Ecological Footprint Re-calculation

gillj7 Circular Economy, Green Living

When I first took the Ecological Footprint quiz, I was shocked my score was 1.5 Earths. Sure I recycled and composted everything and had pretty good habits like unplugging all the wires from the outlets when I wasn’t using them, it still seemed high. Especially since I had terrible eating habits. I ate a lot of processed food and anything fresh, such as fruits and vegetables, was not local or organic. So, when I retook the EF quiz and received 1.8 it felt right. I think I must have messed up some calculations the first time to score as low as I did. My true EF score at the beginning of the quarter had to be over 2 Earths easily.

I am very pleased that I followed all my goals to reduce my EF–I’m assuming it did indeed decrease because I can guarantee my habits are a lot more greener now than they were at the beginning of the quarter. I didn’t meet my goal of 1 Earth, which I knew was farfetched but it was still worth a try. The biggest impact I think came from the Food category. I used to eat poultry products every single day and I successfully reduced that down to 2-3 times a week. During the past two weeks alone I only took the bus three times. I used to ride the bus at least two times every day to and from class. I kept carpooling and decreased the amount of time I spent in the shower to around 12 minutes (except when I wash my hair, then it’s not feasible). I’m also buying more organic and not eating as much processed food as I usually have which is not only good for the planet but me too. As I have stuck to my goals the entire quarter, I think it’s safe to say I won’t be reverting to bad habits as easily I’d feared I would.

Article 10: Water from Desert Air

gillj7 Innovative Ideas, Water Use ,

Article 10: Power Pulls Drinking Water from Desert Air

Moisture Evaporator (left) from “Star Wars”

The second I read this article I became intrigued and thought how futuristic and sci-fi it sounded. In the article, it actually referenced Star Wars. The idea is to suck the humidity out of desert air and turn it into drinkable water. How it works it that you have a powder-filled box within another box and it’s left open in the night and when you close it in the morning, it helps heat and water vapor become trapped inside. The water condenses and trickles down the side. There are limitations though as this method only results in three ounces of water a day.

“The water goes in and the first ones go in and make the pores more polar and so more water comes in.” –Omar Yaghi, U.C. Berkeley chemist

Water is the most valuable commodity on Earth yet it is not treat at it’s true worth. Water scarcity is a huge issue and some places in the U.S., such as California, it’s already gotten so bad that they’re passing water restricting laws. As desperation and the eminent threat of lack of drinking water grows, I’m curious to see what kinds of solutions and innovative ideas begin to rise.

 

Source: GreenBiz

Author: Christopher Intagliata

https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/powder-pulls-drinking-water-from-desert-air/

 

 

 

 

Article 9: War on Plastic

gillj7 Circular Economy ,

Article 9: 5 Ways for Businesses to Cut Down on Their Plastic Waste

About a month ago, I read an article on CNBC talking about scientists who had, accidentally, created an enzyme that would help make breaking plastic (PET) down easier. Plastic is a hot topic right now and something everyone who cares about sustainability is obsessed with, trying to figure out the best solution or method for dealing with this persistent material that just refuses to die. This article outlined some ways of dealing with it.

Five Ways of Cutting Down on Plastic

  • Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: An oldie but a goodie. Don’t use plastic when you can avoid it, reuse it, in packaging for example, and recycle
  • Think Through the Consequences: Consider what happens to products at the end of their lifecycle and integrate that into the design (as Ottman called it: Build In, Not Bolted On)
  • Talk to the Waste Industry: Before you go building something, make sure there’s a waste contractor who can deal with it
  • Don’t Forget the Polar Bears: You don’t want a polar bear to be homeless because your product contributed to climate change and melted her home, do you?
  • Shift the Economics: Once it’s in their best monetary interest to be greener, consumers will develop sustainable habits

 

 

Source: GreenBiz

Author: Madeline Cuff

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/5-ways-businesses-cut-down-their-plastic-waste

 

 

 

Article 8: Second Life for Tires

gillj7 Circular Economy, Manufacturing , , ,

Article 8: How Michelin is finding a second life for tires

 

I did not think the tire industry was big on recycling but they are. Although it has less to do with them being environmentally conscious and more with the high cost of buying rubber. A lot of the castoffs end up being burned yet it’s still better than being dumped in a landfill. Every year in the U.S. more than 300 million tires are disposed of. Last year, French tire company Michelin bought Lehigh Technologies, whose specialty is turning the end-of-life tires into micronized rubber powder (MRP), which has many functions such as serving as feedstock for the higher performance tires sold by Michelin.

