Lecture Note TES January 2014

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TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY

Anisul Haque

Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM)Bangladesh University of Engineering and Society (BUET)

January 2014

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Definition

Science

Science is the knowledge to reveal and explore the mystery of the nature.

Science is the reasoned investigation that aimed at finding the truth following

some scientific method. Science was originally used to study the nature.

Engineering

Engineering is the application of science.

Technology

The word Technology comes from the Greek word Technologia that combines

two words craft and logic. The meaning of technology is different to different

persons. Technology may be defined with respect to its origin, purpose and

characteristics. Technology is the application of science and engineering,

especially to industrial or commercial objectives. It is the practical application of

knowledge especially in a particular area. Technologies significantly affect

human as well as other animal species' ability to control and adapt to their natural

environments. The human species' use of technology began with the conversion

of natural resources into simple tools. Technology has three dimensions: (1) the

apparatus, or physical devices, used in accomplishing a variety of tasks; (2) the

activities involved in performing these tasks; (3) and the organizational networks

associated with activities and apparatus. Technology affects society and

environment. Technology is man-made. It enhances physical and mental

capability of human beings. For example finding the very basic of flow of electron

in an electrical circuit is the science. The technology is the use of this knowledge

to create, may be, semi-conductors.

Environment

Environment is the sum total of all surroundings of a living organism, including

natural forces and other living things. An environment is what surrounds a thing

or an item. Environment could be - physical environment (built environment or

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natural environment), human environment (social environment). Whole physical

and biological systems in which man and other organisms live. It is the aggregate

of social and cultural conditions that influence the life of an individual or

community. Environment is the circumstances, objects, or conditions by which

one is surrounded. Various interacting components of environment are biology,

geology, chemistry, physics, engineering, sociology, health and economics.

Society

Society is the group of people living or working together. It is a voluntary

association of individuals for common ends. It is an organized group working

together or periodically meeting because of common interests, beliefs, or

profession. A cooperating group whose members have developed organized

patterns of relationships through interaction with one another. Society is a

community, nation, or broad grouping of people having common traditions,

institutions, and collective activities and interests. People of many nations united

by common political and cultural traditions, beliefs, or values are sometimes also

said to be a society (for example: Muslim, Christian, Eastern, Western, etc).

Development

Development is theprocess of economic and social transformation that is based

on complex social and environmental factors and their interactions. It is the

process of adding improvements. Development is the gradual advancement or

growth through a series of progressive changes. It is an extension of the

theoretical orpractical aspects of aconcept,design,discovery,orinvention.

Concept of Technology

(1) Bargaining strength

Technology has market value and is not given free. Price of technology depends

on bargaining strength also. In other words, it can be termed as a new form of

currency. Definitely technology provides a comparative advantage.

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The bargaining strength should be such that it must satisfy both the society and

the environment the two most important client of technology. The successful

transformation of currency (indicator of both investment and profit) into

technology and then again into currency mostly depends on the bargaining

strength of the technological product.

(2) Colonization

Technology is the technical means people use to improve their surroundings. It is

the knowledge of using tools and machines to do tasks efficiently or in other

words, to control the world where we live. Technology is the means by which

people can use their knowledge, tools and systems to make their lives easier and

better and try to improve their ability to do work. This dependency for the better

life can ultimately lead to colonization. Many technologies allow one society to

have military advantage over another society. The effects these technologies on

human society are complex and can even lead to modern slavery. The

automobile and its need for fuel becomes the basis for a resource war. Mass

media also often shapes the mass opinion.

(3) Development mode

Technology develops from a simple tool (for example a wooden spoon) into a

complex tool (for example a space station). For a particular society, this

development can happen either as a continuous function or as a discontinuous

function. Depending on the development pattern for a particular society,

marketing strategy for a particular technology should be designed.

(4) Black Box Concept

A technology can be created either as a black box or a transparent box. In simple

words, a black box technology is difficult to understand. But it may be easy to

use. A producer will always like to produce the technology as a black box. But a

consumer will surely like a transparent box.

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Technological Functions

Technology can be thought to be functions of the following parameters:

(1) Technical method (TM) (2) Skill (SK) (3) Processes (PR) (4) Techniques

(TC) (5) Tools (TL) (6) Raw Materials (RW) (7) Technological Ethics (TE)

(8) Environmental Impact (EI) (9) Technological By Product (TB) (10)

Technological Risk (TR) (11) Philosophical Topic (PH) (12) Social Topic

(SO)

Technological development thus can be expressed as:

T = f(TM, SK, PR, TC, TL, RW, TE, EI, TB, TR, PH, SO)

As the parameters are all dependent variables, technological development can

be termed as non-linear with respect to time.

History of Technology

History of technology is as old as history of civilization. The history follows a

progression from simple tools and simple energy sources to complex tools. The

earliest technologies converted natural resources into simple tools.

The use of fire (8000 B.C) was a key turning point in technological evolution,

providing a simple form of energy. Then comes the more complex tools which

were rather simple machines like wheel (400 B.C) and lever (300 B.C). The more

complex machines like engines or even computers were just a continuation of

these. As the tools increase in complexity, so does the knowledge needed to

support them.

Technology and Culture

Driving force for the technological innovation is the socio-cultural activity for a

particular technology producer. The activities can be grouped into (1)

Manufacturing (2) Infrastructure and (3) Space travel.

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Nature of Technology

Complexity

The most modern tools are difficult to understand. Some are easy to use, but

difficult to understand. This is linked with source and means of making. Some of

them are difficult to use and difficult to understand.

Dependency

Modern tools depend on other modern tools for their make and use. For example

automobiles have a huge complex industry of means and methods. To use them

requires complex of roads, gas stations and even waste collection.

Valence

Valence in other words means the different types of technology. A parent

technology may have different types. Each type can be considered as a separate

technology, but the basic remains the same.

Scale

The scale of technology is measured by the magnitude and size of production. In

other words, it can be termed as the total volume of production. The scale is

related with the market value. It is expected that as the market value of a

particular product increases, the scale of the product also increases.

Relation between complexity, dependency, valence and scale

As a general rule, increase of complexity results a greater dependency. When

valence increases, the production facilities have also to be increased. This will

lead an increased dependency between the main tool and the supporting tool.

The increase of valence will result increase of scale depending on the market

value.

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Social demands and Progress of Technology

Every advancement in technology influences and eventually changes society.

