Author: carolynmu

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Measuring Cows’ Emissions

Beil, L. (2015, November 18). Getting creative to cut methane from cows. Retrieved November 20, 2015, from

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/getting-creative-cut-methane-cows

Cows spend their days grazing and eating and do not have many other obligations. So to test what gases a cow omits and to see their impact on the atmosphere, researchers at the Lacombe Research Centre have begun to track the cows’ waste into the sky. The cows are tracked, “Through a transponder clipped to the ear of each cow, scientists record when a cow sticks her head into a bin of tasty feed pellets. As she eats, a solar-powered fume hood above captures her exhalations. Laser beams surround the pasture, reading gases in the atmosphere” (Beil, 2015). Scientist have found that the gas mainly released by cows methane, which has over the years contributed to climate change and has a negative effect on the atmosphere. This discovery has scientists scrambling to figure out a solution for this waste and how to manage the cows to decrease their methane production.

After reading this article, I was shocked that cows’ gas waste pollutes the atmosphere and think it is going to be difficult to find a solution to reduce this issue. This article has environmental science relevance because it explains how cows pollute and the issue that scientists are stumped on and are struggling to find a way to reduce the methane emissions.

 

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Managing Food Waste Issues Around the World

Aubrey, A. (2015, October 8). It’s Time To Get Serious About Reducing Food Waste, Feds Say.                                     Retrieved November 20, 2015, from

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/09/16/440825159/its-time-to-get-serious-about-educing-food-waste-feds-say

Food waste is a gigantic problem globally, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency and other smaller companies have challenged countries to reduce their food waste by 50%. The agency has also called out that the sole consumer is not the main waste creator but also the distributors like restaurants and grocery stores are. To aid the restaurants and grocery stores to limit their waste, the Food Recovery Challenge is helping them donate their food waste. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) also encourages state governments to make laws  to help reduce waste, for example, “ Seattle now fines homeowners for not sorting their garbage. And Massachusetts has implemented a food waste ban for certain institutions” (Aubrey, 2015).

This article demonstrated that the US government is promoting a positive message about reducing waste and encourages the world to join them on cutting their food waste by 50%. The EPA’s food waste campaign illustrates environmental science importance because of its goal and education to countries and organizations about how to reduce food waste.

 

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“Pizza Rat” Sparks Trash Debate in the New York Subways

Fitzsimmons, E. (2015, September 22). ‘Pizza Rat’ Prompts a Collective ‘Ew’ and Debate on Cleaning New York Subway. Retrieved November 20, 2015, from

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/nyregion/pizza-rat-spurs-debate-on-how-to-clean-u -new-yorks-subway-system.html?ref=topics

New York subways are known for their trash and rat infested halls and a viral video spread of a rat carrying a whole slice of pizza up the stairs of the subway station. Many people found the video humorous and entertaining, but some were outraged at how the video highlighted the subway’s waste issue. Thomas P. DiNapoli, the state comptroller, questioned the waste management system attempted in the subways and if it was being effective. The waste management pilot system was to remove most of the subways trashcans to reduce the amount of rats. Many have said the pilot program is not successful and only makes it harder to dispose trash and increases the chance that people will liter.

This story is relevant to environmental science because it highlights how social media can draw attention and change to environmental issues. I found this article interesting because it showed a different perspective on the article and demonstrated how the video had the ability to bring change to an environmental issue. It is amazing how social media has now evolved to be used to bring people’s attention to issues like the waste problem in New York and I hope this trend continues for other desperate environmental issues.

 

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Managing Waste on the Coast

Varshney, V. (2015, March 31). Plastic Peril. Retrieved November 19, 2015, from

http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/plastic-peril-48985

Most of the waste produced on land finds its way in the end to the ocean, which results to it then appearing on the beaches along the coasts. “The researchers found that anything between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes (MT) of plastic enters the oceans each year” (Varshney, 2015). This issue has been examined by many scientists and most of them agree that to end this issue, waste management needs to be enforced globally. The plan is to create more recovery systems for waste and to lay more responsibility on large companies. The main push for waste management will be laid on more developed countries like the US, China, and the UK, because they have more capability to implement these policies because they have more money and guilt, because they are the ones producing most of the waste.

