Sustainability Archives

06 Feb

Made to Break: Planned Obsolescence and the Right to Repair

Nick Ramos3 CommentsArticles, Economics, SustainabilityApple, centennial lightbulb, circular economic model, e-waste, Fair Repair Act, Ford, General Motors, Giles Slade, Hewlett-Packard, IKEA, iPhone, mining, Model T, Phoebus cartel, Planned Obsolescence, Right to Repair, style obsolescence, technological obsolescence, waste

This article covers: How planned obsolescence was implemented over a century ago and its effects on our behavior and way of thinking about the products we buy everyday. The positive and negative sides of planned obsolescence as well as recent scandals. Why Right to Repair laws are so important. How planned obsolescence is creating excess waste and using up our resources, as well as proposed solutions such as the circular economic model. Exciting new legislation that was introduced to the House in 2021 called the Fair Repair Act. In 2013, a carbon filament light bulb in Livermore, California went out…

14 Nov

Solar Roadways: American Ingenuity to Power a Greener Future

Craig Carroll5 CommentsArticles, Solution Spotlight, SustainabilityAutomated Vehicles, innovation, invention, renewable energy, safety, solar energy, solar power, tech, technology, Tesla

There are moments in life when we hear about something that strikes us as so obvious, so wonderful, that we wonder why we haven’t encountered it before. Solar Roadways was one of those things for me. We have accepted roads that exist in a certain way, but what if, in the near future, they could serve purposes other than simply a solid, flat surface for vehicles to drive upon? Solar Roadways is a company that has developed a technology (of the same name) which began with the idea to turn the surface of our roads into solar panels, and evolved…

12 Jul

The Future of Energy – Expert Round Table

Stacia Wilson0 CommentsSustainability, Videoscarbon emissions, green energy, nuclear, nuclear energy, nuclear power, oil and gas, Paris Agreement, petrol, petroleum, pollution, renewable energy, sustainability

We sat down with professionals from the wind, oil & gas, and nuclear energy fields to talk about common misconceptions, innovations, and predictions in their areas of expertise. With binding agreements in place to cut US carbon emissions in half by 2030, are energy alternatives up to the task? Questions Covered: Legislation - This year, a number of new nations- the U.S. among them - signed on to binding initiatives to dramatically reduce carbon emissions by 2030. What do you think the impact of this legislative shift will be?The Public - what are your thoughts on public sentiment around energy…

26 Jun

Whatever Happened to the Fuel of the Future?

Nathan C. Smolensky1 CommentArticles, Sustainabilitycarbon emissions, coal, fuel, geothermal, hydroelectric power, innovations, nuclear energy, nuclear power, oil and gas, Paris Agreement, Paris Climate Agreement, solar power, wind

Listen to "Whatever Happened to the Fuel of the Future? by Nathan C. Smolensky" on Spreaker. On April 22nd of this year—Earth Day—US President Joe Biden played host to some 40 world leaders in a virtual climate conference. The conference carried many of the talking points typical of its predecessors—climate change and crisis, of urgency and action—but Biden did make some bold promises for the nation's direction. Carbon emissions, the president declared, would be cut by 50%-52% from 2005 levels by the year 2030, primarily on the strength of reduced coal usage and more electric cars and trucks replacing gas-guzzlers…

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