...some questions...
1. It appears as though some of the 4-MCHM in the Charleston-area water supply has turned into formaldehyde. Is this a good thing?
2. If 4% of US sewer systems combine storm water and sewage and 13% of US residents are served by systems that combine storm water and sewage, what does this mean about the nature of these CSS systems?
3. How do sewage treatment plants work? What are they good at? What aren't they good at?
For a change of pace from water quality, your assigned reading for the weekend is an article in the La Times from the past week's winter storm and its effect in the Atlanta area called Atlanta paralyzed by less than 3 inches of snow by David Zucchino and Lisa Mascaro. For a lighter look at the situation, please see the coverage by The Daily Show (~5 minute video) (sorry, it does not appear that Cobert Covered the story).
warning 1: You should, by now be familiar with the the concept of the The Daily Show, keep this in mind...
warning 2: Please consider that sometimes the Daily Show chooses to sacrifice accuracy for hilarity.
warning 3: These videos may contain insensitive remarks about Atlanta, Georgia, The South, and their inhabitants- current or recent; my assigning this video should not be
inferred as an endorsement, implicit or explicit of their content.
Friday, January 31, 2014
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Wednesday Week Four
...some questions...
1. The estimated volume of the 4-MCHM release in WV has been increased from 7,500 to 10,000 gallons. Why is the early underestimate surprising? Why is it not surprising?
2. What is distillation? How it is used to manage water quality challenges? What are the advantages to using distillation? What are the disadvantages?
3. How is dilution used to manage water quality? In what contexts is this an appropriate management tool? Is this generally, an effective method for managing drinking water?
4. How can minimizing evaporation be used to manage water quality?
5. What is nutrient pollution? What are the effects of augmenting nutrients in surface water systems? What is eutrophication? What is a dead zone and how does nutrient pollution contribute? What are the major point and non-point sources of nutrient pollution?
6. How does the (natural) nitrogen cycle work? What do nitrogen fixing bacteria do? What do nitrifying bacteria do? What form of nitrogen do plants need? How do we affect the nitrogen cycle in modern agricultural systems to augment plant productivity?
7. What are the other important mechanisms for augmenting plant productivity in modern (post Green Revolution) agricultural systems? What is (was) the Green Revolution? What are the relative sustainabilities of these mechanisms? Where do we get P (geologically and geographically)?
Your assigned reading for Wednesday builds on Elizabeth Royte's look at legal drugs in post-treatment waters in Connecticut with a look at Italy and Cocaine in surface waters: a new evidence-based tool to monitor community drug abuse by Ettore Zuccato et al., published in 2005 in Environmental Health (peer-reviewed scientific journal). Slides from today are on Sakai.
1. The estimated volume of the 4-MCHM release in WV has been increased from 7,500 to 10,000 gallons. Why is the early underestimate surprising? Why is it not surprising?
2. What is distillation? How it is used to manage water quality challenges? What are the advantages to using distillation? What are the disadvantages?
3. How is dilution used to manage water quality? In what contexts is this an appropriate management tool? Is this generally, an effective method for managing drinking water?
4. How can minimizing evaporation be used to manage water quality?
5. What is nutrient pollution? What are the effects of augmenting nutrients in surface water systems? What is eutrophication? What is a dead zone and how does nutrient pollution contribute? What are the major point and non-point sources of nutrient pollution?
6. How does the (natural) nitrogen cycle work? What do nitrogen fixing bacteria do? What do nitrifying bacteria do? What form of nitrogen do plants need? How do we affect the nitrogen cycle in modern agricultural systems to augment plant productivity?
7. What are the other important mechanisms for augmenting plant productivity in modern (post Green Revolution) agricultural systems? What is (was) the Green Revolution? What are the relative sustainabilities of these mechanisms? Where do we get P (geologically and geographically)?
Your assigned reading for Wednesday builds on Elizabeth Royte's look at legal drugs in post-treatment waters in Connecticut with a look at Italy and Cocaine in surface waters: a new evidence-based tool to monitor community drug abuse by Ettore Zuccato et al., published in 2005 in Environmental Health (peer-reviewed scientific journal). Slides from today are on Sakai.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Monday Week Four
...some questions...
1. When you loose access to your tap water for over a week, should your water bill go up or down?
2. What is the limit (expressed as ppm) for humans (as an aggregate) for detecting dissolved solids (specifically, salt) in aqueous solutions (water). What is the limit (expressed as ppm) for humans (as an aggregate) for describing salt-water solutions as unpotable. How would you describe the variability with our human dataset with regard to these limits?
3. How is TDS measured? Why do we use conductivity as a proxy for TDS? What are the advantages of using conductivity as a proxy for TDS; what are the disadvantages? What is a proxy? What are the advantages of using TDS (or conductivity) as a proxy for water quality; what are the disadvantages?
4. What are the effects on biodiversity on increases in TDS in freshwater streams? Is there a threshold?
5. Do cows need clean water?
6. Do crops need clean water? What happens if they don't get clean water? Do all crops have similar needs with regard to water quality?
7. What are some important TDS benchmarks for water quality?
Slides from today are on Sakai. Your reading for Wednesday is Drugging Our Waters by Elizabeth Royte published way back in 2006 (but still relevant) on the website of the Natural Resources Defense Council.Your most recent homework assignment (HW 4:your (other) CCR) is available on Sakai. It is due on Friday at the beginning of class. The directions therein should be pretty self explanatory; nevertheless, please let me know if you have any questions- particularly those of you who have difficulty finding their consumer confidence report/or data on the Environmental Working Group Tap Water Database 2009.
1. When you loose access to your tap water for over a week, should your water bill go up or down?
2. What is the limit (expressed as ppm) for humans (as an aggregate) for detecting dissolved solids (specifically, salt) in aqueous solutions (water). What is the limit (expressed as ppm) for humans (as an aggregate) for describing salt-water solutions as unpotable. How would you describe the variability with our human dataset with regard to these limits?
3. How is TDS measured? Why do we use conductivity as a proxy for TDS? What are the advantages of using conductivity as a proxy for TDS; what are the disadvantages? What is a proxy? What are the advantages of using TDS (or conductivity) as a proxy for water quality; what are the disadvantages?
4. What are the effects on biodiversity on increases in TDS in freshwater streams? Is there a threshold?
5. Do cows need clean water?
6. Do crops need clean water? What happens if they don't get clean water? Do all crops have similar needs with regard to water quality?
