thorbecke mariko

Filter by Tag

  • No tags found
September 12, 2011
by thorbecke mariko

e^2 questions

e2 video: Growing energy
1. Google Steve Chu
where does he work?
-United States Secretary of Energy under president Barrack Obama.
where did he work before?
-Berkeley!
on what?
-Cellulosic Ethanol
what did he get an award for?
-He won the Nobel prize for research on cooling and trapping atoms with laser lights in the Bell Laboratories.
why is this important to the end of this story?
?

Ok, the Nobel prize was a red herring, sort of. The point is: he's a bright dude, with the ability to move from lasers to cellulosic ethanol. If anyone can tell you what the issues and possible solutions are, he's the guy.
It also speaks to Obama's long term plans for sustainable energy in this country, see?

2. Google Dan Kammen
where does he work?
-Berkeley!
on what?
-Director of Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (RAEL)
why does he cite Brazilian sugar ethanol as sustainable?
-Because it is a domestic solution to a national problem. Sugar cane grows perfectly in Brazil, and they can create enough to basically supply their country with the energy they need.
without irrigation or fertilizer (from petroleum)
compare this with corn ethanol grown in the US (e.g. Nebraska)
-Corn ethanol competes for food. Sugar also has a much higher energy concentration than corn, and takes less energy input to produce.
perhaps. the big deal is: which is sustainable?

3. Compare sugar ethanol from Brazil with US corn ethanol
which competes for food?
Corn
which needs petrochemical to fertilize?
Corn
what is the energy balance like for each?
Corn needs much energy input, but is low in concentrated energy.
assuming you don't use the cellulose
Sugar is very high in concentrated energy.
what is/was bagasse used for?
-Used as a biofuel.
just a first gen biofuel (e.g. burning). It was also used as a building material (look up)
what is bagasse made of?
-Byproducts of sugar production from sugar cane
not exactly-cellulose
how did sugar cane mills here in Hawaii fuel their boilers?
Using bagasse
burned, right?
was sugar indigenous, and could it grow here again? explain.
Sugar cane is not indigenous, but it could grow here again because we have enough rain and sun. It is not economically feasible to grow here though.
why not?
what happened in October of 2006 that changed this for good, and why are Honoka'a, Pauuilo and Hawi ghost towns now?

4. Google Vijay
what is he involved in now?
He is the senior editor for the Economist. His goal is to raise awareness for the future about sustainable energy and alternative energy sources.
big climate change guy as well.

5. Oil Embargo
when did this happen?
-1973
why?
-The US supplied weapons to the Israelis during the Yom Kippur War.
and satellite photos
OPEC punished us by cutting off our oil supplies.
what happened?
how did this change the lifestyle of people in the US?
-Crippled our economy.
increased conservation efforts as well...
is this similar to today?
-Started a trend toward smaller and more efficient vehicles, so yes it is similar to today.
was it consistent?

6. Corn Ethanol
why is this so prevalent in the US?
-We have lots of corn!
not really, farmers would plant soy if they could make more money on it. corn is expensive to farm, the machinery is VERY expensive, and so is the fertilizer.
who backs it and why?
-We have lots of corn farmers that are very politically influential.
ok
who was president in 2002, when many of the corn ethanol policies began?
-Bush.
what was his line of work before?
-Oil industry!
what about the vice president?
-Cheney, worked in the oil industry!
yep. see the trend?

7. Cars
why do you think VW has put more research into biofuel cars than hybrids?
-Because there was a huge niche in the Brazilian market for cars that could run off both gas and ethanol (flex fuel). Also, given the existing infrastructure in Brazil, it was much easier to modify existing infrastructure, than to introduce an entire new system.
right, but why did they not work on hybrids for the world market?
Also, volkswagon realizes that hybrid cars are not going to be sustainable because of the high cost and limited lifespan of batteries.
when were CAFE standards started?
during the oil crisis.
what is a CAFE standard?
-corporate average fuel economy standards.
what was made exempt from CAFE standards around 1995?
SUV's
what impact did this have on the country?
Fuel economy sunk to a 20 year low. We have cars on the road that are less fuel efficient than Henry Ford's Model T!
good...