Need of society changes, creating more needs and, eventually creating more

technology. For example, switching of technology from normal telephone to

mobile phone can be considered. With the invention of telephone, society

depends on quicker ways of communication. Higher expectation for quicker

communication was initially met using short-range radio system. Higher

portability was then realized with miniaturization of components. This demanded

for new product which was eventually met by the mobile phone.

Inter Dependency between Technology and Society

Relationship between society and technology is complex. It can be characterized

as co-dependence on each other. Society creates and depends upon technology

to meet its need and desire. Technologys existence arises due to societys need

and desire. This is called symbiosis.

Technology is in the society. The society is into technology. The society

contributes the human and material resources necessary for technology to

blossom. Experiments in technology today are in one way or another affecting

the society. Take for example the experiment on cloning a human being. The

experiment brought a lot of controversy since the society was skeptical about it.

So technology is not progressing in that particular area. The developing world

has a long tradition of participatory action research, popular education and

community organization joining up to solve some science and technology issues

that affect the society. Different forms of danger have also resulted from

technology. It is the societal use of technology that gives rise to these dangers.

Every new technology also seems to come with its own problems of waste which

the society finds it difficult to manage.

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Ogburn Theory of Cultural Lag

The best-known statement about the relationship between technology and

society is Ogburns theory of cultural lag. According to Ogburn, a cultural lag

occurs when one of two correlated parts of a culture changes before or in greater

degree than the other, thereby causing less adjustment between the two parts

than existed previously. Typically, social institutions and technology readily adjust

and readjust to each other, but sometimes one or the other changes radically and

a lag develops.

Interdependency between technology and environment

There is a non-symbiotic relation between environment and technology. This can

be proved as follows:

If environment and technology is symbiotic, then both the resource and the

environment are functions of technology. This is because technology needs

resource which is provided by the environment. So, we can write:

r=f (t)

e=f (t)

Where r is resource, e is environment and t is technology.

In other words, we can say

t = f (r)

t = f (e)

or, t = f(r,e)

=f [ f(t), f(t) ]

Which is mathematically incorrect, because a function cant be a function of its

own. This proves that environment and technology is not symbiotic.

Environmental Stress

Sources of environmental stress that shows non-symbiotic relation between

environment and technology are:

1. Environmental stress results from the interaction of (a) the environment,

(b) the technological system, and (c) the social system. This interaction

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produces air and water pollution, problems of solid-waste disposal, and

other hazards. A difficulty in dealing with environmental stress is the

number of problems involved and the extent to which they are interrelated.

2. Technologically advanced societies consume, on the average, four times

as much food per person as people in less developed countries. That

causes environmental stress.

3. Energy consumption is distributed unevenly throughout the world, with

energy use in the developed countries amounting to about one-quarter of

the worldwide total. This creates environmental stress.

4. To satisfy their high standard of living, the developed countries put

enormous stress on the environment.

Interdependency between technology and development

Development depends on productivity improvement. Productivity improvement is

linked to improved technology. For example, productivity will improve if an

improved production process is developed. That will trigger development. The

relation between technology and development can be expressed by the Cobb

Douglas production function.

CobbDouglas production function

KALY

Y = total production (the monetary value of all goods produced in a year)

L = Labor input (the total number of person-hours worked in a year)

K = Capital input (the monetary worth of all machinery, equipment, and buildings)

, = Output elasticities of labor and capital, respectively. These values areconstants determined by available technology.

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About ,

Output elasticity measures the responsiveness of output to a change in levels of

either labor or capital used in production. For example if = 0.15, a 1% increase

in labor would lead to approximately a 0.15% increase in output.

When:

+ = 1,

the production function has constant returns to scale. Which means doubling

capital K and labor L will also double output Y.

When

+ < 1,

returns to scale are decreasing (doubling capital K and labor L will be less than

doubling the output Y).

When

+ > 1

returns to scale are increasing (doubling capital K and labor L will be more than

doubling the output Y).

Assumingperfect competition and + = 1, and can be shown to be labor

and capital's share of output (For example if = 0.15, a 1% increase in labor

would lead to approximately a 0.15% increase in output).

About A

A = depends on the Technological Processes (TP). Increase in A results increase

in total production and hence development occurs. In other words, increase in

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total production increases per capita income (total production/population).

Increase of per capita income means development.

Development of new Technology

There are four approaches that can be used to describe how a new technology

develops. These are: (1) Societal components (2) Societal direction (3) Societal

structure (4) Societal consumption

Societal components

There is a systematic interaction between technology and various components

which constitute human surroundings. These include economic, environmental,population, resources, socio-cultural and politico-legal. Every technology, when

applied, causes some alterations to its human surroundings. The changed

surroundings then act as a guiding force for the development of new technology.

Societal direction

Different technologies affect different elements of society in different directions,

and in turn, these systems exert different force on the technological system.

These interactions, feedback loops and control mechanisms are of paramount

importance for proper evaluation of technologies. Technology acts as a prime-

mover for economic growth and vice versa.

Societal structure

Technology increases life expectancy. A well-structured population can produce

more knowledge, which is an essential input for the production of technology.

Societal consumption

Increased use of certain technologies require over increasing consumption of

resources. Depletion of non-renewable resources puts pressure on technology

for the creation of new resources. Many technologies change natural

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environment by withdrawing some constituents from the ecosystem. Technology

introduces into ecosystem some alien elements. Threat of irreversible change in

the environment demand harmony from new technologies. To the political system

technology is an instrument of power. With political backing, the legal system can

control the development of technology. All of these together effect the social

change.

Side Effects

There are two types of effects from the use of technology. One is the main effect

and the other is the side effect. Main effects are those that are intended by the

technology. Side effects are those that are mainly unintended and unknown prior

to the implementation of technology. The side effects are:

1) Sociological

2) Environmental

1) Sociological: The most prominent effects from technological uses are

sociological in nature. These effects might go unnoticed without careful

observation. Sociological effects can be expressed as:

Values: The implementation of technology changes the values of the society.

There are at least three major interrelated values that are result of technological

innovation.

A) Mechanistic World View: A set of benefits that views the universe as a

collection of parts, like a machine, that can be individually analyzed and

understood.

B) Efficiency: A value, originally applied only to machines, but now placed

upon all aspect of society. Where each element (organizational structure

and human being) is expected to attain higher and higher performance.

C) Progressivism: The belief that societal progress is good.

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Ethics : Technology challenges the traditional ethical norms. It creates an

aggragation of effects and changes the distribution of justice. It ultimately

provides a great power.

