1. Week of October 13th- In this blog entry I looked into the connection between global warming/climate change and the supposed increase in the number and strength of hurricanes. I enjoy this blog entry because I did a lot of outside research and brought an interesting conclusion to class discussion.
http://honor033.blogspot.com/2008/10/week-of-october-13th.html
2. Week of November 3rd- In this blog entry I took notes on an article about Clean Coal in China. I then did further research on the Future Gen project and the process of turning coal into liquid fuel. I like this entry because I learned about new technology that is in the works to reduce CO2 emissions that I did not know about previously, such as Future Gen and Green Gen (the Chinese version of Future Gen) as well as why Future Gen failed, the reason for which is political and economic, which is my forte.
http://honor033.blogspot.com/2008/11/week-of-november-3rd.html
3. Notes on Class Projects- This blog entry is a series of notes on a group in-class presentation on solar power. I liked this blog entry because of some of the startling data, for example, "only 1% of US land would have to be allocated to provide energy for the entire US" and "right now we only use alternative energy to meet 1% of our energy needs."
http://honor033.blogspot.com/2008/10/notes-on-class-projects.html
4. Chapter 3: Energy: A Closer Look- This blog entry contains two textbook questions by group did in class about the about of oil used in the United States by cars, the amount of CO2 this results in and what would be the effects of switching to the use of hybrid cars or energy produced by fission from domestic uranium (nuclear energy.) I like this blog entry for two reasons. First, actually doing the math related to the science and coming up with conclusions on my own made me feel like I was discovering ways to reduce CO2 emissions. Second, this blog entry inspired my groups final project in that my conclusion after these questions was that the United States must start integrating the Hybrid Car into society in order to take advantage of the possibility of reducing the United State's daily oil imports by 1/3 (the conclusions of my math.)
http://honor033.blogspot.com/2008/09/chapter-3-energy-closer-look.html
5. Week of November 10th- In this blog entry I posted the questions my group worked on in class that week regarding albedo, emissivity, evapotranspiration, energy balance, climate models and the process of radiation that heats the earth. I like this entry because the terms that I learned about (via having to look them up and explain them in my own words) were entirely foreign to me prior to this class, and I feel they are staples in understanding the way the system of heating and cooling the earth works. I like this blog entry for the value of its knowledge, I feel like I might look back to it at a later date, in fact I did while writing up one of my labs.
http://honor033.blogspot.com/2008/12/week-of-november-10.html
6. Week of Nov 17th- This blog entry contains the notes I took when the speaker on the economy came as well as a paragraph on the useage of ethanol in Brazil. I like this blog entry because I thought the economic speaker was very interesting and his topic, the current crisis, was very timely. I also like the paragraph on Brazil because the usage of ethanol in Brazil is something I learned about in another class and a topic I am potentially interested in pursueing/ further researching in the future, maybe as a developmental project. My knowledge of the trade situation in Brazil allows me to see one way I may study the topic of alternative energy and use what I learned in Scientific Reasoning later on in my major.
http://honor033.blogspot.com/2008/12/week-of-november-17.html
7. Insulation- My blog from this week is about different types of insulation, the way they are used and their effectiveness in relation to their R-value. For example I learned: "The effectiveness of insulation is rated by an R-value. The higher the R-value, the greater the material's ability to insulate. Each inch of fiberglass blanket insulation, for example, provides an R-value of about 3.27." I like these notes because I did more extensive research, which truley resulted in me gaining a better understanding of the topic of insulation. There reason this post is so low on my list is because we never came back to the topic in class and I consider insulation a boring, althought important, topic.
http://honor033.blogspot.com/2008/10/insulation.html
8. My carbon footprint- In this blog entry I used two different sites to calculate my carbon foot print and took notes of the specific questions each calculator asked me and how the questions asked may have affected the results provided by the site. I have never calculated my carbon footprint before, so it was interesting to apply something that we often talk about in class "the carbon footprint" to myself and actually calculate it. I also found it interesting that the sites ask pretty vague questions and came up with different answers, possibly hinting at the point that the actual amount of carbon dioxide that one emits is not the main focus of the calculator, but instead the calculator is supposed to get people to think about what causes carbon dioxide emissions, and therefore how people can individually reduce their impacts.
http://honor033.blogspot.com/2008/10/my-carbon-footprint.html
9.Research- This was my first blog entry. This entry summarizes information from www.epa.gov about the basics of sustainability, going green, climate change, alternative forms of energy and the energy theory. While this blog is not as in depth as later blogs (it was the first one and I didn't really know what to do) it did help me understand the basics of the "going green" cause. I didn't know what sustainability was before this blog and therefore feel it is both significant and something I may look back on as a reference later.
