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St. Johnsbury Academy: AP Environmental Science Environmental Decision Making: Maintaining the Big Picture Andy F

St. Johnsbury Academy: AP Environmental Science Environmental Decision Making: Maintaining the Big Picture Andy Friedland, Dartmouth College 11 July 2012. Goals for my talk today: Briefly describe my background , involvement with APES and teaching philosophy

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St. Johnsbury Academy: AP Environmental Science Environmental Decision Making: Maintaining the Big Picture Andy F

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  1. St. Johnsbury Academy: AP Environmental Science Environmental Decision Making: Maintaining the Big Picture Andy Friedland, Dartmouth College 11 July 2012

  2. Goals for my talk today: Briefly describe my background, involvement with APES and teaching philosophy Briefly introduce our new environmental science textbook Environmental Science for AP Connect fundamental course topics in APES to “big picture” decision making that can be informed by life-cycle assessment Define system Illustrate how defining system boundaries has a large influence on the acknowledged “impact” of an action

  3. My background undergrad environmental studies/biology graduate environmental science now: professor of environmental science in an environmental studies program My involvement with APES 1995-1998: I chaired the committee that created APES and developed the first few exam offerings 1998: ~5,000 exams 2011: ~100,000 exams 2012 ~106,000 exams 2008-2009: I was a member of the College Board CDAC (Curriculum Development and Assessment Committee) which was tasked with re-evaluating APES

  4. Environmental science (in context of APES curriculum) • study of the natural sciences and interactions with humans • My Teaching Philosophy: • provide breadth and depth • use quantitative reasoning when it is needed • try to be as neutral (unpoliticized) as possible • use relevant examples whenever possible • This philosophy is well represented in our book.

  5. Our book: -conveys a modern, synthetic approach that includes systems thinking -integrates global change and sustainability -uses quantitative reasoning--this ability is essential to success on the APES exam -uses relevant examples -is the only book built from the start for APES Contains AP-friendly features such as: Do The Math, Checkpoints, AP-style MCQ, AP-style FRQ, Measuring Your Impact

  6. Chapter title pages and edges of the chapter pages are color coded to reflect sections listed here, which are similar to the Environmental Science Course Description (Acorn Guide) topics (ES Course Topics)

  7. Obtaining oil from tar sands is much more energy-intensive than obtaining oil from oil reserves in the ground The statement being made by Hansen and others is: Extracting this energy will require much more energy than conventional oil and release much more CO2 than other energy sources.

  8. Systems appear throughout our book • A System is a set of interacting components where a change in one part of the system affects many others. (Chapter 1) • Chapter 2: Environmental Systems • The Mono Lake system (Chapter 2 opener) • “The largest system that environmental science considers is Earth.” • In systems, matter and energy are important flows to understand.

  9. Friedland and Relyea Environmental Science for AP* page 29

  10. We define systems by drawing boxes around things We can create a larger system by considering the source of the fuel that powers this car

  11. (the question continues……) Source: Friedland and Relyea Environmental Science for AP*

  12. We can evaluate systems qualitatively and quantitativelySo, 80% X 50% = 40% efficiency for a fuel-cell to generate electricity. An electric motor is about 80% efficient, so the process of powering an electric automobile from a methane-powered fuel cell is: 80% X 50% X 80% = 32% Compare to coal-generated electricity to power an electric car: 36% X 80% = 28.8%

  13. Comparing efficiencies in the home: • How to boil a pot of water? • Combust natural gas, wood, animal dung  heat food in pot (flame to pot transfer is 50% efficient) • Overall efficiency? • Or • Cook with electricity: • Combust coal or oil, or sustain a nuclear reaction heat water produce steam  turn turbine  generate electricity  to home  electric coils on stove top  heat food in pot (coil to pot transfer is 70% efficient) • Overall efficiency?

  14. Source: Friedland and Relyea Environmental Science for AP*

  15. Two ways to power an electric car A reformer generates hydrogen at about 50% efficiency The efficiency of transfer from hydrogen to electricity in a fuel cell is about 80% An electric motor is about 80% efficient, so the process of powering an electric automobile from a methane-powered fuel cell is: 50% X 50% X 80% = 32% Compare to coal-generated electricity to power an electric car: 36% X 80% = 28.8% However, the story changes if you consider natural gas powered electricity (55% X 80 % = 44%) or other sources……

  16. The Well to Wheels Equation: Oil in the ground to the gas tank

  17. US Deptof Energy http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/facts/2011_fotw686.html

  18. Fuels used for electricity generation in the United States, 2009. There is large regional variation in fuel mix

  19. Source: Friedland and Relyea Environmental Science for AP* Chapter 12 MYI page 341

  20. WH Freeman, 2011, Chapter 2, page 38

  21. Is ethanol really carbon neutral. Does it contribute 0 grams of fossil carbon to the atmosphere? Source: Friedland and Relyea Environmental Science for AP* page 376.

  22. 3,036,000 kJ Source: Friedland and Relyea Environmental Science for AP* page 376.

  23. Fossil fuel energy must be used to grow corn 8,545,000 kJ are used on the farm to grow one acre of corn Fossil fuel energy is used to: power farm equipment produce chemicals, irrigate dry grain, and more…..

