Sustainability and Built Systems

Spring 2014

Category: people

Wasting Less, Feeding More

April 23, 2014 / / 0 Comments

In this article, published in the New York times, author Beth Gardiner addresses the various policies that have been adopted by a number of countries to curb wasting.  South Korea “is charging for garbage removal by weight” while Massachusetts “is barring large businesses from sending kitchen waste to landfills” and supermarkets in Britain “are improving labels and packaging so that customers throw out less of what they buy” (Gardiner, 1).

The idea is to waste less, especially given the rising global population and with it the number of starving persons in the world.  The UN “estimates that a third of all the food produced in the world is never consumed” and that the food wasted by all of the developed countries in the world combined “would be more than enough to feed the world’s 870 million hungry people” (Gardiner, 3-4).

The United States alone tosses away “about 40 percent of all food, worth an estimated $165 billion” (Gardiner, 3).

If we only invested in as much as we could consume and simplified packaging, with the utilization of the correct channels, it might be plausible that we could redistribute the wealth, so to speak, and slow down the mass dumping that we contribute to every year.

Sustainable Camping

April 7, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Last weekend I was looking into some hiking gear when I came across the Biolite CampStove. This little gadget is a pretty revolutionary outdoor cooking accessory. Not only does the Biolite contain a wood-burning cooking fire, but also features a small fan, which accelerates the energy release from the fuel.  Reliance on wood is a key feature that promotes sustainability. Most long distance hikers on tend to use portable, gas stoves to do their cooking because they are reliable. However with availability of a stove that efficiently turns firewood into energy, consumer tastes will compensate a little.

In a addition to relying on a more sustainable source of energy than traditional gas stoves, the Biolite CampStove has the ability to transfer heat into electric power. It uses a Thermoelectric Generator to power its external fan, as well as provide 2W of power output at 5V through a USB port. Although this technology is preferable to gas heat which tends to have a greater environmental impact, it still has more of an environmental impact than portable sources of solar electricity.

What do you think?  In a hypothetical situation where you had to hike a great distance like the Appalachian trial, would you consider carrying this item? How could the Biolite corporation implement this thermoelectric technology to benefit people in developing nations?

http://www.biolitestove.com

Smog Warnings: The New Norm

April 3, 2014 / / 0 Comments

In this article, published in the New York Times, Stephen Castle touches on the issue of the smog that beset London on Wednesday.  According to Castle, “Central London had moderate levels of air pollution on Wednesday, with a score of 6 on an index on which 10 ranks “very high.””  Recall that a number of cities in China were beset by the same problems with smog earlier this year.  In fact, in this article, published in The Guardian, author Adam Vaughan identifies nine cities that suffered from the same smog issues.  Call to memory too that Paris came under clouds of smog earlier this year, initiating a driving ban and offering free mass transit.  More on this can be found in this article published in the Los Angeles Times.

In an era where cities around the world are being beset by smog and all of the health-related implications of the pollution causing it, will this become the new norm?

Scandal: E.P.A. Study Malpractice

April 3, 2014 / / 0 Comments

In this article, published in the New York Times, author Coral Davenport blows the whistle on the Environmental Protection Agency, which “failed to consistently disclose health risks, including possible cancer risks, to research study participants who were exposed to dangerous pollutants.”  In studies conducted in 2010 and 2011 by the Environmental Protection Agency, participants were “exposed…to soot and diesel exhaust emissions,” potential carcinogens, yet the risks for cancer were notably omitted from “consent forms obtained from the subjects.”

The purpose of sharing this, I think, is to keep in mind that progress is important when attempting to find new solutions, methods or even cures meant to have a greater benefit than the potential detriment caused by a study, yet just as important is utilizing the right methods to go about these discoveries.  The means must be just as honorable as the ends.

Climate Change: Economics, Politics and Human Rights

April 3, 2014 / / 0 Comments

In this article, published in the New York Times, author Justin Gillis touches on the recent report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a branch of the United Nations “that periodically summarizes climate science.”  The main point of the report was that the worst is yet to come.  Given that climate change is a present issue, occurring everyday, the effects of it are difficult to slow down without taking the serious steps to cut back on carbon and greenhouse gas emissions.

On the front of human rights, the report “emphasized that the world’s food supply is at considerable risk – a threat that could have serious consequences for the poorest nations” (emphasis mine).

Furthermore, on the sociological and political fronts, the report “cited the risk of death or injury on a wide scale, probable damage to public health, displacement of people and potential mass migrations.”

Finally, on the economic side, “climate-change impacts are projected to slow down economic growth, make poverty reduction more difficult, further erode food security, and prolong existing and create new poverty traps, the latter particularly in urban areas and emerging hot spots of hunger.”

Climate change is not only about the earth and the resources that are exhausted through mass consumption, though these are two ends in and of themselves.  Climate change has implications in the realms of economics, politics and even human rights.

Educating Students for the 21st Century

March 31, 2014 / / 0 Comments

The U.S. Green Building Council announced a huge project on their wish list. They intend to launch “a National Action Plan for Educating for Sustainability” which will hopefully take place in 35 states by 2025. Their mission is to educate for a sustainable future through the integration of environment, economy, and equity, and the ability to apply this to systems for problem-solving and decision-making. This sounds a bit like our class, and soon this will be mandatory nation wide. I think this should be a mandatory class now and not ten to 35 years from now, but at least they’re implementing a class necessary for our century. Here’s the link from the GreenBiz.com

http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/03/27/usgbc-students-educated-sustainability

 

updating the UN “MDGs”

March 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments

This link discusses some recent negotiations regarding the development of a new set of goals (the current ones expire in 2015) that will incorporate sustainable development concerns.

One of the main issues, which is totally consistent with our Engineers without Borders experience in Honduras, is that the communities must be involved in the decision-making and responsibility at every step of the process, rather than a paternalistic system where “solutions” are provided by developed countries.

Roadmap for the US’s switch to 100% renewables by 2050

March 24, 2014 / / 1 Comment

If you only have time for one of these links, I’d start with the interactive 50-State Roadmap. For each state that you click on, a wealth of stats and info are provided regarding that state’s own route to 100% renewables.

The creator of this roadmap was Dr. Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, who believes that this goal is well within our reach if we can just muster the social and political will.

Here are two short articles on Dr. Jacobson from:

CleanTechnica.com  and  News.Stanford.edu

Water, Money and the EPA

March 14, 2014 / / 0 Comments

I came across this article in the New York Times regarding a potential expansion of the reach of the Clean Water Act, which may have potentially harmful consequences on farmers with small ditches or streams that have water in them during certain parts of the year.

While arguments for and against this expansion of jurisdiction are made, the consequences aren’t exactly clear.  Since assessments of the small ditches and other such water-holding streams would need to be made before the EPA could determine whether a permit is needed, some argue that this would cause farmers to miss out on planting time, which could ultimately lead to great losses of income.

Pete Seeger passed – who was he?

February 7, 2014 / / 0 Comments

A few weeks ago a legend of American folk music passed away at the age of 94 (just imagine the changes experienced since 1920!). I suspect many of you have not heard of Pete Seeger, as his heyday was well before your time (and mine). Known for his activism and protest songs regarding the Vietnam War, civil rights, and other social issues, he also was a champion of the environment especially the Hudson River. His music inspired a generation of artists like Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

Check out this short article about Pete Seeger’s environmental legacy.

And here is his obit in the NYTimes. I like the quote at the end

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