Shankland, S. (2023, September 8). Solar Installations in the US Expected to Set a Record in 2023

Retrieved January 29, 2024 from,

https://www.cnet.com/home/energy-and-utilities/solar-installations-expected-to-set-a-record-in-20

23/

Solar panels have been the go-to renewable energy source in recent years, with a 52% spike in solar panel usage just last year in the United States. Solar energy allows society to move away from the use of fossil fuels and turn to alternative energy sources, like that of solar which has no cap on its use. Not only is solar an environmentally friendly alternative energy source, but it is also good economically, President of the Solar Energy Industries Association, Abigail Ross Hopper, states, “The solar and storage industry is delivering abundant clean energy that is generating tens of billions of dollars of private investment, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.” Having both economic and environmental positives, solar energy is one of the future sources of energy in the United States, increasing in usage each year since they became popular.

I view the use of solar panels as a win for the United States. Having a 52% increase on the installation of a renewable that also reduces the energy cost for families, it seems like a great renewable energy source to have. I think that if solar was more available to everyone, we would be able to use it to its full capacity, but due to its current installation cost, I can see it only impacting our use of fossil fuels on minor levels. Hopefully it will become more and more widespread as time goes on, which it for sure seems like it is with the 52% increase.

Ataman, D. (2023, November 16). Building a defensible vertical farm is more than technology. 

Retrieved January 27, 2024 from,

https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2023/11/16/watch-on-demand-building-a-defensible-

Vertical-farm-is-more-than-technology

Vertical farming techniques used in the United States allow for “water reuse and reclamation systems, using energy optimization system,” beneficiary aspects in the world of agriculture and farming. Factors are manipulated in the vertical farming environment for allow for the same quality of produce and a much quicker product than those produced through agriculture on farmland. Along with greater quality of produce, vertical farming allows for less space being taken up by agriculture, clearing any concerns farming may bring the United States in the near future.

I think the use of vertical farming can be very influential as the country moves forward and has to adapt to changes brought about by climate change. Lessening our farmland and moving to vertical farms that don’t even need to be outside can be very effective in mitigating the effects of agriculture on our atmosphere and climate. Ultimately, I think vertical farming can have a positive impact on our agricultural system and has few negatives environmentally-wise.

Gardner, T. (2023, December 14). US awards up to $890 million to carbon capture projects at gas, coal 

plants. Retrieved January 27, 2024 from, 

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/us-awards-up-890-million-carbon-capture-

projects-gas-coal-plants-2023-12-14/

The U.S. highlights its push to mitigate the effects of climate change by endorsing carbon capturing by allocating $890 million dollars to carbon capturing. Carbon Capturing machines, also known as CCS are able to withdraw close to 1% of the U.S. carbon emissions annually, however, the U.S. allocating more money towards carbon capturing technology gives hope that it may have a big impact on mitigating the effects of climate change. Although the carbon is being extracted from the atmosphere, however, it is being pushed back into the ground and into oil which allows for more extraction of crude oil.

More funding towards Carbon Capturing technology seems great, but I don’t think it will have as great an impact in mitigating climate change as do other technology. Just under 1% is being captured at the moment, which although is some, is not near enough to make a change. On top of this, pushing the carbon back into the ground and into oil to allow for the United States to harvest crude oil seems like a positive feedback loop of carbon being released into the atmosphere. I think carbon capturing is great when it’s a negative feedback loop, but until then I think there are other viable strategies to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Cart, J. (2023, October 16). ‘A massive enterprise’: California’s offshore wind farms are on a fast track.

Retrieved January 26, 2024 from, 

https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/10/california-offshore-wind-humboldt/

The push for a 100% renewable energy power grid in California has pushed them to become more ambitious in ways to attain this renewable energy. California is planning to push out offshore windmill farms, but unlike those seen off the coast of Rhode Island and China, these windmill farms will be far off the California coast in deep waters. This is because the greatest winds occur far off the California coast before they converge inland. California sees the “offshore wind farms producing 25 gigawatts of electricity by 2045, powering 25 million homes and providing about 13% of the power supply.” However because of the distance from the mainland, “miles of undersea transmission lines, expanded ports, new or upgraded onshore substations and electrical distribution networks.” Although pushing for renewable sources, California will have to burn through fossil fuels to make it happen when producing these farms, a hit they are willing to take for the long term future. 

