Environmental Sustainability


Environmental Sustainability

         
          If I were to enact a policy to increase environmental sustainability on a country level, I would do so by first focusing on energy usage, offering tax incentives for property owners to take steps to streamline the energy efficiency of existing buildings. If there was a noticeable decrease of power, water, and/or gas usage, (Greater than 10%) then the owner or property manager may be subject to a significant rebate. After this, I would promote high standards for energy efficiency on new buildings. With similar if not higher incentives on new construction, I believe that new buildings would be much more energy efficient. After I have enacted policies on new and existing buildings, I would turn my focus to the manufacturing sector.
          When buying new cars, the most polluting factor is not the emissions created by the vehicle itself, or the fuel efficiency of it, but rather the manufacturing process. A study by Toyota concluded that during the entire lifespan of a car, 28% of emissions were created in the manufacturing process alone, not including shipping and handling. On top of this, scrapping an old vehicle also requires huge energy usage, as it requires the disposal of toxic materials, the crushing of the car, storage of contaminants, and finally separation of materials so that the car may be melted and reused. It would be more environmentally friendly to keep a car properly maintained than to buy a new car. Another study by Top Gear showed that in a test where a V8 BMW M3 had to keep up with a Toyota Prius around a test track while the Prius was driven at full throttle, the M3 achieved better fuel efficiency, as it did not have to be driven hard to keep up with the Prius. This concluded that it matters less what kind of car you drive, but more importantly how you drive it. I would push for a campaign to promote more efficient driving styles, higher use of public transportation, and proper vehicle maintenance.
I believe that with these changes made, I would decrease environmental damage significantly.

Comments

Mr. Roddy said…
Interesting subject!
October 10, 2018 at 9:29 AM
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