Week 16

For me, this biology class has had a very positive impact on me, plus I really liked it. In this class I have learned how the natural world works and how our actions can sometimes influence it. At the beginning we learned everything from the way organisms interact to how they are affected by environmental changes. I think this is something that we all think we know but that we are probably not aware of. In addition, I have also learned the why or how of many things, for example how animals relate to each other. In these moments we realize the importance of biodiversity and how each species plays a crucial role in the balance of its environment. We also looked at the environmental challenges we face, such as climate change, habitat loss and pollution. Understanding the urgency of addressing these problems and the need to take action both individually and collectively.


In conclusion, we could say that learning is not limited to the classroom, but extends to our actions and decisions in everyday life. Also, with the extra credit project we committed to being more aware of our habits and to adopt practices that promote sustainability and environmental conservation. This leaves us with a sense of responsibility and motivation to be agents of change in protecting our planet.

Week 13

The European Union recently announced a new strategy to reduce plastic waste and promote the circular economy. This legislation, known as the Single-Use Plastics Directive, focuses on the ten most popular single-use plastic items seen on European beaches, such as plastic cutlery, plates and straws. The directive aims to reduce the environmental impact of plastic pollution by prohibiting these items and requires producers to bear responsibility for the collection and recycling of plastic trash. The impact of this policy is predicted to be overwhelmingly favorable, as it reduces the amount of plastic entering seas and ecosystems, saving marine life and lowering the overall carbon footprint connected with plastic manufacture. People must be aware of this mandate since plastic pollution is a global disaster with serious effects for the environment, wildlife, and human health. Implementing such regulations will get us closer to a more sustainable future while also preserving our planet for future generations.

Source: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/plastics/single-use-plastics_en

Week 12

The actions that I have chosen for my challenge are: consuming only needs versus wants, as a daily action, and borrowing before buying, as a one-time action. I have chosen these two because in daily action I believe that despite not considering myself a wasteful person, sometimes I spend my money on things I don’t need or I overspend. That is why I think this challenge is very good for me. On the other hand, as for the one-time challenge, borrowing before buying, it is something that I think I do often, but that I should do more. In my case I tend to use a lot of the resources that Harper offers, and one of them is the library. A recent example is that I am going to take an exam soon, and for this I needed a book to be able to study. Instead of buying it, I decided to rent it from the library, having the advantages of not spending the money and returning it to the library when I no longer need it. I think my goals are moderate because I consider that there is an easier option than borrowing something or spending money without needing it, since it is something I do often. Honestly, it is a little difficult for me to remember every day that I have to fulfill the challenge, but I think it is a matter of getting used to it and it will be something more present in my daily life. I think that if time and money were not a problem for me, probably what I would invest them in would be leading a healthy life. I would like to spend on necessary and good quality things, avoiding making impulsive and repetitive purchases. Furthermore, I would like to eat healthy, avoiding waste and reducing the consumption of animal products.

Smart grids

Smart grids are advanced electrical networks that use modern technologies to efficiently manage the generation, distribution and consumption of electricity. These networks have various renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, and other traditional sources such as coal and natural gas.

These smart networks helped with environmental problems in the following ways:

-Perfectly integrating renewable energy sources into the electrical grid-

-Facilitating demand response programs

-Optimizing the flow of electricity through the grid with advanced control monitoring systems.

-Integrating electric vehicles by managing the charging process intelligently.

-Generating large amounts of data on energy consumption patterns.

I have chosen this technology because I believe that the benefits it provides would be very good for society. Some advantages we can obtain with smart grids are energy efficiency, renewable energy integration, improved grid reliability, electric vehicle integration and consumer empowerment.

https://utilitiesone.com/smart-grid-technologies-in-environmental-engineering-for-sustainable-energy

Impacts of air pollution

The article by IQAir https://www.iqair.com/us/spain, discusses the air quality in Spain; its level of pollution, main causes, what the government is doing about it, whether it is improving or worsening and what effects Spain’s polluted air has on health. Spain has a population of approximately 47.5 million people and ranked 82 out of 98 in terms of air quality according to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020. Air pollution is a significant problem in Spain, about 94% of the population breathes polluted air exceeding WHO’s recommended levels. The main pollutants of concern are suspended particles, nitrogen dioxide, tropospheric ozone, sulphur dioxide, and benzo(a)pyrene. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a reduction in nitrogen dioxide levels. The Spanish government is taking action to improve air quality by reducing motorized traffic and promoting sustainable transportation options. Although air pollution has remained stable overall in recent years, some areas are experiencing increasing levels of particulate matter pollution, which poses a risk to cardiovascular and respiratory health.

Honestly, I chose this country because it is where I was born and I was very interested in knowing what the air quality was like. After this article I realized that Spain has very bad air quality and, in terms of comparison with other countries, it is in a very low position. With this I realize all the work that remains to be done to improve pollution, although I am also aware of the improvements that are being made.

Week 3 – Reflection

For me these three weeks of class have been very enriching. Everything we are learning in this class is new, since the last time I took a biology class was 5/6 years ago. That’s why everything seems very curious to me and catches my attention.
In the first week we couldn’t see everything we needed due to the cancellation of classes, but in the second week I learned a lot of things. With the list of plants and animals that we made at the beginning I remembered my primary school classes. In that class, the bottle that we had to create caught my attention, having to do it consciously and analyzing various values. This was a lot of fun for me since it’s my first time taking a lab.
This week we have seen the population. Honestly, I found all the information we can obtain by analyzing the population in general very curious, also seeing how this affects urbanization and many other factors.
Finally, and as I said before, the laboratory activity that we did in this class was also very curious because we were able to check everything we had learned.

Introduction

Hello, my name is Marta and my preferred pronouns are she/her. I’m studying business and I’m in my second year at Harper, so I’ll transfer next Fall. I’m 19 and I’m from Spain and I live here with my parents and my siblings. We came a year and a half ago, so we’re still getting used to it but we’re doing very well here, even though it’s very cold! This is something we are not used to. Where we lived, in the south of Spain, it is not so cold and we don’t reach such low temperatures. I like to spend time with my friends and family and I work at Woodfield Mall, at Primark, a new store that opened 4 months ago.
Hope you have a good semester!

Introduction

Hello, my name is Marta and my preferred pronouns are she/her. I’m studying business and I’m in my second year at Harper, so I’ll transfer next Fall. I’m 19 and I’m from Spain and I live here with my parents and my siblings. We came a year and a half ago, so we’re still getting used to it but we’re doing very well here, even though it’s very cold! This is something we are not used to. Where we lived, in the south of Spain, it is not so cold and we don’t reach such low temperatures. I like to spend time with my friends and family and I work at Woodfield Mall, at Primark, a new store that opened 4 months ago.
Hope you have a good semester!