This week we looked at different kinds of energy sources and how they affect the environment. We also learned about the rule of what you put into a source (money wise) needs to have at least a double output for it to be worth it (energy output). Below are questions given by my instructor. 1) How do you depend on mined resources? As you go through your day, list all the things that you use/ come in contact with that had resources that needed to be mined. I think my house is fully dependent on mind resources, Rocky Mountain Power is our power company and even though they had wind and solar options for your home, I don't think we participate in any of that. And even though I've been driving less I still drive a car that is solely dependent on fossil fuels to run, but I am thinking about starting to bike to work. 2) Pick one resource that is mined that you use and discuss the environmental, economic, and/or societal impact of the mines that are used to get the resources that you depend on. The energy for my house most likely comes from coal, this has a negative effect on the environment because the land is torn up and ruined to look for it. Then when it is burned it has a negative effect on the air. Oil and gas are the same, these materials are drilled rather than mined but it still ruins the area around it to get to the source. 3) If you were given supreme power, how would you design the energy resource mixture here in Utah? What limitations are there to going from where we are at now to how you would like to see our energy usage? I would like to implement a lot more solar panels, we are a desert and as such we get a lot of sun in the summertime. But it's expensive to implement solar panels and they only really work if the sun is shining and if they're not covered up by snow or debris. But the benefits could be that they provide shaded parking at amusement parks or zoos. Ultimately though I think no matter what we do, as long as we try to implement other sources it's a good thing. 4) Describe your photo and why you chose to take and post that particular photo and what is it's connection to the topic of the week. I chose these pictures because we just bought a new dishwasher and this one is a lot more energy-efficient and conserves a lot more water than our old dishwasher. You can see on the yellow tag it has the Energy Star logo which helps you know it is an energy-saving appliance.
5) What was one thing that you found particularly interesting this week? I enjoyed playing the game, I knew what I wanted to do to make the energy more environmentally friendly but it wasn't always that easy. It also helped me put into perspective the amount of energy that is really acquired from re-new able sources like wind. It's a lot less than what I wish it was.
0 Comments
This week we had a web conference with Representative Elizabeth Weight, we talked to her about air pollution in Utah and what Congress is doing about it.
1) Who are your state and US representatives and how can you contact them? Give the name and one contact info for each of the following: US Senator-Romney, Mitt (R) & Lee, Mike (R) US Representative- McAdams, Ben (D) Governor- Gary R. Herbert (R) State Senator- Kathleen Riebe (D) State Representative- Marie H. Poulson (D) County and/or City Mayor- Mike Peterson, mayor of Cottonwood Heights County Council member- Shireen Ghorbani for Salt Lake County 2) What is one issue that you personally might talk to your elected representative about and which representative from the list above do you think would be best to talk to about this issue? I used to be really active in Cottonwood Heights and would attend council meets, I think with the in-land port coming into Utah it is important to get cities to do what they can to cut back on carbon emissions. So, I would talk to Mike Peterson and the rest of his council to see if we could get Cottonwood Heights to be idle free and make sure it's enforced. Without having some kind of punishment for idling, nothing will change. 3) What did you know about the state legislative branch before our conversation and what was new/ interesting to you? I don't know a lot about politics, I have started to get more invested and pay more attention when I became a senior in high school but I fail to retain a lot about how government works. However, it was nice to hear from representative Weight that environmentally conscious people like herself are making the best out of situations they can't change. What I mean by this is the inland port, it will increase the amount of pollution being released and this can cause health problems from those that have to live around it. So it's the job of people like Weight to make sure that if they build it, they have to make sure everything they do is up to a certain environmental code. This will then decrease the total amount of pollutants caused. 4) How do you think air pollution impacts you? I know air pollution effects my health, in the winter as I go to school I can see the immersion sitting in the valley. Because my city is on top of a hill in the mountains it's easy to see that difference. And where I haven't seen a massive difference in my own health because of our pollution I also know that on days when it's really bad I try not to go outside and too much of staying inside isn't good; something quarantining has really helped me realize. 5) Discuss challenges to reducing air pollution. What is one thing that you can and will you do to help reduce air pollution in the Salt Lake area? One thing I've done is stop idling when I can help it, traffic is something I can't help but if I'm at the bank or picking something or someone up or anything like that I make sure to turn my key. I have also made my friends and family do the same thing if I'm in the car and we're waiting without idling. And if it's cold I keep blankets in my car and if it's hot we roll the windows down and call it good. A friend of mine has also been telling me everything he's doing to be environmentally friendly and one thing is he bikes 30-mile rides and wants to start biking to work once things get going again. I have thought about biking to work too, I live 6 minutes away and it wouldn't be difficult. The thing that has kept me from it is that I like up a massive hill. |
Archives
April 2020
Categories |