Fundamentals: Earth
For each pillar we research at Sunpath, we lay out the goals that we seek to achieve through our work.
For the pillar of the Earth, it is to gain as much knowledge about its mechanics so that we can maximize the circularity of the economy. That is, to eliminate waste products like plastic, maximize the recycling of materials, and use land efficiently in order to house people and nature.
Deeper goals within this realm include to learn the nature of ecosystems so that we can better manage their health, understand how to live in harmony with the systems of life that created us and sustain us, and learn the practice of permaculture: a farming practice that combines the natural properties of plants in order to create mini-ecosystems for animals, food for people, and healthy soil free of pesticides.
Fundamentals: Mind
For each pillar we work on at Sunpath, we lay out the goals that we seek to achieve through our work.
For the Mind, we aim to understand how our minds work in order to solve challenging problems, understand the nature of our emotions, improve the quality of our relationships to the people around us, be more empathetic and compassionate, and achieve a smoother experience of life through our perspective.
Fundamentals: Body
For each pillar we research at Sunpath, we lay out the goals that we seek to achieve through our work.
For the Body, it is to use intelligence to inform our nutrition, our exercise, and our treatments to maximize longevity and the enjoyment of life. That is, to understand what the best avenues for our nutrition are given the full scope of information we have. To understand what exercises, stretching, and movement are best for us on a time scale of longevity. To understand our bodies, genes, and mechanics to the point where we can heal ailments and live longer so that we can spend more time with the people we love.
Please keep in mind that this is not medical advice. We do research and show what we have learned. What you do with that information is up to you and any medical professional you seek to consult.
Why are grocery stores taking so long to get rid of plastics?
I asked ChatGPT why grocery stores are taking so long to get rid of plastics.
Me: Why have grocery stores been slow to stop using plastics for packaging?
Chat GPT (GPT 4):
There are several reasons why grocery stores have been slow to stop using plastics for packaging:
Cost-effectiveness: Plastic packaging is often cheaper than alternative materials, which makes it an attractive option for businesses looking to reduce costs. Transitioning to more sustainable packaging options can be more expensive, and many retailers may be hesitant to pass on those costs to consumers.
Durability and convenience: Plastic packaging is lightweight, durable, and versatile, which makes it well-suited for a wide range of products. It can provide an effective barrier against moisture, air, and bacteria, helping to preserve the freshness and quality of food. Alternatives may not provide the same level of protection or may be less convenient for consumers.
Consumer demand: Many consumers have grown accustomed to the convenience of plastic packaging, and there may be resistance to change. Grocery stores may worry that altering their packaging options could lead to customer dissatisfaction or lost sales.
Supply chain issues: The shift towards more sustainable packaging options requires significant changes to the entire supply chain. This includes sourcing new materials, retraining employees, and updating manufacturing processes. These transitions can be time-consuming and resource-intensive.
Regulatory environment: In some cases, there may not be strong regulatory incentives or pressure to reduce plastic packaging. In the absence of strict regulations or penalties, companies may be slower to adopt alternative packaging solutions.
Lack of awareness: Some grocery stores may not be fully aware of the environmental impact of plastic packaging or the available alternatives. For these businesses, the perceived benefits of plastic packaging may outweigh the potential negative consequences.
Despite these challenges, there has been growing public concern about plastic pollution and its environmental impact, leading to increased pressure on businesses and governments to take action. As a result, many grocery stores are now exploring and implementing more sustainable packaging solutions, such as biodegradable, compostable, or reusable packaging materials.
Why learning about the planet will make you a Hero
You to get to learn about how forests produce medicinal plants within their webs of relationships.
You get to learn methods of maintaining ecosystems which you can pass on to future generations.
You get to figure out how to derive economic incentives from sustainable business initiatives.
You get to jump on the ESG wave. Companies want to be rated high on ESG scales to be attractive to investors, therefore knowledge of how to boost ESG will be very valuable in the future.
Brief thoughts: the Ocean
Brief thoughts on the Ocean: The ocean is vast and endless. It can swallow up islands in a matter of years. We might have satellite views from high above, but how much data can our technologies really collect?
If you look at a block of the ocean from an airplane plane, dividing it mentally, you will realize that it’s so vast… how much can we really know about what's underneath that huge block of ocean?
It’s hard to decipher all the kinds of waves that there are… but maybe we can predict where plastics will end up according to currents. Understanding where plastics will go over time is important. It’s a question that needs answering, it’s probably already been answered... we can see large landscapes of plastic grouped all over the world.
There are so many animals in the ocean, and so much space and caves that are still a mystery to us. I wonder how many new species will be discovered. These kinds of mysteries boost curiosity.
#data #ocean #oceanconservation #sustainability #biology
A Flower’s Spring Adaptation
"Not surprisingly, understory plants have adaptations to successfully capture available light that passes through the canopy.
