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Industrialism effects on society
Industrialism effects on society
Human activities on global warming
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When people hear the word biodiesel, rarely do they think of their cars running off of algae or corn. Though the majority of people do not realize it yet, the possibility that gasoline could be replaced with biodiesel is very possible. The reason that biodiesel could become the next fuel is because with the state of industrialism today, carbon dioxide is being added to the atmosphere at alarming rates. With about four hundred parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today, complications are starting to occur, and will magnify as time goes on if we do not act (CO2 Now). Burning fossil fuels is a major contributor to the high emission level. The ecosystem is unable to use or remove the extent of our carbon dioxide emissions resulting in the addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, causing the greenhouse gases to trap more heat from the sun, rising Earth’s temperature. The greenhouse gas effect, a natural process, becomes abused when pollution amplifies and complicates weather, and threatens society, animals, and ecosystems. One solution to making even a dent on carbon dioxide emissions is finding alternative forms of creating energy. An emerging alternative to fossil fuels is biodiesel. I, and a group called Biocoil, started testing the feasibility of algae as a biofuel in hopes of creating a solution to carbon dioxide emissions, by creating alternative forms of fuel. Biocoil is an Advanced Biology group that, since 1996, has been growing algae for biodiesel to try to relieve the global issues we are having. Biodiesel “is [a safe, less polluting form] of diesel fuel manufactured from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled greases” (U.S. Department of Energy). In comparison to current fossil fuels, biodiesel is ...
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...ossil fuels just happens to be my way of exploring ways I can help reduce the damage that occurs everyday from manufacturing to industrialism. Through my research, I learned that algae fuel may not be the only action we can take toward cleaning our footprint on the earth, but that algae definitely has a notable potential.
Works Cited
"Biodiesel." Fuel Economy. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.
"Illini Algae - Hydrothermal Liquefaction." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.
Chuck, Smith, Personal Interview. November - December 2013.
Kennedy, Clinton, Personal Interview. November - December 2013.
Corovic, Selma, et al. "Modeling Of Electric Field Distribution In Tissues During Electroporation." Biomedical Engineering Online 12.1 (2013): 1-27. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
"Earth's CO2 Home Page." CO2 Now | CO2 Home. CO2 Now, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
Since measurements began in 1958 -- and it can be assumed to have been the case since the industrial revolution -- emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has risen steadily as a result of the burning of fossil fuels (Quay, pp 2344). Although there is much argument over the implications of increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, there are several points that almost all scientists would agree on: firstly, carbon dioxide acts to absorb radiated heat; if present in our atmosphere will do just that to some extent. Second, the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is rising. Third, the temperature of the planet is rising - although the amount of this increase and the causes of this rise are subject to disagreement (Philander, pp 193).
There is a lot of talk about the world’s source of energy going on these days and people are starting to ask questions about our sources of energy. Is it environmentally friendly? Does it make sense economically? For years the world has been highly dependent on fossil fuels that are extracted from the ground. These fuels power things from power plants, cars, plains, and many of the other modern conveniences that we enjoy. There is a lot of energy expended in the extraction and transport of these fuels as well as many negative environmental impacts. Scientists are busy finding alternative ways to power our world that are cost efficient and ecofriendly. One idea that is being explored as an effective replacement is producing oil from algae. Algae have a high content of oil, about 50 percent of its weight, and science is finding a way to use it as a clean fuel source.
Recently, scientists have been noticing a quite thing occurring in the ocean that had never been seen before. Scientists have been recently finding a new type of algae in the ocean that does not have very great effects on the environment. Many say that this alga is probably a type of algae that is similar to the ones that grew millions of years ago; this alga is toxic though. It releases terrible pungent odors that can affect health. This algae was first discovered in Australia by fisherman and is now ruining Australian fishing industries by taking over the ocean. Scientist Judith O’Neil from the University of Queensland was the first scientist to discover the origins of this toxic algae. It has been considered a fireweed since it has severely affected ecosystems all over the ocean and has been dominating. However this is not the only primitive species if ocean plant taking over rapidly now. It has been stated that, “Evolution is in reverse” (Kenneth R. Weiss from the Los Angeles Times). Now ancient species of sea life are thriving while more complex organisms and new species aren’t thriving in our oceans. That situation is bad since they are taking over ecosystems completely blocking animals from sunlight, space, and any other necessities. There have also been other species that are now plaguing our oceans such as jellyfish, and other species of algae. These organisms can definitely lead to negative impacts on us and the ocean’s vast ecosystems.
"global warming, climate change, earth and environment news from Scientific American." global warming, climate change, earth and environment news from Scientific American. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. .
