Embedded Water

Embedded water is also known as virtual water. It is the amount of water used to produce food and non-food products. Most of the water we consume comes from embedded water in our foods, about 65%. A tomato has 13 litres of water embedded in it, where as a hamburger has 2400 litres. A hamburger uses this much water because a cow takes around 3 years to grow to the right size, but during this time the cow eats a lot of grains which requires 3060000 litres of water to grow. The cow also drinks over 34,000 litres of water in its life, and 7000 litres of water used for the slaughtering process. This totals to 3091000 litres of water to produce 200 kilos beef. Many of the products we use every day as well as industry uses are what have caused us to be in this water drought problem worldwide. That coffee habit you have of drinking 3 cups every day, well it takes 1100 drops of water to produce just one drop of coffee.

Do not forget this does not even include the water that we physically use every day in the shower or to wash our hands. This type of water that we use is described as domestic consumption, water that we use for cooking. The average for domestic consumption is around 137 litres of water. There are two types of this virtual water, the first is for industrial products that we consume every day, such as paper and clothes. This has an average use of 167 litres per day. The second is associated with the production of the food we consume. This amounts to an average of 3496 litres per day. This shows that 92% of the water we use is embedded water.

To get the public more in the know, companies in supermarkets and retailers could provide information about the amount of water embedded in goods. This could potentially get the public to demand that these places only get products that are produced with as little water as possible. Water stress is becoming a big problem that will affect us in our lifetime.

Another way you can help is by reducing the amount of meat you eat, a vegetarian consumes half the amount of water a meat-eating person uses. If you don’t want to become a vegetarian consider not eating meat for a day or cut out beef from your diet since it uses a lot of embedded water. Another method is to purchase meats that have been raised on grass. Although this may be expensive because the cheap meats are often fed on grain, or corn. Reduces the amount of waste we add to the environment can also waste less water overall. Goat and chicken are two meats with the lowest amount of water embedded in their production. Alcohol also requires quite a bit of water, so if you reduce the amount of drinks you have in a week you can save some water and live a healthier life.

The website below is a great way to find information that is put in a creative and interactive manner.  http://www.angelamorelli.com/water/

http://www.waterwise.org.uk/pages/embedded-water.html

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/embedded-water/

Lichen Study

 Data:

a.       Pictures

1.      

b.      Lichen Measurements:

Wired Quadrants	North	East	South	West
1	0	2	3	2
2	1	1	3	3
3	2	1	3	2
4	1	1	2	2

0 = no lichen were found in the quadrant.

1 = 1 to 2 (less than 1cm2) lichen colonies present.

2 = several small colonies located.

3 = lichens cover more than 10% of the quadrant.

I took these measurements by using a wired quadrant with 4 squares in a column and placing them 1 meter high on the tree. Then after placing the wire on the tree I took a picture, shown above, to use later to measure the amount of lichen that was present on the tree in each quadrant.

c.       GPS Numbers: 39 19’ 26.8” N 82 06’ 16.6” W

d.      Std Dev of tree data: 0.92

2.       Background

a.       Symbiosis is the mutually helpful relationship of two different biological species. Lichen has a symbiosis between blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), which live among the filaments of the fungus. The fungus benefits from the algae or cyanobacteria because they produce food by photosynthesis. The algae or cyanobacteria benefit by being protected from the environment by the filaments of the fungus, which also gather moisture and nutrients from the environment. Some lichens are parasitic to each other as well but we will not study this relationship for this study.

