Kevin+Zhu

Innovation. Development. Sustainability.



Top 5 Sustainability Goals:

1. Quality Education

An investment in education can bee seen as an investment in the future. Moreover it's an investment in human capital. Better education means more opportunities for everyone. It could mean obtaining higher levels of education to receive better paying jobs or contributing to technological knowledge. Living standards have unequivocally improved. The primary reason that living standards are higher today than two centuries ago is because of technological advancement. Two centuries ago, there weren't items like a car, a smartphone, a refrigerator, air conditioning, or computers. The aforementioned items are just a few of the thousands of innovations that have improved our quality of life. Moreover new technological advances will result in more productivity in a nation, which means an increase in the standard of living.

2. Good Jobs and Economic Growth 3. Renewable Energy 4. Gender Equality

In America, we pride ourselves on the equality of opportunity and fairness that exists in our country. However not everyone is dealt the same hand. For some the deck is stacked against them. When you're marginalized, powerless, it's easy to be submissive and to give in. However it takes true courage to fight. For women, there is discrimination in the workplace as well as education. It's imperative to recognize this and to help change our culture that forces women to accept something they might not want to be.

5. Ending Poverty

Week 2: 2016 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology: Autophagy



The 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarded to Yoshinori Ohsumi for his discovery of the underlying mechanisms of autophagy, a process in which cells degrade, recycle, and repair themselves. In response to invading viruses, bacteria, harmful protein aggregates, and old or damaged parts of the cell's nucleus, they are broken down. This requires the autophagosome to collect the trash and transport it to the lysosome. The lysosome contains digestive enzymes which breakdown the cellular junk into separate parts. These broken down parts are subsequently turned into new components that can be used again. This is very advantageous because it saves energy, and our body's natural resources are conserved. Yoshinori Ohsumi was investigating the genes of simple yeast cells. In multiple experiments, he kept changing the genes in order to see the results that this would have on the cells' recycling process. He found 15 genes in the yeast that were responsible for different stages of the autophagy process. Then he applied these findings to humans. Autophagy enables cells to survive stress from the environment like accumulation of damaged organelles, pathogen invasion, and nutrient deprivation. Ohsumi's research allows for a greater understanding of the process of autophagy in response to starvation or infection. However it has also contributed to more extensive research. For instance, disruptions in autophagy are linked to Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. This means that with more research with autophagy, this will lead to a greater understanding of the range of physiological functions that autophagy affects.

media type="youtube" key="_takaZB1-vg" width="560" height="315" This video provides a concise explanation about the process. Moreover, it shows the significance that the discovery has on our bodies. The video goes in-depth Yoshinori Ohsumi's procedures on how he discovered the genes. If you're interested in the intricacies of experiments, then this video can satisfy your needs. Moreover, the video provides examples of problems of the autophagy process and what diseases they lead to. Subsequently, examples of further research are given for how scientists hope to combat issues relating to autophagy. The host only talks about autophagy for the first half of the video. During the latter half, she talks about discoveries made in the physiology of teenage brains. How does this relate to AP Bio? One of the major themes of the AP Biology curriculum has to do with maintaining homeostasis. Additionally homeostasis is one of the main topics that we have thoroughly studied in class. Homeostasis is the process by which organisms regulate themselves in order to maintain their internal environment. Autophagy fits into this definition perfectly. It maintains homeostasis by protein degradation and turnover of the destroyed cell organelles for new cell formation. It is a response to cellular stress, which is caused by nutrient deprivation. By recycling cellular components, this process provides a mechanism for adaptation to starvation.

Week 3: Vertical Farming: An Agricultural Breakthrough?



Instead of growing plants in big horizontal fields, you can now grow them in racks stacked on top of each other. These crops are produced in controlled environments where they aren't affected by environmental factors such as drought or smog. We don't need to convert more wilderness to extensive farmland, and this process allows us to better control runoff of fertilizers and pesticides in waterways. Additionally, this process utilizes the method of hydroponics. Hydroponics is when the plant roots sit in nutrient rich water. This means that no soil is required! Interestingly enough, that actually reduces water use. Vertical farming could also utilize the process of aeroponics, where the roots are sprayed with a mist of nutrient laden water. This uses even less water than hydroponics. However, one main drawback of vertical farming is the energy usage. Climate control systems such as air circulation, water pumps, and sensors all require electricity. Moreover, in the absence of sun exposure, vertical farms utilize LED lights that expose plants to only certain types of spectrums. One of the major benefits of vertical farming is that crops can be grown all year long. Significantly less acreage is used as well, which means exhaustive farming practices that have detrimental effects to the land are not utilized as much. The main trade-off for vertical farming is that it is more expensive than traditional agriculture. However, the issue of feeding over populated cities could be solved. Also, since these farms are located in cities, this means that there is no long-distance transportation of food, which means a cut in greenhouse gases.

media type="youtube" key="-_tvJtUHnmU" width="560" height="315" This farming technique ties in with what we have been learning in class because it focuses on the food shortage that may occur in the future. There may be water scarcity as well because the population is growing at an unprecedented rate. The United Nations projects that the world population will be 9.8 billion by 2050, and around 2/3 of the population will be living in urban areas. Consequently this means a large demand for food. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that there needs to be a 50% increase in global agriculture production. This is also in the face of climate change and water conservation. Vertical farming could provide the solution as there is no fertilizer or pesticide runoff, fewer CO2 emissions due to less transportation, and only requiring a fraction of the acreage and a fraction of the water.

Week 4: Building Smarter Cities



We have talked a lot about how individuals can make a difference. For example, I can be more cognizant of my food consumption and make sure I do not waste any food. I could also try to go vegetarian or vegan for a day. However CO2 emissions cannot simply be solved at the micro level. The government needs to do something to combat this issue. One way to start is to build smarter cities. A company called Sidewalk Labs is harnessing digital technologies to solve today's urban problems. One of their current projects involves looking at how traffic flows through a city and how to reduce congestion at certain areas. This could be a potential breakthrough in reducing carbon emissions. They have developed a data source called Replica, which can give planning agencies a comprehensive understanding of how, when, and why people travel around cities. This aspect of awareness is already being implemented in our everyday lives. For example, Google Maps tries to give us the quickest route to our destination. It also helps us avoid traffic jams or major accidents. This type of planning has been used on an individual level, but it could be expanded to a societal level. Replica provides a full set of baseline travel measures such as the total number of people on a highway or local street network. Also, Replica provides information on the mode of transportation and the purpose of the trip. With frequent updating, Replica can help planners answer questions with the sufficient data it provides. Giving planning agencies accurate and comprehensive information is certainly a step in the right direction for efficient traveling in cities. Moreover, with the information, planners could decide whether to implement new technology or not. One idea is free driverless buses, but it has not been implemented. Although there haven't been any major planning decisions yet, providing information on the issues is definitely the first step.

https://www.sidewalklabs.com/blog/introducing-replica-a-next-generation-urban-planning-tool/

In class, one of the main activities we did was the "carbon footprint." We talked about transportation so this new technology is very fitting. A comprehensive data set would be extremely beneficial to urban planners and give them crucial information of what to implement in cities. Providing new means of public transportation would definitely lower carbon emissions. Moreover, decreasing congestion and traffic could significantly reduce air pollution in our cities. With Replica, Side Walk Labs plans to implement new technologies in the smarter cities. One example is how buildings harness energy. They want to capture waste heat from untreated urban sewage to provide energy and hot water to buildings. This would definitely reduce emissions as well. Replica can open the door to a plethora of innovations that can be implemented in order for us to reduce carbon emissions in urban areas.