Author: tbrown7

Ignoring The Obvious

tbrown7

 

Air pollution has become a reoccurring conversation in Houston, Texas as chemical plants put the resident’s air quality at risk. The Environmental Protection Agency sets the pollution air quality standards. And just last month, two chemical plants went ablaze within two weeks of each other (Crosby & Deer Park) forcing people indoors in the surrounding areas. Multiple sources said that you could feel the explosions from a mile away. Are these just a coincidence? I believe not.

Crosby has a long history of breaking the law. In 2016, KMCO pleads guilty to violating the Clean Air Act. They plead guilty to entering false entries logs on air quality from a leaking tank.  Just a year before that, KMCO failed to reach regulations on risk management and makes this looks less and less like a coincidence. Just to put a little icing on the cake, Texas has given the plant three notices since last year that violate federal clean air laws. The list goes on and on. Ignoring these problems has created a lot of conversation about the credibility of Texas Legal and safety actions.

 

Environmental Protection Agencies Role in Clean Air

Congress created the Clean Air Act to fight against pollution issues emerging around the country. They set the baseline for every category involved with air pollution using the latest science and technology to gather information. There are various levels of responsibility for both state and government levels.

 

Common Pollutants

There are various levels of responsibility for both state and federal levels. They work in a partnership to ensure the laws meet all requirements and are enforced. For everyday common pollutants, the EPA establishes the baseline for national air quality standards to protect the people’s health. Using the EPA guidance and technical assistance, States takes responsibility for enforcing the Clean Air Act.  Each state has its own plan specifically catered to their emission.

 

Toxic Pollutants

Hazardous/toxic air pollutants are defined by being cancerous or have serious health effects, such as adverse environmental effects and reproductive/birth effects. Toward the top of this list, petroleum refineries, and chemical plants are in the top 5 cause of toxic air pollutants. When you combine this with ignorance on both the state and federal level, terrible outcomes like the Crosby plant explosion.

Good Practices to reduce odors & fumes

  • Store loose materials either indoors or under cover. Store oil and chemicals in suitable, sealed containers and make sure that lids fit tightly.
  • Make sure the seals in your equipment fit properly and are in good condition, eg around valves and flanges.
  • Establish systems to monitor, measure, control and minimize solvent emissions.
  • Install chemical recovery systems to capture chemicals in exhaust gases.
  • Use extraction units to remove dust and odour from your operations and filter the extracted air before you release it into the atmosphere.
  • Regularly inspect and maintain all abatement equipment, such as scrubbers, carbon filters and dust filters, to ensure your equipment runs efficiently. Make regular visual inspections of your emissions to air and keep inspection records on your site.
  • Ensure that roads and any open storage areas are hard-surfaced. Clean these regularly to reduce dust.
  • Cover skips and lorries leaving your site.

 

Wasted

tbrown7

The U.S. consumed over 97.7 quadrillion Btus of energy in 2017 alone. This number can be hard to wrap your brain around, but what’s even worse is that two-thirds of that energy was wasted in the process. The core of the problem is a combination of inefficient non-renewable methods and the way we use energy in our homes and businesses.

 

The upside is we control both our energy use and the impact on our planet. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, we can reduce our energy consumption by 40 to 60 percent within the next 25 years. Using better technology and eliminating waste across our economy. This will not only benefit the economy, but create a cleaner environment while tackling climate change issues in the process.

So, how are we going to solve this issue? Read below to find out.

3 Ways Texas Plans On Attacking The Issue

1. Attacking the problem in our communities and workplaces

The root of the problems starts in our very own homes. Promoting energy conservation is a common sense solution, but getting everyone on board is another challenge. Starting with baby steps, such as using LED light bulbs versus the traditional bulb, to big steps, such as installing solar panels on your home. Addressing the issues in our own homes must become a priority. That’s why Texas has created Citizen’s guide for reducing energy waste, to help educate people of methods they can use in their own homes and business to save energy.

2.Building more efficiently

Building consumes more energy across the nation than anything else. We can make a change by focusing our efforts on ensuring institutions, cities and states are implementing effective methods to its infrastructure.

To achieve this goal, Texas is working on upgrading existing buildings, while ensuring all new buildings are constructed to meet net-zero energy standards. This means that all new building in the next decade will be constructed with energy from solar panels and wind turbines.  

3. Investing in appliance efficiency

Pushing efforts toward appliance efficiency can make a drastic impact on products in our communities.

Texas is working alongside national networks, to promote conservation locally plus state-level governments to assure concrete policies are implemented. In doing so, the appliance efficiency standards will be raised, creating more energy savings, decreasing environmental damages and building a foundation for future communities to follow up.

The future of this great nation is in our hands. As Texans, it is our duty to lead the charge on change in this country. But first, we must look within our own homes and communities if we really plan to make a change.

5 Sustainable Products of 2018

tbrown7

As the world around us continues to evolve, so must we. Society as a whole must become more eco-conscious and work together to preserve our environment. Environmentalist, entrepreneurs and manufacturers are making it a priority to reduce their hazardous footprint by working together to create greener products.  

Lamps that grow plants in windowless buildings

Nui Design Studio has created a solution for people that work in windowless spaces that want to add some life to their scenery. This product allows one to not only grow a plant in a dark environment, but it also creates quality air for the room.

Just Egg

JUST Egg is a vegan version of chicken eggs that offers similar taste without adding to animal agricultural gas emissions. With Texas being one of the greatest producers of animal agricultural gas emission. Applying focus to the promotion of JUST egg to these regions could have tremendous benefit.  

If it isn’t an egg, what is it? This product is actually made from a bean called Mung. The Mung bean originated in the Middle East and can be found in various Indian and Asian dishes. Here are some of the nutritional facts

  • 212 calories.
  • 38.7 grams carbohydrates.
  • 14.2 grams protein.
  • 15.4 grams of fiber.

LARQ Bottle

In America alone, billions of water bottles are used every year, with a very low percentage of them being recycled. Many products have been created to eliminate the number of water bottles being used, but the success rate is very low. That is until now! The LARQ bottle separates itself from the competition by using UV light to clean not only the water but the inside walls as well.

How it works

The FinalStraw

Around the country,  plastic straws continue to be banned in different locations to save both ocean & land animals. Organizations like Starbucks and American Airlines are leading the charge in banning plastic straws, and it didn’t take long for someone to create a product to solve an important issue. FinalStraw is a metallic metal straw that can be folded into a keychain for convenience. This product comes with its own squeegee to clean the inside so it is always ready to use.

Bird and Lime Bikes

Bird and Limes electric scooters have taken Austin, Texas by storm. They make touring the city eco-friendly, but put people in grave danger. Hundreds of people are hurt weekly on these electric scooters, yet they haven’t been banned. I don’t believe that these products are a bad idea, but there must be a better solution to increase awareness while using them and making drivers more aware of them on the roads. These bikes were being pushed by policymakers as a better alternative for the scooters. Overall, the idea to get from point A to point B in an eco-friendly manner is bright, but there must be a safer solution.