Course APES Video # Video 14.

01: Risk and Toxicology

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

Risk - The probability -​ Risk = Harm x Exposure

of sustaining harm -​ Risk assessment:
from a hazard that -​ 1. What is the hazard?
may cause injury or -​ 2. How likely is this event?
disease, economic -​ 3. What damage can this cause?
loss, or -​ Risk management:
environmental -​ 1. Comparative risk analysis
damage -​ 2. If (at all) the risk needs reduction
-​ 3. Methods for reduction
Toxicity - the degree -​ 4. Cost analysis
of harm -​ Types of hazards:
-​ Cultural (e.g. poverty, unsafe sex, driving, drinking, drugs,
Mithridatism - smoking, unsafe working conditions, etc.)
Intentional exposure -​ Chemical (e.g. food, soil, water, airborne chemicals)
to toxins as an -​ Physical (natural disasters, radiation)
attempt to develop -​ Biological (snakes, allergens, pathogen)
immunity -​ Environmental (exposures to pollution, pesticides, skin
cancer, cooking fires, smoking, malnutrition)
-​ Toxicity:
-​ Dose
-​ Size
-​ Frequency
-​ Who’s exposed
-​ Body function efficiency
-​ Genetic makeup of that affected individual
-​ Solubility
-​ Persistence
-​ Some chemicals are resistant to being broke down
-​ Bioaccumulation and biomagnification
-​ Accumulate in fatty tissues / organs -
bioaccumulation
-​ Magnified accumulated - biomagnification
-​ Chemical interactions
-​ Antagonistic
 -​ Synergistic
-​ Response:
-​ Acute (immediate reaction, like a rash or dizziness or
death)
-​ Chronic (like liver or kidney damage)

Note: Know how to determine the LD50 for a hypothetical dose (via a
graph. Find y = 50).

Summary

The risk and toxicity of something depends on many factors, and the resulting impact (toxicity)
can be measured in several ways. Risk and toxicity have their own separate methods of
measurement and scaling, and different methods of management.

Course APES Video # Video 14.02: Chemical Hazards

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

Mutagens - Chemicals -​ The lower the LD50, the more dangerous/toxic a chemical is
or environmental -​ Hazardous chemicals cause harm by:
factors that induce -​ Provocation of allergic reactions
changes in DNA -​ Interruption of oxygen uptake
-​ Irritation of lungs or skin
Carcinogens -
-​ Being explosive or flammable
Compounds that
-​ Ultraviolet radiation can damage DNA by changing a CC
promote malignant
growth of cells called sequence into a TT
tumors -​ Teratogens:
-​ Heavy metals
Teratogens - -​ Steroid hormones
Chemicals that cause -​ Alcohol
physical birth defects -​ Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
during gestation -​ Medications
(pregnancy) -​ Fun fact, Thalidomide was used for morning sickness but it was
actually horrible for birth defects
Neurotoxins - -​ Symptoms of neurotoxin exposure:
Chemicals that -​ Weakness or paralysis
disrupt the -​ Altered sensations, tingling, and numbness
transmission of -​ Headaches, memory, and concentration problems
chemical signals -​ Loss of vision
between neurons -​ Depression
-​ Uncontrollable obsessive-compulsive behaviors
-​ Sexual dysfunction
-​ Confusion
-​ Personality changes
-​ HAAs:
-​ Estrogen mimics
-​ Androgen mimics
-​ Testosterone blockers
-​ Thyroid disruptors

Summary

The lower the LD50, the more dangerous/toxic a chemical is. Different chemicals cause
different effects.
 Course APES Video # Video 14.03: Biological Hazards
Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

Transmissible diseases: -​ About transmissible and non-transmissible diseases

can be spread from -​ About hazards of infectious diseases and global epidemics
person to person, -​ Non-transmissible diseases:
caused by living things -​ Asthma
-​ Cancers
-​ Malnutrition
-​ Emphysema
-​ Diabetes
-​ Pathogen spreaders:
-​ Insects
-​ Bodily fluids
-​ Water
-​ Food
-​ Air
-​ Antibiotics are good, but too much antibiotics are bad, because
then some diseases start adapting to the antibiotics.
-​ Viral diseases:
-​ Flu
-​ Ebola
-​ West Nile
-​ HIV/AIDS
-​ Sometimes antibiotics aren’t needed, they can make things
worse
-​ Epidemics are localized outbreaks, pandemics are more
devastating and larger
-​ Nine deadliest viruses:
-​ Ebola
-​ Marburg
-​ Rabies
-​ HIV
-​ Smallpox
-​ Hantavirus
-​ Influenza
-​ Dengue
-​ Rotavirus
 -​ Risk is increasing due to seven factors:
-​ Urbanization and population density growth
-​ New environments
-​ Climate change
-​ International travel
-​ Civil unrest
-​ Weak healthcare systems
-​ Rapid spread of misinformation

Summary

Transmissible and non-transmissible diseases are both dangerous. Antibiotics are often used
to fight diseases, but sometimes people use them even when not needed, or use them to the
excess. This is bad.

Course APES Video # Video 14.04: Risk Analysis

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ Risk Analysis:
-​ Risk assessment (identifying specific hazards and their
affiliated risks)
-​ Comparative risk analysis (ranking risks determined)
-​ Risk management (analyzing options)
-​ Risk communication (educating decision-makers on the
risks)
-​ Method 1: Cost-benefit analysis: compares the short or
long-term benefits or risks to using or foregoing a certain
chemical or technology
-​ A risk is acceptable if the benefits outweigh the costs
-​ Method 2: Expressed preferences, survey to see how many
people are willing to do it
 -​ Method 3: Natural standards, acceptable risks
-​ Method 4: Revealed preferences, new risk is also acceptable as
long as it's not worse than the current conditions
-​ Environmental risks:
-​ Air pollution and climate change
-​ Deforestation
-​ Species extinction
-​ Soil degradation
-​ Overpopulation
-​ Human reliability x Technology reliability = System reliability %
-​ Human reliability is low, unpredictable; technological reliability
is high
-​ Too much of something can kill you. Even too much water can
kill you. If you drink too much water too fast, your body goes
into a state of hyponatremia. Essentially, your body’s normal
electrolyte levels become too dilute, and you can die.
-​

Summary

Risk is different from every point of view, and most humans don’t recognize risk correctly.

Course APES Video # Video 15.01: Atmosphere and Ozone

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

CFCs and BFCs are -​ Troposphere: 75-80% of the air of the Earth, and we live there
extremely stable -​ Troposphere (0-12 km) -> Stratosphere (50 km) -> Mesosphere
organohalogen (50-80 km) -> Thermosphere (80-700 km) -> Exosphere
compounds that easily (700-10,000 km)
survive ascension to -​ 95% of the harmful UVB rays of sun are stopped by the ozone
the stratosphere where -​ Ozone gives the greenhouse effects and heats the Earth
UV light slowly breaks
-​ The ozone chemical:
them apart.
-​ Discovered in 1913 by GH Dobson
-​ First measured using the Dobson developed
spectrophotometer
-​ Each molecule of chlorine or bromine is capable of ripping apart
more than 100,000 molecules of ozone
-​ Organohalogen breakdown factors:
-​ Low winter temperatures
-​ Formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs)
-​ PSCs are composed of hydrated nitric acids, sulfuric
acids, and exist in both liquid and solid form.
-​ The ozone hole is the most prominent in Antarctica during the
coldest time of late winter to early spring (around September)
-​ Ozone layer destruction has resulted in decreased absorption
of radiation, including UVB
-​ Montreal Protocol: A treaty signed by 197 nations in 1987 to
solve the ozone depletion problem
-​ Ozone compromising substances:
-​ Bromine
-​ Chlorine
-​ Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
-​ Tropospheric ozone
-​ UV light enters atmosphere
-​ UV chemically reacts with air pollutants
-​ Tropospheric ozone is created
-​ Ozone at the Earth’s surface damages living tissues in
organisms, especially in plants and lungs
-​ Ozone exacerbates other conditions:
-​ Emphysema
-​ Bronchitis
-​ Heart disease
-​ Chest congestion
-​ Eye problems
-​ Asthma
-​ Tropospheric ozone:
-​ Fades paints, fibers, and dyes
-​ Degrades rubber
-​ Reducing fossil fuel combustion is the first step in reducing
tropospheric ozone
 Summary

Ozone, primarily located in the stratosphere, is very beneficial to our Earth. It keeps us warm,
and protects us from harmful UV radiation. However, ozone is better off up there, because if it
gets close to us, bad things can happen.

