Deforestation

 Deforestation

Written by Caleb Cheha Paik

                            

Deforestation is common and deadly. The world suffers from deforestation due to human activity. In South Korea, the average annual deforestation rate is about 0.11%. This may not seem so bad at first, but that is about 7100 hectares of forest lost each year. This is equivalent to around 17500 football fields! This is a great issue that we need to face.

Deforestation is intentional clearing of forested land. In order to make space for construction, and materials for burning, humans are responsible for the destruction of trees and wildlife. 

There is one major consequence to this action. The increased emission of carbon dioxide. Obviously, the disappearance of trees is not increasing the amounts of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. That comes from the works of manufactures and productions. However, the destruction of trees contributes to the increase because trees take in carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. Meaning, with the lack of trees, the amount of carbon dioxide in the air will be more than usual. This creates an ultimate problem: global warming. 

Furthermore, deforestation also threatens biodiversity. Rainforests are home to many great animals and plant species that are threatened if their habitat is destroyed. When their homes and food are destroyed, some species may even go extinct. 

Today, we have talked about the dangers of deforestation. However, wood is an absolute material people need in their lives. Therefore, that brings up a question. Will humans refrain from too much deforestation? If so, will it even be any help towards the environment? 

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/deforestation

https://rainforests.mongabay.com/deforestation/forest-information-archive/South_Korea.htm#:~:text=63.5%25%20%E2%80%94or%20about%206%2C265%2C000%20hectares,annual%20deforestation%20rate%20of%200.11%25.

•  E-gen AmbassadorCheha Paik

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Green Certification Programs

 Environmental Certification

Written by Caleb Cheha Paik

              

What does it mean to be Environmentally Certified?

Environmental certification is a form of regulation performed by a third-party in which they assess the sustainability of the product for our planet. To be certified it means that the claims you make about these healthy assessments are valid, you comply with the criteria, and the environmental practices are meeting the standards of the industry. 

Benefits?

Many benefits come from environmental certification. Some examples include saving time and money, identifying weaknesses in the environmental policy, and encouraging further change for a healthier environment. 

One example of a certification program is LEED. LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the most widely known program regarding certification. Another example includes BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), which is an international program that specifically is recognized for its evaluation in building and infrastructure projects. 

The two programs listed above are just a few of many examples out there. However, they all have one universal goal: Save the planet from all dangers of human activity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_certification

https://www.chas.co.uk/blog/what-is-environmental-certification-why-you-need-it/

https://www.sharplaunch.com/blog/green-building-certifications/

Electric Cars and The Environment

By Sangwook Alex Ahn

My dream car when I go to college is a Tesla. I dream of driving it in the California sun. As eco-friendly is an important issue to me, I was wondering if electric cars are actually better for the environment. The pros of EVs (Battery electric vehicles) are that they don't emit CO2 from the tailpipe when on the road— a monumental reduction of CO2 emissions.

The government's effort to reach carbon zero by 2050 includes banning the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030. EVs also tackle noise pollution. The reduction of engine noise can be a contribution to a better environment.

Then what are the cons of EV vehicles? Fully electric vehicles (BEVs) take more emissions to create, mostly due to the production of their lithium batteries. However, these emissions are offset by lower EV emissions in use on the road. Also, EVs aren't emission-free as even EVs emit particulates from the road, tire, and brake wear and tear. 

Most EV car batteries are manufactured in China, South Korea, and Japan where the use of carbon in electricity production is generally high. One study estimates that they create 59%-60% more emissions in production. Reusing and recycling batteries and creating batteries for electricity storage are technologies that are being better explored.

Yet another problem caused by the EV vehicles on the environment is the disposal of electric car batteries. The Volkswagen Group has announced plans to begin a battery recycling project. EV batteries with some power left can be given a second life as mobile vehicle charging power packs and the ones at the end of their usable lives will be ground to a fine powder to extract their raw electrical ingredients such as lithium, nickel, and manganese, allowing them to be made into new EV batteries.

