Absent army

Stepping out of the Tube train onto the platform of my usual station, I was surprised to see a clear plastic garbage bag taped to the wall. It was filled with free newspapers, the most common detritus of the Underground. I saw another taped bag ten metres along the corridor.

One of the quirks of the Underground is that there are no bins — not a single one. I found this out early on in my Tube career when, suffering severe sniffles, I couldn’t find a bin to dispose my mass of used tissues.

It’s because of terrorism. Even before 9/11 and 7/7, since the 1970s the Underground has been under attack from groups like the IRA. Bins are potentially handy places to hide bombs, I guess.

Even without bins, you’d be surprised at how clean Underground stations are. I don’t remember any litter in stations, except for occasional newspapers. Each station is patrolled by an army of cleaning staff, picking up papers and bottles, mopping up pavement pizza…

As I climbed up the escalators, an announcement on the PA system explained the taped up rubbish bags.

‘Attention! There are no cleaning staff at the station today. Please take all your litter with you, including free newspapers.’

I expect that by the end of the day, the station looked like a landfill.

Biofuels in 400 words or less

One of the questions I really struggled with in the IEMA exam last week was this one:

“Biofuels are the sustainable future for transport fuel.”

Define what a biofuel is; discuss the advantages/disadvantages of biofuels; and provide an opinion, supported with reasons, on whether you agree or not with the above statement.

The production and use of biofuels are an extremely complex sustainability issue. This question was accompanied with the instruction to candidates:

Each answer per whole question (not for each part of each question) must be between 250 and 400 words (including words within diagrams) – candidates who exceed the 400 word limit will fail that question

Yikes! In 400 words or less, solve the world’s energy security/food/climate change/habitat destruction/rural displacement/biodiversity problems!

Here is my response. It took me a whole day to write this so that I could be within the word limit. It’s times like these that I’m quite glad I’m not an expert in biofuels! People who know more (Yap, I mean you) might find this response necessarily simplistic

Biofuels are made from biomass, most commonly plant material (DFT, 2005). There is worldwide focus on the potential for liquid biofuels to substitute petrol and diesel in meeting future transport needs (OECD/ITF, 2007).

Advantages

Disadvantages

Greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement – Biofuels produce less GHGs compared to fossil fuels; emissions are offset by the carbon that plants absorb while growing.

Emissions arise across all lifecycle stages – Fossil fuels are used to operate biofuels infrastructure, in cultivation, conversion, distribution and use. Compared to fossil fuels, grain-based biofuels reduce GHG emissions by as little as 10-30% (OECD/ITF 2007, Royal Society 2008)

Energy security – By displacing fossil fuels with biofuels (which are renewable), countries can reduce reliance on increasingly costly imported oil.

Limited land – The UK will be unlikely to achieve significant levels of fuel security by growing biofuels on its own land (Royal Society 2008).

Rural development – Biofuels industry can generate income for rural communities in both developed and developing countries.

Driving deforestation – Biofuels demand can drive deforestation, as farmers seek to generate income from as much arable land as they can control.

Other impacts of intensified agriculture – Biofuels cultivation is likely to increase water use, soil erosion, fertiliser use, convert ecosystems to monocultures, and impact visual amenity of uncultivated land.

Waste as feedstock – Second generation biofuels can use waste feedstocks (e.g. vegetable waste and cooking oils). This can lead to GHG savings of around 70% (OECD/ITF 2007, NNFCC 2007).

Food shortages – First generation biofuels use conventional food crops (e.g. wheat, maize, sugar and palm oil) (Royal Society 2008). Demand for biofuels could divert both crops and land from food production.

Are biofuels the sustainable future for transport fuel? In the case of first generation biofuels, the answer is ‘no’. Their relatively low GHG abatement does not justify the high risk of driving food shortages. However, looking to the future, a sustainable transport system should incorporate biofuels that:

  • Are based on dedicated high yield energy crops, co-products from food production, and organic wastes (Royal Society 2008);
  • Wherever possible, make use of marginal land of low agricultural or biodiversity value;
  • Are cultivated on sustainably managed cropland (integrated management of biodiversity, water, soil erosion, chemicals use, etc.);
  • Run efficiently in vehicles designed to use biofuels; and
  • Are priced to reflect environmental and social costs.

Advanced biofuels can then form part of a sustainable transport system, one that promotes biofuels alongside energy efficiency and reducing the demand and need for motorised transport.

