Initiatives to Mars

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Mars has always been one of the main planets that society has been fascinated by since its discovery. We have made many discoveries and continually keep learning more about the Red planet. As technological innovations improved, scientists and engineers have worked together to design semi-autonomous systems that would go to Mars and take atmospheric observations such as the composition of the planet through the use of satellites like Mars Odyssey and Mars Express. Also, there are rovers such as Curiosity (Mars Science Laboratory aka “MSL”) and the Opportunity rover. These rovers have served as our geologists in the planet Mars. We have used all the data collected from satellites and the rovers to better understand how the human species can flourish in the Red Planet and how we can better prepare ourselves for a permanent shelter in Mars.

 

Luckily, there are 3 main aerospace companies who have taken the challenge and are currently working towards getting humans to the Red planet as soon as possible. The first initiative to attempt to get humans to Mars is by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). NASA has a lot of expertise in terms of space exploration because they have been the only agency in the US to land anything in another planet. The problem with NASA currently is the lack of funding from the federal government. NASA’s plan to land a human on Mars is “affordable with the right partnerships (international, commercial/industrial, intergovernmental, etc.)” (Kramer). NASA needs more financial help in order to complete their biggest missions. NASA plans to use the Orion Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (which is still being tested) to transport astronauts from Earth to Mars.

 

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The next big contender in this new space race to Mars is SpaceX. SpaceX is a new private aerospace company that has succeeded with many rocket launches to Low Earth Orbit. In contrast to NASA, SpaceX is not being affected by a limit in their budget. The CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk, “spoke about SpaceX going public on the stock market — perhaps to raise the necessary funds” (Anthony). SpaceX is thinking of using their Falcon Heavy Launch Rocket to give their spacecraft a good of momentum to cruise through empty space rapidly between the Earth and Mars. SpaceX doesn’t have any experience in landing any manmade object on another planet or moon but their prior success in other missions makes them very likely of accomplishing their goal to colonize Mars.

 

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The most daring initiative is by Mars One thus far. Mars One plans on settling a permanent settlement on Mars. They intend on sending a small group of humans on a one way trip to the Red planet. The biggest problem I see with Mars One is that they don’t truly have any experience at all in the Aerospace field. Mars One has never launched a rocket nor has collaborated with another agency on a project. Mars One intends to make money for this task by creating a Reality TV show out of the humans that are settled in Mars. As Mars One states, “Mars One is not an aerospace company. Therefore, the required systems are to be designed and built by established aerospace companies with relevant experience” (Mars One). The honest truth is that not many aerospace companies are up for such a daunting task. They will put their reputation on the line by using systems that have never been truly tested on Mars and at the same time Humans will be heavily dependent on them. Another problem is that Mars One does realize “we don’t have [the] to technology to pull it off yet” (Dickerson). Technology improves gradually, so it is going to take a few years for aerospace technology to allow space travel to Mars to be more easy and more cost efficient.

 

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Throughout all projects regardless of location many factors become a problem immediately. All companies must take into consideration, food supply, how to filter and provide a continuous flow of breathable air, and how to protect astronauts from radiation. On a voyage to Mars, all these factors become an extremely big problem due to the length of the voyage, which is about 200 days in outer space. While each company is taking a slightly different approach of how to get humans to Mars, I’m confident that each company will eventually reach the Red Planet but I don’t think many will stick to their projected timeline.

 

References:

Anthony, Sebastian. “SpaceX Says It Will Put Humans on Mars by 2026, Almost 10 Years Ahead of NASA.” ExtremeTech. N.p., 18 June 2014. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.

Dickerson, Kelly. “Two MIT Students Just Schooled a Company Trying to Send People to Mars.” Tech Insider. N.p., 21 Aug. 2015. Web. 23 Oct. 2015

Kramer, Miriam. “Manned Mission to Mars By 2030s Is Really Possible, Experts Say | Space.com.” Space. N.p., 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.
“About Mars One – Mars One.” Mars One. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2015.

