Science and sustainability

Andrew.Rate — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:18:00 GMT

A recent article in Environmental Science and Technology identifies scientific facilities as high energy users.

Mills, Evan. 2009. Sustainable scientists.Environ. Sci. Technol., 43:979-985.

University sustainability, as rightly pointed out by Sky elsewhere in myResearchSpace ("A Sustainable Campus"), commonly focuses on 'green' or ecological issues . Dr Mills makes the point that "much can be done to enhance sustainability within the scientific enterprise itself". The diagram at left, from Mills' article, suggests that the practice of science can result in comparatively high energy usage.

The main contributors to high energy use are identified as laboratories, computing, and clean environments.

Mills goes so fas as to suggest that sustainability, or at least energy usage, issues should be amongst the criteria against which research grants are assessed (pity the poor folks in space research).

It would definitely be interesting to analyse the energy use of earth science projects. Many (especially involving remote area or ocean travel, drilling or remote sensing) could come in fairly high.

Image from pubs.acs.org

Mood-changing students

Andrew.Rate — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:03:00 GMT

Yesterday I could have had a very bad day. Things felt busier than usual, I felt less than well-prepared for a class, and to top it all off I forgot my USB thumb drive on which I had some material prepared the previous evening for a class.

[USB drives seem essential small items these days, along with mobile 'phones. I have a gonzo theory about both technologies; 'phones, fairly obviously, fulfil our need to connect with other humans; on the other hand, our USB drives help us remember important things in our lives (unless, of course, we forget the drive itself). It does seem risky to delegate two of our most important characteristics, communication and memory, to devices... ]

So I turned up to my 9 am 'Earth Surface Processes and Soils' lecture feeling somewhat frazzled and grumpy. Usually in that frame of mind the message doesn't get across so well; that may well have been the case, because (unusually) there were a number of good questions about the material which turned into a useful class discussion. My mood improved markedly. The next class, the one which could have done with more preparation, went smoothly as well.

My afternoon practical class was the last mood changing experience; the students were wrestling with a computer-based problem in Land & Water Management and my interactions with them helpful for both parties, and (certainly from my point-of view) pleasant.

I learned something about being an academic yesterday. Maybe the lesson was just for me; it certainly reinforced an idea that relationships are central to the teaching and learning experience. My anxiety was about the mechanics of teaching; what made the difference was how a group of humans, having a common focus, interacted with one another.

But I'm still lost without my USB...

Soil Science Journal Club : technology

Science and sustainability

Mood-changing students