Environmental news digest 10/26/20

    Earlier this July, Joe Biden announced a $2 trillion climate plan which highlighted carbon capture, fracking, economic policies, and expansion of renewable technologies as "transition methods" to a net zero carbon economy. In Biden's own words from the second presidential debate these policies are in support of a "managed decline with rapid transition to renewable energy."

    One of technology featured is carbon capture which captures carbon from factory smoke stacks and car exhaust. While this does not reduce the initial carbon generated, carbon capture does lead to less carbon entering the atmosphere and cleaner air. Carbon capture can help retain jobs in areas with factories and is supported by labor unions. Carbon capture also has the possibility of creating new jobs and has been made a profitable technology through tax incentives. 

    Biden also said that he will reduce tax incentives on the fossil fuel industry and increase spending on renewables. Fracking while emitting less carbon than coal is equally devastating to the environment in the areas around fracking sites. Additionally the use of chemicals is toxic to the local ecosystem and pollutes drinking water. While some scientists say carbon capture is necessary to avoid 1.5 C warming,  what is the best way this technology can be coupled with the addition of new renewables and electric cars?

    Over the last twenty years 90% of grasslands in the South have been lost. Meadows, savanna, and grassland are highly endangered regions and their range has been reduced by development, farming, changing climate conditions, and faulty conservation. This change has affected the local ecology, biodiversity, and the climate in those regions. However, a new effort has been made to enact better conservation and bring awareness to these areas. Southern grasslands are home to the most diverse group of plants and animal species in North America and new insect species like grasshoppers are even being discovered today. An effort has been made to preserve more land and low temperature burns are being used as conservation strategies to reduce the risk of large wildfires as seen in many parts of the world today. Additionally, a seed bank has been founded with the hopes of categorizing and preserving the rich biodiversity found in Southern grasslands. 

    It is hard to say why Union's ranking has decreased, but it may be because other campuses have become more environmentally friendly with sustainability initiatives in their dining halls, full campus composting, greener management of outdoor spaces, and renewable energy. Union has been an environmentally friendly school for many years and last year with the break through in the divestment movement the school has begun taking steps to green its financial portfolio. However, since covid there has been an increase in food and food packaging waste. Recently to reduce waste, the school has supplied a Union branded reusable utensil kit and tote bags for students to use around campus. While these measures are good, Union no longer looks for LEED certification or environmental procedures in new construction or renovation. Environmental consideration was questionable during the construction of the new integrated science and engineering complex. 

    Recently I have been working with music faculty and facilities to look into greening developments in the Taylor music center. This week we are walking through the space to look at power usage and measures to reduce the building's environmental impact.

Thank you so much for reading!

Pre-Halloween environmental news

• high-waste holiday
• Pumpkins: 2018 - farmers produced over a billion pumpkins, many of which end up decomposing in landfills and emitting methane
• Candy: many are made with palm oil, linked to deforestation. Also much of the packaging can’t be recycled, becomes part of landfill.
• Costumes: made from cheap materials, lots of chemicals in production process, only used once or twice
• Solutions - set limits on what you need, use what you already have in your house, clothing swaps, make-your-own-candy

Thank you so much to Alyssa for her collaboration with this slide show. Used with permission.


    TED's climate countdown movement has begun. Countdown is a TED media platform to introduce climate ideas, organization and cross collaboration between contributors, event planning, and to facilitate real world science and design to engineer an array of multidisciplinary projects to tackle current and future climate challenges and to expand environmental thinking into new solution spaces.
    The main goal of countdown is to help accelerate our world's progress to a zero emission 2030, reduce damage already done, and help prevent further damage through investment in education and targeted projects. Although large in scheme, many of the projects supported by TED are impact heavy: have specific targets and effective methods of meeting those goals. While countdown was announced October 2019, the event has now officially begun in October 2020. 

    
    I have always been a huge fan of TED talks, first drawn by the cutting edge science, engineering (biomedical engineering), and LEED talks particularly the ones by researchers at the MIT research labs and have always appreciated TED’s interest in environmental causes. For the first time, TED is shifting its focus to a particular cause, in this case the climate and climate justice. Already, new talks about hightech solutions to climate change utilizing AI and computer modeling have shown the possibility for real results.     A recent talk by Thomas Crowther unveils an application which has modeled the entire earth and can predict based on patterns found in nature the best locations for planting new trees and what species to plant where.     TED is also featuring talks by leading developers in projects to address challenges in a wide range of disciplines: climate leadership, city design and waste, energy production, food production, soil carbon, geo-engineering, and biodiversity, etc. 

