Daily Archives: April 24, 2022

Sustainable Energy creating JOBS!

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Sustainable/renewable energy is a fairly new infrastructure and is still being implemented on small scale. However, renewable energy is the industry of the future. Within New York State alone they are planning on using “Clean Energy and Offshore Wind, Projects Are Expected to Reduce the City’s Fossil Fuel Use for Electricity by More Than 80 Percent in 2030”. Through these many projects, there is a demand for labor where it is proposed that these projects are expected to directly create more jobs. According to the 2019 Clean Energy Report (2019), New York State has already created 160,000 clean energy jobs and has been increasing since. With a 10% growth in the industry from 2016 to 2019. This shows the opportunity that installing clean energy in our communities will have on improving job growth and together improving our communities economically and environmentally.

 

                                                

 

https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/About/Newsroom/2021-Announcements/2021-11-30-Clean-Path-NY-Champlain-Hudson-Power-Express-Renewable-Energy

 

 

LEDS to save Electricity!

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Something I have never really taken into consideration before was how often I personally don’t think about light usage.  My dorm room has almost all LED lights, but I personally bought them for convenience in college, I didn’t really think about it in environmentally friendly terms.  With doing some research I found that about 5% of LED light’s energy is converted into heat while 95% is converted into light.  They also use a LOT less power than a typical fluorescent light, using a 36 watt vs a fluorescent’s 84 watt light.  By replacing fluorescent lights in your house, that brings down the emission of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere as well as reduces the demand of power plants.  Since it is unlikely that everyone will transition to LED lights within the next 5 years, a smaller goal when it comes to energy consumption is to turn off the lights when exiting a room or not having them on at all when it is not needed, for instance in the broad daylight.  A lot of the time fluorescent lights will also have toxic substances within the light bulb such as mercury.  When it comes to LED lights, they contain no toxic substances, have fewer lights needed to achieve the same level of brightness as fluorescent and incandescent lights, and have a longer lifespan, which leads to less carbon emissions (and the less likely you’ll have to replace the lights, so you’ll spend less money.  As someone who likes to decorate, and have those twinkly lights in my dorm room that many other college students my age have, it’s a lot more cost efficient and better for the environment to have compared to other options when it comes to light.  Go out and buy yourself a strip of those color changing LED lights to “spice up” your room!

resources:

https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/study-environmental-benefits-leds-greater-cfls

https://www.sepco-solarlighting.com/blog/the-advantages-of-led-lights-for-the-environment

 

Fast Fashion and It’s Consequences

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Many companies involved in fast fashion and unsustainable practices use outdated and less eco-friendly processes to produce their goods. A a result of these outdated manufacturing practices, the carbon footprint of many clothing brands are alarmingly high. Fast fashion caters to increasingly high levels of supply and demand, so the products are over produced, and then retailers buy them at exceedingly high prices. Whatever is left over are usually disposed of unethically, rather than being donated or up-cycled. Brands like Aerie, She-in, and the like are some of the biggest contributors to this issue. However, there are viable, and fun alternative solutions to this issue that not only are sustainable, they’re also very much within current fashion trends and practices. As mentioned earlier, up cycling is not only an alternative option, it’s also affordable. Thrifting is also a popular alternative, and it’s also way more affordable than buying at full price in-store. Savers, Goodwill, and the Salvation Army are all large and fairly well known companies that utilize thrifting practices. There are several benefits to thrifting and buying clothes which include, but are not limited too, lesser levels of air pollution, less waste production, and healthier oceans. It turns out that polyester, which is used in many fabrics, doesn’t decompose in water, and instead just adds to the pollution of our oceans. Strikingly enough, people throw away 60-80 pounds, on average, of unwanted clothing over the course of their lifetimes. The fashion industry also contributes to ~10% of global carbon emissions. So, it is not unfair to state that thrifting is, in fact, good for the environment, and it’s also wicked fun.

