Tag Archives: CO2 emission

Importance of Global Awareness

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Seeing that this is the final blog of the term, I reflect back on everything that I have learned throughout this term regarding sustainability and the associated mathematics. I never thought that something as basic as percentages or ratios would play such a big role in sustainability. Consider, the percentage of contamination of a certain substance. Or, the percentage of a substance that is being wasted due to one’s lack of accountability when it comes to sustainability. Learning about energy flow and all the different many different forms of energy was really interesting. It was not until taking this class that I learned that energy has a unit, the unit being Quad. Another important factor that needs to be considered not only through a sustainable lens, but through many lenses in life is precision. If mathematicians are not precise about their measurements and data sets for sustainability related entities, there could be outcomes that are detrimental to the environment. Learning about how many different variables are at play for climate change are overwhelming. But, learning about them individually and ways that we can play our part has been helpful. One of the most notable things that I take away from this course is how large my carbon footprint has been throughout my life. From here on out, I aim to consider the ways in which I can make my carbon footprint smaller for the benefit of the environment. This course has taught me so many new ways that I can think about sustainability and how easy it is to take sustainable action. If we all play a small part in becoming a sustainable nation, our earth will be more likely to succeed.

No more Sweltering with Solar Power!

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When it comes to being sustainable, it’s important to use renewable energy in terms of specific situations such as air pollution and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in fossil fuels.  For instance, I want to talk about instead of using electrical heaters, the usage of of solar thermal heating.  With solar thermal heating there is a 60% less energy used to heat water, and 35% less energy is used for spaced heating,  so already there is conservation of energy when it comes to renewable energy vs. fossil fuels.  Economically, there is a Lower purchase price when using solar thermal heating systems, and cost less when it comes to reparations and maintenance.  There are two options when it comes to solar collectors.  There are flat plate collectors and evacuated tube collectors, with the only major difference being flat plate collectors using insulation material such as rock wool or polyurethane.  Flat Panel collectors are quite a common purchase in southern climates, while evacuated tube collectors are more useful for winter temperatures where it drops at 40 degrees fahrenheit or lower, with the tubes retaining a high percentage of heat.  Solar heating in general is reliable and flexible, working well with a heat pump or pellet heating.  Overall, if you’re looking for a heating system option that has no CO2 operations when in use, consider replacing  your electrical heating system with solar thermal heating!

 

references:

https://www.vaillant.com/what-we-do/technologies-to-make-people-feel-good/how-different-technologies-work/solar-thermal-heating/

http://www.solarpanelsplus.com/all-about-solar/evacuated-tubes-or-flat-plates/

 

CO2 Emissions Per Capita Per State

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The graph I created is one that shows the annual CO2 emissions per capita per U.S. State with data up until 2017.

(I couldn’t get the chart to upload with better quality for some reason, so please use this link instead to view it as a PDF)

In metric tonnes, this data helps to show the amount of CO2 emissions produced per state per person. When looking at this graph, it is very easy to see where the high amounts of CO2 emissions per capita are found: states like Wyoming, North Dakota, and Alaska stand out as the worst offenders for CO2 emissions per capita. This is in contrast to states like New York, California, Oregon, and Maryland who comparatively have very small CO2 emissions per capita.

This could lead people to believe that states like Wyoming, North Dakota, Alaska, etc. are more responsible for the large CO2 emissions put out annually by the U.S. as opposed to states like New York, California, etc., but that would be incorrect. What this chart tells us instead is that states on this chart that appear to be putting out gargantuan amounts of CO2 are instead putting out large amounts of CO2 in comparison to their population. A state like Wyoming that has a relatively small population but large amounts of farming/agriculture could appear to produce extreme amounts of CO2 compared to a state like New York, when in reality New York could be putting out much more CO2, but due to its large population it doesn’t appear to be as extreme of a CO2 emitter as Wyoming.

 

WORKS CITED

https://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/state/analysis/

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/

CO2 Emissions Rise

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Continuing a blog topic from 2 posts ago, I wanted to zero in on the rise in CO2 emissions during my lifetime. I was born in 2002, where global CO2 emissions were 26.04 billion tonnes. Fast forward to our most recent data, with the 2021 global CO2 emissions were 36.4 billion tonnes. That’s a total change of 10.36 billion tonnes. The percent change of that data would roughly be a 40% (39.78%, to be exact) increase with a growth factor of 1.4.

