
8.
People in the United States have an average Water Footprint of 2,842 cubic meters per
year and China 1,071 cubic meters per year.

Convert your results from gallons/day to cubic meters per year using the
following information:
o 1 cubic meter = 264.17 gallons
o 365 days = 1 year
o Worked example:
 1593 gallons/day * 365 days/year * 1 m3/264.17 gallons = 2201 m3/year
 Make a column chart using Microsoft Excel of your Water Footprint, that of an
34

ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
average American and that of an average person in China.
How does your Water Footprint compare with that of an average American (support
your answers with the numbers in the data. How much higher or lower is your
footprint)?
 State two (2) ways you can reduce your Water footprint.
9.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) estimates that
the average New Yorker uses an average of 65 gallons of water per day. If you use the same
amount of water as an average New Yorker, how much water would you have consumed in a
year?
10.
It is estimated that 50-75% of our household water consumption occurs in the bathroom.
A standard toilet uses an average of 5.75 gallons per flush, a lower consumption toilet uses an
average of
1.6 gallons per flush.
If you switch from using a regular toilet to a lower consumption one, how many gallons of water
would you save per year? Assume you use the bathroom about four times per day.
Based on your answer to question 9, what percent reduction of your yearly water use would this be?
11.
According to the USDA, Americans, on average, are on track to eat 222 pounds of red
meat and poultry in 2018, which works out to more than half a pound a day. Research suggests
that, on average, it takes about 1800 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, which
translates to around 450 gallons for a quarter pound hamburger. If you were to eat four (4)
quarter pound hamburgers per week, how much water would that require per year?
Chicken requires about 520 gallons of water per pound, which translates to 130 gallons of water
to produce a quarter pound chicken burger. How much “virtual” water could you conserve per
year if you were to swap two of the hamburgers for chicken burgers?
4.10 Conclusion
In a short paragraph, summarize the objectives and findings of today’s laboratory exercise, talk
about what you think it means to be green and the importance of going green. Discuss the size of
your Footprints and how they stack up when compared to others. Conclude by considering how
you feel about the size of your impact on the environment. What are some ways you have
discovered that you can be greener in NYC? As Siegle (2001) says the process of becoming
greener is a gradual process, and sometimes you fall off the bandwagon, but you just need to
start again coming up with unique ways that work for you and family.
35
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
References
World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987. Our Common Future. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
http://www.un-documents.net/our-common-future.pdf
Hoornweg, D., Bhada-Tata, P., Kennedy, C. (2013). “Environment: Waste production must peak this
century.” Nature. 2013 Oct 31;502(7473):615-7.
Blythman, Joanna. "The Scare over MRSA in Pork Shows Responsible Farming Isn’t a Luxury –
It’s a Necessity." The Guardian, 18 June 2015.
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fcommentisfree%2F2015%2Fjun%2F18 %2Fmrsapork- responsible-farming-superbug-antibiotics-farms-meat.
"Residential
Water Use." NYC Environmental Protection. Web. 07
2015. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/residents/wateruse.shtml.
July
"GreenThumb." NYC Parks. http://www.greenthumbnyc.org/.
"WaterSense Fix a Leak Week." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 07 July 2015.
http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/pubs/fixleak.html.
Peanut Product Recall Widened After Site Visit to Georgia Plant, MedPage Today, January 28,
2009 http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/GeneralInfectiousDisease/12647
USDA National Organic Program
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/NOPOrganicStandards
Sustainable Business.com
(http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/6388)
Siegle, Lucy. Green Living in the Urban Jungle. Totnes: Green Bookd Ltd, 2001. Print.
"Go Green in the City 2015."
http://www.gogreeninthecity.com/challenge
Carleton College’s Science Education Resource Center (SERC)
http://www.ted.com/talks/johan_rockstrom_let_the_environment_guide_our
_dev elopment/transcript?language=en#t-82000
Johan Rockstrom TED Talk
http://www.ted.com/talks/johan_rockstrom_let_the_environment_guide_our
_dev elopment/transcript?language=en#t-82000
Global Footprint Network Homepage, Date Accessed: 18th July 2015
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/index.php
36
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Nature.org website, http://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/
National Water Footprint Network website, http://waterfootprint.org/en/waterfootprint/national-water-footprint/
37
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
5.0 How do I make sustainable food consumption choices?
All of life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied to a single garment
of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.
~Martin Luther King Jr.
5.1 How much energy goes into creating the average cheeseburger?
In today’s lab class, you will determine the embedded energy in a cheeseburger and think about the
environmental impacts of your food choices and ways that you can become a more energy-savvy
consumer. Food is essential for our survival but our consumption habits can have detrimental effects
on the environment because of the energy and other resources needed to produce and make that food
available to us.
However, we have the capability to adjust our choices so that they are more sustainable or
environmentally conscious while still supplying that basic need.
Embedded energy in food is not the nutritional value of the food we eat but it is the energy that is used
in the life cycle of the food. It is the energy used to grow the crop, harvesting, storage, transport,
processing, and marketing (Mogensen et al., 2009).
Let us consider a cheeseburger, a very common delicious choice for most of us but in deciding which
one to get, the focus is the number of calories it contains and the embedded energy is often ignored.
After completing this lab, when choosing your burger, calories will probably not be the only factor that
helps in making that choice. What does it take to create a cheeseburger?
5.2. Main ingredients needed for a cheeseburger
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Bread
Ground beef
Sliced cheese
Lettuce and tomatoes
Condiments – onions, peppers, mustard, mayonnaise etc.
Each of these ingredients has a life cycle of production that used energy before it gets wrapped in paper,
dropped in a paper bag and placed in our hands.
Cheeseburger Bun
Let’s first consider the bread. This starts out as a wheat plant grown probably in the Mid-West where
irrigation pumps provide ground water for the crops; fertilizer and pesticides are applied with a tractor
(Ryan & Durning, 2015).
At this point the environmental impacts would include soil erosion, groundwater depletion, leaching
of the applied chemicals, which would have caused surface and ground water pollution with
consequential ecosystem disruption. For example, leaching of the excess fertilizer has the potential to
cause nutrient enrichment and eutrophication of nearby rivers and streams. Nutrient
enrichment is the addition of nitrates, phosphorus, and organic material such as dead plant and
animal parts to our waterways. This excess of nutrients then leads to algae bloom and is easily
38
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
recognized as the water begins to look green, this can then result in further ecosystem
degradation. Pesticides in steams can result in the loss of indigenous species. Since most farms
are now highly mechanized, petroleum would be the fairy dust that makes these processes fly! This
not only increases the embedded energy of the product, but it also increases its environmental
impact.
Continuing our trip through the life cycle of our bread, the wheat gets gathered by a harvester
powered by diesel engine and transported to a mill that uses electricity as it grinds the wheat into
flour, and enriches it with minerals. This then gets packaged in paper made from the wood of
trees, and transported by a diesel-powered truck to a merchant who then takes it to the restaurant
where it is made into the burger bun using an electric food processor and baked in a gas oven.
Then it may be frozen, stored in a freezer that uses electricity, and transported to restaurant chain
outlets as needed. This incredible journey leads to an accumulation of a considerable quantity of
embedded energy; the magnitude of this embedded energy is determined by the farming
practices, processing and distance transported.
Life
cycle
of
cheeseburger bun
a Energy used per bun
~74g in MJ-low
Energy used per bun
~74g in MJ - high
Wheat Cultivation
Wheat milled
Bread baked
Storage
Bread
transported
restaurant
Total
0.17
0.03
0.45
0.31
to 0.07
0.24
0.39
1.0
1.6
0.09
1.03
3.32
Table 5.1 shows the possible embedded energy in a cheeseburger bun. (Adapted from the report
Energy Use in the Food Sector: A data survey (Carlsson-Kanyama & Faist, 2000). The high and low values are due
to the range in the data that the authors worked with to compute these values, it may be due to fluctuating oil prices
or variations in the methods used in the production.)
Ground Beef
Now we consider the main part of the burger - the beef. The cows may start out as cattle grazing
on a ranch in the prairies in the Mid-West US. These lands suffer from overgrazing and eventually
soil erosion (Rayburn, 2000).
Eventually the cattle are herded into feedlots where workers using diesel-powered trucks feed
them a mixture of corn and other grains to increase weight as efficiently as possible. Most of this
fodder is grown specifically for cattle and results in environmental impacts similar to the bun
such as land use, irrigation, application of fertilizer and pesticides which in addition to ground
water depletion and contamination, there is heavy use of petroleum. Feeding animals also reduces
the land available for food production for people, thus decreasing the potential food supply and
thereby increasing the cost.
39
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Life cycle of a beef patty
Production of fodder
Energy used per burger Energy used per burger
~90g in MJ
~90g in MJ -high
-low
3.5
5.0
Housing, slaughtering
0.23
1.4
Grinding, Freezing
0.12
0.16
Storage
0.45
2.3
Frying
0.79
1.0
Transportation
0.44
0.59
Total
5.63
10.45
Table 5.2 shows the possible embedded energy in a cheeseburger beef patty ( Adapted from the
report Energy Use in the Food Sector: A data survey (Carlsson-Kanyama & Faist, 2000 Table 6). The high and low
values are due to the range in the data that the authors worked with to compute these values, it may be dues to
fluctuating oil prices or variations in the methods used in the production.)
A Slice of Cheese
A slice of American cheese is an essential condiment in our cheeseburger and this probably came
from dairy farms in Oregon. A major issue with dairy farms is the resulting pollution from manure
contaminating nearby rivers, streams, and ground water with bacteria and other parasites
(Duhigg, 2009).
Life cycle of a slice of
Energy used per slice in Energy used per slice in
cheese
MJ -low
MJ -high
Production of fodder
0.26
0.37
Milking, making cheese
process
Storage
0.16
0.32
0.01
0.07
Transportation
Total
0.11
0.54
0.15
0.91
Table 5.3 shows the possible embedded energy in a slice of cheese. (Adapted from the report Energy
Use in the Food Sector: A data survey (Carlsson-Kanyama & Faist, 2000) Table 6. The high and low values are due
to the range in the data that the authors worked with to compute these values, it may be dues to fluctuating oil
prices or variations in the methods used in the production.)
Lettuce and Tomatoes
Cheeseburgers are garnished with lettuce and tomatoes and in NYC this is most likely Dole Classic
Iceberg lettuce grown in California. These are shipped in refrigerated containers to Springfield
Ohio where it is washed and processed in a high tech assembly line (Fulmer, 2002).
40
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Life cycle for lettuce
Crop production
Storage
Transportation
Total
Energy used ~ 28g in
MJ (low)
0.04
0.02
0.04
0.1
Energy used ~ 28g in
MJ –(high)
4.27
0.05
0.04
4.36
Table 5.4 shows the possible embedded energy in 28g of lettuce. (Adapted from the report Energy Use
in the Food Sector: A data (Carlsson-Kanyama & Faist, 2000) Table 8. The high and low values are due to the range
in the data that the authors worked with to compute these values, it may be dues to fluctuating oil prices or variations
in the methods used in the production.)
Condiments
Finally, to top everything off, some pickled cucumbers and others may be added to give that final
perfectly seasoned taste.
Life cycle of pickled
cucumbers
Crop production
Storage
Pickling
Energy used ~ 7.4g in
MJ (low)
0.0074
0.0008
0.02
Energy used ~ 7.4g in
MJ (high)
0.0097
0.0074
0.032
Transportation
0.014
0.0072
Total
0.0422
0.0563
Table 5.5 shows the possible embedded energy in ~ 7.4g of pickled cucumber.
(Adapted from the report Energy Use in the Food Sector: A data (Carlsson-Kanyama & Faist, 2000) Table 12. The
high and low values are due to the range in the data that the authors worked with to compute these values, it may
be dues to fluctuating oil prices or variations in the methods used in the production.)
5.3.
Materials:
Computers with Internet access and Microsoft Word and Excel
5.4.
Procedure:
1.
Your lab instructor will lead the class in an introduction discussion on the relation
between using energy and environmental impacts. You should also think about and identify
environmental issues in your neighborhood or on your commute and try to figure out if your daily
choices can possibly be related.
2.
Ensure that you carefully read the background material before coming to the lab and
participate in the laboratory discussion.
3.
Read over the questions and work in groups of two to discuss and then answer all the
questions for this lab. You should have a working draft of your lab report before you leave the lab
class; the introduction and conclusion paragraphs can be added later along with your finishing
touches.
