In more recent years, more and more emphasis has been put on environmental management of industrial activities and environmental care by our scientific community. The current approach being taken towards industrial symbiosis is defined as “pollution prevention” This approach describes the use of materials, processes, or practices that decrease the creation of waste at the source. This approach kind of reminds me of the circular economy in a way. They’re doing all they can to almost diminish waste.

Industrial symbiosis is actually when two or more companies exchange their waste product with the other companies, and they use it as materials for new products. This process eliminates waste and even boosts creativity. Like I’ve said, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” One downside to this is that there is a concern about supply. Waste is such an odd factor that people don’t usually consider. There’s not always the same amount or the same kind. For example, my friend and I go to a restaurant, and both order a ceasar salad and french fries. I finish my salad but not my fries, and she finishes her fries but not her salad. We both have waste, but it’s different kinds and separate amounts.

The article given analyzed several case studies regarding industrial symbiosis in Greek industry. The total number of case studies is recorded at several thousand. Each of these case studies presented simple, practical difficulties. It is believed that all businesses practicing industrial symbiosis have been documented.  Forty- five different types of waste were identified and documented during this experiment. Waste was dispersed into seven separate categories during the experiment. This was based on their physical characteristics and the industry sector they originated from. The categories were: thermal energy, fuels, metals, plastics, chemicals, minerals and organics. There was some overlap when deciding which category fits best for the waste, but ultimately it did not affect the overall result of this study. The spatial scale of the waste exchange can also be more separated into a few different levels. These levels include Industrial Park (IP), Local (LOC), Regional (REG), National (NAT), and Global (GLO).

The results of this study are very extensive and go into much detail, but to sum it up, waste was typically exchanged at the same levels. For example, an Intellectual Property would exchange with a local because they’re both smaller scale levels. It also described how beneficial industrial symbiosis can be when trying to eliminate waste.

Eco- Innovation refers to the innovative products and processes that reduce environmental impacts. This idea is beneficial to the environment because as I mentioned before, it reduces waste and lessons environmental impacts to the environment.

Greece has largely implemented climate change and sustainability policies due to its island nature. Eco- innovation has acted as a significant importance to Greece in maintaining its healthy ecosystem. Greece focuses on and implements policies that promote renewable energies and energy efficiency measures that encourage more eco- innovation. Greece benefits from its natural capital, consisting of solar, wind, and tidal. Greece has also grown in their green and alternative tourism industry, as well as innovation in agriculture and in the food industry.

At the end of 2019, Greece installed photovoltaics that covered 7.1% of their electricity consumption. Despite these eco innovation efforts, the uptake of renewable energy has stagnated in more recent years. In terms of Eco- innovation performance, Greece typically ranks on the low end based on the other European Union countries. In 2018 Greece scored a 78 in terms of eco- innovation and in comparison, the average for a European Union country is a 100 score.

The Operational Programme on Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation under the new National Strategic Reference Framework (2004- 2020) allocated 28.8 million on the promotion of these eco- innovation projects for environmental protection and resource efficiency in the areas of waste management, water management, soil contamination, and air pollution. It’s apparent that Greece understands the importance of the promotion of eco- innovation and the good it could do for their country. This new allocation of funds for the promotion of eco- innovation should hopefully benefit the country and and allow them to move up their ranking for their eco-innovation performance in comparison to the other European Union countries.

Greece has also ranked low for their technological performance. They claim this is because of their low patent applications. Most greek startup apply for an international or European Union patent because of the higher chance to get funding from them. This shows Greece as very low for their technological performance.

Policy framework to support innovation is expected to improve significantly. This is a move in the right directly for Greece. They’ve very aware about their low ratings and poor efforts regarding eco- innovation so having new policies put in place and new action plans could be very helpful. The eco- innovation is supposed to improve through this new action plan for the Implementation of the National Strategy for Research. This action plan is geared to promote specific activities that are related to eco – innovation.

Eco- innovation could be a great thing for Greece, it just seems like they need to work a bit more on promoting it and implementing it throughout mainland and the islands

Hydras sustainability crisis may be one of the most mysterious I’ve ever read about….

On the outside you see Hydra: beautiful island that’s only a 90-minute ferry ride from Greece’s capital city Athens. You get off the ferry and see beautiful limestone paved streets, stone built, red tiled houses, and mules lined up near the port ready to give you a tour around Hydra. The crystal clear blue watered is accompanied by minimal large hotels, no mass tourism, and small and locally owned bars and restaurants. The wealthy individuals that own homes on Hydra aren’t as blingy as the homes on the other islands, and you likely run into these large homeowners at the supermarket because they shop at the same places as everyone else.

The islanders of Hydra are aware of its sustainability crisis but are unsure how to initiate change.  The locus of power is opaque. It’s unaware who is in charge of decision making and important issues regarding Hydra. Is it Athens? Is it Hydra? Does Hydra need to form their only political union to initiate much needed change? This unknown factor makes decision making for Hydra very difficult and quite mysterious.