Lifestyle: Technology raises leisure class and makes people more informed. It

increases multi-tasking works. With global networking denser social circles are

created. Pattern of consumerism changes with too much information.

2) Environmental: Effect of technology on environment is both (a) obvious and (b)

subtle. The obvious effect includes depletion of non-renewable natural resources

and added pollution of air, water and land. The subtle effects are long-term

impact like global warming, deforestation, natural habitat destruction, coastal

wet-land loss etc.

Control of Technology

Technology can be controlled in different ways, for example:

1) Autonomous technology

In one line of thought, technology develops autonomously. In other words

technology seems to feed on itself. Technology moves forward with a force

irresistible by humans. To these individuals, technology is inherently dynamic

and self-augmenting. Human can not resist the temptation of expanding the

knowledge and technical abilities.

2) Government

Government provides much of the funding for technological research and

development. So government has a vested interest in certain outcomes.

Government can allow more or less legal liability to fall to the organization or

individual responsible for damage.

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3) Choice

Society controls technology through the choices that it makes. The choices

include channels of distribution, how do product go from raw materials to

consumption, the cultural beliefs regarding style, freedom of choice,

consumerism and the economic value placed on the environment.

Technology and Philosophy

There are different philosophical thoughts regarding approaches towards

technology. These are:

1) Technicism

Technicism is an over-confidence in technology as a benefactor of the society. It

is the belief that man-kind will be able to control its existence using technology.

Human being will be eventually be able to master all problems, supply all wants

and needs, possibly even control the future. Newer and more recently developed

technology is better. This kind of thought results what seems to be a blind

acceptance of technological development.

2) Pessimism

Technological society normally breaks down. Society becomes technological at

the cost of freedom and psychological health. It is also related to physical health

due to pollution from technological product.

3) Optimism

Technology has beneficial effect for the society. Technological development is

morally good.

4) Appropriate Technology

It is not always desirable to use very new technology. So a locally adopted

technology is preferable.

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o Social development - involves developing the ability to live as amember of the society or a group and contribute to it, at the sametime deriving benefits from it.

o Political development - ensures human dignity through freedom of

expression, democratic participation and an opportunity to influencethings that in turn influence the individuals living.

o Moral and spiritual development - required to bring order, disciplineand peace into life and ensure that one persons comfort does notbecome his neighbors poison.

Technology and Human Resource Management (HRM)

Traditionally human resource management (HRM) has had a people-oriented

approach. However today, an emphasis is being given to a knowledge-based

administration using technology as a tool. The use of technology by HR has

proven to assist on the improvement of business performances. By sharing

information (technology) through HRM, organizations create expanded

opportunities for market share and financial growth. Technologys role on HRM

depends on the nature of Business Technology. Business technology refers to

the integration of communication technologies, administrative applications and

procedures within an organization. With increased communication technology,

there is a move for many to work from anywhere; people are no longer

necessarily anchored to one place. This has created a necessity for a new type

of HRM.

Factors of HRM

Factors that should be considered in this new type of HRM include:

o Growth in knowledge needs : World trade is growing over threetimes faster in knowledge-intensive goods and services such asbiomedicine, robotics, and engineering.

o Shift in human competencies: In future almost all employmentgrowth will be in knowledge workers.

o Global market connection Technology is dissolving borders andcreating an interconnected marketplace.

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o Business streamlining. : Easy to use communication, electronicmail, electronic conferencing, and databases are creatinginstantaneous dissemination of data to make better decisions togeographically dispersed workers.

o Rapid response. Technology permits quicker communications,which allows faster decision-making

o Quicker innovation. Teams of marketing, engineering, andproduction personnel working in parallel with computer providedfiles, data, and information develop products faster

o Quality improvement. The concept of building quality into the entireprocess of making, marketing, and servicing is enhanced bycomputer monitoring systems and through robotics.

Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS)

HRIS is an integrated system providing information used in HR decision making.

HRIS serves two major purposes in organizations: (1) improves the efficiency

with which data on employees and HR activities are compiled; (2) having

accessible data enables HR planning and managerial decisions making to be

based to a greater degree on information rather than relying on managerial

perceptions or intuitions. An HRIS has many benefits for an organization; one of

the most frequently used is the automation of payroll and benefit activities. To

ensure that the right health care provider is in the right place with the right skills,

accurate data on human resources for health (HRH) can be provided by HRIS.

HRIS helps an organization to manage its workforce more effectively and

efficiently, while reducing costs and data errors. There are many commercial

software available for implementation of HRIS.

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Technology Life Cycle

Figure: Technology life cycle.

From the management and investment view point the technology life cycle

consists of four distinct stages, these are:

1. Innovation stage

2. Syndication stage

3. Diffusion stage

4. Substitution stage

1.Innovation stage

This stage represents birth of a new product, material or process resulting from

research and development activities. In the research and development

laboratories, new ideas are generated by need pull and knowledge -push

concepts. Depending upon the resources allocated and also the change element,

the time taken in the innovation stage varies widely.

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2. Syndication stage

This stage represents the demonstration and industrialization of a new

technology (product, material or process) with potential for immediate utilization.

Many innovations are shelved in the research and development laboratories.

Only a very small percent of those are commercialized. Commercialization of

research results depends on technical as well as non-technical (mostly

economic) factors and the time taken in the syndication stage also varies widely.

3. Diffusion stage

This stage represents the market penetration of a new technology through

acceptance of the innovation by the potential users of the technology. Both

supply and demand side factors jointly influence the rate of diffusion and the time

taken in diffusion stage varies widely.

4. Substitution stage

This stage represents the decline in the use and eventual extinction of a

technology (product, material or process) due to replacement by another

technology (or technologies). Many technical as well as non-technical factors

influence the rate of substitution, and the time taken in the substitution stage

depends on the market dynamics.

Technology life cycle described above has been shown in the figure which gives

an indication of the time spans and volume of investment required. The volume

of application has also been shown. While the diagram is indicative in nature, the

gestation period essential for the endogenously developed technology becomes

quite apparent.

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Technology Life Cycle and International Trade

It is common knowledge that in general, the export from developing to developed

countries is predominantly non-technology intensive, whereas the export from

developed to developing countries is mostly technology intensive. This is

generally true as long as we consider the developing countries as a group versus

developed countries as a group. Within these groups however, the pattern of

trade is somewhat mixed. But it is obvious that technology plays an important

role in international trade. Technology provides the competitive edge in

international trade. It should also be looked into where and how technology is

produced. Therefore, international trade in technology means export of

technology from its country of origin to other countries.

