Technologies in Land Resources and Management

1
Technologies in Land Resources and Management

• Kelley Rauenbuehler
• Jennifer Grisaitis

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Urban Sprawl

• Unchecked development is a bad idea for
  commuters, taxpayers, and for the environment.
• The problem
• Rapid urban development is economically
  beneficial for corporate America

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Ways to stop Urban Sprawl

• Make communities better, not bigger. Use urban
  growth boundaries that restrict suburban
  expansion.
• Plan communities ahead of time. Mix apartments,
  townhouses, commercial, and public buildings.
• Dont allow corporate America to take over new
  areas. Encourage small business to develop.
• Many local areas have developed organizations to
  help stop urban sprawl Citizens for Responsible
  Growth.

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Citizens for Responsible Growth

• There are many organizations across the United
  States that go by this name. Their goals are all
  basically the same. To preserve a high quality of
  life by

• Maintaining small scale shopping districts
• Fostering growth that will have a positive long
  term impact on the communitys economy and
  standard of living
• Conserving agricultural and natural resources
• Acknowledging growth and its connection to a
  sustainable environment

These organizations are against the big box
stores like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Target,
Lowe's, Kohls, and CVS.
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Members of the Citizens for Responsible Growth
(CRGC) in Clemson, North Carolina demonstrate
against the building of a Super Wal-Mart.
There are already 3 Wal-Marts within 15 miles of
the projected location of this new Super Wal-Mart
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Wal-Mart and Urban Sprawl

• Stores like Wal-Mart are a problem when they
  build in a small, developing community

It encourages an inefficient land-use pattern
that is very expensive to serve.    It
degrades the visual, aesthetic character of local
communities.  It weakens the sense of place
and community cohesiveness.  It drives
customers away from local businesses One
Wal-Mart can act like 100 new stores opening up
at one time. All with cheaper products the local
stores.
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What Can You Do to Minimize Urban Sprawl?

• If you are part of urban sprawl, plant native
  trees, plants, and grass.
• Encourage the community to establish larger
  blocks of natural habitat
• Support efforts to
• protect key tracts of land
• in developing areas
• Educate friends
• and family about
• this problem

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Help Protect Key Habitats

• such as the National Parks

9
National Parks Face Many Environmental Obstacles

• Problems faced
• -carrying capacity
• habitat damage
• increased pollution
• wildlife deaths
• -wildfires
• non-natural campfires burn out of control
  
• -air, water, and noise pollution
• snow mobiles, vehicles and human waste

10
Traffic Control in Yellowstone

• Today more than 80 of visitors tour the park in
  almost 1 million vehicles
• Also in winter face problems of snow mobile
  pollution

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National Parks Get a Breath of Fresh Air Thanks
to Fleet of Electric Vehicles

• Ford Motor Company donated of 500 electric TH!NK
  vehicles, to be used in National Parks throughout
  California
• The TH!NK vehicles are zero-emissions low-speed
  and will help to reduce air and noise pollution
  in National Parks throughout the state
• The vehicles are designed for commuting on
  speed-limited roads, resorts and golf courses or
  as security or maintenance vehicles inside
  business parks.
• The vehicles can reach a top speed of 25 mph and
  a range of up to 30 miles.
• The vehicle is battery powered and can be
  recharged using any household outlet in six to
  eight hours.
• The vehicles will be placed in all 23 National
  Parks in California, from Alcatraz Island in San
  Francisco to Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National
  Recreation Area in Redding.

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Biodiesel Fuel

• Biodiesel is an American fuel made from renewable
  fats or oils. It works in any diesel engine with
  few or no modifications. Biodiesel contains no
  petroleum, but can be blended with diesel at any
  level or used in its pure form.
• Biodiesel offers the following benefits
• Improved biodegradability
• Reduced CO and HC emissions
• Reduced particulate emissions in most cases,
  especially soot
• Safer for handling in the neat form due to the
  high flash point
• Increased oxidizing catalytic converter
  effectiveness with organic compounds
• CO2 recycling, thus reducing greenhouse gas
  emissions and
• a positive energy balance.

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Using Biodiesel Fuel in Yellowstone

• It was the first national park to participate in
  early biodiesel research beginning in 1995. In
  conjunction with engine manufacturer Cummins
  International, the park used pure biodiesel
  (B100) in a Dodge pickup truck for 100,000 miles.
  
• The Econo-Mart sells B20, a mixture of 20 percent
  biodiesel and 80 percent diesel.
• Other national parks using biodiesel include
  Grand Teton National Park, Channel Islands
  National Park and Pictured Rocks National
  Lakeshore.

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Reasons to use Biodiesel

• It is..
• non-toxic
• biodegradable
• free of sulfur
• It..
• reduces emissions of particulate matter, unburned
  hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and sulfates
• also reduces lifecycle carbon dioxide by 78
  compared to petroleum diesel

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• The machine accepts filtered new or used
  vegetable oil,heats it to 120 F mixes it with
  the necessary catalyst and then separates the
  glycerol which settle out at the end of mixing. 
  The entire process takes about 8 hours to
  complete.