8. Cellulosic Ethanol
what is this?
-Ethanol made from "woody" plants (cellulose)
or any non-fruit part of the plant (yes, the corn kernel is the fruit)
how is it different from corn ethanol or sugar ethanol?
-We can't digest cellulose. Also, this does not compete with food supplies.
If we are using corn it does.
What happened to the price of tortillas in Mexico over the past few years?
now rethink your bagasse question from above
why is Steve Chu key to this?
-He is researching cellulosic fuel because he realizes that they have the potential to be up to 10 times more efficient than corn ethanol.
10x?
imagine Brazil with sugar ethanol AND cellulosic ethanol-your thoughts?
-Sugar cane can be used to produce sugar, then the byproducts can be used to create ethanol.
right!

0 comments

September 8, 2011
by thorbecke mariko

Chp 2 Assignment 2.3

1) Explain why Strontium 90 might be absorbed by your body, and why this would not be a good thing. Give an example of where this might have happened (we discussed several of these).
Stronium 90 might be absorbed into your body in lieu of calcium because they need the same amount of valence electrons to become stable. This is not a good thing because human's rely on calcium for bone structure etc… This happened in New Zealand when livestock had stronium 90 absorbed in their bodies from nuclear fallout. This caused their exported dairy products, i.e. milk, cheese, to become strontium 90 positive. When your body absorbs strontium, it can no longer absorb the calcium you need.

Excellent. Be careful: sr is absorbed along with ca, it does not stop ca from being absorbed

2) Explain why Cesium might be released from a recent accident, and how it would impact your body, using the periodic table.
Cesium was released from the daichi power plant in Japan . It is dangerous because it can take the place of potassium which is an essential element in plants and animals. When your body absorbs cesium it cannot absorb the potassium that your body needs.

Again, it does not stop k abs

3) Why might soap disable a plants' ability to draw water up to its leaves?
Capillary action can no longer occur because it relies on the cohesion of water molecules. Soap inhibits this cohesive property.


Good
4) Explain how soap changes surface tension, and how this might be helpful in removing grease.
Soap "holds hands" with both water, and grease. This way it can wash the grease away by having it combine with water.


Good
5) Which pairs of nucleotides bond to each other in the DNA strand?

A-T, G-C. (Adenine, thymine) (guanine, cytosine)


Good
6) The inset on water mentioned several other physical qualities that could be important to life on this planet. Explain how specific heat and heat of vaporization enable life as we know it on our planet, and why Keck is looking for liquid water in the universe.
Specific heat is a major property of water. A high specific heat allows water to be resistant to temperature change. This also allows the atmosphere to maintain a constant temperature, allowing for life. Keck is looking for water on planets because this could be indicative of a livable planet.

Good
7) Locate the main "sinks" for the following: carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur

Main Sinks

carbon: ocean
phosphorus: deep ocean sediments
nitrogen: atmosphere
oxygen: atmosphere
sulfur: underground


Ok
8) Lookup the following functional groups (wikipedia is useful here) and label each with it's charge: carbonate, nitrate, phosphate, sulphate, chloride, hydroxide, ammonium
carbonate: -2
nitrate: -1
phosphate: -3
sulphate: -2
chloride: -1
hydroxide: -1
ammonium: +1

9) Using your answers above, combine each functional group with one of these: hydrogen, calcium, chlorine, potassium, sodium
hydrogen: carbonic acid, nitric acid, phosphoric cid, sulfuric acid, sodium chloride, sodium hydroxide, ammonium chloride.


Ok
10) Which of your answers above are acids or bases?

Acids: carbonic acid, nitric, phosphoric acid, sulfuric acid.
Bases: sodium hydroxide.

11) You are now a third-world farmer (not the correct term, but the name of a simulation game) and need to ensure your crops have the proper major nutrients. What are these three nutrients, how do we refer to them in fertilizer, and what form do they often take in this fertilizer?

Phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium.
Phosphorus pentoxide, potassium oxide, and nitrogen.

Let's discuss
12) Water is "amphoteric". What does this mean, and include some form of structure in your answer.
Amphoteric means it can act as a base as well as an acid. When combined with an acid it acts as a base (H2O + HCl → H3O+ + Cl-). When combined with a base it acts as an acid. (H2O + NH3 → NH4+ + OH-).

