Team:UAAAN/Human Practices
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As representatives of the competition and synthetic biology communities, our team aims to serve as a positive influence at local and global level. iGEM UAAAN recognizes major significant impacts of our iGEM 2019 research project, both for possible energy applications derived from our new technology and for the social impact generated by our Human Practices project. In addition, our goal is to promote a broader understanding of the field of biotechnology within local and global communities. We have organized various outreach and education programmes to achieve this goal.
We understand the importance of collaboration within the scientific community as a means of progress, therefore, we have worked extensively with various iGEM teams to foster positive connections and provide valuable assistance in research projects.
This year our team went into the remote rural communities of the Sierra de Zapalinamé in the southeast of the state of Coahuila. We talked with the inhabitants of the ejidos about the main problems of their region and discovered their concern about the energy transition that the country is going through. It is worth mentioning that 13 per cent of the world’s population still does not have access to electricity.
We made them aware of the importance of alternative energies, emphasizing how they can be self-sustaining, that is, obtain their own energy with agricultural waste that they themselves generate. This is how we tell you about our project and how your communities and society in general could benefit.
On the other hand, international organizations warn that the planet is not on the path to achieving the sustainable energy goals set by the 2030 agenda. Forty per cent of the world’s inhabitants continue to cook with polluting fuels (coal or wood). Only 17.5% of all energy consumed in the world is of renewable origin according to the conclusions of the study prepared by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO). Based on these alarming data, we sensitize communities to the importance of the adoption of new sustainable energy sources, as well as the democratization of technologies such as biological engineering.
Advantages of knowing about new ways of obtaining energy
• They are the indispensable partner against climate change: renewables do not emit greenhouse gases in energy generation processes, revealing them as the cleanest and most viable solution to environmental degradation.
• They are inexhaustible: unlike traditional energy sources such as coal, gas, oil or nuclear power, whose reserves are finite, clean energies have the same availability as the sun where they originate and adapt to natural cycles (that is why we call them renewable). They are therefore an essential element of a sustainable energy system that allows the present development without jeopardising that of future generations.
• They reduce energy dependency: the indigenous nature of clean sources implies a differential advantage for local economies and an incentive for energy independence. The need to import fossil fuels is contingent on the economic and political situation of the supplier country, which may compromise the security of energy supply. Anywhere on the planet there is some kind of renewable resource: wind, sun, water, organic matter, which can be used to produce energy in a sustainable way.
• Positive political horizon: the decisions agreed at COP21 have brought a flood of light to the future of renewable energy. The international community has understood the obligation to strengthen the transition to a low-carbon economy for the sustainable future of the planet. The climate of international consensus in favour of the decarbonization of the economy provides a very favourable framework for the promotion of clean energy technologies. We are confident that our project will contribute to the achievement of Goal 7 of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, Ensuring Access to Affordable, Safe, Sustainable and Modern Energy for All.
LENGUAS
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INDIAS