I’m interested in seeing how far offshore windmill farms will affect our power sources. I’ve seen offshore wind farms before, but this farm seems to be a lot different than the rest. I can see it being a success, however. Although being far offshore I think given the infrastructure that will have to be produced, it will be able to work swiftly. What worried me though is how large-scale this project can be if new infrastructure is needed when applying these windmill farms to places other than Humbolt, where they are going right now. Ultimately the use of windmill farms will give us better renewable energy sources, however, I think there may be a scalability issue. I’m interested in seeing how this pans out in the future.

Cart, J. (2023, November 29). Will ocean waves be California’s new source of clean energy?

Retrieved January 26, 2024 from, 

https://calmatters.org/environment/2023/11/ocean-energy-waves-california/

In October, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill allowing for the state to begin the production and greater research of marine energy systems, in essence, the state will be using the waves and tides of the ocean to generate energy. The project still has a long way to go, projected to contribute to the state’s “all-renewable electric grid by 2045.” Right now there are only a few scattered small-scale test sites for this technology throughout the west coast. However, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, “wave and tide energy resources that are available in the U.S. with current technology are equivalent to 57% of 2019’s domestic energy production.” Ultimately the technology is shining a positive light on renewable energy sources.

 The state of California’s push to achieve new forms of renewable energy seems like a great stride to move away from fossil fuels and help mitigate the effects of climate change. Although the project is just getting started, granted that waves are concurring throughout the coast, I can see marine technology becoming one of the biggest energy suppliers along both the east and west coast of the United States. I really like how, unlike wind energy, this form of energy can be applicable throughout most parts of the world given the ocean covers the majority of the globe. ​​However, I wish the government would fund it more as the “2023 federal budget for ocean waves energy is $123 million.” Ultimately I think that relying on marine power is a great way to shift away from fossil fuels.

David, W. (2023, June 24). Wind Powers Africa. Retrieved August 26, 2023 from, 

cleantechnica.com/2023/06/24/wind-powers-africa/

Several African countries are beginning to shift to more renewable energy sources with the help of more developed nations like Japan, Saudi Arabia, and China. The countries beginning the shift are Egypt, Namibia, Kenya, and South Africa, while many other African nations are slowly working to reach the heights of these countries. All are devoting chunks of land to mass turbine farms to help power their countries. I.e. Egypt’s move to renewable energy will provide close to 1 million homes with electricity and will slash carbon emissions by just about 1 million tons per year. All of these countries are taking long strides to contribute to the fight against the climate crisis. 

The article was really informative and interesting and expressed how these “underdeveloped” countries are making strides that will help better the world as a whole. I think that smaller countries taking strides like these will help push many other countries to push to do the same, hopefully putting an end to our climate crisis. It was really inspiring how other countries chipped in to help them like Japan, Saudi Arabia, and China, helping them implement the windmill farms that could eventually take over these nations and take away their reliance on fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy. All in all the advancement of wind energy technology within Africa as a whole shines the light on progress being made to create environmentally friendly technology that benefits both humans and our planet.

Ecoflow. (2023, July 17). Is Solar Energy Sustainable? Retrieved August 25, 2023 from, 

blog.ecoflow.com/ca/is-solar-energy-sustainable/

Solar energy is a much more cleaner alternative to the fossil fuels that are currently burning around the planet. Solar panels take renewable energy from the sun, a source that can be assured won’t run out as “According to NASA, the sun has about 5 billion years left.” Fossil Fuels are not sustainable and are constantly contributing to climate change and global warming. However, solar energy is clean energy that emits no carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and uses energy emitted from the sun. Replacing Fossil Fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas with solar energy through solar panels is a big step that can be taken to protect the planet.

The article was very interesting, not only by explaining how solar energy through solar panels is much more sustainable than fossil fuels, but how it is also much more cleaner and efficient as the sun always comes out during the day, and even if it is clouded, panels can store the energy from earlier. I also found it interesting how if you solely get your energy and electricity from a solar panel grid, your carbon footprint to almost 0. Ultimately the clean energy that solar panels give us is a great piece of environmentally friendly technology.