Biodiesel is considered an environmentally friendly alternative because it reduces the amount many toxic substances. Plants such as soybeans require carbon dioxide from the air to produce their stems, roots and leaves. During biodiesel production from soybean oil, carbon dioxide is produced and released in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is considered a green house gas (GHG). However, this cycle of GHG emission does not neccersarily contribute to the atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. This is because the next soybean crop will reuse the carbon dioxide emitted for its growth. Another important environmental benefit is that biodiesel reduces particulate matter (PM), hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions. These benefits occur because biodiesel contains 11% oxygen by weight. Oxygen allows the fuel to burn better, resulting in fewer emissions from unburned fuel. And lastly, biodiesel fuels do not contain any sulfur and does not have an unpleasant smell when it is emitted from vehicles.
We humans cannot help but feel a twinge of regret when we contemplate how we brought forth the plague of global warming by our own hands in the passing years. Aside from rising sea levels as deluging coastal cities and depleting ozone layers as increasing cancer rates, we inevitably come face to face with one simple realization: it’s getting too hot in here. Moreover, we have been devastated by various extremes of nature, with spring frost storms and summer hurricanes arriving with increasing frequency. However, numerous though the causes of global warming may be, the general consensus is that carbon dioxide, which results from the burning of fuels such as coal, is the main culprit; this gas has now formed a high concentration blockade in the atmosphere, preventing heat from escaping and thus increasing the temperatures of our planet. Therefore, after assessing all facts of the problem, I humbly propose that we collect the CO2¬, compress it, and then place it into soda cans. Then, we shall store the soda cans underground, whence the CO2 originally came.
"CO2 vs Temperature: Last 100 Years." CO2 vs Temperature: Last 100 Years. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014.
Investigating the Effect of Light Intensity on Photosynthesis in a Pondweed Aim: To investigate how the rate of photosynthesis changes at different light intensities, with a pondweed. Prediction: I predict that the oxygen bubbles will decrease when the lamp is further away from the measuring cylinder, because light intensity is a factor of photosynthesis. The plant may stop photosynthesising when the pondweed is at the furthest distance from the lamp (8cm). Without light, the plant will stop the photosynthesising process, because, light is a limited factor. However once a particular light intensity is reached the rate of photosynthesis stays constant, even if the light intensity is the greatest.
The Effect of Light Intensity on the Rate of Photosynthesis in an Aquatic Plant Introduction The input variable I will be investigating is light, as light is just one of the 4 factors required in the green-plant process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process by which green-plants use sunlight, carbon dioxide, water & chlorophyll to produce their own food source. This process is also affected by the temperature surrounding the plant (the species of plant we experimented with, pond weed, photosynthesised best at around 20 degrees centigrade.) Light, temperature & CO2 are known as limiting factors, and each is as important as the next in photosynthesis. Light is the factor that is linked with chlorophyll, a green pigment stored in chloroplasts found in the palisade cells, in the upper layer of leaves.
Eutrophication comes from the Greek word "eutrophos" meaning well-nourished. In other words, this natural process found in water occurs as a result of additional rich nutrients forming a flourish in plant production.
How often also does a human use or eat algae in his daily life? When most people think of algae, they probably think of something that is slimy, gross, and dirty. Algae may irritate people because it grows in unwanted places like swimming pools and boats. Algae can be toxic and it is slimy, but algae benefits people in all aspects of life. Humans obtain algin from algae to help make ice cream, pudding, face cream, and shoe polish. Algae is present in hamburgers, yoghurt, and cakes. Algae also helps make explosives, insulation, and paint. Algae produces most of the oxygen that animals breathe and without it the world would suffocate. Also, according to Helen Challand, "It is now believed that the oil and gas formed millions of years ago in the ground were created by algae" (20).
Some of the ways we try to combat Climate Change differes from region to region and culure to culture. One of the remedies that seems to be adapting all around the world is the use of biofuels instead of using fossil fuels. People believe that instead of digging up and using oil and petroleum, our best solution to combat greenhouse gases emitted by fossil fuels is to plant soybeans, sugar cane, palm oil and use that as a replacement. More cars are flex fuled, and use ethenol mixed with petroleum to lessen the use of oil since oil prices are only going to increase with the decreasing amount that is
The concept of this essay is to stress that biofuels are a viable and sustainable energy source than fossil fuels, showing its advantages but not ignoring its disadvantages which also enlightens us about the cleaner and renewable natural resources. Biofuels is an alternative source of energy which can end the global dependence on fossil fuels.
According to a chart made by NASA, it shows that the number of atmospheric carbon dioxide in these 650,000 years. For the past 650,000 years, the number of atmospheric carbon dioxide were lower than the carbon dioxide
...outcompete fossil fuels, but by using different forms of alternative energy fossil fuels use could be reduced drastically. Now is the time for a conversion from fossil fuels to alternative energy.