Module 10: Fossil Fuels and Air Pollution
Week of Tue, Nov 3 · module closes Mon, Nov 9 · 20 points
Take Meerk's quiz for Module 10
This module's items
- Discussion20 pts
Exact due times are in Canvas. Late assignments are not accepted without a valid, documented reason. Make-up exams are not given.
Know these cold
- Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) formed from ancient organic matter compressed over millions of years. They are nonrenewable on human timescales and store ancient solar energy.
- EROI (Energy Return on Investment): ratio of energy gained from a fuel to energy invested in extracting it. Oil once had EROI of 100:1; tar sands are closer to 5:1. Renewables vary.
- Combustion of fossil fuels releases CO₂ (greenhouse gas), SO₂ (acid rain precursor), NOₓ (smog precursor), particulate matter (respiratory hazard), and carbon monoxide (toxic).
- Primary air pollutants are emitted directly into the atmosphere (SO₂, CO, particulates). Secondary pollutants form when primary pollutants react with sunlight or other chemicals (ozone, smog).
- Photochemical smog forms when NOₓ and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react in sunlight to produce ground-level ozone and other irritants. Industrial smog is from sulfur combustion.
- Acid rain forms when SO₂ and NOₓ dissolve in atmospheric moisture to form sulfuric and nitric acids. It damages forests, acidifies lakes, and corrodes buildings.
- The ozone layer (stratosphere) absorbs harmful UV-B radiation. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from old refrigerants and aerosols destroy stratospheric ozone — addressed by the Montreal Protocol (1987).
- The Clean Air Act (1963, amended 1970, 1990) sets National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six criteria pollutants and has significantly reduced U.S. air pollution.
Discussion and forum — how to show up
Discussion post
- Open with one air quality issue that affects your community — use AirNow.gov or a local news search to find current data.
- Identify the primary pollutant source and any secondary pollutants that form from it in your area.
- Evaluate one policy or personal action that could reduce that pollution (Course Outcome 4 and 5).
- Reply to two classmates: compare your community's air quality challenge to theirs. What is similar? What is different?
Netiquette from the syllabus: address ideas, not people. Complete sentences, correct spelling. Personal matters go to email, never the board.
Meerk's quiz — open the Module 10 gate
10 questions, no time limit. 85% on your first attempt in a 24-hour window opens the gate. Retakes inside the window are practice — they help you learn, they don't count. Work alone; the point is to know it, not to have seen it.
Dinner Table Question
Ask at home: If gasoline cost $15 per gallon tomorrow, how would that change how you and your family travel — and what environmental effect would that change have?
En español: Si la gasolina costara $15 por galón mañana, ¿cómo cambiaría la forma en que tú y tu familia se transportan — y qué efecto ambiental tendría ese cambio?