7. What are some important TDS benchmarks for water quality?
Slides from today are on Sakai. Your reading for Wednesday is Drugging Our Waters by Elizabeth Royte published way back in 2006 (but still relevant) on the website of the Natural Resources Defense Council.Your most recent homework assignment (HW 4:your (other) CCR) is available on Sakai. It is due on Friday at the beginning of class. The directions therein should be pretty self explanatory; nevertheless, please let me know if you have any questions- particularly those of you who have difficulty finding their consumer confidence report/or data on the Environmental Working Group Tap Water Database 2009.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Friday Week Three
...some questions...
1. What is (still) going on with the WV Water Crisis? How much does it cost to your water tested? Why is individual testing of public water a good thing? Why is it not a good thing?
2. What does the World Health Organization have to say about (non-enforceable) health standards for drinking water?
3. What are the (general) results of the most recent consumer confidence report for Lexington City water? What are some of the potential deficiencies exposed in a review of the report? Can these potential deficiencies be justified? Why do we test for Nitrate? Why do we test for Barium?
4. Why do 15% of US people drink their own private well water at home? What is the population density threshold for individual vs. shared water?
5. Who is responsible for ensuring that private well water is safe to drink? On a national scale, how safe is private well water? What are the major contaminants of concern? Do these make sense given the (general) location of these wells?
6. What is the purpose of the Water Quality Index (WQI)? How is WQI calculated? What is a Q value (in the context of WQI)? How is E. coli measured? What is dissolved oxygen (DO)? What are the characteristics of an aquatic ecosystem that would have relatively high DO? What is BOD? How is it measured? What is pH? What are the pH ranges for a health ecosystem? What is turbidity? How is turbidity measured and communicated (ie what is an NTU?)? Why are P and N measured as part of the WQI?
7. What are the TDS and Ca:Na characteristics of aquatic systems that are dominated by evaporation, precipitation, or water-rock interaction.
Slides from today are on Sakai. Your assigned reading for the weekend is America's Real Criminal Element: Lead by Kevin Drum in the January/February 2013 Issue of Mother Jones and Fetal Death and Reduced Birth Rates Associated with Exposure to Lead-Contaminated Drinking Water by Marc Edwards in Environmental Science and Technology.
1. What is (still) going on with the WV Water Crisis? How much does it cost to your water tested? Why is individual testing of public water a good thing? Why is it not a good thing?
2. What does the World Health Organization have to say about (non-enforceable) health standards for drinking water?
3. What are the (general) results of the most recent consumer confidence report for Lexington City water? What are some of the potential deficiencies exposed in a review of the report? Can these potential deficiencies be justified? Why do we test for Nitrate? Why do we test for Barium?
4. Why do 15% of US people drink their own private well water at home? What is the population density threshold for individual vs. shared water?
5. Who is responsible for ensuring that private well water is safe to drink? On a national scale, how safe is private well water? What are the major contaminants of concern? Do these make sense given the (general) location of these wells?
6. What is the purpose of the Water Quality Index (WQI)? How is WQI calculated? What is a Q value (in the context of WQI)? How is E. coli measured? What is dissolved oxygen (DO)? What are the characteristics of an aquatic ecosystem that would have relatively high DO? What is BOD? How is it measured? What is pH? What are the pH ranges for a health ecosystem? What is turbidity? How is turbidity measured and communicated (ie what is an NTU?)? Why are P and N measured as part of the WQI?
7. What are the TDS and Ca:Na characteristics of aquatic systems that are dominated by evaporation, precipitation, or water-rock interaction.
Slides from today are on Sakai. Your assigned reading for the weekend is America's Real Criminal Element: Lead by Kevin Drum in the January/February 2013 Issue of Mother Jones and Fetal Death and Reduced Birth Rates Associated with Exposure to Lead-Contaminated Drinking Water by Marc Edwards in Environmental Science and Technology.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Wednesday Week Three
...some questions...
1. How awesome is salty water?
2. What is going on with the WV water crisis? What is the problem with Governor Tomblin's announcement that "It's your decision"?
3. What is the general state of surface water in West Virginia in watersheds that are not developed? What are the effects of valley fills and refuse fills on downstream water quality? What is the pH of natural surface water in WV? Why is the pH of water downstream of active coal mining and processing higher than water from undisturbed watersheds? What is the TDS of natural surface water in WV? What is "TDS"? What is the effect of upstream mining and processing activities on TDS? What are the effects of coal mining and processing on elements such as Se, Pb, Sb, Tl, and As that are regulated in public drinking water on downstream waters? How is coal processing waste managed?
4. What is the general relationship between the average concentration of dissolved inorganic elements in world streams and the permissible concentrations of these elements in US public water supplies? Why does this relationship exist?
5. What are the goals of the SDWA? Who is responsible for overseeing the SDWA? What is meant by "public" drinking water? Who drinks public water?
6. What are the three (or four) steps in establishing numeric regulatory standards for drinking water? What is the difference between a MCL and a MCLG? Why might there be differences between the MCL and the MCLG of a particular contaminant? What is an essential micronutrient? Why is it an important consideration that the USEPA performs a cost-benefit analysis and obtains input from interested parties when setting standards?
7. Why was the MCL for As changed from 50 ppb to 10 ppb in 2006? What were the effects of this change? What is "acceptable risk"?
8. What are the testing and communication obligations of public drinking water suppliers according to the SDWA? What is a consumer confidence report?
9. How many contaminant are regulated in drinking water under the SDWA? What are the four categories of contaminant that are regulated in drinking water? What are the differences between the contaminants on the List of Contaminants, the Contaminant Candidate List 3, and the National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations?
Slides from today are on Sakai. There is no assigned reading for Friday.
1. How awesome is salty water?
2. What is going on with the WV water crisis? What is the problem with Governor Tomblin's announcement that "It's your decision"?
3. What is the general state of surface water in West Virginia in watersheds that are not developed? What are the effects of valley fills and refuse fills on downstream water quality? What is the pH of natural surface water in WV? Why is the pH of water downstream of active coal mining and processing higher than water from undisturbed watersheds? What is the TDS of natural surface water in WV? What is "TDS"? What is the effect of upstream mining and processing activities on TDS? What are the effects of coal mining and processing on elements such as Se, Pb, Sb, Tl, and As that are regulated in public drinking water on downstream waters? How is coal processing waste managed?
4. What is the general relationship between the average concentration of dissolved inorganic elements in world streams and the permissible concentrations of these elements in US public water supplies? Why does this relationship exist?
5. What are the goals of the SDWA? Who is responsible for overseeing the SDWA? What is meant by "public" drinking water? Who drinks public water?
6. What are the three (or four) steps in establishing numeric regulatory standards for drinking water? What is the difference between a MCL and a MCLG? Why might there be differences between the MCL and the MCLG of a particular contaminant? What is an essential micronutrient? Why is it an important consideration that the USEPA performs a cost-benefit analysis and obtains input from interested parties when setting standards?
