Waste to Energy

Thursday morning, after only 3 hours of sleep (because the cop kicked us off the beach) I woke up to attend an FDP to Oahu's Waste to Energy plant. I was really exhausted so I asked the professor if we could stop and get coffee first. After my quadruple espresso, I was ready to go! We arrived at the plant and received a breakdown of how HPOWER turns Oahu's municipal waste into electricity. Here is some of what I learned about the Waste-to-Energy process

“Using proven, modern technology the HPOWER facility transforms our island's waste into a valuable commodity: clean, renewable electricity.
        Trucks deliver municipal solid waste to the facility, where it is mixed and shredded. Magnets are used to remove metals for recycling. The processed waste is fed into a boiler and combusted t extremely high temperatures. Water is then circulated in the boiler tubes and turned into steam. This steam drives a turbine, thereby generating renewable electricity. Through the process, waste volume in reduced by 90%, saving precious landfill space. In addition, the facility helps reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels such as oil and coal. HPOWER processes about 2000 tons of waste per day and generates approximately 45 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 45,000 local homes.
        HPOWER uses state-of-the-art technology and is safe for the community and HPOWER employees. In addition to being closely regulated by various local, state and federal agencies, HPOWER is tested and inspected regularly to ensure that environmental and safety requirements are met.
        In 2000, there were 102 modern waste-to-energy facilities operating in the US. These facilities processed 14% of the nation's municipal solid waste, serving the disposal needs of more than 37 million and people and producing enough electricity for 2.8 million homes. Globally, it is estimated that there are more than 1000 waste-to-energy facilities in operation.
        To ensure compliance with clean air mandates, the facility uses modern air pollution control equipment. In addition, emissions data is collected with the facility's continuous emissions monitoring system and reported regularly to agencies.
        HPOWER's ash is safe and poses no threat to the environment. Possible beneficial uses for the ash are currently being researched and evaluated. For example, it may be used to make bricks or used as a road aggregate.”

I got to wondering why there aren't more of these facilities. According to the people at the plant, the reason there are not is largely because of politics and negative connotations people have associated with the process. It takes the support of the public and get these projects put in place, and a lot of people are not aware of the benefits of such technologies. So I encourage you to look into waste-to-energy plants or plans for one in your home region. If you discover such plants, support them! Landfills provide no benefit other than storing waste and there are many hazards associated with them. Sure, its faster and cheaper (in the short term) to just bury the waste, but its time to start thinking about the bigger picture before its too late!

After returning to the ship, I went to Gordan Beirsch to use their free WiFi (and try a tasty beer, of course). I recently applied for a graduate program in Civil Engineering at Michigan Tech in Houghton, Michigan. The program is called Master's International and it is involved with the Peace Corps. Theoretically, I will spend one year at Michigan Tech (maybe an extra semester of make-up engineering since my Bachelor's is in Geophysics, not engineering) and then two years in the Peace Corps working on a civil engineering project related to water or sanitation. The project I will work on in the Peace Corps will be the basis for the report for my Master's degree.

So I went to Michigan Tech's web portal to check the status of my admission and.... I'M ACCEPTED! I am still elated from this news! Looks like I'll be headin' to Michigan in August. Guess I better get some new clothes to prepare for the drastic change in climate. Northern Michigan is definitely not coastal California. Now its time to start my application for the Peace Corps.

It was a little disheartening telling everyone on the ship though because I didn't feel like anyone really understood the work I went through to get here. I had an existential moment of feeling like no one understands me, but the feeling was fleeting. There are many great students on this ship, and hopefully my success will inspire others to take the initiative and apply for some programs or start a project. My Global Studies professor wants me to speak to our class (of around 300 people) about youth involvement. I'm really nervous, but I told him I would do it. Who knows, maybe I will inspire someone. I think students are more likely to listen to the words of a fellow student than the words of their professors, so we'll see how it goes.

Well now that I'm mostly caught up, I need to go eat dinner and go to some meetings. There's so much going on on the ship right now! Its crunch time from here until Japan because after that we only have a few days between each country. Its all happening so fast! I can't believe it! Before I know it, this whole voyage will be over...

Ta ta for now!

