House On Mango Street Book Report Essay Example for Free

House On Mango Street Book Report Essay At the beginning of the story, readers learn about a girl named Esperanza whose life has always been unstable and has always been moving from house to house constantly. Benumbed by all the hardships she’s had to deal with Esperanza longs to live in a beautiful house of her own. Children in Esperanza’s neighborhood never play with the opposite sex, and the only friend Esperanza has is her little sister, whom she is ashamed to be seen with. Discouraged and degraded, Esperanza goes through life labeling herself as being uglier than everyone else; the only way she can make a friend is by giving two girls called Rachel and Lucy, five dollars to buy a new bike. Esperanza likes the way her name sounds in Spanish, but dislikes her name in English, she is always ashamed to tell people her name. Frozen in a life of poverty, Esperanza befriends a girl called Marin, who dances under streetlights at night and dreams of a man to marry her and take her away to live in the barrio. Gullible foreigners who get lost and travel to Esperanza’s neighborhood always fear getting assaulted because of its appearance; only the inhabitants of the neighborhood know the truth about everyone who lives there. Hopelessly meek, Esperanza always allows people to run over her mentally and emotionally, she only says yes to all the negative comments said to her by Rachel, Lucy, and the Superior Sister at her school. Inspired by her own life a girl named Alicia whose mother has died, overloads herself studying, going to school, and taking the role of a mother for her siblings and father in order to escape the life of poverty that seems to be destined for all Latino families. Jumping and playing, the neighborhood kids all look at clouds to entertain themselves with, one kid even calls a cloud he sees God, Kinky and grown, the girls receive a pair of high heeled shoes that fit them all perfectly; these shoes cause the girls to be warned about trouble, and cause them to receive sexual comments about themselves. Later on in the story, Esperanza’s mother buys her a new dress but no new shoes, this causes Esperanza to not want anyone to see her, but she dances with her uncle and catches the attention of a young boy. Moved by her family, Esperanza gets a new job while lying about her age, she befriends a coworker and ends up kissing him. Now frightened, Esperanza learns that her grandfather has died and sees her father cry for the first time. Obliged to believe she’s going to hell, Esperanza makes fun of her aunt one day, then find out that she has died the next day. Prior to going home one day, Esperanza gets her fortune read and is told that she is filled with jealousy, sorrow, and cares solely about luxury. Quarreling with the police Marin meets a man at a club who is then hit in a car accident and dies at the hospital because no one was able to treat him. Receiving her first crush, Esperanza admires a neighborhood punk called Sire. Sealed to an unwanted life, a mother who has just moved in speaks no English and is condemned to isolation because she yearns to return to her home country. Tortured by her husband, a woman named Rafaela is locked in her own home and cannot leave because her husband fears she’ll leave him. Unusually beautiful, a girl named Sally is beaten by her father because he doesn’t want her to bring shame to his family by getting pregnant and running off with a boy, just like her sisters did. Violently betrayed, Esperanza is sexually assaulted when she is left alone by Sally at a carnival. Waken up, Esperanza realizes Sally willingly seeks men to escape her father, and never really cared about Esperanza the way Esperanza was faithfully loyal to her. Xenon colored heart, Esperanza blames her trauma on women because they never told her the truth about sexual intercourse. Y oung and still traumatized, Esperanza realizes that whether she likes it or not, Mango street is always going to be her home, and she learns about the true, horrid experience that women have to go through. Zoo like experiences change the narrator forever and she promises to always return to Mango Street and save those who couldn’t save themselves.

