5+Kids+From+Brunswick

Topic - How does public transportation affect global warming? Position - We are pro green transportation and helping to prevent global warming!

-Air pollution includes all contaminants found in the atmosphere. -These dangerous substances can be either in the form of gases or particles. -Air pollution can be found both outdoors and indoors. - Pollutants can be trapped inside buildings, causing indoor pollution that lasts for a long time. -The sources of air pollution are both natural and human-based. -Humans have been producing increasing amounts of pollution as time has progressed. - Now they are the reason for the majority of pollutants released into the air. -The effects of air pollution are very serious. - Air pollution can have serious consequences for the health of human beings, and severely affects of natural ecosystems. - Each of these problems has serious effects on our health as well as for the whole environment. - There are several main // types //of pollution and // effects // of pollution which are most likely discussed. These include smog, acid rain, the greenhouse effect, and "holes" in the ozone layer. How can we limit air pollution? - We can limit air pollution by people not living near large productions such as factories construction businesses local highways and airports. These could have a major impact on your life as well as your health.
 * Alyssa Bertoni source 1: Brimblecombe, Peter. __Environmental Encyclopedia__. Air Pollution. Detroit: Gale Research International Limited, 1994 .** ** http://library.thinkquest.org/26026/Environmental_Problems/air_pollution.html **
 * google encyclopedia**

** Noise pollution source 2: __The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia__, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. ** ** http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0835810.html **

- Noise pollution is human created noise harmful to health or welfare. -  Transportation vehicles are the worst things of noise pollution, with aircraft, railroad stock, trucks, buses, automobiles, and motorcycles all producing excessive noise. Construction equipment, e.g., jackhammers, bulldozers, and sonic booms also tend to produce very much noise pollution. - One burst of noise from a passing truck, is known to alter endocrine, neurological, and cardiovascular functions in many individuals; prolonged or frequent exposure to such noise tends to make the physiological disturbances chronic. - Also noise-induced stress creates severe tension in daily living and contributes to mental illness. - Apart from hearing loss, this noise can cause lack of sleep, irritability, heartburn, indigestion, ulcers, high blood pressure, and possibly heart disease. - Evidence states that among young Americans hearing sensitivity is decreasing year by year because of exposure to noise, including excessively amplified music. - The source of all noise pollution is from transportation. Transportation causes this very distracting annoying pollution. - I n rural areas, train and airplane noise can disturb wildlife habits, which is affecting the habitat in which animals in areas around train tracks and airports hunt and mate.  - In urban areas, automobile, motorcycle, and even entertainment noise can cause sleep disruption in humans and animals, hearing loss, heart disease as a result of stress, and in severe cases even mental instability. - An exception to the rule is the electric, or hybrid-electric, automobile. - Hybrid vehicles are so quite, the legislation is deciding to actually make them louder. - This is because due to being silent numerous injuries in which pedestrians, unaware of a hybrid vehicle's presence, have been struck by the vehicles in parking lots and pedestrian crosswalks. How can we limit noise pollution? - We should limit noise pollution by limiting the amount of developments and jobs offices near large cities and very local highways. This would help people not get medical issues and limit the amount of pollution in one large area.


 * Radioactive pollution source 3: **
 * Rehkopf, Jeffrey. __Radioactive Pollution__. 2005 Modern Language Association . 12-4-09 . **