“…Lehigh’s technologies will become increasingly integral to Michelin’s shift toward a closed-loop production cycle that uses fewer raw or virgin inputs, according to the company’s top executive.”

According to the article, 42 million pounds of tires were repurposed into welcome mats last year. With Michelin behind them, Lehigh is interested in exploring non-traditional markets such as plastics, consumer goods, coatings, sealants, construction materials and even car parts. They are looking to expand use of MRP for things like a car headrest, and carpet and flooring. Times is so far the biggest gating factor.

 

Source: GreenBiz

Author: Heather Clancy

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-michelin-finding-second-life-tires

 

 

 

Article 7: Water Scarcity

gillj7 Water Use ,

Article 7: Damming evidence: Communities turn to reusing wastewater as scarcity threatens  

One of the biggest problems we face today is water scarcity. Unfortunately, people don’t act until they are punched in the face with the fact there is little to no clean water. Such was the case with Orange County as water scarcity finally pushed them to make huge leaps in environmental innovation. The article outlined many solutions to the problem including, from cheapest to most expensive, smart-meter leak detection, desalination of brackish water (usually in aquifers), wastewater recycling, stormwater capture, reservoirs, and ocean desalination. There are a lot of overdrawn aquifers just sitting waiting to be filled with wastewater to be cleansed and made useable again.

According to the article, many countries such as Canada, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand have rechargeable well fields. Essentially, they recharge aquifers by pumping or draining water into them. Despite dams being the second most expensive option, communities refuse to switch to more long-term options not because of monetary reasons but because of politics. There is also a so-called “yuck factor” involved. People don’t like the idea of using wastewater that had been purified.

We give value to something based on how much we pay for it. Water is perhaps the most valuable source on Earth but if we look at how much it costs, the price does not reflect that value. As I read in an EPA article about water services, there is a perception that water is worth little because we pay little to no money. There are plenty of easy and cheap—or cheaper compared to traditional options out there. But people are stubborn and set in their ways and they don’t act until the issue becomes critical. Thankfully, as more evidence compiles in proving climate change is real, legislations are finally cracking down on those who contribute to the problem. I hope this issue gains some much-needed traction in this period from that.

 

Source: GreenBiz

Author: Jacques Leslie

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/damming-evidence-communities-turn-reusing-wastewater-scarcity-threatens

 

 

 

 

Article 6: Apple, Alcoa, Rio Tinto

gillj7 Manufacturing , , ,

Article 6: Why Apple is getting cozy with aluminum giants Alcoa and Rio Tinto

I am a big lover of Apple. All the electronic products I own are Apple: iPhone, iPod, iPad, MacBook Air. So I was quite happy to read this article. Three years ago, Apple engineers brought together the two largest aluminum smelters in the world, Alcoa and Rio Tinto, as they were looking for way to reduce their carbon footprint. Thus, Elysis was born, a joint venture between Alcoa, Rio Tinto, and Apple to come up with a smelting process that would not only eliminate carbon but produce oxygen. It will not only decrease something negative but create something positive, which is a huge leap forward.

In their 2018 environmental progress report, Apple stated that 24% of their greenhouse gas emissions come from aluminum manufacturing. Meaning they can eliminate a quarter of their GHG emissions, which is the equivalent of removing 1.8 million cars from the road.

I checked AAPL’s stock for the 11thwhen this article came out and it was about 190 per share. It’s dipped to around 187 in the past few days. Though I believe the drop is related to the class action lawsuit against Apple over the butterfly keyboards of their MacBook’s.

