- Because this is an important issue, and I'm afraid Andi's thoughtful summarizing of the situation will be missed where it is, I'm copying/pasting/posting it here to get your attention. The rest of this is all from Andi. (also, don't miss Lynn's post right below this one, which I don't want you to miss because it is so COOL!)I agree with Elizabeth - we should quickly come to a decision; until we do, our survey and data-collecting are at a stand-still. I also agree with Isaac in that we absolutely cannot use data from two separate years. The transportation and University-usage data must be from the same year or our results will be more skewed than they would be from estimating one or the other. We have three year choices: July 1, 2008 - June 31, 2009 June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010 July 1, 2009 - June 31, 2010 Below, I've commented on what I see as pro's and con's for each. Please let me know what you think, and let's make a decision.
Friday, March 5, 2010
It's All About Timing (elevated from a comment to a post by Dr H)
Making and storing energy; learning from plants
I was checking out a Public Radio report on Methane bubbling up from the perma frost in Siberia and happened on this great article in Scientific American about storing energy like plants, by spliting water molecules. I always believed that plants have a lot to teach us.
"One drinking-water bottle could provide enough energy for an entire household in the developing world if Dan Nocera has his way. A chemist from M.I.T. and founder of the company Sun Catalytix, Nocera has developed a cobalt-based catalyst that allows him to store energy the same way plants do: by splitting water."
Check it out!
"Shift happens: Will Artificial Photosynthesis Power the World?"
Maybe someday the mighty Chippewa will be our salvation for energy storage.
"One drinking-water bottle could provide enough energy for an entire household in the developing world if Dan Nocera has his way. A chemist from M.I.T. and founder of the company Sun Catalytix, Nocera has developed a cobalt-based catalyst that allows him to store energy the same way plants do: by splitting water."
Check it out!
"Shift happens: Will Artificial Photosynthesis Power the World?"
Maybe someday the mighty Chippewa will be our salvation for energy storage.
Eau Claire Air Advisory
The DNR has issued an Air Watch for Eau Claire until tomorrow. The title is a link to the DNR's website with further details. I thought that it was interesting that even in (relatively) rural Wisconsin we hit "Code Orange" - meaning the air could be unhealthy for those people in sensitive groups (elderly, children, etc.) while we were working on this Carbon Footprint Project.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The Time Line Issue
Hello, everyone!
Last night, I was looking through the carbon calculator just to get an idea of what kind of data I would be in charge of collecting. However, I soon realized a flaw in the time line we were observing. Simply put, it would be impossible for me to come up with data for the remainder of the 2010 school year. I'm sure a few of you have hit this same brick wall.
I then turned to my handy-dandy Carbon Emissions 2008 Report for answers. I realized in their report, they monitored the 2006-2007 school year, which made sense to me. So I pose these questions to you:
Would it be beneficial to continue this trend and monitor the 2008-2009 school year? Wouldn't this make our data more sound when comparing it in the years to come? Does it make sense to use data which already exists in comparison to data which will involve a greater measure of guess-work?
What is your opinion?
Last night, I was looking through the carbon calculator just to get an idea of what kind of data I would be in charge of collecting. However, I soon realized a flaw in the time line we were observing. Simply put, it would be impossible for me to come up with data for the remainder of the 2010 school year. I'm sure a few of you have hit this same brick wall.
I then turned to my handy-dandy Carbon Emissions 2008 Report for answers. I realized in their report, they monitored the 2006-2007 school year, which made sense to me. So I pose these questions to you:
Would it be beneficial to continue this trend and monitor the 2008-2009 school year? Wouldn't this make our data more sound when comparing it in the years to come? Does it make sense to use data which already exists in comparison to data which will involve a greater measure of guess-work?
What is your opinion?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
First Draft of the Transportation Survey
Tonight in the library, Andi Heather and I met to put together the first draft of our Transportation Survey. Although we were rushed to finish this draft in a few days, this meeting was extremely successful. Several issues will need to be discussed further with the class to make a final decision, but we were all impressed with how far the document has already come. Andi will be e-mailing this draft to the transportation team, and I will be printing paper copies to bring to class on Monday (on scrap paper to be environmentally friendly).
I also brought up the suggestion of putting boxes in each of the dorms' computer rooms for scrap paper. Yes, recycling the paper does help the environment, but it would be even better to use both sides of the paper first. Personally, I have often dug through the recycling bin for paper only used on one side to quickly print an email. A box to put store scrap paper would be extremely convenient.
I also brought up the suggestion of putting boxes in each of the dorms' computer rooms for scrap paper. Yes, recycling the paper does help the environment, but it would be even better to use both sides of the paper first. Personally, I have often dug through the recycling bin for paper only used on one side to quickly print an email. A box to put store scrap paper would be extremely convenient.
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