Course APES Video # Video 15.02: Air Pollutants

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

Photochemical smog: -​ Air pollution natural sources:

- A mixture of both -​ Forest fires
primary and -​ Volcanic eruptions
secondary pollutants. -​ Air pollution urban sources:
- More than 100 -​ Factories and power plants
chemicals. -​ Cars and buses
- The primary -​ Primary pollutant: A potentially harmful form of a chemical
component is emitted directly into the troposphere
photochemical ozone -​ Classes of air pollutants:
-​ Carbon
-​ Sulfur
-​ Nitrogen oxides
-​ Volatile organic compounds (VOCs):
-​ Methane
-​ Propane
-​ Chlorofluorocarbons
-​ Suspended partciulate matter (SPM)
-​ Sulfate salts
-​ Nitrate
-​ Lead
-​ Asbestos
-​ Soot and dust
-​ Photochemical oxidants
-​ Ozone
-​ Peroxyacyl nitrates (PANs)
-​ Hydrogen peroxide
-​ Aldehydes
-​ Radioactive substances:
-​ Plutonium-239
-​ Uranium-238
-​ Radon-222
-​ Iodine-131
-​ Strontium-90
-​ Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs):
-​ Carbon tetrachloride
-​ Methyl chloride
-​ Chloroform
-​ Benzene
-​ Ethylene
-​ Dibromide
-​ Formaldehyde
-​ Primary Photochemical Pollutants:
-​ Carbon monoxide
-​ Nitrogen dioxide
-​ Sulfur dioxide
-​ Particulate matter
-​ Lead
-​ Ozone
-​ Carbon monoxide (CO):
-​ Comes primarily from incomplete combustion of
fossil fuels
-​ 75 to 95% comes from motor vehicles
-​ Nitrogen dioxide (NO2):
-​ Comes from motor vehicles and power plants
-​ Gives smog its brownish color
-​ Sulfur dioxide (SO2):
-​ Comes from fossil fuels containing sulfur, like oil
and coal
-​ Causes acid rain
-​ H2SO4 (sulfuric acid) damages exposed biomes
-​ Particulate matter (PM):
-​ Any droplet or aerosol that remains suspended in
the atmosphere
-​ Causes haze, dust, and smoke
-​ Lead (Pb):
 -​ A solid, toxic metal
-​ Released into the atmosphere primarily as
particulate matter only
-​ Causes nervous system damage and brain
damage in children
-​ Tropospheric ozone (O3):
-​ A secondary pollutant formed through a
photochemical reaction
-​ A primary component of photochemical smog and
highly reactive
-​ Ozone and free oxygen atoms can react with
VOCs to produce aldehydes
-​ Nitrogen dioxide, oxygen, and hydrocarbons of the
VOCs react to produce peroxyacyl nitrates (PANs)
-​ Sulfur dioxide, a primary pollutant, travels up to and
reacts in the atmosphere to form secondary pollutants

Summary

Air pollutants are everywhere, all over the atmosphere.

Course APES Video # Video 15.03: Photochemical Smog

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

Photochemical smog: - -​ Tropospheric ozone (O3):

- formed by the mixture -​ Formed when VOCs and nitrous oxide react in the
of both primary and presence of UV light and oxygen gas
secondary pollutants -​ Clean Air Act of 1970:
- formed from reactions
-​ Set emissions standards for automobiles and industry
between primary
-​ Amended 1977 and 1990
pollutants and sunlight -​ Industrial Smog
-​ The sulfur dioxide and soot particulate compounds
Industrial smog: dissolve in the water of fog to form acid rain
- formed from sulfur -​ Toxic sulfur compounds are released from burning or
dioxide and soot
smelting oil, coal, and metal ore
particulates from
-​ Urban area smog and health factors:
burning coal and oil
-​ Fuels used
Temperature Inversion: -​ Industrial sources
when a layer of warm -​ Population density
air sits above a layer of -​ Topography
cooler air closer to the -​ Regional climate
ground, and the cooler -​ Shape of land
air is denser and -​ Pollution density reduction, two factors:
heavier, which does not -​ Precipitation cleanses air and coagulating pollutants and
mix with the warm, less bringing them to the ground
dense air above
-​ Wind dilutes and replaces pollutants with fresh air
-​ Emissions carried on winds:
Subsidence Inversion:
when a large mass of -​ Sulfur dioxide from Ohio Valley industrial plants that blow
warm air at a high into Southeastern Canada
altitude moves on top -​ Acidic deposition from China that makes its way to Japan
of a region of cooler air, and Korea
this traps the cooler air, -​ Emissions carried on winds factors:
and pollutants near the -​ Wind interference from urban buildings
ground -​ Mountains and hills
-​ Warmer temperatures that contribute to the chemical
Radiation Inversion: reactions
when surface air cools
-​ Heart islands: Urban infrastructure absorbs the sun’s heat,
faster than the air just
increasing temperatures that would normally be mediated by
above it, leaving a layer
of warm air to trap the vegetation
cooler ground-level air
and pollutants beneath

Summary

Smog is really bad, it has killed people in the past; pollutants in the air can be dispersed in
several ways, but that doesn’t entirely remove the pollution from the Earth.
 Course APES Video # Video 15.03: Photochemical Smog
Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

Photochemical smog: - -​ Tropospheric ozone (O3):

- formed by the mixture -​ Formed when VOCs and nitrous oxide react in the
of both primary and presence of UV light and oxygen gas
secondary pollutants -​ Clean Air Act of 1970:
- formed from reactions
-​ Set emissions standards for automobiles and industry
between primary
-​ Amended 1977 and 1990
pollutants and sunlight
-​ Industrial Smog
Industrial smog: -​ The sulfur dioxide and soot particulate compounds
- formed from sulfur dissolve in the water of fog to form acid rain
dioxide and soot -​ Toxic sulfur compounds are released from burning or
particulates from smelting oil, coal, and metal ore
burning coal and oil -​ Urban area smog and health factors:
-​ Fuels used
Temperature Inversion: -​ Industrial sources
when a layer of warm -​ Population density
air sits above a layer of
-​ Topography
cooler air closer to the
-​ Regional climate
ground, and the cooler
air is denser and -​ Shape of land
heavier, which does not -​ Pollution density reduction, two factors:
mix with the warm, less -​ Precipitation cleanses air and coagulating pollutants and
dense air above bringing them to the ground
-​ Wind dilutes and replaces pollutants with fresh air
Subsidence Inversion: -​ Emissions carried on winds:
when a large mass of -​ Sulfur dioxide from Ohio Valley industrial plants that blow
warm air at a high into Southeastern Canada
altitude moves on top -​ Acidic deposition from China that makes its way to Japan
of a region of cooler air,
and Korea
this traps the cooler air,
-​ Emissions carried on winds factors:
and pollutants near the
ground -​ Wind interference from urban buildings
-​ Mountains and hills
Radiation Inversion: -​ Warmer temperatures that contribute to the chemical
when surface air cools reactions
faster than the air just -​ Heart islands: Urban infrastructure absorbs the sun’s heat,
above it, leaving a layer increasing temperatures that would normally be mediated by
of warm air to trap the vegetation
cooler ground-level air
and pollutants beneath

Summary

Smog is really bad, it has killed people in the past; pollutants in the air can be dispersed in
several ways, but that doesn’t entirely remove the pollution from the Earth.