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Further Development in Yellowstone

• New visitor center is being planned to have
  minimal impacts on the environment
• Incorporates LEED Green Building Rating System
• Just installed a 30,000 sq. foot viewing platform
  around Old Faithful made out of recycled plastic
  (containing over 4 million plastic milk
  containers.)

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Working to provide efficient energy sources

• Upgraded heating, lighting and insulation
  throughout the park
• Created a 7 kilowatt photovoltaic (solar
  electric) array at Lamar Buffalo Ranch
• -provides 70 of the energy for the building

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Yosemite National Park

• Yosemite National Park has installed a 5-kilowatt
  fuel cell at the National Park Service
  Administration Building in Yosemite Valley. The
  fuel cell uses propane to start the process that
  creates both electricity and heat that will
  supplement the building's normal power and heat
  supply. The only other by-product is water.

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GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARKPHOTOVOLTAIC
SOLAR WATER HEATING SYSTEM

• The hot water used for hand washing in the rest
  rooms at the Sugarland's Visitor Center within
  the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is being
  heated by a photovoltaic solar water heating
  system.
• Differs from solar thermal systems
• The photovoltaic solar water heating system
  does not require a circulating pump or pipes to
  transport the collected energy to the storage
  tank. It uses conventional house wiring to
  transport the electrical energy to the storage
  tank.
• The system uses a two-tank configuration. The
  tank that contains the six selectable heating
  elements serves as the preheat tank. When hot
  water is being used it flows from the 80-gallon
  preheat tank into the 50-gallon auxiliary water
  heater, where it is heated further when
  necessary, such as on cloudy days.

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The Great Smoky Mountains National Park in
Tennessee

• Wind currents moving toward the southern
  Appalachians transport pollutants from urban
  areas, industrial sites, and power plants located
  both near and far into the park
• They have began to focus on measuring the small
  airborne particles (aerosols) that scatter light
  and impair visibility
• Such particles have also been linked to certain
  health problems
• A research station containing advanced
  instrumentation is located in the northwest
  portion of the national park

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Pollution Prevention

• Cleaning products are replaced with
  environmentally safe products (which are also
  more economical)
• Trucks in the park are using alternative fuel
  sources to reduce hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides,
  and carbon monoxide vehicle emissions.
• New trails are being lined with a new
  pine-resin-based alternative to petroleum-based
  asphalt
• -these are applied at lower levels of heat
  saving on energy

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Wilderness Act of 1964

• To establish a National Wilderness Preservation
  System for the permanent good of the whole
  people, and for other purposes.
• In order to assure that an increasing population,
  accompanied by expanding settlement and growing
  mechanization, does not occupy and modify all
  areas within the United States the American
  people of present and future generations the
  benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness.
• For this purpose there is hereby established a
  National Wilderness Preservation System of
  federally owned areas that shall be administered
  for the use and enjoyment of the American people
  in such manner as will leave them unimpaired for
  future use and enjoyment as wilderness

23
Marine Mammal Conservation

• To understand and conserve
• marine mammals you have to
• know what they are eating
• Japan used to kill whales and sell their meat
  under the pretense that they were studying
  them.
• Scientists at the Australian Antarctic Division
  have developed form of DNA testing to discern
  from whale feces what the whale eats and even
  what parasites are in its stomach

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California Marine Mammal Conservation

• Most important marine mammal conservation project
  in California
• Helps rehabilitate hundreds of marine mammals
  each year
• Goal is to get animals back into the wild

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Marine Mammal Center
Located a couple miles North of San Francisco
Can provide care for sea lions, seals, sea
otters, turtles, dolphins, porpoises, and whales
Can care for up to 200 marine mammals at once.
Has 62 enclosed pens.
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Marine Mammal Center

• 1. Rescue- oil spills, beached animals, or simply
  sick animals
• 2. Rehabilitate- use radiology, ultrasound,
  endoscopies, and surgery
• 3. Release- goal is to get the marine mammals
  back into their normal environment

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Marine Mammal Center Statistics

• number of animals at the MMC has increased
  because of the publics awareness that the
  center exists and the increased capacity of the
  center for marine mammals
• large spike in graph was during an El Nino year
• busiest time is Spring, when seal and sea lion
  pups are born

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Marine Mammal Center Statistics

• Rescue marine mammals from the
• southern border of San Luis Obispo
• county to the northern border of
• Mendocino county
• California Sea Lion is the most
• popular visitor to the MMC
• Cetaceans refer to whales, porpoises and dolphins

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Marine Mammal Center

• Animals stay at the center for an average of 3
  months
• Animals that can not be released into the wild
  are put into zoos or aquarium
• Animals are released at a quiet, non-public beach
  at Chimney Rock in Point Reyes National Seashore,
  Marin County

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Releasing Several Sea Lions
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