Learn about environmental issues, their effect on your community and actions for your involvement.
Reconnect with your environmentSP19371
Check out these websitesto learn more:
www.climate.gov/#educationwww.seagrant.psu.edu/extension/
climatechange.htmwww.sos.noaa.gov/datasets/
Atmosphere/
Find articles about energyin your region. Which typeof fossil fuel is used tocreate the energy?Are there anyinstances ofsustainable andrenewable energysources? Share yourthoughts about theuse of fossil fuels andwhy and if they shouldbe replaced.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Earth Action Erie and the PA Department of Environmental Protectionrecently hosted a sustainable energy Youth Training Day at the TomRidge Environmental Center.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Wikimedia Commons
In a short period of time, humans have added significant amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. Coal, oil andnatural gas currently provide more than 85 percent of all the energy consumed in the United States, nearly two-thirds of our electricity, andvirtually all of our transportation fuels.
Long winter evenings becamea little less cold and dark whenhumans realized burning woodcould provide heat and lightwhen the sun went down.
Whattheydidn’tunderstandisthecriticalrolecarbonplayedintheirlifecycle,orcarbon’smove-mentfromtheburningwoodbackinto the natural environment.
Yet even today with all our sci-entific knowledge of the carboncycle, many people still don’t un-derstand this important elementandthebalancingactthatmakeslife on earth possible.
Since the Industrial Revolu-tion, humans have significantlyaltered this important balance.An escalating population hascausedthelargestdisturbancetothe global carbon cycle becauseofongoinglarge-scaleuseoffossilfuels to meet increasing energydemands.
Great quantities of carbon arefound in the earth’s crust, its sur-facewaters,theatmosphere,andin green plants. Carbon is one ofthefourmostabundantchemicalelements in the universe.
Along with hydrogen and oxy-gen, it is an essential buildingblockforalllivingorganisms.Itisthefoundationofcarbohydrates,proteins, lipids and nucleic ac-ids or DNA. And when carbon iscombined with oxygen, it formsan insulating blanket of carbondioxide in the atmosphere thatmakes the earth livable.
The total amount of carbon onearth always remains the samebut there is a constant exchangeof carbon between this biotic(living) and abiotic (nonliving)world. This carbon cycle playsanimportantroleinmaintainingproperlevelsofCO2intheearth’satmosphere.
Carbonisregularlyexchangedbetween the atmosphere, land,water and living beings. A car-bon atom in your body may havebeen part of an extinct dinosaurat one time. Since that dinosaur
diedanddecomposed,itscarbonatoms may have been recycledmany times in plants, trees, orfloated free in the air as carbondioxide.Thosesameatomscouldalsohavebeenlockedawayintheshell of sea creatures that areburied at the ocean bottom oreven be part of a recent volcaniceruption. And some was likelyturned into fossil fuel.
Oceansandgrowingplantsareconsideredcarbonsinksbecausetheyabsorbmorecarbondioxidethan they emit. A carbon source,ontheotherhand,isanyplaceorprocess that releases carbon di-oxide into the atmosphere, suchas the decay of dead plants andanimals.
Becausenaturalcarbonsourc-es and natural carbon sinks ex-perience a natural equilibrium,carbon dioxide levels in the at-mosphere have shown very little
change during the last 10,000years, until human activities up-set that balance.
Activities such rapid indus-trialization and deforestationalong with explosive populationgrowth and our dependence onburning fossil fuels for energyhave increased the levels of CO2at a very rapid rate. The currentlevelofatmosphericCO2ismorethan 35 percent greater than itshighest leveloverat least800,000years.
This measured increase sincethe Industrial Revolution can-not be accounted for by othersources, such as volcanoes orforest fires. There is, however, aclose correlation between fossilfuel use, population growth andatmosphericcarbondioxidecon-centration.
ThesehumanemissionsarenotcounterbalancedbyCO2absorp-tion in the natural cycle. There-fore, these emissions exceed theability of carbon sinks to absorbthe excess we are adding to thesystem.
Incomingweeks,we’llexaminethe evidence of human-inducedCO2 production and its effect onthe planet.
To extend today’s learning,teacherscanfindlessonsatwww.goerie.com/nie.
A N N A M C C A R T N E Y, acommunications and educationspecialist for Pennsylvania SeaGrant, can be reached by e-mail [email protected].
Losing our equilibriumWhy ‘carbonsinks’ areout of syncBy ANNA MCCARTNEYContributing writer
Carbon is constantly on themove! Scientists collect datato track this movement and tomeasure the atmospheric con-centrationsofCO2tounderstandthenaturalcarboncycleandtheeffect caused by human contri-butions. With knowledge comesolutions that can lessen globalcatastrophes caused by a rapidrise in average global tempera-tures.
Carbon moves this way:▀From the atmosphere to plants.