Course APES Video # Video 15.04: Acid Deposition

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

Acid rain: A mixture -​ Acid rain doesn’t have to be rain (it could be clouds, fog, etc.)
of acidic substances -​ Industrial plants: Smokestacks are intended to be tall enough to
forming in the release pollutants above a possible inversion layer
atmosphere and -​ Raiden pH
descending as -​ Normally pH 5.6
precipitation -​ With pollution added pH is 4.2 to 4.7 (10 times more
acidic)
-​ Eastern Forest pH:
-​ Dew and fog that settles in the forests have a pH 2.3
(1,000 times more acidic)
-​ About as acidic as a lemon
-​ Neutral pH:
-​ The concentration of hydrogen and hydroxyl ions are
equal
-​ Represented by 7 on the logarithmic scale
-​ A one unit change represents a tenfold change in
 hydrogen concentrations
-​ Neutralizing Soils: The hydrogen ions of the acid precipitations
are buffered when filtered through limestone or calcium
carbonate containing rocks
-​ Regions sensitive to acid deposition:
-​ Lack neutralizing soils, or comprised mainly of granite
-​ Soil capacity to buffer has been depleted to acidic
deposition
-​ Health effects of acid deposition:
-​ Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are lung irritants
-​ Metal salts from soil can make their way into crops
-​ Toxic metals may be lixiviated from pipes in drinking
water
-​ Aquatic systems, soils, and plants all suffer damage when the
pH falls below 6, and especially below 5
-​ Aquatic system acid shock: occurs after a sudden runoff of
aluminum ions and low pH waters into lakes and streams
-​ Chronic acidity: monitoring the waters of the Adirondacks,
Catskills, and Appalachian mountains show increased sulfate
and nitrate ions
-​ Calcium carbonate:
-​ Found in limestone
-​ Alkaline pH 9.9
-​ Can be expensive
-​ A temporary fix
-​ Kills some aquatic plants and plankton
-​ Quantity unknown
-​ Acid deposition: Needles and leaves are directly damaged,
these detriments reduce productivity and the soil’s buffering
abilities
-​ Acid deposition:
-​ Reacts to mobilize toxic mercury, cadmium, and lead
-​ Encourages the growth of ericaceous or calcifuge plants
and mosses
-​ Weakens trees
-​ Reduction solutions:
-​ Improve energy efficiency
-​ A marked reduction in carbon-based fuel use
-​ Reduce our dependence on all nonrenewable resources
-​ Increase standards for removing pollution from industrial
emissions

Summary
 Acid rain, the mixture of acidic substances formed in the atmosphere then descended as
precipitation, is bad for living things.

Course APES Video # Video 15.05: Indoor Air Pollution

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ Fine particles containing toxins like cadmium and lead can be

60% higher indoors
-​ Air pollution inside cars can be 18 times higher than the air
outside the car
-​ There are at least 11 highly toxic chemicals off-gassing into
many living and work spaces
-​ Tetrachloroethylene
-​ This chemical is linked to kidney and liver damage, nerve
disorders, and cancers
-​ Para-dichlorobenzene
-​ Cancer is a direct threat from chronic exposure to this
chemical
-​ Chloroform
-​ Produced when chlorine-treated water is heated to high
temperatures, this chemical is also linked to cancer
-​ Trichloroethane
-​ Cause dizziness and irregular breathing, has been
phased out by the Montreal Protocol
-​ Nitrogen oxides
-​ Can cause headaches, frequent colds in children and can
irritate lungs
-​ Asbestos
-​ Lung disease and lung cancers result from chronic
exposure
-​ Carbon monoxide
 -​ Inhaling this odorless chemical can result in headaches,
irregular heartbeats, drowsiness, and in extreme cases,
even death
-​ Methylene chloride
-​ Could cause nerve disorders and diabetes
-​ Formaldehyde
-​ Can cause dizziness, nausea, and irritations to skin,
lungs, throat, and eyes
-​ Benzopyrene (wood stoves and tobacco smoke)
-​ Directly linked to lung cancer, heart disease, and
respiratory illness
-​ Styrene
-​ Can cause liver and kidney damage
-​ Radon-222
-​ Emit radioactive particles and can also pollute the water
supply and cause lung cancer
-​ Because people typically spend 70-80% of their time indoors, or
in cars, the risks of indoor air pollution are magnified
-​ Sick building syndrome: When new furniture, floor coverings,
and electronic equipment off-gas into a closed environment
-​ Sick building syndrome is connected to:
-​ Headaches
-​ Chronic fatigue
-​ Flu-like symptoms
-​ Burning eyes
-​ Nausea
-​ Sneezing and coughing
-​ Dizziness
-​ Indoor air pollutants:
-​ The top three most devastating indoor air pollutants are:
-​ Formaldehyde
-​ Tobacco smoke
-​ Radon-222
-​ 4.3 million deaths per year from indoor air pollution
-​ Chronic conditions arise from:
-​ Particulates resulting from incense and candles
-​ Improper ventilation which can increase levels of carbon
monoxide and radon gas
-​ Irritating perfumes, harsh cleaners, office or craft supplies
(paints, toner ink, and glues)
-​ Other indoor pollutants:
-​ Allergens (dust mites, pet dander, pollen, and mold)
-​ Building materials that contain formaldehyde, lead, or
 asbestos
-​ Reducing indoor air pollution:
-​ Preventative steps you can take today to help mitigate
the effects of harmful pollutants, as detailed by the EPA
-​ Cover your AC duct lining and ceiling tiles to
prevent mineral fibers and particulate pollution
-​ Avoid smoking indoors, or better yet, quit
altogether and encourage others to do the same
-​ Test your home for radon, and possibly prevent
infiltration with repairs to foundation and wall
cracks
-​ Use office machines and craft supplies in
well-ventilated areas
-​ Remove carpeting if possible to eliminate harmful
chemical off-gassing of formaldehydes and
particulate pollution
-​ Leave shoes at the door to prevent tracking in
pesticides, allergens, and other pollutants
-​ Use non-polluting substitutes for cleaning
-​ Minimize the user of air fresheners and scented
products
-​ Dust surfaces and vacuum often to avoid
particulate accumulation
-​ Steps in cleanup and dilution:
-​ Increasing outdoor air intake
-​ Circulating air through a rooftop garden
-​ Using well-maintained exhaust hoods
-​ Petition companies and the government to set
stricter standards in production
-​ Cleanup and dilution type of thinking follows the tenets
of:
-​ Shifting to more sustainable forms of energy use
-​ Sharing this mindset and technology with
developing countries

Summary
 Indoors, there can be pollution as well. Various things that we commonly do can cause
pollution, and many of these things are harmful to our wellbeing.

Course APES Video # Video 15.06: Prevention and Solutions

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ Clean Air Act (1970):

-​ Ambient air quality permissible levels of outdoor air:
-​ Primary standards to protect human health and
has lower allowable levels
-​ Secondary standards to prevent property and
environmental damage
-​ 25% cut in ground-level ozone since 1980, reduction of
mercury emissions by 45% since 1990, and a reduction of
sulfur dioxide by 71% and nitrogen dioxide by 46% since
1980
-​ Shortcomings:
-​ Mitigations over prevention: The largest air
pollutant drop occurred between 1970 - 2000,
with a 98% drop in atmospheric lead levels
-​ Poor fuel efficiency for vehicles: If all new vehicles
included the most efficient engines available, the
change would improve air quality more rapidly
-​ Regulating two-stroke motors: One hour on a
jet-ski emits more pollution than the average car
does in a year
-​ Inadequate enforcement of CO2 emissions:
Companies and corporations have insisted that
making reductions or implementing changes
would cost too much, hurt economic growth, or
cost jobs
 -​ Pollution marketing: 1990 amendment to the
Clean Air Act grants polluting power plants to buy
and sell sulfur dioxide polluting rights. The
company can decide to:
-​ Produce exactly the allowable amount of
pollution
-​ Produce pollution in excess of the
allowable amount and face fines
-​ Sell extra credits to environmental groups,
private citizens, or other utilities
-​ Roll them over for future user
-​ User them against extra SO2 pollution from
their other facilities
-​ Pros of pollution marketing: Allows the
marketplace to determine the cheapest and most
efficient method
-​ Cons of pollution marketing: Gives incentives to
cheat the system because measuring is imprecise,
incomplete, and mostly self-monitored. Older
facilities can buy their way out rather than be
forced to restructure.
-​ Reducing outdoor air pollution:
-​ Adding equipment to remove particulates after
combustion
-​ Taxing emissions
-​ Dispersing pollutants with tall smoke stacks
-​ Prevention
-​ Reducing emissions of particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and
sulfur oxides from point source polluters include
-​ Burning low-sulfur coals
-​ Removing sulfur from coal before burning it
-​ Converting coal to a liquid or gaseous fuel
-​ Shifting to less polluting fuels
-​ Removing particulate from exhaust is a popular strategy with:
-​ Power plants
-​ Steel mills
-​ Pharmaceutical producers
-​ Food manufacturers
-​ Chemical producers
-​ Industrial companies
-​ Methods for removing particulates vary based on the type and
extent of pollutants:
-​ Electrostatic precipitator
 -​ Baghouse filter
-​ Cyclone separator
-​ Wet scrubber
-​ ESP’s are used in thermal and steam power plants to remove fly
ash from electric utility boiler emissions
-​ Baghouse filter:
-​ An air cleaner that also removed particles of dust from
gas exhaust, but is 99% efficient even with small particle
size
-​ Cyclone Separator
-​ A pre-cleaning separation device, often paid with other
air cleaners, that uses inertia to remove particulate
matter 10 micrometers and larger
-​ Does not require liquid, filters, or other media
-​ Wet Scrubber
-​ An extremely effective air pollution control device for
removing gasses and particles from industrial exhaust
streams
-​ The liquid must be disposed of, which is a major
disadvantage to this device
-​ Used in:
-​ Large power plants
-​ Asphalt plants
-​ Steel mills
-​ Fertilizer plants
-​ Acid plants
-​ There still remain significant quantities of sulfur and nitrous
oxides that enter the atmosphere, causing photochemical
smogs and acid deposition
-​ Photochemical smog occurs in areas with cars that do not have
catalytic converters and in countries without
air-pollution-related laws
-​ Emissions Reduction
-​ Use alternative fuel
-​ Use public transit, bicycles, and walking
-​ Government support and tax incentives
-​ Restrict driving in more polluted areas
-​ Efficient emission control devices and stricter exhaust
standards

Summary
 Our world needs cleaner air, and there have been certain procedures taken to achieve such a
goal. There are many different methods.