41
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
5.5 Questions:
1.
Using the tables provided above, determine the energy required for each ingredient used in
making a cheeseburger, filling Table 5.6 below. Please include one example calculation with
equations correctly set up for full points. Be sure to use the correct units.
Average
Energy
Energy
Ingredients of a
Energy
required in KJ required in KJ
cheeseburger
required in KJ
(low)
(high)
Cheeseburger bun (≈74g)
Beef patty (≈90g)
Slice of cheese
Lettuce (≈28g)
Pickle (≈7.4g)
total
Table 5.6: Embedded energy in a cheeseburger.
1MJ = 1000KJ (Conversion from MJ to KJ)
2.
After reviewing all the ingredients used in assembling a cheeseburger, compare the energy
required for plant based foods and those for the animal based foods by completing Table 5.7 and
determine which has a smaller impact. Create a pie chart from this table. Would you say that a
vegetarian meal generally has less embedded energy? Give your reasons.
Ingredients of a cheeseburger
Average Energy required in KJ
Animal based ingredients
Plant based ingredients
Table 5.7: Plant and Animal based ingredients
3.
What control do you as a consumer have on the production and distribution of food?
4.
If manure from farms contaminates surface and ground waters, how would the pathogens
present in manure affect recreational activities that involve these rivers and streams?
5.
Can contamination of ground water due to leaching fertilizers, pesticides, and manure also
taint private wells? When this happens who should be responsible to remediate the ground water
or pay for additional water treatment devices that may be necessary at this point?
6.
What is the agricultural source of nutrient enrichment and eutrophication of lakes and
streams? How does this relate to your food choices?
7.
In this lab, we looked at the embedded energy in a cheeseburger, why is energy use a
concern? Talk about the use of petroleum in the life cycle of a cheeseburger and relate this to
climate change.
8.
One way to go green in the city of New York would be to eat locally grown organic foods.
Why would eating local and organic foods be Earth friendly? Please note that organic foods are
not necessarily locally grown. Do some research and make a list of the local organic food suppliers
in your neighborhood.
42
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
9.
Typically, the money paid for organic foods is higher than for those grown by
conventional intensive agriculture. However, the prices in the store currently do not reflect the
environmental costs of production and potential health risks of conventional methods of farming.
These economic and potential health care costs are considered “economic externalities”. If these
hidden costs of conventional growing methods were added to the price of conventional foods, do
you think they would still have a lower price than organic foods? Give your reasoning for your
answer.
10. Choose which of the following is healthier for the environment (and you). State at least two (2)
reasons for your choice.
a. Buying highly processed and prepackaged food from the supermarket
b. Buying vegetables from your local farmer’s market and cooking your meal
11. Producing food for consumers has environmental impacts but food is essential for survival. Are
there ways of supplying that basic human need in a sustainable manner? Give at least two (2)
examples of sustainable farming methods.
12.
Watch the TED talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcL3BQeteCc : The need to
change our food system and answer the following questions. a) Do you support the views of
the presenter? b) How can you help to make changes in the type of food available for
consumers? HINT: Use the following video to help you develop ideas suitable to your
community; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyQmAkp-Kq0.
5.7 Conclusion
In a short paragraph, summarize the objectives and findings for today’s laboratory exercise, talk
about what how your food choices impact the environment and list at least three (3) ways that you
can reduce your environmental impact by making better food choices. Describe the environmental
implications of eating a cheeseburger and given that you now know some of the consequences of
our food choices, talk about how this will affect your future decisions.
The report for this lab will be due at the beginning of the next lab period. Please be
sure that the report is typed and neatly organized according to the lab report outline given by your
lab instructor.
References
Carlsson-Kanyama, A., & Faist, M. (2000). Energy Use in the Food Sector : A data survey.
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm.
“Convert
May
Units Measurement
Unit
2015. http://www.convertunits.com/.
Converter." ConvertUnits.com. Web. 7
Duhigg, Charles. "Health Ills Abound as Farm Runoff Fouls Wells." New York Times September
17, 2009. Web Accessed 04/30/2015.
(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/us/18dairy.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0)
Fulmer, Melinda. “Lettuce Grows Into a Processed Food.” LA Times, August 19,
2002. Web Accessed 04/30/2015 http://articles.latimes.com/2002/aug/19/business/fi-lettuce19
43
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Mogensen, L., Hermansen, J. E., Halberg, N., Dalgaard, R., Vis, J. C., & Smith, B. G. (2009). Life
Cycle Assessment across the Food Supply Chain. Sustainability in the Food Industry, 115–144.
http://doi.org/10.1002/9781118467589.ch5
Ryan, J. C., & Durning, A. T. (2000). Hamburgers and Fries: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things.
Reimagine!, 7(2), 42–44.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
6.0 Climate Change
Global warming isn't a prediction. It is happening.
~James Hansen
Laboratory exercise 6 is a two week lab which will be due at the beginning of lab exercise 7.
6.1 Is the Average Global Temperature rising?
The answer is yes, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in their
fifth Assessment Report – 2013, the globally averaged land and ocean surface temperatures has
increased by 0.85°C from 1880-2012. How much would this be if converted to degrees
Fahrenheit? Fig. 6.1 below shows this warming trend; notice the change in the rate of change
starting from around the 1970s.
6.2 Why is the Average Temperature Changing?
Temperature on Earth can vary in response to solar variations, surface changes on the planet or
atmospheric changes. Scientists have been able to show that there is a link between the
concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere and temperature changes here on
the Earth. They also agree that the main cause of recent global temperature changes that has been
observed on the Earth’s surface has been due to an increase in the concentration of GHGs due to
the Greenhouse Gas Effect.
Just like certain earth processes like the Greenhouse Gas Effect can warm the Earth, there are
natural process that cool the Earth. Once such process is the albedo effect. Some incoming solar
energy is reflected by bright surfaces, such as snow, ice, and sand. The rest is absorbed by the
earth’s surface and by water. Surfaces that reflect energy have a high albedo (reflectivity). Fresh
snow and dense clouds, for instance, can reflect as much as 85 to 90 percent of the light falling on
them. Surfaces that absorb energy have a low albedo and generally appear dark. Black soil,
asphalt pavement, and water, for example, have low albedo, with reflectivity as low as 3 to 5
percent. It is the balance of these warming and cooling effects like these which regulate the
temperature on Earth.
As temperatures rise due to the increase in the concentration of GHGs, ice sheets melt. When ice
cover on Earth is reduced, the albedo effect, or cooling of the Earth, decreases. This leads to
darker surfaces like soil and open waters being exposed. These darker surfaces absorb more of the
sun’s energy and contribute to an increased warming of the Earth - which in turn, causes even
more ice to melt. This is what we call a positive feedback loop. Melting ice has a strong positive
feedback effect. As ice melts, exposed water absorbs energy and warms. Warm water retains its
heat long into the fall, reducing the new ice that forms over winter. Thinner, less extensive ice
melts rapidly in spring, allowing greater warming the following summer, further enhancing heat
absorption
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
FIG. 6.1 This graph illustrates the change in global surface temperature relative to 1951-1980 average
temperatures. Seventeen of the 18 warmest years in the 136-year record all have occurred since 2001,
with the exception of 1998. The year 2016 ranks as the warmest on record. (Source: NASA/GISS).
(https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/)
In the United States, the EPA says that since 1901 the average surface temperatures have been
increasing by 0.13°F per decade with some parts experiencing more warming than others.
Please express this rate of change in degrees Celsius and show your work as part of your to question
1.
6.3 What is the Greenhouse Gas Effect?
The “greenhouse gas effect” occurs when solar radiation which consist mostly of short wavelengths in
the visible light spectrum pass through the Earth’s atmosphere to the Earths’ surface and are absorbed.
As the surface of the Earth absorbs energy, it begins to warm up and radiate energy at a longer,
wavelength, which is mostly infrared radiation. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere such as water
vapor (H2O), ozone (O3), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxides (N2O), methane (CH4), and
halocarbons absorb some of this outgoing radiation. As these gases absorb the terrestrial infrared
radiation, they begin to warm up and re-emit infrared radiation, some of it goes out to space but some
of it comes back to the surface of the Earth creating a warming effect.
This is a natural process and without it the Earths’ surface temperature would be -18°C instead of the
actual 15°C. However, since the Industrial Revolution humans have started burning increasingly
large quantities of fossil fuels such as coal and oil as the human population continues to grow and
develop technologically. This has led to an increase in greenhouse gas concentration in the
atmosphere and therefore an enhanced greenhouse gas effect and an overall increase in the warming
of the Earth.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
6.4 What are the implications of changing temperatures in NYC?
The EPA describes some of the changes that have been occurring in the North East United States as
global temperatures continue to increase.
Increased Precipitation and Sea Level rise
Scientists show as global temperatures continue to rise, the magnitude and frequency of precipitation
has been increasing and not only has it increased but now most precipitation falls as rain. There will
be a greater frequency of extreme events occurring such as periods of intense rainfall and periods of
drought. This increases the risk of damaging floods, which is disastrous to ecosystems and human
infrastructure. In addition to this rising sea levels leads to an increase in storm surges and erosion,
which is detrimental to coastal ecosystem. Increased precipitation and floods puts public health at risk
as it increases the risk of water pollution. In cities such as New York City, Combined Sewer Overflow
(CSO) events are likely to increase which can result in increased water pollution putting both the
environment and public health at greater risk.
Human Health
As the temperature increases air pollution also rises threatening the health of the vulnerable
population, the frequency of heat waves is increasing and will lead to more heat related deaths.
Increased temperatures in the temperate region has led to migration of insects further North
resulting in insect transmitted related diseases such as West Nile and Lyme’s disease.
Recreational Activities
A large part of the Northeast benefits from winter recreational activities such as skiing. Ski resorts such
as Belleayre Mountain in New York and Bretton Woods in New Hampshire may have shorter seasons
not only because of warming but also due to a decrease in snow precipitation; this industry may take a
hit as the warming trend continues.
Read the report “Confronting Climate Change in the US Northeast: Science, Impacts and Solutions”
for a more detailed list of climate change impacts for this area.
https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/global_warming/pdf/confront
i ng-climate-change-in-the-u-s-northeast.pdf
ACTIVITY 1
Run the Carbon cycle simulator https://test-learnermedia.pantheonsite.io/wpcontent/interactive/envsci/carbon/carbon.html to explore the different scenarios the result from
changes in deforestation and fossil usage. Describe the corresponding changes in the atmosphere and
the ocean. Complete the graphs in the scenario and include screenshots in your report. What changes
did you observe in the carbon cycle and what were the effects of your efforts to curb emission?
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6.5 Is it possible to demonstrate global temperature and CO2 changes?1
Changes in Air Temperature - Scientists from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NASA,
compiled temperature datasets from weather stations all over the world to create the dataset you are
going to be working with today to answer the question: Is earth “warming”? The data you will use
are from years 1880-2014.
1. Before you conduct your analysis, you should first make your predictions. • What slope would
indicate a warming Earth?
What slope would indicate Earth’s average global temperature was not changing?
• What slope would indicate a cooling Earth?
Sketch lines in the axes below to show what the expected slopes would be in these different
scenarios. Include this in your lab report.
⁰C
⁰C
time
Warming
⁰C
time
No effect
time
Cooling
2. Getting the air temperature data: These data are compiled by the Goddard Institute for Space
Studies, NASA, and are made available via the Earth Policy Institute. https://www.earthpolicy.org/data-center . The dataset has been provided for you on Blackboard.
3. Open up the dataset. Make a scatter plot of temperature change over time. Do not forget the title
and other appropriate aspects of graphs.
4. Now, from your scatter plot, determine the rate of change. Determining rates of change graphically
is straightforward. The average rate of change is just the change in temperature divided by the
change in time, or change in y divided by the change in x, or the slope of a line that fits through the
data. These are all the same thing. Luckily, Excel can calculate the slope of a line very easily. So, to
determine the rate of change (slope) add a trend line. • When you do this, make sure to select the
options to show the equation of the line and the R2 value.
5. Many scientists claim that drastic changes in global temperature began in the mid-1900s when
fossil-fuel-powered transportation became a mainstay for most families. Test this hypothesis by
adjusting your trendline so that it only looks at the most recent decades, after personal
transportation became common. You can do this by: • Decide on the year in the mid-1900s that you
want to begin the trendline. Scroll to that year and select the data (year and temperature) from that
year all the way to the most recent year.
