connection to my space PP

https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AaurTi-dELRHZGR4amIyOG1fMTkzNHM0NWMyaA&hl=en

Climate Change

a) The natural mechanism of global warming is the reason for the earths climate being what it is. heat from the sun comes to us thorough radiation, this radiation is absorbed by the ground and radiated into the atmosphere which in turn re radiates it both upwards into space as well as back down towards earth. this causes the earth to have a higher temperature than it otherwise would. where this runs into problems is when gasses in the atmosphere become to high in concentration and too much heat is radiated back to earth causing the global temperature to increase above normal levels. (1) Three major greenhouse gasses are water vapor, CO2 and methane. Water vapor is a bit of a wild card at the moment although it contributes to global warming scientists aren't sure what causes it to greatly increase or decrease. Carbon Dioxide has been increasing more and more in recent years, this is due in part to deforestation as well as increased emissions from burning fossil fuels. Methane is the third major greenhouse gas and  is caused mostly by animal emissions and has been caused to increase as animal farming has grown in size. (2) (3) (4) Water vapor is a huge factor in global warming. A 10% increase in water vapor levels causes the climates rate of increase to go up by 30 %. Methane however is the largest contributor to climate change and is 25 times more impactful than carbon dioxide. Speaking of Carbon Dioxide although it is the most commonly thought of and combated it is the least impactfull in regards to climate change. this said it is increasing at the fastest rate. Methane emissions are growing relatively slowly and water Vapor in the stratoshpere has decreased by 10% since 2000. (4) (2) (3)





b) Natural mechanisms also have and effect on climate change. Because the world is so naturally well  balanced in terms of emission intake and output, and the fact that it still is today, shows us that even these events although they do increase emissions they don't increase them by a non-recoverable amount. take volcanoes for example. Volcanoes go off every year, Carbon Dioxide emissions annually are 150 times less than the emissions of humans. Poeple are the largest contributers to Climate change and if we wish to combat it we must start with ourselves.





1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect, Greenhouse effect, J. Jacob, Wikimedia Foundation, November 18 2010
2. Roberta Barbalace. CO2 Pollution and Global Warming. EnvironmentalChemistry.com. Nov. 7, 2006. Accessed on-line: 11/22/2010
http://EnvironmentalChemistry.com/yogi/environmental/200611CO2globalwarming.html
3. http://www.earthsave.org/globalwarming.htm, Global Warming Strategy, Noam Mohr, Earthsave, 2005.
4. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100131145840.htm, stratospheric water vapor, Science Daily, Susan Solomon, National Oceanic and Atmosheric Administration,  Febuary 1st 2010.
5. http://www.geology.sdsu.edu/how_volcanoes_work/climate_effects.html, how volcanoes work, 2005

Biochemichal Cycles

a) Carbon bonds are very strong and it is a common element on earth. because of this and its chemical makeup allow it to bond with a variety of other elements. Organic compounds usually contain Hydrogen and Oxygen. these are the kinds of compounds found in life such as plants and animals. Inorganic compounds are the opposite, these compounds generally don't contain either Fluorine or Hydrogen and are usually found in solids such as rocks. ex: Limestone. Carbon found in gas form has almost always bonded with oxygen or another gas, likewise water can bond with carbon to create carbonic acid. (1 )  The carbon cycle is necessary for all life on earth. Carbon Dioxide in the air can act as a pollutant causing climate change and also harming the conditions of life, becoming poisonous in large doses. plants however need some carbon dioxide to create photosynthesis. from this point animals eat the plants and through respiration release it back into the air and by either dying or excreting they also return it to the earth making it more fertile for plant life. (2)

b)  The Nitrogen cycle is very similar to the carbon cycle. nitrogen gets into the air through the burning of fossil fuels and through the excretion of animals. Once in the air it returns to earth either through nitrogen fixation in which microbes convert it to a form usable by plants or through rain that has collected nitrogen. once in the ground plants use it for nutrients and as animals eat the plants or breathe it enters their body where it resides until it is pooped out and returned to either the earth or the air. (3)

c) Carbon is necessary for both plants and animals to survive. because of its use as sustenance for plants and animals it is largely important to them. just like all other things too much is not healthy. excess of carbon is poisonous, small amounts are low in toxicity but they stay in ones body indefinitely. Nitrogen can have worse effects. nitrification of water sources can cause eutrophication and deplete the waters oxygen supply. because plants and animals need oxygen to survive they end up dead, and thus something healthy and even essential to life becomes disastrous to the ecosystem. (1)

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon#Occurrence, Carbon, Wikimedia foundation, John Wilhelm, November 7 2010.
2. http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/co2_cycle.html, National Earth Science Teachers Association, NCAR, Roberta Johnson, November 7 2010.
3. http://www.visionlearning.com/library/module_viewer.php?mid=98,  The Nitrogen Cycle, John Arthur Harrison, Vision learning 2003.

Bad Astronomy

I thought that the software existed to calculate the movement of an asteroid. It does but it was an inaccurate representation. it would take many days to plot its course and speed. second I thought that comments moved quickly through the sky but it turns out that they do not.


When watching the movie I was skeptical that a comets core would be white or gray because they are made of Ice, according to bad astronomy it would have been a dark black. I also didn't think that exposure to the sun would have burned his face and it apparently shouldn't have done that good of a job anyway.

I didn't know that the moon really did rotate at the same rate as the earth. I thought that the moon was constantly rotating but I guess that not the case.

Green Book labs

The results of activity one were about what I expected. The dirt increased in temperature fastest because of its dark color and water did slowly because of its high heat index. dirt was a little off because it had been sitting in the sun before hand.

The same thing happened with the bottles. the clouds reflected the sunlight back causing temperatures to be lower and the dark color of the dirt absorbed the heat lowering the rate at which the air heated up while the reflective whiter color of the sand reflected light into the air

These tests can help to show how the climate works on a larger scale by giving us insight into the way different types of soil and land areas can cause the air to heat and cool.

Climate Research

Blueplanetbiomes.org gives a brief definition of climate. it also gives an explanation of seasons along with a grouping of different kinds of climates based on lattitude and composed of smaller sub groups. the most interesting part was the color coordinated map that showed climates all over the world.

http://blueplanetbiomes.org/climate.htm,%20Strahler, Arthur N., Strahler, Arthur H., Elements of Physical Geography. John Wiley & Sons, 1984.

State.gov goes into detail about how the united states is one of the leading nations working toward prevention of climate change. It talks about why and also the steps that we are taking to prevent this from happening.

http://www.state.gov/g/oes/climate/, office of electronic information, climate change, bereau of public affairs,

Waste water

Yesterday my class took a trip to the waste water treatment plant in Eaton Rapids. I though it was interesting to see how much waste their really was. I also had no idea that our waste was destroyed by micro organisms. It seemed like a really long process, it was really indepth and seemed expensive.

Recycling was allright. I thought it was funny that we tried to help. I saw a couple people putting things into the wrong bins and I wonder how much help we really were. Recycling has always been one of those things I've wanted to do more of. It just seems so inconvenient.