One such adaptation is the rapid growth of spring ephemeral plants such as the spring beauty (Claytonia virginica).
These spring flowers achieve much of their growth and finish their life cycle (reproduce) early in the season before the trees in the canopy develop leaves."
It's incredible to think about how a plant adapts to its surroundings, and it leads us to ask many questions about the true nature of the world.
I wonder what else we can learn about plants, and how we can apply their ecological mechanics to the urban world around us.
#biology #growth #beauty #nature #ecology #circleoflife #curiosity
Clark, M. A., Douglas, M., & Choi, J. (n.d.). Biology 2E. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
A Collection of Ten Principles for Technical Writing
Read this set of ten principles to improve your technical writing skills.
Introduce your topic. This is your frame message, the place where you articulate the function of your explanatory asset.
Create a recipe. List the components required to build your final product.
Learn the fundamentals of the field you’re writing for. If it’s a software company, you should be able hold your ground in programming. On that note, learn to obtain relevant information from programming documentation.
Use strong and easy-to-understand verbs that render the relationships between the objects in question.
Understand the pitfalls in your specific audience’s knowledge. Define or eliminate jargon.
Save the audience from roadblocks. Predict points where they can get confused along the task.
Save your audience time, make your instructions brief.
Once you understand the process you’re working on, contribute your insights to product designers.
Use visual communication to create a clear and productive learning experience for your audience.
Expect research.
We hope you enjoyed this collection of principles. Message us to start a new conversation.
Healthy Ocean = Healthy Fish
If the oceans were healthy, they would produce higher quantities of healthy fish, (Attenborough, A Life on Our Planet). The healthy growth of schools of fish are entirely dependent on the health and management of our oceans.
Most people in third world and modern countries aren’t educated on the nature of the ocean, or how they should manage their waste. That’s why the ocean gets dirty. Dirtier than we could ever imagine.
People around the globe need to engineer effective sustainability systems. This would produce, in the longterm, a more habitable Earth. Our oceans and forests would be maintain their status as effective sources of biodiversity, food, and medicine.
If we want to continue to experience a healthy and resourceful natural world, we need to actively maintain it. We need to think step by step and rearrange the pieces of the economy that destabilize natural habitats. This would produce healthier food sources and in effect a healthier economy. We don’t need societies full of fluff and expensive nonsense. All we need to be happy is our communities and great sustainable architecture.
We need to rebuild forests, clean the ocean, and redesign our food production systems. We’ll be happier and worry less about everything.
The economy needs to aligned with sustainable values so that we can live on a cyclically revitalizing Earth, instead of a broken rock of vice.
Here’s a question to get your gears spinning: what can you learn from the ocean?
If you continue you reading, you will find a generalized method for sustainable problem solving.
Problem Solving for Sustainability
Here’s a quick generalized method for Sustainable Problem Solving. This is designed to get you thinking about this collective problem.
1. State the problem.
What is actually happening? Clearly define the problem. Is there gas leaking in the ocean and destroying coral reefs? Are there people carelessly throwing trash on the streets and degrading fertile soil? It’s a combination of many trash sources and multiple economic patterns. “Sustainability is a team sport”.
2. Think about the Source and the Space
Think about the root cause of the waste distribution. Is it a neighborhood street that’s full of trash? Is it a river full of trash and gasoline?
The source of the problem is essential to solving it… what are the set of actions that are causing the trash to be spread out across the world?
If it’s the neighborhood street full of trash, is it aloof college students dropping items? In the case of the river, is it people doing careless business?
3. Ecological framework
Think of the species that inhabit the polluted location. What local animals are taking damage because of the source you have identified? Are there any known plants foreign to this mini-ecosystem? How do they interact? Who are the producers? The plants that produce energy using the sun and water. Who are the herbivores, the omnivores, and the carnivores?
Are there rangers you can talk to and interview to get more precise knowledge on this topic? Actually analyzing how species are affected is a more empirical and statistical matter that requires expert knowledge, and even that is not enough sometimes. The systems of nature are very complex, and it is hard to draw conclusions from from data with absolute certainty. Maybe you can fund expert work.
4. Solutions: Think about what if scenarios.
What if we added extra trash cans on the street?
What if we asked the waste management company to rethink their outdoor workstation?
What if we implemented a law that only allows electric boats instead of gas-powered boats? Who’s going to pay all the people who own gas-powered boats… or cars? What if battery powered vehicles don’t work out in the long-term? What if we started fining toxic factories in third world countries? There are diplomatic barriers. This takes, time, effort, and energy. There are economic and social implications at play at every step.
5. Socialize:
Talk about the problems with your friends. Make drawings of the problems. Think about what you can do today to solve them. Reimagine the future, think about something like: what would happen if the neighborhood installed an ecosystem preserving artwork in the plaza, like a giant hand holding a sunflower. Would there be a measurable impact? Probably.
