Month: March 2021

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House Makes Conservation Push to Protect Public Lands with Bill

This article talks about how The House passed legislation on Friday, that would create 1.5 million acres of new wilderness and incorporate nearly 1,200 miles of waterways into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Biden has set a goal to conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands and ocean by 2030 which will help curb global warming while preserving some lands for future generations.  It is one of the largest land protection packages Congress has ever considered and covers almost 3 million acres of public lands. The bill would permanently withdraw more than 1 million acres of federal land for any future mining claims. The legislation encompassed bills from Rep. Joe Neguse and DeGette that would affect more than 1 million acres of public lands in the state.

This relates to environmental science by concluding that conserving at least 30% of lands and oceans by 2030, will help global warming drastically while also keeping other lands clean so that they will last for generations. This will help save wildlife as well by banning logging and mining and motorized vehicles by keeping a safe environment for the animals who live in that habitat. This will also halt forest management practices that can reduce fire risks and will control fire, insects, and diseases. I, personally, am very happy with the accomplishments that Biden is trying to set, by helping our Country. The stuff he is doing is turning back and going back further behind the point Trump was trying to reach. Trump’s plans would have risen the climate levels and would have left all public land for drilling and other harmful stuff. 

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Voice: Thanks, Biden, for Preserving the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan

This article is talking about The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan and how it is an agreement forged to strike a balance between conservation and renewable energy development on federal lands in the California desert. This plan protects unique and sensitive public lands that should be protected for future generations to enjoy and explore. This plan also designates appropriate places for siting renewable energy projects to help fight climate change and also create good-paying jobs in solar and geothermal energy. This plan gives certainty to renewable energy. By keeping this plan intact means that we can focus on addressing the pandemic and rebuilding the economy.

This relates back to environmental science because this plan is protecting the sensitive lands from degrading. Without this plan, there would be no certainty for the desert communities that rely on unspoiled public lands for viewsheds, recreation, and our tourist economy. This plan will also help fight climate change and will come with benefits for our communities and desert economies. I agree with this plan because it will not only renew energy but also not harm and protect our lands so that generations upon us can use these lands. 

 

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Cortez Masto Introduces Clark County Lands Bill to Expand Las Vegas Footprint, Designate Public Land for Conservation

This article is talking about how the land in Clark County could be used to grow and stretch Las Vegas out more so that some of Las Vegas would be more towards California. Their plan when proposing this bill was to build more affordable housing but also preserve the outdoor spaces across Southern Nevada for outdoor recreation. When passed, the bill would open up a large stretch of federal public land going toward the California border which will open up public land near Indiana Springs, Laughlin, and the Moapa Valley. The bill proposes changes to land management across the country. It would convey 41,255 acres to the Moapa Band of Paiutes whose lands consisted of more than 2 million acres in 1874 and were greatly reduced by Congress a year later. Shaaron Netherton said that the bill “would be the single largest designation of wilderness acres in the state’s history….”.  Some environmental groups still remained skeptical about the idea, however.

This relates back to Environmental science by implying that we need to save and preserve our wildlife as we constantly try to expand our area around us. This bill will set aside 350,000 acres of land for wildlife habitat which is critical to avoiding the extinction of some animals because of how they react when moving habitats. The bill would also preserve 2 million acres of public land and establish 337,406 million acres of wilderness in the country while protecting 1.3 million acres of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness. I agreed with this article because it focuses on wildlife conservation, while not using public lands in a bad way. 

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Wilderness Workshop Offers Bilingual Programs for More Inclusive Community Education

This article talks about a wilderness group that is giving education to the people about public usage. The Bureau of Management (BLM) and Wildlife Manager Brian Gray discussed current threats to public lands and how community members can advocate for the preservation of these lands. This program could help uneducated people when it comes to public land use because it seems to be that some people don’t know enough about our environment. I think these people are doing a great job and show how they care about our environment. Because there are a vast amount of Spanish speakers in the US, they have included Spanish-speaking translators for our Spanish community. This might be seen as something small, but it gets the image across to a big amount of people.

This article is in coordination with APES because it not only talks about educating people, like how we get educated in class but also implies that people in society are trying ways to help impact the way public land use is in control as well. Even though we are the root of why the habitats get in the place of destruction, many of us are also trying to fix it too. Public land use often goes unnoticed because we do the daily resources of hiking, logging, etc. without realizing that we are destroying the natural resources needed. With the BLM, they portray how there are people who try to protect the land from completely crumbling. 