Let us look at the trade situation with respect to those technologies which are

more hardware intensive. Introduction of a new technology gives the country of

its origin an absolute advantage over other countries for a time, but in relatively

short time other countries which are not far behind in that particular technological

area start imitating and succeed in producing the technology as well. Therefore,

in the introduction phase of the technological life cycle the country of origin

produces more than its own needs and earns good profit from exports.

Somewhere in the growth phase, other developed countries start producing the

same technology to meet their own demand. At this time the country of origin

starts exporting to less developed countries. But eventually after the technology

has reached the maturity phase (when some other new technology produced by

a developed country starts substituting this technology), the developing countries

start to produce the technology marginally economically, and the trade situation

is reversed (often with little profit).

Next, let us consider the trade situation with respect to those technologies which

are more software intensive. As most technologies are developed in the research

and development laboratories of the private sector of the developed countries,

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they sell their know-how to developing countries. The scale of technology here

means either the direct scale for a lump sum or the scale of a license for royalty.

Technology Development Approaches

Basically there are three approaches to raise the countrys overall level of

technological sophistication. These are: (i) buy the entire gamut of available

technologies; (ii) produce all technologies by self; and (iii) buy some and produce

some. Let us consider the fundamental merits and demerits of each of these

three approaches.

The buy all strategy has the greatest advantage of giving instant result. There isno need to waste time and resources in reinventing what is already available.

Moreover, one does not have to wait until the people acquire enough knowledge

to produce new technologies. But, technology is sold only to those who can pay

for it and it is very expensive. Even though some countries may have enough

primary resources (non-technology commodities, such as fossil fuels, mineral

raw-materials, etc.) to sell for the purchase of technology. The greatest

disadvantage of this strategy is the perpetual dependence on foreign countries.

In addition, the market value of primary commodities in relation to technology as

a commodity has been decreasing continuously due to many reasons, such as:

(i) substitution, recycling and conservation measures taken with the help of

advanced technology in the developed countries (ii) developing countries have

less bargaining power due to weak financial situation; and (iii) technology

supplying countries can influence the economic and political institutions of the

technology purchasing countries as the purchased technologies can not be used

without the help of foreigners. Therefore, in the long run, this approach to

technology growth through purchase alone is not viable.

On the other hand, make all strategy has the greatest advantage of self-

reliance. But this is a very slow and painful process. Moreover, it is doubtful

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whether this approach to technology development can at all be implemented

under the prevailing situation (such as, increased population, depleted resources,

no external market etc.). Therefore, the approach which is most practical is buy

some and make some.

Current State of Technology

Few examples are given below describing the current state of technology.

1. Agricultural robot or Agribot is a robot deployed for agriculturalpurposes.

2. Closed ecological systems (CES) are ecosystems that do not rely on

matter exchange with any part outside the system. In a closed ecologicalsystem, any waste products produced by one species must be used by atleast one other species.

3. Head transplant is a surgical operation. It is involving the grafting of anorganism's head onto the body of another. It should not be confused withanother, hypothetical, surgical operation, the brain transplant. Headtransplantation involves decapitating the patient. Although it has beensuccessfully performed using dogs, monkeys and rats, no human is known

to have undergone the procedure. This technique has been proposed aspossibly useful for people who are alreadyquadriplegics and who are alsosuffering from widespread organ failures which would otherwise requiremany different and difficult transplant surgeries. Quadriplegia may be anacceptable option for the terminally ill. There is no uniform consensus onthe ethics of such a procedure

4. Life extension science, also known as anti-aging medicine,experimental gerontology, and biomedical gerontology, is the study ofslowing down or reversing the processes of aging to extend both themaximum and average lifespan.Some researchers in this area, and "lifeextensionists" or "longevists" (those who wish to achieve longer livesthemselves), believe that future breakthroughs in tissue rejuvenation withstem cells,molecular repair, andorgan replacement (such as with artificialorgans or xenotransplantations) will eventually enable humans to haveindefinite lifespans (agerasia) through complete rejuvenation to a healthyyouthful condition.

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5. Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnologyNanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials, tonanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applications of

molecular nanotechnology. Current problems for nanomedicine involveunderstanding the issues related to toxicity and environmental impact ofnanoscale materials.One nanometer is one-millionth of a millimeter.

6. A stereo display (also 3D display) is a display device capable ofconveying depth perception to the viewer by means of stereopsis forbinocular vision

7. Holographyis a technique which enables three-dimensional images to bemade. It involves the use of alaser,interference,diffraction,lightintensityrecording and suitable illumination of the recording. The image changesas the position and orientation of the viewing system changes in exactlythe same way as if the object were still present, thus making the imageappearthree-dimensional.

8. Electronic noseis a device intended to detect odors orflavors.Over the

last decade, "electronic sensing" or "e-sensing" technologies haveundergone important developments from a technical and commercial pointof view. The expression "electronic sensing" refers to the capability ofreproducing human senses using sensor arrays and pattern recognitionsystems. Since 1982, research has been conducted to developtechnologies, commonly referred to as electronic noses that could detectand recognize odors and flavors. The stages of the recognition processare similar to human olfaction and are performed for identification,comparison, quantification and other applications, including data storageand retrieval.. However, hedonic evaluation is a specificity of the humannose given that it is related to subjective opinions. These devices have

undergone much development and are now used to fulfill industrial needs.

9. E-textiles, also known as electronic textiles or smart textiles, are

fabrics that enable computing.Digital components, and electronics to beembedded in them. Part of the development of wearable technology,theyare known as intelligent clothingor smart clothingbecause they allow for

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the incorporation of built-in technological elements in everyday textiles andclothes. Electronic textiles do not strictly encompass wearable computingbecause emphasis is placed on the seamless integration between thefabric and the electronic elements, such as cables, microcontrollers,sensors and actuators. The field of embedding advanced electronic

components onto textile fibers is sometimes calledfibertronics.

10.Biofuels include fuels derived from biomass conversion, as well as solidbiomass,liquid fuels and variousbiogases.Biofuels are gaining increasedpublic and scientific attention, driven by factors such asoil price hikes,theneed for increasedenergy security.However, according to theEuropeanEnvironment Agency,biofuels do not address global warming concerns.