Word count
397

Cited references
DFT – Department for Transport (2005), Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) feasibility report, available at link, accessed on 22 June 2008

NNFCC – National Non-Food Crops Centre (2007), ‘Liquid fuels’, website, available at link , accessed on 22 June 2008

OECD/ITF – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and International Transport Forum (2007), ‘Biofuels: Linking Support to Performance’, Summary and conclusions from the Transport Research Centre, round table 7-8 June 2007, Paris, available at link, accessed on 22 June 2008

Royal Society (2008), Sustainable biofuels: prospects and challenges, policy document 01/08, The Royal Society, London, available at link, accessed on 22 June 2008

Becoming chartered

Becoming a chartered professional has always been tricky for environmental engineers, even engineering project managers. Being an engineer means solving problems. Usually, engineers design physical solutions (bridges, circuit boards, water pipes) for society’s problems. On the other hand, for the last few years, I’ve been working on management systems, policies and strategies. In the traditional sense, I’m not an engineer, yet I think of myself as designing non-physical solutions to the same problems.

We’ve tried to make this argument to Engineers Australia, who won’t allow us to become chartered engineers without us demonstrating that we have design skills. Unfortunately, they’re sticking to the relatively traditional definition of design so I’ve found myself unable to be a chartered engineer in Australia.

I don’t object to the way Engineers Australia have chose to define the job of an ‘engineer’ because I work alongside ecologists, physicists, social policy analysts, media specialists, microbiologists, environmental scientists, geographers — and we all do similar work. Perhaps they’re right. Perhaps I’m not doing engineering work.

To progress through an engineering company, more often than not, one needs to be chartered. That’s why for the last few weeks, I’ve been doing a take-home exam to become an associate member of the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Management (after that, there are a few more steps before I can be a chartered environmental professional). Doing the exam has meant little time for cooking, blogging, seeing friends and Damjan, and regular exercise.

Sitting in front of a computer doing heavy thinking all weekend is never much fun. But if one has to do an exam, then the IEMA exam is not a bad one. I learned a bit and got to write about a pet topic or two.

If the only tool you have is a hammer…

I was being shown around one of my project sites. This one was near Cambridge. A developer wanted to build a luxury hotel here.

My tour guide was the project’s arborist. For weeks, he and his assistant had been painstakingly mapping and tagging the hundreds (thousands?) of trees on this woodland site.

‘That’s a field maple tree,’ he enthused. ‘Squirrels love them. That tree’s been chewed to the core so it’ll have to come down.’

As we hiked to the back of the site, he pointed out the trees of interest.

‘What’s that?’ I asked. There was a long, squat black fence bisecting an open grassy glad.

‘The newt fence,’ the arborist said. ‘The ecologist set that up. It’s part of the newt strategy, to help relocate the great crested newts to the new ponds out back.’

The great crested newt is famous for holding up development all over the English countryside. Although a highly protected species, in the eyes of developers, it is exasperatingly common.

‘And here are the ponds,’ the arborist announced. ‘Oh look! There are some newts now.’

‘I see. It looks like the ponds have worked, then,’ I suggested.

‘Yes, they’ve been very successful.’ The arborist grimaced. ‘The ecologist was so pleased with himself when these ponds got put in. The day after they were constructed, I showed up on site. “Look!” the ecologist said when he saw me. I was aghast. When they dug up the pond, they had ripped out all the roots of those lovely beech trees you see there! I was furious. I wanted to grab some newts and nail them to a tree! How would he like that? Eh?’

Hahaha…

Here, then, is a reminder about the blinkers we wear as professional specialists. I am the same — to me, everything is always about sustainability.

If the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail.

Frozen lettuce

The last step for my taco dinner was to chop some lettuce. My heart sank as I pulled the head of lettuce out of its bag. The green leaves glittered with a grainy shininess — ice. The fridge had frozen my lettuce.

Not too hopeful, I peeled two leaves off and ran them under the tap to wash them. As the frozen burst cells warmed up, the leaves melted into a green ooze. Sighing, I squeezed the water out and put the ooze and the head of lettuce into the bin.

Luckily, I had a backup cucumber.

Credit with training wheels

I’ve been trying to get a credit card for a while. I need it to do things like book taxis, buy theatre tickets, train tickets, and plane tickets.

The first time I was rejected, I assumed it was because I was a student with no income.