Let’s talk about the garbage trucks…

The only modes of transportation on Hydra is by donkey, mule, or water taxi. This doesn’t include the islands two mysterious garbage trucks. The garbage trucks are most obviously in charge of picking up the trash and properly disposing it. Typically, they pick up trash in the morning and then drive to a discrete, desolate location in the middle of the island. The drop off the trash and set it on fire. This method is definitely not sustainable as Hydra makes it seem to be. The trash last summer was still burning at the end of November. If that statistic doesn’t say unsustainable, I don’t know what does.

The water sanitation situation of Hydra gets worse. There’s running water on the island, but no water. The Greek Orthodox Church sends their boat over to Hydra every day from the mainland. They pump the wastewater into the sea in the dead of night. This wastewater is including the water involved in sewage disposal. Hydra also had a plan for a treatment plant, but the funds provided by the European Commission allocated for this treatment plant has mysteriously vanished without a trace. The completion of the desalination plant is another bizarre mystery. Three years after completion, the plant still sits non- operational.

This article regarding Hydra and its sustainability efforts is one of the most bizarre, but interesting of all time. A great read for sure, and very interesting to say the least.

The concept of an economy that not only reduces, but entirely minimizes waste is presented in the article discussing the concept, circular economy. The idea of a circular economy is now acknowledged globally and is our most promising solution to our planet’s sustainability issues.

The idea of a circular economy first came from a linear economy. The linear economy was a great idea, but it had much room for improvement. The linear economy’s main goal was to minimize waste, where they did accomplish that, but they were missing the part where materials get recycled back into the process. there was a clear beginning and a clear ending, so much was being wasted. There needed to be another solution to a sustainable lifestyle that reduced waste and even reused it. This is where the idea of a circular economy was born.

The idea of a circular economy is a bigger idea than just simply reduce- reuse- recycle. A circular economy works differently. It closes the loop and moves away from the idea “take- make- consume- throw away.” Waste is reduced to a minimum with this idea because everything produced is transferred and used somewhere else continuously. Different than a linear economy, waste in a circular economy is almost diminished entirely, not just reduced.

“Recycling alone will not save us,” – Andrew Morlet

A circular economy works in three steps: 1. It designs out waste. 2. It keeps products and materials in use. 3. It regenerates living systems.

A circular economy was not created by one person, but my groups and many people over the years and being redefined each time to make for the most beneficial process. Some people and/ or groups that have helped define a circular economy are the following: Walter Stahel and Genevieve Reday – “The Potential for Sustaining Manpower for Energy”, Janing Benyus – “Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature”, Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins – “Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, Kenneth Boulding – “The Economics of Coming Spaceship Earth”, Gunter Paul – “The Blue Economy”. These groups of people worked together to define what a circular economy is known to be today. Each person and/ or group was changed or effected this idea to make it the most sustainable as possible.

“Nothing is lost, everything is transformed,” This is the motto of a circular economy. It explains how circular economy is not aimed to end growth, rather to bend industry back into harmony with nature so we can continue to prosper.

Okay so I originally thought we had to cover all of those topics in our quiz 2 blog post… awkward. Anyways, since I already discussed our meeting with the diplomat, Yuri Arthur, instead i’ll talk about our day excursion to Hydra island.

Yesterday we took a day trip to Hydra. We woke up bright and early and met the group by 6:45AM and crammed into a lovely sprinter van. we made it to the port by 7:30 and took the next 30 minutes or so to grab a water and a snack before the bat ride. The boat took roughly two hours and stopped at one port before getting to Hydra. We walked off the boat to the most beautiful scenery with some of the clearest water i’ve ever seen. We grabbed a quick coffee as a group and then dispersed throughout the island. Tj, Abby, and I headed towards the water to find the best spot to sit and tan and take a dip in the beautiful water. Along the way we ran into our other classmates and we all went swimming and tanning together.

Tj and I then left to go more towards the town because lunch would be soon. We saw Professor Quesada and a few other friends and decided to stay in the area they were in and grab a few refreshments (where I actually had my meet a local interview with one of the restaurant workers !!) because we felt slightly dehydrated. Then we made our way to lunch at a lovely restaurant overlooking the port. I decided to have the grilled chicken breast for lunch and that came with salad and fries which was lovely. We finished lunch, changed into some dry clothes, and then everyone did a little shopping. I didn’t end up purchasing anything but I did get the chance to face time my mom and show her around and show her a bunch of stores. She never realized how beautiful the Greek islands were and we talked about coming back as a family sometime in the future. Tj and I grabbed some gelato before making our way towards the boat. Of course I chose to get Oreo and I even asked for a pink spoon (my favorite color !) We got onto the returning boat and made our way to our surprisingly comfortable seats where I treated myself to a nap and some light reading. We took our lovely sprinter van back to the residency and all took showers and relaxed from our long day. I treated myself to an early night and catching up on some of my favorite shows.