Eleanor Babcock
11/11/15

Resource Guide

 Alaska Airlines Inks Agreement to Purchase Gevo's Alcohol-to-jet Fuel as Certification Edges Closer

              This online article provided by GreenAir online discusses the partnership between Alaska Airlines and Gevo, a company which researches and produces sustainable biofuels. This partnership and launch of biofuels in the airlines is an excellent example of what all airlines should be doing. Use of sustainable fuels is a way to combat climate change without disturbing economic growth of the aviation industry. Alaska Airlines is the first airline to create a target to commercially fly planes using biofuels. Their target is for the year of 2020. This article is useful in that it provides an example of sustainable aviation in progress. 

"Alaska Airlines Inks Agreement to Purchase Gevo's Alcohol-to-jet Fuel as Certification Edges Closer." Green Air. IATA, 13 May 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2015. <http://www.greenaironline.com/news.php?viewStory=2083>.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Summary for Policy Makers on Aviation

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) wrote a publication report with a summary for policy makers on aviation and the global atmosphere and proposed alternative options for aircraft efficiency and sustainability. Information on effects of aviation in terms of carbon, methane, and ozone emissions are all provided.  Solutions for creating a more sustainable aviation department include airframe design, alternative fuels, and air traffic guidance are also discussed.

"Aviation and the Global Atmosphere." Grid Arendal. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2015. <http://www.grida.no/publications/other/ipcc_sr/?src=/climate/ipcc/aviation/index.htm>.

Making an Impact: The influence of Policies to Reduce Emissions from Aviation on the Business Travel Patterns of Individual Corporations 

            This article, provided by Science Direct, is a scholar peer reviewed source. It includes valuable information regarding how personal and global businesses are striving to reduce their carbon footprint in terms of air travel. Some of these measures include: increasing air ticket prices and reducing the amount of people on international business trips. This article is valuable because it gives a perspective on what small businesses in the the UK are doing to lessen their air travel carbon footprint. It gives us a close up look at how business can strive to be more sustainable by giving examples of how these particular businesses are already doing that. 

Davies, Zoe G., and Paul R. Armsworth. "Making An Impact: The Influence Of Policies To Reduce Emissions From Aviation On The Business Travel Patterns Of Individual Corporations." Energy Policy 38.12 (2010): 7634-7638. Environment Index. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.

Fighting Climate Change In The Air: Lessons From The EU Directive On Global Aviation

This source is a peer reviewed article sourced from a database. It discusses the importance of the European Union’s (EU) decision to include aviation carbon emissions in their carbon calculations. There have been extreme noticeable increases in carbon emissions from aviation sectors.  The EU requires that all aviation sectors account or all their carbon emissions. This is problematic because on an international scale it is difficult to gauge whose emissions are whose. This article focuses on the importance of securing a system to avoid carbon leakage. Inclusion of all airlines is the best way to avoid carbon leakage. The EU has been working to avoid problems from past aviation and climate change efforts. The EU has decided to reduce emissions from aviation 30% by 2020 by improving energy efficiency, increasing shares of renewable energy, and developing an environmentally friendly way to store carbon. These solutions are politically minded rather than technological. 

De Paula Domingos, Nicole. "Fighting Climate Change In The Air: Lessons From The EU Directive On Global Aviation." Revista Brasileira De Política Internacional 55. (2012): 70-87. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

The Rough Guide to Climate Change

             Described in this rough guide about climate change, air travel has to potential to counteract all progress in the reduction of greenhouse gases as it becomes cheaper and more popular. It is reported that the aviation sector emits up to 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. Air travel emissions are not accounted for by the Kyoto protocols. This is problematic because it causes separate aviation organizations to be accountable for their own emissions.

