On Day 9 of our global experience in Amsterdam, we visited the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). This university is a top engineering school in the Netherlands and is even compared to MIT in terms of academia and recognition. This school has also dedicated an abundance of resources and funding to sustainability research and practices via programs such as the Green Village and its Sustainability Action Plan.

Speaking of the Green Village, this was the first site we visited once arriving at TU Delft. This Village is a living quarters for some engineering students that also doubles as a site to test different projects without worrying about government permits and regulations. Students can use different plots of land in this Green Village to design projects that relate to sustainability, such as different methods of storing energy and architectural designs that can withstand the effects of climate change. One of the more interesting projects was an energy storage system that used solar power to perform electrolysis on a water tank and then fill up tanks with hydrogen gas. This gas could then be used in the winter to again form water and release energy that could be used for heating houses and water. This could be a viable alternative to houses that utilize fossil fuels as a means of staying warm. Another interesting project included bricks that were made of mud and cow manure. These bricks can dry and harden with only the heat from the sun, in contrast to normal bricks, which must be heated in an oven. This process of hardening with only the sun avoids the CO2 emissions that are created via the brick-baking process. This Green Village was an uplifting area that was a showcase and playground for upcoming engineers, whose work in this village could change the world and the future for the better.

After briefly exploring the TU Delft campus and trying out their dining hall, we attended a Climate Fresk Workshop hosted by the university. This program is a visual representation of how our actions could spark a climate change butterfly effect, where basic societal actions could lead to an increase in greenhouse gases and then to much more grim outcomes. This workshop was eye-opening to just how many factors go into climate change, and to the many more things that are negatively affected by this climate change. While this outlook may be grim, this is reality, and it is our job as engineers to try and find solutions to the problems of the world. Our discussion at the end was about how individuals, businesses, and governments have several methods in how they could reverse these effects–it just takes coordination, time, and enough people willing to support the cause in supporting our environment in the hopes of a better future.