 

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/01/31/sustainability-in-fast-fashion-how-tech-can-minimize-waste/?sh=2f5be76331e6

https://www.swiftfit.net/blog/sustainable-thrift-shopping

Food Waste: A Major Problem

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Often when we throw out leftovers, or walk through a grocery store with many unsold items set to expire the next day, we don’t think anything of it.  To many people, food waste is just another part of life; however, it is actually a major problem which is growing every year.  Wasted food is defined as food not used for its intended purpose; common examples include uneaten prepared food and plate waste.  While some uneaten food is donated to feed people, much of it ends up in landfills.  The amount of food wasted each year is great, as according to the EPA, “ about 63 million tons of wasted food were generated in the commercial, institutional, and residential sectors, with about 32 percent being managed by animal feed, bio-based materials/biochemical processing, codigestion/anaerobic digestion, composting, donation, land application, and sewer/wastewater treatment” in 2018.  So, just how much food is 63 million tons? According to an estimate from The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2011, about ⅓ of all food produced for human consumption is wasted.  Food waste is a large global issue and continues to be pervasive to today.

In order to combat the issue of food waste, there are some methods that can be employed in our day-to-day lives.  For instance, to help quell food waste at home, you can pay extra attention to what you buy in the grocery store; do not buy in bulk unless you know you can consume all of the items before they go bad.  Learn how to store produce correctly, so it lasts longer and less food has to be thrown away. Plan what you are going to eat during the week before you go shopping, so none of your food goes to waste.  If we all try to employ these habits in our daily lives and are a little more conscious when it comes to food waste, we can help to minimize a major sustainability issue.

 

https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/sustainable-management-food-basics

https://www.epa.gov/recycle/preventing-wasted-food-home

 

Composting is Convenient!

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Composting has been a method of disposing food waste that many people use in more rural parts of the county for years; however, as we have seen, cities are beginning and have already implemented composting programs. One can see from the EPA’s data that composting has increased from 23.4 million tons a year to 24.9  million tons between 2015 and 2018 (EPA). If a family wants to compost, there are strict rules for what one can put in their compost pile. No animal products can go into compost. This is because of the high amount of fat that does not decompose well (Pela, 1). Meat can also attract pests which is a concern depending on where one lives. Another factor is that raw animal products may have bacteria such as E. coli which thrive in warm, humid environments like a compost pile (Pela, 1).  Now you may be wondering why Union allows us to compost any and all food scraps? This is because Union supposedly sends the waste to a high heat composting facility. They introduce heat in a controlled environment to break down all food scraps without the fear of introducing bacteria to the soil. Many people decide not to compost due to concerns about pests and a misunderstanding of its time commitment. However, in reality, if you rake your leaves into a pile on the edge of your property, you are already composting. It is just a matter of being consistent and having a container in your kitchen to quickly dispose of scraps daily before emptying them into your compost pile.

 

https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials

https://pela.earth/blogs/news/can-you-compost-meat

Vegetable Oil as a Fuel Source for Cars

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Believe it or not, there are ways to run a car on energy sources that are not diesel or petroleum. As fossil fuel emissions have become the object of concern in the past few decades due to due climate change, people have been eager to find energy sources that are more sustainable than basic petroleum. They have recently discovered that it is possible to power a car on vegetable oil, which is a much more sustainable energy source than petroleum. Burning vegetable oil is known to be less toxic, and it “produces up to 75% fewer greenhouse gas emissions and particulates” (Choosesq.com). While vegetable oil is not a perfect solution to climate change, it makes you wonder what other renewable energy sources are possible. This is why we need to invest more money into innovation and invention, so that the brightest minds in the world can figure out ways to save the planet.

 

Works Cited:

https://choosesq.com/blog/how-to-run-a-car-on-vegetable-oil/#:~:text=It%20is%20possible%20to%20run,SeQuential%20for%20your%20biodiesel%20needs.

 

Earth Day Origins

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The holiday of Earth Day was inspired by a 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. In that catastrophic and well-known oil spill, between 3.5 and 4.2 million gallons of crude oil were spilled into the Santa Barbara Channel. The very next year, the first Earth Day was hosted to raise awareness for this event, as well as spark more support and visibility for the growing environmentalism movement.

Since that initial oil spill, between 1969 and 2017 there have been 44 more oil spills in North America, every single one of them over more than 420,000 gallons, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. That means that since the initial 3.5-4.2 million gallon oil spill that caused Earth Day, at the very least 18.48 million gallons of oil have been spilled, and that’s a low estimate that excludes the past 5 years, which have seen a large uptick in oil spills.

Hopefully, we can muster up a renewed interest in taking down oil companies within the environmentalism movement, and ensure a healthy future for the ocean for us and the generations that come after us.

