Current mobile contracts damaging the environment

 

Researchers from the University of Surrey analysed studies on the lifespan of mobile devices, from manufacture, use and disposal to see what impact each stage had on the environment. Through their investigation, they concluded that the current mobile business model, driven by frequent upgrades, is costing both the manufacturer and the environment. The study argues that where frequent upgrades are encouraged and recycling schemes not actively pursued, valuable materials integral to phone manufacture are lost, causing damage to the environment by additional waste to landfill as well as from the impact of extracting additional finite resources. "There are an estimated 85 million unused phones in the UK," said lead author Dr James Suckling from the University of Surrey. "Each of these phones has been manufactured using precious metals such as gold, copper and silver which are costly to extract, both in cash-terms and environmental impact. These unused phones contain approximately 4 tonnes of gold, lost resource that would cost £110million and an equivalent of 84,000 tonnes of CO2 released into the atmosphere to replace. "The current business model of mobile contracts encourages consumers to upgrade frequently, regardless of whether their current phone is fit for purpose. Our study shows that there is little incentive for people to recycle old mobiles. Unfortunately this leaves many unused devices lingering in drawers, until they are eventually thrown away and end up in landfill. This isn't a trend that can continue if we are to have the mobile lifestyle we want, while still ensuring a sustainable future." As an alternative, the researchers propose a 'cloud-based product service system', where the heavy processing and memory storage of mobile devices are moved to a remote server, over the internet. Without the need for complex processing, mobile devices could become less complex, designed to last longer and requiring less precious resources to make. Together with a "take-back" clause in the mobile service contract, researchers believe that consumers would be encouraged not only retain their device for longer, but to return it to the manufacturer at the end of the service contract. This would be instrumental in ensuring that the resources tied up in mobile phones are retained and not lost to landfill. "This is a model that has been used already. Replacing power hungry desktop PCs with thin client computers that run off cloud services, with less hardware reduced power consumption by up to 55%," said Dr Suckling. "There are of course other challenges to overcome. Our research team is now looking at how to implement such business models while convincing consumers that cloud services can be trusted to deliver services, and hold data privately and securely. This will be one important focus for our continuing research, as will be understanding the wider impact of the mobile lifecycle on the environment and what impact new business models will have on this cycle." Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by University of Surrey. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference: James Suckling et al. The International Journal Of Life Cycle Assessment. The International Journal Of Life Cycle Assessment, June 2015

Why we need to start now to reach zero emissions

 

