Month: November 2019

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Sustainable Aviation Fuel Finally Starting To Take Off.

Epstein, C. (2019). Sustainable Aviation Fuel Finally Starting To Take Off. Retrieved 18
November 2019, from https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation
/2019-10-20/sustainable-aviation-fuel-finally-starting-take

 

A sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was displayed at Van Nuys Airport (VNY) on a trial basis for aviation businesses. The biofuel was supplied by the companies World Energy and Gevo, and was generally well-received. They brought a blend of 14000 gallons of fuel and put it through all the pumps and planes to show that it cooperated with all the current technology currently used. When tested in a plane, it was said to have better freeze-point qualities, more energy density, and being a better fuel than traditional jet fuels.

 

This is also an incredibly promising biofuel because it is the first one that I have seen that has been tested and liked by businesses. Hopefully the costs are not revealed to be too much, but if this works, it would be a massive step for the world. Planes contribute a massive amount to greenhouse gas emissions and take a lot of our oil stores, so to burn biofuels would most likely produce fewer emissions and would be much more sustainable. This relates to environmental science as it combines the economics of business to the environmental sustainability impact of burning biofuels instead of traditional gasoline.

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Biofuels could be made from bacteria that grow in seawater

Manchester, U. (2019). Biofuels could be made from bacteria that grow in seawater |
Biomassmagazine.com. Retrieved 18 November 2019, from http://biomassmagazine.
com/articles/16583/biofuels-could-be-made-from-bacteria-that-grow-in-seawater

 

A Manchester research group led by Professor Nigel Scrutton of the University of Manchester is conducting research in China Lake, California. The research is meant to study a species of bacteria called Halomonas that lives in seawater and is thought to produce a biofuel that the researchers are trying to use as jet fuel. The key points of a good, economic biofuel are that they require minimal processing, avoid the use of fresh water, and can be cultivated on a massive scale, all of which could be true.

 

This seems like one of the most promising biofuels that I have read about thus far. The fact that this bacteria grows in seawater means that fewer resources will have to go into it to produce a good biofuel, and most likely it can survive in less controlled conditions, meaning that their upkeep should not be too expensive. This relates to environmental science as the production of biofuels is a pursuit in sustainability and strives to reduce the pollution that comes with burning traditional fuels. The bacteria are said to have a very long lifespan and are durable, which means that they are also economical, and if their fuel is ever put into production, it would be able to be implemented because it could be sold at a lower cost.

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NBB strengthens presence in California with new West Coast office.

NBB strengthens presence in California with new West Coast office. (2019). Retrieved 18
November 2019, from https://biofuels-news.com/news/nbb-strengths-presence-in-
california-with-new-west-coast-office/

 

The National Biodiesel Board has opened up an office in California. The Board is an association that aims to promote sustainable biofuel industry growth. The new office in California is located in Sacramento, and will be run by Floyd Vergara who has 32 years of environmentally related work under his belt already. He had previously worked at the California Air Resources Brand which aims to promote cleaner resource use as to reduce air pollution in California.

 

This article relates to environmental science as it includes economics with the businesses and associations involved, and the sustainability and pollution issues in environmental advocacy. I think it is great that the association is moving to California, especially in Sacramento, which is so close to Silicon Valley. Since Silicon Valley produces so much or at least influences a lot of production, having an environmentally conscious board in close enough proximity to try to regulate pollution and implement the use of biofuels in an environmentally forward area is a step in the right direction. Also, California tends to lead to way in a lot of progress, so if the Board helps us to use more biofuels, or develop them in a more efficient way, the rest of the nation would follow.

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A ban on genetically modified babies

Stein, Rob. “House Committee Votes To Continue Ban On Genetically Modified Babies.” NPR, NPR, 4 June 2019, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/06/04/729606539/house-committee-votes-to-continue-research-ban-on-genetically-modified-babies.

This June, a ban was placed on ANY genetically modified babies. This was shocking because so much time over the years have been spent on making genetically modified babies possible. Scientists are truly disturbed by this ban, for they predicted a future in which they were able to prevent genetic diseases. The representatives of this ban justify their choice by talking about how the unknowns are too widely ranged and also it is an ethical dilemma. As of now, this ban in not moving and here to stay.