http://honor033.blogspot.com/2008/09/research.html
10. Semester Project- This blog entry includes the earliest outline of my group's semeter project and all of the questions we could possibly have focused on within the 4 persepective we chose to view the hybrid car from (economic, scientific, political and social.) I like this entry because the topic of our semester project we originally my inovation and I'm proud of the idea and how my group made it come to life later on in the semester.
http://honor033.blogspot.com/2008/10/semester-project.html
Friday, December 5, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Week of November 24th
Class didn't meet this week. My top ten blog assignment will be up by friday :)
Week of November 17
Notes on Speaker
Triple Shock for US and World-
- energy, food and comodity prices
- housing prices, foreclosures
Energy and Commodities-
- oil at $145/ barrel, gas $4 + at pump
- food prices triple
- raw materials spike in price
- less production, conserves reserves
- less pollution, waste and CO2
- reward and profit for new technology
Boom and Bust in Energy Prices
- Now oil at $55 bbl, gas at $2 a gallon
- relief for consumers
- loq commodity prices make recession milder
- price floors, trade, carbon tax, use controls= other solutions (may conflict with economic recovery)
Housing Bust
- Homebuilding down by 2/3
- Housing prices drop 20%
- mortgages harder to get
- foreclosures double to 3 million annual rate
- mortgage "paper" the lean that is turned into security, is clogging world banking and portfolios with $11 trillion in bad paper
- why bad? paper usually not worth 100%, prepay mortgages, defaults, fraud, credit checks
Banking Crisis
- Will always be credit cycles. Busts preceded by Booms
- now banks won't lend to customers or each other
- sectors credit starved (non-freddie/fannie mortgages,) mergers and acquisitions, local government projects, auto and consumer lending
- New vs Old- old parts of cycle (optimism feeding itself, bad collateral, lax credit and hidden debts,) new problems (extreme leverage, deregulation, bad accounting or new complex credits no one understands AKA derivatives)
Big Investment Cycles Normal
- guess wrong on technology, not knowing competitors investments, misjudging pricing power, costs and profits, misjudging future market size, taking up easy credit and then the credit turns scarce= all mistakes investors can make
What are you worth?
- new complex products not traded -accountants don't know how to price them-neither do CEOs, regulators and rating agencies
- prepayments, bad collateral, fraud...unknown credit means fixed income isn't fixed
Accounting
- CSOS- collateralized debt
- if insolvent by more than 10-20% (if net worth is - by 10-20% liabilities) go bankrupcy
What to do
- spend like crazy (help poor, environment, tax cuts)
- invite foreign lenders in
- get comfortable with bankrupcy- its not liquidation its protection from creditors
- rethink cooperate leadership and governance
- get started on permanent fair value accounting
I thought the economics specialist was really interesting, although he was a little too advanced for me and it was difficult for me to understand all of the material he was trying to cover in such a short period of time (liabilities, insolvency?) I thought he was interesting though, and very intelligent, he knows his stuff. After retypeing and rereading my notes from his lecture for a second time I think I understand what he was trying to say better.
I also recently completed a project in my international affairs class on Brazil. I was Brazil's trade minister and I found their environmental situation very interesting. For example, Brazil is very into ethanol produced from sugar cane (no corn with would starve the worlds poor.) 92% of the new cars being made in Brazil are flex fuel and Brazil's citizens much prefer flex fuel and ethanol to gasoline because it is so much cheaper. These facts plus the fact that Brazil does have some oil in its territories have allowd Brazil to become independent of foreign oil. On top of that, Brazil has a comparative advantage in all agricultural products and is currently using only half of its available pasture land, meaning there is much room for the expansion of ethanol production. The only drawback is that Brazilian farmers are destroying the world's 'lungs' AKA the rainforest, although I am not sure if the two issues are related. Just thought you would like to know about a little cross curriculum learning :) I'm really interested in exploring the issue furthur, and possibly going into developmental studies where I can work to better the environment while also helping developing nations become independent of foreign energy sources, it seems in this instance international affairs and environmental studies are complementary.
Week of November 10
this week we worked on the questions given to us in class, my group was unable to finish them in class and I took them home to finish over the weekend. This is what I did (there were picture but I cant figure out how to post them):
Discuss the following concepts: albedo, emissivity, evapotranspiration and energy balance.
