Persuassive Essay- Head Count

The development of the Haber - Bosch process, I believe has had an overall negative impact on human civilization. The Kolbert article gives several details that support the fact that the increasing nitrogen is affecting humans and animals in a negative way. The article mentions TFR (total fertility rate) and how the Haber - Bosch process causes these number to change. 

When the yearly meeting of the German Bunsen Society became to end, a well-known chemist named Walther Nernst discredited a junior colleague named Fritz Haber. The synthesis of ammonia at very high temperatures was the topic. When Haber went back home, Karlsruhe, his skin broke out in hives, before Nernst’s attack, he hadn’t been all that interested in synthesizing ammonia. “The insult had the unintended consequence of stiffening his resolve. Haber threw himself full time into proving that ammonia could indeed be cooked up in the laboratory, using hydrogen and ordinary nitrogen gas. The result of this effort, which eventually became known as the, had unintended consequences of its own, some of which proved to be world-altering.” 

In a 2007 best-seller, Alan Weisman’s new book, “Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth?” (Little, Brown), shows a less comprehensive thought approach. “Instead of eliminating people from the planet altogether, Weisman wants only to get rid of several billion of them. He argues that when Haber figured out how to make bread out of air, things took a turn for the worse.” The avoiding of the nitrogen cycle has allowed Homo sapiens to reproduce at an unprecedented pace. The results of this explosive growth has been a development of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which puts not only humans but also pretty much every other creature on earth in danger. Since it was the Haber-Bosch process that made the surge possible, the process also suggests a target for the abatement.

            “When demographers peer into the future, the key figure that they look at is the total fertility rate, or T.F.R. The T.F.R. is designed to offer a snapshot of a process—childbearing—that occurs over many years. Roughly speaking, it represents the average number of children that the average woman will produce in her lifetime.” There are a lot of countries where the T.F.R. is close to one, and even some where it’s dropped lower than that. Singapore’s T.F.R., for example, is just .79, Taiwan’s is 1.1, and South Korea’s is 1.2. Almost all European countries have T.F.R.s less than 1.5; this includes Italy, Spain, Germany, and the Czech Republic. In some countries where the population still increases at a rapid speed, the fertility rates are way down: Iran’s T.F.R., for example, is 1.9 and Brazil’s 1.8.

            Even if their fertility rates are low, the amount of nitrogen being produced into the air will make the living conditions very hard to a point where humans or any creature on Earth can live. Greenhouse gases increased by the Haber-Bosch process can be reduced by the same thing that increased them. If these chemicals are not reduced then they will destroy the Earth’s atmosphere.

Seneca Lake Lab Report- Final

Seneca Lake Lab Report

Research Question: How does the location, temperature, water depth, and time of day effect the pH, chloride content and dissolved oxygen?

Independent: sample sites

Dependent: temperature and depth of the water, and location.

 

Introduction: Seneca Lake is approximately 3.7 miles at its widest point and 630 feet at the deepest point. As the packet says, the lake can get as warm as 72 degrees F and as cold as 38 degrees F. The lake contains several types of macroinvertebrate that live all over the lake such as stonefly larva, crayfish, and mayfly larva. Seneca Lake is the largest lake when it comes to total area and is also the deepest of all the Finger Lakes.

Hypothesis: I hypothesis that as the temperature and water depth increases, location changes, and time of day changes so does the pH, chloride content, and dissolved oxygen.

Method: Take a sample of water from each location. Test the pH, then make the water fixed so it is able to touch the air. After test

Procedures:
1. Go to a very shallow depth location on Seneca Lake.
2. Measure for temperature at this location.
3. First you need to make sure you have a firm grip on the nets rope to collect macroinvertebrate information correctly.
4. Next you MUST make sure the clasp at the bottom of the net is closed.
5. Lower the net over the side of the boat and walk along the side, back and forth, slowly.
6. Bring the net up and wash the plankton into a cup at the end of the net.

Now repeat 1 through 6 for the next two locations

Results:

 

sample 1 graphing

Discussion/Evaluation: The tables show a slight constancy with all categories. The data collected between each sample aren't on a wide range, they are fairly close to each other. The chloride content in sample 2, between, a.m. and p.m. is 157 compared to the other samples that's a very large gap. there may be some error involved. The sampler might have put to many drops of chemicals, anything could have occurred. there are two graphs showing the relationship between pH and DO from in the morning and in the afternoon. The morning results show that the pH increases then decreases swiftly when it goes from 6-30 ppm. The afternoon results show how the pH decreases dramatically then increasing at the same speed when going from 10-10.4 ppm. The afternoon ppm range is very small compared to the morning ppm range, this would explain the difference in graph display.

conclusion: My hypothesis was not proven due to the data we have collected. In fact what occurred was the opposite of what I predicted. As the temperature and water depth increases, location changes, and time of day changes; the pH, chloride content, and dissolved oxygen did not.


Citations:

 "Lake County Water Atlas." Seneca, Lake: Ecology. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.

"Does Water Level Affect Benthic Macro-invertebrates of a Marginal Lake in a Tropical River-reservoir Transition Zone?" Does Water Level Affect Benthic Macro-invertebrates of a Marginal Lake in a Tropical River-reservoir Transition Zone? N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.

 "Seneca Lake." - A Guide to Hotels, Bed and Breakfasts in the Finger Lakes. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2015