b.      Relationship of Lichen to air quality: Lichens do not possess any roots to their structure so they are affected very easily by even minimal pollutions in the air. Depending on the type of lichen and the type and concentration of pollutant it could have a positive or a negative effect on growth of the lichen.  This reaction to pollutants is called sensitivity. Areas with high SO2 and NO2 had low to non-existent levels of lichen present, and areas with low levels of SO2 and NO2 had high levels of lichen present. NO2 and SO2 are a great way to predict the level of air pollution in a specific area, if that number is high then the air pollution levels are very bad. This means that areas with lots of lichen growth have better air quality than those with little to no lichen growth. Some examples of the effects of high levels of pollution on lichen include reduced photosynthesis, bleaching and death of the photosynthetic partner, and discoloration and reduced growth of the lichen fungus. Many species are sensitive to even moderate levels of SO2 pollution and rapidly disappear from polluted habitats. Those that are specially sensitive or tolerant species are referred to as "indicator species" because their presence or absences can be a relatively accurate predictor of the air quality.Beatrix Potter produced several hundred paintings of mushrooms, boletes, jelly fungi and others. She also experimented with spore germination. She studied lichens under the microscope, drew their microscopic details and germinated the fungal spores of at least the lichen genus Cladonia.

c.       Candelaria concolor is a lichen species that are pollutant tolerant, or a species that generally respond positively to a wide range of pollutants. Areas near lots of mobile sources had an abundance of Candelaria concolor or other pollutant tolerant lichen species. Exposure to NOx and SOx will cause Candelaria concolor to bloom more rapidly.

d.      Physcia is known as a nitrophile. These species thrive in nutrient-enriched areas receiving N inputs from fertilizer application in agricultural areas or N emissions from power plants, automobile exhaust or industry. Physcia is affected by NOx positively and causes blooms of it to occur in areas with lots of NOx pollution.

3.       Method:

a.       Tree selection: I chose a tree that was near a road to see the potential effects of greater air pollution on lichen growth. I first looked at the leaves of the tree to make sure that they looked like maple leaves since I have one in my backyard. I also checked the leaves to make sure the veins were symmetrical. Then I looked for the branches to make sure that the branches were symmetrical, that the stems were equal to each other.

b.      You measure >1 meter above ground because the nutrients in the soil can contribute to the growth of the lichen and there can also be sprayed chemicals at the bottom of the tree. We measure higher up to make sure there are no outside contributors helping/inhibiting the lichen grow.

c.       My group was assigned to the West green section of campus, past Richland Ave. We all chose trees that were near each other to see more consistency in the data.

d.      I used my phone for a gps tracker to locate the tree I had picked. I also had a wire quadrant that another student made for us to use to measure the amount of lichen on each tree.

e.      This data is going to be used for future lichen studies performed at this university in years to come to see if the concentration of SO2 and NO2 changes over time and if the growth of lichen on the same trees will have changed over time or if it will yield similar results.  

Sulfur Dioxide and Nitrogen Dioxide

Both NOx and SOx are regulated under the Clean Air Act by the EPA as criteria pollutants. The others are ozone, lead, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, and particulate matter.

Short-term exposure to SOx according to EPA's website can cause many different respiratory effects such as: increased asthma symptoms, or bronchoconstriction. The short term is classified as 5 minutes to 24 hours. Effects from exposure may increase greatly with exercise. Short term exposure correlates with increased hospital visits due to respiratory problems. SOx can also react with other components in the air which can travel deeper into the lungs and create or worsen emphysema and bronchitis and cause premature death. The main source of SOx is from fuel combustion, other minor sources are from industrial processes, fires and mobile sources.

Short term effects from NOx can cause airway inflammation in healthy people, and increased symptoms of people with asthma. Short term exposure is defined as 30 minutes to 24 hours. As with SOx NOx is also shown to cause increased hospital visits. The main source of NOx is from mobile, other minor sources are from fuel combustion, industrial processes, and biogenics. Areas near highways have 30-100% more NOx than areas away from roadways. Unfortunately over 15% of the population lives 300 feet or less away from a highway which increases their exposure to NOx. NOx can react with other particles in the air and penetrate deep into the lungs to create such as emphysema and bronchitis, and can aggravate existing heart disease, leading to increased hospital admissions and premature death.Ozone can also be created from the reaction of the combination of NOx, sunlight, and volatile compounds.

