Environmental technology
Encyclopedia
Environmental technology (abbreviated as envirotech) or green technology (abbreviated as greentech) or clean technology (abbreviated as 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. 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.
: 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. Considering the amount of water usage that is under current consumptions, this Concept is of utter Importance.
. The best examples are: Dypsis lutescens
, Sansevieria trifasciata
, and Epipremnum aureum
.
is conceptually similar to water purification. Sewage treatments are very important as they purify water per levels of its pollution. The more 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 vaious other concepts of environmental protection, sustainability etc.
is energy
that can be replenished easily. For years we have been using sources like wood, sun, water, etc. for means for producing energy. Energy that can be produced by natural objects like wood, sun, wind, etc. is considered to be renewable.
is a method using forecasting technology to predict the future weather
's impact on a building. 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 gas
es.
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.
Scientists continue to search for clean energy alternatives to our current power production methods. Some technologies such as anaerobic digestion
produce renewable energy from waste
materials. The global reduction of greenhouse gases is dependent on the adoption of energy conservation technologies at industrial level as well as this clean energy generation. That includes using unleaded gasoline
, solar energy and alternative fuel
vehicles, including plug-in hybrid and hybrid electric
vehicles.
Since electric motors consume 60% of all electricity generated, advanced energy efficient electric motor
(and electric generator) technology that are cost effective to encourage their application, such as the brushless wound-rotor doubly fed electric machine and energy saving module
, can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide
(CO2) and sulfur dioxide
(SO2) that would otherwise be introduced to the atmosphere, if electricity is 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
.
, exhibited in publications such as Green Anarchy
, criticizes the concept of environmental technology. From this viewpoint, technology is seen as a system rather than a specific physical tool. Technology
, accordingly, requires the exploitation of the environment through the creation and extraction of resources, and the exploitation of people through labor, specialization and the division of labor. Thus, no “neutral” form of technology; things are always created in a certain context with certain aims and functions. Green technology is rejected as an attempt to reform this exploitative system, merely changing it on the surface to make it seem environmentally friendly
, despite continued unsustainable levels of human and natural exploitation.
Environmental science
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical and biological sciences, to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems...
, green chemistry
Green chemistry
Green chemistry, also called sustainable chemistry, is a philosophy of chemical research and engineering that encourages the design of products and processes that minimize the use and generation of hazardous substances...
, environmental monitoring
Environmental monitoring
Environmental monitoring describes the processes and activities that need to take place to characterise and monitor the quality of the environment...
and electronic devices to monitor, model and conserve the natural environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
and resources, and to curb the negative impacts of human involvement. Sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
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.
Examples
- BiofiltrationBiofilterBiofiltration is a pollution control technique using living material to capture and biologically degrade process pollutants. Common uses include processing waste water, capturing harmful chemicals or silt from surface runoff, and microbiotic oxidation of contaminants in air...
- Biosphere TechnologyBiosphere TechnologyBiosphere Technology was invented and developed by Dr. Chris McCormack, the author of numerous original contributions in scientific literature and also the Chairman and CEO of GEECF...
- BioremediationBioremediationBioremediation is the use of microorganism metabolism to remove pollutants. Technologies can be generally classified as in situ or ex situ. In situ bioremediation involves treating the contaminated material at the site, while ex situ involves the removal of the contaminated material to be treated...
- Composting toiletComposting toiletA composting toilet is a dry toilet that using a predominantly aerobic processing system that treats excreta, typically with no water or small volumes of flush water, via composting or managed aerobic decomposition...
- DesalinationDesalinationDesalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove some amount of salt and other minerals from saline water...
- Doubly fed electric machine
- Energy ConservationEnergy conservationEnergy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources...
- Energy Saving Modules
- Environmental Devices
- HydroelectricityHydroelectricityHydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
- Hydrogen fuel cell
- Ocean Thermal Energy ConversionOcean thermal energy conversionOcean Thermal Energy Conversion uses the difference between cooler deep and warmer shallow or surface ocean waters to run a heat engine and produce useful work, usually in the form of electricity....
- Solar powerSolar powerSolar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...
- Thermal depolymerizationThermal depolymerizationThermal depolymerization is a depolymerization process using hydrous pyrolysis for the reduction of complex organic materials into light crude oil. It mimics the natural geological processes thought to be involved in the production of fossil fuels...
- Wind powerWind powerWind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
- batteryBattery (electricity)An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
-powered cars
Water Purification
Water purificationWater purification
Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, materials, and biological contaminants from contaminated water. The goal is to produce water fit for a specific purpose...
: 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. Considering the amount of water usage that is under current consumptions, this Concept is of utter Importance.