Mass-Pulley Experiment

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Newton’s Three Laws of Motion have revolutionized the way we describe the relationship between force and motion. His Three Laws of Motion can be applied to everything in our world and they will all confirm his theories. During our past lectures we decided to test the accuracy of Newton’s Second Law of Motion. His second Law states that , The Force (measured in Newtons) is equal to an objects mass times its acceleration (measured in Kg and m/s2 respectfully). We used a Lego robot motor to lift a small weight that was attached to a string that was placed on a pulley. Once again we used the Labview programming software with prewritten code. Down below you can see the physical setup of the experiment and a copy of the code that we executed.

 

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For the first experiment, we kept the power level fixed at 75 and we changed the mass on each trial in order to conclude how acceleration is affected by these two variables.

 

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By analyzing the data and the graph we can come to the conclusion that if force is fixed and the mass is increased it will result in the acceleration being decreased. This is because mass and acceleration are inversely proportional. As one is increased the other one has to decrease under the assumption that the force is fixed.

 

For the second experiment we took a similar approach to the first experiment except were keeping the mass fixed at one value for all trials. For all three trials we kept the mass at 0.17 Kg and we changed the power level, which we were considering as our force variable.

 

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As demonstrated in the graph and in the data points, if we keep the mass fixed, the power level increases as the force is increased. Force and acceleration are directly proportional, so as one increases the other must increase as well. This can also be seen in the graph by the linear trend line that goes very close to each data point.

 

For the next two experiments we decided to focus around the Laws of Conservation of Energy. We measured the height that the motor would have to lift the mass to and estimated the potential energy of all our trials throughout the whole experiment.

 

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After measuring the height, and calculating the Potential Energy we decided to investigate the relationship between mass and battery discharge while keeping the power level fixed. While keeping the power level fixed at 75 we observed that as the mass is increased the battery discharge increases as well. Both variables are directly proportional.

 

For the last experiment we analyzed the relationship between Power level (Force) and Power (Watts). We calculated Power (Watts) by using the equation: Powerused = Potential Energy / Time.

 

Power_Level_VS_Power

 

Looking at this graph we can conclude that Power Level (Force) and Power (Watts) are directly proportional. The greater the Power Level, the greater the Power used by Motor is. This relationship is so evident that our R2 value is 0.99966. The closer R2 is to 1, the better the best fit line accurately represents the data and their relationship.

 

In Conclusion, the Mass-Pulley Experiment was a greater way to see Newton’s Second Law of Motion and the Law of Conservation of Energy in action! This experiment is so closely related to Energy and Efficiency because Energy revolves very closely around Newton’s three Laws of Motion and Conservation of Energy. We all know that Energy cannot be destroyed or created, it just converts itself into heat or sound or other forms. One of the biggest problems is how to become more efficient by taking lost energy (that is another form) and capturing it and inputting it back into the system. As we saw by the experiments, an object needs a force in order to be put in motion and a heavier object needs just as much force. More force needs more watts (in mechanical systems) in order to operate. We must think of ways to use less power to output the same amount of force.

 

Suffolk Sawyer Library Visit

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On October 5th, we attended a tour around the Suffolk Sawyer Library, which is located on 73 Tremont St on the 2nd floor. The library is composed of three distinctive floors, each having their own unique sound level. The 2nd floor is the loudest mostly due to the traffic of students entering and leaving the library. The 3rd floor is a modest sound level. There are conversations but at a very low level. The 4th floor is considered the study floor since it is extremely quiet (the majority of times). The 2nd floor, being the main floor, has many services to provide to students. On the 2nd floor, you can find the circulation desk, the reference desk, printing stations, and photocopying/scanning stations. In the circulation desk students can rent out textbooks or electronic devices, such as a PC laptop or a Macbook), and even chargers for their electronic devices. At the reference desk, you can ask one of the librarians a question regarding how to research a topic. Adjacent to the reference desk you will find bookshelves full with reference books. This is the ideal place where any student should start their research for any topic. There are also study tables, and a lounge towards the back of the floor. The 3rd and 4th floor is made up of the same services except the circulation desk and the reference desk. Each floor has printing and photocopying/scanning stations, study rooms, study tables, lounges, and the obvious books, many books!

