Author Archives: Lily Walker Money

Human Impacts

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It is the human interactions with the earth’s natural systems that are causing the negative change. Of course, to maintain a healthy environment we must use some of the earth’s resources; although, it is the overuse that is cursing the problems. The global issues we are facing are a direct cause of the style choices we humans are making to live a comfortable, consumerist life.  We are currently in a state of overshoot, meaning we are using more resources than the earth can produce in a year. In 2018, the ecological footprint was 2.4 times greater than the biocapacity. Essentially, in 2018, we were using 2.4 times the amount of resources the environment could produce in a year. Calculations can be figured out by dividing the footprint by biocapacity.

It is time to make small changes to our lifestyles to drastically slow the rate of the earth’s change and maintain the Earth for future generations. Some simple changes are rooted in expanding our knowledge, such as learning what can be recycled and composted. Many individuals think that plastic and paper can be thrown in the now common, zero sort recycling. This belief is not true; only particular types of plastics can be recycled if they are clean. Composting will also reduce the amount of waste that is sent to landfills and will promote healthy soil and crops. Along with these changes, individuals can limit laundry and wash in cool water to cut down on electricity usage. The changes mentioned above are minor; but if every person began to practice them, we could seriously reduce negative change. In a consumerist society, it seems hard and maybe impossible to reduce our intake of products, yet it is very possible.

 

Solar is Coming in Hot

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In recent years, the US has increased its investments in solar energy. In fact, in 2016 47.06% of global energy investments went towards solar whereas in 2006 it was only 19.43%. This makes me feel that we are getting closer to commercial-level solar. In 2020 the US consumed 999 Kw hours of solar energy per capita. This is amongst the highest consumptions in the world. However, it is important to note that America has the lowest investment in renewable energy when looking at countries’ GDP. As we have learned the price for solar installation is decreasing, thus, I think more homes will begin to add solar arrays. If this is the case then families can provide their own electricity and even sell it back to the National Grid. My family is part of a Vermont State Program where any excess solar power our array generates is directly sent to the grid. Many electrical companies are pushing this and even offering a stipend to households who make this change. It is a win-win situation after the solar pays itself back after a few years.

Single-use Plastics at Union

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This graph shows the average amount of declining these individuals spend at Union per week. Declining is used outside of the dining halls therefore every item is individually wrapped or bottled. There are no reusable dishes or cutlery. Hence the more declining spent per week, the more single-use plastics and waste there is. From this bar chart, we can infer that Zac uses and wastes the most single-use plastics.

Hospitalizations among different socioeconomic classes

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Hospitalization has a solid connection to one’s socioeconomic status. Typically lower-class individuals are hospitalized more since preventative treatments are less available. This also translates to healthcare. Many non-salary jobs do not provide benefits such as healthcare which means one is on their own. Not having healthcare severely limits medical treatments. The attached collum graph shows the “number of potentially preventable hospitalizations” (CDC). The dark blue indicates the expected hosl[pitalizations which are equal amongst all classes. However, the excess hospitalizations (light blue) increase amongst the lower classes. This would suggest that the lack of healthcare and preventative treatments results in excess hospitalizations.

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

Moving to Solar

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When pondering solutions to be more sustainable, switching to solar energy pops up as a solution. Solar seems like an excellent addition to one’s home; however, there are a lot of apprehensions. This stems from the cost. Solar has been known for being an expensive investment that turns people away. However, since 1998 the price of a solar array has decreased by 70% for an average home (Solar Nation). In other words, the price of solar has a decay factor of 0.30. When considering the cost, some factors change depending on the area, such as your electricity grid and how much your household consumes. Although, it is clear that the initial cost of solar is decreasing every year while the savings are consistent. This being said, solar is an excellent switch to a more sustainable and renewable lifestyle.

 

https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/homeowners-guide-going-solar

https://www.solar-nation.org/can-switching-to-solar-panels-save-me-money

Water we doing?

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Agriculture uses an incredible amount of water each year. Meat from cows alone uses a global average of 15 400 m 3 /tons of water (“Water footprint of crop and animal products: a comparison”). This number increases when considering the farming process. Agriculture isn’t the only culprit for water use and waste. The EPA states that an average U.S. “family can waste 180 gallons [of water] per week or 9400 gallons annually” (“Statistics and Facts | US EPA”).  It is common for American families to water their lawns which is an incredible waste of water. To put it in perspective, watering an average size lawn for 20 minutes daily uses the same about of water as 800 showers or a year worth of showers for an average family (“Statistics and Facts | US EPA”). If we stop watering lawns which is not a necessity and rather just for appearance, we could save a large amount of water. the average shower uses 17.2 gallons of water so every family who waters their lawn would be saving 13,760 gallons annually (“Shower In an average home”).

I think that bottled water is popular because it is convenient and people trust it more than they may trust the water from their faucet. Along with this, some people don’t like the taste of the water at Union, especially so they opt for bottled. I estimate that 1,000 students on campus drink about two, one-liter bottles of bottled water a day from the bookstore. If we are on campus for 210 days per year I estimate that the campus consumes 420,000 bottles of water each academic year. It takes 1/4 liter of oil to produce a liter bottle, therefore 1.1 x 10^5 of oil is used to produce the water bottles that Union consumes. The Most popular water at Union is essential which is from WA. It takes around 18,000 gallons of fuel to fly from WA to JFK and another 8.66 gallons to drive from JFK to Union if the vehicle is getting 20 miles to the gallon. Therefore it takes roughly 18008.66 gallons of fuel to transport water to our campus.

 

How Keeling Contributed to the Worlds Hottest Topic

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Charles David Keeling began taking daily measurements of the Carbon Dioxide concentration in the atmosphere at the top of Mauna Loa in Hawaii in 1958 (Monroe). This program is still around; however, there are more locations around the world where data is collected (Monroe). He began this work while doing his doctoral studies in California. He noticed that there was more CO2 at night in Big Sur, and in the afternoons, there was almost always 310ppm (Monroe). He took measurements of atmospheric CO2 in multiple locations, and all found a concentration of 310 ppm until he went to Mauna Loa and found a concentration of 313 ppm (Monroe). The concentration continued to rise until May, when there began to be a decrease in atmospheric CO2 and then an increase back in October (Monroe). Keeling began to realize that the concentration of atmospheric CO2 was reliant on “seasonal changes of growth and decay” (Kennedy, 1). The data collected is now known as the Keeling Curve and is heavily used to monitor our atmospheric CO2.

 

 

 

Kennedy, Caitlyn. “Carbon Dioxide: Earth’s Hottest Topic Is Just Warming Up”. NOAA Climate, 2009, https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/carbon-dioxide-earths-hottest-topic-just-warming.

Monroe, Rob. “The History Of The Keeling Curve”. The Keeling Curve, 2022, https://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/2013/04/03/the-history-of-the-keeling-curve/.

Intro

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Hi! My name is Lily Walker Money and I am a junior Sociology and Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s studies ID, major. I am from Vermont and therefore skiing has been a huge part of my life. I began ski racing at age 6 and continued through high school. When I think of sustainability I primarily think about the environment and our role in maintaining it.  Actions like composting, water usage, etc. positively contribute to the present and future natural environments we inhabit. Because of my background, growing up in Vermont, and constantly being on the ski slopes, I tend to notice environmental changes in the snowfall from year to year.