• Create a Scatter plot just as you did before, and add a trendline with the R2.
This portion of the lab was adapted by Elizabeth Farrell of Queens College from a module developed by O’Reilly,
C.M., D.C. Richardson, and R.D. Gougis. 15 March 2017. Project EDDIE: Climate Change. Project EDDIE Module 8,
Version 1. http://cemast.illinoisstate.edu/data-for-students/modules/climate-change.shtml. Module development
was supported by NSF DEB 1245707.
1
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Changes in atmospheric CO2
In 1958, Dr. Charles David Keeling (1928-2005), who was a scientist at Scripps Institute of
Oceanography, began collecting data on atmospheric CO2 concentration at the Mauna Loa
Observatory located in Hawaii. This dataset is what allowed us to understand the degree to which
climate change is human-caused through our burning of fossil fuels and release of CO2 into the
atmosphere. Due to his scientific achievements, Dr. Keeling was awarded the National Medal of
Science by President George W. Bush in 2002. This is the highest award for lifetime scientific
achievement that can be granted in the U.S. Today, you get to analyze this same dataset, except that
you have more data that was available to Dr. Keeling and his colleagues, because your dataset
extends up to current time.
6. The longest measurements of atmospheric CO2 concentrations have been done in Mauna Loa,
Hawaii. This “atmospheric CO2 dataset” has been provided to you in the same excel sheet as the last
dataset, but the second tab (Mauna Loa, HI). However, note that the data is presented as a column of
years, and the mean CO2 as ppm (parts per million).
7. As you did for air temperature, plot a graph of CO2 vs time.
8. Determine the current rate of change for atmospheric CO2 data by fitting a trend line, as you did
for air temperatures.
How related are the changes in temperature and CO2?
9. To determine whether a change in CO2 corresponds well with a change in air temperature, you can
plot temperature against CO2.To do this, make a graph with CO2 on the x axis and temperature on
the y axis.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Here is the data that you need to make the graph
CO2 concentration (ppm)
⁰ Celsius
326.32
327.45
329.68
330.18
331.11
332.04
333.83
335.4
336.84
338.75
340.11
341.45
343.05
344.65
346.12
347.42
349.19
351.57
353.12
354.39
355.61
356.45
357.1
358.83
360.82
362.61
363.73
366.7
368.38
369.55
371.14
373.28
375.8
377.52
379.8
381.9
383.79
385.6
387.43
389.9
391.65
393.85
396.52
398.65
50
13.93
14.02
14.15
13.93
13.99
13.88
14.14
14.05
14.11
14.22
14.28
14.09
14.27
14.11
14.08
14.14
14.28
14.35
14.24
14.39
14.38
14.19
14.20
14.28
14.42
14.32
14.45
14.61
14.39
14.40
14.52
14.60
14.59
14.51
14.65
14.59
14.62
14.49
14.59
14.66
14.55
14.57
14.60
14.68
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
DAY 2
6.6 How do current trends compare to pre-historic rates of change?
An exploration of the Vostok Ice Core - When analyzing Earth’s climate, it is important to
remember that Earth is 4.54 billion years old. Our analyses so far have only looked at recent history.
How can we compare the recent data to pre-historic time? Are the current rates of change similar or
different than those the earth has experienced in the past? To explore this, we can use data taken
from ice cores that were drilled at the poles.
Hundreds of ice cores have been extracted from polar ice because they contain valuable data on
atmospheric chemistry over pre-historic time. These valuable data exist in tiny air bubbles that are
trapped in the ice. These air bubbles contain the same gases in the same ratios as the atmosphere at
the time when the ice formed. The data you will be analyzing today are from ice cores extracted from
the Vostok research station in Antarctica. As you have probably assumed, the depth of the ice core is
related to how old the ice is; deep ice is older. There are two other variables that you will be analyzing
from the ice cores. The first is temperature, which is reflected by isotopic ratios in the ice of the core
so that these isotopic ratios can be converted into air temperatures. The second variable you will
analyze is CO2 concentration, which has been measured from air bubbles trapped in the ice. We can
use these data to see what rates of change were like during this pre-historic period, during which
human activity has been minimal.
1. The ice core data can be found in blackboard, similar to the other datasets we have used thus far.
This one should be titled something along the lines of Vostok ice core data.
2. In these data, the temperature column is not the actual temperature, but the temperature variation
or anomaly.
3. Begin with the temperature anomaly data, and graph it using ice age as the independent variable.
Create a Scatter graph with straight lines between the points. Keep in mind that the x axis refers to
how many thousands of years ago, so the time axis moves in the opposite direction as what
you are accustomed to based on previous analyses. This is the custom for research that investigates
patterns over long time periods.
4. It is suggested or advised that you adjust your y-axis accordingly. Adjusting your y-axis will make
the data be more prominent on the graph.
5. To help you orient to these plots, address the following questions:
a. Do you think these data are a good representation of pre-historic rates of change?
b. Are we currently in a glacial or interglacial period?
c. How long does a glacial and interglacial period last?
Glacial: ____________
Interglacial: _____________
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
6. Add a trend line to the ice core temperature anomaly data.
7. The next step is to calculate what the fastest rate of change might be. To do this, you want to
identify a section of your data where the temperature is changing very rapidly. If you hover your
mouse over a data point, it will tell you the data values for that particular point. Make note of the
data point values at the beginning and end of the time period segments that you think have the
steepest slopes.
8. Then make a new graph of only that time period, and determine the rate of change by fitting a
trend line and looking at the slope.
9. Prepare a plot of CO2 concentration as a function of (gas) age. Plot (gas) age on the x-axis and CO2
on the y-axis.
10. Click on the plot of CO2 concentration as a function of (gas) age and copy and paste this data onto
the temperature anomaly graph you created earlier. You will now have two lines on your graph, but
to see each clearly, we will add a second y-axis to accommodate the different units.
• Double-click on the plot of CO2 concentration and under series options, change it to the secondary
axis. It is suggested or advised that you adjust your y-axis accordingly. Adjusting your y-axis will
make the data be more prominent on the graph.
11. Now make a new graph from your original plot of CO2 concentration as a function of (gas) age
focused only on a time period of rapid change in CO2. Determine the rate of change by fitting a trend
line and looking at the slope.
6.7 Questions
1. Explain what is meant by the Greenhouse Effect.
2. Include the graph you created based on the Average Global Temperature data from 1880-2014
(Section 6.5, part 4) and answer the following questions:
a. Equation for the line:
b. R2 =
c. Rate of air temperature change (include units):
d. Given your analysis, is Earth warming? How do you know?
3. Include the graph you created based on the Average Global Temperature data from the mid-1900s
(when fossil-fuel-powered transportation became common)-2014 (Section 6.5, part 5) and answer
the following questions:
a. Equation for the line:
b. R2 =
c. Rate of air temperature change (include units):
d. Compare the slopes of these two lines (1880 through mid-1900s versus mid-1990s through 2013).
How has the rate of change in average global temperatures changed starting from the mid-1900s to
2014?
e. What does this imply about the future warming trend?
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
4. As a New York City resident, have you noticed the effect of some these temperature changes? Do
you think temperature changes have anything to do with extreme weather events?
5. Include the graph you created based on the CO2 data (Section 6.5 part 8) and answer the
following questions:
a. Equation for the line:
b. R2 =
c. Rate of air CO2 change (include units):
d. Based on your analysis, has atmospheric CO2 concentration increased? How confident are
you in these results? What phenomenon explains the matching patterns of average global
temperature and atmospheric CO2?
6. Include the graph you created based on the CO2 data (Section 6.5 part 9) and answer the
following questions:
a. Equation for the line:
b. R2 =
c. Based on your analysis, could atmospheric CO2 concentration explain the increase in
average global temperature?
7. Since global temperatures is directly related to an increase in the emission of anthropogenic
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs), list at least three (3) ways in which you an individual residing in New
York City can add your part in reducing GHGs emissions.
8. Include first two the graphs you created based on the ice core temperature data (Section 6.6
parts 3-8) and answer the following questions:
a. Look at the R2 value on the first graph. Do you think this trend line is a good representation of
long-term rates of temperature change?
b. Based on the second graph which you created to determine the fastest rate of change, what is the
rate of pre-historic temperate change (with units)?
9. According to the CO2 data from ice cores, during which time frame(s) was there the greatest rate
of change in atmospheric CO2 concentration?
10. Include the graphs you created that includes both ice core temperature and CO2 (Section 6.6
part 10). How does the change in atmospheric CO2 concentration correspond to what you see in the
ice-core temperature anomaly record?
11. Include the final graph you created based on ice core CO2 data (Section 6.6 part 11). What is
the rate of pre-historic atmospheric CO2 change (with units)?
12. Compare the fastest natural rate of change with the modern rate of change. (Remember to check
your units are equivalent). a. How do CO2 concentrations recorded over time in the ice core compare
to the current values for today, which you graphed in Section 6.5 part 8?
b. How do current (i.e., in the past ~200 years) changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration
and average global temperature compare to pre-historic (i.e., in the past hundreds of thousands of
years) changes in these variables? What does this suggest about whether recent changes in
temperature are due to natural or anthropogenic (human) factors? It is plausible that recent increase
in atmospheric carbon dioxide is a result of natural fluctuations and not human-induced?
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
6.8 Conclusions
In your conclusion paragraph summarize the objectives, how we attempted to achieve this, the
findings and how these will influence your future decision-making. Include statements on what the
temperature data that you collected reveal about the overall temperature trend and give reasons why
even a small change in average global temperatures can have disastrous effects in most of the Earth
systems.
References
National Weather Service http://www.weather.gov/okx/CentralParkHistorical
IPCC,
Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis - Summary for
Policymakers
http://www.climatechange2013.org/images/report/WG1AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf
Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast: New York. Cambridge, MA:
Union of Concerned Scientists, 2007.
http://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/assets/documents/global_warmin
g/pdf/confronting-climate-change-in-the-u-s-northeast.pdf
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).
https://www.ucar.edu/learn/1_3_2_12t.htm
"U.S. and Global Temperature." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, Accessed, 14 July 2015.
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators/weatherclimate/temperature.html.
EPA (2007). "Recent Climate Change: Atmosphere Changes". Climate Change Science Program.
United
States
Environmental
Protection
Agency. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators/index.html
Cunningham, W., and M. Cunningham. 2017. Principles of Environmental Science 8th Edition.
McGraw Hill Education. Boston. ISBN 10: 1259664236, ISBN-13: 9781259664236.
“NASA Global Climate Change.” NASA. Accessed, 13 January 2019. https://climate.nasa.gov/vitalsigns/global-temperature/
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
7.0 Will New York City need a seawall?
Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink. – The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
7.1 What is the relationship between changing temperatures and sea level rise?
As average global temperatures continue to rise, melting ice sheets and thermal expansion led to an
overall increase in sea levels and the EPA shows a rise of about eight inches in global sea levels from 1880
to 2009 based on tidal gauge and satellite measurements and is projected to continue rising.
FIG. 7.1 Average absolute sea level change from 1880 to 2009 using a combination of long-term tide
gauges measurements and more recently satellite measurements.
This is available on the US EPA website about ‘Climate Change Indicators in the United States’.
FIG. 7.1 above shows the average global sea level changes; can you describe how sea level has
changed from 1880 to 2009 based on information presented here?
As humans continue to emit Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) by burning fossils, surface temperatures will
continue to rise leading to melting polar ice sheets, warmer oceans and hence higher sea levels. One
of the main goals of today’s laboratory exercise is for you to get a better understanding of the
relationship between global temperature increase and sea level rise and how your city has been
affected and will continue to be affected. You should also get an idea of the role you play in sea level
rise and how you can help in your city’s planning strategies on managing future floods.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Sea levels have been increasing due to melting of land ice such as ice sheets and mountain glaciers,
which results in a greater quantity of water being added to the oceans. Another major contribution to
sea level rise has been thermal expansion.
Melting ice sheets
Research shows that the worlds’ two largest ice sheets; Greenland and the Antarctic ice sheets have
been decreasing in volume as global temperature increase and will continue to lose ice mass as
melting ice slides into the ocean. These ice sheets consist of frozen water which when melted will be
added to the oceans and seas. Glaciers and ice fields located on land, not floating in the sea, will
contribute to increasing sea level as they melt. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) says
that melting of the Greenland ice sheet can increase sea levels by as much as 6m while melting of the
much larger Antarctic ice sheet would result in a 60m increase. Melting sea ice is not considered a
major contributor to global sea level rise.