7. Why was the MCL for As changed from 50 ppb to 10 ppb in 2006? What were the effects of this change? What is "acceptable risk"?
8. What are the testing and communication obligations of public drinking water suppliers according to the SDWA? What is a consumer confidence report?
9. How many contaminant are regulated in drinking water under the SDWA? What are the four categories of contaminant that are regulated in drinking water? What are the differences between the contaminants on the List of Contaminants, the Contaminant Candidate List 3, and the National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations?
Slides from today are on Sakai. There is no assigned reading for Friday.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Monday Week Three
...some questions for today...
1.As of early Friday afternoon, the map is all blue; is the WV Water Crisis over? Why didn't Louisville shut down their water intake on the Ohio river in anticipation of the arrival of the Charletown Plume?
2. What is CERCLA? What is SARA? What is Superfund? What are the goals of CERCLA+SARA? Are the goals all compatible with one another? Are the goals compatible with the agencies of the US Federal Government as PRPs? What is an "orphan" site? What is the National Priorities List? How are we doing on the NPL? What is the TRI program? Why is the Velsicol site in St. Louis, MI a Superfund site? Why are we looking at TRI facilities that do not release directly into the water?
3. What % of our class drinks surface water back home? How does this differ from the US as a whole?
4. What is water quality? What are some potential metrics of water quality? Why must we consider the intended use of a water resource in order to determine its quality as sufficient of insufficient?
Slides from today are on Sakai. Your "reading" for Wednesday is Daily Show and Cobert Report coverage of the WV Water Crisis from Monday January 13th. Daily Show coverage can be found on this video from 0:00 to 8:50 (everything before the first commercial break). The entire section for the Cobert Report is on this video.
warning 1: If you are unfamiliar (at least conceptually) with the Daily Show and the Cobert Report, you may want to read this and this.
warning 2: Please consider that sometimes the Daily Show and the Cobert Report choose to sacrifice accuracy for hilarity.
warning 3: These videos may contain insensitive remarks about West Virginia and its inhabitants; my assigning these videos should not be inferred as an endorsement, implicit or explicit of their content.
1.As of early Friday afternoon, the map is all blue; is the WV Water Crisis over? Why didn't Louisville shut down their water intake on the Ohio river in anticipation of the arrival of the Charletown Plume?
2. What is CERCLA? What is SARA? What is Superfund? What are the goals of CERCLA+SARA? Are the goals all compatible with one another? Are the goals compatible with the agencies of the US Federal Government as PRPs? What is an "orphan" site? What is the National Priorities List? How are we doing on the NPL? What is the TRI program? Why is the Velsicol site in St. Louis, MI a Superfund site? Why are we looking at TRI facilities that do not release directly into the water?
3. What % of our class drinks surface water back home? How does this differ from the US as a whole?
4. What is water quality? What are some potential metrics of water quality? Why must we consider the intended use of a water resource in order to determine its quality as sufficient of insufficient?
Slides from today are on Sakai. Your "reading" for Wednesday is Daily Show and Cobert Report coverage of the WV Water Crisis from Monday January 13th. Daily Show coverage can be found on this video from 0:00 to 8:50 (everything before the first commercial break). The entire section for the Cobert Report is on this video.
warning 1: If you are unfamiliar (at least conceptually) with the Daily Show and the Cobert Report, you may want to read this and this.
warning 2: Please consider that sometimes the Daily Show and the Cobert Report choose to sacrifice accuracy for hilarity.
warning 3: These videos may contain insensitive remarks about West Virginia and its inhabitants; my assigning these videos should not be inferred as an endorsement, implicit or explicit of their content.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
HW 3: Superfund Sites Where You Live
For this assignment, you will use the EPA website Superfund Sites Where You Live
to research the nearest site of known releases or threatened releases
of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants from the National
Priorities List (Superfund site) to your home that affects water
quality. This will probably also be the nearest Superfund site of any
kind since most (but not all)
of the sites involve the contamination of surface and/or ground water.
If you are unable to determine exactly which site is most proximal or if
you have two or more that are equidistant from your home, you may pick
the site that you think will be more interesting to research. Once you
have found your site, go to our Sakai website and provide a brief
description of the site and answer a few questions. After you take care of the Superfund Site, use the website for the USEPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) Program to address questions 13 to 20 (warning, the map is difficult to use- try doing a county-level search).
Some additional resources that may be of some help:
This map of Superfund sites provided by the The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
This list of ~90 contaminants that are monitored in drinking water by the EPA and the "potential health effects from long-term exposure above the maximum contaminant level (MCL)- this is a good place to
The questions will be:1. What is your hometown?
2A. What is the name of the Superfund site that is closest to your hometown?
2B. What is the location (city and state) of the site?
2C. How many miles away is it?
2D. What is the Internet address for the main homepage for this site at EPA.gov?
3. How would you describe the owner or former owner of this site?
A. US federal government- military
B. US federal government- non military
C. State or local government
D. Agricultural
E. Extractive industries- energy: coal-related
F. Extractive industries- energy: petroleum-related
G. Extractive industries- mining (non-energy)
H. Industrial- chemical
I. Industrial- sanitary waste
J. Industrial- toxic waste
K. Industrial- other
4. Briefly describe the type of activities that led to the pollution at this site. For instance- if it is an industrial site, what is/was being manufactured? if it is a mine, what is/was being mined?
5. Does the contamination at this site involve a leaking underground storage tank (UST)?
A. Yes
B. No
C. I could not determine this
6. List the contaminant(s) of concern that have been identified at this site.
7. Why are these contaminants dangerous to humans and/or to the environment? (list the contaminant and then list the heath/environmental concerns)
8. What are the potential pathways for the contaminants at this site and local water resources? Is the site near a body of surface water? Is is up river or uphill from a populated area?
9. What has been done/is being done/has been proposed to "clean up" the site or limit the further spread of the contaminants at this site into local ground or surface water?
10. What was the/is the estimated clean-up cost associated with this site?
11. Pretend that you have to provide a sound bite for the main stream media around this site. Summarize the information that you have learned in no more that three sentences* using language and concepts that could be understood by someone who reads at an 8th grade level.
*normal, non-Victor Hugo length sentences
12. Before this assignment, had you heard of this site?
A. Yes, this site is (in)famous in my hometown; everyone knows about it.
B. Yes, but not many other people where I am from know about it.
C. No, I had not heard of it.
13. What is name of the closest site that currently (2012) reports to the USEPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program?
14. How far (as the crow flies) is it from your home?
15. What material is being released? How much is being released, and what is the environmental medium of the release (is it being released into/onto the air, water, or ground)?
