Acid Rain

What gases are the major cause of acid rain?

~Nitric and Sulfuric acids.

Where do most of these gases come from?

~rotting vegetation, volcanoes, burning fossil fuels by coal-burning power plants, factories, and cars.

Describe a few negative effects of acid rain. 

~Impacts aquatic environments because the aluminum get into the soil and it turns the water toxic killing  crayfish, clams, fish, and other aquatic animals. It Also kills the trees because the aluminum gets into the soil and makes it hard for the trees to get water. 

What the frack is fracking?

What is the purpose of fracking?

~ to release the gas trapped there. 

How is fracking done?

~water and toxic chemicals are injected at high pressure into the ground to break up rocks and release the gas trapped there

Why are people concerned about fracking?

~Some people think that the stuff they use to break up the rocks gets released into their drinking water, and can harm their health. 

Tier 2

In my opinion, I think humans should continue to attempt to control rivers. If scientists make a better working item to control rivers, than they could save more money, people, and land. The article about the Nile river really contributed to my decision. The Egyptians had many great ways to control the Nile river, like the shaduf and their basins. If the Egyptians can use the Nile river to create fertile land out of non-advanced materials, modern humans can create better systems of irrigation and be able to control rivers. The shaduf  added water to a little area of land. Modern day humans could make a bigger shaduf, and that would lead to bigger fields fertile to grow food. This could lead to the end of  world famine. Also, as long as humans continue to control rivers, the trade route to Louisiana will continue. I also had to re-think my decision a few times, mostly because of the costly factor. It costs thousands of dollars to control the Mississippi River. I think that before we try a new form of river control, we need to test it in laboratories first, so we do not waste money on those things. Imagine spending hundreds, thousands, or millions of dollars on a new form of flood control and it not working. America is in a tough time. All we need is to lose more money and go into another depression. By testing the products maybe with a smaller prototype, It is a good way to save money, and make sure the product works as well as it needs to. 

Weathering in the Colosseum

What kind of weathering is affecting the Colosseum? 
The colosseum is being affected by Frost Wedging, a kind of weathering.


Is it chemical, or mechanical? 
It is mechanical weathering.

1/31/2012

1. The horizontal axis is showing years and is ranging of 1905 to 2000.

2. Present day is on the right.

3. The vertical axis is showing Co2 levels with units of 20 ppmv's. Also,  Global temperature in units of 0.5˚ Celsius.

4. The data is from http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2011/08/the-global-warming-hoax-in-charts.php

01/10/2012 ~Soil~

only 11% of Earth is soil.
~My reaction: If 11% of Earth is soil, than what is that like as the size of a country?


The US, which just avoided turning the Great Plains into a dust bowl in the 1930s, is still losing soil 18 times more rapidly than it is forming it.
My Reaction: That is a interesting fact. 

December 12th, 2011

 What are the causes of explosions in coal mines?
~methane ignitions 


 How were families in the United States compensated for the deaths of their family members, and how does that compare to the compensation of Chinese families? 
~U.S. family members were paid 1.5 million dollars per family members of the family lost. The company spent over tens of millions of dollars total.


~In China, the families are given 10,000 yuan ($1,577) for funeral and death expenses and a compensation package was given to the family members which included 660,000 yuan. ($103,709.76) 




Speculate about why miner safety conditions are so much worse in China.
~There is no monitoring system in China to make sure everything is safe and secure.
~The management is rebellious and doesn't follow the correct rules and codes.
~The license for that specific mine was taken away about a year before the explosion. 
~Gas explosions, floods, and fire happen often in Chinese mines.

November 28th, 2011

Who do you think was most directly responsible for the Deepwater Horizon disaster? Why? In addition, what would be "justice" for the responsible party?


I think the testers were responsible for the Deepwater Horizon disaster because they should have noticed any problems, that is their job. There is always going to be a supply and demand of a popular and helpful product; in this case, oil. If any other problem and a tester didn't notice a fault that could be potentially harmful to people and the environment, they should be fired at the least punishment. They definitely deserve jail time as the maximum punishment. It is not fair that they caused harm to the environment. They killed many animals, and 11 men's lives. That is just not fair.

10/26/2011

1.) What are the names of the two tectonic plates which are interacting to cause earthquakes in Turkey. 

 a) The Arabian Plate and the Eurasian Plates were the two plates that caused many earthquakes in Turkey over the past few days.

2.) What kind of plate boundary is it? 

a) It is a convergent plate boundary.

3.) What is the most powerful magnitude earthquake that has struck Turkey in the past 100 years?

a)The most powerful magnitude earthquake that has struck Turkey in the past 100 years was a Magnitude 7.8 earthquake in 1939.

Prompt: October 6th 2011

Prompt: Who would have benefited from the construction of the dam and power plant?
A) 90% of China would have benefited from the dam and power plant.

 Why did the people of the region oppose the construction?
A) The dam would flood historical sites along the river and the shopping mall a few miles away. It will also flood the grounds to grow rice-patties and rich forests. People that live close to the dam are located to a fault line near by. If the damn had been cracked or broken because of an earthquake, the inhabitants would die.

 What is the opinion of the author/website on the construction project, and how can you tell?
A) The author/website's opinion on the construction on the dam is against it. I can tell this because it says in the article negative things about putting in the dam. There are no pro's listed in the article.

9-18-2011

1. Layer 4 was deposited
2. Layer 5 was deposied
3. Intrusion 2 was formed
4. Earth cracked at fault B
5. Layer 6 was deposited
6. Layer 1 was deposited
7. Intrusion 3 was formed

I decided upon this order because because layer 4 and 5 are at the very bottom of the sediment which relates to the principle of superposition. After that there was intrusion 2. You can tell this because one, layer 6 and 1 cover it and also the crack has separated the intrusion in a different spot which leads me to the next which is Earth cracked at fault B. You can tell this because next, point 6 and 1 cover the crack. Lastly, intrusion 3 goes through everything showing it is the youngest which follows the principle of cross cutting relationships.

https://652766166171141484-a-1802744773732722657-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/sopogreenscience/home/geohist6.gif?attachauth=ANoY7cq4oIL-OgSGbpYgDEgZQQ0W8LYfnMddvq3uFLiL3RFhp1Mcea1LKZIrXd0g-W0e2i31gY83ASbNQs8tRnnJrN6k-1n-dkhhC-dmVe21vjyxfwjtjDt2ZcPtN6UoAtbXfMkXf-96iNOQMGfT4gRB1nhsCLTHc_nXjhYhXSH8ll5jU03z6wANrIuV7E_8W9-_WRJnGPqbjqt64j_9gVoaeqdu7RKqww%3D%3D&attredirects=0

this link goes to the picture/diagram

Early geologists, through observations, began to suspect that the Earth was older than 6000 years (an age proposed by religious scholars.) After watching the slideshow, attempt to explain why the geologists may have begun to suspect this.


Looking at the slideshow, I can see why scientist started to believe that the earth was older than 6000 years. One way I can see this is because of the different layers in the rocks. They could contain fossils, different kind of rocks, or sediment. Another way I can see this is because of the depth of this canyon. Since it is so deep, it had probably been there for over 6000 years. It probably got so deep because of a glacier. Glaciers take a LONG time to melt. (I think the glacier is now that body of water I saw in a picture.) Lastly, think that that type of rock may not be common to us now as it may have been thousands of years ago. It may even have meteor bits or pieces lodged in the rock!