            This rough guide also explains the science behind contrails from air planes and their warming effect on the atmosphere. In a study conducted by David Travis directly after the terrorist attacks on September 11^th, found that because air travel was shut down for the few days preceding the attacks the average air temperature was one degree higher during the day and lower at nights. He concluded that the lack of contrails in the atmosphere resulted in more solar radiation reaching the earth during the day and more escaping at night. Contrails have a net warming effect because they trap heat radiated back from the earth. The IPCC reported that contrails add up to 60% of warming from aviation. 

Henson, Robert, and Duncan Clark. The Rough Guide to Climate Change. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. London: Rough Guides, 2011. Print.

Exploring People's Viewpoints On Air Travel And Climate Change: Understanding Inconsistencies

             This article is a scholarly peer reviewed article. Projected growth of aviation is expected to surpass fuel and technology advancements and this article focuses on how to approach consumers, those associated with air travel, to advance technology in favor of the general public. The theory on air travel behavior is important because those who use air travel are the ones most directly affected by changes, whether that be scientific or economic. Travelers are generally unaware that their daily routines affect the climate. Even with awareness, it does not impact people’s decision to fly. 

Kroesen, Maarten. "Exploring People's Viewpoints On Air Travel And Climate Change: Understanding Inconsistencies." Journal Of Sustainable Tourism 21.2 (2013): 271-290. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.

 Climatologist Develops Contrail Avoidance Model

             This university article describes the work that David Travis, a climatologist  from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater did after September 11th when all flights were grounded. It describes his findings from his study. Some of these findings were that the earth was warmer during the day and cooler during the night.

 Kuhl, Sarah. "Climatologist Develops Contrail Avoidance Model." University News [Whitewater] 1 May 2008: n. pag. Print.

Want To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint? Here’s Which Airlines To Fly

An article published on Thinkprogress discussing the difference between which airlines are the most reliable in terms of reducing carbon footprint. A study released by the International Council on Clean Transport concluded that Alaska Airlines was the most efficient way to fly. Frontier and Southwest Airlines were also some of the top more efficient airlines. Fuel efficiency s directly tied to costs for flying with a particular airline. Consumers generally look for the most cost efficient flight, but green flights are becoming more of an outlook for frequent flyers. Suggestions are that the only way to effectively reduce emissions from aircrafts would be to increase flight ticket prices. 

Page, Samantha. "Want To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint? Here’s Which Airlines To Fly." Climate Progress. N.p., 31 Oct. 2015. Web. 4 Nov. 2015. <http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/10/31/3717776/best-worst-emitting-airlines/>.

Evaluation of Multifunctional Fuel Cell Systems in Aviation Using a Multistep Process Analysis Methodology

             This paper is from a peer reviewed credible database. It discusses options for advancement of fuel cells in aviation technology. Fuel conversion is one advancement which could be very beneficial for reducing emissions in the aviation sector. This paper researches the introduction of fuel cells. Fuel cells are important advancements in technology because they save energy and consider more efficient types of power management. Hydrogen power as a fuel is highly efficient and does not emit any carbon when burned, however, there is no infrastructure for carrying hydrogen on board aircraft. This paper concluded that the more efficient, less water producing fuel cell was that which carried kerosene. This paper also concluded that  switching to biofuels is the best decision for aviation sectors, however, the infrastructure to store and burn these types of fuels are not advanced enough.A solution derived from this paper is that, we have the material and resources to use biofuels, we just need the infrastructure.

Peters, R., and R.C. Samsun. "Evaluation of Multifunctional Fuel Cell Systems in Aviation Using a Multistep Process Analysis Methodology." Environment Index. N.p., Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Nov. 2015. 

Aviation Industry Proposing Solutions to Solving Their Global Warming Pollution?

This article provided by an environmentally minded news source discusses the lack of action taken by aviation industries to mitigate their emissions. Many industries have stated that they "are going" to fix the problem or "are working" on solutions, but action is slow to be taken. The author of this article also participated in the climate change negoations in Germany where a cap on emissions from the aviation sector was proposed. A lever in the aviation section was also proposed to aid those in countries suffering from climate change from funding from air travel industries. 