The second time, I thought it was because I had a basic account with the pitiful Solo debit card. As I’ve mentioned before, banks give this kind of card to people they don’t trust. So as soon as I could, I upgraded to a normal current account.

The third time I was rejected, I was told that it was because I needed to have my current account for at least four months.

The fourth time I was rejected, I discovered that, actually, banks don’t give people credit cards until they’ve lived in the UK for two or three years. Great! Months and months more to wait until I can book taxis, buy theatre, train and plane tickets.

Then my friend Bettina told me about a credit card for people with bad credit histories. In fact, I have a perfect credit history — it’s just not long enough in this country.

I applied for the card last week and it arrived today. Eagerly, I ripped open the envelope, ignored the card and scanned the letter. I have a credit limit of £260 (about AUD530). It’s a whole £10 above the minimum credit limit they offer, how lucky am I!

Well, at least it’s enough for a taxi ride!

Secret stash

‘Do you want anything from the store?’ Richard asked. He was preparing for an evening raid on the supermarket. I was about to start cooking dinner and had just been contemplating the unsatisfactory prospect of a meal without any vegetables.

‘Yes!’ I said. I thought for a moment. ‘A cucumber, please.’

‘A cucumber?’ Richard repeated. He looked sceptical.

‘I like cucumbers,’ I confirmed. ‘I usually have one in the fridge… Wait a second, maybe I do have one…’

I went over to the fridge, opened the door, pulled out the vegetable compartment and saw it — a vacuum-sealed medium-sized English cucumber.

‘Yes, there it is!’ I was delighted. I don’t often forget what food I have in the house. This discovery was like finding out that a wiser Joan from the past had put something away for a rainy day.

‘So, no cucumber then?’ said Richard.

‘No. Thanks, though.’

What I do for a living

I am often asked what my job is. I don’t really enjoy answering this question because I feel like I’m selling something that I myself don’t understand clearly. I’m not even sure why I feel like I need to ‘sell’ my job as an being interesting or worthwhile. Yet, I do this anyway.

I will try to explain my job here and see if I can at least clear up in my own head what I ‘do for a living’.

My job title is ‘sustainability consultant’. Sustainability is a huge field, covering:

  • international development and poverty alleviation
  • renewable energy
  • community and civil engagement
  • corporate responsibility
  • environmental management
  • efficient manufacturing and other processes
  • ‘green’ buildings
  • environmental and welfare economics
  • climate change and carbon management
  • toxicology and land remediation
  • safe product design
  • public outreach

And so on.

Obviously, no one person can work in all areas of sustainability. My work particularly covers sustainability related to cities and urban systems — buildings, transport, energy supply, water supply, waste treatment, logistics, schooling… I also foray into job creation, habitat management, equity and access… Very peripherally, I also look at questions of public participation in decision making (e.g. voting), literacy, religious inclusion, and so on.

I generally work in developed countries, or at least the wealthier parts of developing countries (e.g. cities in China and the Middle East).

Most of my work is in large multidisciplinary projects. Typically, about 10 or 15 teams around the company (or from outside the company) are working together to design a new town or rebuild part of an existing city. My team’s job involves:

  • Working with the client and the teams to come up with indicators for sustainability;
  • Setting targets for the various indicators (e.g. There must be at least two jobs for every dwelling);
  • Collecting data from teams about their designs;
  • Integrating the data so that we can analyse the sustainability of the entire project (we often use models to do this quantitatively);
  • Giving results back to teams, highlighting problems with their data and alerting teams to opportunities to work together for better strategies;
  • Producing a report to give to the client

My role is often to manage the finances of the project, go to meetings with the project managers, present to the client, and coordinate the report. I don’t often do the modelling — there are others more capable of that than me.

That’s most of my job. Occasionally, I do projects that aren’t multidisciplinary. That’s when a client comes to our team directly and asks for strategic sustainability advice, like helping them develop a climate change policy.

I like my job. I like it because I get to look at the big picture. I like working in teams and meeting new people.

There are things I don’t like. Between teams, there are sometimes personality clashes and political issues about who does what work. Sometimes, I feel frustrated because I doubt our advice will actually be implemented in real life. At my most frustrated times, I wonder if I’m just a paper pusher, generating work for myself. What’s the point in producing a report that no one ever reads?

Now that I think about it, I guess that even if no one pays attention to a particular report I write, because I’ve learned from doing it, it will help me be more effective in the next project I do. That’s a happy thought, isn’t it!