Earth Science Week; dependency and stewardship
The American Geosciences Institute organizes Earth Science Week every year to help the public gain a better understanding and appreciation for the Earth sciences and to encourage stewardship of the Earth.
This year it’s October 13-19 and a perfect time to reflect on the ways our human activities interact with the Earth and ways we can protect our planetary resources.
Let’s look at some solutions available today.
Eating water
Right now we discard enough plastic each year to circle the earth four times, which means our landfills are expanding at a rapid pace. And plastic bottles take about 1,000 years to break down The only way to slow this increase is to replace the plastic we use with a more sustainable, non-toxic materials that are not harmful to extract and are biodegradable, compostable, reusable, or highly recyclable.
In 2013, a British lab began developing edible water pods as a replacement for water bottles. Made of a material derived from plants and called Notpla, these pods biodegrade in about 4-6 weeks once discarded.
Meeting future food needs
With the world’s population nearing 7.5 billion – and global prosperity and the desire for more resource-intensive foods rising steeply too – it’s clear that farming needs to become more productive.
One way of meeting future food needs could be hydroponics, an increasingly popular alternative to traditional soil planting. Hydroponic farming involves using water to feed nutrients directly to plants, rather than letting plants absorb nutrients through the soil. So what are some environmental advantages of hydroponic farming?
Plants are usually grown in a greenhouse, eliminating the need for harmful pesticides and herbicides.
Plants don’t need to be spaced out in the ground like traditional farming. Growing plants hydroponically requires only 1/5 of the land as growing on farmland.
Hydroponic farming offers more flexibility than farmland in terms of where plants can grow. A greenhouse can be put in almost any location, making it possible to grow closer to your intended market, thereby cutting back on the need for transportation and reducing fossil fuel use.
Most of the water used in hydroponics is retained for weeks at a time, so you only need to add nutrients to the water. Hydroponics only requires 10% of the water that is needed to grow plants in the ground.
Buildings - future promise
Consider the problem. Existing buildings use significant quantities of resources and pollute the environment in their operations. Here are a few facts:
Buildings are responsible for 41% of the world’s energy use.
Buildings account for 73% of the country’s total electricity consumption.
Buildings use 15 trillion gallons of water per year.
Buildings produce 38% of all CO2 emissions.
The way forward
It’s time we find ways to improve the often-overlooked problem that surrounds us; existing buildings. That’s where BREEAM can help.
BREEAM’s In-Use manual details ways to determine the impact your building is having on the environment. So what steps can a business take for its building to operate more sustainably?
Purchase low water use toilets, sinks, and appliances
Meter and sub-meter water and energy consumption to get meaningful data
Use heating that minimizes nitrogen oxide emissions
Use refrigerants with low global warming potential (GWP)
Install leak detections systems, for both water and refrigerants
Install lighting control systems that reduce unnecessary energy use
Connect fire and intruder alarm systems to a 24-hour monitoring service