Schmit, Jake. "Aviation Industry Proposing Solutions to Solving Their Global Warming Pollution?" Grist, 8 Apr. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2015. <http://grist.org/article/aviation-industry-proposing-solutions-to-solving-their-global-warming-pollu/>.

International Civil Aviation Organization Official Website

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a specialized United Nations (UN) organization focused on governance in the aviation regime. Works with member states to create standard policies which all aviation forces should abide by. The ICAO works with the UN to meet their sustainable development goals. These goals include creating action plans for member states, developing sustainable fuel options, such as drop-in fuels, and implementing policies on aviation standards regarding the environment.

According to the ICAO Emissions from airplanes are unique in that they emit large quantities of greenhouse gases at altitude causing a major global impact. Aircrafts contribute to 3.5%-4% of the world’s emissions through all human activities. CO2 emissions from aviation are expected to grow 3-4% each year. The ICAO will continue to expand outlook on sustainable air travel from solely ground work to in air engine emissions. Under the Kyoto protocol aviation emissions are excluded from the CO2 account because it is under a global scale rather than a national scale. 

United Nations. "Environmental Protection." International Civil Aviation Organization. United                 Nations, n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2015. <http://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/Pages/AltFuel-Q2-1.aspx>.

The Engineering Options For Mitigating The Climate Impacts Of Aviation

This source is a peer reviewed scholarly source. This source takes into consideration the impacts aviation has on climate change, but has a focus on the engineering options for aviation improvements. Building new infrastructure is one way to decrease carbon emissions into the atmosphere. One of the major driving forces behind infrastructure developments has always been the cost of fuel, not carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Improving the overall efficiency of the engine will in turn reduce carbon and nitrous oxides released into the atmosphere. Alternative fuel options are also offered in this article. Synthetic kerosene blended with other fuels is one alternative option which does not require many changes to pre-existing aircraft infrastructure. Hydrogen fuels are being considered for the long term, however, they require significant infrastructure changes to aircraft to adapt to. Hydrogen fuels do not emit any carbon, but they do have the potential to increase water vapor in the atmosphere which also has a warming effect.

Victoria, Williams. "The Engineering Options For Mitigating The Climate Impacts Of Aviation." Philosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical & Engineering Sciences 365.1861 (2007): 3047-3059. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.

Eleanor Babcock
11/1/15
Cool Campus

Our class topic of focus this week was all about campus sustainability relating to climate change and sustainability efforts. I was not present in class on Tuesday this week because I attended the AASHE conference in the Twin Cities. AASHE stands for the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. For this blog, I would like to reflect on my experience at AASHE and share some information and knowledge I accumulated while being at the conference because I feel it lines up with our class discussions this week.

The Sunday portion of the conference was the student summit. Students who advocate for a certain aspect of sustainability on their campus presented. I found it interesting to hear from my peers as to how they're using their resources to become more knowledgeable and implement new sustainable programs on their campuses.

I also attended the conference on Tuesday. This day of the conference was interesting because the demographics switched from predominantly students to campus sustainability representatives and professors. There were more options of sessions to attend and I found them interesting because these ideas and programs were coming from a different lens.

The most interesting experience I had at the AASHE conference was on Tuesday was at a session on measuring impacts of campus oil and gas consumption. I decided to go to this one because it expanded the topic of climate change from campus carbon emissions to other sources of resource use and how to measure those types of environmental impacts. My experience was unique because I was the only member who attended this specific conference. The two presenters invited me to join them in a smalll group discussion where they began to inform me on their work with campus oil and gas consumption. Their major concern for oil and gas consumption was land ethics. If campuses make the shift to renewables there are negative impacts including issues with land-use contracts, Free People and Informed Conscent (FPIC) and other resource issues such as water use. The presentors had an interesting take on how to assess oil and gas consumption, they tended to focus on the ethical side of the impacts ratrher than the environmental side.

