Geologic Processes A.

The earth is made up of a core, mantle, and crust and is constantly changing as a result of processes taking place on and below its surface. Geology is the study of dynamic processes occurring on the earths surface and in its interior. 1. The crust is soil and rock that floats on a mantle of partly melted and solid rock. 2. The core is intensely hot. It has a solid inner part surrounded by a liquid core of molten or semisolid material. 3. The mantle is a thick, solid zone. It is mostly solid rock, but an area called the asthenosphere is very hot, partly melted rock about the consistency of soft plastic. 4. The crust is thin and is divided into the continental crust and the oceanic crust. B. Huge volumes of heated and molten rock moving around the earths interior form massive solid tectonic plates that move extremely slowly across the earths surface. 1. About 12 or so rigid tectonic plates move across the surface of the mantle very slowly. These thick plates compose the lithosphere. 2. There are three types of boundaries for lithospheric plates. The boundaries are divergent plate boundaries, where plates move apart in opposite directions, convergent plate boundaries, where plates are pushed together by internal forces and one plate rides up over the other. A trench generally occurs at the subduction zone. The third type of boundary is a transform fault and occurs where plates slide/grind past one another. 3. The movement of these plates produces mountains on land and trenches on the ocean floor. 4. Earthquakes and volcanic action are violent and disruptive actions of the earth. Volcanoes and earthquakes are likely to be found at the plate boundaries. 5. The plate tectonic theory also helps to explain certain patterns of biological evolution occurred. C. Some processes wear down the earths surface by moving topsoil and pieces of rock from one place to another, while other processes build up soil on the earths surface. Weathering is the physical, chemical, and biological processes that break down rocks and minerals into smaller pieces. Minerals, rocks, and the rock cycle A. The earths crust consists of solid inorganic elements and compounds called minerals and rocks that can sometimes be used as resources. 1. The crust is the source of the nonrenewable resources we use as well as the source of soil. 2. A mineral is an element or inorganic compound that is solid with a regular internal crystalline structure. 3. A mineral resource is a concentration of naturally occurring material in or on the earths crust that can be extracted and processed into useful materials at an affordable cost. 4. Examples of mineral resources are fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas), metallic minerals (such as aluminum, iron, and copper), and nonmetallic minerals (such as sand, gravel, and limestone). As they take so long to produce, these components of the earths natural capital are classified as nonrenewable mineral resources. 5. Mineral resources can be classified into four major categories: a. Identified resources with a known location, quantity, and quality b. Reserves are identified resources that can be extracted profitably at current prices c. Undiscovered reserves are potential supplies of a mineral resource assumed to exist d. Other resources are undiscovered resources and identified resources not classified as reserves. 6. Future developments in nanotechnology may have potential benefits and drawbacks to the environment and the economy. B. Deposits of nonrenewable mineral resources in the earths crust vary in their abundance and distribution. 1. Iron and aluminum are fairly abundant whereas manganese, chromium, cobalt, and platinum are fairly scarce. 2. Massive exports can deplete a countries supply of nonrenewable minerals. 3. Three countries (the United States, Canada, and Russia) with only 8% of the worlds population consume about 75% of the worlds most widely used metals. 4. Japan has virtually no metal resources and has to rely on resource imports.

5. The United States currently depends on imports of 50% or more of 24 of its 42 most important nonrenewable mineral resources. 6. Experts are concerned about the availability of four strategic metal resources (manganese, cobalt, chromium, and platinum) that are essential for the countrys economic and military strength. C. A very slow chemical cycle recycles three types of rock found in the earths crust. The earths crust contains igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks that are recycled by the rock cycle. 1. Rock is a solid combination of one or more minerals. 2. An ore is a rock that contains a large enough concentration of a particular mineral (often a metal) that the rock can be mined and processed to extract the desired mineral. 3. Igneous rock is formed below or on the earths surface when molten rock wells up and hardens. They form the bulk of the earths crust. 4. Sedimentary rock is formed from small, eroded pieces of rock that are carried to downhill sites. Layers accumulate over time and an increase of weight and pressure plus dissolved minerals bind the sediment particles together to form sedimentary rock. 5. Metamorphic rock is produced from preexisting rock that is subjected to high temperatures, high pressures, chemically active fluids, or some combination of these. 6. The rock cycle is the interaction of physical and chemical processes that change rock from one type to another. It is the slowest of the earths cyclic processes. Environmental Effects of Using Mineral Resources A. The extraction, processing, and use of mineral sources has a large environmental impact. The greatest danger from mineral extraction may be environmental damage from the processes used to get to the end product. 1. Higher grade ores are more easily extracted. 2. Greater environmental damage comes with extraction of lower grade ores in higher energy costs and greater environmental damage to the land. B Minerals are removed through a variety of methods that vary widely in their costs, safety factors, and levels of environmental harm. Shallow deposits are removed by surface mining, and deep deposits are removed by subsurface mining. 1. In surface mining, the overburden of rock and soil is removed and discarded as spoils. This mining method extracts about 90% of nonfuel mineral and rock deposits and 60% of the coal used in the U.S. 2. Surface mining is done by one of several methods: a. open-pit mines are large holes dug to remove ores b. strip mining is useful and economical for extracting mineral deposits that lie close to the earths surface; area strip mining is used where land is relatively flat c. contour strip mining is used on hilly or mountainous land where a series o f terraces are cut into the hill d. mountaintop removal uses explosives, and huge machinery to remove the top of a mountain for the coal seams beneath it. This method causes considerable environmental damage. 3. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (in the U.S.) requires mining companies to restore most surface-mined land. 4. Reclamation efforts are only partially successful. 5. Subsurface mining removes coal and various metal ores too deep for surface mining. 6. Subsurface mining disturbs less than 1/10 as much land as surface mining with less waste, but is more dangerous and expensive. C. Mining scars the land and produces large amounts of solid waste and air and water pollution. 1. The land is left scarred and the surface is disrupted. Cleanup may cost in the billions. 2. Subsidence from underground mining causes sewer, gas and water systems to break. 3. Mining wastes contain toxins and acid drainage carries to streams and groundwater. 4. Toxic chemicals can also be emitted to the atmosphere. D. After waste material is removed from metal ores they are smelted or treated with chemicals to extract the desired metal. 1. Ore has two components: the ore mineral and the waste material called gangue. 2. Removing the gangue from ores produces large piles of solid waste called tailings.

