Aquifer

removing the waste from their drilling efforts, they would “cover it with dirt and seed the area with grass.” This newer method of sludge disposal seems almost if not more dangerous than the other method of depositing the toxic sludge deep under the aquifer (an underground body of…

1.1. Sustainable Development The idea of energy efficient, healthy buildings has been around for a long time, it is now that the concept of “green” or “sustainable” building has entered the mainstream and catching the global attention. There are probably several reasons; Global Warming, rising energy costs, the growing awareness, declining oil reserves, and concerns about our limited water supply. The list goes on, but whatever the reason or reasons; energy efficient building is a concept whose…

Summer of 2014, my life was changing quite a bit. As I come back from my first year at school in U.S. and more than prepared to live away from home, I pack my bags and go to São Paulo. Although it is very close to my hometown, Santos, it was still a great change: new swim club, new city, new friends. São Paulo it is much known to be a complete chaos: anywhere with 12 million habitants has to be at least somehow different. With too many people comes too many problems: air and river pollution,…

Israel continues to use the Palestinian agriculture as a means to inflict collective punishment on the Palestinian people to confiscate more land in the Occupied Territories’ (OT). Israel continues to confiscate Palestinian agricultural land and aquifers by denying Palestinian civilians access to their crops and their harvest (UN General Assembly, 2014). The Palestinian land had even been inundated with waste water (UN General Assembly, 2014). Israeli has occupied the West Bank, the Gaza Strip,…

Before I answer this question, it is important to understand what water pollution is, in order to decide if what I say is truly negative or positive. Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies (e.g. lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers and groundwater). This form of environmental degradation occurs when pollutants are directly or indirectly discharged into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds. Plastic is the most common element that is found in the…

There are certain animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, and viruses that tolerate and actually thrive in extreme conditions. These organisms are called extremophiles. The word extremophile breaks up into “extreme” and the suffix “phile” literally means “one who loves.” These organisms flourish in the uninhabitable places that vary from extremely high and low temperatures, high pressures, high salinity, the absence of water, and extreme amounts of radiation just to name a few. Many of these…

Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the earth’s surface at high pressures in order to fracture the clastic sedimentary rock or shale rock surface. Fracturing the shale rock releases the natural gas, petroleum, or water that could be trapped inside these underground natural reservoirs. The wells are drilled vertically into the earth’s surface for hundreds or thousands of feet and include horizontal or directional extensions to allow…

The Million-Dollar Monopoly Tournament Ginny chooses to play as the thimble for the monopoly game. A thimble is a small hard cup worn for protection on the finger that pushes the needle for sewing. The most obvious representation for this device is protection, something Ginny desperately desires. She wants to be protected from the unfamiliar outside world and her secrets. While Ginny has never really left the family farm, her life has been filled with numerous hardships. Her mother died when…

For the case of hydrothermal systems, one normally needs to have large amounts of hot, natural fluids contained in an aquifer with high natural rock permeability and porosity to ensure long-term production at economically acceptable levels. Geothermal energy is considered a renewable resource because the heat emanating from the interior of the Earth is unlimited. Mainly…

Fracking requires a large amount of water. The United States’ water supply is not that grand and each fracking job takes millions of gallons of water to complete. In a 2014 report, as much as 35 million gallons of freshwater were removed from nearby aquifers in Michigan to be used in just one frack well. (Green Garage Blog, 2014). The heavy use of our fresh water supply also raises concerns for the level of contamination it may bring to our drinking water. The machines and vehicles we use in the…