Keystone

Keystone XL Pipeline is a 36 inch in diameter pipeline, that will potentially run through three Canadian providences, as well as nine states. If the fourth section is built, it will carry crude oil, the dirtiest form of oil into the United States from Canada in an effort to reduce America's reliance on other nations for oil. It will not only harm the environment drastically but also the economy, citizens, and much more. Plus, TransCanada has been involved in multiple scams, so can we even trust them?

One of the main environmental concerns about the pipeline, is that if the fourth section is built, and it goes into full use, there will be a 12-17% increase in greenhouse gas emissions. This is due to the fact that we will be extracting oil sands (a type of crude oil) instead of typical oil. With the climate already in the position it is, we cannot afford any increase in green house gas emissions without serious consequences.

Additionally, there is the risk of spills that would potentially contaminate water supplies, the air, and hurt wildlife. Although TransCanada claims that there will be little to no spills, any ones only spilling a few gallons, the current sections, have spilled 12 times within the last year, one of which, spilled approximately 21,000 gallons. This is just one example of TransCanada lying to cover up the consequences of Keystone.

The final environmental effect, is that the use of oil sands or tar sands, completely goes against America's commitment to clean energy, setting a bad example, and even preventing it from ever actually going into effect. 

However, there are more than just environmental problems that go along with Keystone, if the fourth section is built, there will also be economic issues. One of these issues, is that, if the pipeline is finished, the price of oil will rise excessively. Plus, there will not be nearly as many jobs as TransCanada stated, which I will write about more later on.

But that's not all! The construction of the pipeline will also have negative effects on many people. Native Americans, especially, will suffer from the pipeline, as their sacred sites could be damaged, and many health risks would arise. The extension of Keystone runs through multiple of their historical and cultural sites, destroying them. Additionally, they are quite conventional and catch fish, that would be poisoned during potential spills, to eat as a main part of their diet.

TransCanada has also been involved in multiple scams, some of which, I briefly mentioned above. These scams include overstating the amount of jobs, covering up spills, as well as bribing and threatening others. While TransCanada stated that there would be 20,000 jobs available, President Obama himself, said that there would probably only be 2,000 jobs for the 2 years Keystone was being built, and then that would reduce to only 50-100 jobs afterward. While this is understatement, research has proven that there will probably only be about 2,600 to 4,650 temporary jobs, still much less than what TransCanada said. They also said that there would be few to no spills, and any that did occur would only spill a little, but as I mentioned previously, this was not true.

Also, they had paid an environmental association to write a false report about the effects building the pipeline would have on the environment. Plus they threatened land-owners that wouldn't give up their land. Finally, TransCanada lied about America reducing the amount it relies on other nations for oil, as most of the oil will be going outside of the United States. This undermines one of the main purposes of the pipeline!

Although there are some temporary benefits, the overall consequences are horrible, yet, believe it or not, 65% of Americans believe it should be built! However, people are taking action to prevent the fourth, and final, section to be built. Below is a petition you can sign to take action. You can even personalize your message using the information you have learned.

https://secure.sierraclub.org/site/Advocacy;jsessionid=487747C616D89DA8165D6947D144F043.app207a?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=12467&autologin=true&s_src=214BBOAN05

Next Week: Vegetarian Recipes!

Fun Crossword I Made

Hey Everyone! Here is a fun crossword that I made to test your knowledge about my blog! All the answers are in my previous blog posts from December to now. You can print it out, and there are answers on the sheet...but please, only look if you're truly stumped. Enjoy!