Countries around the world can move their economies onto a path that cuts net emissions of climate-changing gases to zero at an affordable cost but they should start now, the World Bank said. The latest science says the world needs to reach zero net emissions by 2100 to stabilise global warming at about 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, agreed by governments as the maximum acceptable, the bank said in a report on Monday. Zero net emissions means that no more greenhouse gases would be released into the atmosphere than can be absorbed by natural carbon sinks – oceans, forests and other vegetation. “Choices made today can lock in emissions trajectories for years to come and leave communities vulnerable to climate impacts. We will help support robust decisions when we can,” Rachel Kyte, the World Bank Group’s special envoy for climate change, said in a statement. The report, intended as a guide for policy makers in developed and developing countries, sets out three key steps to a “zero-carbon future”. Those are to plan for the long-term and avoid quick fixes that could undermine the end goal, such as swapping coal for gas; price carbon alongside policies to encourage changes in investment and behaviour; and help those negatively affected by the transition. “Decarbonising development is necessary to stabilise climate change,” the report said. “All countries are well-advised to start now, but not all will.” Kyte told reporters there had been a “fairly seismic” shift in the kind of expertise the developing countries that are the World Bank’s clients are seeking. They are now asking how to close their energy gap with the cleanest energy mix they can afford, she said, adding that they needed financing to enable them to make the right choices. The report said models reviewed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed that postponing mitigation of climate change until 2030 would hike the cost by an average 50 percent through to 2050, and 40 percent beyond then to 2100. Countries can reach zero net emissions by shifting to clean energy from fossil fuels as their source of electricity, and then expanding access to electricity, it said. Efforts are also required to improve energy efficiency and cut waste, and keep natural carbon sinks healthy through forest and land management so they can offset remaining emissions. Easing the pain The World Bank has been a strong advocate for schemes that set a price on carbon, such as emissions trading and taxes. The report notes that taxes on carbon can be easier to administer and harder to evade than other taxes. For example, in Britain, evasion is around 9 percent for corporate tax and 17 percent for income tax, compared with only 2 percent for an excise tax on diesel. But due to market failures and entrenched behaviour, policy makers also need to adopt measures like targeted subsidies, performance standards and awareness campaigns to catalyse shifts in investment and technology innovation, the report said. It also encourages the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, which reached around $548 billion in 2013. More than 25 countries – most of them in Asia – have significantly reformed such subsidies over the past two years, it notes. But change must be accompanied by efforts to ease the pain for poorer people who may suffer as a result, it adds. “None of this will happen unless the reforms are socially and politically acceptable,” said Marianne Fay, World Bank Group chief economist for climate change and report lead author. Where countries have removed fossil fuel subsidies, for example, some have used the resources released to fund tax cuts and cash transfers. “It is … critical to use the savings or new proceeds generated by climate policies to compensate poor people, promote poverty reduction, and boost safety nets,” the report said. This article is published in collaboration with Thomson Reuters Foundation. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum. Author: Megan Rowling is a Journalist at Thomson Reuters Foundation.  Image: Maintenance officer Wilson Ting of Sunseap Leasing inspects photovoltaic solar modules on top of a block of public housing estate apartments in Singapore. REUTERS/Edgar Su Posted by Megan Rowling - 11:00 All opinions expressed are those of the author. The World Economic Forum Blog is an independent and neutral platform dedicated to generating debate around the key topics that shape global, regional and industry agendas.

These 14 Photos Capture How Polluted China Has Become, And It’s Terrifying…

 

Apr 4, 2015

Amanda Froelich, True Activist

From the trash-strewn Great Wall of China to oil-filled lakes, this land and its people are suffering from the effects of unsustainable industrialized living.

In case you haven’t heard, China has declared war on pollution, as rates of environmental toxicity are beyond tolerable and are negatively affecting its population. As reported by NationalInterest, the first thing you notice when arriving in China is a cloud of smog that hugs its industrialized cities.

And that toxicity is the #1 source of social unrest for Chinese citizens. In fact, it’s so bad, individuals are forced to wear masks on their daily commute to work as pollution in cities like Beijing is 40 times higher than International Safety Standard.

But if statistics don’t speak loudly enough, the following photos certainly do. China may be the world’s leading supplier of goods, but the repercussions from its unsustainable industrial habits (which fuel the lives of many who are reading this piece) are having a devastating toll on the environment and health of its people.

 

Scroll through and see just how toxic some of China’s landscapes and cities have become.

#1 Fake Hong Kong Skyline For Tourists

#2 Woman Walks Through Smog in Beijing, Where Small-Particle Pollution Is 40 Times Over International Safety Standard

#3 Photo Capturing Beijing Surrounded By Smog

#4 Pollution From A Factory In Yutian, 100km East of Beijing

#5 Woman Collects Plastic Bottles Near A River Polluted By Reddish Dye

#6 A Man Walks By A Pipe Releasing Waste Water Into Yangtze River

#7 The Great Wall Of China – There Are No Words…

#8 A Child Jumping Over Trash At A Village in Jiaxing

#9 A Woman Stands On A Bridge Over A Polluted River In Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province

#10 Fishermen Collecting Fish In A Polluted Canal, Beijing

#11 Over 300 Pigs Fished Out Of Huangpu River

#12 Residents Look Over A Heavily Polluted River, Zhugao, Sichuan Province

#13 Morning Smog In Beijing

#14 And Finally, The ‘Great’ Wall Of China & Its Pollution

 

This originally appeared on trueactivist.com

Ethanol Fuels Ozone Pollution

 

Shifts in the use of gasoline and ethanol to fuel vehicles in Sao Paulo created a unique atmospheric chemistry experiment

Buildings in the smog looking west towards Barra Funda and Lapa from the Edificio Banespa in downtown Sao Paulo. Credit: Thomas Hobbs via Flickr

Running vehicles on ethanol rather than petrol can increase ground-level ozone pollution, according to a study of fuel use in São Paulo, Brazil.Ozone (O3) is a major urban pollutant that can cause severe respiratory problems. It can form when sunlight triggers chemical reactions involving hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted by vehicles.