About ten minutes into the small group presentation, something out of the ordinary happened. A man walked in and sat down and began to discuss the importance of oil and gas consumption in terms of divestment. Divestment is the removal of university stocks in oil and gas companies. As the man spoke I realized this was no ordinary man. He spoke with intelligence on the topic and contributed wise remarks about divestment and campus sustainability. A few minutes into his talk, he finally introduced himself as the president of Unity college. Yes, I was sitting in a conference room with Stephan Mulkey, president of the first college in the nation to divest. One of the most interesting points he made about divestment is that our investment is financially imperative for universities. The driving force behind some of the most un-sustainable actions we do as a campus is money. Economics always tends to trump environmental impact. Ethics are not among one of the driving decisions for good campus sustainability decisions.

As the conversation between the presenters and Stephan Mulkey went on, their discussion went off topic from oil and gas consumption and divestment to talk about other important issues regarding campus sustainability, they were all very interesting and insightful. I really enjoyed the AASHE conference and I feel I learned a lot about campus sustainability initiatives from my peers and the presenters.

Eleanor Babcock
10/23/15
Climate and Politics

The climate policy interface is an interesting network. The complexity of the relationship between climate scientists and policy bodies is worth evaluation. There is an existing clash between the ideals of environmentalists and politicians. This clash lies in the continuum of power.

Authority is a powerful thing. In terms of the power continuum which exists between climate scientists and the politicians and policy makers the politicians definitely have more power. The problem with power, however, is that many people tend to think that the people with the most power have the most expertise. This is not always true. In terms of climate research. The data and analysis is coming from scientists. The under body on the continuum of power. Some scientists do have power, but generally do not have the authority to make executive decisions on mitigation and adaptation policies.

What puts politicians in the climate debate at the top of the power spectrum? Political planning in terms of diplomatic aims is what drives political authority. Many of these strategies used come from publicity, media coverage and funding. This keeps the general public engaged and updated on politics and political aims and shines them in a positive light. Scientists, on the flip side, Have many more restrictions before they can present their findings in a public setting than political entities. They do have good amounts of funding, but are limited on the publicity side. This puts them lower in the eyes of the public because they are not constantly hearing messages and data from the scientific side of climate change like they do from the political side.

In order for the climate problem to be solved, we need for scientists and politicians to been seen on a balanced scale. This would even out tensions and lead to a brighter future in terms of climate change and political and scientific unity.

Eleanor Babcock
10/16/15
Climate Inequality and Development

Environmental injustice is a prevailing issue in today's society. Ethnic minorities in countries face major burdens from the impacts of environmental catastrophes such as destructive weather events or concentrated pollution. These ethnic minorities generally are not the populations which are placing those issues on themselves. It is the countries with high per capita emissions which make that choice to emit on behalf of others.

Our readings focused on two case studies on effects of climate change in areas where there are ethnic minorities. One chapter focused on issues regarding deforestation in Vietnam and the other one discussed the depleting water resource in Egypt. Both took focus on management of problems in the political sense. There was a call for decentralization of policy for fixing these problems. Both these case studies also looked at the relationships people have with the environment and how climate change policies put strain on the population. One of the main reasons that there is strain on the general public because of climate change policy is because the lack of education.

People suffering from climate change issues suffer many barriers from climate policy. As a delegation for the UNFCCC proposing policies to mitigate climate change we have to be aware of these barriers. In the context of the case study in Vietnam regarding deforestation limitations, the program policy called REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) ran into barriers when trying to place their program into effect. These barriers were issues with forest rights, people's responsibilities who live in the forests, and the definition of what classifies as problematic deforestation.

In order for policy makers to avoid running into limitations which hinder the application of climate change policy we must educate the public about the program benefits, and the climate change issues in certain areas. Education will not only make the public more aware but it will also improve our environmental injustice issues. By improving awareness of issues, limitations and benefits we can reduce negative effects on populations of ethnic minorities.

