A New Foundation for Energy and the Environment
 "As we continue to tackle our
environmental challenges, it’s clear that change won’t come from
Washington alone. It will come from Americans across the country who
take steps in their own homes and their own communities to make that
change happen."
-President Barack Obama
Click on the icon above to watch the video.
|
 Environmental Justice is defined by the US Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov/oecaerth/about/offices/oej.html) as: "the fair treatment of and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Fair treatment means that no group of people, including racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic groups, should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or the execution of federal, state, local, and tribal programs and policies."
Dr. Bunyan Bryant provides an expansive definition of
environmental justice. He states that: "Environmental
justice is served when people can realize their highest potential,
without
experiencing the 'isms.' EJ is supported
by decent paying and safe jobs, quality schools and recreation, decent
housing
and adequate health care, democratic decision-making and personal
empowerment;
and communities free of violence, drugs and poverty. These
are communities where both cultural and
biological diversity are respected and highly revered and where
distributed
justice prevails."
|
 Natural hazards may best be characterized as the convergence of environmental change and human behavior. Each year, the lives and livelihoods of millions of people across the globe are impacted by hurricanes, storm surges, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, etc. These extreme and mild atmospheric and geophysical events are factors in the small- and large-scale destruction of property, collapse of critical infrastructure such as bridges and sewage systems, business disruption, food and water shortages, and economic and political systems failure. The aforementioned disasters represent the spill-over effects of that tragic and never-ending story of human-environment collision.
Humanity’s
relationship with nature has been tenuous for thousands of years.
|
 Earth is 4.6 billion years old by most scientific accounts, and its climates have consistently and constantly changed since its creation. The planet’s history is characterized by glacial ("ice age”) and interglacial ("warm”) periods. Complex geophysical and hydrological processes have, over time, produced continents, islands, mountain ranges, valleys, river systems, and oceans. Land masses, their vegetation, and water bodies supply the material conditions for the development of what we refer to as climates. Motion is a crucial element in climate formation as well. Earth’s orbital pattern and axial tilt are responsible for daily temperatures, seasons, and wind.
Within the scientific
community, climate change is most often defined as the shift in the statistical
properties of a climate region’s annual average temperature and precipitation
which has transpired over decades, centuries, or across millennia. It occurs organically, and scientific
evidence points to human interference with the environment as a growing and
"dangerous” influence.
|
The ability of our communities to meet the needs of future generations relies on a strong interest in sustainability. Generally, it is difficult to give sustainability a definition, as the term has multiple implications in various arenas. Broadly, the area of sustainability (or sustainable development) maybe defined as the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This includes the ability to be able to maintain, support and endure over time.
The concept of sustainability is a growing area for researchers, particularly in the areas of the environment and agricultural related sciences. But the boundaries of sustainability stretch far beyond the farm gates and natural habitats. Sustainability has explicit implications for the future benefit of both urban and rural communities, no matter the socioeconomic or demographic composition of the communities. Albeit, individuals such as community leaders, elected officials, business CEOs and university leaders are now giving stark attention to sustainable practices, it is education at the grassroots level (i.e. individual citizens) that will make sustainable practices a national movement. If sustainability, particularly in the area if development, is not given close attention by local communities (both urban and rural), important issues such as fresh food availability may be inhibited which could severely handicap future generations.
|
Energy Efficiency is primarily using less energy to provide the same amount of energy at a reduced energy output and a reduced cost. Energy Efficiency can be achieved mainly through the deduction of fossils fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil). Fossils fuels make up approximately 80% to 85 % of the United States energy consumption.
As energy needs and population continue to grow in North America, and concerns about clean air, energy security and global climate change increase, maintaining cost-effective and viable energy efficiency, demand side management, and demand response programs is of crucial importance to our nation, as well as to utilities, government agencies, and end-use customers.
Energy efficiency contains many different areas as noted above.
The main component that stems energy efficiency is concerns about clean air,
energy security, and global climate change. The Earth’s temperature keeps
rising which is causing the polar ice caps to melt and decrease ice capacity.
This melting is caused as a result of the increase in fossil fuels. This
increase in fossils fuels is also polluting the air we breathe which is
decreasing the clean air. Methods that can increase the volume of clean air is
improving the technologies we use every day and to include more energy
efficient technologies.
|
 Recycling involves processing used materials into new products
to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the
consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy
usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration)
and water pollution (from landfilling) by reducing the need for
"conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production.[1][2]
Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third
component of the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" waste hierarchy.
Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, metal, plastic,
textiles,
and electronics. Although similar in effect, the composting
or other reuse of biodegradable waste – such as food
or garden waste – is not typically considered recycling.[2]
Materials to be recycled are either brought to a collection center or
picked up from the curbside, then sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into
new materials bound for manufacturing.
|
|