Month: March 2019

All of the green initiatives and products I’ve explored this past semester are great ways to help save the planet and make our Earth a cleaner, better place. But unfortunately, there are a lot of reasons why these solutions aren’t as effective as they could be. There are many, many roadblocks in the way of everyday citizens that keep them from being green.

A lot of the problems facing the environment today are humongous. Some of these large-scale problems include climate change, massive extinctions, and ocean acidification. Others include the Pacific Garbage Patch, greenhouse gas emissions, and landfills. Because of how large these problems are, everyday people don’t know where to start. Each person plays such a small role as well that unless there’s a massive movement of people working to save the environment, it’s likely that, for example, the recycling habits of one person won’t have much of an effect on the amount of plastic that ends up in the ocean or the amount of plastic bags that sit in landfills. Because of this, larger companies, which impact the environment way more than the average citizen, should be the ones taking initiative to improve the environmental condition. A report by The Guardian has shown that over 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions have come from only 100 companies. Shouldn’t it be primarily their responsibility then?

Image by BBC News

As consumers, it’s incredibly difficult to see the impact that our purchasing choices can have on the environment. First of all, the majority of the things we buy are made out of plastic that required a lot of energy to produce and transport. Eventually, the plastic object we’re purchasing will probably end up in a landfill. The first thing that came to my mind when I though of this was plastic deck furniture. The furniture serves its purpose for a while until it gets accidentally left outside during a tropical storm and loses a leg. There’s no initiative about recycling patio furniture, so that massive piece of plastic just goes into the trash.

The world we live in also encourages busyness. Many adults work all day long and then come home to take care of their families. College students spend their days running from one class and one meeting to the next. They spend their nights pounding out homework and finally taking a moment for themselves to relax a bit before the next day. All of this busyness and stress leaves very little head space and time to care about something like the environment. There are so many other things occupying our time that we forget about the environment.

Convenience plays a large factor too. Because of our busy nature, we don’t have the time to consider the environment and will therefore opt for the easiest way of life. A very practical example of this is single-use products. Many will opt for disposable coffee cups as opposed to bringing a travel mug because they won’t have to carry it around all day long and won’t have to wash it when they get home. This is also a common excuse for not recycling. I’m guilty of this too. Sometimes I just don’t feel like putting in the extra effort to carry my disposable water bottle or food container to the recycling station. This is evident in a lot of college students too who chose not to take advantage of the benefits, both environmental and personal, of the Green2Go program on campus. As a result, there’s a lot of Styrofoam takeout containers that end up in the trash.

Income has a major role in how involved people can be in saving the planet as well. Low income areas have a harder time going green as explored in a Grist article. This article focuses on the struggle that citizens in low-income communities of Detroit have in regards to going green with light energy. 130 stores in Wayne County, Michigan were surveyed to compare the prices of LED and incandescent lightbulbs. It was found that in wealthier areas, an incandescent bulb cost $2.10 while an LED cost $5.20. In the poorer areas of the county, an incandescent bulb cost $1.63 each while LEDs cost $7.87. Even though having these more energy efficient light bulbs would benefit the poorer community immensely and enable them to participate in the green movement, people in poor communities will probably opt for the cheaper incandescent bulb without any thought. Survival is of the utmost importance, not saving the environment.

Image by Swalco

Taking part in the green movement to save the environment is definitely a challenge that will require us to inconvenience ourselves a little bit. But ultimately, it’ll be worth it if it means we can save this planet for future generations. I know that you might not feel like recycling that bottle or going out of your way to drink coffee out of a reusable mug. But trust me. You won’t regret it.

 

The automobile has its origins in Germany and France in the late 1800s thanks to the inventors Gottlieb Daimler, Emile Levassor, Karl Benz, and Nicolaus Otto. During the beginning of the 1900s, Europe’s automobile market was much more advanced than that of America. The first modern motorcar is thought to be the European 1901 Mercedes. In America, the automobile industry began growing with the first American gasoline automobile being invented in 1893 and the first sale being made in 1896. 1899 brought the production of 2500 cars. In 1908, Henry Ford entered the scene with the introduction of the Model T, which sold for $825. As the years passed, the industry really grew and by the 1920s, three major car companies emerged: Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. Specifically in regards to Ford, the Model T was withdrawn from production in 1927, and at that point, 15 million units had been sold, each at a price of $290. The automobile was made very accessible to the average American very quickly, and for this reason, America quickly passed Europe in terms of advancement and growth in the industry. Over the course of the following years, the industry changed, adapted, and progressed into the modern industry we know today.

Photo by Wikipedia

It’s incredible how cars have enabled us to get from place to place in such a short period of time. However, cars fueled by gasoline take a tremendous toll on the environment. A lot of energy is required to make the materials used to build cars: steel, rubber, glass, plastics, paints, etc. This alone has a large impact on the environment. But, the majority of the car’s environmental impact, estimated at about 80-90% is a result of fuel consumption and emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere. In regards to air quality, about one-third of all U.S. air pollution is a result of gasoline-powered vehicles. The main fuel source is petroleum, and the removal of this fuel from the earth requires a lot of energy and can harm neighboring ecosystems. The petroleum then needs to be shipped, which requires a lot of energy, and occasionally, oil spills occur. These spills have a tremendous effect on marine life. Many animals mistake the mixture of oil and water for food and consume it, which produces fatal toxins in their bodies. The oil can also cause many deaths as a result of the breaking down of fur and feathers.

It’s hard to determine exactly when the first electric car came out because of how many developments were occurring in the 1800s. In the United States, the first electric car was made in 1890 by William Morisson. It could hold six passengers but could only go a maximum speed of 14 miles per hour. By 1900, electric cars were quite developed and about one third of all vehicles on the road at that time were electric cars. This trend continued for the next ten years. The reason that electric cars were so popular during this time was because they were much easier to drive than cars powered by gasoline. It was also easy to charge them because of how electricity was becoming more accessible. When the Model T came out, it presented some serious competition to the electric car because of its affordable price of $650 compared to $1750 for the electric car. Over the next few decades, electric cars lost popularity because of how affordable gasoline was. As environmental awareness has increased and our oil reserves have shrunk, the electric car has gained popularity in recent years. Electric cars comprise about three percent of current car sales and are expected to grow to close to seven percent by 2020.

Photo by Wharton University of Pennsylvania

Because electric cars run on electricity, they don’t have a tailpipe and therefore don’t emit any gas emissions, making them much more environmentally friendly. However, energy is required to produce the electricity that the cars utilize. It’s estimated that “all-electric vehicles emit an average of around 4450 pounds of CO₂ equivalent each year”. Gasoline-powered cars emit over twice as much annually. The majority of electricity produced is done so by the burning of natural gas and fossil fuels. Natural gas is primarily used because it’s considered the “cleanest” fossil fuel, producing 50 to 60 percent fewer CO₂ emissions than coal. So, it’s likely that electric cars have fewer emissions than gasoline cars.

It’s definitely clear that electric cars are better for the environment. But, because of the small percentage of all vehicles that they make up, they aren’t as effective as they could be in reducing gas emissions.