Course APES Video # Video 16.01: Natural Climate Cycles

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

Global warming: an -​ Three primary factors:

increase in the average -​ The sun, the oceans, the atmosphere
temperatures of the -​ Albedo, radiative forcing, milankovitch cycles, solar output,
Earth ocean circulation: natural processes that influence the earth’s
climate
Albedo: the ratio of -​ Greenhouse gasses (GHG’s):
solar energy -​ Water vapor
re-radiated to the -​ Carbon dioxide
total energy received -​ Methane
-​ Nitrous oxide
Aerosols: any -​ Ozone
microscopic particles -​ Halocarbons in the form of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
and droplets that are -​ Radiative forcings are expressed in watts per square meter
introduced to the (W/m^2)
atmosphere -​ Milankovitch three cycles:
-​ Eccentricity: the shape of Earth’s orbit (every 100,000
Greenhouse gasses: years, the Earth’s orbit fluctuates between more or less
naturally occurring elliptical
atmospheric gasses -​ Obliquity: the Earth’s tilt relative to the sun (degree of the
that absorb and tilt is slowly decreasing)
reflect that radiation -​ Precession: How much the Earth wobbles on its axis
-​ Milankovitch cycles can modify the atmospheric archetype of
Radiative Forcing: heating and cooling, triggering swings and variations like
GHG’s unique glaciations and interglaciations
warming potential in -​ El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO): shift ocean circulation in
their ability to the tropical Pacific, significantly impacting sea surface
contribute to the temperatures and weather and atmospheric pressures
greenhouse effect worldwide

Climate Forcings:
Various factors and
atmospheric
components
influence the
effective radiative
forcing of our
atmosphere, and shift
this equilibrium

Forcing: any change

exacted by a given
factor, positive
forcings warm the
earth; negative
forcings cool

Milankovitch cycles:
shape of the Earth’s
orbit which fluctuates
between more and
less elliptical

Summary

There are many possibilities to the reason for our global warming and odd climate change
pattern, but the most likely reason is that humans are affecting the atmosphere, not the
various natural events that occur at regular, controlled intervals.

Course APES Video # Video 16.02: Anthropogenic Effects on GHGs

Name and Name
Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ Global Warming Potential (GWP):

Radiative forcing: -​ The gasses’ absorption of infrared radiation
each particular type -​ The specific wavelengths of radiation along the
of gas has a different electromagnetic spectrum the molecule absorbs
ability to absorb and -​ The gasses’ atmospheric lifetime
radiate energy, the -​ The GWP of a gas is the relative ability of the greenhouse gas to
amount of contribute to global warming
atmospheric -​ Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, tropospheric ozone:
insulation each shown increase in recent years since 1700s
compound affords -​ Positive feedback loop: CO2 increase -> warmer atmosphere ->
warmer ocean -> less CO2 uptake -> CO2 increase
-​ Negative feedback loop: Increased CO2 -> Warmer atmosphere
-> More water vapor -> More cloud cover -> Increased Albedo
(cools the Earth) -> Warmer atmosphere
-​ Since 1750, CO2 levels have increased from 280 parts per
million to 411.1 parts per million (highest level in 800,000 and
very likely it is the highest it has been in 20 million years)
-​ The lithosphere is a massive carbon sink, but as we burn fossil
fuels, we just release all of the carbon from the lithosphere into
the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide
-​ Trees are sinks/reservoirs for CO2, but every time we cut down
a tree, there’s a two-fold effect: Not only can the tree no longer
take in more CO2, now the carbon dioxide it has been storing
as biomass is being reintroduced to the atmosphere
-​ Methane is released from:
-​ The extraction of fossil fuels
-​ Landfills
-​ Livestock
-​ Natural gas leaks
-​ Residence time in the atmosphere:
-​ CO2: 5-200 years
-​ N2O: 114 years
-​ Methane: 12 years
-​ Tropospheric ozone: 23-28 days
-​ Water vapor: 9 days
-​ Residence time of CFCs in the atmosphere:
-​ 11-20 years in the troposphere
-​ 110 years in the stratosphere
-​ Hydrofluorocarbons: 260 years
-​ Tetrafluoromethane (carbon tetrafluoride or
 perfluoromethane): 50,000 years

Summary

The video talks about the effect that humans have had on global warming, and the impactful
result from all of it, including our inability to fully cure the Earth unless we take proper action
and allow the course to right itself eventually.

Course APES Video # Video 16.03: Evidence of Climate Change

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

Thermal Expansion: the -​ Humans had started recording climate before 1880, the modern
tendency of matter to thermometer was invented in the 1700s
expand in response to -​ Proxy Indicators: Pieces of information that give us clues about
increase in temperature the paleoclimate and hard baseline data of the history of
atmospheric gasses, providing indirect evidence such as dust
content, methane concentrations, and abundance of oxygen
isotopes
-​ Evidences found in the trapped air within glaciers:
-​ Frequency of fires
-​ Solar activity
-​ Snowfall
-​ Temperature trends
-​ Greenhouse gas concentrations
-​ While climate change is anthropogenic, the beavers’ gradual
migration to the north is exacerbating the condition, causing
large chunks of permafrost to thaw.
-​ Permafrost has 2x as much carbon as what already exists in the
atmosphere
-​ Permafrost thawing could contribute 1.7 degrees Fahrenheit to
the Earth’s warming
 -​ Ice loss has doubled since the 1990s, accounting for a 4%
increase in sea level
-​ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
-​ Established in 1988 by the U.N. and the World
Meteorological Organization
-​ Comprised of government representatives and hundreds
of international scientists
-​ Publishes reports of global impacts due to climate
change
-​ Sixth assessment report in 2017:
-​ Documented observations of precipitation,
temperature, snow and ice cover, storm intensity,
and sea levels
-​ Predicted impacts on both ecosystems and
humans
-​ Discussed strategies in response to these
changes
-​ Thermal expansion of the ocean is the most important factor
contributing to an increase in sea level

Summary

We learn about the reasons and evidence behind sea level rises and our overall modern
climate change problems, which features thermal expansion, beavers, ice loss, etc.

Course APES Video # Video 16.04: Research Methods

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

Paleoclimatology: the -​ Paleoclimatology studies:

study of Earth’s -​ Rock sediment
climate over the -​ Ice sheets
entire course of -​ Tree rings
geologic time -​ Shells
-​ Corals
-​ Microfossils
-​ Ocean and Methane hydrates in the seafloor are the two carbon
or methane sinks that could generate such a massive change in
global atmospheric carbon
-​ Ocean temperature:
-​ As ocean temperatures rise, less CO2 is able to remain
dissolved
-​ Melting of sea ice intensifies this deposition as
previously trapped air bubbles are released
-​ Ocean Acidification:
-​ Results in the death of calcium-based organisms, like
coccolithophores
-​ As they die, ocean chemistry is altered and the surface
layer is shifted to discharge CO2
-​ Ocean warming and its subsequent stratification also reduces
the supply for nutrients to the euphotic layer, reducing the
production of plankton
-​ NOAA and NASA use more than 6,300 collecting stations to
analyze data on the changing conditions of the atmosphere,
land, and ocean
-​ Atmospheric Climate Variables:
-​ Air temperature
-​ Precipitation
-​ Solar radiation
-​ Air pressure
-​ Wind
-​ Water vapor
-​ Upper Air Variables
-​ Include measurements of the properties of clouds and
atmosphere composition
-​ Indicate the atmospheric processes that were
occurring when they formed
-​ Satellites are also used to observe the properties of
clouds, and air collected in flasks to be analyzed in the
lab.
-​ Terrestrial Climate Variables:
-​ River discharge
-​ Snow cover
-​ Most commonly expressed as a percentage of
 spacial coverage
-​ Northern Hemisphere snow cover is significantly
impactful to the climate due to its albedo
-​ The ground warms rapidly as it melts
-​ Measured by satellites and instruments on the
ground
-​ Glaciers and ice caps
-​ More permanent snow and ice features
-​ Created by years of compressed snow freezing
and compacting under its own weight
-​ Flow downhill very slowly as frozen rivers
-​ Giant domes of frozen ice covering land are ice
caps or ice fields, usually on flat surfaces and may
flow outwards in any direction
-​ Ice sheets
-​ Ice caps larger than 50k square kilometers r called
ice sheets (found in Antarctica and Greenland)
-​ Monitored by scientists using ground-based
monitoring, aerial surveys, or instruments on
satellites
-​ Permafrost
-​ Where the warmth isn’t enough to melt the base
layer of frozen ground, there’s permafrost
-​ It’s rock, soil, and water that has been frozen for at
least two consecutive years
-​ Covers 24% of the Northern Hemisphere
-​ Seasonally frozen ground covers 60% of the ^^
-​ Monitored by probes, core samples, and
instruments on satellites
-​ Albedo
-​ Land cover
-​ Physical material covering land on the Earth’s
surface
-​ Includes both natural and human-made surfaces
like trees, fields, crops, water, soil, buildings, and
roads.
-​ Measured by wavelength images from satellites
-​ Ground-based data:
-​ Automated instruments sample the soil
-​ Use chemical analysis to measure stored
carbon
-​ Monitor carbon emissions from the soil
-​ Soil carbon
 -​ Fire disturbance
-​ Soil moisture
-​ The amount of moisture both within and above the
soil
-​ Relevant for anticipating the potential for flooding
and for agriculture
-​ Calculated using temperature and recent
precipitation
-​ Instruments aboard the Aqua and Terra satellites
measure soil moisture, NASA’s GRACE satellite
mission uses observation and sophisticated
mathematical calculations to estimate changes in
the soil moisture from space
-​ Oceanic Climate Variables:
-​ Sea surface temperatures
-​ Ocean color
-​ Phytoplankton
-​ Sea state
-​ Sea ice
-​ Sea surface salinity
-​ Sea surface height
-​ Ocean currents
-​ Subsurface Ocean Variables:
-​ Temperature
-​ Ocean heat content
-​ Flux
-​ CO2
-​ Winds
-​ Currents
-​ Sea level
-​ Sea ice extent

Summary

Paleoclimatology tells us details of the Earth’s warming climate and many of the numerous
variables that are actively participating in global warming.
 Course APES Video # Video 16.05: Effects of Climate Change
Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ Rapid weather changes:

-​ Promote soil erosion
-​ Harm agriculture
-​ Reduce clean water supplies
-​ Trigger fires
-​ Thermal Expansion: the primary cause of sea level rise
-​ 1.8 millimeters per year from 1961 to 2003
-​ 2.9 to 3.4 millimeters per year from 1993 to 2010
-​ Predicted 18 centimeters sea rise by 2100
-​ Temperature-dependent phenomena include:
-​ The earlier leafing out of plants
-​ Earlier insect emergence
-​ Changes in bird migration and animal breeding patterns
-​ Society and Agriculture
-​ More CO2 and warmer temperatures may boost crop
yields
-​ Continued warming:
-​ Shortens growing seasons
-​ Decreases production
-​ Makes crops more prone to droughts
-​ Food shortages in developed nations
-​ US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)
-​ Mandated by Congress to issue a national climate
assessment that evaluates the condition of climate
science and the broad range of potential impacts on the
United States
-​ National Climate Assessment is conducted every four
years and summarizes present trends, current research,
and predicted impacts
-​ Human illnesses will increase, and those with asthma and
allergies will be impacted much harder
-​ Water related illnesses will increase
-​ Food safety concerns:
-​ Chemical contaminants
-​ Lower nutritional value due to increased carbon dioxide
 -​ Infrastructure damage that could lead to food spoilage
and inaccessibility
-​ Food-borne illnesses

Summary

Climate change has a large impact on all systems on the Earth, such as the water levels rising,
and many other harsh effects on human beings.

Course APES Video # Video 16.06: Solutions for Change

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

Mitigation: Following -​ We can mitigate, we can adapt, or we can suffer the

a strategy of action consequences of inaction
that would reduce -​ (40%)Electricity is the largest source of CO2 emissions in the US
GHG emissions to -​ 70% of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels (US)
abate the severity of -​ Alternative fuels:
future climate change -​ Tidal power
-​ Wind power
Adaptation: Kind of -​ Solar power
buffering the impact -​ Hydroelectric
of climate change, -​ Bioenergy
not preventing, but -​ Nuclear power
making them less -​ CO2 is the most plentiful GHG
impactful -​ Global Warming Solutions Act: (wanted 20% cut in emissions by
2020)
Suffering: suffer -​ Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative:
-​ Each state set its own cap on the total allowable
emissions then issue permits for those CO2
emissions; over time, each state will lower its cap
and reduce the number of permits
 -​ Carbon taxes: fees charged to polluters for each unit of
GHG admitted
-​ Carbon offset: voluntary payment to offset GHG
emissions; ideally, the money goes to support renewable
energy or similar programs

Summary

To change our world for the better, we must conduct a successful mixture of mitigation and
adaptation, so there is less room for future suffering.

Course Video # Video 16.07: Interview: Dr. Ralph Keeling,

APES
Climate Scientist
Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ He measures carbon dioxide and oxygen

 -​ Oxygen is decreasing, because oxygen and carbon are being
combined in combustion to make carbon dioxide
-​ The field was exciting and discovery was something he’d never
seen before, discovering things that are scary and potentially
alarming, but it’s exciting
-​ If we fix methane

Summary

-​ He explains the difference between ancient carbon from fossil fuels and from other
sources

Course Video # Video 16.08: Interview: Dr. Tara Ivanochko,

APES
Science into Action
Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ She investigated the relationship between changing monsoon

intensity over the Indian Ocean and Northern Hemisphere
 warm/cold cycles
-​ Getting students engaged in a community
-​ Do projects, work in teams, to struggle with those
communication issues, aren’t just soft skills, they allow you to
practice science effectively
-​ It’s important to have certain thinking skills, but that only
teaches you one way to think along those patterns or that path,
but that doesn’t give you the ability to communicate or work
collaboratively

Summary

Dr. Tara is very passionate about educating students in a non-robotic, compassionate manner.
She shows a deeper understanding and feel for the works of science, and she has experienced
a robotic past before, so she understands how it was like and how she can bring a change to
its mindset.

Course APES Video # Video 16.09: Interview: Dr. Elliot Campbell

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ Famous guy, PhD, does a lot of stuff

-​ Creates computer models, simulations, which is really useful
 because we can’t exactly do a physical experiment on
everything we’d like to do
-​ So many things going on with food, but one stage (the fertilizer)
turns out to be real important
-​ Get out and do something physical is a regret, computers are
his whole thing but he gets motivated every time he goes out
and does something