16. To what "Large Aquatic Ecosystem" does this location contribute?
17. What is name of the closest site that currently (2012) reports to the USEPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program that releases directly into water? If this is the same as the closest site, indicate with "same as closest site" and skip the rest of the questions.
18. How far (as the crow flies) is it from your home?
19. What material is being released? How much is being released?
20. To what "Large Aquatic Ecosystem" does this location contribute?
This assignment is due Friday January 24th at the beginning of class.
Some additional resources that may be of some help:
This map of Superfund sites provided by the The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
This list of ~90 contaminants that are monitored in drinking water by the EPA and the "potential health effects from long-term exposure above the maximum contaminant level (MCL)- this is a good place to
The questions will be:1. What is your hometown?
2A. What is the name of the Superfund site that is closest to your hometown?
2B. What is the location (city and state) of the site?
2C. How many miles away is it?
2D. What is the Internet address for the main homepage for this site at EPA.gov?
3. How would you describe the owner or former owner of this site?
A. US federal government- military
B. US federal government- non military
C. State or local government
D. Agricultural
E. Extractive industries- energy: coal-related
F. Extractive industries- energy: petroleum-related
G. Extractive industries- mining (non-energy)
H. Industrial- chemical
I. Industrial- sanitary waste
J. Industrial- toxic waste
K. Industrial- other
4. Briefly describe the type of activities that led to the pollution at this site. For instance- if it is an industrial site, what is/was being manufactured? if it is a mine, what is/was being mined?
5. Does the contamination at this site involve a leaking underground storage tank (UST)?
A. Yes
B. No
C. I could not determine this
6. List the contaminant(s) of concern that have been identified at this site.
7. Why are these contaminants dangerous to humans and/or to the environment? (list the contaminant and then list the heath/environmental concerns)
8. What are the potential pathways for the contaminants at this site and local water resources? Is the site near a body of surface water? Is is up river or uphill from a populated area?
9. What has been done/is being done/has been proposed to "clean up" the site or limit the further spread of the contaminants at this site into local ground or surface water?
10. What was the/is the estimated clean-up cost associated with this site?
11. Pretend that you have to provide a sound bite for the main stream media around this site. Summarize the information that you have learned in no more that three sentences* using language and concepts that could be understood by someone who reads at an 8th grade level.
*normal, non-Victor Hugo length sentences
12. Before this assignment, had you heard of this site?
A. Yes, this site is (in)famous in my hometown; everyone knows about it.
B. Yes, but not many other people where I am from know about it.
C. No, I had not heard of it.
13. What is name of the closest site that currently (2012) reports to the USEPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program?
14. How far (as the crow flies) is it from your home?
15. What material is being released? How much is being released, and what is the environmental medium of the release (is it being released into/onto the air, water, or ground)?
16. To what "Large Aquatic Ecosystem" does this location contribute?
17. What is name of the closest site that currently (2012) reports to the USEPA's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program that releases directly into water? If this is the same as the closest site, indicate with "same as closest site" and skip the rest of the questions.
18. How far (as the crow flies) is it from your home?
19. What material is being released? How much is being released?
20. To what "Large Aquatic Ecosystem" does this location contribute?
This assignment is due Friday January 24th at the beginning of class.
Friday, January 17, 2014
Friday Week Two
...updates on the WV water crisis...
1. How is the concentric flushing in the Charleston area progressing? Was there evidence of spill containment activities at Freedom Industries when the WVDEP arrived on Thursday Morning? What was the evidence? Why is this a problem for Freedom Industries? Why is it good that Freedom Industries was planning on putting $1 million into fixing the secondary containment wall? Why might this be a problem for them during future criminal and civil lega proceedings? How might (are) septic systems being damaged by in-house flushing? What is the difference between water that is safe and water that is safe*? Why does the post-flush water contain sediment?
2. The WVDEP issued five new violations to Freedom Industries related to what permit?
3. What did the city if Cincinnati do to protect their drinking water in response to what people are calling the Charleston Chemical Plume?
4. What is resilience? Why is resilience an important consideration at both at the individual level and the community level when dealing with crises such as the ongoing one in WV?
5. Is this a WV problem?
...regarding our own water delivery systems near and far?
1. Who provides our water in the city of Lexington? Is it a private company or part of the city government? Where is the water intake? Where is the water treatment plant? How is the water treated? What is a settling tank? What is a chemical flocculent? Why do we chlorinate our water supply? Why do we fluoridate our water supply? Where is our water water treatment plant (WWTP)? Where is our WWTP outflow pipe? Why is our WWTP where it is? Where did it used to be? Why did we move it? What are the advantages and disadvantages of its current location?
2. Where does our class get its water back home? How does this compare with the US as a whole? Are there any strong geographic trends in the percentage of the US population served by public supply water at the state level? Is there a trend between how urbanized a state is and what percentage of its residents get their water from a public source?
Slides from today are on Sakai. Your reading assignment for Monday is Understanding the Safe Drinking Water Act (PDF) (2004). The homework assignment should be up Sunday morning.
1. How is the concentric flushing in the Charleston area progressing? Was there evidence of spill containment activities at Freedom Industries when the WVDEP arrived on Thursday Morning? What was the evidence? Why is this a problem for Freedom Industries? Why is it good that Freedom Industries was planning on putting $1 million into fixing the secondary containment wall? Why might this be a problem for them during future criminal and civil lega proceedings? How might (are) septic systems being damaged by in-house flushing? What is the difference between water that is safe and water that is safe*? Why does the post-flush water contain sediment?
2. The WVDEP issued five new violations to Freedom Industries related to what permit?
3. What did the city if Cincinnati do to protect their drinking water in response to what people are calling the Charleston Chemical Plume?
4. What is resilience? Why is resilience an important consideration at both at the individual level and the community level when dealing with crises such as the ongoing one in WV?
5. Is this a WV problem?
...regarding our own water delivery systems near and far?
1. Who provides our water in the city of Lexington? Is it a private company or part of the city government? Where is the water intake? Where is the water treatment plant? How is the water treated? What is a settling tank? What is a chemical flocculent? Why do we chlorinate our water supply? Why do we fluoridate our water supply? Where is our water water treatment plant (WWTP)? Where is our WWTP outflow pipe? Why is our WWTP where it is? Where did it used to be? Why did we move it? What are the advantages and disadvantages of its current location?
2. Where does our class get its water back home? How does this compare with the US as a whole? Are there any strong geographic trends in the percentage of the US population served by public supply water at the state level? Is there a trend between how urbanized a state is and what percentage of its residents get their water from a public source?
Slides from today are on Sakai. Your reading assignment for Monday is Understanding the Safe Drinking Water Act (PDF) (2004). The homework assignment should be up Sunday morning.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Wednesday Week Two
...some (more) questions about the WV chemical spill...