The Individual Experience in a World of Categories :: Sociology Sociological Essays

The Individual Experience in a World of Categories Lakoff and Johnson argue for an embodied mind, saying that our categories are based on how we experience the world through our bodies. According to this theory, as a result of their different anatomies, men and women would experience the world differently and their categories would be inherently different. Also, it would be expected that all women would share the same categories. Our class and our discussions have demonstrated a diversity of opinions and methods of categorization that refute this part of Lakoff and Johnson's argument. I think that Lakoff and Johnson were correct in saying that "the categories we form are part of our experience" (Lakoff and Johnson 19). However, what they neglected to factor into their analysis of the way human beings categorize is the differences of each individual experience. Categories and their meanings are based on an individual's personal knowledge of the world, and that is why no category means exactly the same thing for more than one individual. I want to examine the categories of race and sexuality in Moraga and Delany to demonstrate the significance of the individual experience and its direct connection to categories. Also, I want to suggest that race as "other" is more problematic than sexuality to one's personal identity. Delany's "Aversion/Perversion/Diversion" presents us with a series of troubling tales. They all originate within Delany's life, but his reason for choosing these particular tales is "precisely because they are uncharacteristic" (Delany 125). Even within one's own individual experience, there is an uniqueness to events. The category "gay" doesn't mean that the individuals who identify themselves as part of it will share an understanding of all that it has meant for one person to claim this label for himself/herself. Delany acknowledges that the identification with others that categories create is in a way false, "even the similarities are finally, to the extent they are living ones, a play of differences" (Delany 131). He emphasizes that much of the sexual experience remains outside of language. No everything will be shared, not everything can be. An individual's journey to claiming his/her own identity is entrenched in the personal journey, in occurrences both characteristic and unch aracteristic. However, maybe these "uncharacteristic" tales are not as uncharacteristic to his experience as Delany believes. It is fact that they are indeed a part of Delany's experience as a gay man, and he says himself that there is no universal "gay experience.

Huck Finn as a Round Character Essay

In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn several characters are introduced. Some of them are round characters who are talked a lot about and are described in detail. Others are flat characters who don’t change throughout the novel. Huck Finn is an example of a round character because in the beginning we meet him as a young boy who is growing up in Hannibal, Missouri getting â€Å"sivilized† by two sisters. He spends most of his time teaming up with his friend Tom, against Miss Watson’s slave, Jim. After running away and faking his own death we see Huck start to make his own decisions and become friends with Jim when they run into each other on Jackson Island. As a reader you see him mature, become more of a rebel and take risks, and grow friendships. â€Å"To live with fear and not be afraid is the greatest sign of maturity.† If this quote by Edward Weeks is true then Huck Finn is the greatest example of maturity. While traveling down the Mississipp i River Huck shows maturity when he runs into two strangers and he allows them to travel with him and Jim. From the start Huck knew the two men were troublemakers who seemed to be no good, but he still took them in. Not long after the duke and the king lie to Huck and Jim and although Huck realized it he did not say anything. ‘But I never said nothing, never let on; kept it to myself; it’s the best way; then you don’t have no quarrels, and don’t get into no trouble†¦I hadn’t no objections, ‘long as it would keep peace in the family.’ (Twain 116-125) Huck also shows his maturity when the duke and the king steal from the Wilks family. Huck tries to help the family by stealing their money back from them and hiding it in the coffin. Instead of him letting the con men steal and possibly benefiting from it, Huck did what he knew was right. In this novel Tom Sawyer seems to bring out the rebellious side of Huck Finn. He never wants to go without and adventure. To keep Tom satisfied Huck and Tom go along with him and steal a variety of items from Aunt Sally: spoons, candles, sheet, shirt, etc. For a boy Huck’s age to fake his death is a big risk . From that point on Huck continues to take risks with faking who he is with and what he is doing. After escaping and running into Jim, Huck has a huge decision to make of whether to turn him in, or stay by his side. He decided to write a letter to Miss Watson, but never ended up sending it to her. From that point on Huck shows how loyal he is to his friendship. When Tom Sawyer shows back up in the novel Huck winds himself up into unnecessary trouble. That is when Huck’s loyalty to Jim is tested. Tom never sees Jim as a human being so for Huck to start to think of him as more than just a slave and stand up for him and continue to never leave his side is an example of being a great friend. For a young boy who is traveling down the Mississippi River with just himself and a runaway slave Huck shows huge acts of kindness and loyalty while at the same time going against the rules of society. As Mark Twain’s Huck Finn said, â€Å"What’s the use you learning to do rig ht, when it’s troublesome to do right and ain’t no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same (Twain 91)?† Although he never became the â€Å"sivilized† boy Miss Watson would have liked for him to be you notice Huck maturing, having a rebellious side, and making a great friendship.

