Relational Summary 7

In module 7, Culhane discussed the debate of science and how technology is providing opportunities to improve the environmental crisis. The debate over climate solutions derives from curiosity and false ideologies encouraged on different social outlets. Freedom of speech is becoming entangled with false information which can cause a variety of issues for the public. For instance, an analysis showed that 16 of the world's biggest polluters were able to place over 1,700 ads on Facebook leading to at least $5 million dollars earned for the platforms as 150 million impressions were received (Turrentine, 2022). The amount of impressions is alarming as people continue to believe a variety of companies' skilled advertisements. I use my phone every day, especially for news information and many applications purchase your data to provide ads based on interactions you have had with posts. 

In addition, Culhane mentioned fossil fuel subsidies increasing. The value was alarming when Culhane mentioned that 6.5 percent of the global gross domestic product was spent on fossil fuels. A 2 trillion dollar fossil fuel subsidy global increase was shown in 2022 (International Monetary Fund, n.d.). This feels like the renewable energy movement is moving backwards because fossil fuel dependence is causing countries to depend on foreign oil industries to provide fuel leading to less security. Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered the fossil fuel subsidy levels to increase as there was a disruption in the energy market (IEA, n.d.). Investing in our country can provide us with opportunities to advance and strengthen our economy. Renewable energy has a variety of benefits, especially in lowering carbon emissions. 

Another topic mentioned in lecture 7 is coastal wetland restoration. In my undergraduate program, I was a part of an eco-hydraulics laboratory for my professor. Students who were in the graduate program would research their projects a variety of them mentioned coastal wetland restoration and using oyster shells to boost habitats. There are many benefits of restoring coastal wetlands specifically in Florida due to being geographically surrounded by water. For example, the annual landings of the Atlantic and Gulf equated to $2,358,353,679 (Texas A&M Agrilife Extension, n.d.). Coastal wetlands have many benefits like providing clean water, recreational activities, and flood management which is beneficial to protecting Floridians from natural disasters like hurricanes. 

References

IEA. (n.d.). Energy Subsidies – Topics - IEA. International Energy Agency. Retrieved March 9, 2024, from https://www.iea.org/topics/energy-subsidies

International Monetary Fund. (n.d.). Fossil Fuel Subsidies - Climate Change. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved March 9, 2024, from https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/climate-change/energy-subsidies

Texas A&M Agrilife Extension. (n.d.). Value of Coastal Fisheries and Wetlands. Coastal Resilience. Retrieved March 10, 2024, from https://coastalresilience.tamu.edu/home/wetland-protection/value-of-coastal-fisheries-and-wetlands/

Turrentine, J. (2022, April 19). Climate Misinformation on Social Media Is Undermining Climate Action. NRDC. Retrieved March 9, 2024, from https://www.nrdc.org/stories/climate-misinformation-social-media-undermining-climate-action

Module 5 Relational Summary

This week the lecture Culhane discussed how permafrost is melting. Greenland has ice sheet has been at a rapid rate. Remote communities have been struggling due to their housing being pushed away as permafrost thaws (Filipova, 2018). These communities' infrastructures depend on frozen ground to stabilize buildings, pipelines, and roads. The soil collapsing can create a variety of issues as the soil provides elevations for water to be distributed throughout the community. I work at an environmental engineering consultants firm that does drainage and utility plans for different commercial and residential sites. Engineers will have to adapt and create solutions for infrastructures and pipelines failing which will be difficult due to most communities needing a variety of engineering solutions as permafrost degradation continues.

In addition, Culhane mentions nature is not adapting to global warming changes. I can remember hearing on the news that many polar bears were dying due to ice sheets melting. This drew my interest in global warming because it sounded concerning that the rates of these animals dying have increased due to food chain changes and habitats disappearing. For example, Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears have dropped 40 percent from 2001-2010 (World Wildlife Fund, n.d.). Habitat loss has affected these creatures and has even caused them to wander into human settlements. This creates conflict as efforts need to be provided to protect humans from bears possibly attacking or disturbing the peace in communities. 

