"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Category: Policy
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.
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
