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Atmosphere & Climate Change Carbon dioxide emissions:
There are both natural and human sources of carbon dioxide emissions. Natural sources include decomposition, ocean release and respiration. Human sources come from activities like the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas as well as deforestation. Reference: whatsyourimpact.org/greenhouse-gases/carbon-dioxide-emissions Concept of carbon footprint and the need to reduce the carbon footprint: Carbons emissions leads to an increase in the earths overall temperature and is widely considered one of the greatest issues in the world today. We need to reduce our carbon emissions in the form of a reduction in the burning of fossil fuels and thus a reduction in our electricity usage. An improvement in the form of more efficient and more environmentally friendly products needs to be equipped. Deforestation: It is defined as the clearance/removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is there after converted to non- natural usage. Greenhouse effect and global warming: The greenhouse effect is the process by which radiation from a planet's atmosphere warms the planet's surface to a temperature above what it would be without its atmosphere. If a planet's atmosphere contains green house gases then the atmosphere will radiate energy in all directions. Part of this radiation is directed towards the surface thus warming it which is known as global warming. The downward component of this radiation that is, the strength of the greenhouse effect will depend on the atmosphere's temperature and on the amount of greenhouse gases that the atmosphere contains. Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect Desertification It is the process by which fertile land becomes desert, typically as a result of drought, deforestation, or inappropriate agriculture. Drought: It is the prolonged period of deficient rainfall relative to the statistical average. Floods: Floods are an overflow of a large amount of water beyond its normal limits, especially over what is normally dry land. Methane emissions: Methane is emitted by natural sources such as wetlands as well as human activities such as leakage from natural gas systems and the raising of livestock. It is released in the digestive processes of the many livestock, which furthermore damages the protective layer in the stratosphere. During their normal digestion process they create large amounts of methane. Enteric fermentation occurs because of microorganisms in the stomach of these animals. This creates methane as a by-product that is either exhaled by the animal or released via flatus. Reference: http://whatsyourimpact.org/greenhouse-gases/methane-emissions Ozone depletion: The ozone in the stratosphere helps protect us from dangerous radiation from the sun Earth's protective layer is being damaged by human activities, particularly the production of greenhouse gases. These gases are known to erode the surface of the ozone layer, meaning that its protective properties are consistently being diminished over time. Decreasing the usage of the harmful chemicals that are used by humans would help stabilize and protect the forming wholes in the ozone layer and thus reducing depletion. Reference: https://www.reference.com/science/happening-ozone-layer-18d81fbfc4f30444# CONTEXT: We chose to do our project on the smoothie bar that is Rootbar, and the effect it has on the environment. I will be focusing on its Co2 emissions and thus its carbon footprint as well as ways I can recommend or learn from to ensure a sustainable atmosphere and ultimately decreasing global climate change. Another important key characteristic would be electricity usage and the fact that high usage leads to more demand of power and ultimately greater levels of fossil fuels being burned which have a negative impact on the environment. The burning of fossil fuels produces heat-trapping gases that are the main cause of the ongoing rise in global atmospheric temperatures. Rootbars suppliers and vehicles that are used in the process of transporting the various goods to its store: We want to be focusing in this section on Rootbars main suppliers and the vehicles that are involved in the transportation process. Ie how often are goods transported and what are the emissions associated with these vehicles in particular. Rootbar get their supplies on a daily bases from a single market within Cape Town. It is delivered via a bukkie once a day and carries all the necessary supplies that are needed. I would say that this is the price Rootbar has to pay in terms of a carbon footprint, their produce is so fresh it needs to be transported on a daily bases. Emissions associated with the bukkie would be inefficient to say the least, mainly due to the fact that bukkies require a large amount of fuel to travel short distances. It is important to notice that because Rootbar source all of their produce from one local supplier in particular, they would not have a large impact on the environment. Rootbar is different to many restaurants and shops, this is because many of them source their goods from different