Honolulu Day 1

We arrived in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu on Wednesday morning. I participated in another FDP, this time to the Waikiki Aquarium. There was a scheduling problem, however, so for the first hour and a half of the trip the students were set free to wander around Waikiki.  I spotted this guy (who's name I have forgotten) who was walking around with four parrots so a few friends and I went to talk to him and pet his birds. They were beautiful birds, and unbelievably mellow! He just plopped one right in my hand and the bird seemed more than happy to chill there. He put the other three on my shoulders and each of us did a brief photo shoot.

Then we found this woman, Sunny, who is from Singapore and was making these beautiful candles by hand. I watched her carve a few and bought three of them to bring home as gifts, unfortunately they were confiscated when I tried to return to the ship. Apparently you are not allow to have candles or any form of wax because they are a fire hazard. Its okay though because I still got a few pictures and got to talk to the woman who made them. It was a little frustrating to have them taken, but I really can't complain much about anything. After all, I am sailing around the world.

After the candles, we returned to the aquarium for our tour. The first hour or so was spent looking at all the different fish and taking lots of pictures. Then we sat down with an environmental lawyer for a two hour talk on the laws and politics of the oceans. She had so much to say that I had trouble absorbing it all, especially since I do not have much background in this area. She gave me a lot of booklets, however, that I will read and share information from if I can find time between  my classwork.

After returning to the ship, I met a group of students from the hiking club I started and we hopped on a public bus to go to Diamond Head. Diamond Head is a 150,000 year old crater on the island of Oahu and there is a lovely, but short, trail that goes to an outlook above the crater. There were about 10 people in my group and on the way up we ran into another group of 15 that was on their way down. We happened to meet right at the perfect outlook for a photo and we had another hiker take a picture of the massive group of Semester at Sea students atop Diamond Head.

When we got to the top there were amazing views! We could even see whales breaching in the distance! We took some more pictures of each other atop the structure labeled “keep off” (of course) and then began our descent. There was a cement room near the summit, however, and I decided it as the perfect location for an impromptu dance party! So I put on some dance beats and we rocked out for five minutes or so. All the people passing through seemed a little dumbfounded except this one Asian guy who showed up with a video camera and started filming us! I'm really curious to know where that video ends up... I would love to see it...

Then we got to the bottom and Jenna, Emily, Mike and myself split off from the other members of the hiking club to go buy some local beer and sit on the beach to watch the sunset. The colors were spectacular and the way they reflected off the ocean looked unreal, almost as if it was something out of a virtual reality game or something. After drinking a few beers made by Kona Brewing Company, we went to the streets of Waikiki to find a place to eat.

We stopped to talk to these two guys playing guitar on the sidewalk and they told us of an amazing burger place just around the corner. The four of us each got a veggie burger with teriyaki, avocado and pineapple and they were delicious! (and well priced) It was way better than going to the other places we passed along the way which were all packed with SASers. The locals definitely knew where it was at!

After enjoying our burgers we set up our sleeping bags on the beach, prepared to spend the night outside yet again. There were a lot of other students that accumulated on the beach as well.  My friend Zach brough his slackline and I tried to balance on my own, but I never got over my dependence of another person's shoulder. Some students were climbing this Banyan tree and when I went to join them I noticed they had knocked down a birds nest and there was a dead baby bird on the ground. It was really depressing to bury its soft, warm body and I had trouble sleeping after that, especially since none of the kids in the tree took is seriously (I think they were all too drunk to care).

I tried to put it past me though and crawled into my sleeping back to get some rest. At around 3am, however, I was woken up by a flashlight in my eyes and a police officer telling us to move. Apparently you are not allowed to sleep with bedding on the beach (although he made it seem like its legal so long as you don't have bedding.... interesting...). So we hailed a cab and headed back to the ship to get a couple more hours of sleep before waking up for my 8am FDP

Geothermal Energy and Volcanoes!

Geothermal Energy and Volcanoes!

On Tuesday I participated in a Faculty Directed Practicum (FDP) to Puna Geothermal Venture and Volcanoes National Park. An FDP is a field trip organized and lead by one of the professors on ship. They are designed to provide the students with a better learning experience while visiting the sites and they a required park of our curriculum for this semester.

