Category: Uncategorized

How Electrifying Everything Became a Key Climate Solution – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

The Push for Electric Vehicles

My previous blog post on electric vehicles touched on the concept of electric vehicles and their various effects and consequences. This post is intended to examine the current state of the electric revolution in the United States.

Many parties, including policymakers, car manufacturers, and the public, are advocating for sustainable and green solutions. As mentioned in the previous blog post, automobiles and the transportation sector significantly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change; therefore, electric vehicles play an important role in a more sustainable future.

To recap, electric vehicles have gained tremendous traction in recent years thanks to advancements in technology, environmental concerns, and business investments.

Currently, the Biden Administration has set ambitious goals for the growth of the electric vehicle market. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also set significant steps to further promote the electric revolution.

Biden’s Plan for Electric Vehicles 

President Biden’s goal is to achieve a carbon-free transportation sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050. To achieve this goal, he plans to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles, aiming for 50% of new car sales to be electric vehicles by 2030.

To achieve these ambitious goals, there needs to be advancements and investments in electric vehicle manufacturing and innovation. These are the components of the proposed $174 billion investment for the electric vehicle market over the next ten years:

• “Installing the first-ever national network of electric vehicle charging stations.”
  • Specifically, building 500,000 EV charging stations across the country
• “Delivering point-of-sale consumer incentives to spur U.S. manufacturing and union jobs.”
• “Financing the retooling and expansion of the full domestic manufacturing supply chain.”
• “Innovating the next generation of clean technologies to maintain our competitive edge.”

This EV investment proposal is paired with the proposal of a stricter fuel efficiency standard for new vehicles, similar to the standards in California. It would require automakers to produce more fuel-efficient cars and reduce emissions.

How Electrifying Everything Became a Key Climate Solution – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

The EPA’s Plans for the Electric Revolution

In addition to the Biden Administration, the EPA is playing a significant role in promoting electric vehicles. The agency proposes specific regulations requiring automakers to reduce vehicles’ greenhouse gas emissions by 10% per year until 2026. The EPA also regularly invests in the EV industry to support the advancement of technology and vehicle infrastructure.

These regulations paired with the electric vehicle revolution would make large strides toward reaching the zero-emissions goal.

Overall, the transportation sector is a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which negatively affect the environment. There are many possibilities to take when considering a greener, more sustainable present and future. One of these paths includes new, stricter standards and electric vehicles. With support and investment from the Biden Administration and the EPA, the electric vehicle market will make significant advancement and progress, hopefully leading to a greener future.

The aviation industry is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions. In the few years before the COVID pandemic, the aviation industry emitted roughly a billion metric tons of carbon dioxide.

 

Change

The world is turning its efforts to a more sustainable future and renewable energy. Many countries have set goals to reach net-zero carbon emissions. In order to achieve this goal, they must address the emission of the aviation sector which contributes about 2% of global carbon emissions. In accordance with these goals, the aviation sector has set its eyes on attaining zero carbon emissions in the future.

Is this highly ambitious goal attainable?

It is feasible with technological advancements and investments from industry stakeholders.

The aviation sector has already made considerable progress in lowering its carbon impact in efforts to reach this Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)

The use of SAF is one measure to reach these sustainable goals. SAF is made from sustainable sources such as used cooking oil and agricultural waste. When compared to conventional jet fuel, SAF can lower carbon emissions by up to 80%. SAF is already being used by numerous airlines and is anticipated to spread more in the upcoming years.

Revolutionary Designs

The creation of electric and hybrid-electric aircraft is another important project. Even incremental improvements to airplane design, engines, and aerodynamics can conserve energy use and reduce carbon emissions. These designs and plans would be actualized best in short and medium-range operations. In order for these designs and improvements to occur, many businesses need to invest in the research and development of redesigned frames, fuel storage, delivery methods, battery-life, etc.

Alternate Fuels – Hydrogen

Another measure to achieve carbon zero goals is the use of various alternative fuels, such as hydrogen. This method also requires innovation and collaboration from multiple companies including CFM, Airbus, GE and Safran. They are working on a hydrogen-powered engine. This clean burning hydrogen fuel would only emit water as a byproduct during combustion. This measure would make significant progress in reaching a zero-emission aviation future.

In conclusion,

the aviation sector has ambitiously set a target of zero carbon emissions in the future. Although achieving this objective may seem difficult, advances in technology and commitment from the business community can lead to tremendous progress in lowering its carbon footprint. The research, development, and implementation of sustainable aviation fuel, electric and hybrid-electric aircraft, alternative fuels, and other environmentally friendly practices will lead to lowering the industry’s carbon footprint, battling climate change.

