The Happy Trumpet

The

Happy Trumpet

Autumn, 2024 5th Edition

Brookline, MA, USA Estd: October, 2022

Keep Club Official

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WRITTEN AND EDITED BY: FRANCESCO M. CARRATELLI, DANIEL KHATCHATRIAN, COLEMAN D. COOK, IZZY LU, BRODY & ARCHER.

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Dear Readers,

Here at the Happy Trumpet we hope when you read these articles your mind will alter to a state of hope and happiness. In the Happy Trumpet you will learn about good environmental news happening locally, in the United States and beyond.

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How Will the Upcoming Election Impact the Fight Against Global Warming?

By: Daniel Khatchatrian

Sources:

PBS, BBC,

FOX NEWS &

NPR.

In the upcoming 2024 presidential election many important topics have been discussed and one of those is how each administration would encounter our environmental problems. The environment is one of the most important topics that will decide our country's future.

Republican candidate Donald J. Trump is accused by many, including Kamala Harris of not rightfully respecting the environment. As BBC stated Trump called this crisis a "hoax” and refuses to acknowledge its causes. Nevertheless he signed a paper for the NY Times saying that he would support the fight against the climate crisis. Even though he did sign this paper, Trump has a history of supporting big fossil fuel companies and not sustaining environmentalists during his career as a politician. Even the conservative newsletter Fox News has said that the GOP candidate is against climate change. Which could mean he is really a fraud against the environment. For example, Trump and Greta Thunmberg (world famous Swedish environmentalist who has been one of the main characters in fighting global change) have two different mindsets in approaching this world wide problem, however she also refuses to endorse Harris and other presidential candidates.

On the other hand Kamala Harris the Democratic candidate is trying to stop Donald Trump’s empathy towards oil companies from getting to the White House. In fact many Important environmentalists agree with Harris' system more than Trumps. Harris created the first environmental justice unit and helped her home state of California to recover from many environmental problems. Harris also made many other deals to help the environment. Besides many accusations from competitors like Donald Trump, Harris does not support fracking, fracking is a huge problem for the environment at the moment but it would be hard for her to stop it. Harris will probably continue Biden’s system for the environment which did not go the best.

In conclusion both candidates have their pros and cons when it comes to the environment, in reality neither of them will make major changes to help the environment.

Geothermal:

Is it the future of the Brookline schools?

By: Francesco M. Carratelli

Sources: Francesco M. Carratelli, MIT & E.P.A..

A recent controversy has transformed into one of the biggest debates in the Driscoll area of Brookline MA, USA. Renovate or rebuild? The 112 year old school of Michael Driscoll was a building that had to be changed. Many members of the K.E.E.P. Club stood against the idea of re-building the school, as it would have caused many problems that might affect the future of the Brookline climate. If rebuilt, not only the old school would be demolished and replaced by a plastic turf field, but the process of building a new school would be long and cause CO2 emissions. On the other hand, a new school could provide more classes, working places, and more playing area for the preschoolers to middle school students. During the vote, the proposal to rebuild the school won. Nevertheless, like Loyd Christmas redeemed himself to Harry Dunne the movie Dumb And Dumber, the new school redeemed itself to the K.E.E.P. Club. Under the turf field the construction workers installed the cousin of Piero Ginori Conti’s invention, a geothermal heat pump.

The new school was finished in early October of 2023, but the geothermal heat pump took more time to install. Many people during recess had no idea that the loud drilling was for the geothermal heat pump, and many didn’t even know what this system was. So the K.E.E.P. Club organized a lecture in which the project managers explained their mission. They explained how there are no fossil fuels involved and how this project would later warm or cool the school depending on the outside weather. The heat is either in the ground and being extracted and transferred to the building or the contrary. They also stated that the plant would be much easier to maintain, as it is more flexible than fossil fuel pumps. Liquids, like water, are used to make the system function.

Let me give you a broader explanation of the positive aspects of this energy plant. Just like solar panels, as time passes, geothermal saves money, however it might be considered expensive at first. Coincidentally, solar panels could power geothermal. These pumps couldn’t work without water, as in the cold weather, cold water goes down the pumps and absorbs the heat of the ground, while in hot weather, hot water does the same but absorbs the cold. They use this system as a loop; and it doesn’t waste water. The tubes used for Driscoll got to c. 240 meters deep, about as long as the John Hancock Tower in Boston MA (USA). They are flexible, “leak proof”, skinny and made out of plastic, nevertheless the wells are cased by steel. All of the wells connect to one volt. Another pro of this system is that you can build pretty much anything on it, as Driscoll placed a turf field above it.

In conclusion I feel that this installment was one of the best investments in the Brookline schools, as geothermal heat pumps are economically profitable, efficient and most importantly, environmentally friendly. This is why I believe that this is the future of Brookline schools.

The Climate as Rubber Band, Could it be Restored?

By: Izzy Lu

Sources: NY Times & NASA.

Think of the Earth and humanity as a rubber band. You can stretch it and pull it, but all rubber bands have a tipping point. The tipping point for humanity is unhealthy levels of CO2, more commonly known as carbon dioxide, pollution, killing food sources, nature, etc. Eventually, that rubberband will break. Snap. Just like that. What happens? This Happy Trumpet article is a deep dive and analysis of the rates of climate change.