- Radioactive pollution can be defined as the release of radioactive substances or high-energy particles into the air, water, or earth as a result of human activity, either by accident or by design. - Examples of these things are: 1) nuclear weapon testing or detonation; 2) the nuclear fuel cycle, including the mining, separation, and production of nuclear materials in nuclear power plants or nuclear bombs; 3) accidental release of radioactive material from nuclear power plants. - Sometimes natural sources of radioactivity, for example radon gas rising from beneath the ground, are considered pollutants when they become a threat to human health. - Since even a small amount of radiation exposure can have serious biological consequences, and since many radioactive wastes remain toxic for centuries, radioactive pollution is a very serious environmental concern even though natural sources of radioactivity are different then from today’ radioactive pollution. - The problem of radioactive pollution is compounded by the difficulty in assessing its effects. - Radioactive waste may spread over a broad area quite rapidly and irregularly from an abandoned dump into an aquifer, for example, and may not fully show its effects upon humans and organisms for decades in the form of cancer or other chronic diseases. - The 40's was the era where the first nuclear bomb was being developed, and that's why it is called the nuclear era. -Nuclear energy has been researched back since 1900. Nuclear era reached its greatest peak in the world war, by showing its massive ability of destroying things. -Nuclear energy has been recognized as a clean energy because it doesn’t release pollutants such as CO2 to the atmosphere after its reaction that could damage our environment. - It's also known that nuclear energy has reduced the amount of greenhouse gas emission, reducing emissions of CO2 for about 500 million metric tons of carbon. - Even though the advantage of nuclear as a clean energy, the big concern is the waste resulted from nuclear reaction, which is a form of pollution, called radioactivity. - Some elements in the world are naturally radioactive while some others are made to be. - Radioactivity happens when a radioactive element become unstable and begin to decay when they try to regain their molecular stability. - When an element decays, it emits energy and small particles. - If it’s still radioactive, it will repeat the process, until it finally regains its molecular stability and stop decayi ng. - The time that it takes for half way of decaying process is called half-life, and this differs for each radioactive element. - It possibly takes up to 4.5 billion years (Uranium 238) and as short as 8 days (Iodine 131). - This process constantly remains, not considering external factors such as pressure or temperature. - This process is expressed in units called becquerels. - One becquerel is equal to one disintegration of nuclei per second. There are commonly three types of radiation, namely: - Alpha particles, can be blocked by a piece of paper and human skin. - Beta particles can penetrate through skin, while can be blocked by some pieces of glass and metal. - Gamma rays can penetrate easily to human skin and damage cells on its way through, reaching far, and can only be blocked by a very thick, strong, massive piece of concrete. 23. Nuclear energy is a form of energy that’s released by the splitting of atoms. - Since scientists have found a way to make use of the energy, it has also been used to generate electricity. How can we limit radioactive pollution? - we can reduce the amount of waste submitted from the radioactive nuclear power plants to help the earth and the global warming issue that could harm everyone.
 * Source 2:** Radioactive Pollution - Nonionizing Radiation, Ionizing Radiation, Sources Of Radioactive Pollution, Lifestyle And Radiation Dose, Nuclear Weapons Testing - Types of radiation

​**Thermal Pollution source 5:** Chermisinoff, Paul N. (1983). Pollution Control at Electric Power Stations: Comparisons for U.S. and Europe. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann **- -**The definition of thermal pollution is the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature.Thermal pollution is usually associated with increases of water temperatures in a stream, lake, or ocean due to the release of heated water from industrial processes, such as the generation of electricity.  - Increases in ambient water temperature also occur in streams where shading vegetation along the banks is removed or where sediments have made the water more turbid. - Both of these effects allow more energy from the sun to be absorbed by the water and thereby increase its temperature. -There are also situations in which the effects of colder-than-normal water temperatures may be observed. - For example, the release of cold bottom water from deep-water reservoirs behind large dams has changed the downstream biological communities in systems such as the Colorado River. - Both of these effects allow more energy from the sun to be absorbed by the water and thereby increase its temperature. - There are also situations in which the effects of colder-than-normal water temperatures may be observed. - The production of energy from a fuel source can be direct, such as the burning of wood in a fireplace to create heat, or by the conversion of heat energy into mechanical energy by the use of a heat engine. - Examples of heat engines include steam engines, turbines, and internal combustion engines. - Heat engines work on the principal of heating and pressuring a fluid, the performance of mechanical work, and the rejection of unused or waste heat to a sink. - Heat engines can only convert 30 to 40 percent of the available input energy in the fuel source into mechanical energy. - The highest efficiencies are obtained when the input temperature is as high as possible and the sink temperature is as low as possible. - Water is a very efficient and economical sink for heat engines and it is commonly used in electrical generating stations. - The waste heat from electrical generating stations is transferred to cooling water obtained from local water bodies such as a river, lake, or ocean. - Large amounts of water are used to keep the sink temperature as low as possible to maintain a high thermal efficiency. - The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station between Los Angeles and San Diego, California, for example, has two main reactors that have a total operating capacity of 2,200 megawatts. - These reactors circulate a total of 2,400 million gallons per day of ocean water at a flow rate of 830,000 gallons per minute for each unit. - The cooling water enters the station from two intake structures located 3,000 feet offshore in water 32 feet deep. - The water is heated to approximately 19 degrees Fahrenheit above ambient as it flows through the condensers and is released back into the ocean through a series of diffuser -type releasers that have a series of sixty-three exit pipes spread over a distance of 2,450 feet. - The released water is rapidly mixed with ambient seawater by the diffusers and the average rise in temperature after mixing is less than 2 degrees Fahrenheit.