Albedo- surface reflectivity of sun's radiation. Represented by a number between 0 and 1 or a percentage. An ideal white body has an albedo of 100% and an ideal black body of 0%. On average the earth has an albedo of about 4% and the atmosphere has about 26%.Interestingly, fresh snow has an albedo of about 95%. What that means for earth is that about 30% of the radiation of the sun is reflected by the atmosphere. As well, it explains why any change in albedo will change the overall energy flow, which will therefore change the way the earth's climate acts. So if either the earth's or the atmosphere's albedo is reduced by about one percent, say from the melting of the ice caps, which are a large source of reflection, the whole energy balance is thrown off, and the earth will have to deal with more radiation coming in, which means more absorption and emission from the surface, which means more spray from the atmosphere back down, which means an increase in temperature.
Emissivity- the efficiency with which an object emits electromagnetic waves. This efficiency equals the ability of that same planet to absorb the given wavelength. Efficiency is inverse to reflectivity. Represented by a number between 0 and 1, 1 being the most emmisive. Emissivity is important, as it shows that the actual surface of the earth holds very little of the infrared radiation that passes through the atmosphere. That then plays into the above situation, where the atmosphere isn't quite as emissive, and a sort of convection occurs further heating the lower atmosphere. Now, if the emissivity of the earth surface is decreased, it would create a situation where more of the infrared radiation is just outright reflected instead of absorbed and remitted and then convected, which means that lower atmospheric temperatures would generally lower.
Evapotranspiration- describes the transport of water into the atmosphere from surfaces, including the soil and from vegetation. What canopy surfaces and vegetation covered water surface wetlands also contribute to evapotranspiration. The major role of evapotranspiration is the movement of excess heat energy in the lower atmosphere into the higher atmosphere where it is lost, and the moisture condenses to create cloud cover, which has its own effects on global warming.
Energy Balance- when the energy entering a system equals the energy leaving it. As is right now, Earth is not in a state of perfect energy balance, as more of the radiation stays then leaves, which creates a state of convection, heating the lower atmosphere and cooling the upper atmosphere, thereby heightening the greenhouse effect. Now if the earth was in a complete energy equilibrium or balance, the climates as were would be much more stable, although it would all still vary with the seasons.
Explain the nature of and difference between two box, two-dimensional and three-dimensional climate models
Two box- shows two boxes, one representing the atmosphere and one representing the surface of the earth. The model has arrows, each numbered and representing a specific equation, to show the energy exchanges between the earth, the atmosphere, the sun and space. Equations for the temperature of the surface of the earth and the atmosphere can then be derived by solving the equations represented by the arrows. The two box model is a type of equilibrium model in that values are assigned to the various energy flows and the model is used to calculate temperature values. This model only tells what the temperature would be if the climate system was in equilibrium, and cannot account for green house gases that have varying concentrations over time.
Two Dimensional- accounts for different latitudes and altitudes. These models can be used to simulate seasonal changes, and atmospheric circulations that transfer energy. In order to account for atmospheric circulations that transfer energy the model needs to take into account the flow of air and its moisture. This moisture caries latent energy and results in cloud formation and precipitation. Other factors that, if taken into account, would make this model more accurate include the movement of green house gases. In order to create this model momentum and the affect one designated block of air has on its neighbors through momentum must be taken into account as well as the frictional forces the ground exerts on the air. A two-dimensional model is know a type of time-dependent model in that it considers the flow of energy and matter and can predict and project how the system would be affected by changing model conditions and over time. These models are used by scientists to experiment with specific scenarios and predict how they would affect the Earth's climate.
Three- Dimensional- “have it all.” Can account for land and water surfaces, for elements that cover surfaces and affect albedo such as ice and vegetation coverage, for the configuration of continents, the transfer of moisture and atmospheric circulation in every direction. GCMs, aka global climate models, previously known as general circulation models are models that include atmosphere circulation. The three-dimensional climate model is also a type of more sophisticated time-dependent model.
The more advanced models become the better scientists are able to predict changes in climate over time. The original climate models, one dimensional and two dimensional models could only account for the flows of matter and energy north and south and seasonal changes in climate. The most advanced climate models, such as three dimensional time-dependent models cut the earth and its atmosphere up into many individual boxes. This model can then simulate the flow of energy and matter within the boxes and between various boxes. Furthermore, this model can predict and solve the way boxes and their matter and energy will interact over and over again to project into the future and allow for changes in model conditions. These most advanced models allow scientists to tell what will happen if greenhouse gasses continue to be emitted into the atmosphere, and enable the projections of what will happen to the planet (such as the melting of ice at the pole and the rising of sea levels) and at what time, relative to one another.