If there are any suggestions you have for other fun games, please write them in the comments :) 

http://edtools.mankindforward.com/crosswords/242101/generate 

Spring forward fall back

Although, we are already quite a bit past "Spring forward", the question still remains, does daylight savings conserve energy? Day light savings was created by Benjamin Franklin in an effort to save  candles, and was kept later on as it was found that day light savings saved electricity. However, nowadays, with heating and new electronics, day light savings might actually increase our usage of energy as a whole. When investigating the difference between Indiana's electricity usage before and after daylight savings took full effect. We learned that in fact, with daylight savings, there was a 1% increase in electricity usage. Only a little right? Well 1% is actually equivalent to an extra 9 million dollars. This is because even though there is less need for lighting, there is a higher demand for temperature controlling (IE heating and cooling). However, contrary to that experiment, another one in 2007 (when daylight savings happen 3 weeks earlier). In this second experiment, there was practically no effect on the national energy usage. Additionally, research has found that there is an increased amount of heart attacks, possibly caused by the disruption of typical daily patterns such as sleep patterns. Overall, there are multiple theories about whether daylight savings is "good" or "bad", and we don't yet know the answer. So, what do you think? 

For more information (includes other research results), check out http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-daylight-saving-times-save-energy/?page=

Next week: More about Keystone, also possibly a crossword 

Osmosis

A new osmotic power plant in Norway may be the future of renewable energy. Although small now, the plant claims that osmotic power could produce about 1,370 terawatt-hours per year. Osmotic power is the process of using diffusion (when a substance passes through a membrane into another area that contains less of the substance, ie... tea from tea bag diffuses into cup) to create power. In this case, salt water particles diffuse into freshwater when rivers meet seas and in fact, create heat energy. With a membrane between the two types of water, water particles diffuse and create osmosis. 

Though reverse osmosis has been around since the 1950's, using osmosis as energy was only created later on. It has been called a "very clean process" by Friso Sikkema and Statkraft, the company who created the osmotic power plant, believes in it so much they spent over $12,000,000 and ten years on it. Unlike some other renewable energy options, the process of obtaining osmotic power does not produce any carbon, still though, there are concerns that if this expands, it might effect marine life. Additionally, membranes may be too expensive for big-scale osmosis. Still, for now, it is an optimistic route for the future of renewable energy.  

As osmosis has been growing in popularity, NASA has begun using osmotic systems to take care of wastewater on spaceships, Hydro-Quebec is teaming up with Statkraf, and Japan has opened a Osmotic Power Research Centre. Also, as osmosis advances we can now create a "natural battery" by using PRO osmosis to replace RED osmosis. RED osmosis is the process of capturing the energy of mixing fresh and salt water using positively and negatively charged membranes, while PRO osmosis uses complex machinery to do the same thing. However, PRO is much more expensive, and RED will most likely be a more popular alternative.

So with all these upsides, why hasn't osmotic power become a big success? Well, the materials needed for an osmotic plant are not only expensive but many. Additionally, much space is needed for even a small osmotic plant and it is an excessive amount of work to find water clean enough to support the membranes. But there is still hope, for like other renewable energies, osmotic power, after an initial investment, will become a great success. Once cost-effective, osmotic power has the potential to power all of Russia as well as Eastern Europe.   

The next thing we need to do is create a bigger, more inexpensive plant and before you know it, maybe your house will be powered by osmotic energy.

For more information, check out: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/01/130107-osmotic-energy-norway/

Next week: Hopefully a video about daylight savings

Strawless

     When was the last time you used a straw? Did you really need it? Did you know that over 500 million straws are used each day in just the United States? Well, in 2011, Milo Cress, considered these questions and started a campaign to become strawless. 
     At nine years old, Milo recognized all the plastic that was being wasted through the use of staws. His Be Straw Free campaign has inspired restaurants and citizens to this very day. In fact, in 2013, many Texas Roadhouses decided to go strawless for a week. From May 20th - May 26th they asked customers if the wanted a straw instead of just giving them one. So next time you are given a straw, think, do you really need it?

For more information check out, http://www.kcbd.com/story/22293432/texas-roadhouse-going-strawless-to-help-the-environment
or help support Milo's campaign at, https://www.ecocycle.org/bestrawfree  

Next week: Spring Forward, Fall Back in March? 