3. Ore is separated from gangue, smelted to obtain the metal, made into products that are used and discarded or recycled. 4. There can be enormous amounts of air and water pollution from these processes. 5. Cyanide is used to separate about 85% of the worlds gold ore in a process called cyanide heap extraction. Cyanide is extremely toxic. Supplies of Mineral Resources A. The future supply of a resource depends on its affordable supply and how rapidly that supply is used. A nonrenewable resource generally becomes economically depleted rather than totally depleted. There are five choices at that point: recycle or reuse existing supplies, waste less, use less, find a substitute, or do without. 1. Depletion time for a resource depends on how long it takes to use up a certain proportion (usually 80%) at a given rate of use. 2. Depletion time is extended by recycling, reusing and reducing consumption of a given resource. 3. New discoveries of a resource extend the depletion time also. 4. The demand for mineral resources is increasing at a rapid rate with increased consumption. 5. No one knows whether we will run out of a mineral resource. B. A rising price for a scarce mineral resource can increase supplies and encourage more efficient use. 1. Economics determines what part of a known mineral supply is extracted and used. 2. Some economists feel that price effect may no longer apply since industry and government often control the supply, demand, and prices of minerals so that a truly competitive market does not exist. 3. Governments subsidize development of domestic mineral resources. In the U.S. mining companies get depletion allowances of 5-22% of their gross income. They are also allowed to deduct much of the cost of finding and developing mineral deposits. 4. Rather than receiving billions in government subsidies, critics feel that taxing extraction of nonfuel mineral resources would create incentives for more efficient resource use, reduce waste and pollution, and encourage recycling and reuse of these resources. C. New technologies can increase the mining of low-grade ores at affordable prices, but harmful environmental effects can limit this approach. 1. In 1900, the average copper ore mined in the U.S. was about 5% copper by weight; today that ratio is 0.5%. 2. One limiting factor in mining low-grade ore is the increased cost of mining; another is the availability of freshwater that is needed to mine and process some minerals; a third is the environmental impacts of increased land disruption, waste material, and pollution produced during mining and processing. 3. One way to improve mining is to use microorganisms for in situ mining. However, the process is slow and biological mining may only be feasible with low-grade ores for which conventional techniques are too expensive. D. Most minerals in seawater and on the deep ocean floor cost too much to extract, and there are squabbles over who owns them. 1. Rich hydrothermal deposits of gold, silver, zinc, and copper are found as sulfide deposits in the deep-ocean floor and around hydrothermal vents. 2. Another potential source from the ocean floor is potato-size manganese nodules that cover about 25-50% of the Pacific Ocean floor. 3. High costs of extraction of both the nodules and hydrothermal ore deposits are prohibitive. Using Mineral Resources More Sustainably A. Scientists and engineers are developing new types of materials that can serve as substitutes for many metals. This is known as the materials revolution. 1. Development of silicon and ceramics may replace the need for as much metal. 2. Ceramics have many advantages over conventional metals (harder, stronger, lighter, last longer) and do not corrode. 3. Automobiles and planes are being made of plastics and composite materials since they cost less to make, are lower maintenance and can be molded to any shape. 4. Use of plastics has drawbacks; they require the use of oil and other fossil fuels.

5. Nanotechnology is the use of science and engineering at the atomic and molecular level to build materials with specific properties. a. Buckyballs are soccer-ball shaped forms of carbon that have been engineered. b. Nanotechnology is a new area that could provide many things in the near future. c. One concern about nanotechnology is that smaller particles tend to be more reactive and potentially more toxic due to large surface area compared to mass. d. They can pass through the natural defenses of the body. e. Analysts say we need to carefully investigate its potential harmful aspects and then develop guidelines and regulations to control and guide this new technology. B. Recycling valuable and scarce metals saves money and has a lower environmental impact than mining and extracting them from their ores. C. We can use mineral resources more sustainably by reducing their use and waste and by finding substitutes with fewer harmful environmental effects. D. Growing signs point to an ecoindustrial revolution taking place over the next fifty years. 1. The goal is to make industrial manufacturing processes cleaner and more sustainable by redesigning them to mimic how nature deals with wastes. 2. One way is to mimic nature by recycling and reusing most minerals and chemicals instead of disposing of them. Another is to have industries interacvt through resource exchange webs. 3. Figure 15-19 shows the industrial ecosystem in Kalundborg, Denmark. 4. These industrial forms of biomimicry provide many economic benefits for business and the environment. 5. In 1975, the 3M company began a Pollution Prevention pays (3P) program. Other companies are also adopting similar pollution and prevention programs. lSummary 1. 2. Major geological processes that occur within the earth are known as internal processes, and they build up the surface of the earth. Geological processes that occur on the surface of the earth include erosion and weathering. Tectonic plates have rearranged the earths continents and ocean basins over millions of years like pieces of a gigantic jigsaw puzzle. The plates have three types of boundaries. Natural hazards such as earthquakes and volcanoes are likely to be found at plate boundaries. Rocks are large, natural, continuous parts of the earths crust. There are three major types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Rocks are affected by changes of physical and chemical conditions that change them over time from one type to another through the rock cycle. Mineral resource extraction methods include surface and subsurface mining. Surface mining types are open-pit, strip, contour strip mining, and mountain removal. Mineral resources that can be reused and recycled have a longer depletion time compared to those that cannot be reused or recycled and there is no increase in reserves discover. Scientists are developing new types of materials as substitutes for many metals. Mineral conservation and more sustainable manufacturing processes are helping to decrease our use and waste of such resources. An ecoindustrial revolution is underway in some parts of the world.