Thermal Expansion
As global surface temperatures increase so will the temperature of the ocean as it absorbs heat from
the atmosphere, the warmer seawater expands so that each drop now takes up more space adding to
the higher sea levels. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fourth Assessment
Report says that 50% of sea level rise between 1993 and 2003 has been caused by thermal expansion.
According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), New York
has already experienced a foot of sea level rise since the 1900s and the major culprit is thermal
expansion. This leads to an increase in storm surges and frequency of floods especially during super
storms as seen with Hurricane Sandy in 2012, revealing the harsh reality of how vulnerable the
densely populated coastline of New York City is.
7.2 Additional Implications of melting ice sheets
Another important thing to consider when evaluating the impacts of melting ice sheets is the
emission of methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas. Smaller quantities of CH4 have the potential to
have a large impact on atmospheric temperatures. Permafrost is ground that is frozen year-round.
Due to human-caused warming of the atmosphere from greenhouse gas emissions, permafrost is
currently thawing. This process wakes up microbes in the soil that decompose soil organic matter
and release carbon dioxide and methane as a by-product of that decomposition into the atmosphere.
New studies have shown that not only the melting of permafrost, but the melting of the ice sheets
contribute to large amounts of methane being released into the atmosphere. An international team of
researchers led by the University of Bristol camped for three months next to the Greenland Ice Sheet,
sampling the meltwater that runs off a large catchment (> 600 km2) of the Ice Sheet during the
summer months. They calculated thatat least six tons of methane was transported to their measuring
site from this portion of the Ice Sheet alone, roughly the equivalent of the methane released by up to
100 cows.2
This is another example of positive feedback, just like the reduction in albedo caused by melting ice
sheets discussed in the Climate Change lab. As ice melts, it releases methane – which in turn helps to
trap heat in the atmosphere. The more heat that’s trapped in the atmosphere, the quicker ice will
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
melt – resulting in even more methane being released.
7.3 Simulating future sea level rise
Materials
Computers with Internet access, Microsoft Office Word and Excel
Procedure
While your experiment from section 8.3 is running you will use an online tool supported by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to look at how coastal areas in the
United States will be affected before zooming in to New York City.
i.
Here you will go to the Sea Level Rise Viewer by going to the NOAA website, URL given
https://coast.noaa.gov/dogitalcoast/tools/slr
ii.
Click on Launch Viewer
iii.
Now you can change the sea level increase by using the slider on the top left hand corner of the
page, located just under Sea Level Rise. Zoom in to New York using the little menu box on the
top right corner of the page by clicking on the arrow next to Zoom to: State or Territory and
choose New York.
iv.
Now you can change the sea level from 1-foot Sea Level Rise (SLR) and progressively increase
in increments of 1 foot until you get to 6 feet, observing the changes as you go. There are three
major land marks located on the map, click on the camera for each interval to get a visual of
what it looks like for each increase. Many of you would be very familiar with these sites and it
interesting to look at how sea level rise will impact these icons right here in our backyard.
v.
Use this online tool to help you answer some of the questions for your lab report.
7.4 What is a sea wall and how does it work?
According to the Webster’s dictionary, a sea wall is a wall built to keep sea waves from coming up
onto land. Hurricane Sandy was a wakeup call for many New Yorkers on how storm surges and a
possible increase in the intensity of storms may affect the residents of the city. This realization has
led some city officials to think about ways in which the city could prevent the extensive damage by
storms of the future. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) held a contest
called Rebuild and Design aimed at coming up with innovative methods on protecting the city from
future storm surges. One of the winning teams Bjarke Ingels Group came up with the “Big U” which
is essentially a huge, green wall 10 to 20 feet high around the Manhattan coast and the city has
already started implementing the first part of this proposal, which is a 10-mile-long earthen berm
around lower Manhattan. Another winning proposal is by Engineer Lawrence J. Murphy who
proposed the construction of dam like structures around the city that will serve to protect the city
from storm surges such as those seen during Superstorm Sandy of 2012.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
7.5 Are there alternatives to a sea wall?
An article (Feuer, Alan, 2012) in the New York Times published just after the 2012 Superstorm Sandy
lists some alternative suggestions called soft infrastructure by experts in the field. They think that a
seawall may not be the best way to protect the city from the forecasted increasing heights of sea levels
and storm surges. The first strategy proposed by architect Stephen Cassel is to surround lower
Manhattan with a fringe of mossy wetlands and tidal marshes that help to absorb the energy of
incoming storm surges. In addition, they propose a restructuring of the streets in parts of lower
Manhattan to replace asphalt with absorptive material like porous concrete. Landscape architect
Kate Orff suggest the use of artificial oyster reefs and banks in the Gowanus Canal, these form
natural coastal buffers to wave energy reducing erosion damage and have the added benefit of
filtering the water reducing pollution. Here is an interesting TED talk by Kate Orff, you should take a
few minutes to look at it before the lab class. www.ted.com/talks/kate_orff_oysters_as_architecture
7.6 Questions
1. List and describe the two main reasons why global sea level is increasing.
2. According to the NYSDEC, sea level rise in the Middle range estimate should increase by 4 – 8
inches by 2020 and 22 – 50 inches by 2100. Based on these predicted increases, use the Sea Level
Rise viewer (https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/slr) to help determine if New York City needs
to consider building a sea wall? Give your reasons.
3. Based on the data collected in Table 8.1, did melting land ice or sea ice contribute more to sea level
rise? Why do you think this happened?
4. Consider the proposed alternatives to a sea wall in the reading and do some research to determine
if these have been used in other coastal cities and how effective they have been? In your research did
you find additional alternatives to a seawall than those stated in your reading? Be sure to cite your
sources.
5. As permafrost and ice sheets melt, what kind of gases are released? How will this impact the
warming of the atmosphere? Is this considered positive or negative feedback?
7.7 Conclusion
In your conclusion paragraph summarize the objectives, how we attempted to achieve these
objectives, your findings and how these will influence your future decision-making. Talk about some
of the issues that will be created as a result of rising sea levels and whether you think mitigation or
adaptive strategies need to be implemented.
The report for lab 7 will be due at the beginning of the next lab period. Please be sure that
the report is typed and neatly organized according to the lab report outline given by your lab
instructor
References
"New York State Department of Environmental Conservation." Sea Level Rise.
http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/45202.html.
EPA Climate students http://www.epa.gov/climatestudents/documents/sea-level-rise.pdf
Aerts JC, Botzen WW, Emanuel K, Lin N, de Moel H, Michel-Kerjan EO. Evaluating flood resilience
strategies for coastal megacities. Science. 2014;344(6183): 473–475. doi: 10.1126/science.1248222.
pmid:24786064
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Feuer, Alan. "Protecting the City, Before Next Time." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03
Nov. 2012. Web. 10 July 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/nyregion/protecting-newyork-city-beforenext-time.html?pagewanted=all>.
Climate Change Indicators in the United States." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web.
16 July 2015. <http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/indicators/oceans/sea-level.html>
NOAA Map that shows sea level rise http://coast.noaa.gov/slr/
Noerdlinger, P. D., and K. R. Brower (2007), The melting of floating ice raises the ocean level,
Geophys. J. Int., 170, 145–150, doi:10.1111/ j.1365-246X.2007.03472.x
The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
Https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/quickfacts/icesheets
Jewell, Nicole. "New York City Moves Forward with BIG U Plan to Protect
Manhattan from Future Super Storms." Inhabitat New York City New York City
Moves Forward with BIG U Plan to Protect Manhattan from Future Super Storms Comments.
(01/23/15) http://inhabitat.com/nyc/new-york-city-moves-forward-with-big-u-plan-toprotectmanhattan-from-future-super-storms/.
"Global Flood Map | World Wide Map of Potential Flooding." http://globalfloodmap.org/.
NASA Global Climate Change. “Unexpected future boost of methane possible from Arctic
permafrost.” Accessed, 13 January 2019. https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2785/unexpected-futureboost-of-methane-possible-from-arctic-permafrost/
University of Bristol. "Melting ice sheets release tons of methane into the atmosphere." ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily, 3 January 2019. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190103110300.htm
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8.0 What is the Clean Air Act and how has it affected
emissions across the US?
I can't imagine a right more basic than the right to breathe clean air. We've debated for years how that
might be possible. Now that we know it is, will we have the courage and the conviction to get there?
– Ed Begley, Jr.
8.1 What is Air Pollution?
Air pollution is the presence of particulates and chemicals in the atmosphere in concentrations
high enough to affect the climate and harm organisms and materials. Most of these pollutants
enter the atmosphere as a result of natural processes such as volcanoes, dust storms, wild fires
and even evaporation of hydrocarbon from trees. But in an urban setting there are also
anthropogenic sources such as burning fossil fuels, manufacturing industries and even waste
incinerators, the emissions from these can changes the composition of ambient air to one that
contains toxic doses of harmful substances.
In today’s lab, the main objective is for you to get an idea of the quality of the air that you breathe
in on a daily basis here in New York City. You should be able to tell the type of air pollutants that
are present in your community, the health risks involved and steps that are being taken to
ensure that the air you breathe is healthy. You will also evaluate the effectiveness, and
importance, of the Clean Air Act and how it has impacted the levels of dangerous pollutants in
the air we breathe.
8.2 What is the Clean Air Act?
The United States Congress first enacted the Clean Air Act in 1963 with later amendments in the
1970s and recently in 1990 (Withgott and Laposata, 2015). The Clean Air Act required the
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set nationwide emission standards for
major air pollutants considered harmful to public health and the environment and to
continuously monitor and ensure that states comply with these standards. A state that fails to
comply runs the risk of losing their federal funds for transportation projects.
8.3 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
As a result of the Clean Air Act, the EPA recognized six (6) criteria air pollutants and these are:






60
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Ground-level Ozone (O3)
Lead (Pb)
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)
Particulate Matter (PM)
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
These were selected based on their health impacts. National Ambient Air Quality Standards
(NAAQS) were then established for each criteria air pollutants for outdoor air nationwide, levels
above these are considered to be unsafe for public health and the environment. For more
detailed information on the NAAQS for the criteria air pollutants you can go the EPA website
https://www.epa.gov/criteria-air-pollutants/naaqs-table
The six criteria air pollutants are classified into two types of standards. First, there are the primary
standards, which are geared toward protecting the health of at-risk populations such as the very
young and the elderly. The secondary standards provide environmental protection and focus on
visibility, damage to wildlife, crops, and buildings. Table 8.1 below shows a list of air pollutant
concentrations between 1980 and 2019 and the national levels from 1980 to 2019 as listed by the
EPA.
Pollutant
Carbon
Monoxide
(CO)
Lead (Pb)
Nitrogen
Oxides
(NOx)
Volatile
Organic
Compounds
(VOC)
NH3
Direct
PM2.5
1980
178
1985
170
1990
143.6
Million Tons /Yr
1995
2000
2005
120.1
102.4
80.6
0.074
27
0.023
26
0.005
25.2
0.004
24.7
0.002
22.3
0.001
20.3
14.8
11.6
8.7
30
27
23.1
21.6
16.9
15.9
15.0
13.9
12.3
NA
NA
4.3
2.3
4.7
2.2
4.9
2.6
3.9
2.5
4.3
1.9
3.8
1.6
4.3
1.5
2.7
7.7
107.8
2.4
3.9
90.1
2.3
2.0
75.8
Direct PM10 6
4
3.2
3.1
3.1
3.6
SO2
26
23
23.1
18.6
16.3
14.5
TOTAL
267.074
250.023
224.8
194.9
168.5
141.4
Table 8.1 EPA total national levels of NAAQS pollutants from 1980 to 2019
(https://gispub.epa.gov/air/trendsreport/2020/#scenic_areas).
2010
61.6
2015
53.0
2019
44.7
Has the Clean Air Act been successful in reducing air pollution across the United
States?