Adolf Hitler, the Child - 3008 Words

RUNNING HEAD: Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler, the Child: A Look at the Childhood Development of Adolf Hitler Eileen Callahan GEN 505. Adult Human Development Adolf Hitler, the Child Adolf Hitler was dictator, murderer, and the Chancellor of the German Reich. Hitler used his position as Chancellor to act upon his own ideologies and biases. He led a nation into the murder of innocent Jewish people, seeing his actions as self-righteous. Hitler’s mental state can not easily be explained; nonetheless, we can examine his development into adulthood to attempt to comprehend his actions. This paper will attempt to understand Adolf Hitler’s violent actions by means of examining his life in relation to different childhood development†¦show more content†¦May’s books continued to influence Hitler’s life and even as Chancellor he read these books and took to calling the Russians, the Redskins (Quigley 1998). As a boy, Hitler describes himself as an â€Å"argumentative little ring leader who liked to stay outside and hang out with the husky boys† (Holocaust). His older half brother described him as quick to anger and spoiled by his mother. Hitler as a young adolescent found a picture book on the War of 1870-1871 between Germans and the French. He, by his own account became obsessed with this book, convinced it was a glorious event. Hitler stated in his book Mein Kampf â€Å"It was not long before the great historic struggle had become my greatest spiritual experiences. From then on, I became more and more enthusiastic about everything that was in any way connected with war or, for that matter, with soldering.† (Meier 2000 p10) Hitler in his childhood exhibited signs of Eric Erickson’s identity versus inferiority Psychosocial Development. At this stage a child wrestles w ith their identity, asking and looking at different possibilities of who and what they wish to become. An example of this for Hitler can be seen in his actions of wanting to model priests. As he grew he discovered other possibilities of war and leader. Hitler led the others school boys into â€Å"pretend† battles, while playing his favorite game of Cowboys and Indians. At this early stage in hisShow MoreRelatedAdolf Hitler As A Leader Of Nazi Germany1677 Words   |  7 PagesAdolf Hitler once said â€Å"It is more difficult to fight against faith than against knowledge† (â€Å"30 Eye Catching Hitler Quotes.). In a dictatorship there is one ruler who is in charge of everything in the nation in which he/she rules. Adolf Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in Braunau am Inn. Hitler also known as Fà ¼hrer; he was chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and served as dictator from 1934 to 1945. Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany, he was one of the initial cau ses which triggeredRead MoreAdolf Hitler Essay935 Words   |  4 PagesAdolf Hitler Adolf Hitler changed the course of history. His childhood strongly shaped his personality. There were many deciding factors that determined the kind of person Hitler finally became. Adolfs father was Alois, an illegitimate child, his mother was Marie Schickulgruber. Alois took his fathers name Hitler before Adolf was born. Alois was already a successful border guard when he was 18, and later became an Austrian customs official. He retired in 1849 after 40 yearsRead MoreAdolf Hitler Personality Analysis1186 Words   |  5 PagesNAME: Blessing Akintunde. CLASS: Psychology 380 FINAL PAPER. Personality Theory: Analysis of Adolf Hitler Behavior. Personality is a significant aspect of one’s life that cannot be stolen. It drives one’s ways and patterns of interacting with the society around them. From the time of the discovery of psychology, many methods had been used to explain the cause and the development of one’s personality. Through different personality theories that had been illustrated by many psychologists, it hadRead Moreâ€Å"Anyone can deal with victory. Only the mighty can bear defeat.†(Hitler, goodreads) Hitler was a600 Words   |  3 Pagesdeal with victory. Only the mighty can bear defeat.