Bono

"People expect that because I am a believer that I somehow have all the answers....I don't feel that I'm a very good advertisement for God you know? If ever there was a sinner there is one here"" - Bono

rectory oh, rectory!

This is stryder and the reason why i have disapeared from TA304 for about a week.

One of his favorite things todo is to stuff as many tennis balls into his mouth and wants you the human interaction to play catch or really not catch cause he never really brings you back the ball, just sort of teases you with it.
today, he has decied to help out tybo and jenn with there physics homework. homework is so much better with a puppy.

at this point in my life

Done so many things wrong I don’t know if I can do right
Oh i, oh i’ve
Done so many things wrong I don’t know if I can do right
At this point in my life
I’ve done so many things wrong I don’t know if I can do right
If you put your trust in me I hope I won’t let you down
If you give me a chance I’ll try
You see it’s been a hard road the road I’m traveling on
And if I take your hand I might lead you down the path to ruin
I’ve had a hard life I’m just saying it so you’ll understand
That right now, right now, I’m doing the best I can
At this point in my life
At this point in my life
Although I’ve mostly walked in the shadows
I’m still searching for the light
Won’t you put your faith in me
We both know that’s what matters
If you give me a chance I’ll try
You see I’ve been climbing stairs but mostly stumbling down
I’ve been reaching high always losing ground
You see I’ve been reaching high but always losing ground
You see I’ve conquered hills but I still have mountains to climb
And right now right now I’m doing the best I can
At this point in my life
Before we take a step
Before we walk down that path
Before I make any promises
Before you have regrets
Before we talk commitment
Let me tell you of my past
All I’ve seen and all I’ve done
The things I’d like to forget
At this point in my life
At this point in my life
I’d like to live as if only love mattered
As if redemption was in sight
As if the search to live honestly
Is all that anyone needs
No matter if you find it
You see when I’ve touched the sky
The earth’s gravity has pulled me down
But now I’ve reconciled that in this world
Birds and angels get the wings to fly
If you can believe in this heart of mine
If you can give it a try
Then I’ll reach inside and find and give you
All the sweetness that I have
At this point in my life
At this point in my life
-Tracy Chapman, At This Point in my Life

things that make me smile

receving a book in the mail from a friend in Vancouver, B.C.

Byzantine Proverb

He who has bread has many problems,
He who has no bread has only one problem
-Byzantine Proverb

i am a geek

i am suck a geek.

the tech geek and hippie are currently at odds!

monday, monday

Today I woke up in dread of the first monday of the semester, classes from 9.10 to 5.30. At about 10.30 am, I was sitting in the penthouse reading Descartes, to have the lights go out and power was officially out in Emery, Mac and Jenks so the provost in his great wisdom canceled class. WOOT.

MONDAY MONDAY!!!

s.e.w

We're All In This Together

Well My friend, well I see your face so clearly
Little bit tired, little bit worn through the years
You sound nervouse, you seem lonely
I hardly recognize your voice on the telephone

In between I remember
Just before we wound up broken down
Drive out to the edge of the highway
Follow that lonesome dead-end roadside sound

We're all in this thing together
Walkin' the line between faith and fear
This life don't last forever
When you cry I taste the salt in your tears

Well my friend, let's put this thing together
And walk the path that worn out feet have trod
If you wanted we can go home forever
Give up your jaded ways, spell you name to God

We're all in this thing together
Walkin' the line between faith and fear
This life don't last forever
When you cry I taste the salt in your tears

All we are in a picture in a mirror
Fancy shoes to grave our feet
All that there is a slow road to freedom
Heaven above and the devil beneath

We're all in this thing together
Walkin' the line between faith and fear
This life don't last forever
When you cry I taste the salt in your tears

-O.C.M.S

wishing i had someone, :(

good drinks and good friends

here's to good drinks and good friends before the start of my last semester as a college student

Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle

it is christmas night, and after a long day of driving and relatives and my brothers waking me up at 5 am. I am home in NH.

Noteworthy show of the night: Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle-it is chessey brit drama, but it hit the spot.

The plot as quoted from the bbc.uk - "High school teacher Mr. Harvey (Timothy Spall, Shooting the Past, Secrets & Lies) is completely misunderstood — and not just in the classroom. He's been carrying a secret, which has shaped his entire identity, but he is about to shed it. The kids, and his colleagues, think he's always been an old, humorless, fuddy-duddy. But before the end of a field trip to a 13th century cathedral, they'll learn about the secret — and students, staff, and Mr. Harvey himself will experience an epiphany."

s.e.w

it is hard to argue with a british accent

apt picture with our 6th apt who was visting from oxford.