1. When was water restored to the WV American Water customers that were affected by the spill? What were the customers told to do as their part in flushing the system? How has the concentric flushing progressed through the affected area?
2. What does the role of Erin Brockovich at a recent town meeting in Charleston suggest about the future of civil action regarding the WV chemical spill?
3. What (specifically) has been done to remediate the Freedom Industries site and what will have to been done in the near future?
4. What considerations have to be made by downstream water treatment plant operators that draw water from the Ohio River?
5. What are the criminal charges for Freedom Industries stemming from the spill? What are the criminal charges for WV American Water? Is there standing for a civil case? What is standing?
6. (How) could this (this being the temporary disruption of water supply to 300,000) have been prevented? Was Freedom required to have a leak containment system? Was Freedom required to have a leak detection system? Was Freedom required to communicate the storage of chemicals to local authorities? Was Freedom required to communicate the spill of chemicals to local authorities? Why is it easy in hindsight to say that too much time elapsed before WV American Water stopped taking water in from the Elk River immediately following the spill? What are the specific considerations in this case that made it more difficult for WV American to act quickly?
7. What is the role of local emergency management and environmental protection workers to protect source water and facilitate communication about potential sources of contamination to WV American and to the public?
8. During the spill, Freedom was/will be found in violation of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act; before the spill, was the Freedom facility regulated under the SWDA, RCRA, CERCLA, or EPCRA? Why or why not?
9. Is this a big deal? How can you use your understanding of the severity, number affected, proximity, periodicity, geospatial area affected, and duration of the situation to determine whether it is "a big deal" or not?
10. How do communities and individuals prepare for situations like the WV spill? Should they? Are some communities and individuals more prepared than others?
Slides from today are on Sakai. For tomorrow, please read the following short articles: Lawyers Aim Bigger Than Freedom Industries in West Virginia Chemical Spill by Paul M. Barrett published January 14, 2014 in Businessweek, No One’s Job: West Virginia’s Forbidden Waters by Jedediah Purdy (probably not a made up name) published January 14, 2014 in the New Yorker, and State acknowledges it had no plan for Freedom spill by Ken Ward Jr. published January 14, 2014 in the WV Gazette and visit the Facebook page for the WV Clean Water Hub. After the quiz tomorrow, we will start with a few updates about the WV spill and then talk about how we get domestic water and how we manage sewage as a class and as a developed nation.
1. When was water restored to the WV American Water customers that were affected by the spill? What were the customers told to do as their part in flushing the system? How has the concentric flushing progressed through the affected area?
2. What does the role of Erin Brockovich at a recent town meeting in Charleston suggest about the future of civil action regarding the WV chemical spill?
3. What (specifically) has been done to remediate the Freedom Industries site and what will have to been done in the near future?
4. What considerations have to be made by downstream water treatment plant operators that draw water from the Ohio River?
5. What are the criminal charges for Freedom Industries stemming from the spill? What are the criminal charges for WV American Water? Is there standing for a civil case? What is standing?
6. (How) could this (this being the temporary disruption of water supply to 300,000) have been prevented? Was Freedom required to have a leak containment system? Was Freedom required to have a leak detection system? Was Freedom required to communicate the storage of chemicals to local authorities? Was Freedom required to communicate the spill of chemicals to local authorities? Why is it easy in hindsight to say that too much time elapsed before WV American Water stopped taking water in from the Elk River immediately following the spill? What are the specific considerations in this case that made it more difficult for WV American to act quickly?
7. What is the role of local emergency management and environmental protection workers to protect source water and facilitate communication about potential sources of contamination to WV American and to the public?
8. During the spill, Freedom was/will be found in violation of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act; before the spill, was the Freedom facility regulated under the SWDA, RCRA, CERCLA, or EPCRA? Why or why not?
9. Is this a big deal? How can you use your understanding of the severity, number affected, proximity, periodicity, geospatial area affected, and duration of the situation to determine whether it is "a big deal" or not?
10. How do communities and individuals prepare for situations like the WV spill? Should they? Are some communities and individuals more prepared than others?
Slides from today are on Sakai. For tomorrow, please read the following short articles: Lawyers Aim Bigger Than Freedom Industries in West Virginia Chemical Spill by Paul M. Barrett published January 14, 2014 in Businessweek, No One’s Job: West Virginia’s Forbidden Waters by Jedediah Purdy (probably not a made up name) published January 14, 2014 in the New Yorker, and State acknowledges it had no plan for Freedom spill by Ken Ward Jr. published January 14, 2014 in the WV Gazette and visit the Facebook page for the WV Clean Water Hub. After the quiz tomorrow, we will start with a few updates about the WV spill and then talk about how we get domestic water and how we manage sewage as a class and as a developed nation.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Monday Week Two
...some questions regarding the WV chemical spill...
1. What is the nature of the WV chemical spill? Why is there a DO NOT USE THE WATER order for 300,000 people in WV? What are some of the health and economic impacts of the spill/no water situation? What are the names of the two companies involved?
2. Where did the spill happen (at the regional level)? Can you describe the Elk River? Can you describe the Kanawah River? How do you pronounce "Kanawah"? Where did the spill happen (at the local level)? Why is there an industrial chemical storage facility on the banks of the Elk River? Is this a good idea? Where is the intake for the WV American Water Charleston Water Treatment Plant in relation to the spill?
3.What was the chemical that was leaked? What are it's physical and chemical properties? Why are understanding the physical and chemical properties of the contaminate important to mitigation? Why is this chemical hazardous? Is it toxic (acute, chronic) ? How toxic is it? How do we know how toxic it is? What is a median lethal dose? How many people will die as a direct result of drinking public water contaminated with this chemical?
4. What are the ecological ramifications of the spill? Do we expect for major reductions in population density or biodiversity in the Elk or Kanawah Rivers as a direct result of this spill? What is the basis for this prediction?
5. What happened? Why is it important to determine an accurate and timeline of events for a situation like this (we will go into this more on Wednesday)? When did the spill happen? When did the authorities begin investigating? When did authorities arrive at the source of the leak?When did authorities realize that the secondary containment system at Freedom Industries had failed? When did authorities realize that there was surface water contamination?
6. What happened (continued)? When did the governor declare a state of emergency for the nine counties affected? When did the White House declare a federal emergency? When did WV American Water issue a DO NOT USE WATER NOTICE for its customers? Do you see any problems with this timeline?
7. What is going to have to happen in order to get the water back on? What is the goal concentration for the contaminant? Do you think that the river at the intake is above the What is a concentric flushing? Why is it needed? Why might this add considerably to the time elapsed before some customers have access water in their homes?