†(Hitler, goodreads) Hitler was a great military leader, but just not in a good way. Hitler had many great achievements like his sudden rise to power. In this paper I will inform you about Hitlers personal life, political career, and talk about what he did in World War I and World War II. Hitler was born on April 20, 1889 in Bavaria Germany. He was the fourth child of six siblings. When Hitler was three-years-old, his family moved to Pasua, GermanyRead MoreEssay about Adolf Hitler1405 Words   |  6 PagesAdolf Hitler Adolf Hitler was born on April 20th, 1889 in Braunau, Austria. He was the fourth child of Alois Schickelgruber and Klara Hitler. The couple’s first three offsprings died as children, but more two more were born later, in addition to Adolf’s half siblings from his father’s previous marriage. A housemaid described Adolf’s father as a strict but comfortable man, and his mother was known to give Adolf much love and affection. As a child, Adolf was very skilled at artwork, and evenRead MoreAdolf Hitler s Biography : Early Childhood Through Adolescence852 Words   |  4 PagesAdolf Hitler’s Biography Early childhood through adolescence Adolf Hitler was born April 20, 1889, In Braunau am inn, Austria, the largest town in the upper Austrian Innviertel region. Adolf was the fourth child of six to Alois Hitler and Klara Pà ¶lzl. (Rise of Hitler: Adolf Hitler Is Born). At the age of 3 his family moved to Passau, Germany, there he acquired the distinctive lower Bavarian dialect, rather than Austrian German, which marked his speech throughout his life. In 1894 Adolf’s familyRead MoreHitler vs. Gandhi1721 Words   |  7 Pages(Mahatma). Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria, on April 20, 1889, son of an Austrian customs official and a young peasant-worker (Wistrich). In October 1097, Hitler left home for Vienna, with dreams of becoming a painter (Wistrich). His plans changed when he was rejected admission from the Vienna Academy of Art and the School of Architecture; he spent the next five years in Vienna living near the poverty line, earning money only through occasional jobs (Wistrich). At one point, Hitler ran outRead MoreAdolf Hitler : Mein Kampf, Nation And Race1108 Words   |  5 PagesJennifer Mills College Writing Dec 11, 2014 Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf, Nation and Race Adolf Hitler was born in Austria, on April 20, 1889. He was the fourth child of the six children from Alois Hitler and Klara Polzl. When Adolf was three years old, his whole family moved into Germany. In his young age, he had many arguments with his father until he became detached and introverted when his young brother died in 1900. (HistoryLearningSite, 2014) Adolf was interested in fine arts than business, soRead MoreAdolf Hitlers Rise to Power1054 Words   |  4 Pages20 1889, 6:30 pm, in Braunau Austria, Klara Hitler gave birth to her first son Adolf Hitler. Braunau Austria is a small town located approximately 65 miles east of Munich and nearly 30 miles north of Salzburg. When Hitler was a small child, he was baptized as a Catholic. Hitler didn’t do well in school; he wanted to be an artist. His father Alois Hitler, didn’t approve of his life plans, he wanted his son to be an officer and fight for Germany. Hitler had a hatred for his father. He was deeplyRe ad More Adolf Hitler: The Early Years Essay1503 Words   |  7 PagesAdolf Hitler: The Early Years On April 20, 1889, a demon was brought into this world. His name was Adolf Hitler. He was born in the family quarters of the Pommer Inn in Braunau, a small city on the Austrian border. The child was unhealthy and his mother, Klara, worried that young Adolf would not survive. Klara provided much love and attention to her baby, which Adolf would later take advantage of to get what he wanted (Smith 50). Despite his self-centeredness, Adolf held a deep bond

Country Guide to the Arab Spring Uprisings

Essay about Shaping My Morality - 693 Words

G .K. Chesterton quoted, â€Å"I say that a man must be certain of his morality for the simple reason that he has to suffer for it,† and although I do not completely understood my own morality, I know I did not create it alone. For example, my parents illustrated the importance of kindness and finding my own personal beliefs about God. Additionally, my friends have taught me to not take small problems too seriously. Moreover, attending private school has caused me to trust in the safety of the world around me. As a teenager, my outward influences have greatly affected my morality and views about the world around me. Throughout my life my parents have taught and guided me, and, like a sponge, I have absorbed their ideas and morals. For†¦show more content†¦Having political discussions with my father helped me form my political beliefs because he forced me to contemplate major issues and what makes a candidate a moral person. Furthermore, my parents have encouraged me to develop my own views about God and what morals He wants his people to follow, which has caused