climate change guide
Climate Disrupted: The State of Recycling
In our already-climate-disrupted world, we are inundated with petro-based plastics. We could rehash the numerous statistics that we probably already know, like the fact that only 9 percent of plastic…
Climate Disrupted: 3D Printing and Distributed Manufacturing
The concept of distributed manufacturing, which we’ve covered numerous times, could play an interesting role in a climate-disrupted world. Just as large swaths of a centralized electrical grid can suddenly…
Climate Disrupted: 3D Printing and Jevons Paradox
In this series so far, we’ve discussed the many ways that additive manufacturing (AM) can fit into our already climate-disrupted world, as well as the many obstacles yet to be…
Climate Disrupted: 3D Printing During Emergency Response
Immediately in the wake of Hurricane Maria, small communities in Puerto Rico found themselves relying on the few sites that maintained electricity after the island’s gas power plant went offline….
Climate Disrupted: Optimizing Designs for Better Efficiency with 3D Printing
If industrialized society is determined to maintain its industrial activities, its engineers will need to completely rethink how parts are designed in order to improve energy efficiency. This is true…
Climate Disrupted: 3D Printing and a Circular Economy
In trying to prevent the total collapse of our natural ecosystem, we can work toward building a circular ecosystem of goods production and consumption. The goal of a circular economy…
Climate Disrupted: 3D Printing Lignin, Cellulose, and Starch Bioplastics, TSPs
In our series on 3D printing in a climate-disrupted world, we have been exploring the variety of biodegradable bioplastics that could be used to replace petro-based materials. We have so…
Climate Disrupted: 3D Printing Chitin and Keratin Bioplastics
If we plan on continuing to make plastics past the point that oil is no longer profitable, easily accessible or socially acceptable, we will need to turn to more ecologically…
Climate Disrupted: 3D Printing and the Promise of PHA?
In our last article in our series covering 3D printing in a climate-disrupted world, we discussed the myriad problems associated with polylactic acid (PLA), the most popular plastic and bioplastic…
Climate Disrupted: 3D Printing and the Problem(s) with PLA
While our ecosystem is collapsing, we are at the very least fortunate to witness the rise of a potentially more sustainable form of manufacturing coinciding with the rise of potentially…
Climate Disrupted: Oil Companies Bet on Plastic in the Face of Climate Crisis
Given the global shift to renewable energy, fossil fuel companies are looking for new ways to maintain their livelihoods. In a 2018 investor report, ExxonMobil admitted to a decline in…