Eleanor Babcock
10/9/15
Climate Modeling


This week in class, we discussed how the world became a system and how our worldly system and infrastructure relates back to climate change and how we discuss climate change. Jerome Whitington divides up our climate change into three different categories which analyzes the speculative anthropology of climate change.The Fingerprint, Bellweather and Model Event are his three components of climatic anthroploogy. They all are important and all link together in our understanding of climate change.

The Fingerprint is defined by our information problem, our collection of data and our concrete evidence. This data and evidence is the "fingerprint" of climate change on our planet. This is important in climate modeling because it gives us our information in a concrete fashion. We can have more meaningful exchanges about the science behind climate change, or about the policies which we institute for climate change through the implication of evidence and data revolving around the warming of the planet.

Bellweather is generally termed as a predictor or indicator of change. It tends to be related to the patterns we see in the fingerprint, or weather patterns, rather than the hard data. through bellweather we can assess the big problems versus the little problems and prepare for change. In terms of climate change, bellweather helps us gage what we should focus on in terms of initial steps to reduce emissions and later steps.

Model Event is an event which has happened in the real world which has the potential to understand climate change situationally. It gives us ethical motives to fix problems which we already see occurring.  It gives climate change a solid meaning and proportions it with varying degrees of intensity.

These three different categories are all helpful in modeling climate change for current understanding of the risks we face if we do not act. They give us speculation, results which we see and analyze so we can anticipate and plan ahead for the worst to come.

Eleanor Babcock
10/4/15
Climate Denial

A quote from Merchants of Doubt: "Climate change is happening, it is due to human activity, but if we regulate CO2 emissions it would ruin society, that's what enviros want"

Let that sink in.

Climate change denial has taken on many different angles, arguments and perspectives, but this one expressed in the documentary Merchants of Doubt caught my attention. It was presented with a whole slew of other arguments against climate change but was stated as the last argument. I feel like this statement has a lot of validity, with a small dose of insanity, as an argument against climate change.

Let's break it down.

"Climate change is happening"
              Yes. Climate change is happening. The opening statement of this argument is very true. The scientific data states it true. The methods used in the Arctic to pull data from the polar ice caps solidifies that the level of CO2 in the atmosphere 100 years ago is lower than it is today. The scientific data is there and it rings true to many other portions of evidence supporting climate change. By using science and observations, conclusions can be made. These conclusions in the scientific world all point to a changing climate. Climate models have simulated the results of our changing climate and help us to better understand the matter of the fact that it is happening and it is our power to change that.

"It is due to human activity"
              Yes. This portion of the argument is also supported by scientific data and holds validity. The amounts of CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere by human activities can be calculated and is shown to be massive amounts. The atmosphere is not designed to hold such large amounts of carbon dioxide. It is our efforts to make coal power and oil power so prominent for use in daily life. Exxon mobile as a company did much research to support this claim and found that the chemistry of the air was changing due to the burning of oil, coal, and other fuels containing carbon.

"But if we regulate CO2 emissions it would ruin society"
               Yes. This claim as an argument against climate change is valid. It asserts that it is happening but also asserts what many humans used to today's lifestyle norms are all thinking. We are nervous to admit that climate change is happening because it will mean we have to change our way of life to be more environmentally friendly. Psychologically speaking, new social norms seem daunting and difficult to adapt to. This instigates the fight or flight response, flight being the instinct. We flee from this proposed lifestyle change knowing that there will be radical changes to society. "Ruin society" may be stated from the extremest point of view, but there will be major changes to society once political bodies finally accept and begin to acto on climate change regulations.

"That's what enviros want"
               No. The final portion of this argument is invalid. Many individuals perceive supporters of climate change as those with radical ideas trying to ruin society. Many supporters are called names and unrightly are accused of being communist or socialist. This climate argument focuses on the anthropological viewpoint that the interaction between people is the main cause of climate discussion. These climate deniers attack the people, not the science. This is significant in climate change theory conversations because it points to the negative light shed on environmentalists. In reality, supporters of climate change want a society which is high functioning and is friendly to the environment. There is no underlying motive to push for radical change except the love for the earth and humanity.