The EPA maintains a national database of air emissions covering most of the important air pollutants
to understand changing trends across the country. It turns out that the Clean Air Act is an
environmental success story, resulting in reduced overall air pollution from the 1970s to present day
even though population and industries have grown over the years. This database has proved to be
remarkable at demonstrating the effectiveness of their programs. The data can also be presented as a
percentage of change in air quality over time as depicted in Figure 8.1
8.4 Common Air Pollutants
Air Pollutants are classified as primary or secondary but both can lead to serious health and
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
environmental problems. Primary air pollutants are those emitted directly into the troposphere in a
potentially harmful form. Examples of primary pollutants include particulate matter, sulfur oxides
(SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
FIG.8.1 Shows the declining national air pollutants as a percentage above or below the NAAQ. Source: “Our
Nation’s Air – EPA celebrates 50 years.” EPA.
Secondary air pollution is formed by the interaction between two or more primary air pollutants
forming nitrogen dioxide, sulfuric acid, or ozone. A common form of secondary air pollution is
smog, it’s that irritating brown haze that hangs lingeringly over urban areas especially during the
summer, and there are two types. Industrial smog is formed by the oxidation of SO2 in high
humidity to form droplets of sulfuric acid and sulfates and is very common in cities where SO2
emissions are not well regulated. Photochemical smog is driven by sunlight because it helps
provide energy for chemical reactions between nitrous oxides and VOCs, resulting in a toxic brew of
compounds that have serious health implications, resulting in the development of respiratory
problems and cancer. Withgott and Laposata (2015 pp. 290-291) describes the formation of smog
and the health implications in more detail; you can read these before lab class to have better
background on the formation of smog and its health risks.
Very recently, the EPA has ruled that CO2 is an air pollutant and this ruling has been upheld in court
actions. The secondary air pollutants would be ground level ozone formed by oxidation of VOCs and
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
CO in the presence of nitrous oxides.
To help you better understand the air quality that you breathe the EPA calculates an Air Quality
Index (AQI) that is computed based on the amount of pollution in the ambient air and the possible
health risks associated with those levels. They have established National Standards for five major
pollutants: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon
monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide, and monitor cities to ensure compliance. This
information can be accessed from the EPA “Air Quality Statistics Report”
https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
Table 8.2 Shows AQI values and Classification as given by the EPA.
63
AQI range
Classification
0-50
Good
51-100
Moderate
101-150
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
151-200
Unhealthy
201+
Very Unhealthy and Hazardous
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
FIG.8.1 Shows the AQI plot generated from the EPA website for Queens, NY in 2014; NO2
represented by the unfilled circles and Ozone represented by the filled circles. Note that
for 2014, the AQI showed one day in the unhealthy range for Ozone while for the
moderate range NO2 had 15 and Ozone had 6. You will need to go to the website and
generate your own to help in answering the questions section of your lab report.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
8.5
Impacts of Air Pollution
Health Risks
Air is a basic requirement and according the EPA, the average adult needs about 300,000
gallons of air every day. Exposure to polluted air can result in disease and even death. The
World Health Organization (WHO) reported that in 2012 about 7 million people died as a
result of air pollution exposure. They showed that air pollution exposure puts individuals
at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and respiratory problems eventually
leading to cancer in some instances. The American Lung Association website “State of the
Air 2015” allows you to look at air quality data for your neighborhood so that you can
determine the quality of the air you breathe on a daily basis. You can do this by going to
their website; the URL is given below http://www.stateoftheair.org/
This page then allows you to search for your neighborhood report by typing your zip code
or your state. An example of this is given in FIG. 7.1 and 7.2 that shows the high Ozone
days and particulate matter for Queens County, NYC.
The EPA explains that ground level ozone though not released directly into the
atmosphere is formed by chemical reactions between NOx and VOCs, this ozone can result
in respiratory issues when we breathe it in. It is also a component of photochemical smog
and reduces visibility. However, ozone in the stratosphere (1535km altitude), which is
known as the ozone layer, is beneficial because it filters out most of the sun’s harmful
ultraviolet radiation that can cause skin cancer.
Environmental Impacts
In addition to the risks that air pollution pose to human health, there are also environmental
and ecosystem damage as a result of air pollution. Acid rain is formed from nitrogen and sulfur
oxides reacting with water, oxygen, and other chemicals in the air producing an acidic rain that
is damaging to lakes, trees and buildings.
8.6 The NYC Community Air Survey
At the moment there is an exciting bit of research with collaboration between Queens College
and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to evaluate the air quality of
neighborhoods across NYC in a program called the New York City Community Air Survey
(NYCCAS). The main purpose is to better understand how buildings, traffic and population
density influence air quality due to the burning of fossil fuels and develop strategies geared to
reducing these levels or ensuring that they stay within safe ranges. The city is working hard to
ensure that its residents are not exposed to harmful chemicals in the air. We see in 2011, the city
in an effort to improve air quality issued a rule requiring residents to phase out heating oil #4
and #6 which emit a lot more SOx and particulates than the low sulfur #2 oil.
This study is special because the air pollution monitors are placed at ground level around the
five boroughs to measure the quality of air that pedestrians breathe. This is unlike the routine
monitoring done by The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
where monitors are placed high above the ground to avoid distortion of the average conditions
due to the influence of specific building or high traffic areas. The NYCCAS aims to identify
these troublesome spots so that mitigation measures can be developed and put in place. The
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
NYCCAS study keeps track of Fine particles (PM2.5), Nitrogen oxides (NOx), Elemental carbon
(EC), Metals in particles, Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and Ozone (O3). The results from these studies
can be found on the NYC Community Air Survey website
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/data/data-publications/air-quality-nyc-community-airsurvey.page These reveal that areas with a high building density and traffic had higher levels
of air pollutions.
8.7 Doing your part in reducing air pollution in your neighborhood
Have you ever sat in traffic on a hot summer day blasting your air conditioner because the
ambient air is too thick to breathe because of smog? Well you can help reduce air p0llution in
NYC by conserving energy a little bit at a time. Turn off all electrical appliances when not in
use, maximizing the power optimization modes and buying appliances that are energy efficient.
Choose an energy efficient method of transport; avoid idling your car in the streets and so forth.
You can go to the website, smogcity.com which is an air simulator showing how various factors
contribute to air pollution; you can click on “Run Smog City” and input your information to see
how your choices impact the air that you breathe
8.8 Questions
1.
List some common daily activities that require incomplete combustion (e.g.
driving) that would result in the generation of particulates pollution as seen in todays’
demonstration.
2.
Consider some of your other daily activities such as showering, getting dressed, dry
cleaning, using your computer or printer; write four of these activities down and then
explain how they contribute to other forms of air pollution aside from particulate matter.
3.
Based on your answers to questions 1 and 2, come up with at least four (4) possible
ways that you can reduce your contribution to air pollution.
4.
Go to the American Lung Association “State of
http://www.stateoftheair.org/2015/states/new-york/queens.html.
the
Air
2015”
report:
Enter the zipcode where you and your family spend the majority of your outdoor time in to see
the air quality for that neighborhood.
How has the number of High Ozone Days and 24 Hour Particle Pollution changed over the
years? How has the amount of Annual Particle Pollution changed over the years in µg/m3?
Identify some of the groups that are at risk as given by the site.
5.
Go the EPA air quality data website: https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-qualitydata/air-data- aqi-plot
Create AQI plots (like figure 8.1) by selecting CO and NO2 for the first and second pollutants,
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
for the year 2018, or the previous year. Use Queens County as the geographic location. Copy
and paste this AQI plot into your lab report.
Repeat the same directions above for then O3 (ozone) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) and finally for
particulate matter (PM) 10 and 2.5. Copy and paste all three of these plots into your report as
part of your answer to Q5.
6.
From the AQI plots you generated in Q5, you should be able to see how many days each
pollutant fell in the unhealthy ranges (the number of days where the AQI values exceed 100) in
the past year. Calculate the percentage of unhealthy days in your county for each parameter in
the most recent year.
7.
The NYC Community Air Survey revealed that areas with a higher density of buildings
and traffic had a higher concentration of pollutants; describe at least two (2) reasons on why
this happens.
8.
From your incomplete combustion experiment done today, what did you observe at the
bottom of the can after the bottom has been placed above the flame for a few seconds? How did
the additional air activity affect the combustion process?
9.
Watch the video https://www.learner.org/series/the-habitable-planet-a-systems-approach-toenvironmental-science/atmospheric-pollution/atmospheric-pollution-video/. Summarize what you
have learnt from it about air pollutants and their distribution globally. Make sure that to include
the description on the formation of ozone.
10.
Using the data given in the Table 8.1 (posted on Blackboard) of the total national levels of
NAAQS pollutants from 1980 to 2019, create a scatter plot and add a trend line. Describe the
change in the concentration of air pollutants over time.
11.
Based on your findings in this lab session, was the Clean Air Act effective in reducing air
pollution? Give reasons for your answer.
8.9 Conclusions
In your conclusion summarize the objectives, how we attempted to achieve this, the findings
and how these will influence your future decision-making. Is the air in your community safe?
How you are you able to tell? Explain how decisions you make every day, can also contribute to
air pollution in your community and how knowledge of these will affect your decisions in the
future.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
References
"AirData Website AQI Plot Page." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, Web. 27 June 2015.
<http://www.epa.gov/airdata/ad_viz_plotaqi.html>.
"NYC Community Air Survey." NYC Community Air Survey. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 June
2015. http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/environmental/community-airsurvey.shtml.
"7 Million Premature Deaths Annually Linked to Air Pollution." WHO. N.p., n.d. Web. 27
June 2015. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/airpollution/en/.
"Queens - American Lung Association | State of the Air 2015." American Lung
Association, n.d. Web. 30 June 2015. http://www.stateoftheair.org/2015/states/newyork/queens.html.
Jay H Withgott & Matthew Laposata (2015), Essential Environment: The Science behind
the Stories (5th Edition)
" EPA. Environmental Protection Agency." Air Trends. Web. 27 June 2015.
http://www.epa.gov/airtrends/.
"National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)." EPA. Environmental Protection
Agency, n.d. Web. 03 July 2015. http://epa.gov/air/criteria.html.
Jay H Withgott & Matthew Laposata (2015) Essential Environment: The Science behind
the Stories (5th Edition) with MasteringEnvironmentalScience, 4/E
“Our Nation’s Air – EPA celebrates 50 years.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency,
Web, 23 August 2020. https://gispub.epa.gov/air/trendsreport/2020/#home
Taylor, Kate. "New York’s Air Is Cleanest in 50 Years, Survey Finds." The New York
Times. 26 Sept. 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/27/nyregion/new-yorksair-iscleanest-in-50-years-survey- finds.html?_r=0.
Teach Engineering.org
https://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.php?url=collection/cub_/activities
/cub_air/cub_air_lesson02_activity1.xml Last accessed: 23 Mar. 2016.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
1. 9.0 Tracking Water Pollution
Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage
cans.
– Jacques-Yves Cousteau
9.1 What factors influence groundwater quality?
Groundwater quality may be affected by natural and human factors (Johnston, 1988).
Although the vulnerability of groundwater to contamination from the land surface is
influenced by many factors, the degree of aquifer confinement, the depth of the well, and the
surrounding land use are primary key factors that influence shallow groundwater quality.
Unconfined aquifers generally are much more vulnerable to contamination than confined
aquifers. For a well in a confined aquifer, the farther the well is from the unconfined area,
the less vulnerable it is to contamination. Generally, the deeper the well, the less vulnerable
it is to contamination. Finally, because human activities greatly affect the quality of water
that recharges an aquifer, the amount and type of land use in the area that contributes water
to the well is a key factor in determining aquifer vulnerability to contamination (Clawges and
others, 1999). Long Island sits on top of two aquifers, one that is confined and another that is
not (see Figure 9.1)
Fig 9.1: Representative cross-sectional view of the Long Island aquifer system. Source:
https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/long-island-sole-source-aquifer-system
Two of the factors that have the greatest effect on groundwater quality are the land-use
practices in the recharge area above the aquifer(s) and the groundwater-flow patterns
within the aquifer(s) (Haefner, 1992).
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
9.2
Where can contaminants come from?
Groundwater will normally look clear because soil naturally filters out particulate matter.
However, both natural and anthropogenic compounds can be found in groundwater. As
groundwater flows through the ground, metals such as iron and manganese are dissolved and
may later be found in high concentrations in the water. Industrial discharges, urban activities,
agriculture, rate of pumping groundwater, and disposal of waste all can affect groundwater
quality.
Contaminants can be human-induced, as from leaking fuel tanks or toxic chemical spills.
