All posts by Huda Yousuf

Environmental Regulations under Trump Administration

December 23, 2016 Huda Yousuf Leave a comment

During the past few weeks, Trump has appointed his staff and released his plan for his first 100 days, which has frightened many Americans for numerous reasons. Mr. Trump plans on revising and repealing many bills and legislations, including many environmental regulations that were issued during the Obama Administration and earlier. According to Trump’s 100-day plan, his administration plans on rolling back many regulations placed on natural gas companies and plans on reviving the coal industry. Obama was able to restrict carbon emissions from coal mines by passing a moratorium on coal leasing. Moreover, by passing the Clean Power Plan President Obama helped reduce carbon pollutants from power plants that posed environmental and health risks. Trump believes that these restrictions hamper competition and result in job loss.

Trump also claimed that he is in support of alternative energy sources like wind and solar energy however they are too expensive to “make tree huggers feel good about themselves.” However, there are many more benefits to alternate energy sources then just making a tree hugger happy, aside from the fact that reducing our carbon foot print increases societal welfare. According to Steve Lockhart of TCI composites, “The wind industry employs 88,000 people today, 21,000 in the manufacturing sector, over 500 factories in forty-three states, so there is tremendous employment that is generated from this industry.” The reality is that our president does not see any harm in excessive carbon emissions done by certain industries in our country which can have long term detrimental effects on our environment and our the wellbeing of the future generations.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/12/15/first-100-days-trump-vows-to-roll-back-energy-industry-regs.html?refresh=true

http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/03/at-46-years-epa-will-see-huge-changes-under-trump/

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Carbon Tax

November 12, 2016 Huda Yousuf Leave a comment

Carbon tax is taxation placed on citizens and companies for using oil, coal, electricity that would release green house gases. The purpose behind it is to make users pay for the damage they are causing to the environment and others, while also encouraging companies and users to be weary of their consumption of fossil fuels and consider switching to cleaner alternatives. Many individuals are discouraged to switch to cleaner forms of energy because of the cost. However, carbon tax allows for the price of cheaper fuels to rise, encouraging companies with larger carbon footprints to switch to solar or wind energy sources. Moreover, different fuel sources will be taxed based on its heat content; fuel sources with more carbon content is more harmful for the environment therefor will be taxed more. Many supporters of the carbon tax propose tax shifting; which means that federal income tax and sales tax should decrease in order to establish a carbon tax. These taxes don’t necessarily have to be enforced on everyone consuming fossil fuels; some supporters target these taxes towards larger fuel companies that work directly with coal miners or oil refiners, or gas companies. While other supporters suggest that the carbon tax be applied to everyone’s electricity bill.

Carbon tax does not have much support in the United States from our politicians. Bill Clinton once proposed a tax that followed a similar plan, however it passed in the House but not the Senate. Many years later, the effects of global warming have become more pronounced yet many politicians deny its credibility. Many of these climate change skeptics hold this point of view because they receive funding from companies like Exxon mobile or the Koch industries, companies that would be hurt the most from legislations that seek to protect lower green house emissions. These companies have support from many politicians in the republican party, making it difficult for the government to pass any significant legislation that would seek to protect this world.

Sources:

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/carbon-tax3.htm

What’s a carbon tax?

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Vertical Gardens

September 23, 2016 Huda Yousuf Leave a comment

Previously, it was very difficult for the average New Yorker to eat locally grown produce. Many of us still eat produce grown from across the country, which needs to be exposed to many chemicals to remain fresh throughout the journey. Furthermore, transporting vegetation and other produce via motorized vehicles has further damaged our environment due to excess fossil fuel use (Safe Alliance 1994). As a result, many people are interested in urban farming methods to help bring fresh food to the average city dweller. Urban farming also adds greenery to our concrete jungle which helps reduce air pollution.

However, there are many obstacles that come into play when planning a farm in the city. A city like our own, lacks the space needed to sustain a large enough farm to feed a neighborhood. Moreover, in many areas the soil is contaminated with heavy metals and chemicals which cannot sustain vegetation. Certain farming methods such as vertical farming serves as a solution. Vertical farms plant vegetables and produce in layers, one on top of the other. Most vertical farms used artificial lighting for each layer of vegetation and are often indoors to protects plants from harsh weather conditions. Many of them also use the hydroponics systems, which replaces soil beds with water that is going to be reused (aquaponics is a variation of this). Aerofarms also incorporates other uses of technology, such as conveyer belts that package the produce. Many farms that use this technique support local supermarkets which eliminates the need to transport food over long distances. Moreover, it can create new jobs for people in our cities.

This system does have its fallbacks, it can be very expensive to start and manage. It is not an easy project for the average citizen to attempt because it requires indoor space. Also controlling the temperature for these indoor farms also increases the amount of expenditures. Most of all, the cost of lighting to sustain all layers of vegetation can be discouraging. To me, it seems like a task for larger companies like AeroFarms or Whole Foods to manage.

Sources:

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/24/vertical-farming-the-next-big-thing-for-food-and-tech.html

Deelstra, Tjeerd, and Herbert Girardet. “URBAN AGRICULTURE AND SUSTAINABLE CITIES.”: n. pag. Web.