The Amazon

The Amazon rainforest is a large tropical rainforest in South America that covers an area of 2,000,000 square feet. The rainforest is characterized by its high rainfall, high vegetation, high humidity, and high temperatures.

The Amazon is a huge biological reservoir, containing millions of species of insects, plants, animals, and other forms of life. Overall, it is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. In addition to housing many species of life, the Amazon plays an important role in photosynthesis, the water cycle, and on the communities around it.

What’s Going On?

The Amazon has become the target and location of oil drilling. These activities have affected the environment, wildlife, and surrounding communities.

Deforestation

A significant amount of vegetation and flora has been removed from the Amazon to make room for oil drilling activities. The forest is replaced by pipelines, access roads, and drilling operations. The following are some consequences of deforestation:

• Increased contribution to climate change: There are less trees to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The process and machinery used to remove trees and vegetation burn fossil fuels, contributing to the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
• Loss of Habitat: The trees and vegetation in the rainforest are home to other plants and animals. The loss of habitat displaces species and, in extreme cases, leads to endangerment and extinction.

Pollution

• 

  The machinery and operations used for oil drilling use fossil fuels, releasing greenhouse gases.

• Furthermore, these operations can produce oil spills and toxic waste. These harmful chemicals can contaminate the surrounding area in rivers, soil, and air.
  • This can cause health problems and even death to animals or humans who use these resources to survive.
  • Oil can cause immediate harm to fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
  • Oil can coat the fur, feathers, and scales of animals, impeding their ability to move, breathe, and regulate body temperature.

People

Many indigenous communities surrounding the Amazon depend on its resources to survive. However, oil companies often disregard or overlooked these communities and their rights, traditions, and practices. As oil companies use the Amazon to drill oil, indigenous people lose their home and land, may become displaced, and may be forced to assimilate.

The presence of oil companies can lead to further conflicts. These large corporations, government officials, and security forces can create a tense atmosphere. A tense atmosphere paired with a lack of regulation or accountability can lead to violence and human rights abuses.

In conclusion,

oil drilling in the Amazon has far-reaching consequences. Therefore, the need for oil drilling activities should be reconsidered. Society should instead work on finding sustainable alternatives to meet energy needs.

Recognizing the problem with plastic and curbing its impact.

Plastic is heavily used around the world. The characteristics of plastic, such as flexibility, strength, and light weight, make it extremely useful. It is in clothing, packaging, technology, and medical devices. While its use in medical devices and technologies is useful, its use in packaging and single-use products is harmful. A significant percentage of plastic consumption, about 40%, goes to packaging and single-use plastic products.

Plastic is a major contributor to climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

• Climate Change: Majority of plastics are produced with fossil fuels, resulting in plastic being responsible for 3.4% of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Biodiversity loss: If they are not recycled, plastics can also kill marine life by entering food chains or entangling them.
• Pollution: Plastic particles can be found in soil, water, air, and even us. In the environment, plastic can take hundreds of years to degrade. The rate of degradation is too slow to keep up with the rate of use and disposal of single-use plastics.

Many individuals, communities, and nations are attempting to address the plastic problem. But what methods are most effective? What methods are most feasible?

Some are looking towards recycling for answers and solutions. Others are looking at limiting plastic production and banning single-use plastic products. 

Recycling

Recycling does make an impact on the environment. Recycling materials reduces the extraction of virgin materials. Therefore, products from recycled materials are less energy-intensive than products made of raw materials.

However, despite recycling efforts, many plastics still end up in a landfill. The voluntary recycling efforts in some nations has not proven effective enough to mitigate the effects of plastic waste at the scale necessary. Overall, the impact of recycling is relatively small compared to other possible actions.

Therefore, others are looking to more effective methods of curbing the impacts of plastic waste.

Limit Plastic Production and Plastic Bans

The idea of legislative limitations to address environmental efforts is not new. It has proven effective before. The Montreal Protocol limited the production of chemicals that harmed the environment. Therefore, a ban on plastic use and limitation on the production of plastics with strict targets/goals could better address the plastic problem.

Plastic consumption and production are increasing at a rate that cannot be combatted solely with recycling. It must be addressed at the source as well.

Some nations and cities have banned several single-use plastics, such as plastic bags, plastic plates, and plastic cutlery. 

