Environmental Science

I was going to my grandmothers house, it was a hot nice day in Mexico City but somethin horribly bad had to happen and that was traffic starting at the Periferico highway, a transit monster that conects south and north of the city.

The clock started moving at slow speed, and our car seemed to have no motion. I then asked my Dad, how much time did it took him to do a similar trip from Las Lomas to San Angel (Grandmas house) when he was around my age, he said “15 min. and at the worst 25 min.” I  could not believe that, because I got so used to the  2 hour or 1. 30 minutes to get to San Angel.

Time went by really slowly, and we had already been locked in that damned Suburban for almost 1 hour without even moving, we were all really pissed at the situation and then to make things even worst the 2nd floor for the Periferico was being built so many of the alternative routes were closed because of the construction (By the way the second Periferico floor, took around 5 years to be completed, and still has not helped the issue of trafic at all).

Finally the traffic began to move and after almost 3 hours of not moving in a car we got to my grandmother house.

This particular event, did caught my attention and got me investigating why is traffic so severe in Mexico City, well the reasons are that there are around 21,000,000 people living in Mexico City and Distrito Federal, the city originally was not planed to hold a number bigger than 10,000,000; but most inmportantly there are 4.2 daily trips in the Mexico City road system and makes this a problem since all the viality installed makes up around 6, 337 miles.

The problem, is that the amount of traffic that happens in Mexico City contributes to pollution and cars are number 1 polluting sources in the area. But the fact is that traffic like Perifericos in which you make 2 to 3 hours to go from North to south, is a signal that something is not going well and that is the fact that “we” are to many people and we have to stop growing, we have to reduce the size of our cities and to create laws that stablish a certain limit of the capacity and length a city can have.

Salida a Cuernavaca.

Near Fuente de Petroleos, Av. Paseo de La Reforma

@  Periferico 2nd Floor in construction

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Sweden, Denmark and Finland are ahead of the United States when it comes to both developing environmentally friendly energy sources and using then. Denmark has islands that are completely independent from fossil fuels and are providing themselves with energy from renewable energy sources. Even if they use less fossil fuels and a lot less energy per person their living standard is supposed to be higher than in the United States. How is that possible?

The biggest difference between Scandinavian cities and cities in America is how the public transportation system works. There are reasons why it works so well in Scandinavia. First of all the distances are shorter and they are not dealing with the same  amount of people as in big cities in America, but they are also less dependent on cars. In Sweden the driving age is 18, and that means that in high school, teenagers never have the option of taking the car to school even if they had one. By not taking the car to school they are forced to take the public bus, since school buses and cheap cabs do not exist. From the age of 15 a normal teenager has to walk to the bus stop and learn how to handle public transportation. When people come to Scandinavia from another country their first reaction is often; how do you deal with this? It is so complicated.  The answer is simple; if kids learn how to handle it from the beginning, complication will never be a problem, and when they grow up, It will be completely natural to take the bus to work even if the option stands to take the car.

That leads to education. The fact that environmental science is included as a mandatory course and not an option makes a big difference. Very early kids get to learn why they should turn of the water while they are brushing their teeth and why to turn of the light when they leave a room. It gets to be a habit instead of something that takes extra work and therefore is not worth it.

The last couple of years the transition from fossil fuels to renewable fuels have happened quickly in Scandinavia. Mostly because there are fewer people to convince that  global warming is actually happening and less people to get to use less energy. In a lot of articles and text they do not take this factor in to big enough consideration. They make the US seem like they are going a lot slower because they are not trying hard enough. It is obviously harder to turn around 304 million people than 9 million, which is the population in Sweden. The US is definitely getting there and the world will hopefully see a change within the next 50 years.

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Our world is changing at an alarming rate, socially, indrustially, but most importantly environmentally. The hard times that are facing countries of today are on a global scale, everyone is feeling the wrath but even through these dark times some have risen to the occasion and become the most eco-friendly countries. These top five countries show their commitment to protecting the environment for future generations. As you will see that the top four are  all Scandinavian countries, but what is interesting is that the US is only at number 39, no surprise there though. Here is the list of just the top five and how they have earned their ranks.

Number One : Switzerland

This constant neutral country in Europe has a way of always staying out of trouble but they are also known for their pride in taking care of their pollution. They even have had their own policy with how to help and maintain the environment before anyone else. There have environmental taxes, charges for water/waste managment, and created the FOEN (Federal Office for the Environment) which deals with the process of finding sustainable management of natural resources.