Keep it moving, keep enjoying life, but remember to recycle and take care of the natural world. Ecosystems are the fundamental pillars that support our lives.
Sustainability Education, Plastic Collection Robots, and Big Tech becoming Big Sustainability
Here are three ideas that may be of service to anyone working in this sector.
Sustainable Engineering Education
In third world countries, there are no sewage systems. People in these countries throw their poop in plastic bags directly to the ocean. Therefore, these people need to be educated on the lasting effects of their actions. On top of that, better sewage systems need to be funded.
As the world gets collectively more educated, better systems that help nature will be built. This will happen because more minds will collaborate on shared problems. The right solutions and configurations specific to land geographies will be found faster through sharing ideas and collaboration.
Course design for third world residents is essential to living on a better Earth because it would cause a cultural shift: individuals and societies could start caring about their influence on the environment. This kind of course design would have longterm effects. These longterm effects include having forests that bear more fruit and oceans that produce more clean fish. The more environmental knowledge there is flowing through the world, the more efficiently people will interact with the planet.
Robots collecting plastic in the dynamic, wavy, immense, and unpredictable ocean.
Micro plastics are tiny, so robots with microsensors need to be created. There are already marine robots designed to collect large accumulations of plastic. AI robot vision is a tough solution here, because the ocean can get very dark and plastic can get very small. We need some sort of plastic compass, an intricate molecular sensor. There is also the idea of engineering microscopic life forms that eat plastic. This would make plastic biodegradable, but I’m not sure how dependable engineers can make these life forms. However, we need solutions as soon as possible.
Big Tech becoming Big Sustainability
Technology is great, but there are a set of problems that could end life as we know it if we don’t act fast. A lot is slipping through the cracks. Therefore, big tech needs to contribute to big sustainability with sensors, data, and user interfaces to shape a more collaborative and informed world. These companies have the power necessary to move people in the right direction with their user experiences/applications and consumer technologies.
If you have an idea to contribute, leave a comment below.
Sustainability Problem Solving: A Fast Method
Problem Solving for Sustainability
Here’s a quick generalized method for Sustainable Problem Solving. This is designed to get you thinking about this collective problem.
1. State the problem.
What is actually happening? Clearly define the problem. Is there gas leaking in the ocean and destroying coral reefs? Are there people carelessly throwing trash on the streets and degrading fertile soil? It’s a combination of many trash sources and multiple economic patterns. “Sustainability is a team sport”.
2. Think about the Source and the Space
Think about the root cause of the waste distribution. Is it a neighborhood street that’s full of trash? Is it a river full of trash and gasoline?
The source of the problem is essential to solving it… what are the set of actions that are causing the trash to be spread out across the world?
If it’s the neighborhood street full of trash, is it aloof college students dropping items? In the case of the river, is it people doing careless business?
3. Ecological framework
Think of the species that inhabit the polluted location. What local animals are taking damage because of the source you have identified? Are there any known plants foreign to this mini-ecosystem? How do they interact? Who are the producers? The plants that produce energy using the sun and water. Who are the herbivores, the omnivores, and the carnivores?
Are there rangers you can talk to and interview to get more precise knowledge on this topic? Actually analyzing how species are affected is a more empirical and statistical matter that requires expert knowledge, and even that is not enough sometimes. The systems of nature are very complex, and it is hard to draw conclusions from from data with absolute certainty. Maybe you can fund expert work.
4. Solutions: Think about what if scenarios.
What if we added extra trash cans on the street?
What if we asked the waste management company to rethink their outdoor workstation?
What if we implemented a law that only allows electric boats instead of gas-powered boats? Who’s going to pay all the people who own gas-powered boats… or cars? What if battery powered vehicles don’t work out in the long-term? What if we started fining toxic factories in third world countries? There are diplomatic barriers. This takes, time, effort, and energy. There are economic and social implications at play at every step.
5. Socialize:
Talk about the problems with your friends. Make drawings of the problems. Think about what you can do today to solve them. Reimagine the future, think about something like: what would happen if the neighborhood installed an ecosystem preserving artwork in the plaza, like a giant hand holding a sunflower. Would there be a measurable impact? Probably.
Keep it moving, keep enjoying life, but remember to recycle and take care of the natural world. Ecosystems are the fundamental pillars that support our lives.
Vision of a Sustainable Future
We all need to become the designers of a data-integrated and sustainable future. Here is a vision of the future I hope can inspire the professionals embarking on this quest. Feel free to drop your ideas in the comments. The Earth will only be as good a place as its people are.
