Penn State Recycling: For the Earth or For the Money?

October 18, 2013 by 2 Comments

http://sustainability.psu.edu/sites/default/files/resize/images/Mobi.CloseLoop-175x173.jpg

Have you seen this guy around campus recently? It seems that everywhere you go there’s a set of collection bins with a picture of a friendly Möbius loop urging you to recycle. As the posters around campus are eager to tell you, Penn State named its recycling program Möbius to represent Penn State’s commitment to “closing the loop” on solid waste. In other words, Penn State wants to divert as much waste as possible from the landfill. Currently, 65% of waste at Penn State does not end up in a landfill, which is projected to increase to 75% with the implementation of composting receptacles across the campus this year. In 2012, Penn State generated 15,372 tons of solid waste–that’s equivalent to the weight of almost 10,000 mid-size sedans, although the preferred unit of measurement by Penn State is (rather specifically)…adult bull elephants? I’m not sure what’s up with the elephants–my usual frame of reference for how heavy something is doesn’t usually include elephants, but hey, I guess whatever works…

 

However, while concern for the environment is likely part of the reason for Penn State’s new recycling and composting initiative, the main attraction is likely cost. The university has to pay about $70 for every ton of trash it disposes of at a landfill, but only $5 or $20 per ton for recyclables. If Penn State didn’t divert any of its waste, it would have to pay upwards of $1 million in disposal fees. The university saved almost $700,000 last year as a result of its waste diverting efforts. And that money goes to good use–so far, Penn State has raised over $800,000 for scholarships and charities as a result of its recycling program. And of course the rest of the savings help reduce the university’s operating costs. So every time we throw that water bottle in the trash because the recycling bin is too far down the hallway, we might just be adding to our annual tuition increase…

 

For more information: sustainability.psu.edu

 

Next week: a look into what actually happens to that bottle after you put it in the recycling bin.

 

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A (Very) Rough Draft of my Paradigm Shift Paper

October 18, 2013 by 3 Comments

When did the computer truly become personal?

The first electronic general-purpose computer, ENIAC, was developed mainly for the US Army to assist with research calculations on ballistics. The ENIAC was a 30-ton behemoth with an 1800 square-foot footprint. An article in the Chicago Daily Tribune in 1946 announcing the war department’s unveiling of the ENIAC conveys a public attitude of awe and amazement–a machine that could perform 5,000 additions per second. Today’s computers (and smartphones) measure in the billions per second. But the point is that the ENIAC, like most early computing machines, was viewed by the public as a device used for important, top-secret calculations and scientific research. Today that attitude has shifted to super computers, while the ordinary computer, smartphone, or tablet (a “super computer” compared to the ENIAC) has taken its place in our pockets and backpacks.

What developments in technology caused this shift from the computer’s revered status to its relegation to a device for tweeting what you ate for dinner?

Has the PC’s role as the “personal computer” come to an end with the widespread adoption of “post-PC” devices such as smartphones and tablets?

What is the real personal computer of today? I would argue that it is the smartphone.

How did smartphones become mainstream? (adoption rates, etc.)

What was the public attitude surrounding the release of the first iPhone in 2007 compared to the release of the ENIAC in 1946?

How did computers transition from a novelty–something only used by experts–to something many people find essential to their everyday routines today?

My argument is that the release of the 1st generation iPhone sparked a movement to the post-PC era. It was one of the first widely-adopted smartphones to exist and one of the first to incorporate multi-touch technology. But it almost didn’t go as planned; after over two years of research and development, the iPhone still wasn’t working on the day it was scheduled to be demoed for the world. It was a make-or-break moment–if the iPhone made an unfavorable impression on the public, what would have happened?

Filed Under: RCL Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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