Bridgehouse Museum hosts lecture on water preservation

On July 24, Krista Grimm of the League of Women Voters Lake Michigan Region presented a lunch-time lecture to a group of 15 at the McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum.  Grimm first told listeners how a wetland naturally cleans stormwater by retaining it, filtering it through soil, and allowing microorganisms and roots to transform contaminants.  However, because 90 % of Illinois wetlands have been lost, a "gray infrastructure" system is vital.  Our local one is designed to handle 2" in 24 hours.  With the recent increase in precipitation, including a record-setting storm on April 18, 2013, system overflows have been more frequent, resulting in sewage and runoff being routed to natural waterways before treatment.

To combat environmental damage, Grimm advised residents to take steps such as clearing street drains, using less toxic products, reducing water consumption during rainfall, and properly disposing of pet and hazardous waste.  She also provided more costly ideas, including native foliage, rain barrels, rain gardens, permeable paving, and bioswales (also called channels or "drainage ditches") to direct flow.  In one example, a homeowner reduced basement flooding by planting black-eyed susans and disconnecting her downspout.  One attendee found hope in this plan, because she was worried about flooding but didn't believe she could count on her neighbors to adopt any significant conservation measures.

Grimm also commended the city of Chicago for leading the nation in the number of green roofs, and for installing bioswales throughout the city.  She noted the city hall is committed to converting aging infrastructure, but saw room for improvement.  "Anything that's impervious has the potential of being made pervious."

For those interested in learning more, the League of Women Voters Lake Michigan Region created a Stormwater Action Kit.

Not just twinkling lights: Astronaut sees rocket fire from space

Reid Wiseman's photo of the glowing Nile taken from the ISS on July 22, 2014.

Though the astronauts aboard the International Space Station often post astonishingly lovely photos showcasing Earth's delicate beauty on Twitter, today's post by German Alexander Gerst (@Astro_Alex) showed a sadder depiction. Calling it his "saddest photo yet", Gerst tweeted, "From #ISS we can actually see explosions and rockets flying over #Gaza & #Israel." The most recent offensive started on July 8 as a result of the murder of three Israeli teenagers and does not seem to be near cease-fire.

Alexander Gerst's photo of rockets exploding in Gaza.

The Case of the Missing Lake

You can still see it on a paper map or a globe, but 90% of the Aral Sea is gone (Bland 2012).  In the past, the local residents caught fish there to eat and to sell.  They would use the water to drink, wash, and cook every day.  When a family had the day off, they could take a picnic to the beach and build sandcastles or have races to see who the fastest swimmer was.  The Aral Sea was once the 4^th largest freshwater lake in the world, and treasured by the Uzbeki people (Hecht 2014).

                So where did the lake go?  Before, the water to refill the Aral Sea came from two sources, rain from the sky and the flow of two rivers, named the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya (Bland 2012).  Because the surrounding climate is a desert, the rain only added a few inches of water a year.  Therefore, the rivers were vital to the survival of the body of water.   Now the long, winding tributaries no longer touch the shore (Hecht 2014).

                The trouble began in 1960, when Uzbekistan was still a part of a big country called the Soviet Union.  Eighteen other countries, including Russia, had joined together to make this powerful group.  Together, they could build bigger farms using the latest technology that could feed and clothe more citizens.  However, these crops demanded loads of water because they were so massive and included plants that didn’t naturally grow in a desert region.  So the engineers installed pipes to take water from the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya and send them to rice and cotton plantations in Kazakhstan (Hecht 2014).  These thirsty plants took more and more water over the 50 years that followed, until the lake was almost dry.

                Now, rusty ships rest in a dusty, open desert, left behind by the fishermen who had to find new work (Bland 2012).  Some pools of water endure in spots, but they contain too much salt to support fish (Micklin 2014). Even if fish could live in these conditions, they would not be edible because of all the pesticide chemicals they would have to swim in (Hecht 2014).  Even the air is hotter in the surrounding area, with the temperature increased 1⁰C as far as 100km away (Baidya Roy, et al. 2013).

                Locals are still hopeful that the sea can come back one day.  A group of Russian scientists drilled into the soil, and they found that the lake had dried up twice before, coming back full strength each time (Hecht 2014).  This happened about 1500 and 700 years ago (Hecht 2014).  Also, a small part called the North Aral Sea has welcomed back fish life, while engineers have started projects to restore the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya (Micklin 2014).  Unfortunately, the farms are still using lots of water and no big projects are underway to protect the whole Aral Sea yet.  If the government began restoration soon, it would still be lifetimes before the lake was back to its pre-1960s levels.

                From the unlucky Uzbekis, we can learn how essential it is to conserve water.  Only a limited supply is available for the whole world.  Next time you let the water run from your tap, remember to consider that your neighbor needs it, too.

Advice for those studying for the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam

Even if you have been out of school for a few years, don’t be nervous.  The exam has actually gotten more user-friendly in 2014.  NCEES has shortened it to 6 hours and is administering it on computer.  Also, it is focused more on your discipline, without the general section that the previous version required.

1)      Download the specifications from ncees.org/exams/fe-exam.  These guidelines tell you which topics you will see and what portion of the test they will comprise.

2)      Prioritize topics based on your weakest to strongest.  For example, I never took Materials but my graduate work was in Chemistry, so materials was in my top 3 and chemistry rated much lower.  This rating system will tell you where you should start studying first. If math is high on the list, then begin with a calculus book because other engineering subjects require a working knowledge.

3)      Know your schedule.  How much time do you have before the exam?  Divide up your days and assign subjects in order.  The time you allocate to each should be proportional to its fraction of the test.  Meaning, although ethics are important to have, they are not featured in many problems, and so don’t deserve as much study time. Don’t forget to give yourself time off at least once a week!  You’ll do better if you’re more relaxed.  How long do you actually need?  After studying for 14 months, I was going cross-eyed, and had actually forgotten many details from my first topic (Thermodynamics) by the day of the test.  For me, a 90-day regimen would have been more appropriate.  You may need more or less time depending on how much you still remember.

4)      Work problems, work problems, work problems.  This advice was repeated on every message board and book I saw, and really was the most helpful.  I found problems in my old textbooks, the 2014 Kaplan FE Environmental Engineering review manual, khanacademy.org, Introduction to Environmental Engineering by Davis and Cornwell, and on college sites where professors were kind enough to post old problems.  Note which equations and conversions come up the most frequently and be comfortable with them.  This will save you crucial seconds during the exam.  However, don’t worry about “trick questions.”  The problems are designed to see if you have a general understanding, not to trip you up.

5)      Master your tools.  Use only the calculators allowed in the testing room during your practice.  Read the manual to see what functions they have.  (You don’t want to waste time multiplying matrices by hand.)  Get to know the Supplied-Reference Handbook, because sometimes formulas you need are listed under a different discipline.  Consider your mind the most important tool, and pay attention to which breakfast keeps it sharpest.  Personally, I’m fueled by peanut butter and banana bagels.

I hope this helps you pass, and let me know if you find other techniques that aid you.