me to further contemplate my own morals. Because of my parents open mindedness concerning religion, I have come to the conclusion that I can find God’s values and mission through individual prayer. My friends, like my parents, have altered my morals and the way I look at life. For example, when I missed a major Irish dance competition due to an enlarged spleen, my friends all signed a heart-shaped pillow with kind notes about why they liked me. Their generosity taught me that showing my affection towards others could turn a tough situation around for the better. In addition, at the tender age of six, my best friend Leah passed away unexpectedly from Leukemia. This experience taught me to never take a day for granted because I learned how fast life can be taken away. Furthermore, whenever upcoming tests or projects at school overwhelm me my friends at dance will make fun of me until I realize the insignificance of all my anxiety. With my friends’ help, I have been reminded that I should never take life too seriously. Attending private school since the age of five, my environment at schoolShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Emma s Appropriation Of Jane Austen s 19thc Emma1262 Words   |  6 PagesComparisons of Emma and Clueless pose critical explorations into the importance of context and its role in shaping social values. Heckerling’s appropriation of Jane Austen’s 19thC Emma, provides contrasting social ideals regarding gender and class which can be accredited as a result of their differing contextual settings. Values surrounding the importance of social hierarchy, gender disparities and education are prevalent themes addressed within each text. Due to shifts in social standards duringRead MoreMrs. Wickham : A Moral Outward Appearance1635 Words   |  7 PagesThe third satirical example Austen employs in her novel to reflect Regency society’s manner-based stereotypes is with her character Mr. Wickham. Despite his black heart and poor morality, Mr. Wickham has a way with words and is able to smooth talk his way in and out of every situation. His good looks and manners establish a moral outward appearance in the society. Elizabeth admits in her personal monologue while in denial of Mr. Darcy’s revelations in his letter that, â€Å"His countenance, voice, andRead MoreValue of Science Essay711 Words   |  3 Pagesexplains his point of view of the values of science, and on how science is used to create things beneficial and afflicting, how the values behind science are affected by society, and how science affects people. The very first point brought up is morality. Science is not morally oriented to do good or bad and can easily do either. Feynman referenced a Buddhist proverb he heard while visiting Honolulu, â€Å"To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven; the same key opens the gates of hell.† TheRead MoreWhat Is a Social Fact?611 Words   |  3 Pagesbehavior (Dillon, book, 80). In other words it consists of ways of thinking, feeling, and acting external to the person and endowed with a power of coercion. What he means by social facts is something external to us has a great amount of power in shaping our thoughts, feelings, and actions. The social society around us shapes what we do and why we think, feel, and behave in situations the way we do. He takes two approaches to understand social facts. First he looks at it being not an internal driveRead MoreAnalysis Of The Novel Bless Me Ultima1536 Words   |  7 Pagesfalling more into a abyss of inquisition rocking the foundati on of everything he ever believed about religion up to that point. In the beginning of the novel Antonio witnesses death that raises the question for Antonio about Gods balance between morality and justice. This event has a much larger significance than at first glance even as a child. He starts to slowly break away from the chains of conformity that as a catholic you never question the authority of god. This is only the genesis to hisRead MoreHuman Nature Is Good Or Bad?909 Words   |  4 PagesHuman nature is referred to distinguishing characteristics; including ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Which humans tend to have naturally. As human beings we are taught moralities at a young age. We are taught whether an action is good or bad. So as humans, are we inherently good or bad? If we are taught what to be. Not only we are taught, but we are shaped by the world around us. I believe that we are all inherently good to begin with. Those who are â€Å"evil† only do so because they have beenRead MoreThe