3.

4. 5. 6.

Chapter 21: Solid and Hazardous Waste *Make sure you are familiar with the details of the story of the Love Canal, (near Niagara Falls, New York, late 1970s) presented as the introduction to this chapter (page 525). 21-1: Wasting Resources

Fat pig stat: Despite comprising only 4.5% of the worlds population, the United States produces 33% of the worlds solid waste. 98.5% of the waste comes from sources like mining, sewage, industry, and agriculture. The remaining 1.5% of the waste is categorized as municipal solid waste (MSW), otherwise known as trash or garbage from businesses and homes. The U.S. produces 506 billion pounds of MSW every year, which is about 1,700 pounds per person. Thats close to 5 pounds per day. I dont feel like I make that much trash, but I have no idea what other people throw away in the process of providing goods and services for me. What happens to all that trash? 54% is dumped in landfills 30% is recycled or composted 16% is burned in incinerators On page 526, there is a rather startling list of some of the different amounts of solid waste that Americans throw away. My favorite would be 18 billion disposable diapers. When my friends Dave and Tonya had a shower for their baby Mya, I bought them a whole bunch of cloth diapers because thats just the kind of guy I am. A growing problem is the vast amount of electronic solid waste products that are accumulating. Talking about cell phones, televisions, computers, and associated batteries. These products often contain potentially hazardous wastes, which is why we ship them to developing countries as much as possible, being good Americans and all. Hazardous waste in America is officially defined as any chemical that: 1.contains one of 39 specific toxic, mutagenic, carcinogenic, or teratogenic compounds at levels over established limits (mostly pesticides and industrial) 2.is flammable 3.is explosive 4.is capable of corroding through standard metal drum containers When you factor in all the unregulated industrial waste (small amounts of toxic chemicals legally released into the environment) and household waste, most of the actual hazardous waste in America enters the environment unregulated. *More details about the explosion of the underground pesticide tanks in Bhopal, India (1984) are provided on page 528. 21-2: Producing Less Waste and Pollution How can we reduce the amount of waste we produce in America? Consume less (ha!) Redesign manufacturing processes to produce less waste Design products that last longer and do not need to be replaced Reduce unnecessary packaging Trash taxes (pay-as-you-throw) I would be all for trash taxes if I didnt think people would just throw their garbage in random places instead of paying the higher fee to have the sanitation service pick it up or drop it off at the landfill. 21-3: Solutions: Cleaner Production and Selling Services Instead of Things Nothing to see here. Move along. 21-4: Reuse

Reuse is obviously when a product is designed to be used by consumers multiple times, which should produce less waste. Unfortunately in America, the trend seems to be going in the other direction, toward disposable products. Examples include using disposable tissues instead of handkerchiefs, paper towels instead of cloth towels, and paper plates instead of dishes.

In the 1970s when I was a little tyke, all of the soda and beer bottles were made of glass. After you drank the beverage, you could return the bottles to the store for a deposit fee, which could be used to discount the cost of your next purchase. Nowadays, all soft drinks come in those cheapo disposable plastic bottles. The 70s was where its at, if you didnt mind not having computers, internet, cell phones, cable TV, DVD players, iPods, CDs, or microwaves. One thing you can do to practice reuse is to use cloth shopping bags instead of the paper or plastic ones offered to you at the grocery store. I dont know how much food shopping you do yet, but you will, and its something to think about. I have got to think that the day is not far away when every student will have an individual smart board like the large ones that all the teachers are getting. That way you could write notes without using paper, and save the file to the portal or a flash drive. Textbooks will be obsolete and will just be downloaded into computers instead. I honestly think that this is coming sooner rather than later. Compare my access to technology here at Hillcrest from when I started in 1999 and now in 2010. 1999: no computer in room, some old computers in library, no internet access, VCR, laser disc player. 2010: desktop and laptop in room, DVD player, new computers in library, permanent computer lab, 6 portable laptop labs, high-speed Ethernet connection in every room, access to portal, Promethean board. 21-5: Recycling Primary recycling is the process of converting an existing product back into the same product. A common example is collecting an aluminum can, melting it down and then creating a new aluminum can. Secondary recycling is the process of converting an existing product into a different product of lesser quality. A common example would be taking used computer paper and converting it into newspaper or even TP. Only Publix Green-wise brand recycled TP is used in my apartment. I like the idea that my TP was once someones homework or bill or something. You may prefer the super soft TP, but then again you may be a decadent American. Americans are not so much fat pigs stat: the 30% of MSW that is recycled in America is the highest percentage of any developed nation. Of course, it is estimated that 60-80% of your trash is recyclable in some form, so lets not pat each other on the back quite yet. Recycling statistics for selected items: 96% of car batteries 55% of aluminum cans 49% of paper 27% of glass A materials-recovery facility (MRF) is a large-scale recycling center where machines automatically separate MSW for valuable raw materials. The remaining wastes are then incinerated or buried in a landfill. Materials-recovery facilities are expensive to operate and generate a good it of air pollution. Also, the owners of such facilities have in interest in increasing trash output to justify the high cost of running the

machinery, which is sort of against the main idea of reducing consumption and personal responsibility for recycling/reuse. But how many people actually care enough about that to lessen their waste output? Curbside recycling is when people in residential areas separate the recyclable materials out from their other trash is separate bins when their MSW is collected by the sanitation department. Often the recyclables are taken to a clean MRF for further processing and separation. We do not have a curbside recycling program at my apartment complex, but I can speak to the one I had growing up at my parents house. Glass, aluminum, and plastic all went into the same large green plastic bin. Paper went into a smaller blue plastic bin. If you did not put your recycling bins out with the rest of your trash, the sanitation department just simply wouldnt pick it up and youd be stuck with it. What is the curbside recycling program like where you live? One major problem that recycling has is that the cost to recycle certain materials is just about the same as making new ones from scratch. So the major benefit is preventing the buildup of waste in landfills and saving raw materials, not saving people money. Many people require an economic incentive to perform a task, especially if it requires extra effort, and recycling generally does not provide that.