First, we visited Volcanoes National Park. January is Volcano Awareness Month and Professor Reidinger arranged for a USGS Geologist to speak to the group about the volcanoes. He also provided us with a pamphlet that provides further information. Here is a summary of Hawaii's volcanoes

“The Island of Hawai'i is composed of five volcanoes. Through countless eruptions over hundreds of thousands of years, each one grew from the ocean floor to above sea level, where they merged to form the island we know today.
        Kohala, the oldest volcano on the island, last erupted about 60,000 years ago. Mauna Kea has erupted several times in the last 10,000 years, most recently 4,600 years ago.
        Hualalai, the island's third most active volcano, has erupted three times in the past 1,000 years, most recently in 1801. In 1929, an intense and damaging seismic swarm marked a failed eruption. Hualalai is not currently showing signs of unrest, but future eruptions are a certainty. HVO (Hawaiian Volcano Observatory) keeps a close eye on the volcano and will notify the public if any changes in status are dectected.
        Mauna Loa, the largest volcano on Earth, comprises more than half of Hawai'i Island's surface area. Since 1843, it has erupted 33 times, producing lava flows that have covered extensive areas on its flanks and reached the ocean along the south, west, and northwest coasts of the island.
        When the volcano erupts, voluminous and fast-moving flows can travel from the vent to the ocean in only hours. In 1984, during Mauna Loa's most recent eruption, lava flowed to within four miles of Hilo city limits in a matter of days.
        Mauna Loa will erupt again, quite likely during your lifetime, and is capable of disrupting lives and commerce island-wide. Therefore, its essential that Hawai'i Island residents become aware of Mauna Loa's volcanio-hazard potential and be prepared for its next eruption.
        Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, is Hawai'i Island's youngest volcano. Over 90% of its surface is covered by lava flows less than 1,000 years old. Kilauea has been erupting essentially nonstop since 1983, and today,  eruptions continue from two active vents on the volcano.”

After viewing the volcanoes we went to hike into a lava tube. The first lava tube was all lit up and very touristy, and I was disappointed because I can all ready with my headlamp to explore and dark cave. Luckily, we found another lava tube off to the side of the main path that we chose to explore.

This one was pitch black and only myself and one other students brought light sources, so the other students huddled around us. These lava tubes can extend for miles and miles, sometimes all the way to the ocean! Parts of the tube were narrow but we kept going and decided to stop and turn around when we reached a large “room” and the ground became uneven. Before turning around, however, we turned of the lights and experienced complete darkness. Some of the students were frightened by this, but it was pretty amazing!

Then we got back on the bus and went to Puna Geothermal, a powerplant on the Big Island. For those who do not know, here is a summary of what geothermal energy is

“Geothermal energy is heat energy that comes from beneath the surface of the earth. “Geo” means earth and “thermal” refers to heat. Geothermal energy is produced from the natural heat that is stored deep below the earth's crust. In areas of volcanic activity, heat is brought to the near-surface by intrusion into the earth's crust of molten rock (lava) originating from great depth.
        In order to use this natural resource here in Hawaii, production wells are drilled far below the surface into the zone where geothermal energy can be extracted in the form of steam and hot water. This energy is being used to produce electric power on the Big Island.
        Geothermal energy has been used to produce electricity since the early 1900s and is in operation today in many parts of the world including Japan, New Zealand, Italy, France, Iceland, China and the United States. The US is the world leader in geothermal energy development and currently produces enough electricity to meet the needs of over 3 million people.”

Puna Geothermal Venture produces 25 Megawatts of power, enough to power 25,000 residents on the Big Island. It was fascinating to see this facility and talk to the engineer working there.

We then returned to the ship and began our journey to Honolulu

so i just wrote an entire entry on my day in Hilo today, and it all got deleted. This email system is really frustrating because it automatically logs you out when you're on it for more than 5 minutes without going to a new page and I sometimes forget to save it and just go to press send and then it all get deleted because the server logged me out.

Lame sauce!

I'll try to recap later, but for now I'm heading down to the beach to sleep under the stars and wake up to sunrise on the beach in Hawaii! Can life can get much better than that?!?

ta ta for now

We're going to Hawaii, yay!

After a week at sea, the ship is finally about to arrive at our first port, Hilo, Hawaii. Most of us have finally gained our sea legs and learned how to orient our selves on the ship. Its been a rough week for everyone, though, because the ship has been constantly bombarded by huge swells that developed due to the storms hitting the west coast. The captain steered the ship about 300 miles off course in order to avoid the worst of the storm, but we've been hit nonetheless. At every meal we have to guard our dishes because things have been flying across the tables; I'm sure a lot of plates are broken as a result. One professor that I spoke with said that in all six previous voyages that she attended, she never once had a cup slide across the table. On this voyage, its occurred at every meal.