 

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After our tutor guide, Lindsey finished discussing the layout of the library and the many services available to students she walked us to a big computer lab on the 3rd floor of the library. In the computer lab, she demonstrated how we could access many of the data from the library via the Suffolk Library online database. In this database, we have access to search for books, magazines, articles, eJournals and more. When searching for information we can search the topic but we will get thousands of results due to the great depth of the online database. As a result we can filter our search to meet certain parameters. We can redefine our search by filtering by Source Type, Publisher, Geography, and more. This amazing feature allows us to narrow down on our topic and learn more in depth information rather than general information. If students cannot find sufficient information on their topic they can request the library to order journals and books from other institutions on their topic. In addition, the online database allows students to reserve study rooms throughout the 3 floors of the library.

 

It is evident that the Suffolk Sawyer Library is here to support all students throughout their four years at Suffolk University. In order to succeed, all students should take advantage of all the resources that the Suffolk Sawyer Library provides.

Saquib Butt’s Presentation

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On October 1st, Saquib Butt, a Suffolk EE Alumni, came in and gave us a presentation of his work with photovoltaic at Boston Scientific, where he currently works. Boston Scientific is not an engineering firm instead it’s a medical equipment company. He has the role of project manager at the company, where he oversees large-scale projects and figures out the logistics of various project. His most recent project involved the installation of solar panels throughout the whole MLB campus of Boston Scientific. Through this initiative the company was able to save slightly more than 30% on energy and reduced their carbon footprint on the environment. As he stated the cost of everything was free since the installers picked up the bill. The installers would receive state and federal grants as a result and Boston Scientific would receive Carbon Tax Reductions from the government when doing their taxes. The company would begin to see the benefits of this installation appear in a few years when their energy consumption truly decreases. Saquib Butt also talked about his prior project on solar panels on a different building. As you can see in the picture only the left side of the building is covered with solar panels as of right now. He stated that it is important to have photovoltaic cells point south because it would absorb the most sunlight. All the panels are at a slight angle, which solves the problem of snow accumulation during the winter. The angle would cause gravity to pull the snow down and photovoltaic cells produce a small amount of heat that would melt a thin layer of snow. He told us that Boston Scientific is thinking about installing solar panels on the right side of the building as well since there is a lot of surface area to mount solar panels.

 

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After his presentation, we had a Q & A session and we received a few tips on college, internships, getting a job. He believed that it is vital to do internships in order to expose your self to a true engineering environment. In these internships we have the opportunity to network and make good connections with future employers. In addition, we have the chance to apply the concepts we have learned in the class to real world problems. He also connected to us in a personal way by saying that their were times during college that he didn’t know what he was doing or never he understand the material, but its vital to keep working hard. In conclusion, his presentation was informative and full of important advice.

Tom Vales’ Presentation

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Engineering is based on the idea that we can create inventions that are either just cool to display or creating inventions that benefit our society. But what is most important to some is the act of reverse engineering and fingering out how things actually work. This is exactly what our presenter Tom Vales did with a few of his inventions. He took old inventions and modernized them and presented his updated product to the class. He presented to us the Mendocino Motor, Rocking Armature Motor, and the Stirling Engine, which he recreated. He also showed us his home made Tesla Coil and a Violet Ray Machine.

 

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The first cool gadget he presented to us was the Mendocino motor. The wooden base is composed of 5 magnets. Four of which are used for levitating the actual shaft, which has 2 magnets on it. The center magnet gives the rotor the magnetic field it needs in order to fully function. On the shaft there are 4 small solar cells on located on the sides of the coil. When the light hits the solar cell the rotor rotates approximately 90 degrees. Since the light source is beaming the solar cells continuously the rotor keeps spinning. As Tom Vales explained, this cool gadget doesn’t have any real application in the real world because if anything were to be connected to it, it would result in the rotor being unbalanced and making contact with the other parts.

