UCLA MAE Professor Laurent Pilon was interviewed by France-Amérique Magazine in the article “This French Engineer Has a Plan to Make L.A. Sustainable.”
Excerpted from the article:
What are some examples of ways to reduce food, energy and water waste in L.A.?
Some sources say 50 percent of all food consumed in the U.S. is wasted and represents around 25 percent of our water use. In California, we spend about 25 percent of our energy moving and processing water. So, the ways we produce and use these resources are really interconnected and reducing waste in one is often beneficial to the other two. In terms of food waste, we could approach the problem from many different angles. On the behavioral sciences side, it would be about tackling the problem by doing research into what makes people throw food away. We could also develop technology that can tell people when food has gone bad and rethink food-labeling. There is “sell by,” “use by” and “best by, ” so it gets a little confusing. In terms of energy, we could make buildings more efficient so energy-wasters like air conditioning would not be necessary. Another energy consumer, transportation, is undergoing a change right now. With the upcoming Olympics in 2028, a revolution will take place in terms of public transportation. Light-rail trains and subway expansions could increase the overall energy efficiency of our transportation system while raising our quality of life.