Unit 1 Blog

 Hi all! 

Welcome to my first blog post! I am excited to take you along for the ride as we both learn more about our resources on earth! 

Copper mines---What do they bring and how are they affecting Minnesotans? 

First off, let me just say that since I am based in Minnesota, a lot of my topics will be centered around how it is affecting our state. Let's now talk about the PolyMet mine, a focal point for copper mining here in Minnesota. In the outlined plan, roughly 19,000 acres are required. This land would be used to produce 225 million tons of resources, more specifically, 1.6 billion pounds of copper. Now you may be thinking, what on earth can we possibly use all this copper for? Well, let me tell you. First off, copper is the main component in wind turbines. My guess would be that if you have ever driven through rural Minnesota, you would see these scattered in between corn and soybean fields. Besides wind turbines, we also see copper used in every electric generation system, which is vital to our population. Now that you see what this copper is used for, let me also tell you the economic impact it would have on our state. This PolyMet job would bring in over 1,000 new jobs for the St. Louis County area, which would also boost their economy north of $515 million. Everything I've outlined so far sounds like a win, but is it too good to be true? Unfortunately, this story doesn't have a happy ending. With this mine, concerns over air pollution, water pollution, soil erosion, and habitat damage are all baggage that comes with it. Now, you the reader have an opportunity to make your voice heard. If you click on this link here: https://polymetmining.com/contact/, you are able to ask any questions you have about this project. Whether you are still unsure about its costs and benefits or you are just curious about why they picked this region, you are able to ask the company directly. I understand this is a difficult topic to take a stance on, and you are definitely not alone. The more you learn, the better your opinion will come to you! 

The Carbon Cycle - What is it?

Before I started this lesson, the carbon cycle was a faint memory in my mind. As a reader, I am guessing that you roughly feel the same way, so let me change that. Simply put, the carbon cycle is the process by which carbon compounds are put in and taken out of the environment. The picture below will help outline the process: 





http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/CarbonCycle/ 

As you can see, carbon is constantly moving, indicated by the arrows above. The units used are gigatons (Gt), which is equivalent to 2.2 trillion pounds (abqjournal.com). From this image, you can see 210 Gt of carbon come in and out of the atmosphere every year. In total, the atmosphere can store roughly 800 Gt of carbon. If this image isn’t already complicated enough, the arrows actually represent two different things. The arrows moving up represent carbon sources because they are moving carbon into the atmosphere. The arrows moving down are carbon sinks because carbon is being taken out of the atmosphere. The topic is much more complex than the little sneak-peak I gave you here, but at least you should have a solid understanding. If you wanted to learn the carbon cycle I’d recommend checking out this link (Crash Course Link), as this video will give you everything you need to know! 

An LCA, what is that? 

Now that you understand the Carbon Cycle, let’s take a closer look at how it relates to the products we use! Previously, I had absolutely no idea what an LCA even was. My guess is that many of you are in the same boat, but let me tell you, they are one of the most effective things you can do to evaluate a product. First off, the actual definition is “a systematic approach that quantifies all impacts from the beginning of the product all the way to the end of the products useful life.” (Lesson 6 Environmental Assessment through LCA) BBE 1002, UMN) In this process, we use the term “cradle-to-grave” to describe a product’s life from its beginning as a resource, all the way to its end life.  

Source:

Each step along the way has an important factor in determining how a product lives out there life. Most importantly, we are able to identify impact categories, which are: climate change, human toxicity, water acidification, land clearing, eutrophication, acidification, ozone, groundwater, smog, and many more.  (Lesson 6 Environmental Assessment through LCA) BBE 1002, UMN). Through identification of these impact categories, we learn which phase of a product's life has the biggest impact on its carbon footprint. From my LCA I looked at, I found that for car tires, its biggest phase was obviously use, because that is when car tires are seen in action. As you can see, doing these LCA’s can accurately predict which products are using the most carbon and when, which can help you determine your next plan of action. 

Thank You!

I’d like to thank you all for reading my very first blog post! I was new to the entire concept and I feel like I took everything in stride. Let me know if you have any questions I can answer and what you would like to see me cover next time! Have a great day! 


Works Cited:

https://get-green-now.com/environmental-effects-of-mining/#:~:text=%20The%20Environmental%20Impact%20of%20Mining%20%201,hollows%20out%20land%20to%20extract%20raw...%20More%20

https://polymetmining.com/operations/northmet-snapshot/

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/CarbonCycle

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666789421000258


Lesson 4 Carbon Cycle, BBE 1002, UMN

Lesson 6 Environmental Assessment through LCA) BBE 1002, UMN


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