Summary

Course Video # Video 17.01: Types, Effects, and Sources of

APES
Water Pollution
Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

Water pollution - any -​ Water quality is measured to determine specific properties:

detrimental change in -​ Bacteria count
water quality (can be -​ Amount of dissolved oxygen
chemical, biological, -​ Concentrations of chemicals and heavy metals
or physical change) -​ The World Health Organization recommends: zero colonies of
coliform bacteria per 100ml of drinking water, and a maximum
Biomonitoring level of two hundred colonies per 100ml of swimming water
-​ Coliform bacteria usually originate in the intestines of animals
Selenium - a -​ Fecal contamination indicates a higher risk of pathogens that
byproduct of refining cause:
metal sulfide ores -​ Hepatitis A
and is used in -​ Bacterial gastroenteritis
photocells as a -​ Ear infections
semiconductor -​ Dysentery
-​ Typhoid fever
Arsenic - primarily -​ Biochemical Oxygen Demand: The amount of dissolved oxygen
used as an alloy of demanded by aerobic organisms to break-down organic
lead, especially in car material in a specific amount of water, at a certain temperature,
batteries during a specific incubation period
-​ Conventional pollutants include:
Lead - used -​ Fecal coliform bacteria
extensively in -​ Grease and oil
construction, -​ pH disruptors
plumbing, and -​ Suspended solids
radiation shielding, -​ Sources of pollution:
among other uses. -​ Point source pollution (easier to locate, regulate, and
monitor, because the point of origin is clear)
-​ Non-point source pollutants cannot be traced to one
specific point of discharge and are much more difficult to
regulate and monitor
-​ Categories of Water Pollutants:
-​ Infectious agents
-​ Include the coliform bacteria plus parasitic
worms, viruses, and protozoa.
-​ Come from animal or human waste and cause a
variety of diseases
-​ Oxygen-demanding wastes
-​ Include plant debris and animal manure that
decompose aerobically.
-​ Originate from food processing facilities, paper
mills, animals feedlots, and sewage
-​ When large populations of bacteria arise to
decompose these wastes, they deplete the
waterway of dissolved oxygen (bad for animals
who require oxygen)
 -​ Contributes to dead zones, which are large areas
of a waterway that cannot support life due to the
lack of dissolved oxygen from an excess of
nutrients
-​ Plant nutrients like phosphate, nitrate, and
ammonium ions damage the aquatic biomes
(fertilizer causes insane algae growth)
-​ Plant nutrients
-​ Inorganic chemicals
-​ Organic chemicals
-​ Sediments
-​ Radioactive materials
-​ Thermal pollution
-​ When water used as a coolant and returned to the
waterway cannot hold as much dissolved oxygen
-​ This sudden change in temperature adversely
affects ecosystem of ectothermic
micro/macroinvertebrates
-​ Some stenothermic organisms are killed due to
the thermal shock or the sudden change of
temperatures
-​ Organic chemicals that pollute waterways include:
-​ Detergents
-​ Cleaning solvents
-​ Pesticides
-​ Plastics
-​ Gasoline
-​ Oil

Summary

Many types, effects, and sources of water pollution come from anthropogenic behavior, such
as infectious agents from human waste, fertilizer from human crops, and thermal pollution
from human industrial factories.
 Course APES Video # Video 17.02: Freshwater Pollution
Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

Oxygen Sag Curve - -​ Aquatic biodiversity is directly affected by the water quality
illustrates the depth -​ Natural solutions cannot eliminate non-degradable pollution.
and width, therefore -​ Many natural pollutant degrading bacteria use oxygen, they
the time and space deplete the stream of dissolved oxygen. They remove
needed for the pollutants, but they cause eutrophication, aka harm the water.
waterway to recover -​ River caught on fire TWICE from being so polluted, second time
from the influx of a helped the inspiration to the Clean Air Act
pollutant -​ The residence time of a lake depends on the number of rivers
flowing in and out, the depth of the lake, and the volume
-​ Due to these factors, slow flow and smaller volumes,
ponds, reservoirs, and lakes are far more vulnerable than
rivers to contamination by
-​ Pesticides
-​ Oil
-​ Plant nutrients
-​ Heavy metal toxins (selenium, mercury, lead)
-​ Harmful toxins (devastating to freshwater ecosystems):
-​ Mercury
-​ PCBs
-​ DDT
-​ Cultural eutrophication: acceleration by humans for
eutrophication
-​ Preventing Cultural Eutrophication:
-​ Composting
-​ Converting decaying vegetation and food waste
into compost soil
-​ Breaks down and chemically binds the nitrate and
phosphate nutrients
-​ Limits nutrients that go into groundwater or runoff
-​ Helps prevent eutrophication
-​ Soil formed from composting decaying vegetation
and other organic material helps prevent
eutrophication and yields high quality soil with
high CEC
-​ Reducing pollution
 -​ Methods to support this pollution reduction
strategy include reducing the discharge of
phosphate-containing household cleaners and
detergents, and limiting use of nitrogen based
fertilizers
-​ Strengthening laws and regulations against non
point-source pollution
-​ Ultrasonic irradiation
-​ Irradiation produces cavitations in algae cells
which collapses the cell’s air sacs
-​ Photosynthesis activity ceases and the cells die
without releasing toxins into the environment
-​ When it comes to the environmental damage,
prevention is always preferable to remediation

Summary

Aquatic biodiversity is directly affected by the water quality. Pollution is caused by a numerous
amount of factors.

Course APES Video # Video 17.03: Groundwater Pollution

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ The plume edge may leak into surface waters and render that
water supply unusable or unsafe
-​ Surface water pollutants are similar to groundwater pollutants,
just via different mechanisms and in different quantities.
Specifications range from:
-​ Radioactive
-​ Bacteriological
-​ Chemical
 -​ Organic
-​ Inorganic
-​ Physical
-​ These include:
-​ Pathogens
-​ Organic compounds
-​ Heavy metals (such as arsenic, fluoride, pharmaceuticals,
nitrates, even saltwater)
-​ Fecal Pathogens: Feces contain four types of pathogens:
-​ Helminth eggs
-​ Protozoa
-​ Viruses
-​ Bacteria
-​ Volatile organic compounds (or VOCs):
-​ Groundwater pollutants present due to negligent or
ignorant industrial practices; it wasn’t until the 1960s that
many compounds were known to the be harmful, and
identified in drinking water sources
-​ Industrial solvents used in dry cleaning:
-​ Tetrachloroethylene
-​ TCE (trichloroethylene)
-​ Widespread use as an anesthetic in the food
industry to extract vegetable oils from plant
materials, like decaffeinating coffee, and its
famous metal degreasing abilities
-​ Now a known carcinogen
-​ Vinyl chloride
-​ Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons:
-​ Exist naturally as creosote and are a result of incomplete
combustion of organic material
-​ Metals
-​ Weathering leaches trace metals from the soil into
groundwater
-​ Chromium, cadmium, and lead are the toxic
contaminants that have migrated into water stores from
solid waste disposal, metallurgy, and mining
-​ The mobility of metal or metalloid depends on:
-​ Partitioning of contaminants through the soil
-​ Chemistry of the reduction-oxidation reaction
-​ pH of the groundwater
-​ Two most serious contaminants for drinking water are arsenic
and fluoride
-​ Ingesting excess fluoride:
 -​ Skeletal/dental fluorosis
-​ Loss of bone elasticity
-​ Loss of joint mobility
-​ Joint pain/osteoarthritis
-​ Pharmaceuticals are a common drinking water contaminant
-​ Tranquilizers
-​ Decongestants
-​ Antidepressants
-​ Anti-inflammatories
-​ Antibiotics
-​ The most common chemical contaminant of groundwater stores
are nitrates
-​ Saltwater Intrusion: Action of salt water moving into and
contaminating fresh water aquifers
-​ This intrusion exists in coastal aquifers where salt water
pushes inland beneath fresh groundwater
-​ Transition zone is where they mix via diffusion and
dispersion
-​ Sustainable Groundwater Management Act

Summary

Groundwater pollution is a kind of contamination that occurs with release or seepage of a

pollutant into underground aquifers.

Course APES Video # Video 17.04: Ocean Pollution

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ Non-point Source Pollution:

-​ Extra sediment
-​ Sewage
 -​ Agricultural pollutants and pesticides
-​ Septic tanks
-​ Boats and cars
-​ Timber harvest areas
-​ Livestock ranches
-​ Toxins first accumulate in small marine organisms and then
bioaccumulate and magnify up thru the food chain
-​ London Dumping Convention of 1972:
-​ 100 countries agreed to not dump high-level radioactive
wastes and highly toxic pollutants in the oceans, but it
wasn’t until 1994 that this became a permanent ban
-​ Impacts of Oil Pollution:
-​ Oil contains volatile organic hydrocarbons that
immediately kill most larval forms of aquatic organisms
-​ Birds and marine mammals may become coated with
tar-like globs that cause them to drown or die from loss
of body heat
-​ Benthic organisms are crushed when heavy components
sink to the bottom
-​ Ocean pollutant: trash
-​ Microplastics: plastics that have broken down into tiny, small
beads of plastics, which are nearly undetectable
-​ Ocean pollution issue: acidification
-​ Marpol 73/78: International Convention for the Prevention of
Pollution from Ships:
-​ MARPOL is short for marine pollution and 73/78 refers to
the years it was signed and modified
-​ Anthropogenic Ocean Pollution:
-​ Red tides caused by excess nitrogen
-​ Runoff of fertilizers, manure, and pesticides
-​ Sewage
-​ Toxic sediments
-​ Nitrogen oxide from industrial processes
-​ Heavy metals from effluents

Summary
 Many pollutants, mostly caused by humans, pollute the ocean and its marine waters, life, and
habitat.

