Topic

Pursue Sustainability Nonstop

As the world continues to pursue sustainability, people have to make fundamental changes in the way they operate. In this high school competition, your team explores ways to enable some aspect of this transition. What types of inventions or redesigns will be needed to create a more sustainable future? How will suburbs, towns, and cities need to be redesigned? What types of behavior changes will be necessary, and how do we bring those about?

Challenges

Alaska Airlines Imagine Tomorrow lets you choose among three challenges and address the challenge you select by developing your own creative, well-researched solutions.

• Challenge 1: The Itron Food, Energy, and Water Challenge

  Food, energy, and water are all connected. Energy is needed to produce clean water, while water can be used to produce energy. Food production requires both water and energy, and is sometimes used to produce energy. Competition exists for our limited natural resources that can create conflict, such as a conflict over our water resources to support food production, hydro-electric power generation, and water for fish and wildlife. Energy and resources are also needed to package, transport, distribute, and consume food.

• Challenge 2: The Boeing Aerospace and Transportation Challenge

  The aerospace industry relies on a vast manufacturing, transportation, maintenance, and operational infrastructure in order to produce, deliver, fly, and support aircraft and spacecraft travel. These include factories, trains and automobiles, airports, computer networks, as well as environmental, security and other support networks. Vital components of aerospace travel include cost-effective fuel, energy, and life support systems that can operate for extended periods without refueling or resupplying.

• Challenge 3: The McKinstry Built Environment Challenge

  Buildings and supporting infrastructure such as roads and utilities are some of the heaviest consumers of natural resources and account for a significant portion of the energy use in the world. Improving efficiency in the design, construction, or operation of the built environment is necessary for increasing a sustainable future.

Approaches

Once you have chosen your challenge, decide on the approach your team is going to use to come up with a solution:

• Technology. Creating a product or employing technology, using the tools of science and engineering, to improve efficiency or reduce demand on resources.
• Design. Creating a design or concept that will reduce the impact on natural resources and support a sustainable future.
• Behavior/Policy.Creating a plan, through public policy, advocacy, or other means, to change the way people make decisions; improving education, affecting policy, and/or working with communities to create local change.
• Multi-Approach. Creating a holistic solution, drawing on two or more of the approaches above, to address resource challenges.