I would say that recycling in a lot of cases is a lot more important symbolically than it is in real terms. It is a way to demonstrate the importance of caring about the limited resources on the planet and the environment in general. Personally, I definitely think that there are many other ways you could make a bigger difference than recycling, but what it shows is a public commitment to the idea of being environmentally responsible. People who dont recycle arent necessarily terrible people, theyre just unnecessarily lazy, especially since in many cases the process is made so easy for them and they refuse to participate anyway. 21-6: Case Studies: Recycling Wastepaper and Plastics Paper is one of the easiest materials to recycle. A variety of recycled papers are available to buy in stores and paper can easily be secondarily recycled to a lower quality product. Recycling paper: Saves trees from being cut down Reduces air pollution from paper mills (dont tell me you would like to live next to one; every time I drive into Charleston I about gag.) Conserves a lot of water that would be polluted in the paper making process Requires much less energy than creating fresh paper Postconsumer waste is the material that people have purchased and are about to throw away. This is the stuff that you can help prevent from ending up in landfills. Preconsumer waste is the material that is created as waste at the factory. No consumer has ever owned this material. This waste is automatically recycled by the company because it is easier than for them to throw it away. Plastic is much more difficult to recycle than paper because: It often contains a mixture of different types of plastic resins It is often mixed with other chemicals to make a product Each individual item gives a low return of valuable product The price of oil is so low that making new plastic products is actually cheaper in most cases (This is not true for the type of plastic used in drink bottles, however, so keep recycling them.)

The main issue with plastics is the time it takes to degrade (200 years to forever). This means they will be building up in landfills and taking up space for very, very long periods of time. And if you incinerate them instead, they release toxic chemicals into the air which are not at all good for you. I think just working in an environment where so many plastic drink bottles are used each day and just tossed around on the ground has made me frustrated about their disposability and how little people think of where they end up. 21-7: Detoxifying, Burning, Burying, and Exporting Wastes Bioremediation is the process by which potentially toxic or hazardous waste is exposed to specialized bacteria which have the ability to decompose the original compounds into less dangerous products. Bioremediation may be effective for certain organic wastes such as pesticides and fuels, but not every type of toxic waste has the ability to be broken down easily and efficiently (lead and mercury for example). Phytoremediation is the process of using plants to naturally filter pollutants from the environment. Certain plants absorb chemicals from their environment like a sponge, and hypothetically could help to cleanse an area. Small samples of these plants are also used to test a site for existing pollution levels. Drawbacks of phytoremediation include the fact that it is slow to work (not feasible for a quick clean-up) and that the plants themselves then become potentially very dangerous. In the U.S. 16% of MSW and 80% of hazardous waste is incinerated. The main advantage of incineration is that it lowers the overall trash volume and lightens the load on landfills. The primary downside is the toxic air pollution that is created though the burning process. Incinerating trash is on the decline in America. Several states have banned solid waste incinerators because of their high cost to operate and their contribution to air pollution. Air quality is a major concern in many areas because of the economic sanctions threatened by the federal government if national air quality standards are not met. 54% of the waste in the U.S. is buried in sanitary landfills. The MSW that is shipped to the landfill is spread out in a thin layer, compacted, and covered in a layer of clay or plastic foam. This process is repeated daily. Modern landfills have thick clay and plastic liners to try to prevent any contact between the garbage and the outside environment. The major environmental problem that occurs with landfill use is groundwater pollution. As rain water infiltrates the ground over the trash, it seeps through and becomes contaminated with stink. This contaminated rainwater is called leachate and it can potentially become mixed in with groundwater supplies, which would be gross. Newer landfills have pumping systems underneath the landfill which remove the leachate, which is temporarily stored in tanks, and then shipped off to the local sewage treatment plant where it is treated just like toilet water. When the landfill fills up, a thick clay cap is installed to cover the top and hopefully block the leaching process from occurring. Since 1997, only modernized landfills have been allowed to operate, meaning that many had to be shut down permanently about 10 years ago. Some large cities like New York sometimes have problems finding adequate landfill space for their MSW. When their sanitation workers go on strike, the city fills up large boats with trash and they sail around the harbor waiting for a place to be accepted. Most areas do not have an issue finding enough landfill space. People just dont want it to be near them. This is referred to as the NIMBY (not in my back yard) principle. I dont care what happens to my garbage as long as its not anywhere where I can see or smell it. Another problem that occurs with landfill use is the production of carbon dioxide and methane gases through the underground decomposition of the trash. These are both greenhouse gases and you know how people feel about greenhouse gases these days. Modern landfills have a ventilation system that traps the methane for use as fuel to generate electricity to run the landfill. These operate locally. They just built one in Laurens County last year.