    Have you watched any climate related TED talks? What have you thought? What do you think about TED and this trend towards climate discussion? What do you think about TED letting large tech companies like Amazon and Apple present about their path towards a carbon neutral 2030?

Thanks so much for reading! 

October 2020 environmental news

Hello environmental enthusiasts, this blog post is a recreation of a recent presentation I delivered to students in U-sustain, an environmental organization at Union college. Really hope you enjoy! 

    September 2020 was the hottest recorded month worldwide in recent history. The high was recorded in late August in Death Valley California where the temperature reached 131 F and 55 C. Additional heat waves were recorded in Pakistan, Sudan and South Sudan as well as flooding in Asia and Sudan, and this Fall, Europe is experiencing a drought. 

    This top photo shows the flooding in Sudan. Other sources also mentioned flooding in Egypt along the Nile. The flooding in Sudan threatens population centers along with agriculture regions and ancient UNESCO heritage sites. 

    The bottom photo captures the forest fires in Siberia caused by the heatwave there. These forest fires have destroyed thousands of acres of land and accelerate the release of soil carbon from Siberia's vast soil carbon sink. Siberia's soil carbon is a relatively new discovery and the release of this trapped soil carbon into the atmosphere was not considered in initial climate change models. A warming climate melts the ice in the soil destabilizing the structure that prevented carbon from escaping into the atmosphere.

    This October Hurricane Delta landed in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, causing Loss of power, building destruction and heavy flooding. Louisiana was still recovering from Hurricane Laura in August and was deeply affected by Hurricane Delta. 

    A new forest fire began in California in the North Bay region. The Glass fire named after nearby Glass mountain has burned thousands of acres and is still uncontained. Many people were evacuated. 

    In 2019 a bill was passed in Maryland to ban the use of foam food containers beginning July 1st 2020. This bill terminated the sales of styrofoam and its use in restaurants and schools. Due to covid this new law did not fully take effect until October 1st. Businesses could not purchase new containers, however could use ones left in stock. With an increased trend towards takeout and fast food, restaurants need to supply a new type of containers and many have switched to compostable alternatives*.    

    Compostable containers are much better for the environment than styrofoam because less water, materials, and energy is used in their construction. Additionally compostable containers break down quicker and can be composted! One downside to compostable containers is their cost. For small restaurants spending between $200 and $900 extra on containers each month is too economically costly. Large chains can more easily make the switch due to a wide range of possible reasons: lower cost per store, greater financial backing, greater profit margin. The issue here is that small restaurants are exactly what we need right now! Family run restaurants are much less environmentally destructive than chains and promote culture and community in the places where they operate. 

    To what extent should restaurants be made to switch to compostable take out containers? How do you feel about dining-in during covid? 

    *: Many cardboard containers are easily composed in a backyard composter while compostable containers made out of a plastic like material can only be composted in industrial composters which use higher temperature and pressure. Surprisingly, I had not heard of industrial composting before attending Union college. On campus there is a mix of regular composting (mainly in theme houses) and industrial composting in the dining halls and other eating venues. Take a look at what type of container you recieve. 

    Recently, a team at the University of Portsmouth in Hampshire England has created a new plastic digesting enzyme called PETase. A similar enzyme to the first the same team discovered back in 2016, this PETase is equally groundbreaking. The PETase enzyme is naturally coded in a species of bacteria. The process for creating a biologically free PETase enzyme involves: isolating the gene from the bacteria, mRNA processing, inserting into E.coli for translation, and then lysing the E.coli (placing the e-coli in a centrifuge, the solution spins creating a pellet of e-coli cells at the bottom and a supernatant liquid containing the enzyme (look up Hershey Chase Experiment)). From there the protein can be purified and put to work on plastic waste!