0 comments

September 1, 2011
by thorbecke mariko

Chp 2 8-15

8) Which wavelengths do our eyes respond to and why? About how long are short ultraviolet wavelengths to microwave lengths.
Our eyes can see the visible wavelengths of 4 to 7 micrometers. Ultraviolet waves start at 10 nm, microwaves have wavelengths of about 1 cm.

right-why?
9) Where do extremophiles live? How do they get the energy they need for survival?
Extremophiles live in extreme places such as the bottom of the ocean floor, deep inside of the earth's crust, or inside of hot springs.
as opposed to?
They gain energy by extracting energy from inorganic chemical compounds under extreme heat in a process known as chemosynthesis.

10) Ecosystems require energy to function. From where does this energy come? Where does it go?
This energy comes from the sun. It goes into plants, from then into herbivores, carnivores, then back into the ground as animals and plant matter dies.
primary producers? trophic levels? (trophos = food)

11) How do green plants capture energy, and what do they do with it?
Green plants capture energy through photosynthesis! They store the energy as glucose.
Plants are green, get energy from the sun, need water, store energy as sugar, capillary action is there circulatory system. CO2 in the daytime, oxygen at night time.
12) Define the terms, species, population, and biological community?
Species: Can reproduce fertile offspring
population: the number of species
biological community: all the populations in one area.
mule=sterile combination of a horse and a donkey

13) Why are big fierce animals rare?
Because there is less energy at the top of the trophic levels where the big fierce animals are.
dependent on many many smaller animals, who are dependent on many many many many plants
why dinosaurs extinct?
why did alligators survive?

14) Most ecosystems can be visualized as a pyramid with many organisms in the lowest trophic levels and only a few individuals at the top. Give an example of an inverted numbers pyramid.
An example of an inverted numbers pyramid can be one large tree that supports thousands of caterpillars.
hmmm?

15) What is the ratio of human-caused carbon releases into the atmosphere compared to the amount released by terrestrial respiration?

Human-caused carbon realease in the atmosphere is about 7 gigatons a year, while terrestrial respiration is about 100 gigatons a year.
so, why are we so worried about global warming? Because terrestrial respiration is offset by photosynthesis, whereas human released carbon is not offset by anything.

0 comments

September 1, 2011
by thorbecke mariko

Chp 2 1-7

1) What two problems did Arcata, CA solve with its constructed wetland?

It improved the beauty of the area as well as solved their sewage treatment problem.
did it also save them money?

2) What are systems and how do feedback loops regulate them?

Systems are composed of a variable with pathways moving to new state variables. A feedback loop is where one thing regulates another, this refers to positive feedback or negative feedback.
Not completely: positive feedback is where a stimulus elicits a similar response, self-amplifying. Negative feedback counters the original stimulus. Think of a ship with lots of stuff on deck: if cb is above cm, it is stable, if not, it is unstable. Ask in class, ok?

3) Your body contains a vast number of carbon atoms. How is it possible that some of these carbons may have been part of the body of a prehistoric creature?

Because of the carbon cycle, and the conservation of matter principle.
and?

4) List 6 unique properties of water. Describe briefly how each of these properties makes water essential to life as we know it.
-Polar
-only inorganic liquid to occur under natural conditions in nature.
-cohesive molecules
-expands when it freezes
-high heat of vaporization
-high specific heat
is this why Keck is searching for planets with liquid water?

6) The oceans store a vast amount of heat, but this huge reservoir of energy is of little use to humans. Explain the difference between high quality and low-quality energy.

Energy which is spread out and low in temperature is low-quality energy because it is difficult to harness for use.
High quality energy is energy that is concentrated and high in temperature.
compare a high waterfall with a tidal basin...

7) In the biosphere, matter follows circular pathways. While energy flows in a linear fashion. Explain
Matter is cycled through the environment which is why it follows circular pathways. Energy flows through the environment and much is dissipated therefore there is less useful energy at higher levels.
energy is like a cascading bowling ball.
ok, energy flows downhill, with an associated entropy "tax", while matter recycles intact elementally.

0 comments

August 25, 2011
by thorbecke mariko

e^2

1) Micro credit is a way for people to borrow small amounts at a time with less harsh conditions then loans offered by banks. These sorts of loans often offer opportunities for poor people to advance themselves economically.