Pesticides and fertilizers applied to lawns and crops can accumulate and migrate to the water
table. Leakage from septic tanks and/or waste-disposal sites also can introduce bacteria to the
water, and pesticides and fertilizers applied to farmland can eventually end up in water drawn
from a well. In some instances, a well might have been drilled in proximity to land that was once
used for a landfill or chemical dump site.
9.3
How do we determine groundwater-flow patterns?
Cleaning up groundwater contamination is expensive, and knowing where contamination
originates from is key for effective mitigation. On the land’s surface, water will flow from areas of
higher elevation to areas of lower elevation. Similarly, groundwater will typically flow downhill,
following the slope of the surface of the land. However, if a location is over pumping their wells, it
could cause the water table to drop in that area. This would force water to move against the
natural contour of the land surface. Maps which show the elevation changes of an aquifer are
called potentiometric surface maps. Map 9.1 shows a potentiometric surface map of the section
of the Long Island aquifer shown in Map 9.2. The red area shows a contamination plume that is
currently an area of concern for Long Island drinking water.
Map 9.1: potentiometric surface map of Long Island. Source: USGS
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
By looking at the changes in the height of the aquifer, we can try to get an idea of where
contamination might spread, as well as where it is originating from. This information is vital when
it comes to ensuring safe drinking water quality and minimizing public health risks due to
contamination.
9.4
Threats to Long Island Drinking Water
In 2017, Citizen’s Campaign for the Environment (CCE) published a report regarding the
chemical 1,4- Dioxane, a chemical classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as
likely to be carcinogenic. The CCE report is based on data found in the annual drinking water
quality reports from 58 major public water suppliers from 2013 to 2015. A map of the data they
collected can be seen in Map 9.2. Many of the reports included 1,4-dioxane detection
information, and those without it were contacted by the CCE for further information. This
chemical has been linked to tumors of the liver, kidneys, and nasal cavity.
Map 9.2: Section of Citizen Campaign's for the Environment Map of 1,4-Dioxane Across Long Island
by Highest Level Detected Within Each Water District/Distribution Area,
https://www.citizenscampaign.org/campaigns/Dioxane.asp, elevations added to base map from
CCE obtained from http://en-us.topographic-map.com/places/Long-Island- 936229/
Originally,1,4-dioxane was used as an industrial solvent stabilizer. Although it has been phased
out of use in some of these applications, many still contain it. Groundwater plumes that contain
the chemical Trichloroethane (TCA) are very likely to also contain 1,4-dioxane, which does not
easily degrade or break down in the environment and is highly mobile in soil and groundwater.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
Neither the EPA nor the state of New York regulate levels of 1,4-dioxane in drinking water.
However, the State Department of Health has set limits of all unregulated chemicals at a
maximum contaminant level of 50 parts per billion (ppb)6, which is much higher than the EPA’s
maximum for any cancer-risk chemical of 0.35 ppb7. Currently, the Suffolk County Water District
is doing a pilot program called advanced oxidation which could set the standard for keeping
drinking water on Long Island safe.
The DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) has proposed a remedy for the
groundwater plume shown in Map 9.1. They intend to pump out contaminated water and use an
advanced oxidation process to remove 1,4-D. The project is currently awaiting approval and is
estimated to cost more than 240 million dollars.
9.5
Materials and Procedure:
Computers with Internet access and Microsoft Word Print outs of map 8.1 in page protectors (1
per student) Dry or wet erase markers (1 per student)
Your lab instructor will lead the class in a discussion about the sources of groundwater pollution
and how to determine flow patterns of subsurface contamination.
Ensure that you carefully read the background material before coming to the lab and participate in
the laboratory discussion.
You will use the maps provided in this lab to predict where groundwater contamination in Long
Island may flow, as well as analyze the risk to each of the aquifers containing groundwater in Long
Island.
9.6
Lab Procedure:
Since groundwater typically flows from areas of higher elevation to lower elevation, use the print out
of map 9.1 to estimate the direction of groundwater flow. Use the contour lines to differentiate
higher elevations from lower elevations of the surface of the aquifer. You will leave the map in the
page protector and use the markers provided to draw arrows showing where you think
groundwater will flow. Once lab is complete, wipe your maps clean for the next class to use.
Use this map to help you answer the following questions:
https://osc.state.ny.us/reports/environmental/drinking-water-contaminants.pdf
7https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-03/documents/ffrro_factsheet_contaminant_14-
dioxane_january2014_final.pdf
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
9.7
Questions:
1. Using the direction of groundwater flow you determined by drawing arrows on Map 8.1,
and assuming the flow of ground water and the pollutants in it flow from higher to lower
elevations, what towns on Map 8.2 could potentially have drinking water that is
contaminated in the future?
2. Is it possible you are wrong in assuming that ground water flow follows the contour of
the land? What else could you investigate to be sure?
3. Look at Figure 9.1 and note the arrows indicating groundwater flow direction. Is this
similar to the arrows you drew on your map? Why, or why not?
4. Look at Figure 9.1 and note that the drinking water wells tap the Magothy aquifer. Is
this aquifer confined or unconfined? How do you know?
5. Look at the location of the Lloyd aquifer in Figure 9.1. Is this aquifer confined or
unconfined? How do you know?
6. Which of the two aquifers on Long Island would be more prone to contamination?
Explain why.
7. What kind of health risks does 1,4-dioxane pose to the public? If levels cannot be
controlled, does Long Island have any other options for acquiring safe drinking water?
8. Given the cost of the proposed remedy for groundwater contamination, how important do
you think it is to prevent water contamination?
9.8
Conclusion
In your conclusion paragraph summarize the objectives, how we attempted to achieve this, and
the findings and how these will influence your future decision-making. What kind of pollutants
can be released into drinking water? What are the health effects due to expose to these
contaminants? How important do you think it is to protect our drinking water sources?
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References
Johnston, Richard H., and R. W. Lee. "Factors affecting ground-water quality." Geological
survey- water supply paper (USA) (1988).
Clawges, Rick M., et al. Nitrate, volatile organic compounds, and pesticides in ground water—A
summary of selected studies from New Jersey and Long Island, New York. No. 99-4027. US
Dept. of the Interior, US Geological Survey; Branch of Information Services,
1999. doi: 10.3133/wri994027
Haefner, Ralph J. Use of a geographic information system to evaluate potential sites for publicwater- supply wells on Long Island, New York. No. 91-182. US Geological Survey; Books and
Open-file Reports Section, 1992.doi: 10.3133/ofr91182
USGS –
Long
Island Sole-source
aquifer system, n.d.
Web. 13 January 2019.
https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/long-island-sole-source-aquifer-system
USGS - New York Water Science Center, Long Island Water Suitability, n.d. Web. 13 January
2019. https://www.usgs.gov/centers/ny-water/science/long-island-water-suitability?qtscience_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects
USGS – Contamination sites in Nassau and Suffolk counties, Long Island. n.d. Web. 13 January
2019. https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/contamination-sites-nassau-and-suffolk-countieslong-island
Office of NYS Comptroller, Federal and New York State Regulation of Drinking Water
Contaminants, June 2017. Web 13 Jan 2019.
https://osc.state.ny.us/reports/environmental/drinking-water- contaminants.pdf
EPA, Technical Fact Sheet .1,4-Dioxane. Nov 2017. Web 13 Jan 2019.
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/201403/documents/ffrro_factsheet_contaminant_14- dioxane_january2014_final.pdf
Citizens Campaign for the Environment. Protect Drinking Water from 1,4-Dioxane. 9 Aug 2018.
Web. 13 Jan 2019. https://www.citizenscampaign.org/campaigns/Dioxane.asp
Suffolk County Water Authority - SCWA 1,4-Dioxane Pilot Project Approved by New York State.
14 Nov 2016. Web. 13 Jan 2019. https://www.scwa.com/scwa_14dioxane_pilot_project_approved_by_new_york_state/
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10.0
What is really in our drinking water?
Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man.
~Stewart Udall
10.1 How important is water?
Water is essential to life; we can live for weeks without food, but only a few days without
water and water can be drastically reduced in regions with scorching temperatures. Almost
all living creatures are made of mostly water; Earth is called the blue planet because it is
71% water, although it is mostly salt water. Only about 2.6% of water on Earth is actually
fresh water found in the ice caps, soil, rivers, and lakes. Fresh water is therefore a precious
resource. When astronomers explore other planets in search for the presence of
extraterrestrial life they look for the presence of water to determine if there is a possibility
for the existence of life.
10.2
Where does NYC water supply come from?
New York City has a resident population of 8.4 million people and thousands of tourists
flocking to the city on a daily basis. Have you ever wondered how we are able to supply
everyone with fresh, clean drinking water? Everyone continuously uses water to drink,
shower, and so many other things, that the city consumes over a billion gallons of water per
day. Our water supply system is one of the best in the country with an amazingly ingenious
history that allows fresh water to take a fascinating journey to the city.
In 1927, the Board of Water Supply came up with a plan to collect water from the
tributaries of the Delaware River and bring it by tunnel to the city. This plan was approved
in 1931 and construction of the reservoirs began in 1937. This idea to get water from the
reservoirs of upstate New York would prove quite brilliant as the population of the city
grew and as surface and ground waters became polluted. Today our reservoirs collect
water from three major watersheds, the Delaware and Catskill systems, and the Croton
system. The water is then transported in tunnels that are 95% dependent on gravity,
making this system not only economical but energy efficient.
The City of New York and the communities of upstate New York signed a Memorandum of
Agreement (1997) establishing a partnership to limit development and provide good
sewage system management to ensure that the purity of the water supply is maintained. As
the water journeys through tunnels and aqueducts arriving at Kensico reservoir it gets a
dose of fluoride to prevent tooth decay and a shot of ultraviolet light treatment that zaps
bacteria and harmful parasite such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium.
10.3
75
Who ensures that our water supply is safe?
The Safe Drinking Water Act passed in 1974 by congress requires the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set national health based standards for
municipal water suppliers to ensure that everyone has access to safe drinking water. The
New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP) is responsible for the
monitoring of our water supply and every year they compile a report that contains a
summary of their results. They list the chemicals tested, the Maximum Contaminant Levels
(MCL) and the health effects if levels are above the MCL values. The reports on water
ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
quality are made public, online, and a yellow highlight is usually placed on
thechemicals that have exceeded the allowable levels so that you can quickly find them.
The MCLs are health standards for water quality set by the EPA and are legally
enforceable. The DEP make these Water Quality Reports available on their website at the
end of every year so that this year the 2018 Report is available at the URL site below.
Before attending your lab class, you should look at the most current report available and
familiarize yourself with its contents.
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dep/downloads/pdf/water/drinkingwater/drinking-water-supply- quality-report/2019-drinking-water-supplyquality-report.pdf
10.4 What kind of chemicals does the NYCDEP monitor and why?
Copper
Many different metals can be found in very small amounts in drinking water supplies.
Copper occurs in rock minerals from which it is weathered naturally into surface waters
and in drinking water. It is one of the few metals required by all living organisms,
including humans, but consuming an excessive amount of Cu is harmful. Since copper
pipe is commonly used in most buildings and residences today, it is a source of copper
to humans. If the water supply is allowed to become corrosive (lower pH), the rate of
corrosion of Cu into the water increases. We consume around 150 µg of Cu per day in
our drinking water. Copper in excess of 1000 µg/l consumed for a long period may
cause kidney and liver damage in infants.
pH
Depending on the pH of drinking water, it can potentially become corrosive. The lower
the pH, the more acidic the water is. This can cause damage to household plumbing
which could potentially cause leaching of chemicals like Copper and Lead into drinking
waters.
Nitrate
Nitrate is one of the most common groundwater contaminants in rural areas. It is
regulated in drinking water primarily because excess levels can cause
methemoglobinemia, or "blue baby" disease8. Nitrate can interfere with the oxygen
carrying capacity of the blood and causing brain damage and even death in infants.
Hardness
Hardness is a measure of the natural minerals – specifically calcium and magnesium –
that dissolve into water as it passes through soil and rocks. The more dissolved natural
minerals, the harder the water. There are not any health risks associated with drinking
hard water, but it can impact the taste as well as build up on plumbing fixtures.