Number Two: Norway

This country many  years ago planned to reduce the number of carbon emissions, and now they are striving to become ‘carbon neutral’ in the next 25 years. The people there have made extensive changes to their lifestyles such as driving/flying less, something that effects them financially in the end. They also have the world’s largest solar powered company, they are definitely putting in the effect.

Number Three: Sweden

This country deserves the number three spot because nuclear and hydroelectric power is how they recieve majority of their electricity. At the rate they are going they predict that by the year 2020 they will not have any fossil fuels in use. Since soon there will be next to no oil Sweden is preparing in advance by starting now to not rely so heavily on oil. In 15 years are planning on using no oil, making them the first country ever to be completely oil free. They are also planning on accepting carbon-free options.

Number Four: Finland

Many years ago Finland use to have many contaminated lakes and rivers, the country has since then cleaned them up, making the air cleaner. Their forests are one of their greatest ‘natural resources’ available to them and they have a high annual growth rate, which in turn gives back to their country. Their next plan of action is to have more green buildings that will boost energy efficiency. This country has very big plans in their future and knows the risks that they are about to  take, which is why they are number four.

Number Five: Costa Rica

The final country on the list is the only non-Scandinavian country, they have been named one the of the most bio-diverse countries in the world, holding 5% of the world’s biodivesity. They already have 25% of their land reserved for ‘protective parks and reserves.’ They attained more than 80% of their power from hydro-electrictiy, bought 200,000 tons of carbon from Norway, and made a 5% tax on fuels.

All of these countries and many more are making the effect to change the way their countries are headed, they are looking towards the future, if only the US could look to them for examples.

http://www.econsciousmarket.com/eco-times/top-5-most-eco-countries/

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In January of 2009 there was a terrible typhoon called Morakot that hit Taiwan. It dumped record amounts of rain washing away roads, houses, buildings and bridges. The ground was solid because of a previous drought; this meant that over 80 inches of water was building up on top of the soil; this was the worst flood in 5 decades. Overall, about 6,000 houses were destroyed and more than 380,000 hectares of farmland was flooded. Landslides took many mountain villages into the ocean in seconds taking many lives with them. The storm also hit mainland in China, where six people were reported killed but not as much damage to the natural environment. The speed had slowed down before hitting China so the damage was not as sever as it was in Taiwan. The amount of rubbish that was left floating in the ocean is awful for our environment, houses, cars, gas and oil polluting the water and there is not much that can be done. ministry said, “The storm has caused as much as 1.3 billion dollars in damage.” River banks have been destroyed, washing away buildings, roads and bridges, cutting power lines and flooding city streets as well as farmland. Losses to the farming industry were estimated to be 152 million dollars. Farmers are hurting since most of the farmland was destroyed due to the amounts of water that was poured into the soil creating it to turn into mud. The amount of money that was lost in the farming industry will take a while to save up so that farmland can be nourished back to good soil for crops to be successful. Lets just hope that a storm this bad does not come back so soon and destroy the country again.

Is there anything that can be done to prevent the farmland from being destroyed every time there is a natural disaster? Could green houses possibly save crops from storms such as Morakot.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8194460.stm

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Lots of things contain batteries.

That remote for your iPod dock, that laptop you’re on right now, the hearing aid your grandfather wears, that obnoxious remote control car your brother loves to drive around, the smoke detector that beeps in the middle of the night due to Fire Squad testing the system, the car you just got and love to drive around in, the phone you always talk on… The list goes on and on.

But what happens when they die? Gotta throw them out, right?

That is a bad idea.

It’s better to recycle. But it’s hard. You see recycling bins for paper, plastic, cans, glass but never batteries. Luckily for KUA though, we do have a place where we can recycle batteries. (The Environmental Science room, for those who don’t know). So it’s a quick fix for those here at KUA. But it’s a lot tougher for outside of campus.

One way to fix this is to get some rechargeable batteries. It cuts down on not only to energy to make the batteries, the money to buy them, but also the toxic medals that go into the landfills every year.

