2020: “Reducing Individual Impacts”

 

A constant question on the minds of the environmentally conscious is “What can I do to make a difference?” This can have a difficult answer, because it never feels like you are doing enough. Which is why this year we have chosen to focus the Spellman HV Clean Tech Challenge on how we as an individual can instigate change. 

Categories

When it comes to our individual impact, a large portion of that is influenced by what resource scenario we find ourselves in: do we have a large number of resources at our disposal, or do we have only a few. For the 2020 competition, our categories will allow us to explore the role each of these scenarios posses.

Limited Resources – When most people thinks of negative environmental impacts, they often do not think of communities that have a limited resource pool. For many years this may have been the case and these communities could get by fine. But in the current era, individuals in these areas need more sustainable options than ever. Whether it is burning forests for grazing grounds, wasteful land use for agriculture, water resources that are scarcer by the day, or a whole litany of others, these communities need sustainability more than they ever have.

Abundant Resources –  Individuals in these communities have traditionally caused the most damage and waste, and the time for that to end is long past. There are a more ways to make their lives more efficient and more sustainable than ever before, but many of these do not go far enough. We can always improve, and those that use more resources in a day than some in a year, they need  to improve for the sake of us all. 

 

 

We want students to research a specific area and challenge, then propose something that individuals can do to reduce their footprint and solve that challenge, based on being resource rich or having limited resources. We want them to bring what is possible to cause change to a personal level.

 

 

	Identify a specific problem that deals with an individuals impact, and explain the specific impacts on environmental conditions, human health and/or the economy.
	Research and describe the scale of the problem and the affected populations.
	Analyze the foundations and causes of the specific issue you chose. Investigate, understand in detail, and explain.
	Design a solution that uses clean technology to address your identified problem, and explain how it would help mitigate the negative impacts of such.