You might think of scientists as a chemist in a white coat or doing tests in a lab. But I am a scientist searching for burps, cow poo, broken machinery and vehicles.
Do you drink milk? Most of us do. But have you ever thought about what happens before that milk gets to your cup? It goes on a big adventure from cows on farms, to factories where it is turned into yummy things like cheese and yogurt, to trucks that take it to shops, and finally into your fridge at home. But here is the thing, along that journey a lot of bad gases called greenhouse gases (GHG) release into the air. You cannot see them, but they float up into the sky and act like a big warm blanket wrapped around the Earth. This blanket traps too much heat, making our planet warmer than it should be. That can lead to crazy weather like floods, bushfires, and long dry spells.
My study is a bit like being a detective. I am trying to find out where these GHG pop up during milk’s big adventure, what people are already doing to fix it, and how they can all work together better to cut down those bad gas releases. I’m looking at farms, factories, transport companies, shops, and even how we handle food waste at home.
Since I was a kid, I have cared about the planet. When I studied transport and logistics, I started thinking about how we can make supply chains more Earth-friendly. Now I am doing a PhD to help make that happen, one milk bottle at a time.
