CGS NS 202 Study Guide - Final Guide: Sewage Treatment
16 May 2018
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• Possible solutions to minimize dead zones
o Minimize fertilizer use
o Adjust timing of fertilizer use
o Control animal wastes
o Monitor sewage treatment facilities
o Limit industrial discharge of water
o Restore wetlands along gulf
• Dealing with Climate Change: Solutions and Strategies
• I: Renewable Energy
o Total renewable energy use increased from 7% in 2000 to 25%
o Aim 35 by 2020, 50 by 2030, etc.
• Key Policy Measures
o Legislation that promotes renewable energy via guaranteed payment rates for generated energy
o Energy standards for new buildings
o Grants and interest free loans
o R&D
• Nonrenewable: fossil fuels, nuclear, wood
• renewable : solar, hydropower, wind
• What challenges lie in increasing the use of renewable energy?
o Investment capital: new technologies come with risks and uncertainties
o Higher rates of interest on loans
o Small scale production → higher costs
o Limited consumer input/education
• Hydropower
o Benefits: renewable and clean, relatively inexpensive to run, domestic energy resource, flood control, storage of
water
o Costs: natural landscape changed, diminish downstream flow and water quality, alter seasonal patterns
o Future predictions: new plants are expensive to construct and have potential environmental/human costs.
Development predicted to be slow, concentrated on existing dams.
• Wind Power
o Benefits: requires no fuel, clean, no water pollution
o Costs: Birds and bats are killed in collisions, aesthetic concerns, may be unreliable
o Future predictions: refinements to technology have resulted in turbines that turn towards the wind and offshore
wind farms. Rapid development is expected.
• Solar Power
o Benefits: free and renewable, clean, can be installed in many locations
o Costs: upfront investment is high, geographical limitations, manufacture of materials can have negative
environmental impact
o Future predictions: solar energy cost is predicted to decrease and use increase
• Biofuels
o Benefits: theoretically carbon neutral, abundant resource
o Costs: type of fuel matters: sugarcane produces fewer greenhouse gases, deforestation for land for crops, raise
the cost of food
o Future predictions: research into cellulose ethanol, produced from non-food sources, is underway.
• Geothermal
o Benefits: highly reliable, inexpensive, clean
o Costs: May disrupt local ecosystems, amount of hot water in reservoirs in limited, high upfront costs, exploration
can be costly, geographically limited
• Reducing Impacts
• Water: Potential Changes
o Increased rainfall in the tropics and at high latitudes
o Decreased rainfall and increasing drought at mid-latitudes and in semi-arid regions
o Water shortages
o Agricultural Impacts
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Possible solutions to minimize dead zones, minimize fertilizer use, adjust timing of fertilizer use, control animal wastes, monitor sewage treatment facilities. Limit industrial discharge of water: restore wetlands along gulf, dealing with climate change: solutions and strategies. I: renewable energy: total renewable energy use increased from 7% in 2000 to 25, aim 35 by 2020, 50 by 2030, etc, key policy measures. Investment capital: new technologies come with risks and uncertainties: higher rates of interest on loans, small scale production higher costs.