Kemper Jenkins Source 1: "Some Facts on Automobiles and the Environment ." __Transportation and Air Quality__. 2007. www.Bing.com. 3 Dec 2009 . Car Pollution In 1987,cars averaged 29.5 miles to the gallon. Fuel efficiency dropped to 24.6 miles per gallon by 1998 and dropped farther as larger vehicles replaced smaller vehicles. - US emissions of greenhouse gases increased to 7 billion tons of CO2 in 2004, 16% higher than the emissions in the late 90s. Proportion of air pollutants from on road motor vehicles: - Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) 34% precursor to ground level ozone (smog) damages respiratory system and injures plants - Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) 34% precursor to ground level ozone, also damages the respiratory system and injures plants. - Carbon monoxide (CO) 51%, contributes to smog production; poisonous in high concentrations - Particulate matter (PM10) 10% does not include dust from paved and unpaved roads which are the major source of particulate matter - Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 33% one of the primary contributors to global warming

- Runoff of oil, dirt, brake dust, deposited vehicle exhaust, road particles, automotive fluids, and chemicals from roadways and parking lots are causing water pollution - One EPA ( Environmental Protection Agency) researcher estimated the amount of oil and grease runoff from roads surfaces to be in the hundreds of thousands of tons per year - One quart of motor oil can contaminate a million gallons of fresh water - The US EPA estimates 13.4% of used motor oil is illegally dumped, while another 10.1% is in landfills

Source 2: Wang, M.Q. GREET 1.5a Spreadsheet Model. Argonne, IL: Argonne National Laboratory. [|www.transportation.anl.gov/software/GREET/] (17 Feb. 2006).

- an average household with two medium sized sedans emits more than 20,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year - SUVs emit more global warming pollution than smaller cars, as much as 40% more exhaust - a gallon of gasoline weighs over six pounds, when burned, the carbon in it combines with the oxygen to produce about 19 pounds of CO2, plus the energy that went in to making and distributing the fuel, the total global warming pollution is about 25 pounds of CO2 per gallon - An average car that gets 21 mpg and is driven about 30 miles a day uses 1.4 gallons daily and emits 35.7 pounds of CO2 every day, that is a lot if you add that to all the millions cars across the country - heat trapping pollution from cars and trucks can stay in the atmosphere for several decades to a century, for example some emissions from Ford’s 1912 Model T’s are still up in the atmosphere today - our cars in 2005 go fewer miles on a gallon than our 1980 vehicles

Taylor Perkins Cooper, M. H. (2000, March 3). Energy and the environment. //CQ Researcher//, //10// , 161-184. Retrieved December 2, 2009, from CQ Researcher Online, []
 * petroleum, coal, and natural gas emit pollutents when burned including nitrogen oxides, sulfer oxides, and volatile organic compounds
 * causes smog in heavy industrial and traffic areas
 * coal causes acid rain
 * vehicles are found to contribute most air pollutants
 * automakers required to fit new vehicles with catalytic converters
 * catalytic converters trap smog before they can escape into the atomosphere
 * oil refiners required to sell cleaner burning gas in regions with the worst area pollution
 * exsessive emissions of carbon dioxide and other green house gasses by fossil fuel burning vehicles and industries cause potentially devastating warming of earth's atmoshere

__MTBE in Fuels__. July 10, 2008 US EPA. December 3, 2009 [].
 * auto emissions contribute so heavily both ground level smog and greenhouse gas levels
 * to reduce airpollution in big cities with worst air pollution petroleum rifineries added methykl tertiary buty ether (MTBE) boast oxygen content of fuel.
 * MTBE is chemical compound manufactured in large quantities made by chemical reaction of mehtanol and isobutylene.
 * MTBE raises oxygen content in gasoline
 * most promising non polluting energy source for vehicles is hydrogen fuel cell
 * emits only heat and water
 * vegetable oils such as soybean and rapesseed oils have been used in regualar diesel vehicles.
 * animal fats work but are more expensive.
 * used oils from fast food restaurants can work the same way
 * walking or cycling cut green house gases down dramatically reducing global warming
 * if changes are made in the waythe US moves about and trasporting our goods, global warming can be reduced at a very high rate
 * hybrid cars get double gas mileage
 * hybrid cars reduce harmful emissions that reduce global warming.