    This second PETase enzyme has a 3D crystalline structure and an activation site which accepts PET plastic polymers. What is so cool about this enzyme is that it breaks plastic polymers into basic building blocks not microplastic. This means any type of plastic can be synthesized from the products of this reaction. Industry can now produce PETase and recycle plastic in this new way. The new PETase breaks down plastic twice as fast as the first and a cocktail of both the first and second can degrade plastic 6x as fast.

There is an excellent 60 minutes report on Climate change by Scott Pelley which recently made its debut about forest fires and other environmental issues. I am always confused when interviewees are asked about their beliefs in climate change. In 2020 this type of question is non-productive to conversations about climate solutions; how do you feel about the science still being questioned at this time? Should 60 minutes discuss the idea of climate denyl on their shows?

Thank you so much for reading

Overview of Union college environmental communities and how to run an effective meeting

        

        Environmental leaders employ a unique skillset to support others while planning their own projects. While many elements of environmental leadership can be similar to styles used by sports captains or stage managers, planning environmental projects often involves motivating volunteer groups and hosting abstract projects where its difficult to see the direct outcome. This article examines ways of leading and outlines effective club meeting strategies. 

       Examples of sustainable practices are: individual actions and role modeling, participation in environmental events, volunteering for local causes, and leading discussions and planning events. Teachers in the classroom can lead by connecting their course material to the environment and in the case of Union college, by allowing students to present about divestment during class time. 

Politicians are examples of environmental leaders when they support green bills. Organizations like USGBC demonstrate exceptional leadership by popularizing the idea of green design. Elements of culture like books, movies, music, podcasts, and online material are all examples of environmental leadership.

       Earth weeks are the best form of environmental leadership because a specific theme can be reinforced through a series of projects. When simultaneously organizing multiple events, free association can be used to gauge the interest of club members in each event. Free association is a leadership strategy which allows members to choose when to attend meetings and what projects to participate in. Club members choose events of interest and have no obligation to other projects. Elected positions like president or secretary do require weekly participation. One feature of environmental groups and projects which are so unique is that there are roles for everyone. No matter what your interests are, there is a way to connect it to an environmental issue. 

       A difficult part of running a club is choosing which projects to host. Although it might make sense for the club as a whole to decide what events to do, effective project selection comes directly from the leadership. Club leaders should choose projects: they want to do personally, would support club membership, or support the school’s environmental goals. It is more important to host a specific, passionate, one of a kind event rather than something which has been done before. Passionate and cutting edge projects have a greater impact on discussion and participation than trash pickups or movie nights.

       At the same time as planning their own intrinsically motivated projects, leaders should also support initiatives by other club members. Having a wide range of club activities is effective for advancing the free association model. Regardless of the type of event, leaders should delegate tasks effectively to club members interested in helping out. 

Case study: Union College Environmental Club

       Environmental club hosts educational events about reducing personal carbon footprint. President, treasurer, and secretary are elected positions usually held by junior and senior year students. The club meets weekly for thirty minutes excluding weeks with events. Two hundred dollars are available as club funding, but it is very easy to increase the budget by requesting additional funds from student activities or through other clubs. Since receiving additional money is easy, funding is not an issue for hosting events.

       Each meeting begins with a discussion about a recent news topic or environmental issue. Afterwards, there is an open discussion about recent past events and planning future ones. 

Projects this year include:

• Planting party
  
• Participants able to plant flower seeds in soil and take home
  
• Fast Fashion dinner and discussion where participants were able to repair torn or broken clothes
  
• This was a really successful event because people were able to fix their clothes using sewing kits, high attendance
  
• Learned about the environmental impact of clothing manufacturing
  
• Highly recommend fast fashion event!
  
• Movie night: Before the Flood by Leonard DiCaprio
  
• Interview with professor and environmental musician Mark Pedelty
  
• Invasive species removal at local ecology center
  

Case study U-sustain:

       U-sustain is an organization on campus which focuses on making Union college more green through campus sustainability initiatives. U-sustain is unique because of the large faculty and staff involvement because U-sustain works closely with facilities and academic departments like ecology. While faculty and staff give U-sustain credibility, they are not so much “in charge” as just act like long term members.

       Meetings are high energy and use a slideshow format. Concluding the slideshow is an open floor discussion. 