Slides from today are on Sakai. For Wednesday, read Why wasn't there a plan? Key players knew of potential for Elk River spill by Ken Ward Jr. published in the January 11, 2014 edition of the WV Gazette Mail and spend some time on the Facebook page (I assume all of you have heard of Facebook?) for WV Clean Water Hub- a grass-roots, social media platform for organizing water distribution during the WV chemical spill as your reading assignment for Wednesday. Wednesday, we will talk about the spill and updates (water services are already beginning to be restored!) Also, there is a homework assignment due...
1. What is the nature of the WV chemical spill? Why is there a DO NOT USE THE WATER order for 300,000 people in WV? What are some of the health and economic impacts of the spill/no water situation? What are the names of the two companies involved?
2. Where did the spill happen (at the regional level)? Can you describe the Elk River? Can you describe the Kanawah River? How do you pronounce "Kanawah"? Where did the spill happen (at the local level)? Why is there an industrial chemical storage facility on the banks of the Elk River? Is this a good idea? Where is the intake for the WV American Water Charleston Water Treatment Plant in relation to the spill?
3.What was the chemical that was leaked? What are it's physical and chemical properties? Why are understanding the physical and chemical properties of the contaminate important to mitigation? Why is this chemical hazardous? Is it toxic (acute, chronic) ? How toxic is it? How do we know how toxic it is? What is a median lethal dose? How many people will die as a direct result of drinking public water contaminated with this chemical?
4. What are the ecological ramifications of the spill? Do we expect for major reductions in population density or biodiversity in the Elk or Kanawah Rivers as a direct result of this spill? What is the basis for this prediction?
5. What happened? Why is it important to determine an accurate and timeline of events for a situation like this (we will go into this more on Wednesday)? When did the spill happen? When did the authorities begin investigating? When did authorities arrive at the source of the leak?When did authorities realize that the secondary containment system at Freedom Industries had failed? When did authorities realize that there was surface water contamination?
6. What happened (continued)? When did the governor declare a state of emergency for the nine counties affected? When did the White House declare a federal emergency? When did WV American Water issue a DO NOT USE WATER NOTICE for its customers? Do you see any problems with this timeline?
7. What is going to have to happen in order to get the water back on? What is the goal concentration for the contaminant? Do you think that the river at the intake is above the What is a concentric flushing? Why is it needed? Why might this add considerably to the time elapsed before some customers have access water in their homes?
Slides from today are on Sakai. For Wednesday, read Why wasn't there a plan? Key players knew of potential for Elk River spill by Ken Ward Jr. published in the January 11, 2014 edition of the WV Gazette Mail and spend some time on the Facebook page (I assume all of you have heard of Facebook?) for WV Clean Water Hub- a grass-roots, social media platform for organizing water distribution during the WV chemical spill as your reading assignment for Wednesday. Wednesday, we will talk about the spill and updates (water services are already beginning to be restored!) Also, there is a homework assignment due...
Friday, January 10, 2014
Friday Week One
...some questions from the IPCC AR5 SPM (and other things)...
1. Where does Lexington City water come from?
2. Under what conditions are sharks dangerous?
3. What is the IPCC? What is the purpose of the SPM? How does changes in the sizes of reserviors in the clobal carbon cycle result in global climate change?
4. According to the AR5, what are the observed changes in the spatial distribution of rainfall? According to the AR5, what are the expected changes in the spatial distribution of rainfall? Why is this important? According to the AR5, what are the observed changes in Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover? According to the AR5, what are the expected changes in Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover? Why is this important? According to the AR5, what are the expected changes in rainfall for places that tend to be wetter? According to the AR5, what are the expected changes in rainfall for places that tend to be drier? What does the AR5 have to say about extreme precipitation events in the future? What about the future of monsoon systems?
5. Which of the following reservoirs in the global water cycle have increased, decreased, and stayed the same size over the past 60 to 100 (or so) years?oceans, glaciers, groundwater, soil moisture, terrestrial surface water (rivers, lakes, and artificial surface impediments), atmosphere.
Slides from today are on Sakai. Your seconds homework assignment (due Wednesday) is on Sakai under the exams and quizzes tab. Your reading is Cloud seeding, no longer magical thinking, is poised for use this winter by Matt Weiser Monday, Nov. 11, 2013 Sacramento Bee. Monday, we will go over some background material about water and sewer systems that might be useful for your successful completion of homework assignment #2, discuss cloud seeding, and discuss the recent chemical spill in West Virginia that has affected the drinking water resources of 300,000 people.
1. Where does Lexington City water come from?
2. Under what conditions are sharks dangerous?
3. What is the IPCC? What is the purpose of the SPM? How does changes in the sizes of reserviors in the clobal carbon cycle result in global climate change?
4. According to the AR5, what are the observed changes in the spatial distribution of rainfall? According to the AR5, what are the expected changes in the spatial distribution of rainfall? Why is this important? According to the AR5, what are the observed changes in Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover? According to the AR5, what are the expected changes in Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover? Why is this important? According to the AR5, what are the expected changes in rainfall for places that tend to be wetter? According to the AR5, what are the expected changes in rainfall for places that tend to be drier? What does the AR5 have to say about extreme precipitation events in the future? What about the future of monsoon systems?
5. Which of the following reservoirs in the global water cycle have increased, decreased, and stayed the same size over the past 60 to 100 (or so) years?oceans, glaciers, groundwater, soil moisture, terrestrial surface water (rivers, lakes, and artificial surface impediments), atmosphere.
Slides from today are on Sakai. Your seconds homework assignment (due Wednesday) is on Sakai under the exams and quizzes tab. Your reading is Cloud seeding, no longer magical thinking, is poised for use this winter by Matt Weiser Monday, Nov. 11, 2013 Sacramento Bee. Monday, we will go over some background material about water and sewer systems that might be useful for your successful completion of homework assignment #2, discuss cloud seeding, and discuss the recent chemical spill in West Virginia that has affected the drinking water resources of 300,000 people.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Wednesday Week One
...some water cycle and precipitation questions...
1. What is a biogeochemical cycle? What are the essential components of a biogeochemical cycle? What is an example of a biogeochemical cycle other than the water cycle?
2. What are the reservoirs of the water cycle? What is a "reservoir" in the context of a biogeochemical cycle? What are the relative sizes of the following reservoirs: ocean, groundwater, soil moisture, lakes, rivers, wetlands (swamps), atmospheric moisture, and deep water?
3. Why is it important that more water evaporates from the ocean than precipitates into the ocean? How does water get from the ocean to surface terrestrial water reservoirs? How does water get from the surface terrestrial water reservoirs back into the ocean?
4. What are the (approximate and relative) residences times for the different reservoirs in the water cycle? What is meant by "residence time"? Why is it important to simultaneously consider reservoir size and residence time?