I believe this plan to encourage more waste management is brilliant and hopefully produce less waste along the coast. It is important to reduce waste in the ocean and the coasts because they contaminate the ecosystems in the water and on the beaches. Many have seen the images of birds with the plastic wrapping from soda around their necks choking them, which saddens me and further motivates me to want to change the waste issue. I also believe it is a smart tactic to target the larger more developed countries with waste management, but also the developing nations like India, still need to be educated on waste management because they are large waste producers.

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A French Supermarket Starts Discounting “Used” Food

Fullan, G. (2015, February 6). Fixing Food Waste. Retrieved November 19, 2015, from 

http://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/blogs/mouthful/fixing-food-waste

A recent study has calculated that the globally, 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted a year. Along with waste being produced at an extremely high rate, the components to produce the food wasted is also going to no use. Examples of these components are the 1.4 billion hectares of land for growing the food, the water used to water the crops, and the workforce to harvest that are all ultimately being wasted because the food is not being consumed. France’s third largest supermarket, Intermarché, has taken note of this issue and to help reduce their waste, have begun selling produce and other foods that would have been thrown out at a discounted price.

Internarché’s efforts to reduce waste in our globe, I believe, is a step in the helpful and sustainable direction. Their vending of discounted food that is “less than their more aesthetically pleasing siblings” (Fullan, 2015) is beneficial for the environment, the consumer, and the consumer. The consumer is able to save money by purchasing a cheaper product, less waste is pushed into the environment, which highlights its environmental science importance, and the producer makes more profit because they are selling more goods. One issue and question I have about this system is how does the company regulate when the produce not purchased at the discounted price is thrown away. Also if the company or consumer is reliable for the consumer getting sick from the discounted food.

 

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Corn Waste May be the New Car Fuel

Nunez, C. (2014, September 12). “Fantasy” of Fuel From Corn Waste Gets Big US Test.National Geographic.

Retrieved August 22, 2015 from

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/09/140911-project-libertycellulosic-ethanol-us-test/

After corn is harvested, corn stalks, leaves, and other organic materials are left over in the field. Some of this organic waste is used for preventing soil erosion, but the majority is left unused and serves no purpose. Scientists have created a fuel called, cellulosic ethanol, produced from the organic waste after harvesting corn, and they want to create a new factory in Emmetsburg, Iowa to begin production. But to fuel their industry they need farmers to contribute their waste to the factories, which is a challenge, because to harvest the stalks, expensive equipment is needed, which most farmer do not want to invest in. Because of the difficulty of finding farmers to support the cause, the factory plans on growing its own corn and using that as the fuel for their company.

This article promises that scientists are constantly seeking ways to reduce the waste in the environment and create ways to efficiently use that waste. I do not believe that cellulosic ethanol will become the next big fuel because of the multiple costly requirements the fuel requires. But, I hope this factory will inspire other scientists to continue to explore how other waste products could possibly be used for fuel.

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Texas Tussles with a Waste-Free Lifestyle

Recycling Today. (2015, August 21). City of Austin, Texas, seeks Recycling and Reuse            Tenants for Austin’s new [re]Manufacturing Hub. Recycling Today.

Retrieved August 22, 2015 from

http://www.recyclingtoday.com/austin-texas-remanufacturing-hub-seekstenants.aspx

Austin, Texas is the home to a company called Austin Resource Recovery, which supports the movement to create a zero waste world. The company collects used items and reuses them for other purposes and through this process creates zero waste. Another goal of the company is to create more eco-friendly jobs, which enforces their main goal for creating a waste free environment. The company also encourages other companies to join them and send them their waste to produce less waste.