11.Concentrated solar power (CSP) systems use mirrors or lenses toconcentrate a large area of sunlight, orsolar thermal energy,onto a smallarea. Electrical power is produced when the concentrated light isconverted to heat, which drives a heat engine (usually a steam turbine)connected to an electrical power generator. During 2010, the global totalrises to 1095 MW.

12.Home fuel cell, also called micro combined heat and power (microCHP)

andmicrogeneration,is a residential-scaled energy system. This allows aresidence to reduce overall fossil fuel consumption, reduce carbonemissions and reduce overall utility costs, while being able to operate 24hours a day.

13.Wireless power is the transmission of electrical energy from a powersource to anelectrical load without man-made interconnectingconductors.Wireless transmission is useful in cases where interconnecting wires areinconvenient, hazardous, or impossible. With wireless power, efficiency is

the more significant parameter. A large part of the energy sent out by thegenerating plant must arrive at the receiver or receivers to make thesystem economical.

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14.Artificial brain is a term commonly used in the media to describeresearch that aims to develop software and hardware with cognitiveabilities similar to those of the animal orhuman brain.

15.Quantum computer is a computation device that makes direct use ofquantum mechanical phenomena, such as superposition andentanglement, to perform operations on data. Quantum computers aredifferent from digital computers based on transistors. Whereas digitalcomputers require data to be encoded into binary digits (bits), quantumcomputation uses quantum properties to represent data and performoperations on these data.

16.Electric vehicle(EV), also referred to as an electric drive vehicle, usesone or moreelectric motors or traction motors forpropulsion.Three maintypes of electric vehicles exist, those that are directly powered from anexternal power station, those that are powered by stored electricityoriginally from an external power source, and those that are powered byan on-board electrical generator, such as an internal combustion engine (ahybrid electric vehicle). Electric vehicles include electric cars, electrictrains, electric lorries, electric aeroplanes, electric boats, electricmotorcycles and scooters andelectric spacecraft.

17.Flying car is an aircraft that can also travel along roads. All the workingexamples have required some manual or automated process ofconversion between the two modes of operation.

18.Bioplastics are a form of plastics derived from renewable biomasssources, such asvegetable fats and oils.Some, but not all, bioplastics aredesigned tobiodegrade.Bioplastics which are designed to biodegrade canbreak down in either anaerobic or aerobic environments, depending on

how they are manufactured. There is a variety of bioplastics being made;they can be composed of starches,cellulose,or otherbiopolymers.Somecommon applications of bioplastics are packaging materials, diningutensils, food packaging, and insulation.

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19.Miniaturized satellites or small satellites are artificial satellites of lowmass and size, usually under 500 kg (1,100 lb). One reason forminiaturizing satellites is to reduce the cost: heavier satellites requirelarger rockets with greater thrust which also has greater cost to finance. Inretrospect, smaller and lighter satellites require smaller and cheaper

launch vehicles and can sometimes be launched in multiples. Besides thecost issue, the main rationale for the use of miniaturized satellites is theopportunity to enable missions that a larger satellite could not accomplish,such as: (1) Constellations for low data rate communications (2) Usingformations to gather data from multiple points (3) In-orbit inspection oflarger satellites. (4) University Related Research.

20.Solar roadwayis a road surface that generates electricity by solar powerphotovoltaics.One current proposal is for 12 ft x 12 ft (3.658 m x 3.658 m)

panels includingsolar panels andLEDsignage,that can be driven on. Theconcept involves replacing highways, roads, parking lots, driveways, andsidewalks with such a system

Development and Environment

Generally in the industrialized countries, ways have been devised to

accommodate and prepare the way for economic growth and increases in

population density without decline of key measures of environmental quality and

health.

Resource and Technology

Condition of resource substitution or use of alternative energy source are:

1. Technology expands and the available resource creates alternative that

ultimately triggers resource substitution.

2. Depletion of resources is the driving force for resource substitution.

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3. Energy substitution has been driven by the availability of a set of new

technologies that enabled an alternative energy source to satisfy the end-

use demand of society. This results a resource substitution.

Impact of Technology upon the Environment

Life Cycle Assessment

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool (analytical and information generating tool)

for identifying and analyzing the impacts (influences, costs, or benefits) of

technology upon the environment. Policy makers use the information generated

by an LCA to compare the tradeoffs of alternative products, processes, and

services and to better inform their policy, adoption, and managementdecisions.Business and industry leaders use this information to improve the

environmental performance of their products and operations, e.g., pollution

prevention and recyclability, and inform strategic decisions.

Components of LCA

LCA is built upon principles of

1. Systems thinking,2.

Sustainability, and3. Life cycle thinking

Systems Thinking

A system is a group of interdependent components which act together in a

unified way. All technological systems are embedded within larger social,

economic, and environmental systems which interact through the exchange of

materials, energy, and information. These inputs and outputs indicate points of

impact and dependence between systems.

Sustainability

For a system to be sustainable (i.e., continue to function), the inputs consumed

by one system must not exceed the stored or regenerative capacity of the

environment from which those inputs originate. Thus, a paper mill which

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demands trees as a source of pulp must not exceed the supply of an existing

forest or the growth rate of that forest. In addition, the outputs of a systemthe

products, wastes, and emissionsmust be benign or degradable by the

environmental system, or those undesirable elements must be managed and

stored to protect the health of the environment. Life cycle thinking is a powerful

decision making tool when striving for sustainability.

Life Cycle Thinking

Life cycle thinking is looking upstream and downstream at the phases of a

products life cycle. This perspective emphasizes that a product has

environmental, social, and human health impacts at each stage of its life cycle.

These Includes the extraction of raw materials, design and production, packaging

and distribution, use and maintenance, and disposal. This comprehensive view

compels the decision maker to consider a full range of impact indicators

associated with the inputs and outputs of each system. Especially energy

consumption, water requirements, solid wastes, atmospheric emissions, human

health effects, and other cumulative impacts to the biosphere has to be

considered.

Human Response due to Environmental Change

Human systems and environmental systems meet in two places, where human

actions proximately cause environmental change, that is, where they directly alter

aspects of the environment, and where environmental changes directly affect

what humans value. Why, for example, is there so much variation across

societies, even advanced industrial societies, with regard to energy consumption

per unit of economic output? Some basic questions may be asked regarding

Impact of Environment upon Human Changes:

o What will humans do in anticipation of global change to keep it fromharming what they value?

o How will humans respond to actual global changes?