       While U-sustain is an organization and receives no funding from the school, members can apply for environmental project grants. The green fee is a twenty thousand dollar grant designed to enhance or add an element of sustainability to Union’s campus. Recipients of a presidential green grant ($2,000) use the money for personal environmental project which reaches the broader community. U-sustain, has positions for co-chair, education and outreach manager, green events leaders, and secretary.

Case study: ecomusicology interview with Mark Pedelty

       In May, environmental club interviewed Mark Pedelty about the subject of ecomusicology. Ecomusicology looks at the connection between music and the environment. Ecomusicology focuses on the question: If climate change is such an important issue why do we not see it reflected in our music and culture? Mark Pedelty Skyped in to talk to a group of students about his experience with ecomusicology. 

       This part of the article will examine the leadership process around the ecomusicology event. After announcing the interview at a U-sustain meeting, a volunteer requested to design the poster. Posters are an easy part to delegate and in this case the model of free association worked well (the poster was amazing too). The head of environmental club supported the project by providing food at the event, audience members asked Mark questions, and one of my close friends helped out with technology. The best form of leadership is following. Without my friend’s help the event would never have happened. 

       One task which could have been delegated was writing an introduction for Mark. While this could have been delegated, it seemed to make the most sense fro me to write it based on my background in the material. Delegation works only if the person preforming the task is interested. With busy schedules many often feel bad about assigning tasks to other people in fear that they might not return to the club. Free association works well because it doesn’t force anyone to participate.

Do other colleges have multiple environmental clubs? Is it the same group of people or do both clubs work independently? 

How to run effective meetings:

       Group discussions and powerpoint presentations make great meetings. Group discussions, lead by different members each week act as a warmup for conversation. Slideshows demonstrate organization and thoughtfulness. Make slideshows exciting. U-sustain uses a custom presentation format not similar to those used in classrooms. Keep slideshows short and display the conversation question as a reference during discussion. 

       At each meeting it is important to break away from the classroom setting to make a fun, social environment where people feel inspired to help the environment. Aim for forty five minute meetings on a need to have basis. Begin meetings on time and open up with a group conversation. Have different members lead the discussion each week.

       Use club time to actively work on projects, not on brainstorming. Before the meeting, club leaders should decide on what projects to plan. Break into small groups and work on assigned tasks or individual projects. Having things to work on is especially important when retaining perspective members. Actively building something or making progress on a task is much more meaningful and memorable than a brainstorming session. Small groups also allow people to get to know each other and are helpful when getting unstuck. This format is really useful when trying to fit event planning into a busy schedule. Breaking into small groups was really effective when Union college launched its campaign to divest from fossil fuels.

       Think about the characteristics of your best meetings. Try and replicate those elements again and make club meetings so good that people want to come back!

Thank you for reading. :)

(Podcast show notes) Mark Pedelty- Using music to make a better world

Link to episode: https://soundcloud.com/zach-pine-maher/4-mark-pedelty-using-music-to-make-a-difference 

Mark Pedelty is a professor of anthropology and communication studies at the University of Minnesota. He is also the host of the Public Lands podcast, a podcast which covers a wide range of subjects about US public parks and spaces, is a lead vocalist and songwriter for the Hypoxic Punks, an environmental rock band which performs educational songs about sustainability and stewardship, and Mark is one of the creative directors for ecosong.net, a website which acts as a platform for sustainable music.

Mark Pedelty has won numerous awards for his research on ecomusiclogy and has written two books on the subject. The book Ecomusicology focuses on the difficulty of making live music sustainably and discusses the effectiveness of charity concerts like Live Earth and Live Aid. A Song to Save the Salish Sea is a series of case studies about environmental musicians (musicians who compose music in support of an environmental cause) and looks at their forms of activism.
If climate change is such an important issue why do we not see it reflected in our music and culture?

I had so much fun working with Mark on this project. Thank you to Union’s environmental club for hosting the event and to Mark Pedelty who so generously shared time with us to discuss ecomusicology!

Intro to ecomusicology:
1:25

On leadership:
26:00

People mentioned in this episode:

Dana Lyons
Erin Allen: instrument manufacturing
Yip Harburg
Peter Gabriel, Bono, Sting, David Byrne
Humanities without Walls and Music in a changing climate
Billy Bragg
Anie DiFranco
Lil Dicky: We love the Earth
Rebecca Dirksen
ecosong.net
Mark Pedelty's academic work

(Podcast show notes) Breaking Through Environmental Barriers with an Abundance Mindset

               It can be difficult thinking about intimidating challenges like climate change. This podcast discusses the abundance mindset and how it can be used to tackle large issues. Being overwhelmed by an issue can be frustrating and the abundance mindset provides hope in the face of obstacles. It can also be used to facilitate clear thinking and pinpoint areas to focus on.