Unfortunately, many old-fashioned landfills still exist in the U.S. even though they are not currently accepting trash. The groundwater around these old landfills is usually contaminated and the greenhouse gases from garbage decomposition are not collected for reuse as fuel. Potential clean-up of these landfills would be both time-consuming and very expensive. One suggestion is to wash the landfills by constantly pouring clean water through them until there is no more potential for contamination. How is hazardous waste disposed of? (when its not incinerated) 1.Deep-well disposal the hazardous chemicals are pumped through pipes way down into the ground, beneath the water table. Just hope the pipes dont burst or theres an earthquake. 2.Surface impoundments a depression is dug in the ground near the source of the hazardous waste. The water evaporates, leaving concentrated waste behind. These are supposed to have secure liners, but many do not. Floods also dont seem like they would really help this set up. 3.Secure hazardous waste landfills basically means you store the waste in steel drums before adding it to a landfill, which is then closely monitored for leaks. 4.Aboveground buildings two-story buildings of which the waste is only stored on the second floor. Although the buildings are built to be strong, hurricanes and tornados and such are even stronger. Predictably there are about 13,000 accidents every year in the U.S. involving trucks or trains transporting hazardous waste. This brings out the HAZ-MAT crew, which is always fun. Developed countries have long tried to export as much as their hazardous waste as possible to developing countries. The company in the developed country would pay a firm in the developing country to pick up the waste shipment when it arrived at the port. From there, who knows what happens to the stuff, as the people picking up the waste have a strong economic incentive to get rid of it as cheaply as possible (read: dump it wherever no one is looking). This is the NIMBY principle to the extreme. 1n 1989 the Basel Convention on Hazardous Waste was drafted. It required waste exporters to have approval from the recipient nation, not just a company based there, before shipment. In 1995 this was strengthened to read that waste shipment from developed to developing nations in any form was out and out banned. However, a significant percentage of toxic waste (10% or so) is still exported to developing countries black-market style. 21-8: Case Studies: Lead, Mercury, Chlorine, and Dioxins Lead is a toxin that you really dont want in your system. It damages the nervous system, especially the brain. Acute lead poisoning can kill you dead, as 200 American children per year can attest. Most children survive the acute exposure, but many are left with serious side effects such as mental retardation and blindness. Even lower level exposures are dangerous, usually leading to some degree of mental malfunction such as lowered intelligence, ADHD, or just acting like a spaz. Studies show that there is no such thing as a safe level of lead in your blood, especially childrens. Basically speaking, lead makes you stupid. Back in the day (pre-1970s), lead exposure in children was much worse than it is today. The percentage of children with a significant amount of lead in their blood has dropped from 85% in 1976 to just 4% in 1999. There are two major reasons for the decline:

1.In 1976 the U.S. government began a phase-out of leaded gasoline that was finished by 1986. Back
when I was a little man, your two choices at the pump were leaded and unleaded. Of course all that lead was sent into the atmosphere through car exhaust, where it ended up in peoples bodies. Lead isnt naturally in gasoline; its an additive that makes the engine work better. Fortunately, chemists were able to create a substitute additive that isnt quite so lethal. In many developing countries, however (Mexico for example), leaded gasoline is still commonly used. It is estimated that 90% of the lead poisoning in developing countries comes from leaded gasoline. 2.Lead-based paints were outlawed in 1970, but were still widely used until the end of the decade. When the paint job got old and began to peel, little kids would eat the paint chips off the wall. Why would little kids do that, you ask? Well, the answer is because lead paint chips taste sweet. How about that? Small

pieces of dried paint would also get suspended in the air and inhaled into peoples lungs. If youre ever in an old house (built before 1978) with an old paint job, dont eat the paint, and be careful about breathing the air. Sources of lead in the United States now include: Industrial incineration and leftover car emissions Old lead paints Lead pipes Lead glaze on ceramic cookware Mercury is another potent toxin that affects the nervous system. Fetuses and young children are especially vulnerable to mercury poisoning. Probably the most famous potential symptom of mercury poisoning is insanity, as in the phrase mad as a hatter, derived from the mercury-based chemical that were used by old-timey felt hat makers. Overwhelmingly, though, mercury poisoning acts as a teratogen that causes birth defects. People are exposed to mercury in two main ways: 1.Inhaling it directly from the air. Common sources of atmospheric mercury include the burning of coal and waste incineration. Since mercury is nonbiodegradable, it can travel long distances from its original source via the wind. 2.Eating fish contaminated with methyl mercury, a highly toxic form of mercury. Methyl mercury is created as mercury from airborne sources settles in the water and starts to travel up the food chain. High levels of the toxic chemical become concentrated in animals at the top of marine food webs through the process of biomagnification. The highest levels accumulate in certain fish, particularly swordfish, mackerel, and sharks. Lower levels are present in sea bass, oysters, tuna, marlin, walleye, and largemouth bass. According to the EPA, the only people severely at risk for mercury poisoning are pregnant women and little kids who eat lots of big fish. In fact, pregnant women should probably not eat any of the fish mentioned above. Mercury poisoning outbreaks occurred in Japan in 1956 and again in 1965. It was caused by the release of methyl mercury in the wastewater of a chemical plant into the surrounding bays and harbors. The mercury biomagnified in the fish and shellfish commonly eaten by the people of Japan. Close to 2,000 people died and thousands of others were permanently paralyzed and/or mentally incapacitated. Because the first outbreak occurred near the Japanese village of Minamata, acute mercury poisoning in adults is usually called Minamata disease. It should be fairly obvious then that the easiest way to reduce the amount of mercury in the environment would be to: Burn less coal (convert to other energy sources) Remove mercury from the coal before it is burned (expensive but possible) Phase out incineration of wastes Chlorine is a potentially dangerous toxin because it is persistent, fat-soluble, a skin and lung irritant and potential mutagen. Chlorine is used in: PVC pipes Industrial solvents Household cleaners (bleach) Paper mills (to bleach the paper) Purification of drinking water Pools