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o What is the likelihood that humans will take no organized action atall in response to particular global changes, and what would be theconsequent effects on human welfare?

Mitigation and Intervention

Social and economic organization and human values may change faster than the

global environment. People may respond in anticipation of global change. People

may respond to experienced or anticipated global change by intervening at any

point in the cycle of interaction between human and environmental systems.

Mitigationthat is, actions that alter environmental systems to prevent, limit,delay, or slow the rate of undesired global changesmay involve direct

interventions in the environment, direct interventions in the human proximate

causes, or indirect interventions in the driving forces of global change. People

can also respond by blocking the undesired proximate effects of environmental

systems on what they value, for example, by applying sunscreens to the skin to

help prevent cancer from exposure to ultraviolet radiation. They can make

adjustments that prevent or compensate for imminent or manifest losses of

welfare from global change, for example, famine relief or drought insurance. And

people can intervene to improve the robustness of social systems by altering

them so that an unchecked environmental change would produce less reduction

of values than would otherwise be the case. For example, crop polyculture may

not slow the pace of global change, but it is more robust than monoculture in the

face of drought, acid deposition, and ozone depletion. Many of these responses

may indirectly affect the driving forces of global change.

Human Response to Global Change

Human responses to global change occur within seven interacting systems.

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1. Ind iv idual percept ion, judgment, and act ion: All decisions are basedon inputs from individuals. Individual actions, in the aggregate, often havemajor effects.

2. Markets: Environmental change is likely to affect the prices of important

commodities and factors of economic production. However, existingmarkets do not provide the right price signals for managing global changefor various reasons, and the participants in markets do not always followstrict rules of economic rationality.

3. Sociocul tural systems: Social bonds can also affect individual andcommunity responses to global change and to policy.

4. Organized responses at the subnat ional level : Such as bycommunities, social movements, and corporations and trade associations,can be significant both in their own right and by influencing the adoption

and implementation of government policies.5. National pol ic ies: Are critical in the human response to global change by

making possible international agreements and by affecting the ability torespond at local and individual levels. Not only environmental policy, butalso macroeconomic, fiscal, agricultural, and science and technologypolicies are important

6. International co-operation : Is necessary to address some large-scaleenvironmental changes such as ozone depletion and global warming. Theformation of international institutions for response to global change iswidely considered to be the key to solving the problems, and both nation-states and non-state actors are involved.

7. Global social chang e: Expansion of the global market, the worldwidespread of communication networks, democratic political forms, andscientific knowledge, and the global resurgence of cultural identity as asocial force may influence the way humanity responds to the prospect ofglobal change and its ability to adapt to experienced change.

Human societies respond to environmental (e.g., climate) signals through

multiple pathways including collapse or failure, migration and creative invention

through discovery.

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Extreme Events and Human Response

Extreme drought, for instance, has triggered both social collapse and ingenious

management of water through irrigation. Extreme events in the fourteenth

century in Europe fundamentally undermined social order. In the same period

(fourteenth century in Europe), agricultural land was abandoned and forests

increased. Many would argue that it also led to the end of the feudal system,

improved land and employee rights and, through the enlightenment period,

paved the way for the modern age. The Little Ice Age affected food availability in

many parts of Europe, leading to the development of technological, economic

and political strategies as ways to reduce vulnerability.

Great Acceleration and Human-Environment Relation

The engine of the GreatAcceleration (the sharpincrease in human population,

economic activity, resource use, transport, communication and knowledge

sciencetechnology that was triggered in many parts of the world) is an

interlinked system consisting of population increase, rising consumption,

abundant cheap energy, and liberalizing political economies. The Great

Acceleration is arguably the most profound and rapid shift in the human

environment relationship that the Earth has experienced. There are signs that the

Great Acceleration could not continue in its present form without increasing the

risk of crossing major thresholds and triggering abrupt changes worldwide.

Transitions to new energy systems will be required. Many of the ecosystem

services upon which human well-being depends are depleted or degrading, with

possible rapid changes when thresholds are crossed. There are circumstances in

which a society is resilient to perturbations (e.g., climate change)and there are

circumstances in which a society is so vulnerable to perturbations that it will be

unable to cope.

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(2) Ship Operation: Some problems come about largely because of

irresponsible or unintelligent behaviour. Careless ship operations appear

to be the immediate cause of oil spill.

(3) Gas or Oil Leaks: Gas or oil leaks from drilling could very likely have

been prevented by more thorough geological studies and better

engineering practice. Some problems arise because of collective effects of

individual behaviour that is not particularly serious on a small scale. Other

problems arise simply out of ignorance.

(4) CFC: No environmental impact statement at the time of the innovation is

likely to have identified the problems that arouse decades later with DDT

or chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Electric refrigeration looked like a

marvelous advance over the icebox when it was introduced into the mass

market in the late 1920s, and the CFCs looked attractive compared with

the problems of leaks and explosions associated with ammonia and other

first-generation coolants. CFCs were invented around 1930 as a safe

alternative to ammonia and sulfur dioxide for use in home refrigerators.

Certainly no chemist could have been expected in the 1930s to link CFCs

to destruction of stratospheric ozone, which could not be measured

accurately at that time, or to the greenhouse effect.

(5) Waste Disposal: Products and incentives should be designed in such a

way that a minimum of hazardous waste is created. But also, it should be

easy to dispose of those wastes that are created. Society might better use

its resources to recycle these materials than to prosecute those who dump

them.

Local and Global Environmental Problem

During the production phase, the industry will have an interaction with the local

surroundings. This interaction will produce waste locally and will affect the local

ecosystem resources, for example, the agriculture and the fishery in the river.

This is a local problem and that can be thought to affect only the local population.

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On the other hand, during the consumption phase, the consumed product

interacts with the global surroundings and thereby, creates wastes. These

wastes may trigger the phenomena like global warning or climate change. This is

a global problem that affects the global population. The global problem also

affects the local population.

Environmental Regulation and the Industry

Environmental analysis and regulation have sometimes tended to focus on

industry as the major force shaping the evolution of the environment to the

exclusion of other important forces. Environmentalists have tended to view

industry as a collection of pollution sources. This view, no doubt, is inadequate.

Metabolism

The metabolism means the consumption. A product is metabolistic when it is

totally consumed considering the entire process of production and consumption.

The ultimate target of metabolism is to produce minimum or zero waste. Different

approaches of metabolism are:

(1) The concept of metabolism leads to unified, continuous, and

comprehensive consideration of production and consumption processes

from an environmental point of view.