Morality Of Peer And File Sharing1231 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction The purpose of this essay is to assess the morality of peer-to-peer file sharing. I will be addressing the ethics of downloading media that is difficult or expensive to obtain legally. It is my considered opinion that is morally acceptable to download files when media is extraordinarily difficult or expensive to explain legally. I will defend my position with an appeal to law and an appeal to consequences. In the United States, it is illegal to make or download copies of copyrightedRead MoreAristotle s Nicomachean Ethics On Virtues And The Quality Of Character A Person1543 Words   |  7 Pagesactions are propelled by appetite or passion. Voluntary actions are active reasoning that include deliberation and decision making. Involuntary actions are where a person is ignorant about what the action actually is asking. These are important to shaping the character of a person because virtue is voluntary because you decide and deliberate how to go about a certain task. If a person cons ciously deliberates many of the decisions he or she has to make then they are going to make a habit of alwaysRead MoreSouthern Religion, During the Civil War999 Words   |  4 PagesConfederate States of America. They believed each individual state should have the power to govern itself; second, the belief that slavery was ordained by God and evidence of support could be found in the Bible. The Christian religion had its part in shaping the Civil War. Both the North and South believed that religion was one of the main reasons for the Civil War. Both sides believed that God was on their side. Ministers, generals, leaders, and editors confessed that God ordered the Civil War, decidedRead MoreCultural Relativism And The Nature Of Truth Essay1338 Words   |  6 Pagesprinciples determines the permissibility of any action, and the correctness of any judgment regarding an action’s permissibility† (p. 1). Simply put, truth in terms of ethics can only be definite in its interpretation and universal in its application. Morality, by definition, cannot be relative or dependent on context because the purpose of moral concepts is to help an individual or society distinguish between what is ethically wrong and what is ethically right. Hence, they must be upheld in the same way

Concept of Phytoremediation Free Essays

In recent years it has become clear that some environmental chemicals can cause risks to the developing embryo and fetus. Evaluating the developmental toxicity of environmental chemicals is now a prominent public health concern. The suspected association between TCE and congenital cardiac malformations warrants special attention because TCE is a common drinking water contaminant that is detected in water supplies throughout the U. We will write a custom essay sample on Concept of Phytoremediation or any similar topic only for you Order Now S. and the world. There is a lot of concern about the clean up of toxic pollutants from the environment. Traditional methods for cleaning up contaminated sites such as dig and haul, pump and treat, soil venting, air sparging and others are generally harmful to habitats. Some methods strip the soil of vital nutrients and microorganisms, so nothing can grow on the site, even if it has been decontaminated. Typically these mechanical methods are also very expensive. Most of the remediation technologies that are currently in use are very expensive, relatively inefficient and generate a lot of waste, to be disposed of. Phytoremediation is a novel, efficient, environmentally friendly, low-cost technology, which uses plants and trees to clean up soil and water contaminated with heavy metals and/or organic contaminants such as solvents, crude oil, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and other toxic compounds from contaminated environments. This technology is useful for soil and water remediation. Phytoremediation uses one basic concept: the plant takes the pollutant through the roots. The pollutant can be stored in the plant (phytoextraction), volatized by the plant (phytovolatization), metabolized by the plant (phytodegradation), or any combination of the above. Phytoextraction is the uptake and storage of pollutants in the plants stem or leaves. Some plants, called hyperaccumulators, draw pollutants through the roots. After the pollutants accumulate in the stem and leaves the plants are harvested. Then plants can be either burned or sold. Even if the plants cannot be used, incineration and disposal of the plants