 

Source: GreenBiz

Author: Heather Clancy

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/why-apple-getting-cozy-aluminum-giants-alcoa-and-rio-tinto

 

 

 

 

Article 5: Food Waste and New Consumer Products

gillj7 Agriculture

Article 5: These startups are turning surplus food into new consumer products

We live in a country where perfectly good food is wasted because of cosmetics—it doesn’t pass the beauty test. People have been trained to think if food is ugly it bad. And it has led to countless to a lot of waste as vegetables that look hideous are tossed out and never make it to the stores. I thought we should follow Europe’s example and start selling the “Ugly” vegetables for less. Then I ran across this article and I was intrigued by these individuals who came up with ideas on getting more products and food that’s already been consumed and considered as waste. Some of the companies include:

  • Drexel University Food Lab – America loves avocadoes. And graduates Sheetal Bahirat and Christa Kwaw-Yankson came up with a fruity tasting pink tea made from avocado pits.
  • Lazy Bear Tea – Daniela Uribe founded it with Erik Ornitz and Drew Fink. Lazy Bear Tea sells a drink made from dried cascara and “when steeped in hot water tastes not like coffee but like a smooth black tea” and is sold in more than 30 Boston stores.
  • ReGrained – A certified B Corporation in San Francisco that takes used grains from mid-sized breweries to create snack bars. This provides the breweries with another source of revenue and they can tell their customers about their sustainable cause. It was founded in 2013 by Daniel Kurzrock and Jordon Schwartz.

Two of the biggest issues with the idea of turning the surplus food into a new product are the fears associated with health risks as well as the fact you don’t want to add more ingredients to save one. One way ReGrained has tackled the issue of the fear of being liable for food safety is by partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The job of the USDA was to assure consumers “that ReGrained’s process was operating safely and efficiently.”

 

Source: GreenBiz

Author: Danielle Beurteaux

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/these-startups-are-turning-surplus-food-new-consumer-products

 

 

 

Article 4: Internal Collaboration and Sustainability

gillj7 Leadership ,

Article 4: 4 ways to increase internal collaboration and advance sustainability objectives

It is becoming common place for companies to have sustainability teams. There are many articles and videos highlighting the importance of teamwork and strategies for specific departments of a company. The article had key success factors that were good advice for teamwork in general in the workplace but also suggestions for sustainable teams primarily. Here are the four factors:

Focus on internal engagement using a materiality principle

Try to understand your co-workers’ priorities in other functions and focusing on synergies. Then you can use a materiality assessment to identity the key priorities and create a program “focused on departments with the most potential influence, collaboration potential, and relevant expertise.”

Educate your colleagues about sustainability; but don’t forget to learn from them, too

Don’t treat education as a one-way street. Sustainability teams often think they must raise awareness on issues such as climate change but miss the chance to learn something in return. It is important to understand their goals if you wish to work well together.

Recognize that government that matters, a lot

You cannot fit the issues organizations are facing into one department as they often cross over. This can cause accountability to diffuse which is why it a solid governance structure must be in place. You must care that they “provide clarity over who is responsible for what.”

Understand your corporate culture

To build a company with strong values and a purpose, it is essential to understand the corporate culture to make an effective agent of change.

 

Source: GreenBiz

Article: 4 ways to increase internal collaboration and advance sustainability objectives

Author: Allison Taylor and Elizabeth Best

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/4-ways-increase-internal-collaboration-and-advance-sustainability-objectives

 

 

Article 3: Plastic Eating Enzyme

gillj7 Sustainable Energy ,

Article 3: Scientists develop ‘mutant’ enzyme that eats plastic

Last quarter I had a finance class and I got into the habit of checking stocks and financial news on CNBC. And when I saw this title on their Most Popular stories last week my curiosity was piqued. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is found in plastic bottles and can last for hundreds of years. Teams of scientists from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), part of the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.K.’s University of Portsmouth developed an enzyme that may be able to help degrade plastic bottles made from PET. Scientists are hopeful and eager to see if the mutant enzyme can be improved and “made suitable for industrial-scale application in the recycling and the future circular economy of plastic.”

I always wondered if such a thing could be possible. I remember when I was much younger, my solution to plastic items and mountains of garbage was dumping it into volcanoes small portions at a time or launching it off into the sun. Then everyone had to follow the three Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) and keep the planet clean. This enzyme eating plastic is a novel concept and I can imagine the widespread implications it will have if scientists are successfully able to make it work effectively on a large scale. Some good things include getting rid of such a stubborn substance faster and cleaning up the Earth. Though I wonder if it will also make people abandon their efforts to be more sustainable in other areas because they’ll expect scientists to figure out new solutions so they won’t have to do the work.