While there has been some fluctuation in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, on average the increase in emissions has remained steady. It’s scary to think about, but the total change, percent change, and growth factor could all possibly be even larger if the pandemic hadn’t happened. It’s important to reduce our personal, every day CO2 emissions, and hopefully we’ll live to see a time where the CO2 emissions have a decay factor instead.

Sources:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/276629/global-co2-emissions/

Greenhouse Gases and our Sustainability Efforts

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Greenhouse gases contribute to many dangers in sustainability efforts and these greenhouse gases have been closely monitored by the EPA, with the government organization monitoring the rises and sinks of greenhouse gas emissions and the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.  I believe that sustainability efforts should first and foremost look to reduce the amount of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions that we are placing into the world.  The US emissions totaled 5,222 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents in 2020.  This is an 11% decrease from 2019 with the total change from 2019 to 2020 decreasing from 5796.42 million metric tons to 5222 metric tons.  This resulted in a 574.42 million metric ton decrease in CO2 emissions.  This was largely due to the pandemic  as well as the continued search for more renewable and sustainable forms of energy.

One interesting topic I found regarding sustainability GHG emissions, especially CO2 emissions is electric cars.  While electric cars are better for the environment, the deciding factor on the sustainability is how much is required to produce these electric cars.  An all electric Chevrolet Bolt produces 189 grams of CO2 for every mile, as opposed to a gas fueled Toyota which produces 385 grams of CO2 per mile.  However the challenge comes in the production of electric cars and the energy grid.  It is important to understand that just because a car is electric might not mean it is as sustainable as it seems.  This issue concerning electric cars relates back to my main point earlier about greenhouse gas emissions.  We as people need to look to find the best possible solutions to decrease the harm we are doing to our planet.

 

Works Cited:

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions#colorbox-hidden

https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/electric-vehicle-myths

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/climate/electric-vehicles-environment.html

 

 

Choosing the right Pathwave.

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When thinking of livestock, is water the first thing that pops into your head?  I know for me it isn’t.  I think of cows, chicken, and sheep providing milk, meat, and fleece to provide for a sustainable life.  However, when it comes to livestock, the amount of water consumptions cows intake may be harming the environment more than we think.  Now when looking at the water footprint when it comes to beef, producing a kilogram of beef uses around 15,415 liters around alone.  When looking at the statistics, 92% of the world’s global footprint goes towards agriculture.  Why does this matter you may ask? If agriculture uses about 70% of the world’s fresh water, which is 3 times as much as it was 50 years ago.  This is not including the amount of water we use on the daily for other activities such as showering, washing clothes, and doing the dishes.  With the life expectancy of a cow being used before slaughter, a cow would typically drink 24,000 liters of water within their life.  When comparing these numbers its very hard to think of a solution for usage of less water.  Another factor that harms water usage, is the way farmers fertilize their crops with pesticides, contaminating the ground water with nitrogen and phosphorus, that will eventually hurt plant and animal life within the sea.

When it comes to bottled water, students at Union College should definitely think about buying a reusable water bottle rather than buying bottled water at the bookstore everyday.  I specifically think the carbon footprint is extremely high when thinking about FIJI water.  The distance from Fiji to Schenectady New York is around 12,780 km, and yet it’s still a popular drink that many Union students continue to get.  Reusable water bottles also typically hold more water, with an average of 32 oz to a plastic water bottles 16 oz, so not only are you helping the environment, but you’re saving money as well.  This is very important since out of 50 billion plastic water bottles bought by Americans each year, only 23% are being recycled.  I think Union is doing a good job in already placing many filters around campus to encourage the usage of reusable water bottles, but I feel that Union should definitely stop marketing Fiji water in particular even if it “supposedly” tastes better.  If you haven’t already, this is your sign to buy a reusable water bottle!  It will save your pockets (and the environment) in the long run.

 

resources:

https://case.edu/sustainability/news/making-switch-reusable-bottles

https://eu.boell.org/en/2021/09/07/water-thirsty-animals-thirsty-crops