Green Generation: A 2014Trial Event

1. Green Generation:A 2014Trial Event Science Olympiad B and C Divisions

2. Description • Students will answer questions involving the history and consequences of human impact on our environment, solutions to reversing trends and sustainability concepts. • Teams of up to 2 • No impound • Approximate 50 min.

3. Event Parameters • Each team may bring: • One 8.5” x 11” two-sided page of notes containing information in any form from any source. • Any kind of non-graphing calculator • That’s all folks!

4. Part 1 : ~30% • Identify problems associated with human impacts that harm the quality of our environment related to: • General principles of Ecology • Energy source and cycling of nutrients • Habitat, niche, food chains/webs(10% rule) • Effects disruption and fragmentation • Bioaccumulation/biomagnification

5. Part 1 : continued • World Oceans and Estuaries • General characteristics and locations • Role in biosphere • Eutrophication causes and effects • Coastal habitats and impacts at all latitudes • Estuaries are mid-latitude • Mangroves and coral reefs are tropical latitudes • For H.S. • Estuary characteristics and types (HS)[salt wedge, well-mixed, partially mixed and Fjord]

6. Part 1 : continued • Greenhouse gases and Climate changes • Know principles of the greenhouse effect • Greenhouse gases • Water vapor, Carbon dioxide, CFC’s, methane, etc. • Nitrogen and sulfur oxides contribution to acid deposition • Factors affecting climate – temp. and precip. • Impacts of climate change • Sea level, habitat range change, cycles of severe weather, etc.

7. Part 1 : continued • Endangered wildlife and habitats • Anthropological impacts of agriculture, forestry, mining, etc. • Impacts of agriculture – fertilizer, pesticides, water (usage and contamination of surface and ground water), habitat, genetic diversity, etc. • Feedlots and impact – high fecal coliform or e-coli runoff • Characteristics of introduced/invasive species that become pests

8. Part 1 : continued • Consequences of oil spills • Ways oil gets into the environment • Types of treatment • Factors affecting the type of treatment used to cleanup

9. Part 1 : continued • Consequences of air pollution • Types and causes • Impacts on environment and people • Global mechanisms for movement of energy, air, particulates and pollutants • Primary and secondary air pollutants (acid deposition and effects; acid shock)- methods to prevent or removal of primary air pollutants • Ozone formation in troposphere and stratosphere and effects • Stratospheric ozone loss and effects on people and the environment • Photochemical reactions (ozone and smog) HS?

10. Part 1 : continued • Other man created threats to the environment • Fertilizers, pesticides, feedlots • Impact on ground and surface water • Mining • Groundwater withdrawal • Fecal coliform bacteria and water contamination - causes and treatment

11. Part 2: ~ 50% Proposed solutions to reversing/reducing human impacts that harm our environment e.g. oil spills, eutrophication, PCP’s, etc. • Bioremediation • Biodegradability requirements and organisms involved • Micro-organisms • Bacteria • National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) – Environmental impact statement • And other laws enacted to protect the environment.

12. Part 2: continued • Alternate, Renewable energy • What are they? • Solar/wind/tidal(perpetual), geothermal could be perpetual if managed, biomass and its variations could be renewable if managed properly • What are the concepts behind them? • What are the benefits/setbacks?

13. Part 2: continued • Non-renewable sources of energy • What are they? • All fossil fuels and nuclear(can be an alternative to fossil fuel usage) • What are the concepts behind them? • What are the benefits/setbacks?

14. Part 2: continued • Recycling • Types (closed loop; open loop) • How does it work • What are the impacts • What are the advantages/disadvantages • Solid waste management – 4 R’s, landfills, incineration, integrated waste management (pros/cons for all)

15. Part 2: continued • Composting • How does it work • Role of additives • What are the impacts • What are the advantages/disadvantages

16. Compost Additives • A compost additive can be defined as something you may add to your compost to start the composting process or try to accelerate it. We can classify them in 3 groups: • Inoculants. • They contain cultures of dormant bacteria and fungi. They introduce microorganisms, which should accelerate decomposition.

17. Compost Additives cont. • Compost starters. • They add nitrogen, enzymes and bacteria to the compost, which should help start the composting process at the beginning of the cycle. • Activators. - They contain a source of nitrogen and can be either organic or synthetic (such as nitrogen fertilizers). They can help in some cases if the compost contains materials which are low in nitrogen.