8 http://psep.cce.cornell.edu/facts-slides-self/facts/nit-heef-grw85.aspx
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Iron
Iron is another metal which is necessary for human health, but the EPA cautions that
although iron in drinking water is safe to ingest, the iron sediments may contain trace
impurities or harbor bacteria that can be harmful. Iron bacteria are naturally occurring
organisms that can dissolve iron and some other minerals. These bacteria also form a
brown slime that can build up in water pipes9.
10.5. Is bottled water safer than tap water?
Some of us prefer bottled water because we think this is a safer option since it is more
expensive so it has to be better than tap water, or perhaps it’s just really convenient to
carry around. But are there any consequences of choosing bottled water instead of tap
water? Unlike tap water the bottled water industry is not regulated by the EPA, but
instead by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to the Natural Resources
Defense Council (NRDC) 1999 report, they conducted a four-year study comparing
bottled and tap water and found no significant differences but in one sample of bottled
water tested they did detect the presence of a carcinogen. Additionally, research shows
that leaching of chemicals from the plastic material such as phthalates can occur over
time; these are known hormone disruptors and although this substance is regulated for
tap water, there are no legal limits for bottled water.
Bottled water has an ecological impact because it has to be transported from the packaging
site and since only about 13% of the bottles get recycled, it ends up clogging up land fill
sites or thrown into waterways not only creating drainage issues in some places but also
is hazardous to wild life.
FIG. 10.1 shown above is taken from the NRDC report “Bottled Water: Pure Drink or Pure
Hype?” and shows the results of some common contaminants they found in bottled water.
9 https://www.livestrong.com/article/155098-health-effects-of-iron-in-drinking-water/
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10.6 Investigating the Differences Between Bottled and Tap Water
1. Your lab instructor will lead the class in a discussion about New York City water
supply, the safety standards in place to ensure the purity of drinking water,
contaminants found in our drinking water and health effects of consuming these.
Then you will talk about why we choose to drink bottled water instead of tap water
despite the fact that the latter is cheaper and has a lower ecological impact.
2. Ensure that you carefully read the background material before coming to the lab and
participate in the laboratory discussion.
3. Read over the questions and work in groups to collect data
10.7
Questions
1. Are there any health risks in drinking bottled water? How about ecological impacts?
2. Look at the most recent New York City Drinking Water Quality Report, you can use
Google to find this, the most recent one at the time this was written is the 2019 report and
can be found using the URL below.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/pdf/wsstate19.pdf
Go to Table 1 in the Water Quality Report that shows Detected Parameters of our tap water
and identify the parameters that exceeded the MCL values. Explain what it means to
exceed the MCL values, then list all the parameters that exceeded the MCL values.
3. Insert Table 10.1 as part of your lab report.
4. Create a column graph from Table 10.1 showing your results.
5. Compare the results you obtained for tap and bottled waters. Were you surprised by your
findings? Why or why not.
6. If you were choosing between tap water and bottled water, which would you choose? Give
your reasons.
7. Some industries are major polluters of our waterways; as a consumer do you think you
have an influence on these industries to encourage them to reduce their water pollution?
10.8
Conclusion:
Here you will summarize our objectives for this lab, the type of water pollutants found in
NYC’s tap water based on the DEP’s report and then bottled water based on the NRDC
study on bottled water. Also summarize your findings and compare them to the results
found in the reports. Based on your findings in this lab, consider the reasons why we may
choose bottled water and talk about whether you think it is justified or not.
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References
“History of New York City's Water Supply System" New York City Department of
Environmental Protection website.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/drinking_water/history.shtml
Date accessed: 06/23/2015
"Bottled Water." NRDC: National Resources Defences Council, 25 Apr. 2008. Web. 23 June
2015. <http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/qbw.asp>.
Bottled
Water:
Pure Drink or
Pure Hype?.
By
April 1999 http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/appa.asp
Erik
D.
Olson.
Miller, G. Tyler. Sustaining the Earth: An Integrated Approach. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole,
2005. Print.
Cornell University. “Nitrate: Health Effects in Drinking Water”. 2012. Web. 14 Jan 2019.
http://psep.cce.cornell.edu/facts-slides-self/facts/nit-heef-grw85.aspx
Garvin,
Karen. “Health
Effects
of
Iron in
Drinking
Water.”
n.d. Web. 14
Jan 2019. https://www.livestrong.com/article/155098-healtheffects-of-iron-in-drinking-water/
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11.0 What is a Green Roof and how does it work?
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better
- Albert Einstein
11.1
Introduction & Background
Runoff in urban areas is an increasingly important issue when it comes to water quality. It is a
major hydrologic issue in New York City, as urban infrastructure creates excess runoff and
impervious surfaces decrease the infiltration rate of land surfaces. This excess runoff, which often
times carries with it pollutants and contaminants, has proven to create water quality issues. It has
become ever more critical to try to mitigate the influx of runoff into our waterways. Urbanization
increases runoff, and in NYC 64% of the area is impervious.
One way of addressing this issue of water quality is to invest in green infrastructure in order to offset
the impact of urban runoff. In NYC there are ten wastewater treatment plants which can effectively
handle dry weather sewage. A problem ensues when surface water runoff during heavy rain events
degrades water quality in creeks and bays, which is a direct violation of the Clean Water Act of
1972. Hundreds of combined sewer outfalls discharge excess combined storm water and sewage in
local waterways and it is currently the most important water quality issue in the NY-NJ harbor.
The combined sewage contains fecal pathogens, nutrients and heavy metals and there are potential
human and ecosystem impacts when combined sewage overflow events occur. Standards are likely
to become stricter in the near future in order to try and reduce the negative impact on water quality.
There have been various Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) pilot projects ranging
from blue and green roofs, porous pavement for parking lots, greenstreets, tree pits, streetside
swales, constructed wetlands and swales for parks, rain barrels for low density single family
housing. Exploring options for green infrastructure which can address these issues is extremely
critical for not only city planning, but protecting and conserving our water resources.
11.2
What kind of services do green roofs provide?
The US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) did a study1 in 2009 to evaluate the
effectiveness of Green Roofs for stormwater runoff control. This project evaluated green roofs as
a stormwater management tool. Specifically, runoff quantity and quality from green roofs and
flat asphalt roofs were compared.
Results indicate that the green roofs are capable of removing 50% of the annual rainfall volume
from a roof through retention and evapotranspiration. Rainfall not retained, or absorbed, by
green roofs is detained, or collected, which reduces peak flows of runoff for a watershed. Due to
the reduction in volume, the amount of nutrients and pollutants (such as Nitrogen and
Phosphorous) in runoff from green roofs are lower than in -runoff from asphalt roofing.
_____________________
2
Berghage, Robert D., et al. "Green roofs for stormwater runoff control." HTTP://NEPIS. EPA.
GOV/EXE/ZYPURL. CGI? DOCKEY= P1003704. TXT. 2009
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Green roofs can provide many services, including reducing runoff, increasing habitats, reducing
heating and cooling costs for homes and buildings, and reducing urban heat island effects.
Watch
the
NPR
video
“Do
Cities
Need
More
Green
Roofs?”
at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlJoBhLnqko. Take note of the practical benefits of
installing a green roof on the Javits Center in NYC and write down three issues green roofs can
solve.
Nations around the world have been brainstorming ways to address climate change and the
impending consequences of warmer average global temperatures. China has embarked upon
very forward- thinking efforts to minimize carbon emissions, and among them is the current
construction of a forest city in Liuzhou. The world’s first “Forest City,” created to fight pollution,
is now under construction. The futuristic Forest City will be home to a community of about
30,000 people. It will be covered in greenery, including nearly 1 million plants of more than 100
species and 40,000 trees that together absorb almost 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide and 57 tons
of pollutants, and produce approximately 900 tons of oxygen annually. As a result, Forest City
will help to decrease the average air temperature, improve local air quality, create noise
barriers, generate habitats, and improve local biodiversity in the region1.
Watch the GeoBeats News video “China’s First ‘Forest City’ Is Now Under Construction“ at
https://youtu.be/nHq9yQOb1eQ.
11.3
How can Green Roofs improve water quality?
Runoff in urban areas is an increasingly important issue when it comes to water quality. It
is a major issue in New York city, as urban infrastructure creates excess runoff when
impervious surfaces decrease the infiltration rate of land surfaces. This excess runoff, which
often times carries with it pollutants and contaminants, has proven to create water quality
issues12. It has become ever more critical to try to mitigate the influx of runoff into our
waterways. Urbanization increases runoff, and in NYC 64% of the area is impervious.
One way of addressing this issue of water quality and groundwater resources is to invest in
green infrastructure in order to offset the impact of urban runoff. In NYC there are ten
wastewater treatment plants which can effectively handle dry weather sewage. A problem
ensues when surface water runoff during heavy rain events degrades water quality in
creeks and bays, which is a direct violation of the Clean Water Act of 1972. Hundreds of
combined sewer outfalls discharge excess combined storm water and sewage in local
waterways and it is currently the most important water quality issue in the NY-NJ harbor.
The combined sewage contains fecal pathogens, nutrients and heavy metals and there are
potential human and ecological impacts when combined sewage overflow events occur.
Standards are likely to become stricter in the near future in order to try and reduce the
negative impact on water quality. There have been various Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) pilot projects ranging from blue and green roofs, porous pavement for
parking lots, rain gardens, and rain barrels for low density single family housing. Exploring
options for green infrastructure which can address these issues is extremely critical for not
only city planning, but protecting and conserving our water resources.
1 Lant,
Karla. “China has officially started construction on the world’s first “Forest City”.” https://futurism.com/chinahas- officially-started-construction-on-the-worlds-first-forest-city/. 2017.
2
EPA. (2003). Protecting Water Quality from Urban Ruoff. Washington DC: US EPA.
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11.4 Some Types of Green Infrastructure1:
Rain gardens and planter boxes—both forms of bioretention—can support:


ground water recharge,
pollutant removal, and

runoff detention .
Green roofs can effectively:




reduce runoff volumes,
regulate building temperatures,
reduce urban heat island effects, and
provide urban wildlife habitat.
Recent droughts and other potential impacts of climate change have generated interest in rainwater
harvesting as an approach to water conservation and stormwater management. Rainwater harvesting systems
are expected to have a substantial impact on runoff volume reductions from home rooftops2. Various types of
Low impact Development (LID), or green infrastructure (such as porous pavement, green roof, bio-retention
raingardens and conserving natural resources like forests), can reduce the impacts of stormwater and
pollutants from land development. The EPA has a lot of information about different types of green
infrastructure here:
https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/what-green-infrastructure.
As water supplies dwindle due to increased temperatures from climate change and increases in
population, it is critical that society and the government properly manage our water resources. Water
is a basic necessity for life and if steps are not taken to mitigate pollution and contamination that
results from excess urban runoff, we will be paying the consequences for years to come.
1 https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/performance-green-infrastructure
2 Jones,
M.P., and W.F. Hunt. 2010. Performance of rainwater harvesting systems in the southeastern United States
Resources, Conservation & Recycling 54:623–629.
3
https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/what-green-infrastructure
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11.5
NYC’s Green New Deal1
In April of 2019, NYC passed a group of bills known as NYC’s Green New Deal. The $14 billion
act is full of bills all working towards a singular goal: a 40 percent reduction of NYC's
greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and carbon neutrality by 2050. One of these bills is being
referred to as the Green Roofs Act, and will require all new buildings in NYC, whether they are
residential or commercial, to outfit their roofs with plants, solar panels, and/or mini wind
turbines. The legislation would also apply to buildings undergoing significant renovations.
11.6
Procedure
Activity A
Start by downloading precipitation data for Central Park, NY from 1869-2018. This data can be
found at: https://www.weather.gov/okx/CentralParkHistorical by scrolling down to Climatological
Data, and hovering over precipitation, then click on "Monthly and Annual". An excel file with this
data has been provided for this module.
Next, create a graph to show how precipitation has changed over time. Annual rainfall should be on
the y-axis and the year should be on the x-axis. Add a trendline to determine the overall rate of
change by using linear regression.
Recall that for the equation of a line: y=mx+b, and m is the slope (or rate of change). By adding an
equation to your trendline, you can determine the rate of change.
Activity B
Download the highest precipitation events data for Central Park, NY from 1869-2018. This data can
be found at: https://www.weather.gov/okx/CentralParkHistorical by scrolling down to
Climatological Data, and hovering over precipitation, then click on "Daily Highest Precipitation".
An excel file with this data has been provided for this module.