(2) In many places the major sources of environmental pollutants have been

shifting from production to consumption processes.

(3) Several industries have increasingly been able to control the material

flows in their production processes quite comprehensively.

(4) The chemical industry, for example, is finding new uses for waste

products.

(5) Industry in future will recycle or use a number of todays major waste

products.

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Dissipation and Dispersion

Dissipation and dispersion are the two modes of consumption.

Dissipation is the consumption in the non-molecular level. A large number of

materials uses are inherently dissipative. Many materials are degraded,

dispersed, and lost in the course of a single normal use. In addition to fuels and

food, this applies to many packaging materials, lubricants, solvents, flocculants,

detergents, cleaning agents, dyes, most paper, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals,

fertilizers etc. Most of the current consumptive uses of toxic heavy metals, such

as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and mercury are dissipative in this sense. Other

uses are dissipative in practice because of the difficulty of recycling such items

as batteries and electronic devices. Increasing product and materials complexity

may also contribute to a tendency toward dissipative use. Dissipative

consumption is non-metabolistic and normally residual remains.

Dispersion, on the other hand, represents consumption in molecular level. This is

possible mainly through repeated recycling. Dispersion makes the consumption

metabolistic.

Residuals and Environment

Residuals tend to be disappeared from the market domain, where everything has

a price. They do not disappear from the natural world in which the economic

system is embedded. Many signals given by prices are wrong from an

environmental viewpoint. For example, differences in prices of coal, oil and gas

scarcely reflect the different environmental consequences of these energy

sources.

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Dematerialization

The term dematerialization is employed to characterize the decline over time in

weight of materials used in industrial end products. Dematerialization would be

tremendously important for the environment, because less material could

translate in to smaller quantities of waste generated in both production and

consumption.

There are widely held perceptions of a long-term trend of decline in weight

(intensity) of materials. Among the evidence pointed to are the decline in per

capita consumption of such basic materials as steel in some advanced

industrialized countries and the increasing efficiency of energy use. The

significant decline in use of steel in the automotive industry does provide strong

evidence in support of dematerialization in production. Further evidence of

dematerialization in production is provided by data on overall industrial solid

waste generation, which showed a significant decline for several years beginning

in 1979.

However, the overall picture about dematerialization is not so sanguine. Two

examples can be cited in this regard. (1) Generation of municipal solid waste has

been on the increase, and there appears to have been overall a linear increase in

discards with time measured by weight. If smaller, lighter products are also

inferior in quality, then more units would be produced and the net result could be

a greater amount of waste generated. (2) Spatial dispersion of the population is a

potential materializer. Migration from urban to suburban areas, often driven by

affluence, requires more roads, more single unit dwellings, and more

automobiles. The shift from larger families to smaller nuclear families may be a

materializer.

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Technological Contributions to Solutions of Environmental Problems

Two approaches can be considered in this regard.

(1) Technological contribution to the solution of environmental problems

associated with energy production and consumption. There is a general

agreement that reduction in emissions from the supply side and improvement in

efficiency on the demand side are the right things to do.

(2) The record of engineering achievement shows sustained improvement in

efficiency accompanied by a continuing decline in the cost over most of the time.

In the past few years, energy requirements and losses associated with emission

controls have offset continued engineering improvements aimed at efficiency.

Integrated Gasifier with Combined Cycle (IGCC)

To use further use of coal as well as gas resources, the Integrated Gasifier with

Combined Cycle (IGCC) can be considered a major step forward. If carbon

dioxide must eventually be removed from power plant effluents, IGCC can

probably best accommodate this requirement, not without cost, but at costs

below other coal-based alternatives. Meanwhile, gas produces less carbon

dioxide per kilowatt-hour than any other fossil fuel option and permits us some

time to understand better the issue of climate change without imposing costly but

ineffectual carbon dioxide removal requirements.

Integrated Energy Systems (IES)

The IES concept is one in which product streams and energy streams merge.

Coal, crude oil, liquefied petroleum gases, and natural gas could well be primary

materials used by the system. Waste of heat or components is minimized,

thereby enhancing economic efficiency. Zero emission, the ultimate dream for

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energy systems, can be accomplished only with a hydrogen economy, and IES

offers a technological road toward that goal.

Social and Institutional Approach of Environmental Issues

Professionals have discovered environmental problems over the past 100 years.

First physicians and expert in public health, the engineers, later biologists and

toxicologists, and most recently lawyers. Each discovered problems and offered

solutions. All of the solutions have had unforeseen consequences, whether

natural, social, or economic, and most have been so narrowly focused that larger

public goals have been missed.

The legal system has generated some of the key decisions supporting

environmental protection. It has produced an adversarial, combative climate in

which it is virtually impossible for people from industry to discuss facts with their

colleagues in government or the public. Legalistic approach has produced a

staggering load of regulations that leaves little time or incentive for creativity and

human judgment in developing solutions and no time for concentrating on

environmental results. It has created a process oriented, rather than a result

oriented approach.

Legislative activities have resulted in an enormous, sometimes contradictory,

uncoordinated control requirements. Regulations require advanced waste

treatment of domestic waste at about 50% higher cost than the usual secondary

treatment when discharged into a water body. Better engineering would create

fewer problems for biologists and lawyers to worry about. Imaginative

approaches are needed for cooperative activity between technical experts and

the policymaking community.

The technological community, indeed all of the society, has been largely reactive

to environmental issues. In the past we have tended to wait for the crisis and

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responded. Society needs a positive agenda for environment, based on theories,

better data basses and better analyses. For engineers, the emphasis should be

on design of environmentally compatible technologies, both for manufacturing

and plant operations for products.

Design should not merely meet environmental regulations. Environmental

elegance should be part of the culture of engineering education and practice.

Selection and design of manufacturing processes and products should

incorporate environmental constraints and objectives at the beginning. Ever-

increasing goals for environmental quality present the engineering profession

with challenges in design, basic research and education. Environmental quality

must become an ethic in all engineering design.

Waste Reduction

The most important waste reduction methods are:

1. Inplant process

2. Inplant re-cycling

3. Add on device

4. Change in process technology

5. Change in plant operation

6. Substitution of input material

7. Modification of end product

8. Avoid creation of waste

9. Waste destruction

10. Waste isolation

A movement has grown stressing design and in-plant processes, in contrast to

add-on devices or exterior recycling, to reduce or eliminate waste. This

movement has been called waste reduction or pollution prevention.