2) Without energy, people can't advance. There is no modern economy because modern economy including health care, education etc... rely on energy.

3) Renewable energy alternatives to oil include wind, solar, and biofuel among others.

4) Kerosene lamps you burn and they are gone. They are expensive and not sustainable. Alternatives for Bangladesh are led lights powered by solar.

5) With energy comes economic growth. In Bangladesh, woman were trained in how to repair and install solar panels. Through these renewable energy projects woman were able to take out micro loans which led to increased economic growth in communities because woman can now take out micro loans in order to buy clothes for their children, and food etc... Bangladesh has also advanced in another way including the fact that children could now read at night with a light, providing them more opportunities for education.

6) They are promoting sustainable development because they are looking towards solutions that are geared toward future generations and not just the current generation. They are trying to help children (the next generation) to gain an education. Women are now being considered for micro loans which helps economic growth in Bangladesh. This is also sustainable on another front by respecting the culture of the area they are working for. By employing woman technicians, not only do they empower woman but they are respecting a culture that has certain rules about men in the household. They are helping villagers to save money, providing employment for rural people, while at the same time saving the environment. This is applied sustainability.

Bio gas is another project of theirs. This demonstrates sustainability because they are looking to the future when designing the plant, taking in to consideration the size of the family etc... This is also good for the economy as it allows some villagers to sell their bio gas. Bio gas also has no smoke, which is more environmentally friendly than kerosene.

1 comment

August 26, 2011
by thorbecke mariko

37 Questions

1) Our big island has the capacity to demonstrate sustainability: energy, food, water, culture. Why would we be such a compelling example, and how are we similar to the Apo islanders?
We are an island as well, limited population over a constant land area allows us to be a test place to demonstrate energy, food, water, and culture. We have all the resources we need to demonstrate sustainability. We are the most remote, pay highest energy costs in the country, and have the ability to be sustainable. We are similar to the Apo Islanders because
Big Island: High need, high cost, high vulnerability. Without oil, no electricity, no electricity, no water.

2)
  • What do you think our role is on the planet? Stewards or other?
    •
    We are stewards or the planet. If we don't take care of what we have, we will never get it back. We can look ahead and change the process. All other animals can only react to the situation at hand.

    3)
  • Do you agree with Ward's contention that we have enough solutions, we just need more willpower or education? Explain.
    • We have people that are more than smart enough to solve the worlds problems. But people won't work without incentive, or the right motivation (willpower/education)

    4)
  • What would your version of environmental literacy include? How would you change this for different countries, regions or cultures?
  • Environmental literacy is so political right now, I think it everything was less political, people would take things more with more concern.

  • 5)One recent study cited that providing clean water for lesser developed countries (LDC) has been the major factor in increasing infant survival and overall health. Our next challenge might be the connection between water and energy. Why do you think this could be so?
  • We use energy to move water around.
  • 6)Recent studies predict an ice-free arctic certainly in your lifetime, perhaps even as early as 2030 (18 years from now). Why then is there a push today to claim underwater resources there? Who has the best claim? Why?
    • Rare earth minerals are present underwater. Russia has the best claim, because they have a huge chunk of the circumference around the north pole.
  • 7) If climate change increases as the book indicates, cite several impacts you can imagine.
    • Rising water levels will flood populated land, winters will be colder, summers will be hotter.
    The greenhouse effect will increase. Albeido will also decrease.
  • 8) Can you explain why air quality might be hard to enforce, and pollution hard to trace?
  • Because once in the air, pollutants will diffuse to places different from their origin. Therefore it is hard to prove the origin of the pollution, and therefore be hard to enforce. It is hard to label a point source with air pollution.
  • 9) Biodiversity is a critical topic globally, and we have examples of this here in Hawaii. Humpback whales were hunted almost to extinction, largely by ships based in Lahaina, Maui. Why would this make all surviving humpbacks less robust?
  • Because all humpbacks will pull from a similar gene pool. Outliers in the gene pool are more likely to survive.
  • 10) Fishing is like farming on land you do not own, and gathering crops you neither fertilize, irrigate, or plant. Why is this so prevalent in LDC countries, and why is it hard for European/American cultures to recognize? Think of the tragedy of the commons.
    • HDC have always been dependent upon their own land and treated their own land well. They do not care about what is not theirs.
  • 11) Why would population decline in a country (like Japan, Italy or Russia) be a threat?
  • Because the ratio of old people to young people will increase. Those countries will not have workers of the next generation, social security also will fail.
  • 12) Renewable energy is sustainable, clean, and avoids many economic and political issues prevalent in our current system. Explain.
  • Many political issues of our time revolve around oil and the energy crisis. Renewable energy would solve the energy crisis.
  • 13) What does IPAT mean?
    • Impact = population x affluence x technology level.