 

 

The second item he demoed was the Rocking Armature motor. When he switched a flip, the arm would extended and retract constantly. During this motion, the arm was connected to a wheel, which resulted in the wheel spinning. This motion was maintained by a battery that provided the necessary current in order to make it functional.

 

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The third item he presented to us was the Sterling Engine, which runs of steam. He filled the coffee cup with hot water since it releases some steam and placed the sterling engine above it. The steam would lift up a small weight and then drop it continuously. This resulted in the wheel spinning continuously with only a small percentage of the energy lost. Energy is so well conserved because the coefficient of friction between the weight and the “glass” covering is very low.

 

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One of the most interesting things he showed us was the violet ray machine, which was known to supposedly cure all diseases. People thought that through the use of this machine and placing it in the infected body part it would resolve the problem. They had many different shaped inserts for the violet ray machine which was suppose to be used based on the body part that was going to be healed.

 

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My favorite presentation of the day was his homemade Tesla Coil. The tesla coil is named after Nikola Tesla who was an extraordinary inventor. He developed AC current, wireless transmission and more! The way the tesla coil worked was by increasing the voltage out of the wall socket and passing that current through the coil. At the top of the bucket their was a needle which released small strings of lightening. With this small electricity in the air, Tom Vales was able to turn on various fluorescent tubes through the wireless transmission of that electricity. The fluorescent tubes were filled with different noble gases which resulted in the tube lighting up in different colors. These lights did not have to make contact with the coil to turn on. Once they were in close proximity of the tesla coil they would light up.

Improving Efficiency of Vehicles

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Since the introduction of Obama’s 54.5 mpg Fuel Efficiency Standards in 2012 the automotive industry has begun to experience the pressure of innovating newer technology that can yield greater fuel efficiency. Through the cooperation between the US Department of Transportation and the US Environmental Protection Agency they have finalized standards that will require automakers to create vehicles that have a 54.5 mpg rating by the year 2025. There are several technologies that are currently in the works and some that have already been developed that can help in achieving the 54.5 mpg by the next 10 years. I will explore both the general and technical advancements that automakers use to increase gas mileage.

 

One of the methods that automakers are using to create more fuel efficient vehicles is by developing newer manufacturing practices than can lower weight. Decreasing the weight of an automobile can be done by manufacturing parts that weight less but still are efficient and reliable. The more a car weighs the more work an engine has to do in order to accommodate for the additional weight thus decreasing the fuel efficiency.

 

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Automakers are also designing more aerodynamic cars that can both save mileage but also be physically appealing to consumers. Vehicles that are more aerodynamic can ‘cut’ through the air more smoothly with less drag resulting in more gas saved. These two techniques apply to both the traditional combustion engine car and to hybrids and all-electric cars like Tesla. A less technical approach that automakers are using is by promoting their hybrid vehicles which are capable of reaching very high gas mileage although they are slightly more expensive to their combustion engine counterparts.
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Now that we have discussed some of the general ways that the automotive industry is increasing gas mileage lets open the hood of the car and explore more technical-based improvements that automakers are doing to raise gas mileage. Many newer cars are currently being equipped with a variable valve system. Variable valve timing alters the timing of the intake and exhaust valve opening in order to maximize efficiency and performance. Also, automakers are currently developing transmissions that have more gears inside. Adding more gears results in the car running at peak performance across a spectrum of different speeds while also saving fuel consumption. While focusing on maximizing the transmission of cars there has also been more emphasis on improving engine techniques as well. The majority of automakers are gradually implanting direct injection technology into their engines. Direct injection delivers precise amounts of fuel directly into the combustion engine which results in better mileage and more engine power. Another technology that automakers continue to sophisticate is the automatic engine shutdown. When a car is no longer in motion, for example a red light, the car’s engine will shutdown automatically in order to save fuel and turn back on once the car needs to be put in motion. Closely related to the automatic engine shutdown is the cylinder deactivation system. The cylinder deactivation system shuts down one or more cylinders inside an engine while a car is cruising in the highway or a light road by closing the intake and exhaust valve of that particular cylinder. This action results in gas being stopped from entering that cylinder, thus saving fuel. For all of these mechanical innovations there is a constant development in enhanced lubricants for cars, such as oil, that can increase the mechanical efficiency of engines and transmissions and also reduce the effects of friction and wear on the vehicle which will result in better fuel efficiency.