is still cheaper than traditional remediation methods. As a comparison, it is estimated a site containing 5000 tons of contaminated soil will produce only 20-30 tons of ash (Black, 1995). This method is particularly useful when remediating metals. Some metals are also being recycled from the ash. Phytovolatization is the uptake and vaporization of pollutants by a plant. This mechanism takes a solid or liquid contaminant and transforms it to an airborne vapor. The vapor can either be the pure pollutant, or the plant can metabolize the pollutant before it is vaporized, as in the case of mercury, lead and selenium (Boyajian and Carriera, 1997; Black, 1995; Wantanbe, 1997). Phytodegradation is plants metabolizing pollutants. After the contaminant has been drawn into the plant, it assimilates into plant tissue, where the plant then degrades the pollutant. This metabolization by plant-derived enzymes such as nitrosedictase, laccase, dehalogenase, and nitrilase assimilates into plant tissue, where the plant then degrades the pollutant. This metabolization by plant-derived enzymes such as nitroredictase, laccase, dehalogenase, and nitrilase, has yet to be fully documented, but has been demonstrated in field studies (Boyajian and Carriera, 1997). The daughter compounds can be either volatized or stored in the plant. If the daughter compounds are relatively benign, the plants can still be used in traditional applications. The most effective current phytoremediation sites in practice combine these three mechanisms to clean up a site. For example, poplar trees can accumulate, degrade and volatize the pollutants in the remediation of organics. Phytoremediation is more than just planting and letting the foliage grow; the site must be engineered to prevent erosion and flooding and maximize pollutant uptake. There are 3 main planting techniques for phytoremediation. 1.Growing plants on the land, like crops. This technique is most useful when the contaminant is within the plant root zone, typically 3 – 6 feet (Ecological Engineering, 1997), or the tree root zone, typically 10-15 feet. 2.Growing plants in water (aquaculture). Water from deeper aquifers can be pumped out of the ground and circulated through a â€Å"reactor† of plants and then used in an application where it is returned to the earth (e.g. irrigation) 3.Growing trees on the land and constructing wells through which tree roots can grow. This method can remediate deeper aquifers in-situ. The wells provide an artery for tree roots to grow toward the water and form a root system in the capillary fringe. The majority of current research in the phytoremediation field revolves around determining which plant works most efficiently in a given application. Not all plant species will metabolize, volatize, and/or accumulate pollutants in the same manner. The goal is to ascertain which plants are most effective at remediating a given pollutant. Research has yielded some general guidelines for groundwater phytoremediation plants. The plant must grow quickly and consume large quantities of water in a short time. A good plant would also be able to remediate more than one pollutant because pollution rarely occurs as a single compound. Poplars and cottonwoods are being studied extensively because they can used as much as 25 to 350 gallons of water per day, and they can remediate a wide variety of organic compounds, including LNAPL’s. Phytoremediation has been shown to work on metals and moderately hydrophobic compounds such as BTEX compounds, chlorinated solvents, ammunition wastes, and nitrogen compounds. Yellow poplars are generally favored by Environmental Scientists for use in phytoremediation at this time. They can grow up to 15 feet per year and absorb 25 gallons of water a day. They have an extensive root system, and are resistant to everything from gypsy moths to toxic wastes. Partial listing of current remediation possibilities. Plant Chemicals Clean-up numbers Pondweed TNT RDX 0.016-0.019 mg of TNT L per day Poplar Trees Atrazine 91% of the Atrazine taken up in 10 days Poplars Nitrates from fertilizers From 150 mg/L to 3 mg L in under 3yrs. Mustard Greens Lead 45% of the excess was removed Pennycress Zinc Cadmium 108 lb./acre per year 1.7 lb./acre per yr. Halophytes Salts reduced the salt levels in the soils by65% Advantages and Disadvantages to Phytoremediation: Advantages: ( www.rtdf.org/genlatst.htm) 1.Aesthetically pleasing and publicly accepted. 3.Works with metals and slightly hydrophobic compounds, including many organics. 