Culhane examines mitigating the rate of change to lessen climate change effects. There are a variety of solutions to help in lessening emissions like renewable energy, electric vehicles, changing practices, and even changing your diet (United Nations Climate Change, n.d.). I visited Rosebud Continuum in Land O’ Lakes and it opened my eyes to the possibility of communities to come together to help promote sustainable practices. Also, educating the youth on sustainable practices can help future generations innovate and empower others to follow.

Megan Blair discussed how climate change and the terminology being misunderstood. I completely agree because climate does change through time but the inconsistency and patterns have been changing at drastic rates. She mentioned NASA and how the slope of the global temperature has been steeper in the last 30 years which has shown there is an alarming change that is causing the steepness in the chart.

References

Filipova, A. (2018, November 12). The Effects of ​Melting Permafrost in Greenland. Pulitzer Center. Retrieved February 25, 2024, from https://pulitzercenter.org/projects/effects-melting-permafrost-greenland

United Nations Climate Change. (n.d.). Introduction to Mitigation. UNFCCC. Retrieved February 25, 2024, from https://unfccc.int/topics/introduction-to-mitigation

World Wildlife Fund. (n.d.). Polar bear population decline a wake up call for climate change action. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved February 25, 2024, from https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/polar-bear-population-decline-a-wake-up-call-for-climate-change-action

Module 1 Relational Summary

This week an important topic introduced was how the ecological south is affected by climate change. First of all, the ecological south which is the southern hemisphere consists of 80 percent water and 20 percent of land. The Southern Ocean is a great place to start understanding the consequences of climate change because as carbon dioxide increases in the atmosphere, it gets absorbed by water which can lead to different consequences. For example, ocean acidification is affecting ecological food webs by causing shell dissolution in sea butterflies (NOAA, 2020). As the shells dissolve this can create difficulty for these sea creatures to protect themselves from predators like whales. Removing their defense mechanism can cause a change in the food web because it causes easier accessibility for predators to catch these sea butterflies and diminish the population which can affect finding future food sources for these predators. As technology has become more accurate, there have become better ways of finding precise measurements of increased carbon dioxide levels in seawater. For instance, a computer model demonstrated that human-produced carbon dioxide was found in the ocean. The results found that 530 million metric tons of carbon were absorbed and then released in 2021 (Bates, 2022). Before there was the computer model that used aircraft to measure the concentrations of carbon dioxide, scientists first had to collect samples of seawater taken by drifting instruments. The sparsity made it hard to demonstrate the carbon flux meanwhile the aircraft gave the ability to show results in large regions. For my bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering, I have had to do a lot of different lab experiments multiple times to demonstrate the accuracy of each method. Professors would have us use different types of instruments and technology to show how the type of technology we used could generate more accuracy in our results. When you are given the chance to learn the history of instruments you can finally understand and appreciate how technology has become more intricate and precise which can validate our theories. James Hernandez mentioned how EPA levels were able to show carbon dioxide levels throughout 1983-2018 showing how high the levels continue to get. As technology continues to become more efficient, better analyzes will be provided for environmental readings.

Another topic discussed this week was that human activity is causing extreme weather like hurricanes to occur. As temperatures have increased in the ocean, hurricane development has intensified because of the warm ocean temperature. A study on the North Atlantic hurricane season in 2020 analyzed that rainfall was 10 percent higher compared to the 1850s (Reed, 2022). These rain events can create different disastrous incidents like floods and storm surges. As someone born and raised in Florida experiencing hurricanes is no fun. They create a great deal of stress in terms of preparation to prevent flooding on your property. To provide opportunities to lessen these catastrophic events, we need to look into different ways of solving these increases in surface temperature. Danielle Thurston discussed that wind turbines have been researched to slow down hurricanes. This drew my eye because this could be an opportunity to promote clean energy and safer coastlines.

