Sustainability and Built Systems

The mysterious mass die-offs of honeybees that have wiped out roughly a
third of commercial colonies each year since 2006 may be linked to a
rapidly mutating virus that jumped from tobacco plants to soy plants to
bees, according to a new study.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/22/us/bee-deaths-may-stem-from-virus-study-says.html?_r=0

Scientists have engineered a new form of plastic which is composed of chitin derived mainly from discarded shrimp shells. Although the material is not waterproof and must be coated in a thin layer of wax in order to be so, it is completely biodegradable when exposed to the right conditions. In addition to degrading more than current “green” bioplastics, there are no harmful byproducts when the material is produced. If the process could be scaled, this new plastic could help fill a need for new sustainable materials.

By the way, in this article there is an interesting video showing a plant growing in chitosan-based soil.

Link Here

San Francisco, considered by many to be the greenest city in North America, has recently come close to passing a resolution banning the sale of single-use plastic water bottles. Americans throw away over 50 billion plastic water bottles a year, only 23% of which are recycled. The resolution is being protested by the beverage industry, but those in favor of the ban cite statistics such as these as evidence for its necessity.

Link Here

There is a trend afoot in higher ed to capitalize on the growing interest in local and sustainable agriculture and food

Program listings: http://sustainableaged.org/projects/degree-programs/

A couple examples:

UCDavis
College of the Atlantic

Link here

Their board of trustees voted to stop making investments in companies that mine coal. This was in response to a student group “Fossil Free Stanford” (all it takes is a few energetic students with passion, which then ignite more students and rabble-rousing faculty, and a movement begins)

But other elite universities like Harvard have declined to do so.

On Wednesday, McDonalds announced new goals for sustainability to be implemented by 2020, including supporting sustainable beef production, purchasing 100% of fiber-based packaging from recycled sources, increasing recycling by 50%, and serving 100% more fruit, vegetable, or whole grains in nine of its top markets. However, many environmental groups found the goals very modest and not transparent enough, stating that “Their whole business model is based on an unsustainable practice, so they have a long way to go.”

Link Here

The National Climate Assessment, a periodical report issued by the United States government informing the nation about the current status of the climate and anticipated trends for the future, was released by the Obama Administration earlier this week. The 840-page report gives a region-by-region breakdown of how climate change is impacting the United States, stating that “Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present. Corn producers in Iowa, oyster growers in Washington state, and maple syrup producers in Vermont are all observing climate-related changes that are outside of recent experience.”

The report was quickly dismissed by Republicans who claimed that it would be used to push job-killing regulations and costly emission levels reform. “Instead of making the environment drastically better, the president’s strategy will make the climate for unemployed Americans even worse,” said Sen. John Barrasso, R-WY in a statement.

Link Here

me: Hi, hope all is well. I am taking sustainability courses this semester and lately one of the topics has been about agriculture. I recall you were serious about buying organic foods. Could you tell me your experience so I can have a lot to talk about? I watched the documentary called Food, Inc. and it is prompting me to get more organic stuff because the way nonorganic food esp. meat were produced looked a bit disturbing

my cousin: What about my experience would be helpful for you to hear about? I started getting into organic when I became pregnant w/ Ascher and learned about how harmful non-organic foods are. As a parent, it’s critical for me to provide only the best for my child(ren) and since you’re what you eat, I’m adamant about my kids only eating organic. Let me know what specifically you’re looking for from my experience so I can expand on that.

me: That’s a great thinking. I think this would give me enough to talk about during class. In Food, inc. Documentary it does once show one mother feeling guilty of feeding her kids fast food

my cousin:

OK, glad that was helpful. I’ve been purposely staying away from watching films like Food, Inc. b/c I already “know too much” and watching something like that would just sicken me even further. Frankly, my kids have never been to a fast food restaurant, and I’ve zero plans to ever take them. I’m not trying to be an elitist and judge no one who does differently from myself. But I just don’t see why I need to compromise on my beliefs when it’s relating to my kids (and their health!) so someone else can feel more comfortable.

In any case, going “organic” is beneficial in so many ways. Not only is it pesticide-free (something like Roundup should be banned, it’s so hazardous), but with the “organic” label, there are other things that come automatically that just makes it convenient. Things like it being non-GMO, no artificial coloring, etc. that have “potential” health (and behavioral) implications.

I understand the “organic” labelling is expensive to attain so if I know the “source”, I’m OK that it’s not “organic”. For example, there are farmers or ranchers who are strong believers of healthy food and grow their products in healthy, sustainable way. It may be that the cows or chickens are grass-fed/free-range, with no hormone or antibiotic injections and I’m good with my kids eating such meat. Organic labelling isn’t everyhing. If you look at cornucopia.org, you’ll see that not organic brands are the same (e.g. don’t ever bother w/ Horizon brands, you might as well eat conventional brands).

There are SO much information (and mis-information) out there, so depends on what you’d like to talk about specifically in your class, focus your research. It’s a VERY big topic that’d take you in million different directions. I’ve been at this for 5+ years and there are still new information that I come across all the time.

