GLG110 Geologic Disasters

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GLG110 Geologic Disasters the Environment
Today Chapter 13 Alternate Energy Sources
(cont.) Chapter 15 Air Pollution
Instructor Professor Stanley Williams Email
stan.williams_at_asu.edu
TA Carol Butler Email clbutler_at_asu.edu
Course Website http//glg110.asu.edu
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Reminders

• Review Session
• Tuesday 4-5 pm PS H-450
• Small room, only come if you cannot make other
  session
• Wednesday 5-6 pm PS F-166
• Term Project
• Due 1 week from today! (Tuesday Nov 25) at
  beginning of class
• Worth 100 points 20 of your grade
• Late papers will have points deducted

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Homework 6 Reminder

• Exam Study Guide (Worth 20 points)
• Include all major topics covered in lectures and
  text book
• Should include major definitions and examples
  when mentioned in lectures and text book
• Some topics, definition, examples may be
  mentioned in both places, some in one or the
  other, all major items should be included even if
  they are only mentioned in one source
• Will be graded on completeness
• Format you choose (outline, flash cards, etc.)
• Due Beginning of class period
• NO exceptions

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Disaster of the Day

• California Fires 2003 Landslides
• Nov 13 freak storm dropped 5 inches of rain and
  hail in 2 hours during rush hour in southern and
  eastern LA County
• Flash floods
• Lightning strikes, power outages
• Small mudslide on highway in San Bernardino
  Mountains in burn zone
• Storm extremely weakened by time it reached burn
  zone, 1 inch only

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Overview

• Continue with Alternate Energy Sources
• Hydrogen
• Water Power
• Wind Power
• The Energy Future
• Air Pollution

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Hydrogen

• Burns cleanly byproduct is water
• Can produce electricity when used in fuel cells
• Can be transported in pipelines and stored in
  tanks
• Can be produced using other renewable resources
  (i.e. solar) to split water molecule into
  hydrogen and oxygen
• Cost is currently high but coming down
• Iceland and Hawaii planning use in future

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Water Power

• Hydroelectric
• Used as power source since ancient times
• 10 of power for U.S.
• Most locations for large dams in use,
  micro-systems for personal use may become more
  common
• Can generate electrical or mechanical power

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Water Power

• Tidal Energy
• Minimum tidal rise of 26ft and enclosed bay
  required limited locations

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Water Power

• Environmental Impact
• Clean, no pollution
• Water falling over high dams may trap nitrogen
  gas which then kills fish
• Dams
• alter deposition and erosion cycle of rivers and
  beaches
• alter habitats
• water loss to evaporation, especially in arid and
  semiarid climates
• Micro-hydropower systems will have similar impact
  and much more quickly short lifespan

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Water Power
Three Gorges Dam, China

• Will produce same amount of energy as 18 large
  nuclear or fossil fuel plants
• Will stop catastrophic flooding
• Displaced 2 million people
• Destroyed habitat for endangered river dolphin
• Destroyed ancient archaeological sites
• Concern that reservoir will become concentrated
  source of pollution from raw sewage and
  industrial pollutants which are disposed of in
  river

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Wind

• Used as power source since ancient times
• Wind is highly variable in time, place, and
  intensity
• Only useful in certain locations
• Estimated that TX, ND and SD have sufficient wind
  energy to supply electricity needs for all U.S.
• Growth 26 per year

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Wind

• Environmental Impact
• Windmills may
• interfere with radio and TV broadcasts
• Kill birds

• Windmill farms require large tracts of land
• Farms may degrade scenic resources

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Biomass Burning

• Oldest fuel used by humans
• Trees, animal waste, etc.
• More than 1 billion people still use biomass
  burning as primary energy for heat and cooking

My son was stunned when he saw this Woman in
Guatemala. She was paid 50cents
Facilities in U.S. that process urban waste use
only 1 of solid wastes Environmental Impact
air pollution and ash disposal
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The Energy Future

• Must have combination of
• Energy conservation moderation of energy demand
• Energy efficiency designing and using equipment
  that yields more power from given amount of
  electricity
• Energy cogeneration processes that capture and
  use waste heat
• Could supply 10 of U.S. power, equivalent of 2
  million barrels of oil per day!