Lastly, drawdown solutions were introduced to demonstrate opportunities for lessening carbon emissions. In particular, wave power and tidal power were mentioned to reduce carbon dioxide emission by 9.2 gigatons with a net cost of $411.8 billion (Culhane, n.d., 11). Research in waves and tidal energy is becoming popular as time continues. One current issue with this solution is that since it is a new source of energy, it has difficulties economically becoming feasible. The consistency of not needing energy storage appeals to stakeholders who are trying to become early leaders in this marine technology (Hawken, 2017, 57). The negative trillions in savings can be discouraging because of cost of operating and upkeep would create difficulty for beginner investors. I would be completely disillusioned by the costs, but the rapidness of technological improvements will provide new and cheaper options to create efficient and cost-effective sources to use tidal and wave power. Srinivas Nalla mentioned how investing in wave and wind energy can provide a multitude of benefits in promoting clean energy as computer simulations and data-driven research.

References

Bates, S. (2022, January 1). Study Confirms Southern Ocean is Absorbing Carbon. NASA Earth Observatory. Retrieved January 15, 2024, from https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/149274/study-confirms-southern-ocean-is-absorbing-carbon

Culhane, T. H. (n.d.). Relational Summary Lecture. Southern Oscillations and Ripple Effects, Module 1(Episode 1), 13.

Hawken, P. (Ed.). (2017). Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming. Penguin Publishing Group.

NOAA. (2020, April 1). Ocean acidification | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA. Retrieved January 15, 2024, from https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-acidification

Reed, K. A. (2022, April 12). Study Shows Human-Induced Climate Change Is Affecting Hurricane Severity - SBU News. SBU News. Retrieved January 15, 2024, from https://news.stonybrook.edu/homespotlight/study-shows-human-induced-climate-change-is-affecting-hurricane-severity/

Module 2 Relational Summary

This week in the course discussed glacial ice and how important it is when discussing climate change. Culhane mentioned how Greenland and Antarctica have raised the global sea level by about 18 millimeters from 1992-2017. Northern and Southern hemispheres are demonstrating contrasting conditions in terms of surface melt. For example, a recent study mentioned how Greenland ice sheets were melting to winds by more than 10 percent versus Antarctic ice sheets which decreased by 32 percent (UCI News, 2023). As the temperatures have increased, the downslope wind can be combined to increase the surface ice melt at a higher percentage. Antarctic surface ice sheets are still melting faster than normal. In 2023, there was an above-average melt in Dronning Maud and Amery land ice shelf regions including the Antarctic Peninsula (NSIDC, 2023). These annual melting records were found to be higher than the 1991 to 2020 references which demonstrates the problem continues to escalate. Flooding is becoming a popular issue in Florida especially as sea levels rise. As sea levels continue to rise, the future of Florida is in danger, especially with projections of 10 to 12 inches of rise around coastlines in the next 30 years. Policies are going to need to be put in place to help tackle climate change and provide adaptation solutions for protecting the coast.

Another interesting topic that I was intrigued by was microplastics being in our oceans and causing many problems that are leading to climate change. For example, microplastics are leading to structural damage in marine life by affecting the metabolic balance, behavior, and even fertility of different fish (Kosyreva, 2022). Not only do microplastics affect aquatic organisms but it has been recently studied to find harmful effects in humans. As different chemicals leach onto different items like plastic water bottles these items can enter our bodies. A variety of health issues can be caused by microplastics like endocrine disruption, insulin resistance, and cancer (Shabani, 2023). More research is continuing to assess microplastics and health impacts. This is very frightening when we start to think about how much plastic is involved in our day-to-day use. Once more research starts to discuss impacts this will hopefully create stricter policies that companies have to abide by to eliminate the use of them or consider different options like bioplastics as mentioned by Culhane.

Lastly, module two discussed biofuels and how algae could be a key biomass to help with pollution. In my Renewable Transportation Fuels course, we discussed a variety of biomasses that could be potential replacements for fossil fuels. Algae can be a great biofuel because of its high growth rate, year-round production, and no requirement for agricultural land (Philippidis, 2023, 2). I think algae is a great idea for biofuels but the main issue is the cost of technology and production. The best way to promote algae as a biofuel is by developing cost reduction strategies like incentives to stakeholders who become involved in the process. Another idea is giving grants and helping research in efficient cost-effective methodologies of producing algae biofuel. 