  24. …and to produce the ethanol Coal 21,636,000 kJ are used to convert corn into ethanol and distribute the final product Energy is used to: Transport corn & ethanol Hydrolyze starch Distill alcohol

  25. The energy contained in ethanol is just a little more than that of the inputs 1 acre of corn produces 375 gallons of ethanol, which contains 33,217,000 kJ of energy (a surplus of 3,036,000 kJ). Ethanol is usually mixed with gasoline to produce a fuel for vehicles

  26. And useful side-products are made To produce these products from scratch would take 5,390,000 kJ, so credit is given for these Side-products include: Distiller’s grain Corn oil Corn gluten

  27. Sample Qualitative exam question Fall, 2011: a. My environmental friends tell me that drinking bottled water is bad for the environment. I don't understand: I know that bottled water is clean so it must be good for me, right? And I always recycle my plastic water bottles. So what's the problem? [identify two different problems] It takes energy (mostly oil) to manufacture a plastic bottle, fill it with water and then it takes a great deal of energy to transport bottled water to stores and consumers, especially when you compare this quantity of energy to the minimal amounts needed to obtain the same volume of water from the faucet. [this answer assumes that the water from your faucet is clean and safe to drink; there is no guarantee that bottled water is any cleaner than your tap water]. 2) Plastic bottles, used once, can become a solid waste problem if disposed of in landfills, they can become a plastic pollution problem, potentially endangering wildlife if not disposed of properly, and even if recycled, they require energy to transport and recycle, and they are typically not part of a closed-loop recycling process. So they may become carpeting or polar fleece but will not be recycled into a new plastic bottle.

  28. Food miles/carbon miles Sample calculation problem Fall, 2011 Problem: Bottled water sales in all of the Dartmouth Dining Service cafeterias last year were approximately 600,000 units. Assume that these were all 1-liter plastic bottles, which when full weigh 1 kg. Also assume that these water bottles were brought by truck an average distance of 100 miles from a bottling plant to Dartmouth. Fuel energy needed to move 1 metric ton (=1,000 kg) of freight 1 mile. Source: US Department of Energy (converted from Btus) Truck 4.3 X 106 Joules (4,300,000 Joules) Rail 3.5 X 105 Joules (350,000 Joules) Cargo ship 6.0 X 105 Joules (600,000 Joules) (2 points) How much energy in Joules was needed to move water bottles to Dartmouth Dining Service last year? (b) (2 points) The energy content of 1 liter of diesel fuel = 3.6 X 107 Joules (36.4 million Joules). How many liters of diesel fuel were used to move the water bottles to Dartmouth Dining Service? (c) (1 point) How many one-liter bottles of water can be moved from the bottling plant to Dartmouth with one liter of fuel?

  29. (2 points) How much energy in Joules was needed to move water bottles to Dartmouth Dining Service last year? (b) (2 points) The energy content of 1 liter of diesel fuel = 3.6 X 107 Joules (36.4 million Joules). How many liters of diesel fuel were used to move the water bottles to Dartmouth Dining Service? (c) (1 point) How many one-liter bottles of water can be moved from the bottling plant to Dartmouth with one liter of fuel? If the bottles are all 1 kg, and if moving 1000 kg 1 mile by truck takes 4.3 x 10^6 J, and if 600,000 bottles are moved 100 miles, then 4.3 x 10^6 J /1,000 kg-mile X 600,000 bottles X 1 kg/bottle X 100 miles then = 2.6 x 10^11 J b) Since there are 3.6 x 10^7 J in one liter of diesel fuel, 2.6 x 10^11 J divided by 3.6 x 10^7 J/L = 7200 L c) Since it takes 7200 L to move 600,000 bottles, the number of bottles that can be moved with one liter of fuel is 600,000 bottles divided by 7200 L, or 83 bottles per liter.

  30. (2 points) How much energy in Joules was needed to move water bottles to Dartmouth Dining Service last year? (b) (2 points) The energy content of 1 liter of diesel fuel = 3.6 X 107 Joules (36.4 million Joules). How many liters of diesel fuel were used to move the water bottles to Dartmouth Dining Service? (c) (1 point) How many one-liter bottles of water can be moved from the bottling plant to Dartmouth with one liter of fuel? If the bottles are all 1 kg, and if moving 1000 kg 1 mile by truck takes 4.3 x 10^6 J, and if 600,000 bottles are moved 100 miles, then 4.3 x 10^6 J /1,000 kg-mile X 600,000 bottlesX 1 kg/bottleX 100 miles then = 2.6 x 10^11 J b) Since there are 3.6 x 10^7 J in one liter of diesel fuel, 2.6 x 10^11 J divided by 3.6 x 10^7 J/L = 7200 L c) Since it takes 7200 L to move 600,000 bottles, the number of bottles that can be moved with one liter of fuel is 600,000 bottles divided by 7200 L, or 83 bottles per liter.

  31. “Last year my class pass rate was below the national average and I felt I had let my students down. I was lucky enough to be able to adopt your new text this year and I used it with one class.  I taught it cover to cover.  I appreciated the parallel structure with the Acorn objectives provided by College Board.  Thank you for a wonderful textbook! My kids completed every Multiple Choice question at the end of each chapter…..  The students told me these were helpful. My students also completed every “Measure Your Impact.”  I appreciated the applied calculation practice in every chapter…….” Source: a teacher

  32. Questions or Comments? andy.friedland@ dartmouth.edu and/or Check out our Facebook Page Friedland and Relyea Environmental Science for AP

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