Because chlorine is potentially dangerous, perhaps safer substitutes could be found for many of chlorines current uses. Dioxins are a family of toxic compounds that are primarily created through the incineration of plastics in MSW and medical waste. 90% of dioxin exposure comes through food, particularly fatty meats and dairy products (fat-soluble). The most toxic dioxin is TCDD, which is a known carcinogen which also affects the reproductive and endocrine systems. Industry representatives report that low levels of exposure to dioxins such as TCDD are not harmful to human health, but then again what did you think they were going to say? In 2004, Viktor Yuschenko, the current president of Ukraine, was poisoned with TCDD by political rivals while running for office. He claims they put it in his soup. In any case, he received the second highest dose of dioxin poisoning ever recorded in a human. He suffered from acute pancreatitis and almost died. His most visible symptom was the chloracne that permeated his face. 21-9: Hazardous Waste Regulation in the United States The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) was passed in 1976. It requires the EPA to identify specific chemicals to be classified as hazardous wastes (39 of them so far) and then requires any company that handles over a certain amount of one of the chemicals to have a permit allowing them to do so. The firms must also document the amount, location, and disposal of each chemical to the EPA. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) was passed in 1980 in response to the Love Canal crisis. It is usually referred to as the Superfund program. Through taxes on the raw materials used in the chemical industry, a trust fund was created to: 1.Identify hazardous waste dump sites (like the Love Canal) 2.Cleaning up such sites, specifically the groundwater 3.Locating and prosecuting the responsible parties The worst sites are placed on the National Priorities List and marked for immediate clean up. These sites are commonly referred to as Superfund sites, of which there are 1,240. The polluters themselves have had success denying responsibility and tying up the appeals in courts for many years. This forces the government to dip into the Superfund to pay for the clean up, because they just cant sit there and wait for years until ultimate responsibility is determined by a court of law. The original idea of the Superfund was to use a large percentage of the money to force the actual polluters to pay and that part of the law isnt working out so well. The most famous Superfund site around here is Twelvemile Creek, which is a tributary to Lake Hartwell in Pickens County near Clemson. Sangamo Weston Inc. manufactured capacitors there from 1955-1987. Flux capacitor! Anyway they used chemicals known as PCBs in the manufacturing process. The PCBs were then dumped as wastewater into Town Creek, which feeds into Twelvemile Creek, which feeds into Lake Hartwell. The PCBs settled down into the sediment of the creek beds. PCBs are teratogens/carcinogens that easily biomagnify through the food chain. Needless to say I wont be eating any fish from Lake Hartwell any time soon. They have been working on the site since 1990 and have removed over 1,200 pounds of organic compounds from the sediment at Twelvemile. The half-life of PCBs in the environment is about 7 years, so the amount of remaining PCBs is finally shrinking to more reasonable levels. Im still not eating the fish though. Brownfields are abandoned industrial and commercial sites such as old factories, gas stations and junkyards. Brownfields are somewhat polluted but not to the level of a Superfund site. The land has the potential to be reused but the toxins and contaminants must first be removed from the area. Brownfield redevelopment is often a part of urban renewal projects such as the one that occurred in the West End of Greenville.

lOutline Economic Systems and Sustainability A. An economic system produces and distributes goods and services by using natural, human, and physical resources. 1. An economic system produces, distributes and consumes goods and services. 2. Three types of resources are used to produce goods and services, natural resources, human resources (labor and skills), and physical or manufactured resources (tools, machinery, etc) B. A purely free-market system is a theoretical ideal where buyers and sellers interact in markets without interference by government or other interference. 1. In the ideal, all economic decisions are governed by demand and supply and price. 2. Curves of supply, demand and price show how surplus occurs, how high demand occurs and where the demand and supply curves intersect, the market price equilibrium point. 3. Profit or loss is the difference between the cost of production and the price buyers are willing to pay. 4. The market price equilibrium shifts when either supply goes down or demand increases, so it may rise or fall depending on the changes that occur in the market. 5. Two related economic concepts are marginal costs, the cost of producing one more unit of a product, and marginal benefits, the profit made by producing and selling one more unit. 6. The marginal benefit is the increase in benefit provided to a buyer when a seller produces one more unit of a product of service. 7. In real world economics, marginal costs and benefits are what actually determine prices and benefits to consumers and costs and profits to producers. 8. In practice, truly free markets do not exist. 9. Businesses try to exert as much control as possible over prices of goods and services, lobby for government subsidies, tax breaks, or regulations that give their product a market advantage. 10. Some consumers will buy a product regardless of its price, economists call this price inelasticity. C. Governments intervene to provide economic stability, national security, public services and environmental protection. 1. Markets often work well in the production of private goods. 2. Providing public services may require that governments intervene to correct market failures and to regulate national security and environmental protection. 3. Government regulation can also prevent development of monopolies or oligolipies where one or a few sellers or buyers dominate the market. 4. Government intervention also helps: a. provide a safety net for people who cant meet their basic needs b. protect people from fraud, trespass, theft, and bodily harm c. establish and enforce civil rights and property rights d. protect the health and safety of workers and consumers e. prevent or reduce pollution and depletion of natural resources f. manage public land resources D. Ecological economists see economic systems as a component of natures economy 1. Neoclassical economics view the earths natural capital as a subset or part of a human economic system 2. Ecological economists disagree with this model and its assumptions; rather, they view economic systems as subsystem of the biosphere a. capitalist market systems have several fundament weaknesses b. the models of ecological economists are built on assumptions that resources are limited; sustainable development should be encouraged and unsustainable development discouraged; and harmful environmental and health effects should be included in the market prices of goods and services (full-cost pricing) c. Ecological and environmental economists have suggested several strategies to help make the transition to a more sustainable eco-economy over the next several decades. Valuing Ecological Services and Monitoring Environmental Progress