Although this is a step in the right direction, there is still much progress to be made.

What are Thermokarst lakes?

Thermokarst lakes are lakes that form due to the thawing of permafrost. Permafrost in Alaska is ground that is supposed to stay frozen all-year long. However, due to climate change and rising temperatures, this permafrost has been thawing. The ice blocks within the permafrost have been melting, causing the permafrost ground to collapse. This leads to sinkholes that can fill with water, creating thermokarst lakes. A notable thermokarst lake is Big Trail Lake.

What’s the Deal with Thermokarst Lakes?

These newly formed lakes are “belching,” or releasing significant amounts of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.

As the permafrost thaws, dead plants and other organisms that were frozen in the ice are released. As the sinkhole forms, microbes enter the forming lake. These microbes decompose the newly released dead plants and organisms. This decomposition process releases carbon dioxide and methane.

Additionally, in some rare cases, pathways in the ice can form as the permafrost melts. These pathways can release methane gases that were trapped deep underground.

During the summer, the methane gas contained in the lake freely bubble up to the surface and release into the atmosphere.

During the winter, two possible things can happen. One, the methane gas can bubble up to the surface and prevent ice from forming, creating pockets of water that continue to release methane gas into the atmosphere. Two, the methane gas bubbles can freeze on the surface and create ice domes.

These lakes are such high levels of methane that when the ice bubbles are punctured, they can light on fire.

Why Is This Important?

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. It is about 30 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Therefore, it is an important factor to pay attention to when discussing climate change and possible ways to control climate change.

There are multiple sources of methane emissions into the atmosphere: thermokarst lakes, wetlands, agriculture, landfills, and gas leaks. Human activities, such as agriculture, landfills, and leaks can be controlled and addressed by humans.

However, as temperatures increase, the natural contributors of methane emissions, such as thermokarst lakes and wetlands can increase in severity. The release of methane from these sources contributes to the trapping of heat in the atmosphere, which in turn causes temperatures to increase and permafrost to melt. This can lead to a negative feedback loop that can develop beyond human control.

Therefore, it is important to acknowledge the significance of thermokarst lakes and discuss potential plans of action to control their methane emissions before the negative feedback loop develops out of human control.

What’s the deal with electric cars?

Many nations and governments have been looking for ways to reach the climate change goals set by the 2015 Paris Agreement. One of these goals include decreasing the amount of global greenhouse gas emissions to limit the increase in global temperatures.

A major contributor of greenhouse gases is the transportation sector. In the U.S., the transportation sector, largely comprised of passenger vehicles, accounts for 27% of national greenhouse gas emissions as of 2020. The majority of passenger vehicles used by Americans run on gasoline. These conventional vehicles that use an internal combustion engine emit greenhouse gas emissions directly from the tailpipe.

In efforts to combat the modern combustion vehicle, there has been a wave of electric vehicles. These vehicles are claimed to release less greenhouse gas emissions than combustion vehicles. Therefore, in order to reach climate change goals, many car manufacturers have released statements communicating their intent to have all electric vehicles by a certain date. Improvements in technology and research and development have also played a role in the growth of the electric vehicle industry by improving battery life and decreasing costs.

All-electric vehicles release zero greenhouse gas emissions from their tailpipe, since they run on electricity.

However, electric and hybrid vehicles have various consequences and implications.

When evaluating the environmental implications of electric vehicles, it is important to consider the source of electricity and raw materials used to manufacture and power these vehicles.

The average electrical grid in the U.S. includes a mix of natural gases and renewable energy sources. In this case, electric vehicles are more environmentally friendly than conventional vehicles that combust natural gases. However, if the electric vehicle is being charged on a power grid heavily reliant on coal, the vehicle may have a similar carbon footprint to a hybrid vehicle.

Therefore, a power grid’s source of energy affects the “greenness” of electric vehicles.

Furthermore, ethical and environmental concerns have been raised over the extraction of raw materials used to manufacture electric vehicles.

The extraction of cobalt, used to make the batteries for electric vehicles, has raised several concerns. Extraction of cobalt can leave behind harmful materials called tailings. The smelting of cobalt can also result in hazardous slag. These mining procedures harmed the environment and has raised numerous human rights concerns. Many of the workers are children that are threatened by the working conditions and environmental impacts.

In conclusion, there are many factors to consider when evaluating the environmental impact of electric vehicles. There is still progress to be made on the development and manufacturing of electric vehicles and cleaning up electric grids.