"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Category: Policy
Rail Freight Transportation
07/06/19
“How is cargo moved by rail?”
Most cargo is traded by sea. However, many communities live inland and far away from any port. So how do they receive cargo? Well, quite simply, their items are loaded onto a train and moved around via Rail Freight Transportation. Rail freight transport can be extremely cost effective, costing only 2.5 US cents to move one ton a kilometer.
Image credit http://www.nscorp.com
How the Weight of Tanks Harms Urban Infrastructure
07/04/19
“Why is it not a good idea to have tanks moving in a civilian city?”
Tanks are some of the most powerful pieces of military technology on the planet. And as such, many world leaders like to parade them to show off their power. Even through this may make them feel good, it comes with dark consequences. Specifically, civilian urban infrastructure such as roads and bridges are not designed to withstand the weight of a tank, leaving damage in its wake. Therefore, for leaders who want to concentrate on infrastructure buildup, they must take into consideration How the Weight of Tanks Harms Urban Infrastructure for their parades.
Stormwater Tree Trench
07/03/19
“How can we have a natural flood resilience system almost naked to the human eye?”
Urban stormwater resilience will be one of the biggest topics in the new climate. However, a lot of times solutions leave the surface exposed. So how can we use our engineering mindsets to solve this? Well, what if we were to just have a series of trees with an engineered system in the sidewalk that would siphon water to move underneath their roots? This is the idea behind a Stormwater Tree Trench, which are used in a variety of cities to manage their stormwater.
Image credit http://www.phillywatersheds.org
Green Stormwater Infrastructure
06/30/19
“How can nature be used as stormwater infrastructure?”
With the advent of climate change, floods are becoming more and more common. To adapt to this and build resilience, municipalities must build stormwater infrastructure in a sustainable manner. One of the best ways to approach this is with Green Stormwater Infrastructure, in which plants and soil are used to absorb stormwater runoff into the earth, evaporate some into the air, and even release some into the sewer.
Image credit e360.yale.edu
How Carbon Capture Should be Split Between the Western and Eastern United States
06/25/19
“Why should we deploy carbon capture devices in the Western US and plant trees instead in the Eastern US?”
As of right now, there is a fierce debate in the negative emissions technology space. Some believe that mechanical negative emissions technologies are too expensive and electricity dependent and that we should plant trees instead Others believe that trees take up too much water and land resources as well as provide fuel for fires. However, these solutions are not mutually exclusive, and should be deployed according to an area’s needs. In the Western US, water is scarce and is being more so while there is plenty of sunlight for cheap solar energy, making mechanical carbon capture devices quite practical. In the Eastern US, rain and water is plentiful and floods are happening more frequently, so planting a large amount of trees would be logical. This is How Carbon Capture Should be Split Between the Western and Eastern United States.
Image credit images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com
Price Signals and Energy Wholesale Markets
06/22/19
“How do price signals affect energy wholesale markets?”
When the price of a commodity in a market changes, it sends a signal to consumers about some form of information. When the price of energy in the wholesale market, this is usually to a change in supply or demand of said source of energy. This is how Price Signals and Energy Wholesale Markets relate.
Negative Carbon Emission Technologies
06/20/19
“How can we use technology to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?”
Humanity is reaching a crisis point. We are adding so much carbon dioxide to the atmosphere each second that we will soon reach irreversible climate damage. To solve this, we’re going to need to use every technology we have at our arsenal, whether it be wide arrays of solar panels or intense energy efficiency measures. But the true kingmaker of solutions comes from a group of technology that is still quite ominous and undeveloped. These Negative Carbon Emission Technologies work by using a series of processes to store more carbon dioxide than they produce. This can be done in a multitude of ways, whether it be through planting more trees or capturing carbon from the atmosphere and shoving it down into the ground. With these solutions, we can tip the odds in our favor in our fight for decarbonization.
Image credit: https://media.wired.com
Brine from Desalination
06/16/19
“Why is Brine created from desalination?”
Desalination is one of the lifelines for many water-poor countries, whether it be in the Middle-East, South Asia, or Western North America. However, during the process of creating more drinkable water, a portion of brine is also created as a byproduct. One of the most pressing challenges for policy-makers, scientists, and engineers is to find out what to do with this Brine from Desalination.
Image credit media.wired.com
Energy Storage Tariffs
06/11/19
“How can you be paid for your energy storage?”
Energy storage is one of the most crucial technologies for the energy transition. And like solar before it, it will need some help from policy to get its feet on the ground. One of the things it can use are feed-in tariffs, so that any energy sent to the grid will be compensated financially. These Energy Storage Tariffs are being discussed by multiple energy market operators around the world.
Image credit cdn.vox-cdn.com
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