Sources:

The History of Earth Day

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/california-spill-52-years-historic-oil-disaster-80400250

https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oil-and-chemical-spills/oil-spills/largest-oil-spills-affecting-us-waters-1969.html

Dilemma on sustainability and poor communities

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Sustainability development is a building block of four pillars. Those four pillars are social, economic, human, and environmental. Although they are all crucial to maintaining our earth and what’s in it, the economic pillar is imperative to reduce the cost of living. With that being said, different classes will receive greater economic benefits than others. The role of renewables in tackling poverty by Sarah Dawood brings an emphasis on the development of clean energy in third world countries. However, there will be contribution issues within impoverished communities due to them already lacking access to food and water which created economic inequality,“ Stanford University found that climate change has increased economic inequality between developed and developing countries by 25 percent since 1960.” This creates a dilemma between implementing green energy and forcing poor communities to abide by those standards. If these places already lack the means of creating sustainable power sources at a low cost just like many of the first world countries, how can we expect them to make meaningful contributions to growing clean energy? While green energy seems like the best alternative to fossil fuels we have to be careful about how we go about implementing these newer rules and regulations. Otherwise, we run the risk of economically draining these poor communities with the disconnect between wealthy communities who try to communicate and enforce ways of living as if those resources are accessible among every community of people.

Source link, https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/energy/2021/11/renewable-energy-tackling-poverty-developing-countries

The Sustainability of Electric Cars

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Emissions from cars and transportation are undoubtedly some of the largest producers of CO2 emissions that we can see today.  However not all hope is lost as companies such as Tesla have attempted to become more sustainable and limit CO2 emissions.  These are seen with electric cars that have become very widespread today.  Tesla was founded with long term sustainability efforts in mind as opposed to the current trend of trying to lessen environmental pollution but not get at the source of the problem.  Electric cars charged on a power grid emit 4,000 lbs of CO2 as opposed to gasoline vehicles which emit 11,000 lbs of CO2.  Better yet, electric cars that are charged on renewable forms of energy such as wind and solar emit 0 lbs of CO2.  Despite the fact that batteries for electric vehicles create more pollution during construction than combustion-engine vehicles, because of the lower emissions over the entire life of the electric vehicle, the pollution is less overall than combustion-engine vehicles.  With the average commute to work being 28 minutes, driving an electric vehicle as opposed to a gasoline powered vehicle is the more sustainable choice.  Tesla also states in its website that end-of-life products such as electronics with a size of up to 25cm can be returned to be recycled at Tesla locations at no cost.  To return other products an appointment can be scheduled for the take-back.  Electric cars seem to be a very important step towards a more sustainable future.

Works Cited:

https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/sis/resources/earth-day-ff.pdf

https://www.pca.state.mn.us/air/electric-vehicles#:~:text=Much%20like%20with%20greenhouse%20gases,operating%20and%20during%20power%20generation.

https://www.tesla.com/en_IE/support/sustainability-recycling

https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/articles/tesla-becomes-a-model-for-sustainable-leadership-david-and-goliath-revisited/

Sustainable Fishing

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There are many issues attached to the fishing industry: overfishing, bycatch, pollution, fish farming, and economics. This is why it is so vital to protect the fish and other marine life populations in the ocean. If the IPCC can determine and enforce sustainable fishing quotas the ocean will be well protected. But since the ocean is a global commons and there is no full authority over it regulations are difficult to make. Additionally, since the ocean covers the majority of our planet there is no way to actually enforce these regulations and ensure people/fishing companies are following them. There is one company called Seashepard that acts like a vigilante group which boards boats that are engaging in suspicious activity. Since the ocean is so vast it is also difficult to determine quotas since it is hard to figure out exact population numbers. Scientists often are estimating the population sizes of species and even then fishing companies still push for higher quotas. Even with bycatch and fish farming quotas have to be set. Bycatch because it is the unnecessary catching and killing of marine life while fishing. Fish farming because often fish caught from the ocean are used as feed for the farm bred fish. Additonally, the usage of sustainable fishing methods in terms of techniques used like long lines, and trollers. So in terms of mathematics there is a lot of estimating involved with fishing to establish effective quota levels that protect populations and encourage sustainable economic activity. There is an interesting documentary on Netflix called Seaspiracy that explains all the dynamics of the fishing industry. When buying fish look to see if it was locally sourced or fished sustainably and consumption is the driving force for the fishing industry so it’s important to support environmentally conscious brands.