Environmental technology

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Environmental technology (envirotech) or green technology (greentech), also known as clean technology (cleantech), is the application of one or more of environmental science, green chemistry, environmental monitoring and electronic devices to monitor, model and conserve the natural environment and resources, and to curb the negative impacts of human involvement.

The term is also used to describe sustainable energy generation technologies such as photovoltaics, wind turbines, etc. Sustainable development is the core of environmental technologies. The term environmental technologies is also used to describe a class of electronic devices that can promote sustainable management of resources.

Purification and waste management

Main article: Recycling

Examples

Water purification

A view across a reverse osmosis desalination plant in Spain.

Water purification: The whole idea/concept of having dirt/germ/pollution free water flowing throughout the environment. Many other phenomena lead from this concept of purification of water. Water pollution is the main enemy of this concept, and various campaigns and activists have been organized around the world to help purify water.[1]

Air purification

Sansevieria trifasciata, and Epipremnum aureum.[2] Besides using the plants themselves, some species of bacteria can also be added to the leaves of these plants to help remove toxic gases, such as toluene.[3][4]

Sewage treatment

Sewage treatment is conceptually similar to water purification. Sewage treatments are very important as they purify water per levels of pollution. The most polluted water is not used for anything, and the least polluted water is supplied to places where water is used affluently. It may lead to various other concepts of environmental protection, sustainability, etc.[5]

Environmental remediation

Environmental remediation is the removal of pollutants or contaminants for the general protection of the environment. This is accomplished by various chemical, biological, and bulk methods.[6]

Solid waste management

solid waste that is undertaken by the government or the ruling bodies of a city/town.[7]

Sustainable energy

St. Louis, Missouri
Main article: Sustainable energy

Concerns over pollution and greenhouse gases have spurred the search for sustainable alternatives to our current fuel use. The global reduction of greenhouse gases requires the adoption of energy conservation as well as sustainable generation. That environmental harm reduction involves global changes such as:

  • reducing air pollution and methane from biomass
  • virtually eliminating
    fossil fuels
    for vehicles, heat, and electricity, left in the ground.
  • widespread use of public transport, battery and fuel cell vehicles
  • more wind/solar/water generated electricity
  • reducing peak demands with carbon taxes and time of use pricing.

Since fuel used by industry and transportation account for the majority of world demand, by investing in conservation and efficiency (using less fuel), pollution and greenhouse gases from these two sectors can be reduced around the globe. Advanced energy efficient

variable speed generators and efficient energy use, can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) that would otherwise be introduced to the atmosphere, if electricity were generated using fossil fuels. Greasestock is an event held yearly in Yorktown Heights, New York which is one of the largest showcases of environmental technology in the United States.[8][9][10][11][12] Some scholars have expressed concern that the implementation of new environmental technologies in highly-developed national economies may cause economic and social disruption in less-developed economies.[13]

Examples

Tesla Roadster (2008)
was the first all-electric sports car for sale and in serial production. It can completely recharge from the electrical grid in 4 to 48 hours depending on the outlet used.

Renewable energy

Main article: Renewable energy

Renewable energy is the energy that can be replenished easily. For years we have been using sources such as wood, sun, water, etc. for means for producing energy. Energy that can be produced by natural objects like the sun, wind, etc. is considered to be renewable. Technologies that have been in usage include wind power, hydropower, solar energy, geothermal energy, and biomass/bioenergy.

Energy conservation

Energy conservation is the utilization of devices that require smaller amounts of energy in order to reduce the consumption of electricity. Reducing the use of electricity causes less fossil fuels to be burned to provide that electricity.

eGain forecasting

Egain forecasting is a method using forecasting technology to predict the future weather's impact on a building.[14] By adjusting the heat based on the weather forecast, the system eliminates redundant use of heat, thus reducing the energy consumption and the emission of greenhouse gases.[15]

Solar Power

This image shows how solar panels can be used

Solar power, or solar energy, is a renewable and sustainable form of energy produced from the sun's light.[16] It is captured using photovoltaic (PV) cells, which use the photovoltaic effect to turn sunlight into power directly. “The efficiency of the photovoltaic (PV) cells that make up a solar panel is calculated on the basis of energy from sunlight that is converted into electricity by semiconductors. An efficient solar panel is one that generates more electricity by occupying less space.”[17]

Moreover, solar power has numerous benefits, making it an increasingly popular option for renewable energy generation worldwide. There are countless reasons why people are using solar power instead of electricity. "The main reason is pretty simple: solar PV is different from every other source of electricity, in ways that make it uniquely well-suited to 21st-century needs."[18] For starters, solar energy is unlimited and limitless, with the sun providing more energy to the Earth in an hour than the whole world population uses in a year.

In addition, solar panels may be installed on various surfaces, including roofs, unoccupied ground, and aquatic bodies, increasing their adaptability and accessibility. [19] “Since 2008, hundreds of thousands of solar panels have popped up across the country as an increasing number of Americans choose to power their daily lives with the sun’s energy. Thanks in part to Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) investments, the cost of going solar goes down every year.”[20] As evidenced above, it appears that an increasing number of Americans are switching to solar energy to power their everyday life, signaling a trend toward more sustainable and ecologically friendly energy sources. This trend is most likely motivated by several causes, including growing knowledge of climate change, worries about energy reliability, and a desire to minimize reliance on fossil fuels. As a result, these solar power systems can be used to help lessen environmental impact and combat climate change. 