Facts About Marine Pollution. State of California Department of Boating and Waterways. December 6, 2009 [].
 * Millions of boaters discard more than 400,000 tons of garbage every year into coastal waters
 * a large part of this garbage is plastic
 * plastic is not biodegradable
 * every year thousands of fish, birds, and even sea lions die because of plastic six pack holders around their necks
 * spills during boat fueling are major contributers to gas and oil pollution of our waterways
 * marine engines with inefficient design dicharges unburned fuel into the air and water
 * woodpreservatives, hull cleaners,paint thinners and antifreeze are some toxic chemicals boaters use
 * use bio-degratable detergent to dispose of these products


 * carburated and electronic injection two-strok engines are considerd high-emission engines
 * most of these engines were manufactured prior to 1999
 * they can emit up to 25-30% of it's fuel unburned into the water and atmosphere
 * direct injection two-stroke engines are considerd clean imission engines
 * these hve been made since 1999
 * proper vessel disposal is a vital part of clean and responsable boating
 * there are several hazards associated with old vessels including used oils, solvent and used batteries
 * to abandon or sink a vessel to dispose of it, poses as and envromental and navigational hazard on state waterways
 * this is also illeagal and punishment can be a fine up to $150

Sam Norris:

Billitteri, Thomas. "High-Speed Trains." __CQ researcher__. May 1, 2009. CQ press. Dec. 2, 2009 <Online>.
 * Source 1 **

Notes –

Cons –
 * In California, the addition to the new high-speed train system could reduce the states CO2 emissions but 12 billion pounds each year.
 * It would reduce foreign oil dependence by nearly 13 million barrels a year in California
 * It would save nearly $13.8 billion just in California due to the reduction of car accidents and air pollution.
 * High-speed trains spew less volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide than cars and airplanes.
 * Spew less nitrous oxide than cars per passenger mile.
 * Produce ½ carbon emissions of airplanes and 1/6 that of cars.
 * Need 1/3 as much energy per passenger mile as airplanes and cars.
 * It is better than making new roads and airports for travel and having to rehabilitate them every time they need maintenance. The environmental destruction for doing this would be far greater than putting in the rail system.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',helvetica,sans-serif;">As the planet steadily runs our of its supply of fossil fuels, gas prices will go up, making airplane tickets will go up as well. THis will make it so our reliance for cars and planes for travel will be reduced and we will rely on the rail system more heavily as our form of travel.

"Hydrogen Power." // Issues & Controversies On File: // n. pag. // Issues & Controversies //. Facts On File News Services, 16 Jan. 2004. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. <http://www.2facts.com/article/i0900070>. Notes – · Hydrogen would reduce the United states dependence on foreign oil · Substantially reduce the emission of air pollutants and green house gases that produce global warming. Cons – · Developing the hydrogen fuel cells produce pollution that negates the environmental benefits of having the hydrogen fuel cells in vehicles. (by the time we can make it so that hydrogen fuel cells can be mass produced in cars and busses, the technology will have improved to the point where it will not be as expensive as buying a hydrogen fuel celled car today) __Fuel Efficiency__. 1997-2009 IATA. Dec. 4, 2009 <http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/environment/fuel_efficiency.htm>.
 * The “embedded costs” such as the carbon emissions have laying the track and leveling the ground. (this would produce emissions but in the long run, the amount of energy the train saves would be more than emissions put out by the laying of the track)
 * If railcars bring the coal the plants the make the electricity used to power the high-speed trains, there isn’t much of a point to having the trains. (we don’t necessarily need to use coal to burn and make the electricity. We could use renewable resources such as hydro electric power or we could also use nuclear energy which is very clean)
 * Over the term when the rail project is being constructed, cars and planes will be 20 percent more efficient making the payback period for the trains 25 years. This makes it so that the trains will save almost no energy at all. The payback period is only if the rider rate is very high for those 25 years. (if we had high-speed trains, there would most likely be high rider rate for that 25 years because they are going to be popular with travelers that need to get from one place to another in a short period of time. They will also be popular because who wouldn’t want to ride on a high-speed train in the United States.)
 * Source 2 **
 * Source 3 **