Evaluate what the temporal distribution of intense rain events has been. Of the top 15 highest
rainfall events since 1869, how many occurred between 1869 and 1969 (100 years)? How many
have occurred between 1970 and 2018 (48 years)?
Use this information to decide where you want to clip your graph from Activity A. Decide when you
believe intense rainfall event frequency has increased and graph the annual precipitation vs time
from that year through 2018. Add a trendline to determine the overall rate of change by using linear
regression.
After you complete your new graph, share and compare your rate of change with other classmates.
Does the rate of change differ from the initial graph you made?
1 https://www.greenmatters.com/p/new-york-city-green-roofs
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Activity C
Now let’s take a look at how well green roofs have worked to reduce runoff. In a summary of
studies on the hydrologic performance of full-scale green roofs3, the findings for 15 green roofs
that were evaluated for the overall percent retention was reported. This data has been provided
for this module.
On average, how much rainfall is retained by using a green roof (calculate what the average
percent overall retention is for all of these different green roofs)?
We can use this information to evaluate whether or not green roofs, and green infrastructure in
general, can be a viable solution to water quality issues and CSO events that are caused by
excess runoff. Model My Watershed4 was used to calculate land use using the National Land
Cover Database (NLCD 2011) for the Flushing Creek-Flushing Bay subwatershed. This data has
been provided for this module.
You can use this tool to view the land use data for the watershed where you live too! To do this,
go to https://modelmywatershed.org/, and click on “Get started”.
Next, type in your address in the box on the upper right hand corner (where it says “Jump to
location”). Select USGS Subwatershed unit (HUC-12) and click anywhere near your home. This
website will then provide you with all sorts of interesting information.
We are going to focus on Land Use that is “Developed”, since these are areas that have the
highest percentage impervious surfaces. Impervious surfaces are the leading cause of excess
runoff. Developed land use is broken down in subcategories in the NLDC as per the percent of
land is impervious surface:
Carson, T. B., et al. "Hydrological performance of extensive green roofs in New York City: observations and multiyear modeling of three full-scale systems." Environmental Research Letters 8.2 (2013): 024036.
4 https://modelmywatershed.org/
3
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5
21
22
23
24
Developed
Developed, Open Space- areas with a mixture of some constructed
materials, but mostly vegetation in the form of lawn grasses. Impervious
surfaces account for less than 20% of total cover. These areas most
commonly include large-lot single-family housing units, parks, golf
courses, and vegetation planted in developed settings for recreation,
erosion control, or aesthetic purposes.
Developed, Low Intensity- areas with a mixture of constructed
materials and vegetation. Impervious surfaces account for 20% to 49%
percent of total cover. These areas most commonly include single-family
housing units.
Developed, Medium Intensity -areas with a mixture of constructed
materials and vegetation. Impervious surfaces account for 50% to 79% of
the total cover. These areas most commonly include single-family housing
units.
Developed High Intensity-highly developed areas where people
reside or work in high numbers. Examples include apartment complexes,
row houses and commercial/industrial. Impervious surfaces account for
80% to 100% of the total cover.
For simplicity’s sake, we will use the average percent of impervious surfaces for each category.
Given the different types of land use in Flushing Creek Subwatershed – what land use categories
do you think should be targeted for green infrastructure implementation? Where would a green
roof have the biggest impact on water quality?
Come up with a plan and determine what type of land use should be targeted (developed open
space, low intensity, medium intensity or high intensity) for green infrastructure.
11.6 Questions
Why is it important to preserve water quality?
2. What are some of the environmental problems associated with stormwater runoff? What is
a CSO?
3. Include your graphs of annual rainfall over time. How did the rate of change shift when you
made your second graph?
4. What was the average percent retention of runoff per building from different green roof
studies?
5. How effective do you feel green roofs can be in reducing runoff?
6. Discuss what your plan is for development of green infrastructure
7. Explain how green roofs can increase and connect habitats. What kind of impact do you
think this would have on the biodiversity of an area which had buildings constructed with
primarily green roofs?
1.
5
https://www.mrlc.gov/data/legends/national-land-cover-database-2016-nlcd2016-legend
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
8. How can green roofs reduce heating and cooling costs for homes and buildings? What does
this mean for energy usage?
9. As climate change causes more rainfall, why do we need to come up with adaptations in
our infrastructure which address the negative impact that excess runoff has on water quality?
10. Do some research to see how poor water quality impact public health and recreational
activities?
11.7
Conclusion:
What were the goals of this lab? Did we accomplish them? If so, how? If not, why? What
have you learned about the capabilities of green roofs? Would you rather a conventional
roof or a green roof if you had the choice? Why? What is your opinion about investing in
Green Infrastructure as an individual? Do you believe that in the long term, Green
Infrastructure can provide financial benefits to society?
References
Berghage, Robert D., et al. "Green roofs for stormwater runoff control." HTTP://NEPIS. EPA.
GOV/EXE/ZYPURL. CGI? DOCKEY= P1003704. TXT. 2009.
Lant, Karla. “China has officially started construction on the world’s first “Forest City”.”
https://futurism.com/china-has-officially-started-construction-on-the-worlds-first-forestcity/. 2017.
EPA. (2003). Protecting Water Quality from Urban Runoff. Washington DC: US EPA.
https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/performance-green-infrastructure
Jones, M.P., and W.F. Hunt. 2010. Performance of rainwater harvesting systems in the
southeastern United States Resources, Conservation & Recycling 54:623–629.
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12.0 Lab Final Project (Poster or Video)
?
12.1.
Which of the environmental issues covered thus far did you think was
the most important?
By now you have explored a number of Environmental issues, possible solutions to these
and the role that you play in each of them. For this week’s lab class instead of doing a midsemester exam you will look back and even forward at future lab sessions at the issues that
will be covered and choose one of them that you think is most significant to you. Then you
will either create a poster or short video that illustrates your chosen environmental issue
covering information you think the general public should be aware of. This poster or video
should be both factual and attention grabbing that can be posted on social media.
Environmental Science is a multidisciplinary field encompassing experts from diverse
backgrounds applying their skills in helping to solve environmental problems. Over the
course of this class we will cover a wide range of issues so that you will become exposed to
the broad range of environmental problems. The objective of this week’s lab exercise is for
you to identify a particular environmental problem covered that you can identify with, and
put your unique skill set to work in highlighting the problem in a poster that could help
make the general public aware of the problem and what we should be doing to help address
it. This exercise should give you an opportunity to personalize one problem and
demonstrate that you have problem solving skills and that you are able to effectively
communicate those ideas. Hopefully, this would also spark discussions on your chosen
environmental issue and open up the possibility for the birth of innovative ideas to address
current problems.
Go ahead and examine the questions that were addressed in the past weeks and those that
will be addressed in the coming weeks. Choose one question before coming in for today’s lab
class. Then determine your mode of presentation and how you are going to articulate your
ideas in your presentation. During the lab class you will start working on it so that you have a
draft of your poster or if you choose to do a video, the main ideas and submit this as your lab
report for this week. Before the end of today’s lab class be sure to get the necessary
information on how this assignment will be submitted so that you are not in a panic the
night before it is due. Ideally you should be submitting an e-copy of your poster or a rough
draft of your video presentation, but ensure that you follow the specific instructions given
by your instructor. Your lab instructor will give you feedback on how to improve your
presentation and then you will continue to improve on this on your own until the end of the
semester at which time you can then publish your work on Pinterest or YouTube submitting
the URL to your lab professor.
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ENSCI099 – A Practical Guide to Environmental Choices
12.2.
What should be included in your poster or video?
This should be relatively short. If you are doing a poster, try not to exceed 500 words and a video
should be between 3-4 minutes, talk to your colleagues at school or work and get their opinion
on whether they think it is too long and exhausting or just right.
i.
First, clearly state the problem and any background information to ensure that a lay
audience with no prior knowledge on the topic may need to understand it.
ii.
Explain how scientists and decision makers are working to counter this environmental
issue, be sure to include advances that have been made and also setbacks that have plagued their
strategies.
iii.
List the benefits to society in terms of health and quality of life that can be obtained if this
issue can be addressed, you may even want to address financial benefits to individual, the
community and country as a whole.
iv.
Finally, you will describe the role that individuals play in addressing environmental
problems listing ways that this can easily be incorporated into everyday life.
For this assignment, you should seek to be factual but also interesting so that your presentation
grabs attention and your ideas are effectively communicated; you should use pictures and graphs
to illustrate the concepts. Part of your grade for this lab session will be based on how appealing
and thought provoking your work is.
A list of references should be included in your presentation, all pictures and graphs if not created
by you should include the source in the caption at the bottom of each figure or graph.
12.3.
Presentation and Grading of poster or video
This is the last lab class and you should have been working on your final presentation during the
semester. Here your job is to submit your completed work first by sending the link to your
published poster or video to your lab instructor at least 24 hours before lab session begins or as
instructed by your lab instructor. They may also choose to send the link out to the rest of your
classmates if peer feedback on the effectiveness and quality of the presentation is part of their
grading process. Additionally, you should ensure that presentation is available for anyone with the
URL link and should not require registration; you can always go back and change these settings
after grading have been completed.
During the lab class you will be given the opportunity to present your creation to the class and
your lab instructor, generally the presentation should not be more than five minutes long so that
all of your colleagues can get a chance to showcase their work. For the presentation, you will not
only be pitching your ideas to your colleagues but also sharing what motivated you to choose this
issue and why you thought it is significant. As you are presenting your work, your instructor will
be assessing you and include this as part of the grade for today’s lab.
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12.4. Publishing your work
Depending on your chosen mode of presentation, you will publish on Pinterest, YouTube or
Google sites. If you prefer to use another site, you can do so but be sure to get your lab
instructor’s permission first.
Uploading your poster to Pinterest
Pinterest is an online bulletin board for you to share anything that you may find interesting but
today you will be sharing a poster that you created about an environmental problem.
i.
Go to Pinterest.com and you will be asked to register for an account, go ahead and do so if
you do not already have an account.
ii.
Now that you are registered you can upload an image onto the site. If your poster was
created as a pdf or word document then save it on your computer as an image, jpeg is very
common and will work here.
iii.
If you have just registered then you may be asked to sign up for interest groups or look for
friends etc., you can go ahead and skip these if you want to.
iv.
Click on the plus sign at the bottom right hand corner of Pinterest and choose “Upload a
Pin” from the pop up menu.
v.
Click on “Choose Image and browse to find the image of the poster you had saved earlier,
click on the image and then add a short description of your project here, then click on create a
board, you can give a name you like then unselect secret as you want your pin available for
viewing.
Uploading your video to YouTube
i. First you will need to record the video using your iPhone, or regular camera or web cam,
whatever is most convenient to you and upload to your computer. ii. Next you should go to
YouTube and create an account if you do not already have one, click on “Sign In” then “Add
Account” and click new. If you have an existing personal Google account, you can log into
YouTube.com by doing the following:
iii.
Visit http://www.youtube.com, click on Sign in in the upper right-hand corner. iv.
Enter your Google username and password and click Login
v.
Great now that you are signed in to YouTube, upload the video you created by clicking on
“Upload” at the top of the page, set the privacy setting, you will have the options Public,
Unlisted, or Private, choose “Unlisted”.
vi.
Select the video you would like to upload from your computer. Click “Publish” to finish
uploading a public video to YouTube, click “Done” to finish the upload or click Share to privately
share your video. You can also copy and paste the URL to send to your lab instructor or
colleagues.
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12.5.Grading Criteria
The following will be considered during the grading process so please tailor your presentation to
meet these requirements for maximum points.
i.
Work should be easily viewed using the given link and should remain available for at least
one week.
ii.
The issues should be clearly stated with thorough background information demonstrating
your familiarity with the topic.
iii.
Your work should be appealing and attention grabbing, displaying creativity and enthusiasm.
iv.
Evidence presented to support your ideas should be factual and properly cited, remember all
graphics should be cited on each page.
References
The idea to create an electronic presentation to be shared on social media was inspired by an online
course Christine Ramadhin took called “Turn down the heat: Why a 4°C warmer world must be
avoided” offered by Coursera.
https://www.coursera.org/course/warmerworld
"A Guide to Pinterest." Pinterest Help Center.
Https://help.pinterest.com/en/guide/all-about-pinterest.
"Upload Videos to YouTube." - YouTube Help
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57407?hl=en
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