5. What is condensation? What change(s) are required in order for condensation to occur? Why does precipitation require both condensation and coalescence?
6. What are the three factors that determine the amount* of rain that falls in a particular location on the globe (*in this case, "amount" is measured by the average annual cumulative rainfall)? What is the "orographic effect"? Why is altitude important? Why is latitude important? Why is proximity to the ocean and wind direction important?
7. Can you describe the annual and seasonal rainfall patterns for an area if I provide information about the location such as topography, and wind direction? Conversely, can you describe the location, physiographic characteristics, and wind direction(s) of a place if I provide the proper information about the precipitation?
8. Why is the wettest (as determined by average annual accumulation of precipitation) place on Earth so wet? Why is the driest (as determined by average annual accumulation of precipitation) place on Earth so dry?
Slides from today are on Sakai. Your reading for Friday is the IPCC AR5 SPM (2014) (Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change Assessment Report 5 Summary for Policy Makers). You will find it as AR5SummaryGEOL150.pdf in the Resources--> Reading folder in Sakai. You are certainly welcome to read the entire 33-page document but you are only responsible for the material that is highlighted in the red boxes. Also, don;'t forget that we will have a quiz first thing on Friday when we meet.
1. What is a biogeochemical cycle? What are the essential components of a biogeochemical cycle? What is an example of a biogeochemical cycle other than the water cycle?
2. What are the reservoirs of the water cycle? What is a "reservoir" in the context of a biogeochemical cycle? What are the relative sizes of the following reservoirs: ocean, groundwater, soil moisture, lakes, rivers, wetlands (swamps), atmospheric moisture, and deep water?
3. Why is it important that more water evaporates from the ocean than precipitates into the ocean? How does water get from the ocean to surface terrestrial water reservoirs? How does water get from the surface terrestrial water reservoirs back into the ocean?
4. What are the (approximate and relative) residences times for the different reservoirs in the water cycle? What is meant by "residence time"? Why is it important to simultaneously consider reservoir size and residence time?
5. What is condensation? What change(s) are required in order for condensation to occur? Why does precipitation require both condensation and coalescence?
6. What are the three factors that determine the amount* of rain that falls in a particular location on the globe (*in this case, "amount" is measured by the average annual cumulative rainfall)? What is the "orographic effect"? Why is altitude important? Why is latitude important? Why is proximity to the ocean and wind direction important?
7. Can you describe the annual and seasonal rainfall patterns for an area if I provide information about the location such as topography, and wind direction? Conversely, can you describe the location, physiographic characteristics, and wind direction(s) of a place if I provide the proper information about the precipitation?
8. Why is the wettest (as determined by average annual accumulation of precipitation) place on Earth so wet? Why is the driest (as determined by average annual accumulation of precipitation) place on Earth so dry?
Slides from today are on Sakai. Your reading for Friday is the IPCC AR5 SPM (2014) (Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change Assessment Report 5 Summary for Policy Makers). You will find it as AR5SummaryGEOL150.pdf in the Resources--> Reading folder in Sakai. You are certainly welcome to read the entire 33-page document but you are only responsible for the material that is highlighted in the red boxes. Also, don;'t forget that we will have a quiz first thing on Friday when we meet.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Monday Week One
...some questions to ponder from today's lecture...
1. What is water? What is a resource? How does the addition of "resources" to the title of this course limit our discussion of water (or does it)?
2. How much water (in a general sense) do US residents use on a daily basis? When considering water use, why is it important to conceptually differentiate between water that we use and water that is used on our behalf? What is an example of someone using water "on our behalf"? Does the US import or export virtual water? What is "virtual water"?
3. Are all water resources challenges local? (the short answer is yes- we will spend the rest of the term augmenting your ability to expand upon this)
4. What are the global trends in global population growth, global access to improved sanitation, and global access to improved water source. How are improved sanitation and improved water source defined by the WHO? How might these respective definitions differ from our 1st world ideas about water and sanitation access?
5. How would you describe the relative access to improved water and sanitation at the nation-state level? Are improvements in the percent of population with access to improved water and sanitation facilities universal at the nation-state level?
6. Why is an understanding of natural processes and systmes essential to understanding how humans can use those systems most effectivelty and sustainably? (your understanding of this should grow considerably throughout the term...)
7. What are the three water resource challenges?
Bonus question: do you prefer "water resources problems" or "water resources challenges"?
Your reading for Wednesday is The Water Cycle (October 1, 2010) by Steve Graham, Claire Parkinson, and Mous Chahine with design by Robert Simmon. Go to Sakai for the homework assignment and to find slides shown in lecture this morning.
1. What is water? What is a resource? How does the addition of "resources" to the title of this course limit our discussion of water (or does it)?
2. How much water (in a general sense) do US residents use on a daily basis? When considering water use, why is it important to conceptually differentiate between water that we use and water that is used on our behalf? What is an example of someone using water "on our behalf"? Does the US import or export virtual water? What is "virtual water"?
3. Are all water resources challenges local? (the short answer is yes- we will spend the rest of the term augmenting your ability to expand upon this)
4. What are the global trends in global population growth, global access to improved sanitation, and global access to improved water source. How are improved sanitation and improved water source defined by the WHO? How might these respective definitions differ from our 1st world ideas about water and sanitation access?
5. How would you describe the relative access to improved water and sanitation at the nation-state level? Are improvements in the percent of population with access to improved water and sanitation facilities universal at the nation-state level?
6. Why is an understanding of natural processes and systmes essential to understanding how humans can use those systems most effectivelty and sustainably? (your understanding of this should grow considerably throughout the term...)
7. What are the three water resource challenges?
Bonus question: do you prefer "water resources problems" or "water resources challenges"?
Your reading for Wednesday is The Water Cycle (October 1, 2010) by Steve Graham, Claire Parkinson, and Mous Chahine with design by Robert Simmon. Go to Sakai for the homework assignment and to find slides shown in lecture this morning.
(Approved) Outside Lecture Opportunities for Winter 2014
We will be holding our 2014 Spring Symposium on February 14, 2014 at
Washington & Lee University School of Law, Sydney Lewis Hall in the
Millhiser Moot Court Room.
Geology Seminar “Molluscan community response to changes in the physical environment: cases for the Caribbean Neogene and Recent Californian coastal ocean” Thursday, Feb 13, 2014 4:30 PM-5:30 PM A228
Jim Lewis, who was scheduled to speak at W&L on January 21, is returning to speak with students, faculty and staff who share his passion for economic and environmental justice at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12 in Mattingly 201 (across the street from the Hillel House and Early-Fielding Building - on the corner of Washington St and Lee Ave). Students, faculty and staff who share a passion for economic and environmental justice are encouraged to come. Jim is heavily involved in responding to the recent chemical spill in Charleston, WV.
