ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

SOURCES

In this week's blog assignment I was given the power of being in charge of the United States. And although it is a big responsibility, my first duty as being the leader is coming up with an energy policy for the country. This means I have to choose three main sources of energy. The three that I chose are wind, solar, and biofuels. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these, just like there are for all of the energy sources. For wind, one of the main pros is that it does not cause pollution. However, some people argue that they cause a sort of "sight pollution," and they may ruin the beauty of natural landscapes. Also, wind is a renewable resource so that is another pro that would result in using wind energy. Solar energy is also another renewable form of energy. There is also a wide availability for use of solar energy; it can be used in all parts of the world. One of the biggest cons is that solar energy can be rather expensive. Lastly, biofuel is another renewable form of energy, and it is also more cost effective. According to the energy informative website, biofuel usually costs "about 1/3 less than fossil fuels doing the sam job." For the cons, there is sometimes a lot of spaces needed in order to go through all the processes necessary to create the energy. 

I also have to address energy policy in this blog. How will make sure that the citizens of the U.S. are making changes in order to be more efficient? One way that I can promote energy efficiency is to provide all public areas (schools, community centers) with solar panels and encourage others to do the same on their own homes. Another way would be to encourage citizens to take shorter showers, and cooler showers, and turn lights off in rooms that nobody is in. Lastly, I will encourage everyone to bike as much as possible, especially places that are a mile or less away. I will do all of this by creating commercials, radio announcements, newspaper articles, etc. that encourage citizens to do these things. 

Making the switch to renewable energy sources will have economic disadvantages, but it will also have benefits. Building wind turbines, installing solar panels, and creating more space for biofuel will, no doubt, cost a lot of money, possible negatively impacting the environment. However, once these things are built, they will be there for good, unlike fossil fuels, which require continuous drilling for oil, so this can be seen as a positive impact because it will save more money in the long run. Another negative impact on the economy would be that a lot more jobs would have to be created in order to help keep the renewable energy industry running, however, this can also impact the economy positively, after awhile when these industries start to bring more money back.

Finally, I had to figure out how I would make all of this work. It definitely wouldn't be easy and it might even be something that takes years to accomplish. But, I think the key is to start with educating people, especially the youth. When I was in high school, there was one environmental science class, and it was AP, so a lot of students were turned off by that. I think environmental science should be something that is taught, as its very own course, in as early as 6th grade. Policies and laws will also be important; it may seem extreme, but I would like to make it a law that every home has solar panels installed, starting with certain areas, and working our way throughout the country. These solar panels will have to be paid for of course, so I plan on keeping corrupt companies like fossil fuel companies from getting subsidized, and bringing those subsidies to the companies who are going to work toward promoting renewable energy. According to the IMF "Fossil fuels are being subsidized by a million dollars per minute." We clearly have the money to support renewable energy, it is just being spent on the wrong things.

Sources:

http://energyinformative.org/biomass-energy-pros-and-cons/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/may/18/fossil-fuel-companies-getting-10m-a-minute-in-subsidies-says-imf

CLIMATE CHANGE

This week we have been discussing climate change in class. This week's blog is supposed to look into climate change, and find some facts on it to figure out why it is occurring. The blog assignment also has us look into why there are still people who do not believe in climate change, despite overwhelming evidence. 

First, we were asked, "Is the climate changing right now?" And according the the evidence from the sources we were given, the climate is currently changing, and it has been since as early as 1880 (Center for Climate and Energy Solutions). It may seem like the changes in climate have been relatively slow, but according to the Climate Change Information Kit, "the climate does not respond immediately to emissions," so the climate will  

continue to change even if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.

(graph taken from the Center for Climate and Energy

Solutions' website)

So, what role do humans play in the changing climate? The main cause of the warming of the Earth's climate is the emission of Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere, which is largely due to human activity. C2ES' website states, "Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have increased since pre-industrial times from 280 parts per million to over 400 parts per million." They also included the following video in order to provide more evidence for the effects that are caused by human activity:

Greenhouse gas concentration in the atmosphere really started to rise after the start of the industrial revolution. This is demonstrated through the use of ice core records. There are even some greenhouse gases that have been found in the atmosphere that are only created by humans, proving that this is a human caused issue.

Climate change will have many lasting, negative affects on us and on our planet is serious steps are not taken. And taking these steps will not be easy; a lot of work will have to go toward reversing the immense damage that we have already caused. The sea level is predicted to rise "by 9 to 88cm by 2100" (Climate Change Information Kit), and the frequency and intensity of extreme weather occurrences are most likely going to change. Those are just some of the impacts that will occur due to climate change. There will also be affects on human health. Extreme heat, poor air quality, and the possibility of different diseases arising are all different impacts that may occur on human health.

If we continue like we are now, I don't even see us having an earth in 50 years. But, if we do have one, I imagine the air quality will be horrendous; it is already dangerous to breathe in the air, in some regions more than others. Many places that we enjoy visiting now will be underwater. We will have more intense and scary weather, that may put human lives at risk. If serious steps are not taken by our citizens and our policymakers, we have a very grim future ahead of us. I hope that serious action can be taken before it gets much worse.