 

References:

Brooke, Lindsay. “Beyond the 6-Speed: More Ratios for Automatic Transmissions.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Sept. 2012. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.

Leiser, Ken. “Auto Industry Makes Strides toward Improving Fuel Economy : Business.” Stltoday.com. N.p., 24 Jan. 2014. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.

Plumer, Brad. “Cars in the U.S. Are More Fuel-efficient than Ever. Here’s How It Happened.” The Washington Post. N.p., 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.

“Obama Administration Finalizes Historic 54.5 MPG Fuel Efficiency Standards.” The White House. The White House, 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.

“VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES OFFICE: FUEL EFFICIENCY AND EMISSIONS.”  Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2015.

Introduction to Lego Mindstorm

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FullSizeRenderRobots have numerous functionalities that vary based on the objectives that the robot is trying to accomplish. Robots can either be a simple design with a drive train and motors or they can be very complex systems that implement the usage of sensors to take digital/analog data and use it to better complete the task. During our last 2 seminar classes we built a basic car with a Lego Mindstorm set. We began building our robot on 9/9/15 by using the different parts in our kits and following the instructions from an online manual. Building the robot was not as obvious as you might have thought! You needed to make sure that pieces were connecting into the proper holes and that the orientation of different pieces was actually correct. It was a little bit tedious but the satisfaction of seeing the final result was definitely rewarding! After we successfully built the robot, we proceeded to test the robot by using prewritten code through a programming language called Labview. The first code made the robot drive move depending on the power output of each motor. On our second class on 9/16/15 we used another prewritten code to test how far the car would travel in 1 second at different power outputs. For any technical readers, the code looked this:

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We used a ruler that was placed parallel to the robot to observe how far the robot moved in the allotted time. We compared our human measurement to the distance that the program in Labview calculated. We tested the robot at different power outputs and calculated our margin of error.

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  1. We measured the diameter of wheel and resulted with 5.5 cm or 0.055 meters. We calculated the circumference and got 0.172788 meters.
  1. The relationship between the degrees the wheel rotated and the number of turns of wheel is that the degree the wheel rotated is equal to the product of number of turns times 360.
  1. Seconds are related to milliseconds because 0.001 seconds is equal to one millisecond or 1000 milliseconds are equal to 1 second.
  1. The distance is related to the number of turns because the distance is the product of the circumference times the number of turns.
  1. At a power level of 75 we measured a distance of 0.275 meters and Labview calculated a distance of 0.2736. The margin of error could be calculated by using the formula: ME = 100 x (dmeasured – dlabview)/daverage. Our margin of error was 0.52%.

 

There are two things that I believe could account for these discrepancies. The first one is the braking of the robot once the allotted time passed. The robot would accelerate and just come to a stop after one second. As a result of this abrupt stop the robot would break so aggressively it would jolt back slightly. I think this effect could definitely account for the difference in the measurement. In addition, I noticed throughout all trials the robot would never drive forward in a perfect straight line. It would always sway towards one side even though the power outputs were equal for both motors. As a result, the distance calculated by Labview differs from the distance we measured since we assumed it traveled in a near perfect line.