                Two examples evaluated with the abundance mindset are population growth and the motto “Think Globally, Act Locally.” Using the abundance mindset will help create new alternatives to problems and bring attention to topics that matter.

Link to show: Breaking Through Environmental Barriers with an Abundance Mindset

Listen for:

• New views on population growth
• Why anyone can have an international impact
• Moving forward from "Think Globally Act Locally"
• How to define environmentalism for yourself
• How to think critically about environmental issues
• Ideas to lighten your impact

Thank you so much, hope you enjoy the show. 😄

Citations:

Naveen Jain Interview: Bulletproof Radio
Mahesh Ramanujam Introduction: USGBC
Photo credit: Website

Advanced projects

        

        Intriguing environmental projects can distinguish your club and attract new members. Creative and well run events spread your message and stick in the minds of your fellow students. Trash pickups, movie nights, and recycling games work well at first, but eventually become repetitive. Advanced projects tell environmental stories and create a lasting impression. They can be as part of an earth week or as stand alone events. 

Earth Week:

        Earth week is a series of earth days designed around an environmental theme. In my senior year of high school the environmental club hosted an earth week. On meatless Monday, we eliminated meat from the dining hall menu and ran  a community dinner which featured an interactive slideshow and trivia game. On Wednesday we broke ground on a community garden and Friday capped off the week with showing of a new film made by an alumni of my school: “Happening: A Climate Revolution.” We also removed the paper take-out cup option for hot drinks in the dining hall for the earth week.

Dark Day of Enlightenment: ( or A Day Without Light )

        In my ninth grade year, a friend and I organized a “Dark Day of Enlightenment.” This is a school day run without the use of electricity. The event had a memorable impact on students and therefore proved it to be totally worth the effort. A school day without lights, printers, computers, and projectors requires planning and compromise. A simplified dark day could be the turning off of lights at meal time to convey the idea. Here is the outline we used to plan the event:

Logistics: 

• Pitch idea to administration and facilities team
• Decide which buildings to include and duration of event
• 8:00 start of school day to 3:00 end of school day
• Best done in spring of fall
• Design safety protocols
• Spaces like staircases must be lit

Planning:

• Inform teachers ahead of time so they can adapt lesson plans
• similar to teaching class outside

Results:

• Interesting and memorable class, a school day still talked about!
• Relaxed students
• Reduced CO₂ emissions
• Total emissions of 1 building: 100 lbs of CO₂    
• Calculate energy saved and present to school
• Compare day with monthly average

Recruitment strategies to attract guest speakers:

1. Attend local environmental events
1. Talk to local people
2. Work with alumni department
1. Search for alumni
2. Reach out by email with no specific request, just to say hi
1. Say that you are interested in what they are working on and that you wanted to introduce yourself
1. If you have a specific request, openly state it at this time (see suggested details below)
3. If think possible event, email alum again to pitch idea
1. In second email: connect on personal level, teachers, clubs or sports in common
1. Weird but real example: “A funny coincidence, I believe my dorm room was given by your family”
3. Plan and research like crazy
1. Do your homework
1. Favorite two pre interview questions are: “Looking back at this event in 6 months, what would it look like if it were successful, what would hit it out of the park?”
2. “what areas would you like to talk about or that you would like to avoid? Remind them that they have the final cut during the edit
2. Be engaged with university events

Community Computing and Carpooling:

1. Carpools and buddy walking programs for safety
1.  Create community experience while being eco friendly
1. Make walking or biking easier by helping people who live in similar areas to connect and travel together
2. Create groups of people to promote green travel in more dangerous road conditions
2. Rewards program and incentives for sustainable travel
1. Encourage and support people who don’t travel sustainably or who are slightly too far away to bike or walk
1. Discounts on food or environmental gifts like water bottles if shown effort to sustainable travel
2. Reimburse people who often travel sustainably to continue that practice even in difficult weather conditions
1. Make their efforts recognized
2. Post a photo of them walking or biking on website
3. $10 reward for their effort
3. Eco map
1. Map out where people live and travel routes to create community experience
2. Message board forum to create peer pressure to continue activity
3. Cumulative points and final end prize