A. Economists have developed several ways to estimate the nonmarket values of the earths ecological services. 1. Estimate nonuse values such as existence value, based on knowing that an endangered species exists; aesthetic value based on putting a monetary value on the beauty of nature; and a bequest or option value based on the willingness of people to pay to protect some forms of natural capital for future generations. 2. Economists have developed several ways to estimate monetary value of resources. One method is to estimate a mitigation cost, what it would cost to protect, move or restore a natural resource. 3. Another method is to estimate how much people would be willing to pay to keep a particular resource. B. Economists use discount rates to estimate the future value of a resource. 1. The discount rate is an estimate of a resources future economic value compared to present value. 2. Most businesses, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and the World Bank typically use a 10% annual discount rate. 3. Controversy exists on what the discount rate should be on a resource. Estimating future value or obsolescence is difficult to do. 4. High discount rates encourage rapid use of resources for immediate payoffs. Critics of this means of evaluation feel that a 0% or even a negative discount rate on unique, scarce resources would help to protect them. 5. A moderate discount rate of 1-3% would mean that nonrenewable resources would be used more slowly or sustainably. 6. Some owners of resources use ethical concerns to determine how they use and manage these resources. C. Market prices for products do not include most of the environmental, health, and other harmful costs associated with its production and use including: 1. Internal costs 2. Indirect costs D. Environmental economists try to determine optimum levels of pollution and control and resource use. E. Comparing costs and benefits of an environmental action can help with decision-making, but involves many uncertainties. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) involves comparing estimated costs and benefits of an action. It is one of the main tools economists use to help them make decisions. 1. CBA evaluates alternative actions for harm or benefit and attempts to assign a monetary value to each factor and component involved. 2. Direct costs are fairly easy to estimate, but indirect costs are often very difficult to estimate and the estimates vary widely. 3. CBA estimates can also be manipulated by parties either supporting actions or opposing actions to be taken. 4. A study by the Economic Policy Institute found that industries almost always overestimated the cost of compliance with proposed environmental regulations. 5. If conducted fairly and accurately, CBA is a useful tool for helping to make economic decisions. 6. Environmentalists and economists advocate using the following guidelines for a CBA: a. use uniform standards b. clearly state all assumptions used c. rate the reliability of data used d. estimate short- and long-term benefits and costs for all affected population groups e. compare the costs and benefits of alternative courses of action f. summarize the range of estimated costs and benefits 7. Economists differ in how they make use of these tools, therefore have differing estimates of costs for resource use or pollution control. 8. In 2003 a joint study by the White House and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) indicated that the economic benefits of EPA regulations for a 10 year period had economic benefits that exceeded their costs by a factor of 4.5 to 8. F. We need new indicators to accurately reflect changing levels of environmental quality and human health.

1. Gross domestic product (GDP), and per capita GDP indicators provide standardized and useful method for measuring and comparing the economic outputs of nations. 2. No effort is made to distinguish between goods and services that are environmentally or socially beneficial and those that are harmful. 3. A new approach is to develop indicators that add to the GDP things not counted in the marketplace, but that enhance environmental quality and subtract from GDP the costs of things leading to a lower quality of life and depletion of natural resources. 4. The genuine progress indicator (GPI) was introduced in 1995 to help evaluate and promote sustainability. GPI = benefits not included in market transactions harmful environmental and social costs. 5. The human development index (HDI) developed by the United Nations Development Program, is based on measurement of a country life expectancy, adult literacy, school enrolment, and GDP-PPP per person. Economic Tools for Improving Environmental Quality A. Inclusion of external costs in market prices informs consumers of the cost of their purchases on earths life-support systems and human health. 1. The full cost of an item would include the actual internal costs plus it actual external costs. 2. Full cost pricing might encourage consumers to conserve water, use fuel efficient cars, produce less trash, because the cost of goods and services would rise dramatically. 3. A gradual transformation to this type of system would allow people to transition and would allow businesses to transition to become more environmentally beneficial. 4. Some reasons that full-cost pricing is not used more widely is that some businesses would be forced out of business, the difficulty in putting a price tag on environmental and health costs. 5. Consumers generally are looking for the best price, so phasing in full-cost pricing requires government action. 6. Governments could begin to move producers and consumers in this direction by phasing our environmentally harmful subsidies, taxing harmful goods and services, regulate pollution and resource depletion. B. Product eco-labeling can encourage companies to develop green products and services and help consumers select environmentally beneficial products and services. C. Removal of environmentally harmful government subsidies and tax breaks will help phase in full-cost pricing. 1. Phase out government subsidies and tax breaks to speed up the use of full-cost pricing. 2. These subsidies cost the worlds governments about $1.9 trillion/year. 3. Businesses receiving these subsidies are opposed to changes, they would level the playing field and promote use of the cheapest and least environmentally harmful energy alternatives. 4. Some countries have already phased out environmentally harmful subsidies. 5. Shifts to full-cost pricing can reduce resource use and pollution and encourage more environmentally sustainable forms of economic growth and development. D. Taxes and fees on pollution and resource use can bring us closer to full-cost pricing. 1. Use green taxes or effluent fees to internalize harmful environmental costs of production and consumption. 2. Charge more for cutting lumber, extracting minerals from public lands, and for using water provided by government-financed projects. 3. Figure 26-9 lists the advantages and disadvantages of using green taxes and fees. 4. Many analysts feel that taxes should be lowered on labor, income and wealth and increased on environmentally harmful activities. 5. Shifting the tax burden to pollution and waste has a number of advantages and many economists have endorsed the concept. 6. Consumption taxes place a larger burden on the poor and lower middle-class than do income taxes, so governments would have to provide safety nets for essentials such as food, fuel, and housing. 7. Nine European countries have begun trial version of this tax shifting, environmental tax reform. E. Environmental laws and regulations work best if they motivate companies to find ways to control and prevent pollution and reduce resource waste.