Te lucis ante terminum

To thee before the close of day,Creator of the world, we pray That, with thy wonted favor, thou
Would'st be our guard and keeper now.
From all ill dreams defend our sight,From fears and terrors of the night; Withhold from us our ghostly foe,That spot of sin we may not know.
O Father, that we ask be done,Through Jesus Christ, thine only Son. Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee, Doth live and reign eternally. Amen.
Latin, c. 7th cent.

Pyrite Oxidation Chemistry-Acid Mine Drainage

Coal has been a source of energy since the industrial revolution and within the United States the Appalachian region has supplied coal to the Nation for more then 200 years (Cecil and Tewalt 2005), however many of the benefits from coal have not always out numbered the environmental implications of mining. Surface mining has disturbed about 1.8 million ha in the Appalachian region since 1930 and in West Virginia about 610,000 ha have been mined by underground methods, along with 276,000 ha have been surfaced mined (Demchak et al 2004). One of the major problems arising from coal mining is acid mine drainage, for about 10,000 km of streams have been affected in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia (USEPA 1995).

Acid mine drainage occurs when pyrite is exposed to the atmosphere where it is oxidized which is extremely acidic (Evangelou 1998). This mechanism for reaction is as follows (Singer and Stumm 1970);
FeS2 + 7/2O2 + H2O à Fe2+ + 2SO42- + 2H+
Fe2+ + 1/4O2 + H+ à Fe3+ + 1/2H2O
Fe3+ + 3H2O à Fe(OH)3(s) + 3H+
FeS2 + 7Fe2(SO4)3 + 8H2O à 15 FeSO4 + 8H2SO4
Pyrite is present in coal seams and the rock layers overlying coal seams and the formation of acid mine drainage arises in surface mining, in which the overlying rocks are broken and removed to the extracted the coal. In the above mechanism, it is the second reaction which is known as the rate-limiting step and Thiobacillus ferrooxidans can increase the rate of Fe2+ oxidation by a factor of 106 (Singer and Stumm 1970). T. ferrooxidans is a chemoautotrophic and acidophilic organism that is able to oxidize Fe2+, S, metal sulfides and other reduced inorganic sulfur compounds (Evangelou 1998). Another bacterium found in acid mine wastes is Thiobacillus thiooxidans and it is able to oxidize both elemental sulfur and sulfide to sulfuric acid (Brierley 1982), nevertheless T. thiooxidans cannot oxidize Fe2+ (Harrison 1984). Pyrite oxidation by bacteria is classified into either direct metabolic reactions which requires physical contact between bacteria and pyrite particles or indirect metabolic reactions in which the bacteria oxidizes Fe2+ therefore regenerating the Fe3+ required for the chemical oxidation of pyrite (Singer and Stumm 1970).

There are however several methods of determining the potential of pyretic material to produce acid mine drainage. The first of these methods is the determination of potential acidity in the overburden. In this method a direct determination of the acid-producing potential is a pyrite oxidation technique using 30% H2O2 and the acid produced from the H2O2 is termed the potential acidity (Evangelou 1998).
FeS2 + 7.5 H2O2 à Fe(OH)3(s) + H2SO4 + 4H2O
As seen in the reaction above complete pyrite oxidation frees 2 moles of H2SO4 for each mole of pyrite and thus for each mole of pyrite oxidized, 2 moles of calcium carbonate is needed to neutralize the acid (Evangelou 1998). Another method is acid-base counting, which one of the most widely used methods for characterizing overburden in geochemistry (Evangelou 1998). The idea behind acid-base accounting is to account for the acid producing potential due to pyrite and the neutralizing potential due to alkaline materials, such as carbonates and the differences between the two potentials specify if there is enough base to neutralize the acid formed from the pyrite material (Evangelou 1998). However this method has been “criticized because it dose not consider differences between the rate of pyrite oxidation and the rate of carbonate dissolution” (Evangelou 1998). The last method is simulated weathering, where leaching overburden in laboratory scale experiments. The effluent is then collects from the leaching process in the laboratory and tested for pH, sulfate and iron and the results are used to evaluate acid drainage formation potential (Evangelou 1998).