Lichens are commonly used as biomonitors of air quality. Lichen growth patterns change as pollution-sensitive species are replaced by pollution tolerant species. For this reason, those species known to be especially sensitive or tolerant can be used as bioindicators of atmospheric quality. Some examples of the effects of high levels of pollution on lichen include reduced photosynthesis, bleaching and death of the photosynthetic partner, and discoloration and reduced growth of the lichen fungus. Many species are sensitive to even moderate levels of SO2 pollution and rapidly disappear from polluted habitats. Especially sensitive or tolerant species are referred to as "indicator species" because their presence or absences can be a relatively accurate predictor of the air quality.

 Candelaria concolor is a lichen species that are pollutant tolerant, or a species that generally respond positively to a wide range of pollutants. Areas near lots of mobile sources had an abundance of Candelaria concolor or other pollutant tolerant lichen species. Exposure to NOx and SOx will cause Candelaria concolor to bloom more rapidly.

 Physcia millegrana is known as a nitrophile. These species thrive in nutrient-enriched areas receiving N inputs from fertilizer application in agricultural areas or N emissions from power plants, automobile exhaust or industry. Physcia milegrana is affected by NOx positively and causes blooms of it to occur in areas with lots of NOx pollution.

http://www.nps.gov/prwi/learn/nature/upload/Lawrey_2011_Lichen_Bioindicators_Final_Report-1.pdf
http://www3.epa.gov/airquality/sulfurdioxide/health.html
http://www3.epa.gov/airquality/nitrogenoxides/health.html

Air Pollution Control Programs

For this blog I used all of my information from the Ohio EPA’s State website at www.epa.state.oh.us . This blog discusses air pollution and quality programs in Ohio. State Implementation Plans, or SIP are plans that a state makes to make the quality of air better in their state. This can take many different forms, such as: plans for certain cities to improve their air quality to meet the NAAQS quality standards that are currently in place if they are not meeting them, or if a city has achieved this air quality standard then it makes plans for how they will continue to comply with these standards for the future or even to reduce them further.

There are 6 criteria pollutants under the NAAQS, there are: carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, ozone, and sulfur dioxide. The standard for carbon monoxide is 9 ppm for an eight hour time period and 35 ppm for a one hour time period. For lead it is 0.15 micrograms per cubic meters over three months. For nitrogen dioxide the standard is 0.053 ppm per year. For particulate matter of size PM10 the standard is 150 micrograms per cubic meters over 24 hours. For particulate matter of size PM2.5 the standard is 12 micrograms per cubic meters over a year. For ozone the standard is 0.075 ppm per eight hours. For sulfur dioxide the standard is 75 ppb for one hour.

Attainment means that the certain area has met the NAAQ’s for the certain pollutants specified. Nonattainment means that the certain area has not met the air quality standards that have been set by SIP and NAAQ. Ohio is in full attainment for the following pollutants: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and certain levels of lead, particulate matter PM2.5, and ozone. Ohio is not in attainment for levels of certain pollutants. Being in an area of nonattainment affects businesses that want to locate or expand an air pollution source in that area. Once an area has three years of data showing that it meets the standard, the State must petition U.S. EPA to reclassify it as being in attainment.

I could not find specifically on how the rules are enforced from the EPA’s website but I found who is in charge of enforcing the rules and how new rules are created. I am assuming that if a company breaks their allowable permit for emissions or does not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), that they will have to pay a fee of some kind.  Companies in Ohio must report their emissions to make sure it is below the allowable limits that are specified in the permit. In Ohio the Division of Air Pollution Control (DAPC) develops and enforces rules in the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC). The agency is required to attain and maintain the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) contained in the Clean Air Act, fulfill the requirements set forth by the Ohio General Assembly in Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Section 3704. During the Ohio rule-making process, rules pass through the following four phases: early stakeholder outreach; draft review; proposal to the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR); and final adoption.