These screenshots from NYTimes demonstrate the rate of increasing temperatures and the consequences. In the diagrams, the scribbles show us the mass and large difference of the before and after. For example, in the designated scribbled area for the collapse of Greenland ice, the scribbled area shows the fastest rate of the ice.

Think of what life would be like with overpowering seas, constant hurricanes, wildfires, and rising sea levels. In anywhere from 50 to 75 years, your beach house could be underwater. These changes are irreversible - almost. According to NASA, many of these themes in global warming are irreversible and persist to be permanent. Obviously, if you think about it, you really can’t find a way to make the earth any colder. “Shoot some ice up into the atmosphere and hope it gets colder?” Never gonna happen. Evidently, you can limit the growth of these effects; NASA suggests that ceasing to emit greenhouse gasses will slow down the increase in temperature by a few years.

Many of the people in this world think that climate change is fate. Irreversible. Unchangeable. In reality, it’s not impossible. Raymond Zhong and Mira Rojanasakul, writers from The New York Times state that “The effects would be sweeping and hard to reverse. Not like the turning of a dial, but the flipping of a switch. One that wouldn’t be easily flipped back.” The New York Times made this seem like it would be an impossible challenge, in contrast, it's not. In contrast to the New York Times article, there is obvious hope that the “switch” would and will be flipped back, soon enough from evidence showing that we are at the beginning of the end of the absence of mass destruction.

Billie Eilish, the Pop Star Who Takes One for the Environment

By: Izzy Lu

Recently I went to a Billie Eilish concert. What I found the most interesting is that Billie Eilish partnered with many small climate organizations to help slow climate change.

In 2022, a documentary called “Overheated” was released, starring Billie Eilish and other celebrities. They shared their stories and experiences of climate change. Billie states in the documentary “I definitely suffer from climate anxiety, and I know so many other people my age do too. It's overwhelming sometimes. And sometimes I wonder if we are ever doing enough.”

You would think that celebrities like Billie Eilish, Selena Gomez and others see the world from a personal perspective, get what they want and get treatment that lives up to their expectations of being rich, but not all people are like that. Celebrities are just other people and people that worry about the same things. Billie Eilish worries about the future, what would happen when the world is in total disaster.

Samata Pattinson is a British-Ghanaian writer, fashion designer, and sustainability activist. When she was a fashion designer, she lost her first collection of clothes. “I realized I didn’t want to be a part of the fashion industry, I wanted to change it.” Pattinson from that time made clothes from eco friendly materials and is now the CEO of RCGD, which stands for Red Carpet Green Dress, her and the company have been making sustainable clothing and designs since then.

Emily Eavis, a climate change activist working out of Glastonbury, Connecticut, runs the Glastonbury festival. In 2019, they fully banned plastic bottles, asking people to bring their own reusable bottles. Previously, they had been using 1.6 million plastic bottles in the span of two days. To Emily, this was a challenge, they had to go through the process of asking all the drinks companies to do this with them. In the festival, they installed water refilling stations, to prevent people from buying or using one time use plastic bottles.

People these days, you would guess, don’t pay enough attention to climate change. But the thought of people who have a larger impact on the thoughts of people, enlarges the impact of the slowing of climate change. People like Billie Eilish, Samata Pattinson, and Emily Eavis make large impacts that influence all of us to follow and encourage the slowing of climate change.

The Buffalo, Hero of the Eurasian Ecosystems!

By: Francesco M. Carratelli

Sources: BBC & Britannica.

Since ancient times, buffaloes (not bisons) were domesticated to help with agriculture and growing crops. Now that times have changed, many abandoned farms and other over industrialized plains have changed forever just because of buffalo. Local swamp/wetland species benefit from the arrival of the buffalo, as they attract flies for the swamp's amphibians. The benefits this species brings to local animals have let them recuperate from damage like pollution. Other than larger amphibians, buffalo sustain microhabitat animals in the UK. Other benefits include the removal of invasive species. Studies show that in places buffaloes have migrated, types of plants and trees grow better because of the removal of invasive species that have greatly slowed down the growth of these invasive plants. For example, buffalo have cleared parts of Hungary of the invasive American goldenrod. Buffalo are well known for their impact on abandoned rice farms in Hong Kong. Buffalo have brought back whole ecosystems in Hong Kong rice fields.

These buffalo successes have attracted scientists and environmentalists greatly. Many projects have been started to study and promote the bison’s efforts which are leading to the cleaning of wetlands. These “ecosystem engineers” have been the subject of projects led by the City University of Hong Kong and projects in Ukraine. The City University of Hong Kong’s project consists in studying the bison that restore abandoned rice farms in Lantau Island. The project in Ukraine consists in reviving a native buffalo-type cattle.

In conclusion, I think that buffaloes are a fascinating species that have positively impacted harsh environments, and the world is starting to accept and support this large and friendly mammal.

We hope you liked these articles and don’t miss the next copy of …

The Happy Trumpet!

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