Overall, electric cars are eco-friendly, and better for the environment as EVs emit fewer greenhouse gases and air pollutants.

TAXING AGRICULTURAL EMISSION

by Seojin David Lee 

How else could agricultural pollution be decreased? New Zealand came up with a groundbreaking policy: to tax agricultural emissions such as urine or gas emissions of livestock. The government announced the radical bill to take place starting in 2025. 

The bill was constructed in hopes to meet the country's goal for climate change, which is to decrease methane emissions by 10% by the end of 2030. The idea of taxing natural emissions of livestock may sound inefficient or strange; however, it is imperative to note that more than half of New Zealand's greenhouse emissions--carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide--have been reported to be from agriculture alone. In fact, the government traced back the emissions of carbon dioxide from urea, nitrous oxide from livestock urine and feces, and methane from livestock gas. Such data validates New Zealand's proposal for the policy to monitor agricultural pollution. 

Needless to say, the bill is not perfect nor welcomed by everyone. Certainly, there have been protests from local farmers. Yet, the government continues to emphasize its concern for the environment as well as hope for the efficiency of the agricultural emission bill.

Sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/12/new-zealand-plans-to-tax-emissions-from-livestock-burps-and-dung.html#:~:text=New%20Zealand%20plans%20to%20tax%20agricultural%20emissions%20%E2%80%94%20including%20those%20related,come%20into%20force%20in%202025.

Are Items We Put in the Recycling Bin Actually Recyclable?

 Are Items We Put in the Recycling Bin Actually Recyclable? 

Grace Hyunjoo Lee

We see the "chasing arrows" symbol on numerous items in grocery stores and shops, but what does that really mean? Does that mean it is recyclable?

Actually, no. This symbol is only for showing what type of plastic it is made from, not if it's recyclable or not. We have to understand that not every item that has the “chasing arrows” symbol is recyclable; the numbers in the middle of the symbol are what’s important. The following is the different numbers and what they represent.

Usually, most curbside recycling programs accept plastics #1 and #2; around 30 percent end up getting recycled. #3 and #7 is extremely difficult to recycle and therefore almost always omitted, and the rest are questionable.

One of the biggest problems is that it puts the burden on individuals and customers to decode the symbols and make the right choices. Furthermore, what makes this recycling process even more confusing is that every region has different regulations on what can be recycled. Even if people do make the right choices, many recycling programs do not have enough buyers, so plastic piles up with nowhere to go. What's even worse, countries like Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Ethiopia are finding themselves flooded with plastic waste from rich, first-world countries that dump all their problems into neighboring developing countries. The problem is clear. People are bad at recycling, and the ecosystem isn't absorbing it well, but the root cause is simply the amount of plastic produced. Recycling programs definitely can’t keep up with the substantial amount of new plastic that comes in, and more than half are designed for single-use. Once they are discarded, they hang around for centuries, breaking into gradually smaller particles, carrying toxic substances into drinking water, rainfall, and human blood. This all started with the desire for higher sales and the responsibility being switched on the people recycling. What can be done is the adoption of the extended producer responsibility law, which is the use of financial incentives to encourage manufacturers to think of Eco-friendly products by making the producers responsible for the entire life-cycle of products that are introduced to the market. Implementing tougher rules and wiser consumer choices will eventually lead to the world and environment we all wish to reside in.

Amina Lake Abdelrahman Amina is a product review writer and editor who worked as an editorial assistant in the Good Housekeeping Institute from 2018 to 2020. “You're Probably Recycling Your Plastics Wrong.” Good Housekeeping, 18 Apr. 2022, https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/g804/recycling-symbols-plastics-460321/.

Tabuchi, Hiroko, and Winston Choi-schagrin. “Trash or Recycling? Why Plastic Keeps Us Guessing.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Apr. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/21/climate/plastics-recycling-trash-environment.html.