But we haven't been letting the lack of sleep or inability to walk straight get to us! I've been having an amazing time getting to know the people on this ship and I know it will be a great semester. Last night we had a spiritual dance party in the Union (the main classroom) and everyone let loose and then formed a massage circle before settling down for the night's cultural pre-port. Jenny, the spiritual coordinator is an amazing woman from Colorado Springs who organizes yoga, chi gong, dance etc for the group. She's also leading a "knitting with purpose" group where we knit scarves to donate to children at the orphanages we visit on our journey. Knitting has pretty much taken over the ship! I'm currently working a scarf that looks a lot like Big Bird, big, fluffy and yellow!

My teachers are awesome and all my classes are really small (except Global Studies, which everyone is required to take) which is great because we'll have a much more personal relationship with one another. My Science and History of the Nuclear Age class has only 6 people! And we're all going to Hiroshima together, which I'm sure will be a very profound and moving excursion. I'm also taking Waste Around the World and Sustainable Communities (an architecture course) and both classes seem promising. There's a lot of time for discussion, which the teachers and I both appreciate.

The Global Studies professor, Don Cogniatt is amazing as well! He's hilarious and engaging so I look forward to waking up and listening to him each morning. I had lunch with him and a few other professors the other day and told them my story and they all seemed pretty impressed. Don has nicknamed me both "Einstein" (for my tattoo) and "The coolest kid on the ship", so I feel pretty special :)  I guess there aren't many science or engineering students on the boat (oops, I mean ship. Apparently ships carry boats but boat don't carry ships), especially not female scientists with bones held together with titanium. So I've got a pretty unique story to tell.

We're doing this awesome project for Global Studies where you design a lecture plan for high school seniors on some topic relating to global sustainability. The top 10 projects will be chosen as actual lesson plans that will be used all over Virginia and possibly in other states as well. I already got a group together and we're going to focus on electronic waste (aka where your old cell phone or computer goes if you recycle it or throw it away). It turns out that around 80% of electronics that are "recycled" actually get sent to one of several electronics markets around the world including one in Accra, Ghana that my group will visit. These aren't really markets though, more like dumps that people rummage through to find any salvageable metals and burn whatever is left. It should be a great project, especially since this a seldom addressed topic and an every growing problem in global sustainability. I'll without a doubt be posting more information about this as my group does its research and investigates the problem.

I've met a lot of awesome people so far, but also a fair number of... well... not so awesome people. There was a group of almost 40 people pounding tequila shots and hypnotic in front of the administration right before getting on the boat; I almost couldn't believe it. It seems like a lot of people view this as a booze cruise around the world, which is really unfortunate since this program has so much to offer its students! To each their own though, I suppose, but I'll be avoiding such antics.

I've been bouncing around a lot, talking to different groups and trying desperately to remember people's names, but its nearly impossible. I started a Geology/Outdoor Club and we had our first meeting last night. There are only two other geology majors on the ship, but a fair number of people came who're interested in organizing hikes and other outdoors activities. My friend Zach (who's dad is also my professor for Waste Around the World) brought a slackline with him and we're going to set it up in every country and take pictures of us slacklining around the world. For those who don't know, a slackline is almost like a tightrope that's only a couple feet off the ground. Some people are really good at it and can do all kinds of crazy flips and tricks. Personally, I have a hard enough time just walking on it, but its still a lot of fun! Hopefully we'll find a good beach to set it up at in Hawaii.

The group is also going to do a hike up Diamond Head on Oahu. Its a crater left over from an extinct volcano that last erupted about 150,000 yrs ago and the view from the top is supposed to be spectacular! We're planning to do some kind of hike in each port.

Some friends of mine also started a film club and we're going to make silly movies around the world. Unfortunately, my camera can't compete at all with the ones they have, but I'll just act and be silly in their films instead.

The crew on the ship is amazing!!! This one man, Misreal, is one of my favorites! My friend, Ben (Toby/Toben/Toblerone etc) is planning to do a documentary on him. He's from Jamaica and he's always singing! I love it! Most of the crew is from the Philippines and they spoil us! I'm not used to be so catered to, but its pretty nice not needing to bus your own tables and I like crawling into a made bed every night.  I'm learning some filipino (kinda) so that I can greet and thank them in their native language. Salamat means "thank you", by the way.

