In examining the ways in which humankind can mitigate the effects of climate change, one major contributing factor stands in the way: humankind itself. In 2007, the United Nations鈥� Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change determined that human activity has been responsible for almost all of the increases in greenhouse gas emissions over the past 150 years. As the public鈥檚 understanding of climate change has grown, researchers are examining how societies can live, work, and eat in more sustainable ways.
This summer, Anna Burns 鈥�22 is examining potential methods to evaluate and reduce negative impacts within agriculture. She鈥檚 working with Marc Los Huertos, the Stephen M. Pauley, MD 鈥�62 Associate Professor of Environmental Analysis at Pomona College, who鈥檚 exploring the possibility of using drone technology to measure particulate matter emissions, such as air pollution, on crop and cattle farms in California. The project is part of The Claremont Colleges鈥� EnviroLab Asia initiative, which aims to promote cross-disciplinary research and experiential learning. In recent years, the demand for agricultural drones has risen in parts of Asia, including China, and while the use of drone technology to measure particulate matter emissions is rare, it鈥檚 shown great promise. Burns received an environmental analysis research grant from Scripps to support her work.
Currently, some farmers use drones鈥� sensor and imaging capacity to assess the different nutrient needs across a crop field with variant conditions, potentially lessening the use of resources鈥攕uch as fertilizers鈥攖hat heavily impact the environment. By adding air quality data to the drones鈥� assessments, Burns and Los Huertos plan to identify practices that help reduce particulate matter in land use. 鈥淜nowing temporal and spatial specifics could potentially help us understand what times of day have the highest level of air pollution and then evaluate what can be changed within the farming process to lessen those impacts,鈥� Burns says.
Los Huertos adds that the impact of particulate matter reduction could go far beyond improved land use practices. 鈥淪ome rural communities have worse air quality conditions than urban environments,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f we can address air quality issues, we can address huge public health issues.鈥�
Under Los Huertos鈥檚 supervision, Burns is managing the technology needed to test drone measurements from a distance. Due to COVID-19, the bulk of the project鈥檚 on-the-ground research has been put on hold, and Burns鈥� day-to-day work has primarily focused on coding and wiring the micro-computer that will be attached to the drone. While she was initially disappointed not to be working in the field as originally planned, she鈥檚 enjoyed learning more about programming languages and is looking forward to data collection.
鈥淪he鈥檚 one of the most thoughtful and dedicated students I鈥檝e worked with,鈥� Los Huertos says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 learned how to use the Raspberry Pi microprocessors, she鈥檚 taught herself rudimentary Python on her own, and she鈥檚 learned how to solder, interpret wiring diagrams, and think about how to collect and process data. She exceeds my expectations every single day with what she鈥檚 able to accomplish.鈥�
Burns has been interested in agricultural issues since she worked on a farm in eighth grade, but she spent her first year of college 鈥渁damantly against鈥� the idea of taking environmental analysis classes because she felt individuals couldn鈥檛 make an impact on a problem as large-scale and inevitable as climate change. Instead, she intended to major in mathematics, a discipline she enjoys for its problem-solving process.
But when she learned that a mathematics track existed within Pomona鈥檚 environmental analysis program, she saw an opportunity to re-evaluate her relationship with environmental justice and focus her energy on an area where she could make a positive impact. Now, Burns is pursuing a major in mathematical environmental analysis through Pomona鈥檚 program, as well as a minor in German at Scripps. Her major allows her to combine the fields of math and environmental analysis to study the data science behind food systems. 鈥淎griculture is all about inputs and outputs and maximizing them for a healthier planet and people, in both the economic and physical sense,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen you get down to it, that鈥檚 just math!鈥�
Burns sees her summer project as an opportunity to gain research experience that will serve as the foundation for a career in sustainable agriculture. While she doesn鈥檛 have a specific path in mind, she envisions herself advising small farmers on how to adopt environmentally friendly processes in cost-effective ways. 鈥淭his project combines my passion for agriculture and the environment with technology and data science, which is exactly what I want to do as a career,鈥� she says. 鈥淢aking a difference doesn鈥檛 mean that it鈥檚 up to you to save the world; it means doing what you can with what you have to fight injustice.鈥