4.Can stimulate bioremediation in the soil closely associated with the plant root. Plants can stimulate microorganisms through the release of nutrients and the transport of oxygen to their roots. 5.Relatively inexpensive – phytoremediation can cost as little as $10 – $100 per cubic yard whereas metal washing can cost $30 – $300 per cubic yard. 6.Even if the plants are contaminated and unusable, the resulting ash is approximately 20-30 tons per 5000 tons soil (Black, 1997). 7.Having ground cover on property reduces exposure risk to the community (i.e. lead). 8.Planting vegetation on a site also reduces erosion by wind and water. 9.Can leave usable topsoil intact with minimal environmental disturbance. 10.Generates recyclable metal rich plant residue. 11.Eliminates secondary air or water-borne wastes. 1.Can take many growing seasons to clean up a site. 2.Plants have short roots. They can clean up soil or groundwater near the surface in-situ, typically 3 – 6 feet (Ecological Engineering, 1997), but cannot remediate deep aquifers without further design work. 3.Trees have longer roots and can clean up slightly deeper contamination than plants, typically 10-15 feet, but cannot remediate deep aquifers without further design work . 4.Trees roots grow in the capillary fringe, but do not extend deep in to the aquifer. This makes remediating DNAPL’s in situ with plants and trees not recommended. 5.Plants that absorb toxic materials may contaminant the food chain. 6.Volatization of compounds may transform a groundwater pollution problem to an air pollution problem. 7.Returning the water to the earth after aquaculture must be permitted. 8.Less efficient for hydrophobic contaminants, which bind tightly to soil. 1) At the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, phytoremediation is being used to clean up trichloroethylene (TCE) from a shallow, thin aerobic aquifer. Cottonwoods are being used, and after 1 year, the trees are beginning to show signs of taking the TCE out of the aquifer. (Betts, 1997) 2) At the Iowa Army Ammunitions Plant, phytoremediation is being used as a polishing treatment for explosive-contaminated soil and groundwater. The demonstration, which ended in March, 1997, used native aquatic plant and hybrid poplars to remediate the site where an estimated 1-5% of the original pollutants still remain. A full-scale project is estimated to reduce the contamination by an order of magnitude (Betts, 1997). 3) After investigating using phytoremediation on a site contaminated with hydrocarbons, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management granted a site. The site involved about 1500 cubic yards of soil, and began with approximately 70% of the baseline samples containing over 100 PPM of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH). After 1 year of vegetative cover, approximately 83% of the samples contained less than 10-PPM TPH. 4) Phytoremediation was used at the decommissioned Detroit Forge plant to clean up approximately 5,800 cubic yards of lead-impacted soil. Two plantings were completed, the first using sunflowers and the second mustard plants. Following treatment, analysis indicated soil lead concentrations were below the target clean-up criteria. The project resulted in an estimated saving of $1,100,000 over hazardous waste disposal. 5) Water, soil, and trees transpired gases were monitored to track the fate of TCE. About 2-4% of the TCE remained in the effluent as compared to 68% in a non-vegetated control group. The field trial demonstrated that over 95% of TCE were removed by planting trees and letting them grow. Additional studies showed that the trees did not release TCE into the air, as no measurable TCE was present in the air immediately surrounding the leaves (captured in small leaf bags and analyzed) or in the general atmosphere (using a laser technology that can see TCE in the air in the tree canopy). Phytoremediation is an aesthetically pleasing, solar-energy driven, and passive technique that can be used at sites with low to moderate levels of contamination. Phytoremediation is more than just planting and letting the foliage grow; the site must be engineered to prevent erosion and flooding and maximize pollutant uptake. Currently, the majority of research is concentrated on determining the best plant for the job, quantifying the mechanisms by which the plants convert pollutants, and determining which contaminants are amenable to phytoremediation. Polluted sites are being studied, and phytoremediation looks promising for a variety of contaminants. How to cite Concept of Phytoremediation, Essay examples