In Hawaii I'll be visiting the Geothermal Energy plant as well as Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. On Oahu I'll be visiting a Waste to Energy plant and participating in a field program about the Laws and Politics of the Oceans (we're going to the Honolulu Aquarium).

As as I want to keep writing... the sunshine is calling my name! I'll post again after Hawaii

Cheers
Alicia

And we're off!!!

Last night at around 7pm, my new home, the MV Explorer, departed from Ensenada, Mexico. We left around two hours later than planned because we encountered some difficulties with immigration, but in the end all went smoothly and we began our journey around the world! We are now on our way to our first port in Hilo, Hawaii.

My roommate's name is Marissa and she's from Manchester, New Hampshire but she attends school in Boston as a Marketing Major. Our room is a bit bigger than I expected since we were upgraded from Deck 2 to Deck 3. The noise and vibration levels, however, are much higher than I anticipated. The room is all the way in the back of the boat, right next to the engine. My mom had warned me that its noisy by the engine room, but I didn't get it at the time. I know I'll get used to it in no time, but it feels a little strange to have your bed vibrate constantly. On the bright side, I guess its like having a massaging bed except I don't have to ever add quarters. Plus, the rocking motion of the ship definitely puts you to sleep. A lot of people were having trouble staying awake yesterday. Even more people have difficulty staying upright. Its pretty clear that we haven't developed our sea legs yet because most of the students run into each other as we meander down the hallways and up the stairs. But I already feel like my balance has improved and I imagine that when we arrive in Hawaii it will feel quite strange to walk around on land again.

Yesterday my roommate and I pulled down the painting in our room to read what previous tenant wrote and here's some of their advice:

"Welcome Aboard! You are about to have the best time of your life. First off, recognize how damn lucky you are to be here. Secondly, open your mind and leave all perceptions and bad things at the port... you are going to meet the best people in the countries... always smile, talk to locals and surround yourself with drama-free people. This room is a cave, but trust me you will grow to love it... the noise will be annoyingat first but later you cannot sleep without it."

"Travel independently, get your butt up to watch sunsrises! Drinking isn't evenything- you're only in these countries onceand drinking will always be there. Ride on mopeds every chance you get! Avoid Chinese police and security at all costs! Stay calm, everything will work out. Overall, be open and grateful for this experience... remember you are sailing around the world! P.S. Rules are meant to be broken"

"Welcome to 3159! You will always be the first awake in the morning coming into port because the room shakes uncontrollably. Secure your belongings, tape the drawers shut when you hit rough seas. Assume positive intent, this trip is too short to waste time on drama. Avoid cliques, meet as many people as you possibly can! Going out at night can be amazing but culture beats nightlife. Don't waste time in port being hungover! Don't let the pre-ports scare you. Take travel warnings with a grain of salt. Try the food! Even if you get sick, its worth it!!! Meet locals, they will make your trip! You don't have to spend a lot of money to have a great time. Overall, stay positive and flexible- you will feel negative at times but remember- you are circumnavigating the globe!"

"Townships, homestays and orphanages are a MUST! Get to know the crew, they're AWESOME! The friends you make on this trip will be live no others- love them! If you are ever depating doing, buying or seeing something- just do it! You won't get another chance like this!"

"Don't live with regrets! Do EVERYTHING! Now is the time to find who you are and who you could be!"

On that note, I'm off to orientation to discuss the integrated learning environment on the ship.

Ta ta for now!

Departure Anticipation

I started this blog so that I can share my experience on Semester at Sea with the rest of the world (but mostly my friends and family :D ). Its hard to believe that in just over a week I will embark on the greatest adventure of my life! The anticipation is killing me! But at least I am able to use this time to gain more and more information about the countries I am visiting.

I've decided to start up a Geology Club on the ship, so today I started collecting information on South African geology (especially the unmistakable Table Mountain). I hope to gain a little information about some aspect of the geology of each country and organize geology-related hikes in each port. I'm a Geophysics major and I have some experience as a geology TA and field assistant; I'd be happy to share my knowledge with anyone interested in joining this club and adventuring with me!

I must sign off for now, but there will be much more to come!