Reference no: EM132281554

Assignment Details

Recycling

Recycling can have a great, positive impact on the environment by reducing deforestation, emissions from power and processing plants, and pollutants released into the environment. Consider an aluminum can. To make this from scratch, the bauxite ore must be mined, cleaned, ground into a powder, treated to get alumina, and then refined and heated to get liquid aluminum.

The liquid is poured into molds to make ingots. These are then rolled into sheets and stamped to make cans. By recycling cans, all of those steps from mining to alumina can be skipped, all of that energy saved, and all of those environmental impacts from caustic red mud wastes from mining and the toxic fluorides and volatile hydrocarbons emitted during processing are avoided.

Trash in the environment can release toxic compounds. For example, plastics release PBT (persistent, bio-accumulative, and toxic) substances and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) when they become weathered and degrade under environmental conditions. Plastics break down into microfilaments that get ingested by wildlife. The oceans are filled with plastics swirled into large patches-some big enough to form islands that you could walk on!

Recycling is a great way to reduce energy use, increase sustainable resource use, and reduce pollution. Consider this though: there are no federal laws mandating recycling! Recycling is regulated at the state level.

Choose ONE of the following topics, and answer the questions posed:

1. State Laws for Recycling and Waste Management

Start here to check your state for recycling laws.(TEXAS)

a. Does your state have recycling laws? If yes, what are they? If no, explain why you think it should or should not.

b. What do you recycle?

c. Could you recycle more?

d. What do you think of cities or states that mandate recycling?

2. Plastics and Pollution

Here is a short video that explains garbage patches in the ocean.

a. Find 1 thing that is banned from landfills in your state. Can you find or explain why it is banned? If it is a pollutant or health hazard, then why aren't plastics banned as well?

b. What do you think of cities and states that have banned plastic grocery bags?

c. How effective are bottle bills at reducing plastic waste? Do you turn in bottles for nickels or dimes? If not, would you, if your state had a bottle bill?

d. Read through this list. Is there one of these ways in which you could help reduce plastics in the ocean? Explain.Deliverable Length: 200 words (minimum)

Reading Assignment

Read the following chapter sections in Environmental Science:

• Chapter 6: Water

• Chapter 7: Clean Air

• Chapter 10: Land Use

Environmental Science by Editorial Board

Publisher Words of Wisdom, LLC

ISBN 9781943926169

Course Code SCIE210-20

References

Granger, T. (2017, November 27). What's banned in landfills: A state by state guide.

Hutchinson, B. (n.d.). 7 ways to reduce ocean plastic pollution today.

Ocean Today. (n.d.). Trash talk: What is the great Pacific garbage patch? [Video file].

Assignment Details

Reflect back on the lessons from this session. In Unit 1, you looked at ecosystems and considered what would happen if even one key component were impacted by a disturbance.

In Unit 2, you compared living conditions, the spread of disease, and the availability of food in developing and developed countries. In Unit 3, you looked at the contribution of burning fossil fuels to greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere.

Then in Unit 4, you considered the issues surrounding air pollution, among others. All of these topics relate to the disturbances and predicted impacts of global climate change.

For this discussion, you will consider the effect of a changing climate on one of the topics listed below. Use this article as your starting point: Effects of Global Warming.

• National Climate Assessment

• The Consequences of Climate Change

Choose ONE aspect of the environment that is impacted by climate change (from the 3 listed below: A, B, or C), and answer the 2 questions associated with the topic you chose:

A. Species extinction and habitat loss

1. Explain how climate change impacts vulnerable species or results in the spread of invasive species.

2. Explain how these changes will affect food webs.

B. Human health, agriculture, and infrastructure

1. Explain how changing weather patterns affect food production, the spread of disease or damage to homes, transportation, or the electric grid.

2. Discuss increases in pollution as a result of global warming.

C. Water, melting ice caps, and rising sea levels

1. Explain how global warming is affecting ice caps and the impact to further warming.

2. Discuss the rise of sea level and saltwater intrusion and how eroding coastlines affect human activities and ecosystems.

Deliverable Length: 200 words (minimum)

Reading Assignment

Read the following chapter sections in Environmental Science:

Chapter 1: What is Environmental Science?

Chapter 8: Economics, Politics, and Public Policy

Environmental Science by Editorial Board
Publisher Words of Wisdom, LLC

ISBN 9781943926169 Course Code SCIE210-20

References

GlobalChange. (n.d.). Ecosystems, biodiversity, and ecosystem services.

NASA Global Climate Change. (2018). The consequences of climate change.