This article describes the resurgence of small corner grocers in urban areas. This time around, the grocers are catering primarily to a wealthy clientele of locavores. Is this trend a positive step away from big-box food distribution or just the next chapter in boutique food shopping snobbery?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/05/02/308941681/urban-greengrocers-are-back-to-serve-big-spending-locavores

This article describes how methionine, a synthetic substance used in the poultry industry,  is allowed to be used to produced certified organic chicken.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/05/03/309027851/organic-farming-factions-spat-over-synthetic-substances

This article from NPR describes how patrons at restaurants that purchase a whole cow for meat, can only offer a limited amount of the prime cuts since a cow only has so much steak to offer.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/05/04/297280870/ranch-to-table-trend-has-some-diners-asking-wheres-the-steak?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140504

A CSX trail hauling oil from North Dakota’s Bakken shale derailed today in Lynchburg, Virginia and is currently dumping an unknown amount of oil into the James River. The river is currently at flood stage, so the oil will be traveling quickly and should begin to reach Richmond sometime on Thursday. Richmond and several other municipalities are making preparations to temporarily use alternate sources for drinking water.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/train-carrying-crude-oil-derails-in-downtown-lynchburg/article_ca91041c-d096-11e3-ae9b-0017a43b2370.html

http://www.brightsourceenergy.com/ivanpah-solar-project

Last year, the world’s largest solar farm has opened in Ivanpah in California’s Mojave Desert. This is a big step as solar photovoltaics is a renewable source of energy and reduces carbon emissions. In addition, this is a portion of California that gets relatively large amount of sunshine.

The Obama administration and the EPA are celebrating the 6-2 Supreme Court decision to allow the EPA to remain in control of the coal pollution in 27 Midwestern and Appalachian states. This continues the authority of the Clean Air Act and their “War on Coal”

Now we can enjoy the deliciousness of Hershey miniatures in a more sustainable way.   Hershey announced that they redesigned the miniatures wrappers to be lighter and save on paper, saving trees.

http://www.wfmz.com/news/hershey-new-candy-wrappers-will-save-nearly-2000-trees/25700722

Here is the story. Recently, I saw that the recycling bins for bottles and cans in my dorm building were not contaminated at all. My dorm custodian then takes out the recycling bag and places it in the blue outdoor recycling bin. I then see a GARBAGE truck, yep a truck that reads “Lafayette College Municipal Waste” pick up not only trash, but also the contents of that blue outdoor recycling bin. I am concerned that all the recyclables on campus are actually ending up in the landfills.

I am fortunate to be part of the recycling research group in the EGRS 480 (Sustainable Solutions) course. I told Scarlett Jimenez ’15, the project manager of my group, exactly what I saw outside my dorm building.

I am personally collecting used aluminum cans. Although I am doing this for the fundraising I am doing for the overnight walk I will participate in June for suicide prevention in memory of the UPenn student I know who jumped off the parking garage (since I can get paid $0.45/pound when I take them to Easton Iron and Metal; all the proceeds I get will go towards that fundraiser), this also ensures that aluminum is being recycled.

In the meantime, if you have used aluminum cans, DON’T place them in the “recycle” bin. Give them to me instead.

http://www.jibjab.com/view/X96EXd5ATXGlAaXB4KKrhQ

This is a disturbing JibJab animation I found; the animation starts with a pine tree and animals enjoying themselves in a winter scene when all of a sudden, a man shows up with an axe and chops down that pine tree. It causes the tree to fear for his life while the animals become emotional, crying and screaming as they witness their favorite tree being chopped down. The man then brings that tree to his house as a Christmas tree. This JibJab video can be an example of humans’ selfish behavior towards plants and animals.

In case you don’t know what JibJab is, it is a website where you can place photographs of people’s faces into some animated JibJab videos. The man in this JibJab video who chops down the tree, is actually the hit-and-run driver responsible for the injury of Aubrey Baumbach.

Western Australia’s Environmental Protection Authority will be reviewing the West Australian government’s plan to extend its shark bait and cull program to three years from its start in January 2014. Currently the program is targeting bull, tiger, great white, and mako sharks, the latter two of which are protected species. The sharks are baited using lines of floating oil drums 72 units long placed off of popular beaches located in Perth and the surrounding areas. Once they come for the bait, they are shot and killed. The current program, slated to run for 13 and a half weeks this summer (starting in January as their seasons are opposite from ours), has seen the potential to expand to 22 weeks every summer for 3 consecutive years. Despite 11 people being killed by sharks since 2000, seven of which died since 2010, the vast majority of the 10,000 public comments and write-ins about the project have been negative.

The problems that the Environmental Protection Authority must consider are the impacts on the four shark populations, two of which are protected species, the impact on the environment with less apex predators such as sharks, and how the 72 unit drum line placed off the coasts of popular beaches in Perth and west-southwestern Australia. Gerry Waneck, vice-president of Western Australians for Shark Conservation, has said on the project “They’ve only killed tiger sharks so far, which are probably the least aggressive sharks in terms of attacking humans,” and “The drum lines aren’t protecting people at all, the bait is actually attracting more sharks towards beaches.”

Link Here