This article demonstrates a promising future for a waste free environment. The creation of this company has also been an effective way of informing the public of the multiple ways to recycle. Another great aspect is that the company makes recycling easy to do and has given more people access to recycling. I hope in the future more companies are inspired to do what the Austin Resource Recovery company has done and promote a waste free lifestyle.

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Reasoning with Recycling Water

US Water Alliance. (2014, March 28). Water Scarcity Drives US Communities Toward            Smarter Use, Recycling. US Water Alliance.

Retrieved August 18, 2015 from

http://uswateralliance.org/2014/03/28/water-scarcity-drives-u-s-communities            toward-smarter-use-recycling/

Water can serve more than one use, and it can be recycled after its multiple uses. Many people have advocated for wastewater to be transformed into drinking water and many people are still opposed to this idea. The thought of having our wastewater used for drinking water disgusts most citizens of the US, but the public just needs to be informed on the complete process of transforming wastewater. Another issue the people have with recycling water is the cost, but with the ability to produce our own drinking water, the US would not need to import as much water, saving money. Also not all wastewater that is recycled would need to be filtered to the standard of drinking, costing less. Politicians’ push for the use of recycled water is a constant debate in the US.

This article strongly supports the use of recycled water, and also includes the counter points of their opinion. Recycled water could significantly improve the US’ lack of water and decrease of amount of water imported from other countries. I believe that recycling water is a great alternative and I also agree with the push to use it because it creates more jobs in the US. The reason I believe recycled water is not used as much as it should be, is because of the cost and people do not know a lot about it. I hope in the future recycled water will begin to become a more popular method in the US.

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A Waste Free Life

Singer, L. (2014, November 18). I Haven’t Made Trash in Two Years. Here’s What My Life Is Like. Mind Body Green.

Retrieved August 14, 2015 from

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-16168/i-havent-made-any-trash-in-2-yearsheres-what-my-life-is-like.html

Plastic wrapping is the main product that covers daily products in the US, and plastic produces waste and the author, a 23-year-old woman from New York, of this article did not want to produce waste and live a life without producing waste. She started to use jars and bring her own bags to supermarkets to store food. Eventually she started to create her own beauty products, reducing the amount of plastic containers she had. The process of becoming waste free did take her a year to completely embody, but she writes that she is proud of her decision and continues to live by it.

This article demonstrates how some citizens of the US are completely dedicated to becoming waste free, and are frustrated with the amount of waste used in everyday products. Not all people in the US are like this, only a small percentage are, but with this article out, hopefully people will read and use some of the techniques to try and reduce their waste. The author’s commitment may encourage others to try and conserve and reduce their waste by bringing their own cloth bags to the grocery stores and to take other small steps in the direction of becoming waste free.

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The Components of Composting

Goldstein, N and Platt, B. (2014, July 16). State of Composting in the USA. BioCycle |            The Organics Recycling Authority.

Retrieved August 11, 2015 from

http://www.biocycle.net/2014/07/16/state-of-composting-in-the-u-s/

 

Composting is a technique of recycling where old food scraps, paper, and cardboard is used to created new soil. This technique lessens the amount of waste loaded into landfills, creates stronger soil structure, provides greater soil quality, and increases the amount of water able to be held in soil. Along with improving the soil contents by composting, composting creates jobs for the US. In many states like California, they have started to enforce composting by supplying composting bins to each house, and many states have started to join California. Composting creates jobs at the composting facilities, composting supply services, and jobs that supply the tools to compost at home. Since composting boosts the economy with the addition of jobs, many states in the US have started to encourage composting into daily life of citizens.

This article supports composting and provides many statistics to why composting has benefited the communities that have adopted composting and have started to use it more frequently. Composting not only improves the environment, but also the community, which is what the article strongly expresses as to why the US should enforce more laws about it. The authors also write about how composting is a simple way to recycle, but the public needs to know exactly what they can and cannot compost. It is encouraged that states make more campaigns about composting and the correct way to do it.