Exo; Cricket Bar

What's your typical snack? Maybe you think immediately of chips and gwac, or perhaps crackers and hummus, but did any of you think of crickets? Well, a new company called Exo, created by two graduates from Brown University, makes protein bars using cricket flour. Co-founder, Gabi Lewis was looking for a protein bar that actually tasted good while Greg Sewitz, the other founder, had recently attended a conference about global warming and suggested crickets as an eco-friendly provider of protein for the bars. After brainstorming some more and putting some hard work into their idea, Exo was founded.

      Exo bars are organic, all-natural, gluten/grain/soy/dairy free protein bars that contain 10grams of protein and are made in America. They currently come in three flavors: cacao nut, peanut butter & jelly, and cashew ginger moroccan spice, with more soon to come. In addition, the cricket flour in them has high amounts protein, all the necessary amino acids, and lots of micro nutrients such as iron and calcium. With all these pluses, however, you're probably questioning the taste. Well, Exo bars have been given great reviews, some people even say it's the best protein bar they've ever eaten.

     Now you know about the heath and taste aspects of Exo bars, but how do they help the environment? For starters, crickets need less food, water, and space than cows, pigs, and sheep. In return, they reproduce much quicker and produce much less methane. Think of the 50% of human water and the 40% of land used for agriculture, eating crickets could help potentially solve these problems and Exo bars are just the first step!

      Of course, crickets are gross, right?! I mean who would want to eat bugs? While this may be our current attitude to eating insects, around 80% of the world already eats them. This is an amount that could grow quickly. More and more people are growing accustomed to eating insects, especially if they're in tasty protein bars. What do you think, would you eat crickets?

      Still, there are cons to Exo bars. The first main one is that their product could change. If they decide to edit just one thing in their bar, it could effect something as small as size to something as large as taste. Also, they rely on other companies to provide them with crickets, publicity, etc... and if anything happens to one of these providers it could potentially effect Exo. Finally, it is possible they will have to extend the shipping date if problems occur. While these can be dealt with, they, like all companies, are always going to have their problems.

       So now you're interested, but how can you help? Well they need donations from eager supporters to help sponsor Exo. Right now they have two money goals: a) to raise $50,000 so they can produce bars faster, etc.. and start focusing more on new ideas (ie. flavors) and b) to raise $20,000 so they can make their first group of commercially produced Exo bars. With your help, this idea can become reality. Obviously you don't have to donate, but you can open your eyes to the idea of Exo bars, and that by itself, will make a difference.

For more information, check out https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/exoprotein/exo-protein-bars-made-from-cricket-flour or their official website http://exo.co/

Next week: Strawless?

California Drought

     As you may have heard, there is a sever drought occurring in Los Angeles California. Due to lack of rain, approximately 40,000 people may run out of water in the next 60-120 days. This number, large enough already, has yet to grow, and may reach up to 25 million people. State officials are planning to bring drinking water to communities affected by truck. Additionally, wells will be built, and citizens will have to limit there water usage. Even with these efforts,this will be the worst drought in about 500 years. 
     However, the drought has already taken effect. The worst effects include farmers not being able planting anymore, ranchers having to sell their cattle, and pollution raising to a dangerously high level. Also, people have limited showers, washing cars, and watering lawns. On top of this, multiple species of animals are endangered. This being said, officials are stressed, and all have concerns about the drought.
     While it did rain recently, it was not nearly enough to make up for the three years of practically none. You may be wondering, three years of drought, how did this happen? I hypothesize that in fact, global warming is partly to blame. Studies show that over the next 100 years, dry areas will become drier and wet areas, wetter. That leaves one to believe, could this be the beginning of drastic global warming effects? What do you think, feel free comment your opinion below. 

For more information, check out: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/02/us/severe-drought-has-us-west-fearing-worst.html?_r=0

Next Week: Exo; Cricket Bars