Biology Department Seminar on Biofuels Tuesday, February 11, 2014 7:30 PM Northen Auditorium
Geology Department Seminar: Cracking Up: Using acoustic emissions to discern the key diurnal conditions that lead to the physical weathering of rock Martha Cary Eppes '93 UNC-Charlotte Monday February 10, 2014 12:20 pm on A218- Lunch Provided
Tuesday January 28, 2014 at 7:00 pm
Jim Kanh, W&L
The Economics of Global Climate Change: Impacts and Policy
Stackhouse Theater
When: Monday, January 27th, 6:00pm-7:30pm
Where: Stackhouse Theater, Elrod Commons
What: Pandora's Promise (documentary on nuclear power)
Law and the Sciences: Presentation by Chris Seaman
January 23, 2014
12:15 PM - 1:15 PM
Science Center Room #114
Careers in Law and the Sciences: A Discussion with Professor Chris Seaman, Assistant Professor, Washington and Lee University School of Law on Thursday, January 23, from 12:15-1:15 p.m. in Science Addition Room 114. Join Professor Seaman for a discussion on careers that combine a background in both the sciences and the law. Students from all class years and majors are welcome to attend. Christopher Seaman, Assistant Professor at W&L Law, joined the faculty in 2012 after practicing intellectual property litigation at Sidley Austin LLP. His research and teaching interests include intellectual property litigation and remedies for the violation of intellectual property rights. Professor Seaman’s intellectual property-related scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming in a variety of law reviews and journals, including the Iowa Law Review, the BYU Law Review, the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, and the Yale Journal of Law and Technology.
Robert Humston, Associate Professor of Biology, W&L
7:00 pm Wednesday January 22, 2014
Elrod Commons, Stackhouse Theater
"Ecological Impacts of Climate Change"
(Rev. Jim Lewis a) longtime activist in West Virginia (who) has been heavily involved in responding to the recent chemical spill in Charleston plans to be in town this coming Tuesday (1/21). We (Shepherd Poverty Program) plan to host him here in Mattingly House from 4-5:30 – before the MLK celebration. Jim is eager to meet students, faculty, and staff who share his passion for economic & environmental justice. Please, encourage your students and colleagues with interests in Appalachian poverty and environmental issues and/or faith-based activism to come. They would be more than welcome!" (postponed until further notice)
Chris Connors, Professor of Geology W&L
Wednesday, January 15, 4:00pm in A218, Science Center
"Current Research Directions"
Lisa Greer, Associate Professor of Geology
Tuesday, January 14 7:00 pm
Elrod Commons, Stackhouse Theater
"The Science of Global Climate Change"
Jeff Rahl, Associate Professor of Geology W&L
Friday, January 10, 3:30 in A218, Science Center
“Ductile deformation of quartz-rich rocks”
DAVE HARBOR, Professor of Geology W&L
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 4:00PM, A218 SCI CENTER
"Bedrock plucking in rivers: laboratory, field, and planetary studies"
Geology Seminar “Molluscan community response to changes in the physical environment: cases for the Caribbean Neogene and Recent Californian coastal ocean” Thursday, Feb 13, 2014 4:30 PM-5:30 PM A228
Jim Lewis, who was scheduled to speak at W&L on January 21, is returning to speak with students, faculty and staff who share his passion for economic and environmental justice at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12 in Mattingly 201 (across the street from the Hillel House and Early-Fielding Building - on the corner of Washington St and Lee Ave). Students, faculty and staff who share a passion for economic and environmental justice are encouraged to come. Jim is heavily involved in responding to the recent chemical spill in Charleston, WV.
Biology Department Seminar on Biofuels Tuesday, February 11, 2014 7:30 PM Northen Auditorium
Geology Department Seminar: Cracking Up: Using acoustic emissions to discern the key diurnal conditions that lead to the physical weathering of rock Martha Cary Eppes '93 UNC-Charlotte Monday February 10, 2014 12:20 pm on A218- Lunch Provided
Tuesday January 28, 2014 at 7:00 pm
Jim Kanh, W&L
The Economics of Global Climate Change: Impacts and Policy
Stackhouse Theater
When: Monday, January 27th, 6:00pm-7:30pm
Where: Stackhouse Theater, Elrod Commons
What: Pandora's Promise (documentary on nuclear power)
Law and the Sciences: Presentation by Chris Seaman
January 23, 2014
12:15 PM - 1:15 PM
Science Center Room #114
Careers in Law and the Sciences: A Discussion with Professor Chris Seaman, Assistant Professor, Washington and Lee University School of Law on Thursday, January 23, from 12:15-1:15 p.m. in Science Addition Room 114. Join Professor Seaman for a discussion on careers that combine a background in both the sciences and the law. Students from all class years and majors are welcome to attend. Christopher Seaman, Assistant Professor at W&L Law, joined the faculty in 2012 after practicing intellectual property litigation at Sidley Austin LLP. His research and teaching interests include intellectual property litigation and remedies for the violation of intellectual property rights. Professor Seaman’s intellectual property-related scholarship has appeared or is forthcoming in a variety of law reviews and journals, including the Iowa Law Review, the BYU Law Review, the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology, and the Yale Journal of Law and Technology.
Robert Humston, Associate Professor of Biology, W&L
7:00 pm Wednesday January 22, 2014
Elrod Commons, Stackhouse Theater
"Ecological Impacts of Climate Change"
(Rev. Jim Lewis a) longtime activist in West Virginia (who) has been heavily involved in responding to the recent chemical spill in Charleston plans to be in town this coming Tuesday (1/21). We (Shepherd Poverty Program) plan to host him here in Mattingly House from 4-5:30 – before the MLK celebration. Jim is eager to meet students, faculty, and staff who share his passion for economic & environmental justice. Please, encourage your students and colleagues with interests in Appalachian poverty and environmental issues and/or faith-based activism to come. They would be more than welcome!" (postponed until further notice)
Chris Connors, Professor of Geology W&L
Wednesday, January 15, 4:00pm in A218, Science Center
"Current Research Directions"
Lisa Greer, Associate Professor of Geology
Tuesday, January 14 7:00 pm
Elrod Commons, Stackhouse Theater
"The Science of Global Climate Change"
Jeff Rahl, Associate Professor of Geology W&L
Friday, January 10, 3:30 in A218, Science Center
“Ductile deformation of quartz-rich rocks”
DAVE HARBOR, Professor of Geology W&L
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 4:00PM, A218 SCI CENTER
"Bedrock plucking in rivers: laboratory, field, and planetary studies"
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