The Big Dig!

The Big Dig project built more tunnels throughout the city of Boston and was meant to decrease congestion on inner city streets that are not designed for quick travel. There have been allegations of negligence in funding and selection of building materials. The project was conceived in the 1970s by the Boston Transportation Planning Review to replace the rusting elevated six-lane Central Artery. The expressway separated downtown from the waterfront, and was increasingly choked with bumper-to-bumper traffic.

There have been a couple issues dealing with the creation of the Big Dig. While digging the tunnels excavators came across unexpected geological and archaeological sites like buried buildings and ships which caused problems such as finishing the project in a timely manner.

Sustainably speaking, the reduction of congestion on inner city roads, the appointed officials can minimize vehicle emissions and time spent in the car for each individual. By expanding downwards we can decrease the amount of surface area we use to commute. This can decrease surface land cover by asphalt, but it still has potential to disrupt ground water in the area.

Many environmental impact mitigation projects (transit, pedestrian, bicycle, and parks) also remain. Although these were legal requirements for approval of the environmental impact statement, many are not funded because of the massive cost overruns on the highway portion of the project. For example, though the North Point Park was created as part of the project, it ended without constructing pedestrian bridges to neighboring parks.

Hydro-power

What is it: Hydro power is a way to harness energy without emitting green house gases. This energy has been exploited for centuries. Farmers since the ancient Greeks have used water wheels to grind wheat into flour. Placed in a river, a water wheel picks up flowing water in buckets located around the wheel. The kinetic energy of the flowing river turns the wheel and is converted into mechanical energy that runs the mill.

History: In the late 19th century, hydropower became a source for generating electricity. The first hydroelectric power plant was built at Niagara Falls in 1879. In 1881, street lamps in the city of Niagara Falls were powered by hydropower. In 1882 the world’s first hydroelectric power plant began operating in the United States in Appleton, Wisconsin.

How does it work: A typical hydro plant is a system with three parts: an electric plant where the electricity is produced; a dam that can be opened or closed to control water flow; and a reservoir where water can be stored. The water behind the dam flows through an intake and pushes against blades in a turbine, causing them to turn. The turbine spins a generator to produce electricity. The amount of electricity that can be generated depends on how far the water drops and how much water moves through the system. The electricity can be transported over long-distance electric lines to homes, factories, and businesses.

The Only problem: Damming rivers may destroy or disrupt wildlife and other natural resources. Some fish, like salmon, may be prevented from swimming upstream to spawn. Technologies like fish ladders help salmon go up over dams and enter upstream spawning areas, but the presence of hydroelectric dams changes their migration patterns and hurts fish populations. Hydro-power plants can also cause low dissolved oxygen levels in the water, which is harmful to river habitats.

Vampire power refers to the reality of electric use in electronics that are turned off yet plugged in. It is also referred to as Stand By and most electronics use this feature to run a digital clock or other little features while other electronics have stand by with out any features. Although it does not consume an excessive amount of electricity it still takes in unnecessary energy.

http://standby.lbl.gov/summary-table.html contains a table of the amount of energy Vampire Power electronics use. Vampire powered products can use as much as 15 watts, but since 2001 laws have been placed in many developed nations where products containing stand by power can not exceed 1 watt. The laws have not been enforced.

Surge protectors can be bought to reduce the amount of energy the devices take during vampire power usage. The best way to reduce stand by power usage is to unplug all unnecessary devices that do not need to be plugged in when not in use.

PET Materials

Plutonium: is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-white appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allatropes and four oxidation states. It reacts with carbon, halogens, nitrogen and silicon. When exposed to moist air, it forms oxides and hydrides that expand the sample up to 70% in volume, which in turn flake off as a powder that can spontaneously ignite. It is also a radioactive poison that accumulates in bone marrow. These and other properties make the handling of plutonium dangerous.

Tungsten: is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74. A steel-gray metal under standard conditions when uncombined, tungsten is found naturally on Earth only in chemical compounds. It was identified as a new element in 1781, and first isolated as a metal in 1783. Its important ores include wolframite and scheelite. The free element is remarkable for its robustness, especially the fact that it has the highest melting point of all the non-alloyed metals and the second highest of all the elements after carbon. Also remarkable is its high density of 19.3 times that of water, comparable to that of uranium and gold, and significantly higher (about 1.7 times) than that of lead. Tungsten with minor amounts of impurities is often brittle and hard, making it difficult to work. However, very pure tungsten is more ductile, and can be cut with a hacksaw.