Course Video # Video 17.05: Preventing Surface Water

APES
Pollution
Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ All of the agricultural runoff that are polluting surface waters are
from pesticides, fertilizers, and erosion
-​ Feedlot runoff is particularly high in manure
-​ If sewer systems are not maintained, they can become leaky
and more expensive to repair
-​ Sometimes when sewer plants overflow, they can runoff and let
raw sewage water into open bodies of water
-​ Sewage Treatment
-​ Primary step: Physical, and removes suspended solids;
removes about 69% of suspended solids and 24% of
organic wastes
-​ Does not remove: Pesticides, Radioisotopes, Salts,
Nitrates, Phosphates
-​ Secondary step: Biological, 90% of the remaining organic
waste is degraded by aerobic bacteria
-​ Tertiary Sewage Treatment: Combines physical and
chemical processes to remove specific pollutants
remaining after the first two steps
-​ Only 5% of wastewaters in the United States rae
treated to these expensive extra measures
-​ Water is bleached and disinfected with the most
common method being chlorination
-​ Settling Tank: allows suspended solid to settle out as
sludge
-​ Sludge is a gooey, thick mixture of solids and
 bacteria, includes metal and chemicals if
household wastes are combined with industrial
wastes
-​ Sludge is digested by anaerobic bacteria and
produces compost to nutrify soil
-​ Waterless Composting Toilets
-​ These systems are much less expensive to maintain and
would help eliminate sewer repair and ease the
operation and cost of wastewater treatment plants
-​ Treating sewage could also be done via wetlands, either natural
or artificial
-​ Low tech and extremely low cost in comparison to waste
water treatment facilities
-​ Step 1: Sedimentation tank: where the solids settle into
sludge; the sludge is removed, and the remaining wastes
are broken down by bacteria for a month
-​ Step 2: Oxidation pond: Oxidation ponds where the
remaining wastes are broken down by bacteria for a
month
-​ Step 3: Artificial marsh: Bacteria and plants further
cleanse and filter the water in the artificial marsh
-​ Scott Pruitt (Trump-assigned guy):
-​ Weakened federal power over streams and wetlands by
contending that the only waters meriting protection were
the navigable waters and did not include the seasonal or
shallow watersheds and wetlands

Summary

A lot of surface water pollution originates from sewage water– there are many different
treatment plans for sewage water.

Course APES Video # Video 17.06: Drinking Water Quality

Name and Name
Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ High quality drinking water is the keystone to health

-​ Methods of purifying water:
-​ Letting water absorb sunlight for a minimum of three
hours; UV radiation kills off bacteria, can be done even in
a plastic bottle
-​ Filtering water with a cloth. Not 100% effective, however,
this method has reduced cholera dramatically in
Bangladesh
-​ Adding a small amount of chlorine to a water storage
container that has a narrow mouth, a lid or cap, and a
spigot; this method has reduced diarrheal diseases by
50% where it’s consistently used
-​ Bottled water:
-​ Comes with a large expense
-​ Pollutes via manufacture
-​ Comes in a plastic bottle
-​ Average bottle of water actually includes about
one-quarter tap water
-​ 1 in 3 bottled water is contaminated with bacteria
-​ 1 in 5 bottled water contains a variety of harmful organic
chemicals
-​ Nearly all major brands of bottled water contain tiny
particles of plastic (93% contain these microplastics that
we are then ingesting, 314 particles per liter)
-​ 20k plastic bottles are purchased every second
-​ 480 bil were sold in 2016 alone
-​ Less than 50% of bottles are recycled
-​ Only 7% are turned into new bottles
-​ Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974:
-​ Set national limits on certain contaminants, with
improving amendments in 1986 and 1996, but lead and
newer chemicals are not part of this regulation
-​ Environmental Working Group:
-​ Issued an initial report in 2010, and then again in 2017
warning that the carcinogen chromium-6 is present in the
water supplies for almost 200 million US residents
-​ Preventing & Reducing Water Pollution:
-​ Compost your food wastes
-​ Minimize or eliminate your use of pesticides
-​ Use manure or compost on your garden
 -​ Do not apply pesticides or fertilizers near water
-​ Grow or buy organic foods
-​ Do not use chemicals in your toilet
-​ Do not flush medications down the toilet
-​ Do not pour harmful chemicals down the drain

Summary

The quality of our drinking water is extremely important, yet we pay little to no attention to the
cleanliness, and allow pollution to take a hold of the water we consume in our bodies.

Course APES Video # Video 18.01: Solid Waste

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

Solid waste - trash, -​ The US, which only makes up 4.6% of the global population,
junk, the stuff we produces 33% of solid waste
throw away; most of -​ Largest volume in waste is e-waste
it ends up in a landfill -​ Commonly discarded items in the US:
-​ Edible food
Leachate: the rain -​ Unwanted toys
water that becomes -​ Aluminum foil
toxic as it percolates -​ Plastic bags
through the garbage -​ Wearable clothing
-​ Americans generate 258,000,000 tons of trash annually
-​ 27% is paper
-​ 14.6% is food waste
-​ 13.5% are yard trimmings
-​ 12.8% are plastics
-​ & so on
-​ About 34% of our generated solid waste is either
composted or recycled
-​ Open dumps are just the landfills you think of, often
non-selective about the wastes that they receive and wastes
will degrade very slowly because they get buried under more
trash and soil, chemicals can easily run into groundwater
-​ Sanitary landfills are more selective solid wastes spread out in
layers and compacted down and covered with plastic, foam, or
clay
-​ Tires are unique; when left to degrade in a landfill or even a
vacant, empty lot, they leach extremely toxic chemicals into the
surroundings
-​ Some companies attempt to get rid of them via
incineration, but this releases toxins into the atmosphere,
tires burn extremely hot and long, which can cause a
dangerous and difficult fire control situation
-​ Old tires can be reclaimed into:
-​ Asphalt and pavement
-​ Playground underfooting
-​ Building material
-​ MSW is burned to produce steam which spins turbines and
produces electricity
-​ Incineration advantages:
-​ Quick and easy
-​ Low pollution of water
-​ Reduced waste volume
-​ Energy produced
-​ Incineration disadvantages:
-​ Releases toxic ash and dioxins
-​ High cost
-​ Encourages waste production
-​ Discourages reducing or reusing materials
-​ Citizen opposition
-​ 1st method for managing trash: Integrated Waste Management
-​ Reduce environmental harm by sorting waste and
disposing of each item in the most efficient and
environmentally friendly way possible
-​ Approaches to the integrated waste management:
-​ Landfill
-​ Recycling
-​ Incineration
-​ Composting
-​ The best way to manage waste is to stop making so much.

Summary
 Solid waste, which is what we refer to as regular trash, has been consistently misused and
treated wrongly.

Course Video # Video 18.02: The 5 Rs (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse,

APES
Repurpose, Recycle)
Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ Refuse: Simply refusing items before you take, buy, get, give
-​ Reduce: give consideration to each purchase you make; ask
yourself, is this really necessary? Is it packaged in something I
can reuse or repurpose? Can I get this item with less packaging,
or even better, can I make it myself?
-​ Reuse: Reuse. Like having a refillable water bottle or reusable
shopping bags, straws, to-go food containers, etc. Borrowing or
sharing tools you might not use all of the time, or wrapping a
present in a beautiful fabric and a nice silk ribbon
-​ Repair. Sometimes, a simple repair is all that it takes to
keep re-using an item you would otherwise throw away.
-​ Repurpose: you give it new life as something else
-​ The original intention of the item changes, another term
for this is upcycling
-​ Like using old tires, painted, and used as planters; or
wine bottles, used as light fixtures and flower pots;
plastic bottles to organize or store clothing, or to function
as container gardens for herbs
1.​ Consume less (make a smaller impact on your environment). If
you don’t buy it, it can’t become waste (or at least you won’t
turn it into waste)
2.​ Rethink manufacturing
3.​ Purchase sustainable products
4.​ Shift to service economy (Individuals would purchase and own
less)y
 5.​ Eliminate unnecessary packaging
6.​ Pay-as-you-throw
7.​ Cradle-to-grave responsibility; the manufacturer is responsible
for the life of the product (generation -> disposal)

Summary

Refusing, reducing, reusing, and repurposing are many different ways that you and I can both
mitigate our ecological footprint.