As stated by Battery University,
“Careless disposal of nickel-cadmium [wireless telephones, emergency lighting batteries] is hazardous to the environment. If used in landfills, the cadmium will eventually dissolve itself and the toxic substance can seep into the water supply, causing serious health problems. Our oceans are already beginning to show traces of cadmium (along with aspirin, penicillin and antidepressants) but the source of the contamination is unknown.”
(http://www.batteryuniversity.com/partone-20.htm)

The most common type of battery we see everyday is Alkaline B atteries (AA,AAA) are prone to leaking potassium hydroxide,  a caustic agent that can cause respiratory, eye and skin irritation. (Wikipedia)

They also used to be PACKED with mercury. The new types have 1/10th of that.
(http://earth911.com/hazardous/single-use-batteries/alkaline-batteries/)

In Europe, recycling batteries is the law. Why not make it here too?
Things to do that can help: your own personal  container where you collect batteries and then check with your local recycling or Household Hazardous Waste coordinators to find out where to dispose them safely.

http://www.batteryrecycling.com/residential

This site is one great example as to how easy it is to recycle.

They send you a box and you basically place it in the box and send it back to them and they do the necessary steps to break it down.

It shows, via picture, how it goes from your home to the different sections of plastic, lead, electrolyte 1 and 2 and what it breaks down into after that to then create another battery. Saves it from being sent to the landfill.

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The climate is changing. The earth is warming up, and there is now overwhelming scientific consensus that it is happening, and human-induced. With global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are diminishing.

Many are agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and/or increasing extremities in weather patterns.

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Trash has been a very huge problem in China in the past couple of years. At some parts in the capital, garbage has been buring houses. This is causing a very big issue in public health. People of China fear that if the government dont solve this problem, there will be a health crisis in the next couple of years. The amount of garbage in China almost tripled in the last two decades to a 300 million tons a year. 85% of China’s 7 billion tons of trash is in landfils. This is also causing problems for some villages like Zhanglidong, once a very beautiful village, untill couple of years ago when it became overwhelmed by trash, and now the village can be smelled miles away. All their sourcers are rotten, insect life driven away by the smell and all the fields are unharvested, it is completely ruining the agriculture life in the village. Almost 100 tons of garbage come to this village from other citites too. It is estimated that this village has as much garbage as 20 football stadiums would have. Chinese government are trying to build special areas that can hold this much of trash and that can reduce pollution.

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With winter approaching in New England, there are several precautions we can take to ensure a warm and efficient winter. With rising heating prices every year it is necessary to find more ways to keep warm during the long months of the New England winter, while keeping costs low. Space heaters are a cheaper alternative to propane or other gas heating methods. Although electric heating can be expensive, they save money on your energy bill in the long-term perspective. Space heaters use a significantly less amount of electricity than regular electric heating, and will most certainly save you money. In order to keep heat within your house, sealers and door warmers are necessary. Many people including myself use Saran Wrap to cover windows and unused doors. You can also use a small rag as a “baffle” and lay it across the bottom of the door, to keep out cold breezes, and to keep heat in.  This is a great way to save money and keep warm in the winter.
Thermostats are the evil, which we face in the winter.  They are so easy to change whenever we feel cold, yet the damage they do is far worse than we imagine. 68 degrees is the perfect temperature to keep your thermostat on. If 68 is not warm enough for you, then dress warmly, keep lots of blankets around.  This will prevent you from wanting to change the temperature, and thus saving you money.
If all else fails, and you have simply done everything you can to keep your house warm it is possible to ask your electric company how to “winterize” your house. Most electrically companies will come in, audit your house, and supply you with necessities for winterizing your house, and keeping warm in the long months in New England.
I found this article to be quite relevant to us because we are heading into the winter season. Although many students board, perhaps they can take some of these strategies to their room. For day students, they can ask their parents how “winter proof” their house is, and save themselves a few extra bucks to gear towards school.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4530910_make-house-warmer-winter.html

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Cutting down on the amount of gas emission released every year is possible. There are many alternatives in transferring our planets generation of electricity to help. The power source that I stumbled over happened to be hydroelectricity. Hydro electricity is electricity that is generated from the water pressure using a big river. Hydro electricity is when the pressure of water is multiplied by using a dam and then transformed into mechanical electricity. These mechanisms are usually put on big rivers with a reasonably large drop of elevation. The water rushes through an opening in the dam that increases the pressure of the water. The water then runs through a hydro turbine which is a propeller that is spun by the force of the water. The energy of the spinning turbine is collected through a generator and directed straight into the power lines. This tactic of energy collection is nothing new seeing how water turbines have been around since the 19^th century. It was a smart invention that has evolved into a serious source of power. These Dams can not be placed on all rivers but an increased number of hydro electric dams could decrease the amount of emissions caused by other harmful sources of energy. There are some draw backs on the use of dams but the positive results of having a hydro electric dam over rule the negative factors completely.

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