suppliers for single goods in particular, this would mean more transport, more fuel consumption and a large amount of unnecessary co2 emissions into the atmosphere. The worker who fetches the produce from the market would gather the goods from various different farmers who each have their own farms and bring their own specialized fruits or vegetables to the central market. This would also however imply that there are various emissions of transportation from the different farmers to get their produce to the central market. The vehicles that are usually used for these long distances are large diesel trucks that have some of the worst impacts out of all the transportation systems in the world. The reason for this is due to the fact that the vehicles are so large, heavy and have to be able to carry thousands of kilograms of produce so they leave a massive negative impact on the atmosphere. A large amount of fumes and co2 are released into the atmosphere from combustion out of the exhausts, further causing damage to the ozone layer and trapping various gases, causing overall heating and global temperature warming. I believe a good solution to this would be to source various produce that is sold and grown, from one farmer in particular, they should try find a farmer who grows many different fruits and vegetables at one single farm. This would ensure no unnecessary co2 emissions in the transportation process, which would have a positive impact on the environment. There would be no outsourcing for goods. Thus there would not be long distance journeys for single fruit or vegetable types. Another way of improving Rootbars carbon footprint would be to grow much of there own produce. This would be like growing their own mint leaves, lemons, tomatoes, lettuce and various other simple produce that does not require a lot of effort to produce. It could potentially be grown at the owner’s home or could even be grown at Rootbar if there were space. It could provide new excitements for customers watching their smoothie being created from scratch. The mint leaves and lemons are picked before their eyes ensuring the freshest of produce are used. This could even enhance their profit margins as it could act as an incentive to buy a smoothie that is created from the trees and leaves around the shop, all ensuring that a positive impact is placed on the environment because a decrease in transportation emissions would have happened. Rootbars electricity usage and its overall demand for energy: For this section we want to know how much power rootbar uses in their process of running the shop, how much does it cost and what are some possible solutions to making it more cheaper to run. What sustainable methods are being used for the environment? Firstly rootbar only use electricity for lighting, refrigeration and to power a few smoothie machines. No electricity is used in the cooking process, most of the foods are cold, raw and healthy. Ie fruit salads and wraps. According to the owner no proper cooking is done within the restaurant and so there is no need for power, there is not a large dependency on power.Their total cost of electricity is around R4000 a month. Other restaurants pay electricity bills considerably larger than R4000 rand this therefore enhances the fact that Rootbar doesn’t require a large amount of power to run. If many shops were able to run on a low amount of power it would mean less pressure is exerted on Eskom and so less coal will potentially be burned, furthermore having a great impact on the atmosphere. A considerable decrease in co2 will be released from the burning of fossil fuels. These are some of the benefits of using low levels of power to produce healthy foods. A great new idea would be to implement algae powered lights. It is still in prototype stages but is quickly becoming a golden idea and is being developed by Sustainable Nano. The lights use the bright fluorescence that is released from the algae and it comes in bright green or blue. This new invention is using bio mimicry to take out co2 out of the air and to power many streets in France. The algae’s take co2 out of the air surrounding them and have an excellent impact on the environment. Reference for this invention: http://sustainable-nano.com/2015/03/03/algae-lamps/ After speaking with the manager at Rootbar it had come to our attention that no sustainable methods were being used. However after further analysis Rootbar mostly make cold foods thus there is no need for sustainable methods. Raw fruits and nuts do not need to be cooked or require any forms of energy and this means that indirectly there is in fact sustainable methods being used at the shop. In conclusion root bar is one of the most environmentally positive thinking shops in Cape Town. After all, “its all good, naturally” |
Interview Questions
The following questions were asked in an interview in order to help us understand the complexities of our chosen context.
All of the questions were answered and adapted by Colette Lowe, the shop owner.
All of the questions were answered and adapted by Colette Lowe, the shop owner.
interview_recording_1.mp4 | |
File Size: | 807 kb |
File Type: | mp4 |