It is very interesting to me that climate change is still not believed in by many people in the United States. It's more concerning than anything else. The Heartland Institute states that there is no specific research that shows a "consensus" on the debates dealing with climate change. Well, there really is no "debate" when it comes to climate change. Just looking through all the well-respected institutions' websites that we were provided with, we are met with an extremely large amount of evidence that climate change is real and it is happening, no debates, no arguments, no question involved. I think one of the main reasons that this skepticism still exists is because there are people in power, who are primarily focused on money and staying as rich as humanly possible, and these are the people that some citizens look to for truth and look at as an example of what to be. It also may be that a lot of people do not want to take responsibility for all the damage that we have caused, or it may just seem like "too much work." It is incredibly unfortunate that there are still a large amount of people who think climate change is a "hoax." And it is even more unfortunate that it is going to take the planet getting a lot worse than it is now for most of these people to realize that something needs to be done.

UNPLUG!

This week's blog assignment was quite the challenge. The topic of the blog is all about saving energy, and more specifically, to see what kinds of things we can do as individuals in order to minimize our energy use in a 24 hour period. We were challenged to drive as little as possible, take shorter showers, use cold water to wash clothes, hang those clothes to dry instead of using the dryer, reduce the use of the A/C or the heater, and, finally, the most challenging part of the it all: avoid using any electronic devices (TVs, iPods, computers and, yes, cell phones) for the whole 24 hours. 

Well, I would say I was semi successful at completing the challenges given to us in the blog assignment. I did not do laundry during this time (I usually only do it once a week), and I typically take short showers (10 minutes at most). So I would say I was successful in reducing my use of hot water. Also, it was extremely cold in my house in the morning, but the heater was never turned on (mostly because my mom wants to save money), but we all used blankets and jackets to keep warm. In that aspect, I think I did pretty well, too. I did drive a bit during this 24 hour period, just to get myself to and from school, and then to and from work. All in all, I probably drove about thirty miles or so within this time frame. Because, it's getting darker earlier, not using overhead lights was harder, but I was at work for most of the evening so we had to have our lights on in there. I usually do unplug the toaster when I'm not using it, but I made sure to unplug other appliances as well. Now, the electronic devices part was a lot harder for me. I was doing well in the beginning of the day; I asked my mom to wake up so I wouldn't have to use the alarm on my phone, which usually leads to me checking social media before I get up and get ready. I didn't really use my phone at all until the evening, but it was mostly just to communicate with family, and I don't think I checked any social networks for the whole day. I did use my laptop for some homework assignments, and I did end up getting a little distracted, but I did not charge it at all throughout this time frame, and used it way less than I usually do.

There are definitely parts of this assignment that I would be willing to continue doing in order to save energy. Since it really doesn't get too cold here in SoCal, the heater is not usually needed, and I found that using blankets or putting on more clothes, really does work just fine. I'd also be willing to only wash my clothes with cold water (which I think I usually do anyway) and hang up all of my clothes to dry, instead of just the ones that aren't supposed to go in the dryer. I already don't love to drive if I don't have to, and I've really been wanting to get a nice bike that I can ride to and from places, so that is something I can work towards as well. I'm a big fan of the internet, so giving up the laptop for stuff other than homework would be a lot harder, but I think it's something I can definitely work on reducing. Same with my cell phone; I'd like to start using it less for fun, and more for necessary communication and pictures.

Of course, unplugging appliances was one way that was already mentioned in the assignment to reduce energy consumption without inconvenience. Another way would be to get solar panels in order to get the energy from a renewable source like the sun. However, this is a little more costly and might be something to work towards rather than being able to do it right away. I could also keep my blinds open on sunny days in order to keep warm, and keep the thermostat down when no one is home, both of which are inexpensive and easy to do. Also, only running the dishwasher when it is full, rather than when there are just a few dished or if it is half full. This is something we already do, but it is a good way to make sure too much water isn't be wasted, and it is easy to do.

This assignment has helped me to learn that it is not too hard to use energy efficiently, and it is worth it to help save money and to help the environment. I will definitely continue to do some of these things in order to increase energy efficiency in my home.

AMY'S FARM

Last Saturday, our environmental science class took a field trip to Amy's Farm in Ontario, CA. I had no clue I live about ten minutes aways from this awesome little farm, and I was so pleased to learn all about the good things that come from this place. When we got to the farm, we were led on a tour and told all about the agriculture and the animal raising that is practiced on the farm. We took a walk through their sustainable garden first. They had a really good variety of vegetables and other crops being grown, such as, grapes, sunflowers, fennel, dinosaur kale, eggplant, pomegranates, carrots, arugula, rainbow swiss chard, and plenty of others. We were even able to try some of the crops that were being grown. The garden was really amazing to experience first hand, because we were able to see that organic farming practices can be really useful and can lead to plenty of really delicious and healthy fruits and vegetable without any of the negative environmental impacts that come from industrial agriculture. You could really see the amount of love and care that is put into the garden there when you take a walk through it. 

After walking through the garden, we were able to feed some rainbow swiss chard to the animals, and pet the goats that they had. You could tell that the animals there are raised well and that they live happy lives. Some of the animals that they have at the farm are goats, geese, ducks, chickens, turkeys, cows, pigs (and a cat that thinks its a pig), and horses. The animals have great big spaces to roam around, unlike industrial farms that keep a large amount of animals in a very confined space. We were able to learn a little bit about each animal, and we got to milk a cow as well, which was a really great experience. 

Overall, I think the most important thing that I took away from our visit to Amy's Farm is that sustainable agriculture is so important in keeping the earth, and those who live on the earth, healthy and happy. Industrial agricultural practices can be so detrimental to the environment, and that is why it is especially important to see farms like Amy's Farm do what they do. Hopefully they can inspire others, like they've inspired me, to either practice sustainable farming techniques on their own, or support places that do.