References

Kosyreva, A. (2022, June 14). Harmful effects of the microplastic pollution on animal health: a literature review. NCBI. Retrieved January 22, 2024, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9205308/

NSIDC. (2023, December 21). Antarctic melt season off to fast start; Greenland 2023 melt season review. National Snow and Ice Data Center. Retrieved January 22, 2024, from https://nsidc.org/ice-sheets-today/analyses/antarctic-melt-season-fast-start-greenland-2023-melt-season-review#anchor-3

Philippidis, G. P. (2023). Algae Technologies.

Shabani, Z. (2023, June 5). Microplastics on Human Health: How much do they harm us? United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved January 22, 2024, from https://www.undp.org/kosovo/blog/microplastics-human-health-how-much-do-they-harm-us

UCI News. (2023, October 16). Ice sheet surface melt is accelerating in Greenland and slowing in Antarctica. UCI News. Retrieved January 22, 2024, from https://news.uci.edu/2023/10/16/ice-sheet-surface-melt-is-accelerating-in-greenland-and-slowing-in-antarctica/

Module 3 Relational Summary

This week the lecture discussed solar cities and how important it is when discussing climate change. Culhane mentioned Australia becoming one of the leaders in the movement around 2007. As programs have continued, Australia has been able to test different sustainable models for electricity use. For instance, over one million solar panels in the Western Downs Green Power Hub (Over One Million Solar Panels Powering Australia's Largest Solar Farm, 2023). The most eye-opening part about the farm is that it can power about 235,000 homes. The power that the sun provides us is truly amazing and can create a multitude of opportunities like providing jobs and clean sources of energy. My classmate James Fernandez discussed how not only is Australia a successful story of viability in solar technology but so is Israel. In addition, Megan Blair mentioned that the benefits of solar can boost poorer communities and help the environmental quality.

Another topic that was mentioned in the lecture was nuclear energy. Nuclear energy was first brought up to me when I learned about Chernobyl. When I heard the implications and aftermath of the four reactors exploding, I was shocked that nuclear energy had such a strong impact on the planet. Not only did the explosion affect the city but also caused radioactive rainfall in Ireland (Lindahl & Young, 2019). Radiation sickness can cause a variety of health issues. People who were diagnosed with acute radiation syndrome had a variety of symptoms like bone marrow syndrome, and gastrointestinal syndrome (Lanese, 2019). When you hear horror stories this causes the public to not want nuclear energy due to the implications that could happen if there are defects in the system. Natalie McGinniss mentioned how dangerous nuclear energy could be and that finding other safe alternatives should be prioritized.

In addition, another discussion Culhane mentioned was solar ACs. This drew my eye because they could be very useful in helping offset electrical prices and cut your carbon footprint. Air conditioner use is around 6 percent of all electricity in the United States with an annual cost of $29 billion to homeowners (Energy Saver, n.d.). By using solar air conditioners you can offset carbon emissions and reduce energy demand as conventional AC systems overload electricity grids specifically in the summer. I have had my AC break multiple times or freeze and even had to buy a brand new unit for our house. Sometimes when it becomes super hot the system freezes over and causes the AC unit not to work. I feel like having a solar AC system could be very beneficial for people in Florida as it is always sunny.

References

Energy Saver. (n.d.). Air Conditioning. Department of Energy. Retrieved February 25, 2024, from https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/air-conditioning

Lanese, N. (2019, July 16). The Real Chernobyl: Q&A With a Radiation Exposure Expert. UCSF. Retrieved February 25, 2024, from https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2019/07/414976/real-chernobyl-qa-radiation-exposure-expert

Lindahl, R., & Young, N. (2019, September 13). 15 Things You Didn't Know About Chernobyl. Greenpeace. Retrieved February 25, 2024, from https://www.greenpeace.org/aotearoa/story/15-things-you-didnt-know-about-chernobyl/

Over one million solar panels powering Australia's largest solar farm. (2023, April 5). Media Statements. Retrieved February 25, 2024, from https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/97526