City Structure:
Cities and spaces are re-architectured and redesigned to increase the efficiency of energy, waste management, and vertical agriculture is added to apartments. More sustainability art and sculptures that symbolize taking care of nature are built throughout the city. The public is educated on their impacts on the Earth, and therefore take the responsibility to keep it clean very seriously. For this part to happen, we need cultural change, and this cultural change can only be activated by people.
Agriculture:
Sustainable-first farms are deployed on a global scale and are become our primary source of sustenance, exerting a minimal impact on the natural world and leave space for forests to grow wild and diverse. All while providing us with the high-tech fruits and vegetables we need to keep living.
Energy:
Engineers have made cognitive and microscopic breakthroughs and are now able to capture and use a higher percentage of solar and other forms of energy. This implies that scientists and engineers discovered a new material configuration from the table of elements. The engineers kept utilizing AI and running tests, and they’ve found solutions by writing new programs and doing better mathematics. Old energy processes were replaced by the new solutions at high velocities, with altruistic funding from the world’s most resourceful companies. Gas-powered devices have all been taken to factories and repurposed. Wind energy has also become more efficient. Carbon dioxide is reduced. If we’re “lucky”, new forms of energy are discovered.
Sustainable Restrictions:
Businesses around the globe have stepped up and created many powerful borders to protect forests, rivers, and coral reefs. This has facilitated the rise of biodiversity and a system has been built with specific limits on hunting and fishing.
Humans prioritize purchasing sustainable products. Everyone on the ignorance checklist has been convinced that we have to regulate what we do with the Earth, because everyone has understood that overconsumption destroys ecologies. People comprehensively understand the mechanics of Earth: tides, soil dynamics, and everything else, so all parties in business have adapted accordingly.
Waste Management:
I imagine a world where people are disciplined about placing trash in the can. Maybe underground tunnels carry trash to facilities, and street robots have been designed and funded to pick up whatever falls through the cracks.
Conclusion
Think of Sustainability designs for the future, and leave some in the comments or share these with your friends. Maybe your idea sparks the mind of an engineer and one of the obstacles on our way to a sustainable future is overcome. The faster we can get to a future with effective principles, the happier we’re going to be.
Cool facts about trees
An ancient cell needed energy, and it figured out how to convert sunlight into energy. Small structures called chlorophylls are involved in this conversion process.
Some trees use energy to produce fruits. The participants of the first reaction are Carbon Dioxide, Sunlight, and Water channeled up from the ground. The Products of this reaction are Oxygen and Sugars. The Sugars are then used to make fruits. The Oxygen is breathed in by us, and we need Oxygen to produce our own energy. That’s where the term fresh air comes from.
A single tree can reduce temperatures with the shade it provides. Multiple trees in a forest can cool the entire forest floor.
Trees generally live in groups. Trees communicate using their own language to help each other survive. We shouldn’t isolate trees, we should figure out how we can work with groups of them to create more biodiverse cities.
Biodiversity increases the amount of animals, which can help us further understand the rules operating behind life at every level: atomic, molecular, macromolecular, tissue, organ, organ systems, individual, population, and ecosystem. We can use this increasing knowledge of possible configurations to create happiness through medicine and foods.
Trees begin as saplings and grow to unknown heights, according to their genes and the environmental conditions.
Trees function as homes for animals. The skyscraper trees of the Amazon rainforest form a giant city of life. Life needs diversity to survive because life forms create solutions for other life forms in evolutionary food chain. Living beings work together to keep each other alive. Frogs protect spider eggs, spinach keeps us strong, trees create our oxygen, medicines grow in the bushes, birds clean alligator’s teeth, and tiny fish feed on coral reef plants. Trees and forests are sources are sources of food and medicine: they are primarily sources of life.
How Trees Help Us
Trees are the homes of animals, and the lifelines of ecosystems. They are producers of oxygen and the storehouses of carbon dioxide. Trees are highly beneficial to people.
Here are two ways Trees Helps Us:
Trees boost immune system function.
Trees regulate temperature.
Walks in forests could be immune system boosters.
A study done in Japan shows that trees are immune system boosters. Trees produce airborne chemicals called phytoncides. Phytoncides have antibacterial and antifungal properties that help trees fight off disease and survive to produce offspring. When we walk in the forest and breathe in phytoncides, our body’s response is to produce an increased number of Natural Killer cells. Natural Killer cells help us fight off harmful bacteria. This period of increased Natural Killer cell production can last several hours or days, depending how long our walks through the forest are. Therefore, walking through forests gives us an increased number of phytoncides which improves immune system function for extended periods of time.
Trees help regulate Temperature.
Branches and leaves block sunlight, cooling ground temperatures by 10% or greater. In effect, this cooling enables animals to maintain their body temperatures. Not only are trees natural air conditioners, but their presence can reduce energy costs. By cooling your home trees can: save you money energy on bills and reduce your CO2 emissions.