Computational sustainability

This section is an excerpt from Computational sustainability.[edit]

Computational sustainability is an emerging field that attempts to balance societal, economic, and environmental resources for the future well-being of humanity using methods from mathematics, computer science, and information science fields.[21][22] Sustainability in this context refers to the world's ability to sustain biological, social, and environmental systems in the long term.

Using the power of computers to process large quantities of information, decision making algorithms allocate resources based on real-time information.[23] Applications advanced by this field are widespread across various areas. For example, artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques are created to promote long-term biodiversity conservation and species protection.[24][25] Smart grids implement renewable resources and storage capabilities to control the production and expenditure of energy.[26] Intelligent transportation system technologies can analyze road conditions and relay information to drivers so they can make smarter, more environmentally-beneficial decisions based on real-time traffic information.[27][28]

Education

Courses aimed at developing graduates with some specific skills in environmental systems or environmental technology are becoming more common and fall into three broads classes:

  • Environmental Engineering or Environmental Systems
     courses oriented towards a civil engineering approach in which structures and the landscape are constructed to blend with or protect the environment;
  • Environmental chemistry, sustainable chemistry or environmental chemical engineering courses oriented towards understanding the effects (good and bad) of chemicals in the environment. Such awards can focus on mining processes, pollutants and commonly also cover biochemical processes;
  • Environmental technology courses oriented towards producing electronic, electrical or electrotechnology graduates capable of developing devices and artefacts able to monitor, measure, model and control environmental impact, including monitoring and managing energy generation from renewable sources, and developing novel energy generation technologies.

See also

References

  1. ^ Recycling". Retrieved June 15th, 2009. http://earth911.com/recycling/. "Recycle.gif". Retrieved June 15th, 2009. "UWF – University of West Florida Libraries – Home". Archived from the original on 2012-11-23. Retrieved 2009-06-24. "What is Water Purification". Retrieved June 16th, 2009, [1] "Sewage Treatment". Retrieved June 17th, 2009 "Sewage Treatment". Archived from the original on 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2009-06-24. "Environmental Remedies and water Resource
  2. ^ Kamal Meattle on how to grow fresh air Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine TED (conference)
  3. ^ EOS magazine, February 2017; Azalea's with extra bacteria can help to degrade toluene
  4. ^ "Bacteria on Hedera helix able to help degrade exhaust gases from Diesel engines running on Diesel". Archived from the original on 2017-09-01. Retrieved 2017-07-09.
  5. ISBN 9780784410363. Archived from the original on 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2009-06-24. "Environmental remedies and water Resource"
  6. ^ Livescience. Retrieved June 27, 2009.10 top emerging environmental technologies. http://www.reference.md/files/D052/mD052918.html
  7. ^ Retrieved June 16th, 2009. "Urban Waste Management". Retrieved June 16th, 2009. http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/237191468330923040/pdf/918610v20WP0FM0BE0CATALOGED0BY0WED0.pdf
  8. ^ Norman, Jim. "Where There's Never an Oil Shortage". The New York Times. May 13, 2007.
  9. ^ Tillman, Adriane. "Greasestock Festival returns, bigger and better Archived 2008-05-18 at the Wayback Machine". May 14, 2008.
  10. ^ "Greasestock 2008 Archived 2008-05-29 at the Wayback Machine". Greasestock Archived 2008-05-29 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  11. Daily News
    . May 13, 2008.
  12. ^ "Greasestock 2008: Alternative Fuel, Fun and French Fries Archived 2008-05-29 at the Wayback Machine". Natural Awakenings. May 2008.
  13. ^ Eric Bonds and Liam Downey, ""Green" Technology and Ecologically Unequal Exchange: The Environmental and Social Consequences of Ecological Modernization in the World-System" in: Journal of World-Systems Research, Volume 18, Issue 2 (http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/jwsr/article/view/482)
  14. ^ Taesler, R. (1990/91) Climate and Building Energy Management. Energy and Buildings, Vol. 15–16, pp 599 – 608.
  15. ^ United States Patent 6098893 Comfort control system incorporating weather forecast data and a method for operating such a system (Inventor Stefan Berglund)
  16. ^ "How Does Solar Work?". Energy.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  17. ^ "What is solar panel energy efficiency?". Enel X. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  18. ^ Roberts, David (2015-04-28). "A solar future isn't just likely — it's inevitable". Vox. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  19. ^ “Since 2008, hundreds of thousands of solar panels have popped up across the country as an increasing number of Americans choose to power their daily lives with the sun’s energy. Thanks in part to Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) investments, the cost of going solar goes down every year.”
  20. ^ "Homeowner's Guide to Going Solar". Energy.gov. Retrieved 2024-04-16.
  21. ^ "www.computational-sustainability.org". www.computational-sustainability.org. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  22. ISSN 0001-0782
    .
  23. doi:10.1145/1562164.1562174
    .
  24. PMID 35314713
    .
  25. PMID 35614933
    .
  26. ^ "CompSustNet: Home". www.compsust.net. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  27. S2CID 23948355
    .
  28. ISSN 2196-3010
    .

Further reading

External links

Wikiversity has learning resources about Appropriate technology Designs
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