Green-e® Climate Certificate

 Green-e® Climate

By. Sangwook Alex Ahn

 

It is a well-known fact that greenhouse gasses trap heat and make the planet warmer. One of the main reasons for the greenhouse effect is the carbon emission from human activities such as burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation.

 

The primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States are

·      Transportation – 27% of 2020 greenhouse gas emissions

·      Electricity production – 25% of 2020 greenhouse gas emissions

·      Industry – 24% of 2020 greenhouse gas emissions

·      Commercial and Residential – 13% of 2020 greenhouse and gas emissions

·      Agriculture – 11% of 2020 greenhouse gas emissions

·      Land use and Forestry – 13% of 2020 greenhouse in gas emissions

 

Green-e® Climate Certified offsets meet the most rigorous standards for quality in the industry. Green-e® Climate is a chain-of-custody certification for carbon offsets that requires project verification by Endorsed Programs (like the American Carbon Registry, the Climate Action Reserve, the Gold Standard, and the Verified Carbon Standard). Through the Green-e® Climate program, CRS takes oversight further by being the only program to monitor how offsets are transacted and advertised in the retail market, protecting both the buyer and the seller.

Utilities, competitive energy suppliers and other retail sellers can develop and certify carbon offset programs with Green-e® Climate:

- Carbon offsets for residential consumers. Offer consumers high-quality carbon offsets to reduce carbon emissions associated with driving, home energy use, and other activities.

- Carbon Offsets for corporate sustainability commitments. Provide corporations with a credible way to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and establish environmental leadership.

- Carbon Offsets for natural gas & fuel use. Sell carbon offsets bundled with natural gas or other fuels as a simple, effective way to offset the greenhouse gas emissions associated with fuel consumption.

- Carbon Offsets for green building standards. Help buildings meet green building certification standards like Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) and the International Living Future Institute's Living Building Challenge.

World Environment Day - June 5th, 2022

World Environment Day

By Hyunseok (Elliott) Lee

  

    Today (June 5th) is a day that isn’t exactly ‘well-known’ around the world. June 5th is the United Nations  ‘World Environment Day’, a day used by the UN to encourage awareness and action for the protection of the environment. While it is garnering more and more attention each year, it remains relatively unknown among the public. 

    Celebrating its 50th year today, the World Environment Day is being celebrated across the globe, though not widely. I was able to attend an event here in Seoul, more specifically the Han River Park. I was quite surprised by the pure scale of the event, as a large portion of the park near the bridge was reserved solely for this day. Lots of small games and sub-events were prepared, a good tactic to grab the attention of park walkers. 

    

    I took part in some of these games and they were definitely quite entertaining. But more importantly, they were able to really pique my interest in the event itself and its purpose. The event at the park emphasized the 3 R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), and more specifically need to reduce waste (most commonly plastic). I took part in a park cleanup activity where everybody was given a bag and a reach extender to pick up as much trash around the park as they could. 

    

    While I understood why they had created this activity, I initially questioned the true purpose of it. Having taken part in many pickup activities before, I felt that not much could be gained from it education-wise or moral-wise. I was also reluctant to head on the grueling journey to clean up the litter-filled area of the park. However, the entire filthy portion was tidied up entirely in a matter of minutes, which came to my surprise. I realized that the main purpose of the pickup activity wasn't to clean the park, but to show how easy it was to clean it. While I always follow the 3 R's and clean up after myself, I know a substantial amount of people who fail to do so. I felt that this event could prove incredibly useful to those who do not usually use public areas cleanly. 

    The event was closed off with a couple musical performances that took place in the cleaned areas of the park. It was refreshing to listen to the calming and beautiful sounds while enjoying the spotless and pleasant park views around me. 

    Overall, I had an amazing experience at the Han River Park. It really made me think about how these entertaining methods could perhaps be more successful in encouraging people to care for the environment than certain lectures or forced activities. I hope that our group is able to hold a large-scale event similar to this one day as it can certainly bring a new perspective to large amounts of people.