Course APES Video # Video 18.03: Recycling in Theory

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

External waste -​ The fifth R: Recycling. Extremely important as well, especially

(post-consumer): for things like glass or metal
Generated by the -​ Take an item, break it down, and use raw materials to use new
consumer products. Ideally, there is no waste, but that is not always the
case.
-​ Two types of recycling:
-​ One is to reprocess discarded solid material into new
and similar items
-​ The other is to convert the material into a completely
new product
-​ Recyclable materials:
-​ Steel
-​ Aluminum
-​ Glass
-​ Paper
-​ Some plastics
-​ Single-stream recycling: bad; if one thing is bad, the rest
become bad too.
 -​ Source separation recycling: better
-​ Economic factors that hinder recycling:
-​ The environmental and health costs of items
-​ Lack of government tax breaks and subsidies
-​ Expensive compared to landfills
-​ Fluctuating demand for recycled materials

Summary

Recycling is very important, there are several ways to do it, but the one we currently use
(single-stream recycling) is the worst, because it can cause bad contamination.

Course APES Video # Video 18.04: Recycling in Practice

Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ Plastic recycling is difficult and in many cases just not possible

for a variety of reasons
 -​ They can be difficult to isolate from other materials they
may be combined with
-​ Six specific forms given the numbers 1 through 6 and the other
designation 7
-​ 1: PETE, Polyethylene terephthalate (accepted by most
curbside programs)
-​ 2: HDPE, High-density polyethylene (accepted by most
curbside programs)
-​ 3: V,
-​ 4: LDPE,
-​ 5: PP,
-​ 6: PS,
-​ 7: Other
-​ Plastic items can’t get recycled much (they don’t have useful
energy anymore after being melted too many times)
-​ 1st Law of Thermodynamics - Energy cannot be created or
destroyed.
-​ 2nd Law of Thermodynamics - For a spontaneous process, the
entropy of the universe increases.
-​ Cradle-to-cradle:
-​ The manufacturer takes responsibility for product quality
and content.
-​ When the use is finished, it is returned to the
manufacturer, not for disposal, but for reuse

Summary

Recycling plastic and expecting it to end up being recycled rather than placed in a landfill can
be difficult due to numerous reasons, including the fact that many recycling facilities do not
accept all types of plastics.

Course Video # Video 18.05: Interview: Dr. Liz McDade, Zero

APES
Waste Living
Name and Name
Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ She makes anything that you might have a disposable version

of in your kitchen in a reusable and biodegradable version
-​ She’s been a very eco-conscious person and always thought
about how her actions impacted the Earth
-​ Zero-waste living and really shrinking down what you send to
the landfill
-​ The first goal is always to refuse
-​ Think about whether you need this item or not
-​ The second step is reducing
-​ Cutting back, and realizing there are things that you
might not need
-​ Reusing comes next
-​ Very last ditch-effort is recycling and composting.
-​ Recycling is very imperfect; a huge portion of our
recycling is contaminated
-​ Start with a couple of small things, like carry a water bottle with
you everywhere or use a travel coffee mug; small things can
make a huge difference
-​ Then, you can start adding more and more to your daily
habits

Summary

Being careful of what you do and spend in your home is always possible and each little small
thing can make a huge impact– you have to start somewhere, and it doesn’t have to be big.

Course APES Video # Video 19.01: Hazardous Waste

Name and Name
Questions/Keywords Notes

Hazardous Wastes: -​ Hazardous waste, legally defined as either:

Discarded liquids or -​ Contains a mutagenic, carcinogenic, teratogenic, or toxic
solid materials that compound exceeding established limits (examples are
may either explode or solvents and pesticides)
release toxic fumes -​ Highly flammable or combustible (like paints and gas)
or both. -​ Unstable or reactive and may release toxic fumes (like
chlorine bleach, ammonia, and some acids)
-​ Corrosive to metal containers (like drain and oven
cleaners and industrial cleaning agents)
-​ Hazardous wastes:
-​ Organic compounds
-​ Dioxins
-​ Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
-​ Pesticides
-​ Heavy metals
-​ Arsenic
-​ Mercury
-​ Lead
-​ Superfund is a US federal government program to fund cleanup
in areas that have been contaminated with hazardous or toxic
chemicals and pollutants (CERCLA)
-​ Identifies hazardous waste sites and provides cleanup of
these sites, based on priority
-​ National Priorities List (NPL)
-​ List of the worst sites, scheduled for a total cleanup
-​ The congressionally mandated definition of “hazardous wastes”
does not include:
-​ Oil drilling and gas drilling wastes
-​ Household toxic and hazardous materials waste?
-​ Liquid waste containing organic hydrocarbons
(represents 80% of all liquid hazardous waste)
-​ Cement kiln dust
-​ Waste from qualifying small businesses
-​ Radioactive wastes??
-​ Mining wastes?/?
-​ Literally the laws regulating “hazardous substances” don’t even
regulate 95% of the toxic waste produced in the US..
-​ Chemical or physical management:
-​ Detoxified by burning (like using a plasma torch which
reduces toxicity or by incineration at very high
temperatures, which is more expensive)
 -​ Physically managed by burying the remains.
-​ Put it in landfill; there are secure hazardous waste
landfills that have both above and below ground facilities
-​ Advantages:
-​ Burning hazardous waste reduces the volume of
waste, decreases water pollution, and reduces the
need for storage space
-​ Burying waste is easy and inexpensive and wastes
can always be retrieved is necessary
-​ Disadvantages:
-​ Burning hazardous waste releases toxic dioxins
polluting the air, and there is the residual toxic ash
that must still be stored or buried
-​ Burying waste: Underground storage is only as
secure as the ground itself, earthquakes and
fracturing can result in leaks or spills that are
difficult to remediate.
-​ Biological remediation of hazardous waste includes the use of
either bacteria or plants
-​ Bioremediation: Uses enzymes and bacteria to help
degrade toxic substances into harmless compounds
-​ Employs both natural and recombinant
microorganisms using aerobic and anaerobic
mechanisms
-​ Phytoremediation: Uses plants, either natural or
genetically engineered to absorb, filter, and remove
contaminants from polluted soil and water.
-​ The organics are decomposed by the microbes or
the plants and any inorganics are captured within
the plant which is reclaimed or harvested and then
disposed of
-​ Great for shallow contamination, but plant roots
do not extend as deep into the soil as some sites
need, so the process takes a long time
-​ Limited and it doesn’t cleanup lead and other
metals unless additional chemicals are added to
the soil

Summary
 Hazardous waste comes in many shapes and forms, but 95% of which is not considered
“hazardous waste” by the US… thankfully, there are many ways to treat hazardous waste,
which can be sorted into two categories: Physical or chemical management, and biological
remediation.

Course Video # Video 19.02: Lead, Mercury, Dioxins, and

APES
Regulations
Name and Name

Questions/Keywords Notes

-​ Toxic lead, mercury, and dioxins: SO TOXIC

-​ Lead affects the nervous system and induces hearing damage,
hyperactivity, mental retardation, behavioral disorders,
blindness, partial paralysis, and palsy.
-​ There is no safe blood level of lead. Even low levels
affect IQ, and exposure cannot be corrected.
-​ Most common sources of lead is lead-based paint and
contaminated dust, soil, and water
-​ Lead is directly correlated to violent crimes
-​ Mercury is released from the incineration of wastes and through
burning coal
-​ As a result of its persistence and bioaccumulation in the
environment, it’s found in high levels in some types of
fish
-​ When the environment is contaminated with mercury,
microorganisms combine it with carbon to form
methylmercury, which has wider, more detrimental
effects to human health
-​ Measures to reduce mercury exposure:
-​ Reducing incineration of waste
-​ Removing mercury from coal
-​ Replacing coal with other energy sources
-​ Phasing out mercury-containing products
-​ Dioxins are highly toxic compounds that are byproducts of
manufacturing, like from paper bleaching and herbicides
 -​ Serious persistent organic pollutants, aka POPs
-​ Effects of dioxins on human health:
-​ Short-term:
-​ Altered liver function
-​ Dark skin patches
-​ Skin lesions
-​ Long-term:
-​ Damaged nervous system
-​ Damaged endocrine systems
-​ Abnormal reproductive functions
-​ Impaired immune system
-​ Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants:
-​ Restrict and eliminate the use of persistent organic
pollutants, aka POPs
-​ Dirty Dozen (Persistent organic pollutants POPs):
-​ Aldrin
-​ Chlordane
-​ Dieldrin
-​ Endrin
-​ Heptachlor
-​ Hexachlorobenzene
-​ Mirex
-​ Toxaphene
-​ Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
-​ Dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT)
-​ Polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs)
-​ Dioxins

Summary