Divestment campaign from fossil fuel industry:

        Divestment campaigns are used to create economic pressure in favor of a cause. The mechanism of change is the selling of stocks or bonds invested in businesses which should no longer be supported. Loss of equity from investors puts financial pressure on these establishments. Divestment can be seen as solving a problem at the root cause because it threatens the financial security of the problem itself.

 Divestment was used extensively on college campuses in 1985-6 to protest apartheid in South Africa. (1) The anti apartheid divestment movement was successful because it attracted apolitical students, brought people together from different backgrounds and views, and each campaign, although separate and run privately, was still part of a larger social movement. (2)

        The divestment strategy can be applied to the energy sector to put pressure on fossil fuel companies. The hope is that divesting from fossil fuel will help accelerate the transition to an electric economy. 

        There are many reasonings for divestment. The most important being the moral issue of supporting fossil fuel companies during a time where the effects of climate change are becoming more apparent. The more quickly we transition to clean energy, the lower number of climate issues will occur. The moral logic of supporting fossil fuel companies at this time is questionable because we understand burning fossil fuels is a direct cause of climate change. School values should reflect their actions and use of money. The priority of any organization is directly reflected in how they choose to spend their money. Large amounts of money should promote a better future, not a polluting industry.

        Economic factors also play a role in divestment tactics. One argument against divestment is that institutions will lose money when they leave the fossil fuel industry. This is not always the case. Each campaign is different and the purpose is to sell holdings because of a moral obligation to the future and in an ideal situation it preferably should be done whether or not money is lost. The opposite of divestment is investment. These funds can be used for buying stock in companies who are positive agents of change or where these investments are profitable in the green energy sector. Money could also be used to buy solar panels or wind turbines in order to set up a microgrid for the school. Similarly, the funds could be used to purchase renewable power. Because it is now less expensive to purchase renewable power, the university can lower its electricity cost and get green power. 

        There is similar logic to investing in clean energy now as there was when institutions first invested in fossil fuels. Energy production for the foreseeable future be important and the divestment campaigns merely reflect the changing of one technology to another. It is important to notice future trends and selling fossil fuel stocks today may avoid losing money in the long run. A good campaign anticipates opposing arguments and develops eloquent counter responses.

        Arriving at positive divestment results take many months of campaigning. Running sustained projects requires consistent effort and long term thinking. At the same time as the campaign is in session, there should also be a side project for club members not interested in divestment. The main lessons from the anti apartheid divestment campaigns were that side projects were necessary for retaining members only interested in divestment. (3) Showing that the environmental club is continuing environmental projects in other areas shows the commitment to the sustainability cause. Another strategy is that while spreading the message of divestment on campus, an effort would be made to suggest the idea to a select few trustees early on. This way there can be administrative support during the campus discussion phase. Sharing progress reports of your campaign and talking with other colleges about their work can help tie the cumulative successes into a broader national effort.

Extra reading- counter arguments and tool kits:

        The Washington Post has a great article about why divestment may not be the best course of action for many universities. This is because universities are not required to take any action. Not divesting is a legitimate option and continues to keep the university a place of debate without taking a side. Divestment can be a slippery slope and sometimes it is better to be nonpartisan and focus on delivering the best education possible. Divestment should only be considered once a university has put in the hard work of becoming green. 

Link to Washington Post article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/demanding-universities-to-divest-is-often-bad-policy/2015/03/27/1382fbe4-d401-11e4-ab77-9646eea6a4c7_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.784032c528f3

Websites like Fossil Free.org have starter kits to help your divestment campaign. https://gofossilfree.org/#signup

Citations: 

(1): Countryman, Matthew. "Beyond victory: lessons of the divestment drive." The Nation, March 26, 1988, 406+. General OneFile (accessed December 6, 2018). http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A6485507/GPS?u=s0937&sid=GPS&xid=24d51898.

(2): Countryman, Matthew. "Beyond victory: lessons of the divestment drive."

(3): IBID