"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Category: Policy
Wheeling
07/22/19
“How can we transmit electricity outside of grid boundaries?”
Electricity is usually thought of as being generated and distributed inside the grid boundaries. However, this is not always the case. When this does happen, electricity is said to be wheeled. There are two types of wheeling, one where generation is inside the grid boundary while the load is not (wheel-out) and one where both are outside (wheel-through).
Why Building Codes Should Include Resilience and Adaptation Criteria
07/20/19
“Why should there be more focus on resilience and adaptation in building codes?”
The building sector in the industrialized world has become a very standardized process, with many codes stipulating what needs to be accomplished. However, with the advent of climate change and the accompanying increase in frequency of natural disasters, there needs to be more focus on ensuring that new buildings are ready for such phenomena. This can be accomplished by incorporating them into building codes, so developers will be certain to consider them. This is Why Building Codes Should Include Resilience and Adaptation Criteria.
Why You Should Stockpile Water in Case of a Power Outage
07/18/19
“Why should you keep spare water in case of a blackout?”
Because of interdependencies, when the electricity goes out, it also takes out other infrastructure with it. When this outage is large scale, water supplies can also be affected. If residents do not have any backups, then they could be without water for days. This is Why You Should Stockpile Water in Case of a Power Outage.
Why Cross-Sector Communication Is Necessary for Interdependent Infrastructure Resilience
07/17/19
“Why do critical infrastructure professionals from different sectors need to talk to each other more?”
The closer one looks at infrastructure failures, the more one realizes how interdependent they all are. When a disaster strikes one, it strikes the others as well. If resilience planning is done for one infrastructure sector without taking others into account, true security can never be achieved. To do this, cross-sector communication must be established, whether it be how electricity failures can cause water treatment to ground to a halt or how ruptures in gas supply could induce transportation bottlenecks. This is Why Cross-Sector Communication Is Necessary for Interdependent Infrastructure Resilience.
Why We Need the Viewpoints of All Communities in Combating Climate Change
07/16/19
“Why do we need everyone’s viewpoint when it comes to combating climate change?”
Climate change is one of the largest threats threatening humanity. And since everyone will be affected, we need to consider the viewpoints of all, especially of those who are exploited the most. This is Why We Need the Viewpoints of All Communities in Combating Climate Change.
Why Stable Governments are Good for Renewable Energy
07/13/19
“Why are stable governments important for renewable energy development?”
Renewable energy is one of the fastest if not the fastest growing energy source in the world. However, one of the most important things for its growth is to have a strong, unified government support behind it, which is most readily accomplished by a stable government. This is Why Stable Governments are Good for Renewable Energy.
Nature-Based Adaptation
07/11/19
“How can we make climate-change adaptation in accordance with nature?”
With the rising temperatures, humans will have to adapt drastically to climate change. Part of this will be utilizing nature such as rain gardens to make Nature-Based Adaptation.
Sea Level Rise Resilience
07/10/19
“Why do we need to protect against sea level rise?”
As the climate changes, sea levels will also rise. This will cause great devastation to coastal communities that were not designed with such high levels in mind. To solve this, institutions, municipalities must implement Sea Level Rise Resilience through walled barriers or managed retreat. Although the upfront cost may seem like a large investment, it will protect against much costlier long-term consequences.
Embodied Carbon
07/07/19
“How can we quantify the carbon emitted by a building during construction?”
Buildings energy efficiency is one of the most widely studied topics in combating climate change. However, these operational emissions are not the only cause of emissions. In addition, there is the carbon emitted during manufacturing, transport, and construction of the building. What makes this Embodied Carbon special is that once the building is finished its embodied carbon cannot go down, unlike operational carbon which can be lowered through energy efficiency programs. That’s why more research needs to go into lowering the carbon intensity of construction.
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