 

In my opinion this activity connected to the idea of energy consumption and how it can apply to real vehicles. As we observed during the activity, the higher the power output the more distance the  robot travelled in that one second period. In actual vehicles the same idea occurs. The greater the power, the faster the vehicle travels thus covering more distance. But unlike robotics which don’t release any greenhouse gases, real vehicles actually produce them. This presents the idea of how can we be more energy efficient as a society. We must develop cars that release little to no Carbon Dioxide regardless the power output of the engine. We as a society must look for alternative ways to power cars such as with electricity, which can prove to be advantageous.

President Obama dealing with Climate Change

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In recent years, there has been a gradual growth in environmental concerns from citizens, which has led many political figures to take a stand on the subject. Our current president, Barack Obama, has received the responsibility to deal with the problem of climate change. President Obama has started various initiatives to begin to tackle climate change. Collaboration between President Obama and the Environmental Protecting Agency has resulted in the development of a final version of the “Clean Power Plan”. With the implementation of this plan the federal government would “require states to meet specific carbon emission reduction standards” (Malloy). Under this plan, there would be limitations as to how much CO2 each state can emit into the atmosphere. In addition to the restriction of CO2 pollution, the plan strongly encouraged states to look into renewable energy sources and ways to use energy-efficient technology. Obama doesn’t just see this as a positive step for the US but he also hopes that he can inspire “other countries to commit to deep reductions in their own carbon emissions” (Davenport/Gardiner). If he can convince other big nations such as China, India, and Russia to cut their emissions, then thousands of metric tons of CO2 will be removed from the atmosphere annually.

 

Also, President Obama announced that he would “create jobs and cut carbon pollution by advancing solar deployment and energy efficiency” (U.S. Department of Energy). Making solar panels more available to the private and pubic sector is an ideal way of reducing carbon emissions gradually. Obama plans to focus on the industry first before strongly encouraging the people to become eco-friendly. After all, the source of most CO2 emissions comes from the industrial field such as power plants, factories, and etc. Reducing CO2 emissions in the industrial field will without a doubt have a profound impact that we will and future generations benefit from.

 

Furthermore, Obama isn’t only asking power plants to improve their efficiency. He is also demanding the automotive industry to improve the gas mileage of their respective vehicles. Obama “commits to developing fuel economy standards for heavy-duty vehicles” (The Washington Post). Heavy-Duty vehicles are not the most energy efficient because they take in so much gas and don’t seem to output a reasonable amount of driving distance in return. Heavy-Duty vehicles “account for about a quarter of U.S. on-road fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions from transportation” (Automotive News). Cars and light-trucks are not out of the vision either. Obama has also worked with his administration to finalize new efficiency standards that will require automakers to produce vehicles with a “fuel economy to the equivalent of 54.5 mpg for cars and light-duty trucks by Model Year 2025” (The White House). By increasing gas mileage standards it will help cars to become more efficient and travel further with less gas. I like to see this new standard as a mutualistic relationship between the environment and car consumers. While consumers get to consume more gas for their buck, the environment receives more relief as a result of less CO2 emissions.

 

President Obama’s strategy is definitely a challenging task, which is still doable. These plans will only work if everyone, private and public sectors, cooperates with one another in achieving these new standards and also promoting alternative green energy. We are at a perfect time where the older generation can pave the road for green energy and pass the torch to our current young generation that will keep the flame burning vibrantly.

 

References:

Davenport, Coral, and Gardiner Harris. “Obama to Unveil Tougher Environmental Plan With His Legacy in Mind.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 Aug. 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.

Malloy, Allie, and Sunlen Serfaty. “Obama Unveils Major Climate Change Proposal.” CNN Politics. CNN, 3 Aug. 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.

“Commit to Solar.” Commit to Solar. Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.

“Highlights of Obama’s Plan to Cut Carbon.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.

“Obama Administration Finalizes Historic 54.5 MPG Fuel Efficiency Standards.” The White House. The White House, 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.

“Obama Sets March 2016 Goal for Truck Fuel Efficiency Rules.” Automotive News. N.p., 18 Feb. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.