In 1977, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act was passed which “provided standards for environmental protection during mining operations and placed the responsibility of AMD [acid mine drainage] control and treatment on the operator” (Demchak et al 2004), since then there has been development of different ways to treat acid mine drainage. Even before the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, the State of Pennsylvania passes strict effluent standards for mining operations and companies started to use chemicals, such as calcium carbonate, sodium hydroxide and sodium bicarbonate, to raise the pH of the effluent and decrease the solubility of dissolved metals (Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Abandoned Mines 2005). However chemicals are expensive and so the c idea of passive treatment began to be researched in 1978. Passive treatment theoretically is to allow natural occurring chemical and biological reactions to aid in the treatment of acid mine drainage n a controlled environment.

The first passive treatment systems used the natural Sphangum wetlands and lead to research in anaerobic wetlands to treat acid mine drainage. Typically wetlands are designed conservatively and can treat discharges that contain dissolved oxygen, Fe3+, Al3+ and acidity less than 300 mg/L. The wetland acts as reducing wetland where organic substrates promote chemical and microbial process that generate alkalinity and increase the pH. The compost in the system removes the oxygen, which allows for the sulfate to be reduced and keeps the metal from oxidizing and the microbial respiration within the substrate reduces the sulfates to water and hydrogen sulfide (Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Abandoned Mines 2005). The size of the wetlands has been determined by the United States Bureau of Mines,
Minimum wetland size (m2) = acidity loading (g/day)/ 7

Another method of passive treatment is open limestone channels. These can be constructed in two ways, the first being to construct a drainage ditch of limestone and the acid mine drainage will collect in the ditch or the second method would be to place limestone fragments directly into a contaminated stream. The limestone dissolves and neutralized the pyrite acidity to raise the pH (Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Abandoned Mines 2005).

Also, diversion wells are another way of using limestone to raise the pH of contaminates waters. The contaminated water is piped into a downstream well where is mixes with crushed limestone aggregate using the hydraulic force of the pipe flow. However this method, the diversion wells require frequent refilling with new limestone. Yet another method using limestone is anoxic limestone drains, which are buried beds of limestone that are constructed to intercept subsurface mine water flows (Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Abandoned Mines 2005).

However the pyroulsute process is a patented process that uses cultured microbes to remove iron, manganese and aluminum from acid mine drainage. This treatment uses a shallow bed of limestone aggregate introduced with microorganism by inoculation ports throughout the bed. These microorganism grow on the surface of the limestone where they oxidize metal contaminates while chipping way at the limestone, thus increasing the alkalinity (Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Abandoned Mines 2005).

Abandoned mine lands generate more then 90% of the acid mine drainage in streams and rivers in the Appalachian region and most acidic drainage flows from underground mines (Demchak et al 2004). Nevertheless the unavailability of water resources and its accompany impaired aesthetics and degradation is the largest cost to the public. Consequently, the need for simple and inexpensive treatment, such as passive treatment systems need to be researched along with a better understanding of the natural process within mines that affect water quality over time. (Demchak et al 2004).

Works Cited

Brielery, C.L. 1982. Microbiological Mining. Scientific America 247: 42-51

Cecil, Blaine C and Tewalt, Susan J. 2005. “Coal Extraction—Environmental Prediction” U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet

Demchak, J., Skousen, J. and McDonald, L.M. 2004. “Longevity of Acid Discharges from Underground Mines Located above the Regional Water Table” J. Environ Qual. 33:656-668

Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Abandoned Mines. 2005. “The Science of Acid Mine Drainage and Passive Treatment”

Evangelou, V.P. 1998. Environmental Soil and Water Chemistry: Principles and Applications. Wiley-Interscience Publications, New York, NY.

Harrison, A.P. 1984. “The Acidophilic thiobacilli and other acidophilic bacteria that share their habitat. Annual Review of Microbiology 38: 265-292

USEPA. 1995. “Streams with fisheries impacted by acid mine drainage in MD, OH, PA, VA and WV” USEPA Region III, Wheeling, WV.

written for IS: Environmental Chemistry
12th December 2005
s.e.w

couch

i offically saw one couch lit in flames on the quad!

finals week!

Prayer of Humble Access

We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O mercifulLord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifoldand great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gatherup the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lordwhose property is always to have mercy. Grant us therefore,gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ,and to drink his blood, that we may evermore dwell in him,and he in us. Amen.

winter ball

images float in and out , only
stopping for a moment
to leave not even a slight impression
molecules, wars, human beings
pressing themselves against the toil of
a degraded environment

weekend in the wood

View from my house this weekend!!!

baptism

i was baptized

Examination
The the Celebrant asks the following questions of the candidates who can speak for themselves, and of the parents and godparents who speak on behalf of the infants and younger children
Question
Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?
Answer
I renounce them.
Question
Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?
Answer
I renounce them.
Question
Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God?
Answer
I renounce them.
Question
Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior?
Answer
I do.
Question
Do you put your whole trust in his grace and love?
Answer
I do.
Question
Do you promise to follow and obey him as your Lord?
Answer
I do.