  • 14) Sustainability is described as "thinking of forever" Why?
  • Because it takes in to consideration the fact that whatever our actions now will influence the rest of time.
  • 15) Why would indigenous peoples' economic situation lead to biodiversity loss?
  • Because economics and poverty plays a huge role in openness to sustainability practices. This can include over harvesting for the sake of survival
  • 16) Why is the scientific tenet of reproducibility difficult today? Recall the Korea example from class.
  • Because there is often financial or some other form of incentive involved with the kinds of science that need to have reproducibility.
  • 17) A professor recently stated that since Churchill, Kennedy and King suffered from depression, that leaders without depression could not be great leaders. What is the logical flaw in this reasoning? (look up "Monty python witch scene" on youtube)
  • Not only is this is not a big enough sample size to pull from, but generalizations based on 3 people is not smart on general.
  • 18) Statistics are used to describe, compare and explain. Dr. Ravaglia has said "numbers will tell you anything if you torture them enough" and Twain said there were "lies, damn lies, and statistics". Explain.
  • Statistics are only as honest as the people portraying them.
  • 19) In the statistics exercise, what is the mean fish per hour?
    • The average number of fish caught per hour.
  • 20) How does a random sample clean up any bias in your data?
  • You don't have to worry about bias in choosing your data points because they are all random.
  • 21) Explain how a histogram might help to clarify outliers, and what is an outlier?
  • When visually viewing a histogram, the outliers become apparent. Outliers are data points that don't seem to correspond to all the other data points.
  • 22) Is the age of students in our class a normal or Gaussian distribution?
    • Gaussian distribution is normal distribution.

  • 23) What would a box plot of our class ages show?
    • Would show that the distribution of age are clumped very close together.
  • 24) Significance is often used in studies, called the "t test" or the P value (P<0.05). Look these up and describe each.
    • Chance that the difference between data pools is not due to chance. P<0.05 says that there is a less than 5% chance that the results were due to chance.
  • 25) Use your math skills to describe independent (x) and dependent (y) variables, using an example.
    • The dependent variable is dependent upon the independent variable. Whatever we input into x will determine what y is.
  • 26) What is a "positive relationship" (not including dating)?
  • Positive correlation is when one increases, so does the other.
  • 27) Fig 1.19 in the text shows a transect. Why is this used?
  • A transect is used for random sampling in order to ensure that the sample is random and accurate.
  • 28) What is a double blind test, and why is it controversial in the case of life saving drugs?
  • A double blind test is one in which neither the scientists/researchers nor the patients know whether they are being given a real drug or a placebo. It is controversial because experiments give more scientific research in the long run but are hard on a personal family, case by case basis, knowing that half of the people could potentially be saved while the other half will probably not be.
  • 29) Your class is going through many paradigm shifts. List at least two.
  • We are the first generation growing up with access to such technologies such as the internet.
  • We are growing up in a world where media is shaping our views and outlooks on life.
  • Proxy War!!

