Comic I found on Reddit

MythBusters Test the Emissions of Motorcycles Versus Cars

A lot of people (including myself) think that motorcycles are better for the environment than cars. MythBusters put this to the test:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2011/09/mythbusters-motorcycle-emissions.html

The MythBusters concluded that "at best, it's a wash. Motorcycles are just as bad for the environment as cars...at worst, they're far worse."

Writing Process

Initially, I wasn't sure what direction my paper would take. I profiled bright green environmentalism for the last writing assignment so I wanted to write about how sustainable cities are an ideal neighborhood. It was kind of difficult to figure out how I could pick a topic related to this which matched the prompt so I pushed forward by finding a bunch of sources related to sustainable cities. I had a small epiphany when I realized how sustainable cities fit in with how land use is an environmental issue. This lead me to frame my paper on the environmental issue of land use, with a focus on dense cities versus urban sprawl.

After writing almost the minimum length, I realized that I hadn't even addressed the stakeholders involved. I was able to identify a few different scenarios: 1) People live in dense cities which would require people to abandon their communities to move to the city, and 2) People remove themselves from cities and industrialization which would hurt large companies and everyone who is invested in industrialization. I chose to only write about the first scenario since in my paper, I argued that future neighborhoods should look like dense cities instead of sprawled suburbs. For this scenario, it was difficult to focus on all stakeholders and supporting my statements with sources. In order for people to transition to dense cities, families would have to move from their homes. Also, a lot of effort would have to go into the planning which allows for dense cities. With this being the only 2 stakeholders I could identify, it was difficult to focus my paper on these aspects.

The Editt Tower, Singapore

If you work in a skyscraper everyday, you might seem disconnect from the world way below you. Everywhere you look there are offices upon offices and conference rooms. This environment can get bland and a bit depressing. A bright green future, will require cities to become innovative. One example of this is the planning of Editt Tower in Singapore. This 26 story building is designed to minimize the disconnect workers experience in their offices. The building will have many layers of plants and mini parks as well as natural ventilation and solar panels. I want to go visit when it's built!

Lighting Round Recap: Bright Green Environmentalism

I profiled bright green environmentalism, which is a term that was coined by environmentalist Alex Steffen in 2003. Bright green environmentalism is about using innovation to have a bright environmentally friendly future. It opposes the idea that in order to live sustainably, we must return to a primitive way of living in which we abandon technology and infrastructure. Bright green environmentalists believe that through technology, we can innovate our cities so that they are sustainable.

Alex Steffen describes a spectrum of environmentalists: bright green, light green, and dark green. Light green environmentalists is based on individuals making changes which are better for the environment, such as taking a shorter shower or being vegetarian. Light green environmentalism relies on people seeing "going green" as the cool thing to do. Dark green environmentalists rely on the idea that communities can be sustainable by using local solutions for food and energy. McKibben can be classified as a dark green environmentalist because he suggests local solutions in Eaarth. All three types of environmentalism can work together to make our world innovative and sustainable.

Lightning Round Artifact

If New York City where a state, it would be the state with the least energy use per capita. Dense cities are more efficient and use less energy than spread out suburbs.

Christy Vaughn: Saving the Environment One Bus Ride at a Time

I want to sleep here!

Build a House for Less Than $5000

http://ciracar.com/build-a-house-for-less-than-5000

Triangle Transit!

Eaarth by Bill McKibben

Eaarth, by Bill McKibben, was an interesting read. The entire book was informative. The first two chapters describe the changes our planet have went through as a result of passing the 350 ppm mark. These changes have fundamentally altered our planet, hence the new name Eaarth. I think it's interesting how he wrote about our planet as if it is an entirely different one from the one we lived on before we passed the 350 mark. I think this was effective in showing that the problem is not just for our grandchildren, but for our parents. We already live in a different planet from our previous ones because we have changed it in so many ways. It is going to be up to us to return to 350 ppm so that our planet remains habitable.
Before reading Eaarth, I didn't think that global warming was presently causing major changes in our planet. I thought that an increase in 1 degree would have little, if no effect, on our world. However, warmer air holds more water, increasing evaporation, which makes dry areas drier and wet areas wetter. If we can lower our carbon to 350 ppm, our environment will have fewer natural disasters that are linked to global warming.
In the last half of the book, McKibben elaborates on how America has always focused on growing. Instead of focusing on growth, McKibben argues that we need to back off. Growing makes us "too big to fail" in which case we always fail because we're too big. McKibben also suggests that we think local. A lot of energy that is generated is lost in the process of distributing it. Also, food that travels farther is less fresh. We should take a local approach to energy and food by focusing on local community. I think if we begin to increase our sense of community, and take advantage of local energy and food, we will be closer to returning to the 350 ppm mark.