Category: Earth/Climate science

Recycling Rare Earth Minerals

Recycling Rare Earth Minerals

Recycling Rare Earth Minerals

01/28/19

“How can we reuse rare earth minerals?”

 

Rare Earth Minerals are vital for the operation of distributed energy technologies. But their extraction process is extremely pollutive and their supply is limited. But what if were to simply reuse them from old products? This way, we can increase the availability of their supply and help create a circular economy. As a result Recycling Rare Earth Minerals can be of great use to the world.

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The Environmental Impacts of Mining Rare Earth Minerals

The Environmental Impacts of Mining Rare Earth Minerals

The Environmental Impacts of Mining Rare Earth Minerals

01/27/19

“What is the pollutive side of renewable energy?”

 

Rare Earth Minerals are critical for the proliferation of clean energy technologies. However, their extraction methods can be quite toxic to the environment. Since most of these minerals are unearthed using open-pit mining, radionuclides, rare earth elements, and dust and metal are released to the surrounding area, desecrating local life. Because of The Environmental Impacts of Mining Rare Earth Minerals, we need to look into making this process more sustainable to ensure a completely green future for the world.

 

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Rare Earth Minerals

Rare Earth Minerals

Rare Earth Minerals

01/26/19

“What are some of the most important but rare minerals in the world?”

 

Every piece of machinery is based on some fundamental minerals. And much of modern electronic technologies come from Rare Earth Minerals or minerals who contain one or more Rare Earth Elements.

 

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The Importance of Rare Earth Minerals to Renewable Energy

The Importance of Rare Earth Minerals to Renewable Energy

The Importance of Rare Earth Minerals to Renewable Energy

01/25/19

“Why are certain minerals so important for renewable energy?”

 

Renewable energy is one of the fastest growing technologies in the world. But like every manufactured product, they are heavily dependent on the minerals that compose them. One of the most important amongst these are Rare Earth Minerals. Rare Earth Minerals such as neodymium, terbium, indium, dysprosium, and praseodymium form vital components for solar panels, wind turbine motors, batteries, and electric vehicles. With such constricted supplies in the world, geopolitics will shift to favor countries with large amounts of these resources, underlying The Importance of Rare Earth Minerals to Renewable Energy.

Carbon Offsetting

Carbon Offsetting

Carbon Offsetting

01/22/19

“How can you offset your carbon emissions without changing your own operations?”

 

Some things are extraordinarily difficult to decarbonize. Whether it be air travel or going 100% renewable when the grid itself is based 100% off carbon-emitting resources. But a workaround can be found through Carbon Offsetting. This involves making a purchase of renewable energy or planting a tree that offsets the amount of carbon used. This can be useful for designing policies around technologies whose emissions-free alternatives are still too nascent for commercial use.

 

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Why Dry Climate Snow is Different From Humid Climate Snow

Why Dry Climate Snow is Different From Humid Climate Snow

Why Dry Climate Snow is Different From Humid Climate Snow

01/20/19

“Why is dry climate snow different than humid climate snow?”

 

An area’s climate affects everything, and the snow is no different. In humid climates, which tend to be closer to a body of water and lower in elevation, snow tends to be imbued with water, making it extra wet and messy. However, in dry climates, the ice crystals lack this problem and therefore are more tightly bound. This is Why Dry Climate Snow is Different From Humid Climate Snow.

A Simple Reason Why Humanity Needs to be Less Wasteful to Curb Climate Catastrophe

A Simple Reason Why Humanity Needs to be Less Wasteful to Curb Climate Catastrophe

A Simple Reason Why Humanity Needs to be Less Wasteful to Curb Climate Catastrophe

01/18/19

“What is one tough thing humanity needs to adopt to fight climate change?”

 

Right now humanity is on track to shoot past a rise of 2-degree centigrade from pre-industrialization by 2030. And one of the primary reasons behind this is because human energy consumption and population has been rising over the years. Much of the global focus to fight this has been increasing technological energy efficiency. But according to the equation I = PAT, if population and affluence rise then it would offset more efficient technology. If humanity does not want to quickly decrease its population then it must change its culture of affluence. This is A Simple Reason Why Humanity Needs to be Less Wasteful to Curb Climate Catastrophe.

I = PAT

I = PAT

I = PAT

01/17/19

“How can we represent environmental impact based on resource consumption?”

 

Every society has an environmental impact. But since each society has different levels of resource consumption and utilization, each one is different. So how can we quantify this? Well, we can measure impact based on the average of the amount used multiplied by its energy efficiency and the total population. This is known as the I = PAT equation where I is the Environmental Impact P is the Total Population A is the Level of Affluence (how many resources are used) and T is the Technological Efficiency.