Green plants constantly re-move CO2 from the atmospherethroughphotosynthesis (thepro-cess whereby plants make foodin the presence of sunlight andwater).CertainbacteriaalsouseCO2 to synthesize the organiccompounds they need.▀From plants to animals. Car-
bon present in the food made bygreen plants reaches animalsthrough the food chain. Carnivo-rousanimalsreceivethiscarbonwhen they eat other animals.▀From the atmosphere to water
bodies. Carbon dioxide is con-tinuously dissolved in the seasand oceans through the process
of diffusion. This dissolved CO2mayremainasit is inthemarinewaters, may be used by marineplantsforphotosynthesisormayget converted into carbonatesand bicarbonates, which are
converted into calcium carbon-atebycertainmarineorganismssuch as corals and oysters tomake their shells. When theseorganisms die, their shells de-posit on the sea floor and finally
turn into sedimentary rocks.▀From living things to the land.As
plantsandanimalsdie,carbonisdepositedintheground.Someofthesedeadorganismsgetburiedunder the ground, and after mil-lions of years, change into fossilfuels due to high pressure andother physical and chemicalchanges.▀From living things to the atmo-
sphere. Carbon dioxide is regu-larlyreturnedtotheatmosphereby the process of respiration inplants and animals. Other natu-ralsourcesofCO2areforestfiresand volcanoes.▀From fossil fuels to the atmo-
sphere. When humans removefossil fuels (coal, oil and gas)from below the ground surface,they reintroduce carbon thathas been out of circulation formillions of years to the globalcarbon cycle. Burning fossil fu-els releases this stored carbon,converting it to CO2, which thenentersandbuildsupintheatmo-sphere.
A N N A M C C A R T N E Y, acommunications and educationspecialist for Pennsylvania SeaGrant, can be reached by e-mail [email protected].
Follow carbon’s natural global cycleBy ANNA MCCARTNEYContributing writer
This page brought to you by:
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The 2010 local Envirothon winners, team Green Flash from North EastHigh School, placed third in state competition.
The Erie County ConservationDistrict is looking for new andreturning high school studentsand their advisers to participatein the 2011 Envirothon.
This exciting competition wascreatedin1979byPennsylvania’sSoil and Water Conservation dis-tricts to inspire young adults toconserve ecosystems and intro-duce them to natural sciencecareer options. It quickly gainednationalpopularityasahands-onoutdoor contest that challengeshigh school students in the fieldof environmental science.
Since its creation, more than500,000studentsacrosstheUnitedStates and Canada have had thechance to shine in the five testingcategoriesofsoils/landuse,aquat-ic ecology, forestry, wildlife andcurrent environmental issues.
Each team consists of three tofive high school students and anadviser. During the competition,theteammembersworktogethertoanswerbasicquestionsineachcategory.Thereisnocosttoregis-ter or participate; the Conserva-tion District covers all costs forthe regional competition. Butadvisers must create a team andcontactKristenCurrier,theEnvi-rothon coordinator, for the com-petition informational packet byFeb 1.
The 2011 Erie County Enviro-thon is scheduled for May 5 atthe Erie County ConservationDistrict’s Headwaters Park. Thelocal winning team will advanceto the state level. The state win-nerthenadvancestothenationalcompetition.
For more information aboutthis opportunity contact Currierat [email protected] or call 825-6403.
Teens can competein 2011 EnvirothonBy ANNA MCCARTNEYContributing writer
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Department of Energy
The carbon atom, an essential building block of all living organisms,constantly moves through all living things, and through the oceans,atmosphere, and earth’s crust. The natural carbon cycle experiences anatural equilibrium but emissions created from burning fossil fuelsthat have been underground for millions of years are not absorbed inthe natural cycle, so it builds up in the system.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/NOAA
There is a close correlation between population growth, fossil fuel useand increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration.
Alternativesustainableenergysolutionscouldeaseproblemsat-tributed to burning fossil fuels.
More than 140 students whoattended the Erie Earth ActionYouth training day at the TomRidge Environmental Centerlearnedaboutchoicesthatcouldreplaceoreliminatetheneedforfossilfuels,includingwind,solar,geothermal, biofuels and greentechnology.
“When the wind blows, any-thing connected to the wind-mill will get the wind power. Wemademusicwithpowerfromourwindmill,”saidOrionMcConnellfrom the Perseus House CharterSchool of Excellence MaritimeCenter.
FortLeBoeufstudentCaitlynnOrr was also impressed with thewind power. “There is a guy thatmakeswindmillsoutofoldwheel-chairmotors,whichisawesome,”she said.
Brent Hartsting from the Per-seus House Charter School ofExcellence liked building thewindmills because he likes elec-tronics. “It would be a good job,”he added.
Joanna Connell student TylerVaughn said: “Solar (energy) canpowerAmerica.Youcanevengetsolar cell-phone chargers.”
Teachers and students ingradesfourtoeightexploredsus-tainableenergysourcesandtech-nologies with local experts fromHeroBX,thelocalbiofuelsplant,andfromSolarRevolution,NorthCoast Energy Systems, GannonUniversity, Mercyhurst Collegeand Renewergy. Educators fromthe Pennsylvania Departmentof Conservation and NaturalResources also led some of theworkshops for students.
A N N A M C C A R T N E Y, acommunications and educationspecialist for Pennsylvania SeaGrant, can be reached by e-mail [email protected].
Alternative energy dayfires up Erie studentsBy ANNA MCCARTNEYContributing writer
What: Special showing of action film, “Wintervention” by WarrenMiller.Where: Tom Ridge Environmental Center, Big Green Screen TheaterWhen: Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.Cost: Advance tickets are $10 or $15 at the door. Tickets areavailable at Peek’n Peak Ski Resort, Tom Ridge EnvironmentalCenter Big Green Screen Theater, Erie Sport Store Peach Streetlocation, Elements Board Shop and Erie Ski Club or by contactingthe Big Green Screen at 838-4123 or Scott Cable at 873-3071 [email protected].
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Tuesday, January 4, 2011 | Erie Times-News | GoErie.com | 3D
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