1. APES Hot Topics

2. 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

3. Pollution
Lac-Megantic disaster
Texas fertilizer plant disaster

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

6. 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

11. Global Warming Superstorm Sandy California droughts/water wars
Wild fires

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

17. Important Air Pollution Equations
Ozone
Nox + VOC + sunlight OZONE
Acid Rain
H2O + SO H2SO4

18. 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

19. 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