McMahon, L. and Fleming, D. (2023, February 27). Ocean Plastic: How Tech Is Being Used to Clean up 

Waste Problem. Retrieved August 23, 2023 from, www.bbc.com/news/technology-64744926

The great pacific garbage patch along with other ocean plastics are an extreme threat to ocean ecosystems. However, Boyan Slat began the non-profit, The Ocean Cleanup, and has ever since been looking for ways to clean plastic out of oceans and rivers throughout the world. Slat began the non-profit 10 years ago and has been working tirelessly to innovate a way to clean up the oceans. Slat finally found his solution, by attaching nets to boats, The Ocean Cleanup is able to clear plastic from the most polluted areas of the ocean. Although this seems great, the boats do not make the cleanup net zero. Professor “Richard Lampitt of the National Oceanography Center” believes that stopping plastic from its source will be the most effective and carbon-neutral solution to the situation. The Ocean Cleanup is now focusing on stopping plastic from major rivers instead of releasing fossil fuels chasing down plastics in the ocean.

Nets attached to boats seem like a great idea in concept, and works well as shown in the article, with an expected 1% of Ocean plastics to be hopefully removed come the end of the year. However, unlike the article, I think that emitting Carbon from using the boats to drag in the plastic is not the most terrible thing. In the article it mentions how finding it at the source it would be more environmentally friendly, although already being quite environmentally friendly by removing toxic plastics from the oceans. I do believe it is a good idea to stop the plastic from entering the oceans at the end of rivers, however if they are unsuccessful in completely stopping the plastics from entering the oceans, the nets engineered on the back of the boats seems like a great solution too a terrible problem. Despite this, it looks like they are able to use AI in the ocean and rivers to see where the most heavily polluted areas are, and stop the spread of plastics in our waters, a win-win for the earth and the environment.

Ahmad, M. (2023, February 9). Capturing Carbon: The Environmentally-Friendly Vacuum. Retrieved August 23, 2023 from, energydigital.com/articles/Capturing-carbon:-The-environmentally-friendly-vacuum

Carbon capturing is a recent method many companies are attempting to use to swiftly remove carbon from the atmosphere. However, no companies have been able to succeed in this goal until now. The company, Carbon Clean has created what many call “The Environmentally Friendly Vacuum.” The vacuum works to remove carbon emissions from sources harder to decarbonize, for example, cement and steel production. The vacuum works by removing emissions during the process of making those materials, capturing the carbon, and pushing it far underground, prohibiting it from polluting the environment. The carbon that is captured can also be reused and currently Carbon Clean is much cheaper to use per ton of carbon captured than its predecessors, costing only 30 USD. This tech is being used around the world “including the UK, US, Japan, Germany, India, Norway, and the Netherlands”. Casting a positive light on the future of removing carbon.

The innovation explained in the article highlights one of many ways environmentally friendly technology can be helpful in our fight against climate change. The article has made me understand how important cheap affordable environmentally friendly technology really is. In the article it mentions how the Carbon Clean costs half the price of the EU’s carbon reduction price per ton, dropping from 60 USD to 30 USD. The carbon clean is also much more easier to implement, being “10 times smaller than the industry standard.” Ultimately, the carbon clean is a great piece of environmentally friendly technology, and has made me realize how important stopping carbon from its source really is in our fight to achieve carbon net zero emissions.

Zhang, H. (2023, July 5). Vertical Farming Points to Future Agriculture, Set to Inject Impetus to China’s 

Food. Retrieved August 26, 2023 from, 

www.globaltimes.cn/page/202307/1293783.shtml#:~:text=Inside%20several%20containers%20l

In China, they are beginning to start vertical farming in big cities. In just a few square meters they are now able to create and sustain a flourishing greenhouse even without natural sunlight or soil. These tightly enclosed vertical farms are able to grow produce year-round without taking up any areas of land in the outside world for agriculture. The vertical farms allow China to produce more food faster in a contained space to meet their countries ever rising population.

I like the idea of the vertical farms in enclosed spaces for many reasons. As mentioned in the article the farms do not “need additional farmland,” which is very important, as no new land needs to be ripped up and made suitable for agriculture, preserving it as it naturally is. I also like the vertical farms because it is a sustainable source of food that does not come at the cost of the environment and does not need the help of fossil fuels to succeed, however with LED lighting which does not release emissions. Ultimately the idea of vertical farming seems like a strong environmentally friendly technology that could change the dynamics of agriculture in the coming years.