Activity 2.1 – Atmosphere: Reduce Northwest Vista College’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions

·       Problem

Unfortunately, as years have gone by, the amount of greenhouse gases in the world has risen. My task, as the principal student science advisor to the Northwest Vista College committee to reduce the college’s net emissions of greenhouse gases, is to develop a list of options that should be undertaken to help reduce greenhouse gasses immediately, and gradually.

First, I would like to identify some of the problems that cause the excess greenhouse gas emissions. We can only find solutions if we know where the problem comes from.

1.    I have observed numerous students sitting, sleeping, reading, eating, and just hanging out in their idling vehicle.

2.    Almost all of the students drive to campus alone, and some students live far from school, so their drive emits more greenhouse gases than necessary.

3.    All the restrooms have paper towels to dry hands.

·       Investigation

1.    Something needs to be done about students sitting in their idling cars for long periods of time. In an article from the Environmental Defense Fund they say, “every day in the U.S. millions of cars and trucks idle needlessly, sometimes for hours and an idling car can release as much pollution as a moving car” (Attention Drivers, par. 1).

2.    Students could cut the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions significantly by carpooling, or by taking online classes. The Rideshare Company explains that “driving your car 20,800 miles a year emits 23,600 lbs of CO2” (“Environmental Benefits”, par. 3).

3.    In an article by Treehugger.com they say, “disposable paper products account for more than one-quarter of landfill waste; many office, administrative, and college dorm buildings report even more than that, saying paper towels take up a third of their waste” (“How to Avoid”, par. 1), and Green Schools Alliance has said, “the Climate Conservancy reports that for each use, hand dryers cause between 9 and 40 grams of carbon dioxide emissions, whereas paper towels have an average of 56 grams of carbon dioxide emissions” (“Hand Dryers Vs.”, par. 6).

·       Data Analysis and Interpretation

1.    If at least twenty students sit in their idling car for an average of thirty minutes before their first class of the day, and every ten minutes an idling car produces one pound of carbon dioxide (“Attention Drivers”, par. 9), that’s a minimum of sixty unnecessary pounds of carbon dioxide a day. I’m sure more than twenty students sit in their car waiting for class to begin.

2.    Many students go to school with their friends, and have the same schedules, but drive in separate cars. If at least twenty students carpooled to school, meaning only ten cars in the parking lot from those twenty student, and cut out at least twenty five miles for the students each week, that would save a minimum of 15,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from going into our atmosphere (“Environmental Benefits”, par. 2).

3.    Every single student has used a restroom at school. Let’s just say there are five thousand students that attend Northwest Vista in a single day. If each student uses the restroom at least once and only uses paper towels, and “about 0.123 pounds of greenhouse-gas emissions per paper-towel “session”—that is, the researchers assumed that a hand-washer uses two towels to dry off” (“Electric Hand Dryers vs. Paper Towels”, par.8), then they are emitting about 615 pounds of greenhouse gasses each day.

·       Explanations and Designing Solutions

There are simple solutions to these problems that not everyone will be a fan of.

1.    No longer allow students to sit in an idling car. If a parking lot attendant sees a student sitting in an idle car for longer than five minutes, give them a ticket.

2.    The college can also provide more comfortable sitting/lounging areas for students. Some students sit in their car because most of the seats on campus are taken, and the places that aren’t taken are extremely uncomfortable.

3.    The college could build a special designated parking area closest to the buildings for carpoolers. That would encourage more students to carpool. Everyone wants a spot closest to their classes, especially when it’s very hot or very cold. Anyone who parks there and did not carpool gets a ticket.

4.    The college could offer more online classes, and make them a little cheaper than traditional classes on campus. That will give students more incentive to stay home and take a course, rather than driving to campus. I prefer to learn in a classroom, but if I could save money, I would be more inclined to learn online.

5.    Lastly, completely get rid of paper towels in the restrooms. There are already nice efficient hand dryers that work way better than they used to, so there is no need for paper towels anymore. Most students like to quickly wipe their hands on paper towels, but they can get used to only using hand dryers. That way we will be sending much less waste to the landfill.

Citations:

“Attention Drivers! Turn Off Your Idling Engines” Environmental Defense Fund. February 2009 https://www.edf.org/attention-drivers-turn-your-idling-engines Accessed February 3, 2020.

“Environmental Benefits” The Rideshare Company. https://www.rideshare.com/easy-commute/environmental-benefits/ Accessed February 3, 2020.

“How to Avoid Using Paper Towels” Katherine Martinko, Treehugger. January 8, 2018 https://www.treehugger.com/cleaning-organizing/how-avoid-using-paper-towels.html Accessed February 3, 2020.

“Hand Dryers Vs. Paper Towels: Which Has A Larger Environmental Impact?” Raye Myers, Green Schools Alliance. November 16, 2016 https://www.greenschoolsalliance.org/blogs/16/394 Accessed February 3, 2020.

“Electric Hand Dryers vs. Paper Towels” Brendan Koerner, The Green Lantern, Slate June 17, 2008 https://slate.com/technology/2008/06/are-electric-hand-dryers-better-for-the-environment-than-paper-towels.html Accessed February 5, 2020.