Team:CTR Alberta Canada/Sustainable
Sustainability
The Problem
Oxybenzone is a common ingredient in chemical-based sunscreens. After the application of sunscreen, Oxybenzone has washed away in various bodies of water. The effects of Oxybenzone have been seen in the destruction of coral reefs. This leads to the loss of habitats for aquatic life and many niche species that require the use of coral. Coral bleaching can lead to an increase in coastal erosion. Infographics from Dr. Craig Downs:
"Scientists fear the biologically active contaminants and their metabolites may alter the hormones of fish and other aquatic creatures, leading to reproductive, behavioral and developmental problems."
In 2020, Hawaii banned the use of chemical sunscreens that contained oxybenzone and octinoxate.
The Effects On Hormones
Oxybenzone affects the breast milk of pregnant women, and Oxybenzone is an endocrine disrupter and can cause fish to adopt hermaphroditic characteristics.
You may also be familiar with a commonly known endocrine disruptor: BPA. Infographic from Dr. Craig Downs :
Precautionary Principles
Rasha Maal-Bared, a Ph.D. Doctorate in microbiology works for Epcor in Edmonton and she measures concentrations of chemicals in wastewater. In this interview, ways of measuring concentrations of chemicals in wastewater are discussed. An example of a mechanism is ELIZA testing, which gives instant results. Companies that approve testing chemicals in water were also discussed such as CALA, EPA, and ETV.
Dennis Letourneau is an engineer and a site manager in EPCOR Canmore. In this interview, he discussed how the wastewater treatment plant works. As a collective, we learned how these sites value economics and only test for the substances that Alberta Environment & Parks look for. These tests are done in a lap where the government has to approve the concentration for the wastewater treatment plants.
Our Solution to Measure
Improved detection and measurement is necessary to better assess the magnitude of the impact of this class of substance. Oxybegone aims to build an oxybezone detection system that relies on an estrogen receptor.
Our Solution to Mitigate
The presence of Oxybenzone in water is a result of the use of sunscreen being disposed into the ocean as a result of swimming. We can reduce the unsustainable use of Oxybenzone by transitioning to the use of SPF or UPF rated clothing or other sustainable textiles. This decreases the use of chemical-based sunscreens, further eliminating the presence of Oxybenzone in oceans. Clothing companies, such as Patagonia, offers sustainably produced UPF sand and water clothing for beaches and reefs.
This might be too much..!
Practicing What We Preach
Due to iGEM being hosted online, our team decided to create patches of our logo to sew onto clothing we already own in order to prevent excess purchasing of one-time-use clothing.
How CO2 Easy Works, Our solution to Offset
CO2 Easy. Our team has been developing an app called CO2 easy, which is an event planning software that allows event hosts to see the emissions their event is responsible for. This app was in response to the number of emissions that international events create from flying, driving, and even staying in a hotel. Our team thought we could devise an app to monitor this, and offer ways for users to offset their emissions. There are two sections, one for hosts and one for attendees, both of which contribute to monitoring the amount of CO2 emissions produced by the event. The host will be able to create an event link, in which attendees of the event can join and will be directed towards a carbon emission calculator. It will calculate the emissions and relay the data back to the host. Once that information is imputed the attendee will be given the opportunity to donate to sustainable organizations and nonprofits, and they will also have the opportunity to view suggested sustainable restaurants or hotels that they can utilize during their travels. We created this app in the desire to provide organizations such as iGEM with a way to monitor and be conscious about the emissions that are produced when hosting these international events. We wish to continue developing and updating the app to have more sustainable options in the future. We hope that this can be used by iGEM and many other organizations in order to promote a greater sense of sustainability and environmental literacy
Our Value Proposition
CO2 Easy was conceptualized in lieu of COVID 19, moving the 2021 IGEM Jamboree online. Greenhouse Gases (GHG) were calculated from teams that attended the 2019 Boston Jamboree, and we inferred that those GHG emissions had been decreased due to the virtual 2021 IGem Jamboree. Through this revelation, we realized that event planners; like those who plan IGem, may want to recognize that their events emit carbon emissions as a result of their attendees travelling to said in-person events. While travelling is inevitable, the members of CO2 Easy believe that it is possible to limit transportation to and from events, such as through online meetings. CO2 Easy aims to guide attendees and event planners into continuing their congregations by choosing several meetings to be online or allowing events to be hosted online every other year, as proven by our calculations. CO2 Easy helps address the 11th United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Sustainable Cities and Communities.
Consider checking out our Software Page for more information about the mathematical concept behind calculating your emissions, alongside our coded prototype.
Estimates from the 2019 in person Boston Jamboree showed that airline travel from 45 countries and 6500 team members produces approximately 7500 tCO2 in flight emissions requiring over 300,000 mature trees per year to offset its impacts. Further analysis indicated that optimizing the location by moving the jamboree to Paris would reduce total GHG flight emissions by approximately 15%. Future hybrid attendance and a change of venue location would make the jamboree more inclusive and more sustainable.
This mockup was created by the members of CO2 Easy, to further visualize what the UI of the app would look like.
Collecting the Data
The first section is the greenhouse gas emission calculator, in which individuals will fill out a series of questions pertaining to the trip for the event that they are planning. This will be simple and quick to use, either allowing the user to search for the event they are attending, or input the link/code provided to them by the event planner using the app. After typing in their answers, the app will measure their carbon footprint in tonnes of carbon dioxide.
The Offsetting Guide
The second section of the app is the offsetting guide. Once the carbon footprint has been calculated, the app will provide ways in which individuals can offset these emissions (according to the amount of emissions they produced.) These include donating to green organizations.
Sustainable Options
The third section of the app would be a list of sustainable hotels or restaurants that individuals can consider going to when travelling to their event. Users will be able to collect points with the usage of the app through offsetting their emissions and using one of the sustainable hospitality services suggested. The points then can go towards coupons for money off at sustainable hotels and restaurants. Event planners that have suggested the app to attendees will be notified when an attendee is anonymously using the app, and will therefore be able to present to the public the sustainability of their event.
Rotary Presentation
Rotary Presentation
A few students who partake in both IGem and the Our Lady of the Snows Sustainability Club presented to Rotarians about the premise of OxyBegone, as well as informed them on options aside from chemical sunscreens through the use of UV protective clothing that does not harm biotic species in aquatic environments, alongside updating Rotarians of other sustainable projects being implemented at the school; namely, a composting program and aeroponic gardens. In the presentation towards the Bow Valley Rotary Club, the OLS Club displayed the concept of CO2 Easy. On November 6th, 2020, the CO2 Easy team plans to attend the Cochrane District Conference to implement the registration conference to measure the GHG emissions of the attendees on a smaller scale event. More in-depth information has been provided in the Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group Newsletter.
