APES Hot Topics

Air EPA v. TVA/ Tennessee Valley Authority Clean Air Act Settlement CO2 tops 400 ppm for first time in 4 million years Continuation of fuel economy standards Regulation of greenhouse gas emissions

Pollution Lac-Megantic disaster Texas fertilizer plant disaster

Biology Sustainable food systems (local, urban agriculture, reducing waste) GMOs (Health concerns – allergies, gene transfer to human GI)

Energy Powder River Basin (largest coal operation in the U.S.; coal mined from here is cheaper than Appalachian coal) Fukushima Daiichi (nuclear disaster triggered by a tsunami; loss of coolant triggered meltdown) Oil & Gas production continues to increase (b/c of new regulations to clean up coal burning power plants) Keystone XL pipeline Tar sands Divestment in fossil fuels

Global Warming Superstorm Sandy California droughts/water wars Wild fires

Layers of the Atmosphere E – ENVIRONMENTAL Th – THINGS M – MUST S – STAY (Good O3) Tr – TRUE (Weather/planes/Bad O3)

Important Air Pollution Equations Ozone Nox + VOC + sunlight OZONE Acid Rain H2O + SO3 H2SO4

Primary vs Secondary Pollutants Primary (1°) – emitted directly from a source Examples – Car exhaust/Smoke stacks (SO2, CO, NO) Particulate material (Soot, Ash) Heavy metals (Lead, Mercury) VOC CFC Secondary (2°) – form when 2 or more primary pollutants join in the atmosphere(1° + 1° = 2°) Examples – Acid Rain Bad Ozone

FRQ Topics Over the Last Three Years 2013 Nutrients in a Water Body Electric vs. Standard Vehicles (Math) Ozone, Montreal Protocol Biodiversity 2014 Nuclear Power Plant Sewage & Storm Water Runoff (Math) Plate Tectonics, Succession Biogeochemical Cycles 2015 Nutrients in a Water Body/Flow in the Everglades Cell Phones/E-waste (Math) Oil Spills Urban Sprawl