In what sense is radiation the only heat-transfer process affection the planet’s energy balance, in what sense do other processes play a role?
Radiation is the only heat-transfer process because all energy that is absorbed by or projected towards the earth does so in the form of energy. Solar radiation and infrared radiation from greenhouse gasses are pretty much the only energy that has the potential to be absorbed by the earth’s surface and affect the energy balance. Therefore without energy in the form of radiation there would be no energy. However radiation is not the way energy is lost from the system. Convection (when heated surface air takes energy with it) and evapotranspiration (described above) are other ways energy is lost. Therefore, radiation is necessary for an energy balance, but not the whole picture. It is important to understand what affects the energy balance of the earth because the extra energy that has recently been accumulating and throwing off the energy balance is causing the earths ocean temperatures and levels to rise. Global warming is seen in the lack of energy balance of the earth and therefore it is necessary to understand what affects this energy balance, and it isn’t all about radiation as some sources would make it seem, there are other natural processes at work.
I think these questions were interesting and straight foward, however, the grading system was a little unfair. If the group did not include diagrams they could not recieve a high grade, even if they did an excellent job of explaining their answers. I don't think it graded the assignement as you intended or put the emphasis on what you consider most important, however I could be wrong. I do think that if the students are given a grading rubric before doing an assignment, and the rubric is simple and clear, and then the students don't follow the rubric (don't include pictures for example) then they did not follow directions. Following directions is a simple life skill we all must learn, and if a teacher gives directions and the students do not follow them, it is the student's fault. Yet, if rubrics are going to become a part of the class, and you are going to take them very seriously (aka no picture means a 3/5) make sure the students know how seriously you intend to take the grading system, so when they recieve their first poor grade they understand why. Honors students tend to think they can just ignore rubrics because their quality of work always recieved a high grade, but if the rubrics are specific this is a recipe of disaster...make sure the students know what they are getting into. Other wise I like the rubrics, I feel like I have a better understanding of what quality of work you expect of me and what you mean when you say "answer these questions." I suggest using them in the future.
Discuss the following concepts: albedo, emissivity, evapotranspiration and energy balance.
Albedo- surface reflectivity of sun's radiation. Represented by a number between 0 and 1 or a percentage. An ideal white body has an albedo of 100% and an ideal black body of 0%. On average the earth has an albedo of about 4% and the atmosphere has about 26%.Interestingly, fresh snow has an albedo of about 95%. What that means for earth is that about 30% of the radiation of the sun is reflected by the atmosphere. As well, it explains why any change in albedo will change the overall energy flow, which will therefore change the way the earth's climate acts. So if either the earth's or the atmosphere's albedo is reduced by about one percent, say from the melting of the ice caps, which are a large source of reflection, the whole energy balance is thrown off, and the earth will have to deal with more radiation coming in, which means more absorption and emission from the surface, which means more spray from the atmosphere back down, which means an increase in temperature.
Emissivity- the efficiency with which an object emits electromagnetic waves. This efficiency equals the ability of that same planet to absorb the given wavelength. Efficiency is inverse to reflectivity. Represented by a number between 0 and 1, 1 being the most emmisive. Emissivity is important, as it shows that the actual surface of the earth holds very little of the infrared radiation that passes through the atmosphere. That then plays into the above situation, where the atmosphere isn't quite as emissive, and a sort of convection occurs further heating the lower atmosphere. Now, if the emissivity of the earth surface is decreased, it would create a situation where more of the infrared radiation is just outright reflected instead of absorbed and remitted and then convected, which means that lower atmospheric temperatures would generally lower.
Evapotranspiration- describes the transport of water into the atmosphere from surfaces, including the soil and from vegetation. What canopy surfaces and vegetation covered water surface wetlands also contribute to evapotranspiration. The major role of evapotranspiration is the movement of excess heat energy in the lower atmosphere into the higher atmosphere where it is lost, and the moisture condenses to create cloud cover, which has its own effects on global warming.
Energy Balance- when the energy entering a system equals the energy leaving it. As is right now, Earth is not in a state of perfect energy balance, as more of the radiation stays then leaves, which creates a state of convection, heating the lower atmosphere and cooling the upper atmosphere, thereby heightening the greenhouse effect. Now if the earth was in a complete energy equilibrium or balance, the climates as were would be much more stable, although it would all still vary with the seasons.
