Other than breathing, our activities emit CO2.  The first, and most obvious, is the use of transportation fuels, which contribute 14%.  Industrial processes contribute 16.8%.  Power stations definitely contribute the largest amount:  21.3%.  Also, burning fossil fuels and deforestation leads to higher carbon dioxide concentrations.  Livestock enteric fermentation and manure management, land use and wetland changes, pipeline losses, and covered vented landfill emissions lead to higher methane concentrations. Many of the newer style fully vented septic systems that enhance and target the fermentation process also are sources of atmospheric methane.

Well, obviously, because the concentration of most greenhouse gases are rising, the balance between sources and sinks is off.  I believe that the amount emitted by sources is higher than the amount absorbed by the sinks.  In my personal opinion, I believe that a really high population is contributing to this unbalance.  We exhale large amounts of CO2 and there are over 5 billion of us on this Earth.  Also, the increase of people driving cars adds to the amount of CO2 added to the atmosphere.

I emit slightly more CO2 exhaling that I do driving.  I exhale approximately 9.76×10^4 grams of CO2 and I emit approximately 9.12×10^4 grams of CO2 driving. I contribute to greenhouse gas emissions by using electricity, heat, and air conditioning. Also, certain foods that I eat, such as rice, cause greenhouse gas emissions. Flying also produces greenhouse gases.

Ok, I can’t make this post correctly so I’ll facebook everyone with it.

Two “Making the Link” assignments: 5C and 6A

Two lab reports: 5A and 6A

I think that’s it. If you have any questions about what to include in your portfolio let me know; I’ll try to post my table of contents later if I remember to help anyone out.

Each of you needs to complete this survey (details below). I will only report your final grade after you have completed this survey. Log in with your university email address. If you do not remember the password you chose at the beginning of the semester, you can have a reminder emailed to you at the website below.

To: Students
From: Julia Metzker
Subject: SALG Survey

To help assess your learning gains from this course, your instructor
has created an online instrument for you to complete. Please follow
the instructions below to complete this instrument:

• Go to http://salgsite.org/student
• Fill in your email address and create a password for yourself
• Enter the instrument number: 5883
• Provide the instrument password: sulfur

Your responses to this instrument are completely anonymous. Your instructor cannot tell whether you have responded to the instrument, nor which answers are yours.

I think that there are actually a few more links when you google “Chem Connnections” than there are on the CD.

To make it easier, I have added the links:

http://chemistry.beloit.edu/

http://mc2.cchem.berkeley.edu/

You may have seen that Dr. Gower has begun to publicize your final presentations.  There is a facebook event that you should all RSVP to.  You can find it here. I also encourage you to invite faculty from your other classes.  I will be sending a campus-wide invitation next week.

We need poster materials.

Assignments are below – Unless otherwise indicated your project should include a well-written and well-resourced paper (3-5 pages long). You need a complete bibliography.

Those of you that have the same questions should have very different papers.  Papers are due Dec 2nd.

Matthew – Recommend which sources and sinks should be regulated to decrease greenhouse gas concentrations for carbon dioxide. Note briefly how the regulations will be implemented at the personal, national, and/or global level. Thoroughly justify your answers by including quantitative and qualitative information from all parts of the global warming module and your individual research. Also include chemistry concepts such as IR spectra, gas concentrations, temperature trends, and chemical reactions to provide support for you regulations.

Rebecca – Recommend which sources and sinks should be regulated to decrease greenhouse gas concentrations for methane. Note briefly how the regulations will be implemented at the personal, national, and/or global level. Thoroughly justify your answers by including quantitative and qualitative information from all parts of the global warming module and your individual research. Also include chemistry concepts such as IR spectra, gas concentrations, temperature trends, and chemical reactions to provide support for you regulations.

Kevin – Recommend which sources and sinks should be regulated to decrease greenhouse gas concentrations for nitrous oxide. Note briefly how the regulations will be implemented at the personal, national, and/or global level. Thoroughly justify your answers by including quantitative and qualitative information from all parts of the global warming module and your individual research. Also include chemistry concepts such as IR spectra, gas concentrations, temperature trends, and chemical reactions to provide support for you regulations.

Audrey - Use the information from your classroom activities, this module, and your individual literature research to reach a conclusion on the issue “What should we do about global warming?”. Write a public opinion piece to communicate your opinions to the public. It could be a letter to the editor of your college or local paper, a letter to a public official, a video segment on global warming, or a cartoon for the campus paper. Be creative in the forum you choose, but realize that these need to be informational in order to be persuasive. Your teacher will provide you with clear guidelines and expectations for the evaluation of this project, given the range of presentation possibilities.

Kathryn – You are a member of a consulting firm. Prepare a report advising your country on how best to solve the problem of greenhouse gas emissions. How will you meet your country’s global obligations according to the Kyoto Protocol? What policies could they adopt to effectively cut emissions? What emerging technologies might they be interested in? Present two or three policy options and emerging technologies that could be used to decrease each individual greenhouse gas to the needed levels. Feel free to explain what policies and technologies would not be effective in the country’s society. Include appropriate references.

Noah – The GCSU Student Government Association recently heard a proposition regarding a green fee. The Green Fee would collect an “extra $5 for each student per semester. Money will go to recycling, installing energy meters in each building, and increasing energy efficiency.” Prepare a position paper in favor of the green fee. Specifically address how this $5 fee could effect the CO2 emissions, from the university. Include an estimation of current CO2 contribution from the university’s energy consumption and an estimation of the money that would be collected each year.

Grace - The GCSU Student Government Association recently heard a proposition regarding a green fee. The Green Fee would collect an “extra $5 for each student per semester. Money will go to recycling, installing energy meters in each building, and increasing energy efficiency.” Prepare a position paper in opposition to the green fee. Specifically address how this $5 fee could effect the CO2 emissions, from the university. Include an estimation of current CO2 contribution from the university’s energy consumption and an estimation of the money that would be collected each year. Suggest alternative schemes for reducing the CO2 emissions from campus energy use.

Lindsey, – Use the information from your classroom activities, this module, and your individual literature research to reach a conclusion on the issue “What should we do about global warming?”. Write a public opinion piece to communicate your opinions to the public. It could be a letter to the editor of your college or local paper, a letter to a public official, a video segment on global warming, or a cartoon for the campus paper. Be creative in the forum you choose, but realize that these need to be informational in order to be persuasive. Your teacher will provide you with clear guidelines and expectations for the evaluation of this project, given the range of presentation possibilities.

Rachael – Use the information from your classroom activities, this module, and your individual literature research to reach a conclusion on the issue “What should we do about global warming?”. Write a public opinion piece to communicate your opinions to the public. It could be a letter to the editor of your college or local paper, a letter to a public official, a video segment on global warming, or a cartoon for the campus paper. Be creative in the forum you choose, but realize that these need to be informational in order to be persuasive. Your teacher will provide you with clear guidelines and expectations for the evaluation of this project, given the range of presentation possibilities.

Janet – You are a member of a consulting firm. Prepare a report advising your country on how best to solve the problem of greenhouse gas emissions. How will you meet your country’s global obligations according to the Kyoto Protocol? What policies could they adopt to effectively cut emissions? What emerging technologies might they be interested in? Present two or three policy options and emerging technologies that could be used to decrease each individual greenhouse gas to the needed levels. Feel free to explain what policies and technologies would not be effective in the country’s society. Include appropriate references.