Team Number: 066
School Name: Shiprock High School
Area of Science: Environmental Science
Project Title: The Effects of Global Warming
Problem Definition:
Global Warming is the density of the atmosphere rises and causes the air temperature to rise. The APS and PNM power plants increase these harmful greenhouse gases. Our question is whether the temperatures in our area have risen between the years 1900-98 because of these emissions. It is important to consider the effects of the power plants because a new power plant called the Desert Rock is a proposition.
Problem Solution:
In the computational computer programming Java, we will use data of the average rainfall from 1900 to 1998 and the amount of emissions of both power plants to evaluate. Next, we will program the computer to increase and decrease the amount of emissions in duration of 10 to 20 years, and review the outcome.
Progress to date:
Currently, we have collected information and history on the local power plants. The PNM power plant was finished in 1973 and the APS was finished in 1970. We have found data on average temperatures and rainfall from 1850 to 1998. A tour of the APS power plant is scheduled on Dec. 20 to collect information on the amount of emissions. Our research has indicated that many people have different opinions on global warming and that we should be very careful with our resources. We will also research other possible consequences of greenhouse gases such as acid rain. Doing so, we plan to continue with our computer programming.
Expected Results:
Our hypothesis is that the greenhouse gases emitted by APS and PNM power plants have made the temperature increase in our local area. We expect that if these emissions increase the temperatures will continue to climb upward.
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