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Recommended: Environmental issues
The world is currently experiencing significant environmental issues such as global warming, loss of biodiversity, and rapid urbanization. Notably, the mentioned issues are as a result of human activities influenced by the globalization. Observably, in the face of the imminent global challenges, it has been a dilemma as to what science can offer as far as finding solution is concerned. Particularly, the leading role discipline like engineering can offer to bring solution to the prevailing global threats has been the critical concern. Consequently, there has been a concerted effort to persuade engineering firms and university engineering schools to embrace sustainability (Smith, Hangroves et al, 2007, 12). According to Chang (2015), the concept …show more content…
Nonetheless, there are particular aspects of sustainability that can be discussed in the discipline. Evidently, sustainability in the development process of software is designed in such a way that reduces energy consumption through continuous monitoring of quality and knowledge, management. Additionally the production systems of the software products are done a cording to an administrative tool for strategic sustainable development, the ISO 14001 Environmental System Management Standard. On the other hand, most current technologies in communication engineering are designed in a sustainable way that ensures the achievement of optimized design but primarily produces optimal solutions …show more content…
Understandably, it is a concept that consists of a global network of physical urban spaces, or pavilion that deliver ideal communication platform linking points of interest between local and remote areas. Operationally, each pavilion venue acts a unique node within the Global Hub Pavilion network while interacting with other sites. Moreover, it is noted that the key point of sustainability is in consumption of energy as companies and cities continue to grow rapidly. Remarkably, Information Technology engineers have come up with a more intelligent electric system known as Smart Grid that links information technology with renewable
In the end, in my opinion, science cannot solve a problem without creating a new one. There’s always going to be environmental and ethical issues associated with science and technology. As an engineer, he or she should have a critical attitude towards technology and science and always be cautious and aware of both the benefits and risks/costs.
Engineers are often younger and lack the advanced interpersonal skills needed to solicit and obtain help from operators. Operators are older and generally do not relay possible improvements to the engineers. The following will discuss the problem, stakeholders, solution and implementation. Statement of the problem The problem with pollution prevention is that it requires people to understand more than the intimate details of the production process; they must also understand the technical possibilities. Many corporations have environmental managers, who are generally responsible for helping corporations comply with the law.
Although Maniates labels the “A” in IWAC as “meaningful consumption Alternatives,” his thoughts on the matter refer more to the institutional influences on product development. In Woodhouse’s words, “The public’s failure to embrace sustainable technologies has more to do with institutional structures that restrict the aggressive development and wide dissemination of sustainable technologies than with errant consumer choice” (48). Instead of attributing the lack of environmentally friendly products to happenstance, Maniates claims that there are production-side structural aspects which hinder the development of green products. Woodhouse mirrors Maniates in this aspect by recognizing the influences on engineers to overlook environmental concerns. “Neither law nor professional norms make [sustainable] design tasks a required aspect of most engineers’ responsibilities, and most employers place substantial obstacles in the way of engineers taking those design elements farther than law and market competition require” (27). By and large, companies are driven by the desire to maximize profit above all else, and from the perspective of employers, adding in environmental concerns is merely an additional constraint on potential profit margins. If engineering ethics and government regulations are sufficiently detailed on sustainability, then employers
Environmental Justice Communication: Conceptualizing the Environment from a Cultural Framework Most Americans conjure imagery of a planet replete with pristine wilderness, crystal blue oceans, fresh air, and verdant forests when they think about the natural environment. In recent decades, this description is becoming increasingly applicable only to certain areas of the United States because poor and minority communities are overwhelmingly subjected to dangerous environmental hazards. As such, the concept of environmental racism has become a major issue affecting every aspect of their lives because of their placement and proximity to environmentally dangerous areas such as landfills, toxic waste sites, and other forms of pollution. The environmental
Wright, R. T., & Boorse, D. F. (2011). Environmental science: Toward a sustainable future (11th ed., pp. 349-369). Boston: Benjamin Cummings.
When every IT professional starts their journey into the IT Sector, they are bound to come across social issues which will have to be dealt with professionally. One important Issue is being green in Information Technology. The earth’s resources are continuously becoming scarce whilst the demand for them increases sharply. Every IT professional should understand that power consumption does not cover the whole green IT spectrum. Recycling dangerous electronic waste, optimising/virtualising servers to distribute workloads, having a long term green policy, reducing your workplace carbon foot print such as the paperless desk and an efficient data centre-business continuity model; these are a few examples of issues that professional must consider as these issues all occur in the green IT world.