18. Part 2: continuedH.S. only – the 12 EPA principles of green chemistry • Less Hazardous Chemical Syntheses: Design synthetic methods to use and generate substances that minimize toxicity to human health and the environment. • Designing Safer Chemicals: Design chemical products to affect their desired function while minimizing their toxicity. • Prevention: It’s better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it has been created. • Atom Economy: Design synthetic methods to maximize the incorporation of all materials used in the process into the final product.

19. Part 2: continuedH.S. only – the 12 EPA principles of green chemistry • Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries: Minimize the use of auxiliary substances wherever possible make them innocuous when used. • Design for Energy Efficiency: Minimize the energy requirements of chemical processes and, if possible, conduct synthetic methods at ambient temperature and pressure. • Use Renewable Feedstock: Use renewable raw material or feedstock whenever technically and economically practicable. • Reduce Derivatives: Minimize or avoid unnecessary derivatization if possible, which requires additional reagents and generate waste.

20. Part 2: continuedH.S. only – the 12 EPA principles of green chemistry • Real-time Analysis for Pollution Prevention: Develop analytical methodologies needed to allow for real-time, in-process monitoring and control prior to the formation of hazardous substances. • Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention: Choose substances and the form of a substance used in a chemical process to minimize the potential for chemical accidents, including releases, explosions, and fires • Catalysis: Catalytic reagents are superior to stoichiometric reagents. • Design for Degradation: Design chemical products so they break down into innocuous products that do not persist in the environment.

21. Part 3: ~ 20% • Applying concepts utilizing lab skills • Analyzing and interpreting given data from • Tree rings – to determine environmental impacts • Tables • Graphs • Charts • Determining %change, calculating kilowatt hours, etc.

22. By counting the rings of a tree, we can pretty accurately determine the age and health of the tree and the growing season of each year. In general, the wider the ring the wetter the year. • Wide rings indicate that the tree was growing fast that year, probably because the weather was good • Narrow rings indicate slow growth, probably linked to regional drought or cold temperatures

23. All of these trees were growing in the same general climate, so if they were alive at the same time, they should show the same ring patterns. Can you match any ring patterns between cores? Once you have found some pattern matches, line up the cores so that the patterns overlap. You will need to print the samples, cut them out individually, and then line them up

24. Links that might be helpful • Ecology • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecology • World oceans/estuaries • http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/207.html • http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/ • http://omp.gso.uri.edu/ompweb/doee/science/descript/whats.htm • Endangered wildlife/habitats • http://www.iucnredlist.org/ • http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ • Pollution • www.epa.gov/airnow

25. More Links that might be helpful • Bioremediation • http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es2013227 • http://home.eng.iastate.edu/~tge/ce421-521/matt-r.pdf • Science Direct article in pdf • http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0167779997010330/1-s2.0-S0167779997010330-main.pdf?_tid=1104ce3e-328f-11e3-a036-00000aab0f26&acdnat=1381507759_d535bc3eeb1190e59743817dc9712dc2 • Energy • Alternate • http://saveenergy.about.com/od/alternativeenergysources/a/altenergysource.htm • Non-renewable • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-renewable_resource • http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=nonrenewable_home-basics

26. More Links that might be helpful • Recycling and solid waste management • http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/292.html • http://www.nrdc.org/recycling/ • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling • Composting • http://homeguides.sfgate.com/define-compost-additives-78990.html • ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/wntsc/AWM/neh637c2.pdf • EPA 12 principles • http://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/june2011/principles.htm • Calculating watt-hours • http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/cost.html • http://www.energylens.com/articles/kw-and-kwh • http://www.ehow.com/how_4902973_calculate-kilowatt-hours.html

27. More Links that might be helpful • Greenhouse gases/climate change • http://www.arkive.org/climate-change/ • http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence • Dendrochronology/dendroclimatology • http://web.utk.edu/~grissino/principles.htm • http://www.planetseed.com/relatedarticle/proxy-data-provides-clues • http://www.climatedata.info/Proxy/Proxy/treerings_introduction.html • http://planet.botany.uwc.ac.za/nisl/Climate_change/page_17.htm • Tree rings and climate http://eo.ucar.edu/educators/ClimateDiscovery/LIA_lesson5_9.28.05.pdf • http://ltrr.arizona.edu/about/treerings ppt on tree rings http://www.docstoc.com/search/tree-rings

28. Good Luck!