The Baptismal Covenant
Celebrant Do you believe in God the Father?
PeopleI believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
Celebrant Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
People I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
Celebrant Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit?
People I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Celebrant Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
People I will, with God's help.
Celebrant Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.
People I will, with God's help. Page 305
Celebrant Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ?
People I will, with God's help.
Celebrant Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
People I will, with God's help.
Celebrant Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
People I will, with God's help.

Hydrogen

After Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, we Americans watched as gas prices soared to above $3.00 a gallon. This spike in gas prices led to many Americans reevaluating vehicle choices. Also, hybrid cars started to get more advertising space in the media, as well as gas companies beginning to promise to develop more environmentally friendly fuels. But is this the answer to America’s obsession with the internal combustion engine? Is there anything that will be more sustainable for the future? Because hybrid cars still have to use fossil fuels in order to run, hydrogen cars have the potential to be the “green” car of the future.
Using hydrogen technology to propel a moving object was first proposed by the Rev. W. Cecil who was a fellow at Magdalene College in Cambridge. He presented a paper in 1820 entitled, “On the Application of Hydrogen Gas to produce moving power in Machinery,” in which he discussed that when hydrogen is mixed with air, it produces a “large partial vacuum.” Then, the air that rushes back into this vacuum creates a force “nearly in the same manner as the common steam engine” (Hoffman 2002). Then, in 1923, John Burden Sanderson Aldine gave a lecture at Cambridge in which he stated that “hydrogen-derived from wind power via electrolysis, liquefied and stored, would be the fuel of the future” (Hoffman). In the 1930s, Harry Ricardo and A.F. Burst investigated the burn characteristics of hydrogen as a fuel in England (Hoffman). During World War Two, some of the greatest advancements in hydrogen fuel technology came from a German scientist, Rudolf Erin, but unfortunately due to his affiliation with the Nazi party, most of his business possessions where confiscated and many of his papers where destroyed in the Allied bombing (Hoffman). After the war, Francis T. Bacon developed a practical hydrogen-air fuel cell, which latter became important in the American space program (Hoffman). In 1962, Eduard Justi and August Winsel wrote a paper titled “Cold Combustion-Fuel Cells,” in which they laid out the idea of splitting water into its constituted parts of hydrogen and oxygen. When these elements are combined, enough energy is released to provide power, and water is re-formed (Hoffman). Also in the same year, an Australian electrochemist John Bockris proposed a plan to supply cities in the United States with solar-derived energy via hydrogen (Hoffman). In the last ten years, the development of hydrogen as a fuel has grown in leaps and bounds (see Timeline 1)
Hydrogen as a fuel is produced in six major ways: electrolysis, steam-methane reformation, biomass gasification, photoelectrolysis, coal gasification, and biohydrogen. Water electrolysis is the method of creating hydrogen in which an electrical current is passed through water to separate it into its constituents. While this method produces extremely pure hydrogen, it also uses significant amounts of electricity, which is often produced from coal or other types of power plants (Rocky Mountain Institute 2005). Also, hydrogen can be produced from methane, which is also known as natural gas. The mechanism is a two-step process at temperature of about 1000 ºC and is shown below: (Macdonald and Berry 2000)
CH4(g) + H2O(g) catalyst CO(g) + 3H2(g)
CO(g) + H2O(g) catalyst CO2(g) + H2(g)
However, this process both uses a fossil fuel as a starting material and produces carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and therefore adding to the global climate change problem. Another method to produce hydrogen is by biomass gasification, in when a hydrogen-rich biomass item, such as wood chips or agricultural waste, is heated in a controlled atmosphere. This causes the biomass to convert to gaseous carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Most of the hurdles of biomass gasification have been economical, but hopefully the increased demand for hydrogen will make biomass gasification more economically viable. Hydrogen can also be produced from photoelectrolysis, which is the splitting of water into its constituents via the energy in sunlight via a semiconductor. However, this method has not been able to move from beyond the laboratory. Hydrogen can also be produced from coal though gasification, yet this undermines the idea of hydrogen as a “green” fuel, because it is being produced from a fossil fuel.
In addition to all the methods listed above, there is a method to produce hydrogen from green algae and this is known as BioHydrogen (Rocky Mountain Institute). A group led by Paul Weaver from the Nationally Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, experimented with the algae Rhodospirillum rubrum, which produces hydrogen via its hydrogenase enzyme from water. Typically hydrogenase microbes are killed in the presence of oxygen, but there is a group discovered in a subset of R. rubrum that will continue to produce hydrogen even when exposed to oxygen. These microorganisms do not split water so the next step is to “take just the light-absorbing, water-splitting complex and link it directly to the hydrogen producing enzyme” (Hoffman).
What does hydrogen production mean and how can it apply to a more sustainable society? There is a philosophy called the “hydrogen economy,” that states that nations should change from an oil-based society to a society that relies on hydrogen. This “hydrogen economy would make it possible a vast redistribution of power” in which the oil companies and utilities would become obsolete. In this new economy, each human being would “become the producer as well as the consumer of his or her own energy” (Rifkin 2002). This idea is called “distributed generation” (Rifkin). Rifkin also cites access to electricity as a main contributor to economic growth and that for “every 100 household, 10 to 20 new businesses are created”(Rifkin). Also according to Stanford researches Mark Z. Jacobson, Whitney Goldsborough, Mark Colella and David M. Golden that converting currently operating automobiles from running by diesel or gasoline to hydrogen fuel-cell technology “would prevent millions of cases of respiratory illness and tens of thousands of hospitalizations annually”(“Toward a Hydrogen Economy” 2005).
However, there are challenges to this new “hydrogen” economy. The first being that the United States lacks an infrastructure for hydrogen fuel, therefore it gives the hydrogen cars a limited range. Also, as shown by the many methods of hydrogen production outlined, there are many ways to get hydrogen, nevertheless the only truly sustainable way to produce hydrogen is through either wind or solar power, where carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are not produced. As Americans, and stewards of creation, we need to look at the economic and environmental impact that oil has on the Earth. C. E Thomas, Vice President of Energy and Environment of Directed Technologies, Inc., was once quoted,
In economic terms, the cost of fuels dose not include the externalities of health effects due to urban air pollution, oil spills, ground water contamination, the military cost of defending oil, and, most important, the potential risks of major climate change. Put another way, society has a very high discount rate- we discount any adverse effects that occur in the future.
If the price of coal, oil, and, yes, even natural gas included a full account of externalities, then hydrogen would look much more promising overnight. If people had to pay $10/gallon for gasoline or 30 cents/[kilowatt-hour] for electricity to cover fossil fuel damages to our health and environment, then suddenly hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and hydrogen produced by win, solar or biomass would look like a bargain. Investors would flock to hydrogen equipment manufacturers. People would convert their SUVs to run on clean-burning hydrogen derived from wind energy at only $2.50/gallon of gasoline equivalent.
A truly sustainable energy future has two attributes: no pollution or greenhouse gas emissions, no consumption of non-renewable resources. There are only two energy options that meet this sustainability goal: renewable hydrogen and fusion (quoted in Hoffman).