After reading this article, I have some questions:

  • How long does the enzyme take to work?
  • What’s left over after it has done its thing?
  • What effects (if any) does it have on humans, plant-life, and animal-life?
  • Does it bioaccumulate?
  • How long does it last in an eco-system?
  • What is necessary to make the enzyme? And what are the environmental impacts related to making this enzyme?

I will be keeping an eye on this topic to see where it goes.

 

Source: CNBC

Article: Scientists develop ‘mutant’ enzyme that eats plastic

Author: Anmar Frangoul

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/17/scientists-develop-mutant-enzyme-that-eats-plastic.html

 

Personal Care Product

gillj7 Personal Care Product

I use Aveeno daily moisturizing lotion every single day. I’ve been using this product for years and I love it. One of the reasons is because it is not perfume scented, which if I smell for too long gives me a headache. Another reason is because I have very dry hands and when I use it on my arms and legs, it leaves them looking good for the rest of the day.

Ingredients for Aveeno daily moisturizing lotion

  • Dimethicone
  • Water
  • Glycerin
  • Distearyldimonium Chloride
  • Pertolatum
  • Isopropyl Palmitate
  • Cetyl Alochol
  • Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Flour
  • Benzyl Alcohol
  • Sodium Chloride

In middle school, we had to do an assignment for health class where were to look at the Nutritional Facts for a couple of food products. It got me into the habit of checking the backs of foods packages whenever I buy something I haven’t used eaten before. I never even considered doing the same for personal care products (partially because I knew I won’t understand what majority of the stuff is). From the EWG’s Skin Care website ( http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/#.WtfbSy-ZPBI) I learned that the worst ingredient in my lotion is benzyl alcohol and decided to further into this chemical. According to EWG’s, some of the concerns regarding this ingredient are: Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Allergies/immunotoxicity.

Using the EPA website, (https://chemview.epa.gov/chemview) I looked further into this chemical to see what other fun surprises it’s hiding. But I didn’t find anything too nightmare inducing (which I took as a good sign) and moved to the CDC and see what they had to say about it. I was a little alarmed when I read the title “Neonatal Deaths Associated with Use of Benzyl Alcohol—United States.” Checking the date, I realized it was 36 years old. After some investigation, the FDA recommended that intravascular flush solutions containing benzyl alcohol not be used for newborns and that diluents with this preservative not be used as medications for these infants.”

In an interesting video called “The Story of Cosmetics” Annie Leonard (who narrated and wrote it) said that the FDA does not regulate the cosmetics industry which I find to be ridiculous. I agree with Leonard that in this case, we could use more government intervention. She mentioned the Precautionary Principle, a policy that restricts usage of a substance that is known to be a bioaccumulative regardless if it’s been determined to be toxic, that I remembered from Okala chapter 15. The chapter mentioned that the European Union follows the principle but the U.S. does not. It also talks about toxicity, persistence, and bioaccumulation. Benzyl alcohol is toxic enough to be rated 5 (moderate).

Lotion is not something I can eliminate because my skin gets very dry. Although, I can substitute it with organic lotion. It is more expensive so I was thinking since the rating for Aveeno is not too bad, I can keep using it. But then I realized I can buy organic lotion on Amazon for a pretty good price. And since it lasts me a while, I won’t mind paying more for a once-in a-while higher price than I normally would. I actually went on Amazon and found an organic lotion and realized it was only $3 more than I would usually pay and it would last almost the same time. Then I checked which of the ingredients in my current lotion was the worst and if it the organic lotion used it as well. The most toxic chemical in my Aveeno lotion is benzyl alcohol at 5. And I saw that the organic lotion contained benzyl salicylate which was rated 8. So I decided I will continue to use this product until I can do more research and find a safer option.

Actions I plan to take:

  1. I am going to look up other personal care products I use and make a list of which I need to stop buying.
  2. I will start looking at Drug Facts for such items more often now (have a rule of thumb that if I can’t pronounce most of the ingredients I might want to skip on that one)
  3. I am also going to have my roommates look up their products.

The Chemical Footprint Project 

The CFP is about transforming global chemical use by measuring and disclosing data on business progress to safer chemicals. It can help people benchmark companies and choose the safer option thus reducing their chemical footprint. They want a world where chemicals will not harm people or the environment. I don’t think it goes far enough in addressing chemical ingredients because there are so many products (the cosmetics/personal care industry) having so many and deadly, cancer causing toxins in it.