Research Day 4: Skimming the IEA Methane Report

On Memorial Day weekend, I’m diving back into sustainability research after a long art interlude.

Here in my skim of the report from the International Energy Agency titled Curtailing Methane Emissions from Fossil Fuel Operations.

Starting with my skimming questions:

  1. What is the document, in simple terms?
    • It’s an overview of methane-mitigation measures we could take to meet the goals of COP26. It was created by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
    • Here is what they say about it: “The aim of this report is to present a non-prescriptive, high-level identification of the different measures and approaches that could deliver a 75% reduction in methane emissions from fossil fuel operations by 2030. We consider a range of action that includes policy and regulation, voluntary industry initiatives, as well as tools to improve the quality and availability of information about methane emissions.”
  2. When is it from? October 2021.
  3. What type of language does it use – legalese, engineering-speak, or layman-friendly?
    • Simple, engineering-inflected language.
    • Honestly, I liked this report a lot. I feel like they’re talking to me. Mostly because it’s simple, takes a big picture approach, and focuses on possibilities.
  4. What am I looking for in this document?
    • An overview of ways to get involved, in whatever capacity. With, maybe, an eye toward research and development (R&D) work since that’s my particular interest.
  5. How many (readable) pages is it, excluding appendices and references? 46.
  6. What cited resources do I want to add to my TBR (‘to be read’)?

* * *

There we go! Another installment of the research quest. And only one more report to skim, followed by a round of deep dives.

And then I can settle into the book-portion of the project (items 6 to 9 on the list), which hopefully should be more cozy and involve tea and rocking chairs.

Medium Essay Archive: March 2020 – May 2022

PostPub. Month
Write Ideas Down Before They’re FormedMar 2020
Create Change By Writing About Your ObstaclesMar2020
Developing the Restraint Not to Start a ProjectMay 2020
Sustainability Considerations in Choosing the Notebooks I Write InMay 2020
How to Choose Between Creative Project IdeasJun 2020
I Will Never Use Any Social Media Owned by FacebookJun 2020
When and How to Take a Break from a Creative ProjectJun 2020
How to Avoid Giving Facebook MoneyJul 2020
How I Track the Word Count for my Novel DraftJul 2020
The Harper’s Letter is Suspiciously VagueJul 2020
It’s Okay to Have More than One ProjectJul 2020
Non-Addictive! Absolutely no Artificial Intelligence Added!Jul 2020
How to Keep a Journal You’ll Want to ReadJul 2020
Don’t Feel Guilty About Your Environmental ImpactAug 2020
What Can One Person Do to Save the Environment?Aug 2020
How to Use your Creativity to Protect the EnvironmentAug 2020
Recover Your Optimism by Reading the UN Biodiversity ReportAug 2020
Learning to Value my Technical WorkDec 2020
My Planning System is a Mix of Analog and DigitalDec 2020
What are the Alternatives to Laminated Paper?Dec 2020
How to Enjoy Revising your DraftsDec 2020
The Trauma of the 2020 Election Will Stay with UsJan 2021
What to Do with Your AngerJan 2021
You Don’t Need EfficiencyJan 2021
The Two Kinds of Incremental ProgressJan 2021
Your Sustainability Efforts Will Pay Off SuddenlyJan 2021
We Don’t Have the Attention Span of a GoldfishJan 2021
Trends Tend to Reverse ThemselvesFeb 2021
Ergonomics and SustainabilityFeb 2021
Statistics as an Instrument of TruthFeb 2021
How to Get Started Learning about SustainabilityApr 2021
Research Greenwashing with MeApr 2021
Two Books that Supercharged my Journaling HabitMay 2021
Dreamt of Being an Explorer as a Kid?May 2021
Do You Need Optimism or Pessimism to Respond to the Climate Emergency?Oct 2021
Hey Media! For COP26, Let’s Get Climate Coverage Right for a ChangeOct 2021
Cradle-to-Cradle: Research Tidbit #1Nov 2021
Blue Carbon: Research Tidbit #2Dec 2021
The Internet Needs to Go Green, Just Like Everything Else.Dec 2021
The UN Climate Meeting, COP26, was a Huge Step Up from Previous YearsJan 2022
Researching to Find My Place in the Climate MovementFeb 2022
How Can We Know We’re Buying Sustainable Products?Mar 2022
GPS and Surprise StrawberriesMar 2022
The Day Begins and Creatures EmergeApr 2022
How Much Farther Do We Have to Go to Solve Climate Change?Apr 2022
What’s the Point of Blogs?Apr 2022
What To Do If Your Idea List is Super LongApr 2022
Managing Methane Can Buy Us TimeApr 2022
My Sustainability Reading Project Refined My Research ProcessApr 2022
About Me — Deepti KannapanApr 2022
How to Easily Get into Creative FlowApr 2022
Can Aviation Go Net-Zero?Apr 2022
What If You Had Time to Do Everything?May 2022
Hanging Out with a SucculentMay 2022
How To Have an Eco-Friendly Journaling PracticeMay 2022
Soaking Up the OrchidMay 2022