Sustainability is a concept with a diverse array of meanings and definitions – a widely used glamorous, ambiguous, ambivalent and vague concept that is used by different stakeholder groups in various ways. Presumably to avoid noodling over a terminology or to avoid the confrontation with a definition, most widely the concept is broken down a planning process (c.f. e.g. Döring & Muraca, 2010). That is why most common sustainability is understood as sustainable development.1
Humans have been destroying the planet since we were able to stand on two legs. As a society, we need to work to reverse these terrible effects that our existence has on the planet. Sustainability is one way to begin reversing these effects, while still living our daily lives. In 2006, Al Gore presented his documentary, “ An Inconvenient Truth”, as a way to show the world the evidence behind global warming, climate change and the destruction of our planet. This documentary shocked the world. It was clear that changes needed to be made, but the destruction was more intense than previously thought. SInce this revelation in 2006, companies have tried to cut down on their greenhouse emissions, as well as offered sustainable products to their customers. Through a debate of morals and
Design, first and foremost, is concerned with solving problems, but from where we currently stand we have created more problems than we have solved. Sustainable product design is focusing on creating products with the least possible negative impacts on the environment, featuring eco-sound materials, energy efficiency, and easy recycling.
With an evolving world and growing population, environmental engineers are constantly faced with challenges to design and manage systems that help utilize our natural resources without degrading our earth. I want to be faced with these challenges head on, with my passion for the environment and ability to solve unknowns; I am destined to become an environmental engineer.
In a world where over half of the human population calls a city their home, the need to restructure and revolutionize the way we design our urban environments has never been greater. Currently, the notion that these vast metropolises of metal, concrete, and sludge could one day be fully realized pillars of sustainability is certainly laughable. However, when these same cities are constantly growing and multiplying across the globe, all the while using a greater and greater chunk of our planet’s energy, this impossible task becomes a necessary focus. To strive towards the closed, continuous loop of “true” sustainability could greatly alter the image of the modern city. Any improvement over the current state of urban affairs could carry weight, and even if that goal is not entirely fulfilled, the gained benefits would be immense.
Sustainable development in civil engineering is another challenge that they face today. According to an Engineering Times survey conducted by the national society of professional engineers it is believed that the civil engineers are not involved in sustainable design as they should be. Even though sustainability was a minor consideration in civil engineering in the past, today civil engineers have learned and applied new skills to implement sustainability into projects.
As an easy scope of defining it, urban smart city is a wicked problem since it represents the inability of city planners to incorporate information technology in the daily processes of every urban area to increase their effectiveness and efficiency due to lack of adequate knowledge concerning the outcome of such initiatives. It is a fact that information technology’s limitless uses are likely to create urban centers that make living easier and better, but there is uncertainty with reference to their interconnectivity impacts (Chen par.2). The easiness of identifying the causes of the wicked problem of urban smart city prompts the consideration of various factors. These factors include the issues of privacy and security that surround technological devices, lack of clarity on eventual impact to urban livelihoods, lack of proper operation and maintenance funds, and non-commonness of policies that promote smart city agendas. Fortunately, a solution is available that can alienate all the afore-listed causes of the wicked problem of urban smart city. It involves the adoption of a leadership plan that centers on harmonizing all elements that typify urban smart city. Harmonized leadership is poised to describe systematically the vital features and functions of a typical urban smart city that covers conception, design, implementation, operation, and maintenance. These descriptions are what every involved
Architects increasingly have a role to play in order to combat the changing climate caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Rapid and significant reductions in global carbon emissions are necessary to reduce climate change, a minimum of an 80% cut in CO2 emissions by 2050. This is laid out in RIBA's Climate Change Policy that adopts the philosophy of Contraction and Convergence. This means reducing (contracting) emissions from industrialised nations and converging (joining) emissions from all nations to ...
Constructing ‘green cities’ using the appropriate off-the-grid techniques would be a solution between human-environmental interactions. Off-the-grid methods uses little or without reliance on services but instead, uses schemes and technologies of alternative energy systems that uses renewable energy such as solar panels and wind turbines. Off-the-grid constructions tend to be costly mainly due to its upfront cost, nevertheless, in most cases, it would be cost-effective in spite of the minor maintenance cost and would also be a solution to some of the ecological concerns. Through understanding the environment, architects could ideally use the concept of eco-cities to minimise the carbon emissions and also consider self-sufficiency to resolve the issues between the production and the zero-emissions requirement.