 

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Biden Halts New Oil Drilling on Federal Lands. Here’s What Major Climate Move Means for California

This article mainly talks about how Biden is doing the exact opposite of what Trump was trying to do with drilling on land for gases and oil. The concern Trump caused was that it would disrupt climate change and the environment. Some species have already suffered through natural disasters in other states and their population continues to decline. By drilling and having oil and gas leases on the land would cause more problems to the wildlife. Mary Creasman, CEO of the California League of Conservation Voters said “The Trump administration was looking to expand oil and gas drilling, especially in inland California. This isn’t just a reversal of that, this is going an extra step to stop (new) drilling”. This really shows the hand that we are in right now and how we have someone who can not only take immediate control but also cares about climate change, which is one of the biggest negative factors in the world right now. 

It relates to environmental science because it is educating us on public lands and how drilling can harm our environment. I also agree with this article because it discusses the importance of both the public land and how it comes with big factors when we use them in a negative way. Biden needs to address this topic with all states because the government has more control over just one judge’s appeal. I think that all the animals deserve land to live on and humans should not always take over just for their own economic needs. This may be small to others, but ultimately it can result in bigger issues with the whole animal environment and land. 

 

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New Effort to Harvest Sustainable, Renewable Energy from Ocean Waves

New Effort to Harvest Sustainable, Renewable Energy from Ocean Waves. (2020, September 9). Stevens Institute of Technology. https://www.stevens.edu/news/new-effort-harvest- sustainable-renewable-energy-ocean-waves

 

This article describes new efforts from the Stevens Institute of Technology to design a way to harness the power of waves off the coast of the United States — a project which is being supported by the US Department of Energy. They are trying to develop a device which moves with the waves and tides to generate renewable energy to power coastal communities or the larger grid during a blackout. Although researchers believe that waves along the coast can supply half of the United States power needs, technology that is ready for widespread use is not yet available. The team at the Stevens Institute of Technology proposes putting a series of flaps on the ocean floor which move with each wave to turn a generator and produce electricity. 

 

The energy within the movement of waves clearly has enormous potential to provide the country with an additional source of renewable energy. If we are able to harness the ocean’s energy along our coast, the source will have many advantages over other renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. For example, unlike solar energy which only produces electricity during the daylight hours, wave energy would be able to provide renewable power throughout the day with little fluctuation. Moreover, wave energy is present throughout all of the coast, unlike wind energy which requires specific environments with high winds to provide a meaningful amount of energy. With this being said, installing large devices on the ocean floor or floating on the surface can be potentially damaging to the species which live there. Thus, environmental scientists must be consulted when selecting sites for wave power generation to ensure that local wildlife is disturbed as little as possible. 

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Renewables account for most new U.S. electricity generating capacity in 2021

Ray, S. (2021, January 11). Renewables account for most new U.S. electricity generating capacity in 2021 – Today in Energy – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). U.S. Energy Information Administration. https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id= 46416

 

Of the planned additions to the United State’s energy grid in 2021, the vast majority of new developments will harness renewable energy. The greatest proportion of this energy will come from solar power as it is expected to make up 39% of the 39 gigawatts coming online in the coming year. This is followed close behind by wind energy which will make up 31% of the total increase in energy production. Battery storage capability will make up 11% of the increase and although this figure may seem small, it represents an increase of four times the amount of battery storage added last year. A new nuclear reactor in Georgia is expected to begin producing energy this year as well, and its output will make up 3% of the total 39 GW. Finally, natural gas production will make up only 16% of the total energy production projected to increase in 2021. 

 

The increase in renewable energy production that is highlighted in the article reflects the reality that nonrenewable energy must be replaced by renewable alternatives in the near future. This rise in renewable energy production that is currently occurring will cause a rise in other environmentally friendly technologies to help work around some of the shortcoming of the energy sources. For instance, solar and wind farms are often being paired with utility-scale batteries to store power for later use. This technology is important as it allows communities to avoid having to rely on nonrenewable energy when time of day or weather conditions prevent solar or wind farms from producing sufficient energy. The amount of energy that renewable sources can produce depends greatly on the environment they are in (wind farms are most efficient in areas with high winds and solar farms are most efficient in places with year round sun), therefore environmental scientists should be consulted to select the most efficient areas to build renewable power plants. This will allow the plants to maximize the amount of renewable energy we are producing — something which will prove important in the switch to renewable energy as the cost of development is often higher than nonrenewable options. 