A Watercolor Travelogue, Of Sorts

…a mixed bag of plein air paintings, paintings from photos I took, and one from a photo I didn’t.

This is my next batch of watercolors from 2021-22. And here is the tale of each of these, left to right, top to bottom:

  1. The first two are from Bosque Park in Socorro, NM, from March 2022. These came out a little rough because I didn’t pack the full set of paints and couldn’t find a good place to sit. The imperfections are part of the memory, though – one look at the painting brings back the smell of the air and the loose dirt I sat on. And other memories like:
    – how I got rusty at travel over the pandemic, so the whole trip was a bumbling adventure! On the flight there, I had to go through security twice because I left my credit card in the kiosk.
    – how I didn’t check the scale on my map and ended up taking an unplanned 10-mile walk. I was very sore the next day.
    – The two coyotes I saw darting over some charred wood. The sun was setting and I was on mile 7 or so. Things were getting eerie! I’ve always found deserts a little spooky. Something about the vast spaces and the quality of the light.
  2. The next three are from a photo I took of Lake Elkhorn in Columbia, MD in 2019. I was there for work.
    I arrived at my slightly-rickety hotel late at night, and in the morning I saw that it was right on the lake! So definitely worth the rickety-ness.
    Lots of bird chatter accompanied my walks around the lake.
    I’ve made numerous paintings from the same photo because I like it so much – it tastes like cool autumn mist and squelching mud.
    Here, I made three back-to-back because I was working on my technique for the reflections in the lake. The third one is where I felt like I finally got it right. (But the others have parts I like, too.)
  3. The next painting (row four, column one) is from a photograph my sister took in the Himalayas. Used as a painting reference with her permission! She’s a way better photographer than I.
  4. The last three are from volunteer/camping trips in the Angeles forest area with an organization called Habitat Works*, working on various habitat restoration projects. Always fun to add a quest to a camping trip! Pulling up weeds or removing old barbed wire makes me feel useful.

And with that, I am finally up to date on uploading my artwork! So I’d better get painting again, huh.

*not sponsored.

I did it! I YouTubed.

Part 2 of my 10 day challenge of drawing ‘houseplants’ (a category I interpret loosely).

I set myself a challenge to draw a houseplant every day for 10 days! And to make a video to go with it. I’m relieved that I made it through!

Now, I’ve drawn every plant in my house (if you count the drawings I’d already done when I started the challenge), plus a few from outside the house. I feel like I’ve thoroughly scratched the drawing itch, for once.

Usually, no amount of drawing, or any activity, feels like enough; I’m always craving more. To do it ‘properly’.

I guess I found out what it takes to ‘do it properly’, because I’m finally ready to move on to writing and research. (I’ll still draw if I feel like it, of course.)

Here are my videos for days 5 to 10:

Day 6 – Garlic and talking about trying the ‘impossible’.
Day 7 – Unknown backyard flower and talking about circling back to projects
Day 8 – Second succulent and talking about avoiding perfectionism
Day 9 – Broccoli and choosing aa project difficulty setting
Day 10 – Ivy and talking about finding the edge of my comfort zone

I enjoyed this so much that I definitely want to do another 10 days of drawing, sometime.

And that’s all! I’m planning to make a wrap-up video reflecting on the 10 days. I won’t say when that’s coming out, or I’d have to stick to it.