Imagine waking up in your bedroom, taking breaths of air aided by your malfunctioning HVAC system, and drinking water that has gone through a rigorous process to eliminate contaminants and bacteria prior to being supplied to your tap through an aging piping system. You then start your car, blast the heat, and let it idle for about 10 minutes because its winter and -30 degrees out. You go on about your day making your first trip to the coffee shop, letting your car idle for another 2 minutes in the drive-through lineup. You're running late for your first class or your first important meeting of the day, so what's bumping your speed another 15 kilometers down the highway? You arrive at your destination and need to take a quick washroom break. You dispose your coffee cup into the recycling bin and check your messages and emails (perhaps check-in with your social media accounts) on your smartphone while making your way to the washroom. The automatic flusher has a mind of its own and is continuously flushing. You wash your hands without bothering to flick the water off, you pull off 1,2, perhaps 3 sheets of paper from the automatic dispenser to dry your hands and perhaps a 4th sheet to avoid making contact with the door knob... and your day goes on without thinking twice about your morning routine.
Let's be honest, the majority of you can probably relate to this scenario, or knows someone who does (I am guilty myself, more or less). You may wonder, what is the problem with this routine? And what does it have to do with pollution?! Well, lets break it down:
- HVAC System: these systems are created with the aim to provide comfortable temperature and humidity levels indoors, while eliminating any harmful concentrations of air pollutants. Typically, our ventilation system is constantly working to supply outdoor air and removing indoor air and ensuring this air is sufficiently circulating throughout the indoor space - this distribution of mixed air is important in keeping our homes and buildings non-polluted. When faulty, like in our situation, harmful concentrations of pollutants from numerous sources can contribute to poor indoor air quality and health associated risks. Not to mention, a waste of energy!
- Water System: typically, our water is transported to our homes through an extensive piping system. Prior to this, it goes through a series of mechanical, biological, and chemical processes before safely reaching our homes. This takes energy! And with an aging piping system, we've got to remove and replace it. So where does the deteriorated pipe go?
- Idling Vehicle and Speeding: now this is a no-brainer! You are not only wasting fuel, you are contributing to and introducing unnecessary hazardous pollution into your community. Your tailpipe is spewing out nasty stuff, like excessive CO2, CO, particulate matter, NOXs and VOCs that contribute to smog and soot. This can contribute to a rising number of health problems. Nasty right? So think twice before needlessly idling your car. It's not likely that you'll freeze to death in your car seat! In fact, studies show that idling your car for greater than 10 seconds wastes more fuel than restarting the engine (Environmental Defense Fund 2009). You may say it's only another 15 km on top of the 100 km you are already driving. YES, this wastes fuel (depending on the make of your vehicle). Slow down Charlie (or wake up earlier)! And why not park and shut off your engine to pick up your coffee if the line-up runs down to the next block. It's inconvenient? It's cold out? That's unacceptable. Small actions practiced by everyone will make a huge difference.
- Recycling: does the coffee cup you just threw into the recycling bin really get recycled? This is an intriguing and controversial question that came up in my ENVS4407 Pollution Prevention class. Recycling coffee cups is extremely difficult. Why? Coffee cups are typically lined with a plastic film of polyethylene which prevents liquids from warping and making the cup soggy. However, this is the same material that is used to coat juice boxes and milk cartons (which can be recycled). See the disconnection here? Some will say, skip the coffee cup and purchase a reliable stainless steel coffee tumbler. However, we are forgetful human beings and needless to say, you may forget your reusable tumbler and opt for purchasing a coffee in a disposable cup because you absolutely need that hit of caffeine prior to your 8am Monday class (I plead guilty). Is it worth it? Now consider that coffee tumbler and all of the energy input and materials used to create it. What's the trade-off here? If you're forgetful, like me, what is the point in purchasing a travel mug when its going to be stored in your cupboard - forgotten - so you opt for the disposable one. IT ADDS UP. Pollution is inevitable and inescapable here. The production of both the tumbler and the disposable coffee cup is created by the same company who would very much profit from both products. Now you're left wondering, which product should you opt for? You be the judge. We are the culprits here - perhaps we need to weigh out our poor judgements and forget our dose of java? Absolutely not.
- The Internet and Social Media: It's hard to imagine that you are the cause of pollution when you are browsing the web, re-tweeting a clever remark or sending a quick email, but reality is, everyone who uses the internet is contributing to some form of pollution. I've spoken to friends in-passing and they think that the internet, in other words, this "virtual world" exists in the atmosphere. Does it really?? The internet consists of an extensive computer network and these social media platforms are run in data facilities both inland and offshore with countless rows of servers that typically spread over hundreds of thousands of square feet of land. These centers need to be equipped with extensive commercial cooling systems as the heat generated can destroy these facilities. I'm a culprit myself. This post itself probably contributed to some type of pollution. SO NO, using the internet does not vanish into space folks. Think again before you scroll through your instagram feed and load a photo, applying that filter because the lighting looks bad, and posting a witty comment on a friends post. This all has a very minute but very damaging effect on our earth - it's sad because the majority of us don't even think twice about this because we have made it acceptable.
Do we really want our future generations to face this pollution burden? Absolutely not. Its unacceptable! Always stay consciously aware and be mindful of your actions. Even if you cannot do anything about it, pass on the knowledge - someone else will.
- Waste: whenever I step into the washrooms on campus, which is often because I have the tiniest bladder, it always surprises me how much unnecessary waste is generated. No, I don't only mean what is expelled from your body - it's the overflowing garbage can filled with paper towels, coffee cups and tissue paper that is distributed on the floor of the stalls that catches my attention. Upon observation, is it really necessary to pull 4 sheets of paper to dry your hands? And what's so bad with air drying them? (Proud to say that I do this - sometimes). Come on folks, reducing your paper waste is not that hard! This could be prevented, and its simple, use only what you need (or none at all because lets be real, the automatic hand dryer blows out literally millions of bacteria). I know some of us pay ridiculous amounts of tuition - so we believe that we have the right to maximize the resources provided to us - don't be selfish.
