Surface Mining

The three types of surface mining include, Strip mining, contour mining, and mountaintop removal. Stip mining is used when the coal seam is close to the surface and the top soild is stripped away to reach the coal underneith.Contour mining follows the contour of the terrain leaving terraces in the side of the mountain. Mountaintop removal is the most contreversal. The top of the mountain is removed to reach the horizontal coal seam underneath.  The advantages of surface mining are; it is more cost efficient than other mining methods, mine explosion are more rare, workers are less likely to die from toxic fumes, therefore more safer then underground mining methods. Disadvantages include:  overburden being placed in lower elevations and filles in "holes" or valleys, which completely changes the terrain. This effects the habitats of the regional flora and fauna,destroying the surrounding ecosystems. Surface mining also contributes to noise, water, and air pollution, which is harmful to everyone involved.

CIte used for research

Coal Formation

     Coal formation is a process that takes millions of years and only a few to mine. Coal is actually vegetation that has been smothered in a swamp like condition for years that could not decompose due to the lack of oxygen. This is the formation of what we call peat. As time goes on due to the pressure on top,the peat slowly turns it into Lignite, which is a soft brown coal. From there the pressure turns the lignite into Bituminous, then into Anthracite. As time goes on and the pressure continues to grow greater and greater the coal becomes harder and can burn at higher heat due to the lack of oxygen and the abundance of CO2. From there we use the coal to gather natural gasses used to produce energy, the leftover product is know as coke.

Analyzing Graphs

To conclude, the AOT function stays pretty close to the temperature level recorded by the earth science classes. AOT  increases and decreases in the same pattern as the temperatures recorded in November and December. However the percent transmission, does not closely resemble the temperature for the month. The percent transmission follows the same type of function, but moves with much greater difference such as 11/28/2012, the temperature slightly increases, but the percentage drastically increases.  P.s. Your vitriolic humor keeps my day interesting and the smart people in top.

Aerosols effect on the climate change

Aersols are the tiny little particles of matter that are suspened in the air. Most aerosols are naturally occuring through events such as volcano eruptions, dust storms, forest fires and even sea spray. Humans accout for about  10 percent of the aerosols in the air. We put them their mostly by the burning of fossil fuels and the movement of natural surface covers. Scientest aren't really sure if the aerosols are warming or cooling our plant. For the most part they seem to be cooling though. When the aerosol are suspended in the air they are used as a shield for the earth, all the tiny particles reflect the sun's radiation back out into the atmosphere. Plus the aerosols help clouds form by allowing water particles to atach and form clouds which also helps the earth stay cool.

Article used:
Aerosols & Climate Change

Aerosols

 

                Aerosols or particulate are a billion tiny particles, liquid and solid, floating in the atmosphere. Some of these aerosols are naturally occurring in the atmosphere. Some of the natural sources of aerosols include particles released from volcanos when they erupt, salt from the oceans, or from dust from dry areas being blown into the air by the wind. Mankind also emits aerosols from cars, power plants and factories that burn fossil fuels. 

                Here on earth aerosols can change climate. Aerosols help clouds to form in the sky and the more clouds there are in the sky the more the climate is affected. Certain types of aerosols scatter or absorb sunlight, which also affects the climate. Aerosols in our atmosphere are actually dangerous to human life. When the microscopic particles get into a person’s lungs it can make them very ill.  Too many aerosols can limit visibility, causing a haze throughout the world

The life of the Ozone

Ozone is found in two places in our atmosphere. One form of Ozone is high in the sky and protects us from the harmful UV rays sent by the sun. The other type of Ozone is called surface Ozone and it resides on the surface of the earth in the form of smog. The troposphere, or surface Ozone, is created by a reaction between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC).

The Ozone that is up in the atmosphere helps enable life on earth by protecting earth’s surface from the harmful UV rays projected by the sun. The threatening aspect of the Ozone is the surface Ozone. The surface Ozone is chemicals put there by man.  The surface Ozone if concentrated enough can ultimately cause lung problems for anyone who breathes the chemicals. The surface Ozone is not emitted into the air naturally, rather it is created by chemical reactions between the NOx and VOC.

The surface Ozone can cause many health problems, mostly to the respiratory system. Surface Ozone can decrease lung function and repeated high exposure can cause lung tissue to scar. Children are at greater risk than adults for lung problems. Their lungs are still developing and the Ozone can cause permanent damage for the rest of their lives.

            The Ozone should be studied greatly by scientists. The Ozone is what protects and harms us, it’s not going away and the more we know about it the longer the safe Ozone can be preserved and the sooner we can cut back the surface Ozone that is so harmful to our heath

Group Review

     I hate group work. I think it is way for teachers to punish students. I don't mind it as much when my group actually works and can make complete sentences. To me group work with unwilling kids is just as bad as word searches, if not worse. This is not to say that my group didn't do anything, but it was like convincing a immature middle school-er to do a book report. My first problem with my group was the procedure. The member assigned to do this kept asking me what we did, I literally went over the steps at least five times. I was okay with this, he was making sure he was doing the assignment correctly. What got to me was when he showed me his finished product there were only three steps (He was with us out side, he did more than three steps on his own.) On top of that only one of the steps was a coherent sentence. For example, he wouldn't capitalize the word "I," and instead of the word trees he had the word "TRESS" he did this multiple times so it obviously wasn't a typo. Why are you a senior that can't make a compete sentence.  I had to retype the procedure on my own time, on my PHONE, after I did  my part of the daily assignment. My next problem was when I was working on the excel (because neither of them could do it) and a member was to be working on the power point. It was the second day and I asked him if he needed any help, he told me he could do it, so I left it. At the end of the class I asked to see what he had finished, he had the cover page finished with a picture of some trees and our names so dark that you couldn't even read them. The next day was our final day to work on the power point, so I asked him to light a fire under his butt and to finish the power point, to my surprise he hadn't gotten 3 pages done by the end of class. I wasn't about to let my grade in this class drop because someone was to lazy to do their part. I had to completely redo the power point that weekend along with a band comp. concession stand on Sunday, and projects for my other classes. I was busier that a one-armed paper hanger. My last problem was presenting. One of the members has a problem presenting, so I agreed to only make him read one slide. I told he had to face the class and read the number at the bottom and say it was the total value of the HHS hill. He couldn't do it, he faced directly at the board and practically whispered his part, I had to re-say it just so the class knew what they were looking at. Bad presenters are one of my biggest pet peeves.

     Things that went right during the project you ask? When we were measuring the trees outside my group member had no problem helping out and walk the 66 feet away. We worked well together and got the measurements done in record time. When we came inside to calculate the price of each tree I thought I was going to have to do it all on my own, but a member of the group agreed to help with calculations, he even caught one of my mistakes, I love when group members work together. The last thing I really liked from my group was when we were deciding who was doing what. A member was assigned the GIS portion. He had no problem with it and did his work on his own. When he had a question he asked Mr. Sharpe and didn't come running to me to fix his problem, which he had done earlier. He knew what he had to do and he got it dine without complaining, a trooper.

     Sorry to make you read a freaking novel, but I wanted you to know what happened. For the record.... I still hate group work.