Month: March 2023

The Wide Use of Palm Oil and Its Negative Affects

harmpa7 /

After our class about greenwashing, I was very intrigued in learning how damaging certain foods and products are to the Earth. One of my main focuses was the use of palm oil. 50% of packaged items in supermarkets contain palm oil. It is in all different types of goods from pizza dough, chocolate, ice cream, lipstick, detergent, soap, and even biodiesel to name a few. Palm oil is used in all these goods because it has a long shelf life, stable at high temperatures, semi-solid at room temperature, odorless, and colorless. This means that it helps all different types of food keep the quality of it to where the producers want the food to be at. For example, the semi-solid at room temperature characteristic allows spreads to stay spreadable. Also, palm oil can be produced in large quantities, over small areas of land, year-round. If the world was to switch to alternate vegetable oils, farmers would need 4-10 times more land.

Though palm oil is very beneficial in markets and there is a high demand for it, it has been a driving force in deforestation in at risk areas. These vulnerable areas include the rainforests of Latin America, West Africa, and Southeast Asia. Palm tree farms destroy biodiverse forests in which already endangered species live. Some endangered species include the Orangutan, Pygmy elephant, and Sumatran rhino. These farms don’t only affect the biodiversity of animals but also the atmosphere. The conversion of carbon rich peat soils on top of forest loss creates millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases cause climate change which affects the whole world.

So, what is the world doing to limit the damage caused by palm oil? One of the main sustainably actions was the creation of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in 2004. This organization recognizes that there is a large problem in the palm oil sector, but also that not all palm oil production contributes to deforestation. They set standards for growers to best practice sustainable producing and sourcing. Large organizations aren’t the only ones that can help reduce the production of non-sustainable palm oil production. Individually, we can make our own initiatives. First, we can limit our overall consumption of palm oil products. Then, if we do need to buy goods with palm oil, we can make sure that it is RSPO certified. As consumers we can identify RSPO certified by the RSPO logo on the packaging.Something we don’t want to do is boycott all palm oil products. Because there are millions of smallholder farmers who depend on the production of palm oil to live, boycotting would severely impact these farmers.

To confess, while writing this I have been snacking on some veggie crisps. Even though they are vegan, organic, and cruelty free, they still contain palm oil which is negatively impacting the environment. With all, it is extremely difficult to avoid all palm oil foods and products, but the best we can do is recognize the problem and attempt to limit our consumption and only consume palm oil that is RSPO certified.

https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/8-things-know-about-palm-oil

https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/which-everyday-products-contain-palm-oil

https://eos.com/blog/palm-oil-deforestation/

Sustainable Transportation in Japan

Payton /

Japan is a country that has been known for its high-tech and efficient transportation system. However, this transportation system is not only elite in accessibility and efficiency; it has also set a great example to the world about how to implement sustainability into the field of transportation. In fact, this transportation system heavily influences the fact that Japan’s per-capita greenhouse gas emissions are less than half of the United States’. The country has been able to promote this sustainable transportation through a combination of technology, government support, and citizen participation. The United States and many other countries around the world should seek to model their own transportation systems after this innovative Japanese one, in order to create a healthier and safer environment. In addition, these changes may also bring more efficiency and accessibility to the United States public transportation system.

The Japanese transportation system has greatly succeeded in the field of sustainability, much thanks to the innovation of leading companies in the industry. One key difference between Japanese transportation systems and others around the world is that those in Japan are mostly run my private companies. This has created easier, more accessible public transportation for all, as these companies work closely with the Japanese government to both fund new innovations and integrate separate rail systems. Japanese rail systems have also been built in a way that allows seamless modification to improve areas such as efficiency or sustainability; those in other nations such as the United States have not been built in such a way, leading to frequent issues and delays. One railway company that specifically seeks to improve the sustainability and functionality of Japanese railways is called JR East. JR East research ways to use renewable energy sources and create power storage systems to reduce wasted energy. They have also been striving to create an even faster than the famous Shinkansen train, which runs at almost 300 miles per hour. In addition to the railway system, Japan has also encouraged other sustainable forms of transportation such as biking. Only 10% of all transportation in Japan involves the use of motor vehicles, vastly reducing the CO2 emissions in the country.

One rail business in Japan that has set an example in sustainable practices is Tokyu Railways. In 2019, they became the first Japanese rail business to become a part of RE100, a global initiative bringing together thousands of companies striving become more sustainable. Only three years later, the company achieved its goal of powering all of its train lines with solar, geothermal, and hydropower energy. The average trip on a Tokyu train emits about 180 grams of CO2, 1000 grams less than an equivalent trip in a motorized vehicle. Over the course of an entire year, these reductions add up to saving nearly 800,000 tons of CO2 entering the atmosphere.

Japan has set the pace on sustainable transportation, specifically in the railway industry. However, this is only the beginning of the transition to renewable transportation practices, both in Japan and abroad. Several other rail companies in Japan, such as Tobu Railway and JR East, have followed the example of Tokyu Railways and have begun to reduce CO2 emissions. Further action and innovation is needed by other countries such as the United States in order to create a better future by reducing CO2 emissions by one of the biggest culprits, public transportation.

 

References:

https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2017/what-japan-can-teach-america-about-sustainable-transportation/19861

https://coordinates.ce.gatech.edu/japan-sustainable-development/sustainable-transportation-japan

https://www.railway-technology.com/features/tokyu-railways-goes-full-steam-ahead-on-its-sustainability-journey/