After studying the environment at university for four years, I have written over 60 blog posts on environmental issues, formulated a personal memoir on my life as an environmentalist, and maintained a semi-annual environmental news page. Nevertheless, I still haven’t done everything in my power to end environmental issues.
Graphic from Clean Water Action.
At present, my friends are planning the million ways to spend their tax refunds. I’m here wondering why I decided to volunteer over winter break when I could be basking in the post-tax-refund glory. I might have started off break in bed eating pizza and binge watching all of the new shows on Netflix, but by the end I was hiking up the White Mountains of New Hampshire with visions of frostbitten toes floating around in my head. Continue reading
Did you know that bubbles can clean water? Specifically, dissolved air flotation (DAF) and ultrasound are two methods of making water safer with bubbles. DAF can be used to replace sedimentation in municipal drinking water treatment. Large particles are typically settled out using gravity, but with DAF, bubbles are produced by an oxygen tank pumping air into the bottom of a basin and small particles attach to the sides of the bubbles. The bubbles rise to the top of the basin and the particles are swept off the surface of the water by a skimmer.
Dolfi ultrasonic device, photo from Indiegogo.
Recently I had the unique opportunity to interview renowned climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer. We met at the Hubbard Brook Annual Conference following his motivational speech. Dr. Oppenheimer is not only a professor of Geo-Sciences and International Affairs at Princeton, but also is a former member of the Environmental Defense Fund, and has an active role in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He attained an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and a PhD in Chemical Physics, but is also versed in Atomic and Molecular Astrophysics and has even taught Astronomy at Harvard. Oppenheimer is able to speak about climate change in such a way that he has been a guest on several significant shows such as Oprah Winfrey, ABC News, and the Colbert Report. Aside from his credentials Dr. Oppenheimer is actually a very humble and inspiring person. Once you speak to him you will find he is quite delightful.
Dr. Oppenheimer is an astute climate scientist, but was also very warm and welcoming to undergraduates Jessica Turner (left) and Brandon Colon (right)
The Arctic Circle is a supply of not only fish, but also fresh water. Image from fineartamerica.
A Finnish University recently discovered the benefits of crystallization, or freezing water in order to purify it. Essentially, these scientists found that the upper layer of ice from a lake in Finland was nearly ten times cleaner than the water beneath. In addition, ice that had formed more slowly was noticeably cleaner than rapidly formed ice. This event called crystallization can only occur with the presence of a solvent and solute, such as water and salt. A professor from Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) made the statement below regarding the study. Continue reading
The Education and Leadership Fellows for Sustainability (ELFs) program at my University (SUNY at Buffalo) was recently featured in the UB Reporter. While at the event I had the pleasure of conversing with President Tripathi on some ideas I had for sustainability on campus. He shared some useful advice on how to succeed in University that I definitely will apply to my own career here at UB.
Photo by Douglas Levere on UB Now.
Above is the photo of President Tripathi and I discussing the future of sustainability at the ELF social event. The article on the campus initiative to reduce landfill waste can be found here. Additionally, Please take a peek at my current news page! You can access it on the right side bar under “Current News”. While on the menu be sure to follow me to hear more about water treatment in the developing world, or if you are just open to new environmental ideas.