 

This article shows the congressional committee putting their foot down on any genetically modified embryos. By putting a ban, it is allows for our natural life to not get out of hand. Genetic modification is viewed as unethical and disturbingly unnatural. Also, diseases are a natural way of balancing the birth and death rates. If all debilitating genetic diseases are no longer in our life, the birth rates would outweigh the death rates, leading to an unhealthy environment that we are not prepared for. With these cons, comes pros, genetically modifying babies has so many advantages such as saving millions of people’s lives. Overall, I believe this ban is good for now until we are 100% ready to open up to this new world we would go into if we allowed for this.

 

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Genetically modified people are alive and well

Zimmer, Carl. “Genetically Modified People Are Walking Among Us.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 Dec. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/12/01/sunday-review/crispr-china-babies-gene-editing.html.

 

The February, the authority approved an ongoing attempt to apply mitochondrial replacement therapy on two women. This procedure begins with taking a patient’s chromosomes out of one of her eggs. Then, they got an egg from a healthy donor and remove her chromosomes. Finally, they insert the patient’s chromosomes into the donor egg and fertilize it with sperm. When originally brought to the government’s attention, it was shut down immediately. After years of work and provided evidence as to why this procedure should happen. Authority was convinced and now the therapy is going to happen. 

 

This is huge. The whole medical world could be changed and for many women unable to have babies, this would allow for them to be able to. If this procedure works out as expected, the research and devotion to this procedure would most likely be able to affect other chromosomal issues for the better. Also, it would expand our population which could either be looked at as a pro or a con because if more women can get pregnant the birth rates would flourish. It makes me wonder: Why did no one think of this decades ago? It is a problem that so many women deal with and I think it is truly great that we are working towards a future. 

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Genetic modification helps reduce trans fat

Weintraub, Karen. “Crispr Gene-Editing Will Change the Way Americans Eat – Here’s What’s Coming.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 30 May 2019, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/30/crispr-gene-edited-food-technology-us-produce.

 

Recent searches are attempting to create a genetically modified soybean, yielding stable oil, completely deleting the unnecessary, extra trans fat. Lettuce is in the act to become more durable, withstanding dry, harsh conditions. Wheat edited to contain less gluten. And finally, pigs born immune to deadly viruses. Over the years, it has become very easy to alter genomes of animals and plants and the technology is planned to be subject to health meaning it will need to be reviewed many times before being publicated. Crispr technology, the technology allowing us to do this, is still premature and not a perfect process. Overall, this new technology is eye opening to many possibilities.

 

This technology seems to be simple and have no cons however, people are concerned that it has become scarily easy and too perfect. Along with this, the cost they can charge for genetically modified things could cause a  dilemma because if this technology is released to the public and it takes over the markets, farmers go out of business and the market overall is more expensive. It is a really big step because it could change the whole dynamic of food production. It could also produce new foods and crazy amounts of food that were never accessible before.

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Genetic Modification Used to Treat Blindness

Thulin, Lila. “Four U.S. CRISPR Trials Editing Human DNA to Research New Treatments.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 3 Sept. 2019, www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/four-us-crispr-trials-editing-human-dna-for-new-medical-treatments-180973029/.

 

Recently, genetic modification is being used in curing inherited blindness. A study will be conducted as it will be the first time a CRISPR clinical trial that allows for cellular editing within a human body is done. The treatment is done by an eye injection behind the retina After it is injected, a virus will collide with the photoreceptor cells as the virus releases an enzyme. This technique of injecting a virus has been successful multiple times before. 

 

This study highlights how genetically modifying humans can be beneficial. Although many things can go wrong with this procedure, it is definitely worth it to test it now so it can be a technique used in the near future. It is important because this technique may not only be applicable to blindness and can apply to many other diseases. Diseases such as blindness are natural, an if this procedure potentially leads to curing more deadly diseases then our environment would be changed because the death rate would be lowered.

 

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Gene Editing to Fight Cancer

Grady, Denise. “Crispr Takes Its First Steps in Editing Genes to Fight Cancer.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Nov. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/health/crispr-cancer-leukemia.html.

