Joe+K

= WEEK 4: (Offshore Wind Energy) =

Summary:
I decided to explore alternatives for wind energy. Interestingly enough, many wind turbines are placed offshore. Setting these wind turbines offshore exposes the turbines to more stronger and steady winds which generates a lot more energy. For example, a turbine that is exposed to a steady 16 mph wind produces about 50% more electricity than a turbine exposed to a stead 14 mph wind. Moving on, the half of the United States population live in coastal areas. Instead of using non-renewable resources such as coal, we could implement these machines in order to save money and limit carbon emissions, a factor of global warming. Also, the implementation of this new technology will help create jobs, which will help improve the United States' economy. Despite all the positives, there are setbacks. In order to first set up an offshore plant, we have to invest a lot of money on labor and equipment. The turbines are connected to a electric service platform that connects to an onshore substation. The wires that connect to the platform and substation is extremely expensive because they are made to transmit electricity without harming marine life. Another negative about this system is that these wind turbines will have to be serviced due to the aggressive nature of the ocean. Despite these setbacks, the implementation of this somewhat new technology is a great first step in incorporating renewable and efficient resources, reducing the amount of carbon emissions, and giving more opportunities for american families.

How It Relates:
This week in class, we went over all the renewable, non renewable, and neutral resources during class. Out of all the different resources, wind energy caught my attention. As I educated myself with alternative wind turbines, I found it fascinating that resources that are cleaner and safer for the earth has so many benefits such as the cost of it and the amount of jobs it opens for Americans.

LINKS:
http://dwwind.com/why-wind/ https://cleantechnica.com/2016/12/25/cost-of-solar-power-vs-cost-of-wind-power-coal-nuclear-natural-gas/ https://www.boem.gov/Offshore-Wind-Energy/



WEEK 3: (How Much Food is Wasted every year)

I decided to investigate how much food is wasted every year. Reports say that forty percent of the food in the United States is wasted every year. All this food racks up to a whopping 165 billion dollar loss. This money could be used to support people who can not afford food or for developing countries that need the money to buy resources. Some people say that in the United States, a family of four wastes about $1,350 to $2,275 annually. Most of the wasted food is because of ungrateful citizens. In the United States, food is so cheap that it doesn't seem to be a huge factor in families' income so the average American family wastes 25% of their food and beverages. Another problem is that sometimes food is sold in large quantities for a reduced price which attracts buyers, but these buyers can't eat all the food so they just throw it out. Also, portion sizes have become a huge factor to the amount of food the United States wastes every year. Since the portion sizes are way too big in restaurants, people usually don't finish their plates which eventually becomes more wasted food. Interestingly enough, 80% of the fresh water consumption is from food production and the average family wastes 25% of their food which means we are wasting the limited amount of fresh water we have.
 * Summary:**

This past week, we went over the detrimental effects of CAFOs. The amount of food wasted is related to CAFOs because CAFOs are meant to produce vast amounts of animals such as pigs, chicken, and cows for food. However, since 25% of the food the average American family buys is wasted, it seems to make sense that we could reduce 25% of existing CAFOs. In class, we also learned that CAFOs are terrible for our limited fresh water so if we reduce the amount of CAFOs that exist, less water would become contaminated and unusable. Also, If we as a country and world don't over produce food and get the quantity just right, we could also save 25% of the fresh water used for food production! It seems like all that gets in our way is the greedy minds of CAFO owners who seemed to have money as their number one goal.
 * How It Relates:**

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/22/40-of-u-s-food-wasted-report-says/
 * LINK:**

WEEK 2 ( Water Shortages)

The example Ms. Lilliendahl showed us with all the water during class this week was quite fascinating and scary at the same time. As a result, I decided to seek more information on the subject: water shortages. As we went over in class, 70% of earth is covered by water, but only 3% is freshwater. Additionally, only one third of that small percentage is accessible water. As a result, 1.1 billion people have trouble accessing water and 2.7 billion people find it hard to use accessible water for a month every year. That's about 35% of the world population. Scientists also believe that at our rate of consumption, 67% of the world will face water shortages by 2025. Some causes of water scarcity are pollution, agriculture, and the humanity's population growth. From farms to backyard gardens, pesticides and fertilizers are used everywhere. As a result, these pollutants find their way into underwater aquifers which makes the water undrinkable. Additionally, 70% of the fresh water that is accessible is used to produce vast amounts of food. 60% of that 70% is wasted because of leaks found in most irrigation systems. As a result, natural bodies of water such as rivers, underground aquifers, and lakes are drying up. Lastly, the amount of humans on the planet has effected water shortages. In the last 50 years, the human population has doubled. Consequently, more food needs to be produced so more water is used to sustain vegetation.
 * Summary:**

In the movie, WALL-E, it is apparent that the earth is extremely dry. In order to avoid such conditions, it is important for the human population to use water more carefully. Although it make cost more money and time to avoid using pollutants such as pesticides and fertilizers, people should attempt to preserve the sustainability of earth by limiting the use of these pollutants. Also, if the human race does not want to experience the same situations seen in WALL-E, humans should spend the time and money to fix irrigation systems around the world in order to use the water used for agriculture, more efficiently. Lastly, it is said that the world can sustain 10 billion people that live like indians that are known for respecting the environment. So, the world should come together and find a plan to slow down the exponential rate of the human population because at this rate, it seems like the images of earth seen in WALL-E could soon become reality.
 * How It Relates:**

LINK: https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGgYTcPzexE
 * Video:**



INTRODUCTION

Question 1: After watching WALL-E, use your own background knowledge to define sustainability in your own words. Sustainability is earth being able to maintain life on its own.

Question 2: What are the next steps for the new settlers? That is, if you were to colonize an area in this condition, what are some of the first major issues & solutions that need to be accomplished for successful & sustainable future? The settlers would have to take all the garbage and limit its volume so that life has room to sustain. The first major if I were to colonize in an area in those conditions would be the food that would be available. Because it seemed like there weren't many plants, no herbivore would be able to live so humans would have to live off of the limited amount of plants. Also, humans would have a hard time to even feed off the plants because there is so little of it. A short term solution would be to keep using the food drinks they used in the cruise for a couple years and then move onto vegetation. Then, humans would have to find animals that still remain on earth and try to help them survive and sustain on earth.