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The Energy Future

• All countries of the world
• need sustainable energy
• policies
• Hot topic of debate for many years to come
• What role should the government play in
  regulating industry and protecting the
  environment?

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Air Pollution Overview

• Sources
• Pollutants
• Urban Air Pollution
• Indoor Air Pollution
• Control of Air Pollution
• Cost of Controlling
• Air Pollution

Houston, TX
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Air Pollution

• Pollutants in the atmosphere may become
  pollutants in the hydrologic and geologic cycles
  (i.e. acid rain)
• 150 million people in U.S. exposed to air
  pollution that may cause lung disease causing
  300,000 deaths each year
• Health costs associated with air pollution
  (including asthma treatment) 50 billion per year

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Sources of Air Pollution

• Stationary Sources relatively fixed location
• Point Sources discrete, controllable site (i.e.
  smokestacks of power plant)
• Fugitive Sources open areas exposed to wind
  (i.e. dirt roads, construction sites, farmlands,
  surface mines)
• Area Sources emit from several different
  sources within a constrained area (i.e. urban
  communities, large industrial plants)
• Mobile Sources move from place to place while
  yielding pollutants (i.e. cars, airplanes)

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Air Pollutants

• Most occur in gaseous form or as particulate
  matter
• Gaseous Pollutants Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen
  oxides, carbon monoxide, ozone, volatile organic
  compounds, hydrogen sulfide, and hydrogen
  fluoride
• Particulate Matter Pollutants particles of
  organic, inorganic, or liquid substances

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Air Pollutants

• Classified according to their origin
• Primary Pollutants emitted directly into the
  air
• Secondary Pollutants produced when primary
  pollutants react with normal atmospheric compounds

Air pollution (grey) in river valley in China

• Ozone forms over urban areas through
  combination of primary pollutants, atmospheric
  compounds, and sunlight

Natural Clouds White
Image NASA
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Air Pollutants

• The Primary Pollutants that account for nearly
  all air pollution problems are
• Carbon monoxide 58
• Nitrogen Oxides 15
• Sulfur Oxides 13
• Volatile Organic Compounds 11
• Particulates 3
• Every year about 40 million metric tons of these
  pollutants enter the U.S. atmosphere due to human
  activity concentrated locally or regionally

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Urban Air Pollution

• Urban areas air pollution concentration sites
• Smog visible air pollution
• Present in nearly all urban areas
• Extent depends on emission rates, topography, and
  weather conditions
• When rate of production exceeds rates of
  transportation and chemical transformation
  dangerous conditions can develop

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Urban Air Pollution

• Meteorology Influence
• Restricted circulation in lower atmosphere due to
  formation of inversion layer may lead to
  pollution event
• Atmospheric inversion occurs when warm air
  overlies cool air
• Topography Influence
• Topography surrounding the urban areas may create
  area specific atmosphere-surface interactions
• Combined with meteorological effects this can
  concentrate the air pollution above the city
  (i.e. LA, San Diego, Phoenix)

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Urban Air Pollution

• Descending warm air blowing from inland create
  semi-permanent inversion layer trapping polluted
  air blown inland by sea breezes

Descending Warm Air
Inversion Layer
Sea Breeze
Mountains (Geologic Barrier)
Welcome to Los Angeles
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Urban Air Pollution
When cloud cover forms over city in valley,
clouds block and absorb sunlight, city below gets
cooler, pollution rising up is trapped
Relatively Warm Air (Inversion Layer)
Relatively Cool Air
Valley with Mountains on sides (Geologic Barrier)
Welcome to Phoenix
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Urban Air Pollution
Rocky Mountains
Sierra Nevada Cascade Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
W
Different Seasons of problems SP Spring A
Autumn SU Summer W Winter
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Urban Air Pollution