 

In November, 2019, for the first time, the US tested a new technique involving gene-editing. The procedure works by removing ‘T-Cells’, essentially the genes fighting against the immune system. Crispr would then completely remove these genes because they affect the fight against cancer. By infusing cells, directly attacking the cancer infected tissue, it would also hopefully target a certain protein. It has been tested three times and been successful. It is still unclear however whether or not it is truly working because it has not been thoroughly tested. They plan to further the process and eventually get a better evaluation of this technique.

 

The article gave insight as to what cancer researchers have been recently gearing their studies towards. This is a huge step in my opinion. The fight towards cancer has been in act for forever and I think it’s really important that researchers at least have a lead as to what can be done and in singling out what is helping. Whether this technique ends up working in the long run or not, the US at least as a basis and can cross this attempt off of the list. Cancer also affects our environment, so much money is spent into this research and if this is THE cure then money would go into other causes, affecting other research progress. This could honestly be life changing for so many people, and definitely worth looking into deeper. 

 

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The impact of dams on fish

Opperman, J. (2019, July 16). Remove A Dam And Bend The Curve For Fish. Retrieved November 11, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffopperman/2019/07/16/remove-a-dam-and-bend-the-curve-for-fish/#68ed79e84b68. 

 

Fish populations have been decreasing with an 83% decline in freshwater-dependent species (according to the Living Planet Index).  For 50 years, that Index has shown a consistent downward curve. However, removing a dam can help change this. After dam removal on the Penobscot, the amount of river herring increased from a few thousand to over two million. Changes in renewable energy – like the deployment of wind and solar – along with various innovative solutions, is setting the stage for increasing fish populations. Many dams in the US are being removed because they are old and unsafe. Small barriers can be removed for a relatively low cost. Oftentimes, for a tiny loss in electricity production, dams can be changed to dramatically help fish. For example, a study for the Willamette River basin found that removing 12 out of 150 dams would reconnect 52% of the drainage basin to the ocean — key for restoring salmon habitat — with a loss of less than 2% of the basin’s hydropower generation. 

This article has a more hopeful tone in regard to the future. The idea that by removing dams, people truly make a huge difference for animals is inspiring. The focus on innovation is important as it shows that not all solutions depend on technology: some just need some clever thinking. Evaluating which dams have the largest impact on the environment allows people to remove the dams that harm the environment the most and produce the least electricity. While not all dams need, or should, be destroyed, getting rid of some can help endangered species recover. There are clearly environmental benefits to destroying dams, but there are also some environmental costs to destroying them. For one, waste is created from the old dam, also it takes energy to destroy something so massive, and that electricity is probably coming from fossil fuels. 

 

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Connection between the economy and dams

23, T. C. P. O. (2019, October 23). In Our View: Removing dams would damn N.W. economy. Retrieved November 11, 2019, from https://www.columbian.com/news/2019/oct/23/in-our-view-removing-dams-would-damn-n-w-economy/.               

 

Dams provide inexpensive, reliable, clean, and renewable electricity. However, many protest them. Recently, Native American tribes have called for the removal of three Columbia River dams — Bonneville, The Dalles and John Day. They hope the removal of these dams would support salmon recovery and help dwindling populations of orcas that rely on salmon for food. These are valid concerns, but destroying dams would require the construction of additional power plants fueled by natural gas or coal or nuclear energy. It will take time to develop more wind and solar energy. Dams throughout the Northwest have been environmentally imperfect as they have played a role in diminishing salmon runs. But removal would be a radical step that would hurt the economy of the entire region. A balanced and incremental approach is needed. 

The article focusses on the connection between the economy and the environment. If dams were to be destroyed, jobs and money would be destroyed along with them. I believe that many dams should be removed, just not all at once. As dams age, it will stop being economically smart to remove them anyway because of mounting costs for repairs. When dams reach a point where extensive work is needed then they should simply be removed. However, this should be a slow process because, as this article mentions, just removing all dams would hurt the economy. Also, dams provide for a smoother transition into green energy sources. While scientists continue to advance solar and wind energy, dams provide a solid energy base. This relates to environmental science because the way we get energy significantly impacts ecosystems on Earth. For example, burning fossil fuels leads to climate change which negatively impacts many animals.