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Biden Vows to Replace U.S. Government Fleet with Electric Vehicles

Shepardson, D. (2021, January 26). Biden vows to replace U.S. government fleet with electric vehicles. U.S. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-biden-autos/biden-vows-to-replace -u-s-government-fleet-with-electric-vehicles-idUSKBN29U2LW

 

In his first month as president, Joe Biden has released plans to replace the United States government fleet of vehicles with electric alternatives. The government has a very large fleet of about 650,000 cars and trucks (only 3,215 of which are currently electric), meaning their electrification will not only reduce emissions, it will also positively affect car manufacturers who produce electric vehicles by increasing their sales and presence on American roads. On top of his commitment to electrifying the government’s fleet, Biden has pledged to increase the manufacturing and sales of electric vehicles as a part of his fight against climate change. He vowed to create 1 million new jobs in the “American auto industry, domestic supply chains, and auto infrastructure” and to create 550,000 new electric vehicle charging stations.

 

Policies similar to Biden’s commitment to electrifying the government’s fleet of vehicles are important steps that help increase the normality of environmentally friendly technology such as electric vehicles. By increasing the presence of electric vehicles throughout every region of the United States, this plan will allow them to become commonplace, unlike the rarity that they currently are seen as in much of the country. Biden’s overall attitude towards electric vehicles is important for environmental science because the country’s shift to electric vehicles is necessary to combat climate change. Transportation is one of the major emitters of carbon dioxide, thus if the country is not able to shift to zero-emissions vehicles every aspect of the environment will be damaged by climate change. 

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Ninety Percent of U.S. Cars Must Be Electric by 2050 to Meet Climate Goals

David Iaconangelo. (2020, September 29). Ninety Percent of U.S. Cars Must Be Electric by 2050 to Meet Climate Goals. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ ninety-percent-of-u-s-cars-must-be -electric-by-2050-to-meet-climate-goals/

 

This article highlights the grim prediction that the United States is not expected to meet the Paris climate accord’s goal of limiting climate change to an increase of 2 degrees celsius and the drastic change in transportation that must occur to meet it. In order to reduce our emissions enough to meet the goal, 90% of cars in the United States would need to be electric by the year 2050, meaning all new car sales would likely have to be electric by 2035. This shift in the market is made even more challenging when taking into account the charging and power infrastructure required to fuel such a massive increase in electric vehicles. If 90% of our cars in the United States were electric with our current power grid, it would require 41% of the country’s entire power supply. Ultimately, the article concludes that although electrification of vehicles in the United States is key to overcoming climate change, there are many difficulties that must be overcome before we reach our goal of 9 out of 10 cars being electric. 

 

It’s undeniable that electrification of vehicles in the United States will greatly reduce the country’s carbon emissions, however the timeframe in which this shift needs to occur to meet our climate goals will be very difficult to meet. The task of widespread adoption of electric vehicles within the next 15 years will require major advancements in technologies such as lithium ion batteries and renewable power generation to accommodate the increase in demand for batteries and power. With this being said, electric vehicles are not without their own potential environmental drawbacks. For example, the lithium in their batteries is a finite resource and if charging stations are not powered by renewable energy, the cars are still indirectly responsible for carbon emissions. Therefore, I believe it is important that environmental scientists be included in the planning for the switch to electric vehicles to ensure the process is done in the least environmentally damaging way possible. 

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U.S. Solar Installations Increased 3,000% in one Decade

Pickerel, K. (2020, October 21). New research shows U.S. solar installations increased 3,000% in one decade. Solar Power World. https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2020/10/ new-research-shows-u-s-solar-installations-increased-3000-in-one-decade/

 

This article reflects on the changes in renewable energy production–specifically solar power–in the United States in the past decade. It states that since the start of the decade in 2010, the United States has tripled its production of wind power and increased its production of solar power by 30 times. Utility-scale battery storage has increased 20 times since 2010, meaning the country’s ability to store renewable energy has increased 20-fold as well. Also, the article specifies that California, North Carolina, and Arizona have added the amount of solar power to their energy grids while Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas have increased their wind power more than other states in the past decade. Finally, Rhode Island and Massachusetts improved their energy use efficiency the most.  

 

While reading this article I was shocked by how much the United States was improving its use of renewable energy because I had previously believed that the country was improving very slowly if at all. Furthermore, before reading this article I thought only a select number of states were making efforts to reduce their environmental impact, so I was surprised to learn that many states from every region of the country were taking major steps to switch to renewable energy. With this being said, the cooperation of states to reduce our environmental impact must increase in the coming years if we wish to successfully curb climate change. If this national effort to reduce the carbon emissions from energy production is key to environmental science because if this does not occur, it will be nearly impossible to fully combat climate change because it is the one of the largest contributors to the issue. Therefore, the switch to renewable energy is linked to environmental science because without it, every aspect of the environment will see dramatic changes due to climate change.