  • 30) Look over the baloney detection kit in table 1.3, and give an example in the news today.
    • Obama is being blamed for the economy by fox news even though everyone knows the economy was bad before Obama came.
  • 31) Take a guess as to why Teddy Roosevelt's interior department might have been corrupt. What did they control?
  • Conflict of interests would be one possibility for reasons such as the TVA.
  • 32) Look up the TVA in wikipedia. Why was it so controversial?
    • Tennessee Valley Authority was controversial because Franklin Roosevelt established this during the great depression in order to nationalize government assets in the Tennessee valley which put dams and other power plants in the area, which was under a government monopoly.
  • 33) "Greatest good, greatest number, greatest time" from Roosevelt sounds a bit like "from each according to his abilities, to each, according to his needs". Who said this, and when?
    • Carl Marks said this, he was a communist. It was his slogan used in 1875.
  • 34) Compare Roosevelt's motives with those of John Muir.
    • Roosevelt wanted to preserve nature for the sake of human gain, Muir wanted to preserve nature for the sake of its beauty.
  • 35) Thoreau is often cited as a paragon of naturalism. How would you compare Thoreau to Aldo Leopold?
  • Thoreau was a pioneer, Leopold's works were based on science.
  • 36) Rachel Carson wrote Silent Spring about what?
    • Spring time coming silent because birds are disappearing. Birds would sit on their eggs and crush them because DDT pollution caused calcium deficiency in the birds egg shells.
  • 37) Note this trend: nature as a resource, nature as beauty, nature and pollution, nature and social justice, then nature as global concern. Link each of these to a character cited in the chapter.
  • Teddy Roosevelt: Nature as a resource
  • Rachel Carson: Nature and Pollution
  • John Muir: Nature and beauty
  • Wangari Maathai: Nature and social justice
  • Adalai Stevenson: Nature as a global concern

    • 0 comments

    August 22, 2011
    by thorbecke mariko

    Chp1 Practice Test

    Chapter 1, 13 questions

    1) Describe how fishing has changed at Apo Island, and the direct and indirect effects on people's lives.

    Fishing went from environmentally destructive methods (dynamite, cyanide, trawling, and muroami fishing) to low impact methods (hand held lines, bamboo traps, mesh nets, and spearfishing) after islanders learned that protecting the reefs was the key to sustainable fishing. People could travel less to obtain the same amount of food, giving them more time to spend on other activities.
    Impacts on the young? Who came up with the idea?

    2) What are some basic assumptions of science?

    That the world can be understood with basic observation and
    logical
    reasoning.

    3) Distinguish between hypothesis and theory

    A hypothesis supported by a large number of scientists and defended by numerous testing becomes a scientific theory.
    ok, so which is evolution?

    4) Describe the steps in the scientific method

    -Observation of a certain phenomena
    -Creating a hypothesis
    -Testing that hypothesis
    -Collecting data
    -Interpreting the results
    good

    5) What is probability?

    Probability is the likelihood that an even will occur. The event outcome over the total number of possible outcomes.
    is there a minimum?

    6) In a graph, which axis represents the independent variable? The dependent variable?

    The x axis represents the independent variable, and the y axis represents the dependent variable.

    7) What's the first step in critical thinking according to table 1.4?

    "What is the purpose of my thinking?"

    8) Distinguish between utilitarian conservation and biocentric preservation. Name two environmental leaders associated with each of these philosophies.

    Utilitarian conservation says that forests should be not for biological and environmental reasons, but for human gain in the form of jobs and resources. In contrast, biocentric conservation pushes environmental conservation for the purpose of the biological and ecological benefits of such preservation. Two prominent proponents of utilitarian conservation were Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot. Proponents of biocentric preservation include John Muir and Aldo Leopold.
    nice

    9) Why do some experts regard water as the most critical natural resource of the twenty first century?

    A huge percentage of the world already lacks access to safe drinking water, and the UN projects that by 2025 this will increase to 3/4ths of the population.
    safety? health? energy?

    10) Where in figure 1.7 do the largest areas of persistence of greening occur? What is the persistence of greening?

    The persistence of greening refers to polar regions becoming green earlier, and staying green for longer periods of time. According to figure 1.7, the largest areas are the areas around the Ukraine.
    Right, time to buy land in Canada

    11) Describe some signs of hope in overcoming global environmental problems.

    Some signs of hope include people setting up marine reserves, cities progressing in the reduction of pollution and wasteful use of resources, conservation of forests and nature preserves, and encouraging the use of renewable energy.
    ok

    12) What is the link between poverty and environmental quality?

    Poverty is often tied with negative environmental quality due to the fact that people with limited opportunities facing immediate survival needs often rely upon tactics for living that are negative for the environments such as over-harvesting.
    or selling their land to wealthy developers

    13) Define sustainability and sustainable development.

    Sustainability is the idea that things can be used in a way that does not deplete resources, but in a way that allows resources to be used continuously for generations.
    Sustainable development refers to the idea that achieving economic improvement can be done without compromising the environment.
    thinking of forever?

    0 comments