Ethanol has been promoted as a ‘green’ fuel because its combustion tends to produce lower emissions of carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons and NOx than petrol. But the impact on air quality of a wholesale transition from petrol to ethanol has been difficult to assess, with different atmospheric chemistry models predicting a variety of consequences.

Alberto Salvo, an economist at the National University of Singapore, and Franz Geiger, a physical chemist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, have now answered the question with hard data. Their study, published today in Nature Geoscience, unpacks what happened when the motorists of São Paulo — the largest city in the Southern Hemisphere — suddenly changed their fuel habits.

Sugar high
In 2011, about 40% of the city’s 6 million light vehicles — mostly cars — were able to burn pure ethanol or a petrol-ethanol blend, and both fuels were widely available. Consumers in São Paulo thus had more choice over their fuel than almost anywhere else in the world, says Salvo. Between 2009 and 2011, the price of ethanol rose and fell in response to fluctuations in the global prices of sugar, which is used to produce ethanol via fermentation. But the government-controlled gasoline price remained steady. This led to a huge shift in fuel consumption — wholesalers’ figures suggest that gasoline’s share of total transport fuel rose from 42% to 68%. “Our study is the only one where you have a large switch over a relatively short timescale,” says Salvo.

São Paulo also has an extensive network of air-monitoring stations that record the atmospheric consequences of its notorious traffic congestion. Salvo and Geiger collated these air-quality measurements and used other data sets — detailing meteorological and traffic conditions, for example — to weed out other factors that would have affected air quality over that period. Overall, they report, the rise in gasoline consumption caused an average drop of 15 micrograms per cubic meter (15 μgm^–3) in ground-level ozone concentration, down from a weekday average of 68 μgm^–3.

But air-quality campaigners should not start advocating for petrol instead of ethanol quite yet. Increased petrol burning clearly raised levels of NOx, which also poses direct health concerns, and it probably boosted the amount of particulate matter in the air, something the study did not look at. And because every city has its own unique air chemistry, a similar fuel switch might produce very different results in London or Los Angeles. Nevertheless, says Salvo, the findings illustrate that “ethanol is not a panacea”.

Opportunity NOx
So how could burning more petrol, which puts more of the ingredients for ozone formation into the air, actually reduce São Paulo’s ozone levels?

As nitrogen dioxide becomes more abundant in the air, it increasingly combines with hydroxyl radicals to form nitric acid. This removal of hydroxyl radicals shuts down the reaction that forms ozone. “It’s a really strong quenching effect,” says Sasha Madronich, an atmospheric chemist at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, who wrote an accompanying News and Views article on the São Paulo study. At high NOx levels, this quenching begins to outweigh ozone synthesis, and ozone levels drop.

Theoretical models have predicted that such an ‘NOx-inhibited’ situation could arise in cities with relatively high NOx levels, but “it’s never been observed, because there’s no place to observe it”, says Geiger.

The researchers say that their method of combining disparate data sets to tease out the effects of fuel changes could now be used in other cities. Geiger acknowledges that São Paulo is “the best-case scenario in terms of data availability”, but hopes to apply the same method to Chicago, Illinois, which might enable his team to predict the impact of a major shift to vehicles powered by electricity or natural gas, for example.

And by uncovering the real-world impact of fuel changes in São Paulo, the researchers have provided a useful test bed for air-pollution models, adds Madronich. “If a model cannot reproduce these results,” he says, “that’s a problem for the model.”

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on April 28, 2014.