A Lonely Quest for Facts on Genetically Modified Crops

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In Amy Harmon’s article “A Lonely Quest for Facts on Genetically Modified Crops” (2014) she explores the perspectives of two different activists regarding the GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) bill that was introduced in May 2013 in Hawaii. The GMO bill that was introduced would of banned the use of genetically engineered crops in Hawaii, except for corn and papaya. The head of the GMO bill, Margaret Wille, believed that the health risks of GMOs have not been thoroughly investigated. She also elucidated that introducing GMOs into Hawaii would disturb the natural ecosystem that the island holds. The counter-arguer of the bill, Greggor Ilagan, believed that GMOs were economically advantageous to the island and to farmers as well. During one of the public hearings of the bill, various people expressed their resentment towards GMOs as a result of “cancer in rats, a rise in childhood allergies, out-of-control superweeds” (Harmon). It is evident that the public community saw GMOs as a threat to the environment due to the negative effects listed by those individuals. However, while the public community had a negative connotation of GMOs, local farmers express their support towards the use of GMOs. Local farmers saw GMOs as beneficial to their crops since it increases the livelihood to survive attacks from pesticide. This argument by the farmers was definitely a good point because their crops have received genes with attributes that can help them (the crop) to become immune to natural diseases and pests. Farmers also explicated how economically important GMOs are, such as Papaya, because it allowed them to maintain a smooth income without being too dependent on the health of their crops. One argument that the farmers could have definitely used to strengthen their point was that with GMOs, they don’t need to rely so heavily on chemicals to use on the land, which is harmful. GMOs allow most of the land to be “recycled” and not be exhausted with excessive chemicals.

 

Mr. Ilagan saw the use of GMOs as a positive step towards the agricultural success of crops on the island. In contrast, Ms. Wille saw many things wrong regarding the usage of GMOs. Ms. Wille also took an economical view on the matter and concluded differently to Mr. Ilagan. The idea of having GMO Corporations in the island was seen as a nonviolent threat to the people. Ms. Wille has an environmentalist mindset and her ultimate goal is to protect and conserve the natural ecosystem of the island. Introducing GMOs into the environment will only hurt habitats. She also believes their is a more economical advantage to non-GMO products which can be marketed. Corporations are thought to be more interested in the economic income of GMOs rather than the health of the community. Another problem that Ms. Wille noticed with GMOs was the cost of the seeds. GMO seeds are more expensive than conventional seeds. It is almost as if the disadvantageous cancels out the benefits of GMOs. Very poor farmers find themselves buying expensive bioengineered seeds that they can barely afford. As cited by Ms. Wille, GMOs caused “suicides among farmers in India, purportedly driven into debt by the high cost of patented, genetically modified cotton seeds” (Harmon).

 

As stated by Amy Harmon, President Obama reassured the Hawaiian community that he would take a stance in all issues. Although with his perspective of GMOs and its implementation, he seems to find himself stuck in a weird position where he cannot take a definite stance. This just comes to show the complexity of GMOs. It is a technology that has not been researched enough and more unanswered questions are piling up rather than answered questions with scientific research to back up the claims.

 

In my personal opinion, I only support the availability and the usage of GMOs that are already distributed in our current agricultural market. Most of us have been consuming GMOs for the majority of our lives; these include soy, canola, and sugar. These common GMOs are proven to be safe for consumption and are not known to have any side effects. However, I do not support the use of untested GMOs that have not been fully researched. Without enough scientific research we are dealing with something that even we don’t fully understand. The drawbacks of such technology still is not clear to the science community so it shouldn’t be fully accessible to the public. Instead, I think research laboratories should conduct studies with a variation of participants who are willing to test different GMOs and observations should be taken regarding the health of the participants. We must understand how GMOs can directly impact the human body rather then rat labs. After GMOs are tested and are found safe for consumption then I will support the use of all GMOs. After all, GMOs are a great way to help fight malnutrition in 3rd world countries and could possibly help sustain the world in the future due to the rapid population growth.

 

References:

Harmon, Amy. “A Lonely Quest for Facts on Genetically Modified Crops.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 Jan. 2014. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.