Explain the nature of and difference between two box, two-dimensional and three-dimensional climate models
Two box- shows two boxes, one representing the atmosphere and one representing the surface of the earth. The model has arrows, each numbered and representing a specific equation, to show the energy exchanges between the earth, the atmosphere, the sun and space. Equations for the temperature of the surface of the earth and the atmosphere can then be derived by solving the equations represented by the arrows. The two box model is a type of equilibrium model in that values are assigned to the various energy flows and the model is used to calculate temperature values. This model only tells what the temperature would be if the climate system was in equilibrium, and cannot account for green house gases that have varying concentrations over time.
Two Dimensional- accounts for different latitudes and altitudes. These models can be used to simulate seasonal changes, and atmospheric circulations that transfer energy. In order to account for atmospheric circulations that transfer energy the model needs to take into account the flow of air and its moisture. This moisture caries latent energy and results in cloud formation and precipitation. Other factors that, if taken into account, would make this model more accurate include the movement of green house gases. In order to create this model momentum and the affect one designated block of air has on its neighbors through momentum must be taken into account as well as the frictional forces the ground exerts on the air. A two-dimensional model is know a type of time-dependent model in that it considers the flow of energy and matter and can predict and project how the system would be affected by changing model conditions and over time. These models are used by scientists to experiment with specific scenarios and predict how they would affect the Earth's climate.
Three- Dimensional- “have it all.” Can account for land and water surfaces, for elements that cover surfaces and affect albedo such as ice and vegetation coverage, for the configuration of continents, the transfer of moisture and atmospheric circulation in every direction. GCMs, aka global climate models, previously known as general circulation models are models that include atmosphere circulation. The three-dimensional climate model is also a type of more sophisticated time-dependent model.
The more advanced models become the better scientists are able to predict changes in climate over time. The original climate models, one dimensional and two dimensional models could only account for the flows of matter and energy north and south and seasonal changes in climate. The most advanced climate models, such as three dimensional time-dependent models cut the earth and its atmosphere up into many individual boxes. This model can then simulate the flow of energy and matter within the boxes and between various boxes. Furthermore, this model can predict and solve the way boxes and their matter and energy will interact over and over again to project into the future and allow for changes in model conditions. These most advanced models allow scientists to tell what will happen if greenhouse gasses continue to be emitted into the atmosphere, and enable the projections of what will happen to the planet (such as the melting of ice at the pole and the rising of sea levels) and at what time, relative to one another.
In what sense is radiation the only heat-transfer process affection the planet’s energy balance, in what sense do other processes play a role?
Radiation is the only heat-transfer process because all energy that is absorbed by or projected towards the earth does so in the form of energy. Solar radiation and infrared radiation from greenhouse gasses are pretty much the only energy that has the potential to be absorbed by the earth’s surface and affect the energy balance. Therefore without energy in the form of radiation there would be no energy. However radiation is not the way energy is lost from the system. Convection (when heated surface air takes energy with it) and evapotranspiration (described above) are other ways energy is lost. Therefore, radiation is necessary for an energy balance, but not the whole picture. It is important to understand what affects the energy balance of the earth because the extra energy that has recently been accumulating and throwing off the energy balance is causing the earths ocean temperatures and levels to rise. Global warming is seen in the lack of energy balance of the earth and therefore it is necessary to understand what affects this energy balance, and it isn’t all about radiation as some sources would make it seem, there are other natural processes at work.
I think these questions were interesting and straight foward, however, the grading system was a little unfair. If the group did not include diagrams they could not recieve a high grade, even if they did an excellent job of explaining their answers. I don't think it graded the assignement as you intended or put the emphasis on what you consider most important, however I could be wrong. I do think that if the students are given a grading rubric before doing an assignment, and the rubric is simple and clear, and then the students don't follow the rubric (don't include pictures for example) then they did not follow directions. Following directions is a simple life skill we all must learn, and if a teacher gives directions and the students do not follow them, it is the student's fault. Yet, if rubrics are going to become a part of the class, and you are going to take them very seriously (aka no picture means a 3/5) make sure the students know how seriously you intend to take the grading system, so when they recieve their first poor grade they understand why. Honors students tend to think they can just ignore rubrics because their quality of work always recieved a high grade, but if the rubrics are specific this is a recipe of disaster...make sure the students know what they are getting into. Other wise I like the rubrics, I feel like I have a better understanding of what quality of work you expect of me and what you mean when you say "answer these questions." I suggest using them in the future.
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