Title: A Printable, Flexible, Organic Solar Cell, Hannah Bürckstümmer
The video by Hannah Bürckstümmer on Printable, Flexible, Organic Solar Cells is insightful and provides the promise of technological innovations as solutions for energy conservation and environmental safety. According to Hannah, by August 2, 2017, human beings had consumed a full years' worth of natural resources, which is baffling as it shows how we quickly use our resources (Spendlove, 2018). The topic relates to energy renewal in that the new solar technology proposed by Hannah, that is, flexible organic solar cells. This solar cell can be designed in any shape, which makes it possible for all the various building designs available to capture solar from every surface that is exposed. According to Spendlove (2018), in this particular technology, a Printable, Flexible, Organic Solar Cell, proposed by Hannah, it is different from the healthy customary solar cells. In the organic solar cells, organic photovoltaics are made of elements that are liquefied in ink and can be printed and cast via basic methods. The resulting product is a low-weight, flexible, semi-transparent film that converts the sun's energy into electric current.
TOPIC #2: Website Activist
The organization I chose is The Plastic Pollutes Coalition (PPC), founded in 2009 and it envisions a plastics-free world. Mission: The PPC is a flourishing global alliance comprised of more than one thousand two hundred, business and thought leaders in seventy-five countries. PPC works towards a world free of plastic pollution and the toxic effects that plastic pollution has on humans, waterways, animals, the environment, and the ocean (PPC, 2020). Vision: The PPC envisions a plastic pollution-free world in which: People adopt zero-waste habits and have lessened the use of plastic; NGOs collaborate to push for systematic solutions; and governments and business to enact legislations, regulations, and practices of a circular economy: Packaging/goods are to be designed in a durable, reusable or in a way that they are useful throughout their existence (PPC, 2020). I chose PPC due to its commitment to improving human health by lessening the adverse effects of toxic chemicals found in plastic on humans, especially pregnant women (PPC, 2020). The Healthy Pregnancy Guide developed by PPC aims at educating pregnant women on how the toxic chemical found in plastic affects not only the environment but also human bodies especially developing babies.
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TOPIC #3: Climate Change
The topic I chose is Ocean Temperature.
Figure 1 : Ocean temperature
Ocean temperature, also known as Sea surface temperature (SST) is the temperature of the water that is near to the surface of the ocean. According to Osland et al. (2017), SST is one of the climate indices with the extensive histories of direct measurements. The ocean accounts for about seventy per cent of the Earth's surface; hence changes in the ocean's surface temperature are a crucial element for determining Earth's global temperature. Ocean temperature is related to climate change since ocean warming due to the absorption of excess heat from greenhouse gas emissions by oceans results in rising ocean temperatures. Conferring to Osland et al. (2017), the increasing temperature of the ocean affects the ecosystem and marine species. The rising temperatures lead to loss of mangroves, coral bleaching, and the depletion of breeding areas for marine mammals and fishes. The increasing ocean temperatures also impact the advantages that humans obtain from the ocean, thereby endangers food security, escalating the disease prevalence, and leading to adverse weather occurrences such as storms or tsunamis and the loss of coastal protection.
TOPIC #4: Fracking
What is Fracking?
According to Thompson (2019), fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is the technique of drilling technique into the Earth surface, and a water mixture at high pressure is pumped into the rock to remove the gas in the rocks. In the rocks, the injected sand, water, and chemicals at high pressure enable gas to exit from the wells.
Pros of Fracking
Access to new deposits of oil and natural gas: Natural deposits of natural gas have been depleted over the years, and fracking has made it possible to access new oil and gas reserves located deep in the underground rock layers (Thompson, 2019).
Natural gas instead of coal and oil: The use of coal and oil leads to pollution to the environment and contribute to climate change. Countries with deposits of shale gas can harvest natural gas a cleaner form of energy, unlike oil and coal.
Cons of Fracking
Environmental impact: Fracking is not a sustainable form of energy extraction. Fracking has adverse effects on the environment because it requires large quantities of water which is ferried to the required location at a substantive cost. Fracking can also lead to earth tremors, which may lead to escape of carcinogenic substances, and also fracking results in noise pollution (Thompson, 2019).
Water contamination: The water mixture pumped into the shale rock has carcinogenic substances that can escape from fracturing boreholes and pollute local water adjacent to the fracturing site, which is a potential hazard to fish and other wildlife (Thompson, 2019). Besides, the extraction of shale gas may lead to contamination of groundwater, which may lead to contamination of drinking water, posing a threat to human life.
References
Osland, M. J., Day, R. H., Hall, C. T., Brumfield, M. D., Dugas, J. L., & Jones, W. R. (2017). Mangrove expansion and contraction at a poleward range limit: climate extremes and land ‐ ocean temperature gradients. Ecology , 98 (1), 125-137.
PPC. (2020). Plastic Pollution Coalition. Retrieved from https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/
Spendlove, T. (2018). Printable, Flexible, Organic Solar Cells Are Coming. Retrieved from https://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/16829/Printable-Flexible-Organic-Solar-Cells-Are-Coming.aspx
Thompson, J. (2019). The Fracking Debate: The Risks, Benefits, and Uncertainties of the Shale Revolution.
