1. Seungkyoon Bong
  2. Presenter’s INNOVATETOMITIGATE
  3. The Planet Liberators
  1. Chuan Chen
  2. Presenter’s INNOVATETOMITIGATE
  3. The Planet Liberators
  1. Kate Christensen
  2. Presenter’s INNOVATETOMITIGATE
  3. The Planet Liberators
  1. Winston Grenier
  2. Presenter’s INNOVATETOMITIGATE
  3. The Planet Liberators
Judges’ Queries and Presenter’s Replies
  • Icon for: Janet Barclay

    Janet Barclay

    Judge
    PhD Student
    June 8, 2015 | 10:58 a.m.

    Great video and explanation of the issues! What would make your app / farm-to-school partnerships more effective than the existing products? (there are a number of farmers’ market finders, greenhouse gas emissions trackers, and farm-to-school partnerships in existence already)

  • Icon for: Seungkyoon Bong

    Seungkyoon Bong

    Lead Presenter
    June 9, 2015 | 10:15 p.m.

    Hi, thank you for your time and consideration. Our app is more effective than existing products because it is integrated and all of the components of the app will be interdependent. For example, the user would only need to input your daily diet once in order to effectively track both the greenhouse gas emissions and to receive suggestions on how to improve their diet to reduce the emissions. By having all of the data readily available on one application, the user will not have to switch between applications and waste time or memory on their device to be informed of their choices. Thank you for your input once again.
    —The Planet Liberators

  • Icon for: Gillian Puttick

    Gillian Puttick

    Judge
    Senior Scientist
    June 8, 2015 | 12:26 p.m.

    Great explanation of the issues, with supporting evidence – nice work. I’m curious whether you have any evidence for the claim in your paper that the local high school “global ecology” program causes students to be receptive to consuming locally grown foods.

  • Icon for: Chuan Chen

    Chuan Chen

    Co-Presenter
    June 9, 2015 | 10:01 p.m.

    Hi, thank you for your input. The global ecology program at our school aims to educate students about the various factors that contribute to the environmental issues we face today. The program allows students to have field trips twice a month in conjunction with regular classroom instruction, and, thus, fosters an interest in studying these environmental issues. As a result, we believe that given sufficient education, the students at our school will be receptive to our idea to consume more locally grown foods. Other facets of our community also will increase students’ willingness to participate in this program, namely the rural location of our school, and consequently increased exposure to the option of locally grown food.

    Thanks, the Planet Liberators

  • Icon for: Constance Roco

    Constance Roco

    Judge
    PhD Graduate Student
    June 8, 2015 | 02:40 p.m.

    Great idea! How feasible do you think it would be to change people’s mind to eat less meat? Also, do you think changing to more local & organic would be more expensive? If so, how could you incentivize schools,individuals, etc. to make the change?

  • Icon for: Chuan Chen

    Chuan Chen

    Co-Presenter
    June 9, 2015 | 10:08 p.m.

    We believe that it is feasible to reduce or completely eliminate the presence of meat and other processed foods from people’s diets. Given the existing popularity of the vegetarian movement, with sufficient education, our community, and eventually larger populations will be receptive to adapting their diets to be less environmentally harmful. Many consumers are simply ignorant to the harmful effects of consuming certain foods, even if they are aware of the issues caused by greenhouse gasses. As for the cost of switching to locally grown foods, the average price paid by customers should be reduced due to the lessened need for transportation, packaging, processing, etc. Furthermore, through our application, we could provide discounts for shopping at local farmers’ markets. Finally, as discussed in our paper, we plan to incentive our local community through the development of a mobile app that tracks the environmental impact of a user’s diet, and increased education in the local high school about the effects of consuming certain foods.
    Thanks, the Planet Liberators

  • Icon for: Ashley Richter

    Ashley Richter

    Judge
    Cultural Heritage Diagnostics Engineering
    June 10, 2015 | 03:29 a.m.

    Fabulous project title! ‘Eat to Defeat Global Heat’ is super catchy.

    I’m curious to know how your app will address schools/eaters in economically disenfranchised areas and locals without access to farmer’s markets and affordable organic produce?

  • Icon for: Kate Christensen

    Kate Christensen

    Co-Presenter
    June 11, 2015 | 03:21 p.m.

    Thank you for your comment. In addition to increasing consumption of organic produce, we also support a reduction in the amount of meat in people’s diets. This is a simple and cheap alternative to organic produce that anyone could partake in, even if it is only one meatless meal, and it can still have a significant impact if enough people join in. Schools typically offer vegetarian meals, and with the support of the students they could on one day of the school week only offer vegetarian options. There is also a popular trend, “Meatless Monday,” that people could join if they do not want to give up meat. Since the meat products must be packaged in factories and transported to the schools/grocery stores, greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced.
    Thank you again, The Planet Liberators

Presentation Discussion
  • Icon for: Matthew Feng

    Matthew Feng

    June 8, 2015 | 09:51 a.m.

    I am not sure that increasing the use of local farms will decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions because of factories. However, it will decrease it because of the lessened need for transportation. Is there a method to reduce the amount of fertilizers used if the produce is locally grown? How much of greenhouse gas emissions do you expect will be removed with this app? This idea is very practical.

  • Icon for: Chuan Chen

    Chuan Chen

    Co-Presenter
    June 8, 2015 | 10:01 a.m.

    We expect that by replacing factory produced foods with those grown locally, demand on factory products will decrease, and as a result, less greenhouse gases should be emitted. Organic farming utilizes fertilizers, but only those that are natural, such as bone meal. However, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are not used. Finally, we expect that existing greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by approximately 15% after adoption of our project.
    Thank you for responding.
    — The Planet Liberators

  • Icon for: Matthew Feng

    Matthew Feng

    June 8, 2015 | 10:13 a.m.

    I read that using bone meal has many risks, such as the development of Mad Cow Disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy), which can lead to serious diseases in humans. What alternative fertilizers are there?

    Also, how will this work for those who do not have phones that support applications?

  • Icon for: Callie Cook

    Callie Cook

    June 8, 2015 | 02:38 p.m.

    There are many great options while looking for an organic fertilizer. Every farmer chooses which fertilizer works best for them and their farm. Some alternatives to Bone Meal include compost, peat, seaweed extract, cover crops, or mulch. In the end it is the farmers personal preference.

  • Further posting is closed as the event has ended.