1. Regulation involves enacting and enforcing laws that set pollution standards, regulate release of toxic wastes and protect irreplaceable resources from unsustainable use. 2. Innovation-friendly regulations can motivate companies to develop eco-friendly products and processes. 3. Some overly costly regulations would discourage innovation. 4. Having slightly less strict standards and somewhat longer time periods for compliance allows companies to develop more innovative ways to prevent pollution and improve resource productivity. 5. Industry and environmental interests can work together to develop realistic standards and timetables. 6. Pollution control regulations must improve environmental quality while not being too costly. 7. There are a number of problems with the regulatory approach. Cost estimates differ even with experts in the same field. 8. Environmental justice questions also come into play since not everyone may receive the same benefits or be exposed to the same level of harmful emissions. 9. It is difficult to assign monetary values to lost lives, ecosystems, and ecological services. 10. There were several phases to the evolution of environmental management: a) resistance to change from 1970-1985; b) compliance with environmental regulations and reliance on pollution control with little innovation; 1990s began the innovative management era when managers began to realize environmental improvement could mean an economic and competitive opportunity. This phase is projects to continue over the next 40-50 years. 11. Many corporations now issue environmental and sustainability reports to their stockholders. 12. More than $2 trillion exists in environmentally and socially screened investment funds and has stimulated companies to be more innovative. F. A market-approach to set limits on pollution emissions or resource use is to grant tradable pollution and resource-use permits. 1. A total limit is set for a pollutant or resource to be used and permits are issued or auctioned to manufacturers or users. 2. This approach ahs been used in the U.S. for sulfur dioxide emission reduction. 3. Figure 26-12 lists the advantages and disadvantages of such a system. 4. The effectiveness of such a program depends on the cap level that is set initially and the rate at which the cap is reduced. G. Some businesses can decrease their resource use, pollution, and waste by shifting from selling goods to selling services that good provide. Reducing Poverty to Improve Environmental Quality and Human Well-being A. Most financial benefits of global economic growth have gone to the rich rather than the poor. 1. A World Bank study indicates that 1.1 billion people survive on about $1/day. 2. Poverty has been identified as one of the five major causes of environmental problems. 3. Since 1960, the trickle-down effect has not functioned to help the poor, rather there has been a growing wealth gap. 4. This wealth gap is unsustainable. 5. Poverty is sustained by corruption, absence of property rights, insufficient legal protection, and inability of many people to borrow money to start a small business or grow crops. B. Forgiving the international debts of the poorest countries will sharply cut poverty. Small individual loans to help the poor help themselves will also cut poverty. 1. One way to reduce poverty is to shift more of the national budget to help rural and urban poor work their way out of poverty. 2. Analysts suggest that developed countries forgive at least 60% of the $2.4 trillion debt owed by developing countries on condition that the money be spent on meeting basic human needs. The current situation means that these poor nations will be perpetually poor. 3. In 2005, the heads of the G-8 industrial countries agreed to cancel the debts of 18 f the poorest debt-ridden countries 4. Developed countries can also increase nonmilitary and private aid to developing countries; mount an effort co combat malnutrition,; encourage lending agencies to make small loans to the poor; invest in small-scale infrastructure projects; mount a global effort to achieve universal education, gender equality and empower women; and help developing countries create more eco-economies.

5. In 2000, the worlds nations set goals for sharply reducing hunger and poverty, improving health care, and moving toward environmental sustainability by 2015. Making the Transition to More Environmentally Sustainable Economies A. An eco-economy copies natures four principles of sustainability and environmental economic strategies. 1. Business leader Paul Hawkens golden rule of eco-economy is: Leave the world better than you found it, take no more than you need, try not to harm life or the environment, and make amends if you do. 2. Some businesses will decline as we make the transition to more environmentally sustainable economies and other businesses will grow in importance. B. The Netherlands are working to make their economies more environmentally sustainable. 1. In 1989 the Netherlands began a National Environmental Policy Plan (Green Plan) in response to public alarm over declining environmental quality. 2. Eight major areas for improvement were identified. 3. Task forces were formed for each of these areas consisting of people in industry, government and citizens groups; they were charged with developing targets and timetables for drastic reduction of pollution. 4. Four general themes were the focus of each task force: a. life-cycle management b. energy efficiency c. environmentally sustainable technologies d. improving public awareness through a public education program. 5 .Industrial leaders like the Green Plan for several reasons; they have the freedom to deal with problems in ways that make the most sense for their businesses, and it often reduces costs and increases profits for them. 6. Most of the groups have met or exceeded their goals on schedule. 7. There has been an increase in organic agriculture, greater use of bicycles in some cities, more ecologically sound new housing. 8. Some goals have had to be revised or abandoned. 9. the environmental revolution is also an economic revolution. C. Shifting to more environmentally sustainable economies will create immense profits and a huge number of jobs. lSummary 1. Economic systems are the social institutions through which goods and services are produced, distributed, and consumed to satisfy peoples unlimited wants in the most efficient possible way. Natural capital, human capital, financial capital, and manufactured capital all comprise economic resources, which must be managed to sustain the worlds environmental health. Neoclassical economists see natural resources as a component of an economic system. Ecological economists see economic systems as a component of natures economy and would have higher optimum levels of pollution control and lower optimum levels of resource use than would neoclassical economists. Economic and environmental progress is monitored through the gross national income (GNI), gross domestic product (GDP), and per capita GNI and GDP indicators. Full-cost pricing includes the internal and external costs in the market price of any good or service. Phasing out environmentally harmful subsidies, levying taxes on environmentally harmful goods and services, passing laws to regulate pollution and resource depletion, and using tradable permits for pollution or resource use. Poverty can be reduced by forgiving dept to developing countries, through increase of nonmilitary government and private aid, and by stabilizing populations.

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Shifting to more environmentally sustainable economies include rewarding earth sustaining behavior, penalizing earth degrading behavior, use of full-cost pricing, and reduction of poverty