As we weigh the “externalities” of the cost of fuel, an energy source not based upon fossil fuels needs to be developed further by nations. There also needs to be more education about these alternative fuels to the common public. Thomas also stated,
Sustainability requires the intervention of governments. Governments alone have the responsibility of protecting the commons. Industry has no major incentive (other than public relations) to build a sustainable energy system. Their overriding objective is return on investment, and burning fossil fuels is very profitable. At best, they will sponsor renewable energy R&D or fuel-cell programs with an infinitesimally small fraction of their profits to give the appearance of preparing for a sustainable future. But most governments do not have the vision or leadership to look into the future and to implement policies that will provide for the welfare of future generations. Certainly, the US federal government is effectively paralyzed, barely able to pass all 13 appropriations bills, let alone tackle any significant societal problems. No US leader has the vision to state the need for sustainability and to follow the vision up with bold implantation programs (quoted in Hoffman).
A hydrogen economy will be our only viable and sustainable energy solution for the future and the government needs to step in to strongly encourage industry to continue to develop more sustainable solutions to the fuel situation.

Timeline 1: taken from Hoffman

Works Cited

Hoffman, Peter. 2002. Tomorrow’s Energy: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and the Prospect for a Cleaner Planet. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

Rocky Mountain Institute.2005. “Where Dose Hydrogen Come From?”

Macdonald, Averil and Berry Martyn. 2000.Science through Hydrogen: Clean Energy for the Future. Heliocentris Energiessystemes GmnH, Berlin, Germany.

“Toward a Hydrogen Economy.” 2005. Environment 47.7: 7(1)

Rifkin, Jeremy. 2002. A Hydrogen Economy: The Power to Change the World. Los Angeles Times. Sept. 2, 2002.

written for independent study in environmental chemistry
4th November 2005
s.e.w