• Because meteorological conditions are
  predictable, so are air pollution hazard days
• Potential for urban air pollution depends on
• Rate of pollutant emissions
• Distance that a mass of air moves through urban
  air pollution sources
• Average speed of the wind
• Height of the mixing layer (height to which
  potential pollutants may be thoroughly mixed in
  lower atmosphere)

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Urban Air Pollution

• Concentration of pollutants in air is directly
  proportional to first two factors
• As either the emission rates or the downwind
  travel distance increases so does the
  concentration of pollutants
• Air pollution decreases with increased wind
  velocity and the height of mixing

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Urban Air Pollution
Climbing, concentrated pollution can damage
vegetation on mountain side or create extreme
health hazard for people living there
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Future of Urban Air Pollution

• Mixed, but generally improving record in
  developed countries
• Results from more fuel efficient vehicles,
  smog-control devices, cleaner improved fuels,
  burning less coal
• Developing countries most at risk as they may not
  have money or resources to fight air pollution
• The mountains can rarely be seen from Mexico City
  which is in a valley (much like Phoenix)

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Indoor Air Pollution

• One of the most serious environmental health
  hazards people face in their homes and workplaces
• Especially in work places where windows are
  sealed, filters should be changed regularly or
  can become polluted
• Pollutants include smoke, chemicals,
  disease-carrying organisms (i.e. Legionnaires
  disease), radon (carcinogenic)
• Some of the building materials may release
  pollutants

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Indoor Air Pollution Sources
Poor location of fresh air intakes may bring in
pollutants
Gas or oil furnaces produce carbon monoxide,
nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter
Many cleaning products and pesticides contain
harmful chemicals, fumes may circulate
Remodeling and painting can put fumes and
particulate matter into circulation
Ozone Emitters
Smokers
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Control of Air Pollution

• Requires variety of strategies tailored to
  specific sources and types of pollutants
• Environmentally best is to reduce emissions
  through conservation and efficiency measures
• Sudbury, Ontario built higher smokestacks
  trying to dissipate pollutants more, backfired
  and caused pollution to spread over larger area
• Because different sources and types across even
  one country, often hard to gain political
  consensus and money to fight

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Control of Air Pollution

• Particulate Matter from stationary sources
  relatively easy to control
• Containment in plants, grow vegetation
  windbreaks, cover soil mounds with plastic, wet
  down dirt roads
• Automobiles Regulate exhaust
• Recirculate exhaust
• Catalytic converter to remove carbon monoxide and
  hydrocarbon emissions
• Fuel additives

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Disaster of the Day
Phoenix Snowbirds Winter residents do not
register their cars in Phoenix 7 month residency
requirement
Image AP
Downtown Phoenix from 10 miles away

• They do not have to meet Maricopa counties
  stringent emission requirements
• Many drive larger vehicles and RVs

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Control of Air Pollution

• Technology now available to purify coal allowing
  it to burn more cleanly
• At increased cost
• Scrubbing method to reduce emissions from tall
  smokestacks
• Treat with lime or limestone slurry
• Binds with sulfur and produces a sludge
• Waste disposal issue
• Adds increased cost

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Control of Air Pollution

• Japan had most severe sulfur pollution problem in
  world
• Health of population was directly affected,
  people wore masks when outside
• Government issued control standards in 1970s
• Scrubbers remove 95 of sulfur from smokestacks

5 years later sulfur dioxide levels reduced 50
despite doubling of energy consumption
Tokyo, Japan
Every taxi uses LNG
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Air Quality Standards

• U.S. Clean Air Act
• Passed in 1970 Amended in 1977 and 1990
• Two levels of standards
• Primary protect human health
• Secondary designed to prevent environmental
  degradation
• Provides some economic incentives
• Result sulfur dioxide emissions from coal
  plants reduced 40 by 2000

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Cost of Controlling Air Pollution
gt10 billion/ per year in U.S. to attempt to
control pollution

• Cost and benefits of air pollution control
  controversial topics
• Sometimes reach point when cost of pollution
  control is higher than benefits
• Have to also consider long-term effects that may
  not be measurable right now