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,Arial,Helvetica;">__Krystal Enterpirises Hybrid Bus__. 2009 Krystal enterprises. Dec. 6, 2009 <http://www.krystal.cc/hybridbus.html>.
 * New aircraft are 70% more fuel efficient that 40 years ago and are 20% more efficient than 10 years ago.
 * Aimed at 25% more fuel efficiency by 2020
 * Modern aircraft have a fuel efficiency of 3.5 liters per 100 passenger km.
 * The A380 and the Boeing 787 get 3 liters per 100 passenger km which is better than a compact car.
 * Every kg of fuel saved CO2 emissions by 3.6 kg.
 * Airlines have improved their fuel efficiency by 3.1% since 2006
 * Airlines are setting a goal for reducing their CO2 commissions (per revenue tonne kilometer) by 25% by 2020.

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,Arial,Helvetica;">__Liguid Propane Injection__. 2009 Creative Bus Sales. Dec. 6, 2009 <http://www.creativebussales.com/alternative_fuels_buses/propane_alternative_fuels_bus.html>. <span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS,Arial,Helvetica;">__CNG Bus__. Clean Air Initiative in Latin American Cities. Dec. 6, 2009 <http://www.cleanairnet.org/infopool/1411/article-33906.html>.
 * hybrid buses save between 35 to 60 percent of fuel compared to regular shuttle buses.
 * * propane powered buses show a 25% decrease in green house gas emissions.

COmpressed natural gas buses Cons - All of these things can be solved or reduced with advancements in technology.
 * closed fuel system means that the refueling emissions are negligible and there are no evaporative emissions
 * cold start emissions are low because cold start enrichment is not required
 * Compressed natural gas buses have 60% to 90% less particulate matter emissions
 * CNG buses have 25% to 86% less nitrogen oxide emissions
 * CNG buses have 52% to 84% less carbon monoxide emissions
 * green house gas emissions seem to be similar to those of regular diesel engine buses even tho CNG buses produce more methane (which is a more potent green house gas
 * high capital cost and a lack of refueling infrastructure. (these may be reduced with an increase in market penetration.)
 * CNG is harder to store and distribute
 * Buses have a shorter driving range
 * there is a longer refueling time
 * there is backfire in the inlet manifold.

Colin Shields

Chertow, Marian R. "Environmental pollution." //World Book Advanced//. World Book, 2009. Web. 3 Dec. 2009.

- Transportation is the largest single source of air pollution in the United States - It causes over of the Carbon Monoxide, over a third of the nitrogen oxides, and almost a quarter of the hydrocarbons in our atmosphere - These chemical compounds which are emitted cars, trucks, refineries, gas pumps, and related sources have been linked to birth defects, cancer, and other serious illnesses - The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the air toxics emitted from cars and trucks account for half of all cancers caused by air pollution - The transportation sector currently accounts for over a quarter of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions - Each year about 3 million people die each year that is caused by air pollution - Air pollution occurs when types of transportation and industries release large amounts of gas and particles into the air that natural processes can no longer keep the atmosphere in balance - There are two types of air pollution: Outdoor and Indoor - Air pollution can cause a change in the worldwide climate - Each year hundreds of millions of tons of gases and particles go into the atmosphere - Some air pollutants have reduced the capacity of the atmosphere to filter out the suns harmful ultraviolet radiation - The lack of control on automobile emission in Western Europe has contributed to very bad damage to the forests there - The Clean Air Act of 1970 set strict for air quality and emissions - Since 1970 California has set the strictest standards for motor-vehicle emissions - Between 1970 and 1997, federal regulation has resulted in a 98% reduction in lead emission - Also during the time period of 1970-1997, pollution of dust particles has decreased by 75% - Pollution by sulfur dioxide has decreased by 35% - Carbon dioxide and ozone emissions have both decreased by more than 30% - Nitrogen oxide emissions has deceased by only 10% - Soil pollution happens when soil becomes contained with harmful substances - Nitrogen oxide also makes acid rain when it mixes with water in clouds – this causes damage to wildlife and plant life - Pollution from transportation puts around 1,200 people in the hospital every year

||