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It is necessary first to prevent waste creation. This involves the development of

substitute products and processes. It is necessary to seek general principles to

guide the search for substitutes for certain broad classes of widely used

materials with environmental effects. In response to developing regulatory trends

and competition from the paper industry, the chemical industry has begun

development of biodegradable plastics.

It is important of reducing waste and preventing waste creation. Avoiding creation

of a waste eliminates the need for its treatment and disposal, both of which carry

environmental risk. Treated effluent streams carry non-regulated residual

substances that may turn out later to be harmful.

Methods of waste reduction include in-plant recycling, changes in process

technology, changes in plant operation, substitution of input materials, and

modification of end products both to permit use of less-polluting processes and to

prevent the products themselves from becoming problem wastes. The

technology of waste reduction does not yet have a widely accepted scientific

basis.

If waste cannot be prevented, then way should be found to recycle or reuse it.

Apart from behavioral and economic hurdles, recycling faces technical

limitations. For example, recycling paper shortens paper fibers and lowers

quality. There are precious metals, such as platinum, used in catalytic

converters, that industry would like to recycle, but an economic means to collect

the converters has not yet been found.

If recycling or reuse is not possible, then it is time for treatment and destruction. If

those options are insufficient, the next resort is waste isolation. The last resort is

avoiding exposure to released residues. Even with remarkable engineering

achievements, many of the problems associated with waste disposal will become

worse.

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Waste Management

Following are some examples of waste management:

1. One example is the biodegradable plastics.

2. More could be understood about using ultraviolet radiation or gamma rays

to irradiate and harmlessly decompose plastics.

3. Material research itself can be a key to dematerialization. More needs to

be understood about combustion. Progress on fundamental of combustion

is already enabling the design of engines that produce lower NO

emissions. It is time to become serious about technologies for reducing

and recycling carbon dioxide emissions.

4. Technologies for cost-effective separation of hydrogen remain areas of

potentially high environmental payoff. There are also needs for

improvement and deployment of monitoring technologies. Environmental

monitoring still remains labour intensive.

5. Many engineering systems have been poorly designed from the point of

view of operators and that this human aspect of design must be taken

more seriously, whether in electrical or chemical plants or consumer

products.

6. In the past few years there has been a shift among environmentalists to a

revised view of the soft path option that emphasizes managing demand

downward rather than supply upward to meet societal needs and

problems.

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Approaches to consider Environmental Issues

The main approaches are:

1. Search for optimality

2. Real time decision

3. Partial solution

4. Dynamic system consideration

The partial nature of solutions must be accepted. On most environmental issues,

the luxury of time to search for optimality does not exist. In many areas,

decisions are being made in real time or on the basis of anticipated

consequences. However, a sequence of partial solutions may form a good path if

the forces driving the system are reasonably well understood. The key is to work

on narrow or specific problems with an understanding of the interface with the

overall problem.

Isolating meaningful subsystems is not always easy, especially in turbulent,

dynamic systems such as those in which most environmental issues exist. There

may occasionally be simple and important relations to be found in complex

systems. The challenge is to couple technological, economic, and environmental

considerations without unrealistic data needs that can come with ambitious

modeling efforts.

End use efficiency

End-use efficiency is the result of a process involving several links in a chain.

Final products are made by sequences of processes with an overall conversion

efficiency that is the product of the efficiency at each stage. If a typical chain has

four steps, each with a very favourable conversion efficiency of 0.7, the overall

conversion ratio of the chain is about 0.74= 0.24.

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Renewable Energy and the Environment

Definition

Fossil fuels are non-renewable, that is, they draw on finite resources that will

eventually dwindle, becoming too expensive or too environmentally damaging to

retrieve. In contrast, the many types of renewable energy resources-such as

wind and solar energy-are constantly replenished and will never run out.

Sources of renewable energy

The main sources are renewable energy are:

1. Sun

2. Wind

3. Hydrogen

4. Water

5. Geothermal

Most renewable energy comes either directly or indirectly from the sun. Sunlight,

or solar energy, can be used directly for heating and lighting homes and other

buildings, for generating electricity, and for hot water heating, solar cooling, and avariety of commercial and industrial uses. The sun's heat also drives thewinds,

whose energy,is captured with wind turbines. Then, the winds and the sun's heat

cause water to evaporate. When this water vapor turns into rain or snow and

flows downhill into rivers or streams, its energy can be captured using

hydroelectric power. Sunlight causes plants to grow. The organic matter that

makes up those plants is known as biomass. Biomass can be used to produce

electricity, transportation fuels, or chemicals. The use of biomass for any of these

purposes is called bioenergy. Hydrogen also can be found in many organic

compounds, as well as water. It's the most abundant element on the Earth. But it

doesn't occur naturally as a gas. It's always combined with other elements, such

as with oxygen to make water. Once separated from another element, hydrogen

can be burned as a fuel or converted into electricity. Not all renewable energy

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resources come from the sun. Geothermal energytaps the Earth's internal heat

for a variety of uses, including electric power production, and the heating and

cooling of buildings. Energy of the ocean's tides come from the gravitational pull

of the moon and the sun upon the Earth. Ocean Energy comes from a number of

sources. In addition to tidal energy, there's the energy of the ocean's waves,

which are driven by both the tides and the winds. All these forms of ocean energy

can be used to produce electricity.

Benefits of Renewable Energy

Environmental Benefits

Renewable energy technologies are clean sources of energy that have a

much lower environmental impact than conventional energy technologies.

Energy for future

Renewable energy will not run out. Other sources of energy are finite andwill some day be depleted.

Jobs and the Economy

Most renewable energy investments are spent on materials andworkmanship to build and maintain the facilities, rather than on costly

energy imports.

Energy Security

As an independent energy source, renewable energy do not depend onthe socio-economic and political situation of the world.

Trend of using Renewable Energy

In 2000, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published its World EnergyOutlook, predicting that non-hydro renewable energy would comprise 3 percentof global energy by 2020. That benchmark was reached in 2008.

In 2000, IEA projected that there would be 30 gigawatts of wind power worldwideby 2010, but the estimate was off by a factor of 7. Wind power produced 200gigawatts in 2010, an investment of approximately $400 billion.

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In 1999, the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that total U.S. wind powercapacity could reach 10 gigawatts by 2010. The country reached that amount in2006 and quadrupled b