Air Purification
Air Purification: basic and common green plants can be grown indoors to keep air fresh because all plants remove CO2 and convert it into oxygenOxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
. The best examples are: Dypsis lutescens
Dypsis lutescens
Dypsis lutescens, also known as Golden Cane Palm, Areca Palm, or Butterfly Palm, is a plant in the Arecaceae family. It is native to Madagascar.-Description:...
, Sansevieria trifasciata
Sansevieria trifasciata
Sansevieria trifasciata is a species of Sansevieria, native to tropical West Africa from Nigeria east to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is an evergreen herbaceous perennial plant forming dense stands, spreading by way of its creeping rhizome, which is sometimes above ground, sometimes...
, and Epipremnum aureum
Epipremnum aureum
Epipremnum aureum, also known as the Pothos , Money Plant, Silver Vine, Centipede tongavine, Devil's Ivy and Solomon Islands' Ivy, is an aroid native to southeastern Asia and New Guinea...
.
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatmentSewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
is conceptually similar to water purification. Sewage treatments are very important as they purify water per levels of its pollution. The more 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 vaious other concepts of environmental protection, sustainability etc.
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 movement methods, in conjunction with environmental monitoring. (encyclopedia of medical concepts)Solid waste management
Solid waste management is the purification, consumption, reuse, disposal and treatment of solid waste that undertaken by the government or the ruling bodies of a city/town.Renewable energy
Renewable energyRenewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
is energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
that can be replenished easily. For years we have been using sources like wood, sun, water, etc. for means for producing energy. Energy that can be produced by natural objects like wood, sun, wind, etc. is considered to be renewable.
eGain forecasting
Egain forecastingEgain Forecasting
Egain forecasting is a method of controlling building heating by calculating demand for heating energy that should be supplied to the building in each time unit. By combining physics of structures with meteorology, properties of the building, weather conditions including outdoor temperature, wind...
is a method using forecasting technology to predict the future weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
's impact on a building. 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 gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
es.
Energy Conservation
Energy conservationEnergy conservation
Energy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources...
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.
Alternative and clean power
Principles:- Green syndicalismGreen syndicalismGreen syndicalism or eco-syndicalism has been used as a name for the philosophy of the green guild or sustainable trades movement.- Background :...
- SustainabilitySustainabilitySustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
- Sustainable designSustainable designSustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability.-Intentions:The intention of sustainable design is to "eliminate negative environmental...
- Sustainable engineeringSustainable engineeringSustainable engineering is the process of using energy and resources at a rate that does not compromise the natural environment, or the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.-What engineers can do:*Water supply*Food production...
Scientists continue to search for clean energy alternatives to our current power production methods. Some technologies such as anaerobic digestion
Anaerobic digestion
Anaerobic digestion is a series of processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. It is used for industrial or domestic purposes to manage waste and/or to release energy....
produce renewable energy from waste
Waste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
materials. The global reduction of greenhouse gases is dependent on the adoption of energy conservation technologies at industrial level as well as this clean energy generation. That includes using unleaded gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
, solar energy and alternative fuel
Alternative fuel
Alternative fuels, known as non-conventional or advanced fuels, are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels...
vehicles, including plug-in hybrid and hybrid electric
Hybrid electric vehicle
A hybrid electric vehicle is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional...
vehicles.
Since electric motors consume 60% of all electricity generated, advanced energy efficient electric motor
Electric motor
An electric motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors to generate force...
(and electric generator) technology that are cost effective to encourage their application, such as the brushless wound-rotor doubly fed electric machine and energy saving module
Energy Saving Module
Energy Saving Module represent a green technology that reduces the electricity consumption and maximum demand of air conditioning and refrigeration compressors. The concept was first developed in Australia in 1983 by Abbotly Technologies and is now distributed by Smartcool Systems Inc...
, can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
(CO2) and sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is released by volcanoes and in various industrial processes. Since coal and petroleum often contain sulfur compounds, their combustion generates sulfur dioxide unless the sulfur compounds are removed before burning the fuel...
(SO2) that would otherwise be introduced to the atmosphere, if electricity is generated using fossil fuels. Greasestock
Greasestock
Greasestock is an American event held yearly in Yorktown Heights, New York. It is one of the largest alternative fuel, renewable energy, and low-energy green vehicle exhibitions in the United States. Exhibitors showcase a variety of alternative energy vehicles, as well as exhibits with a...
is an event held yearly in Yorktown Heights
Yorktown Heights, New York
Yorktown Heights is a census-designated place in the town of Yorktown in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Yorktown Heights is located at ....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
which is one of the largest showcases of environmental technology in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Education
Courses aimed at developing graduates with specific skills in environmental systems or environmental technology are becoming more common and fall into three broads classes:- Environmental Engineering or Environmental SystemsEnvironmental engineeringEnvironmental engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to improve the natural environment , to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation and for other organisms, and to remediate polluted sites...
courses oriented towards a civil engineering approach in which structures and the landscape are constructed to blend with or protect the environment; - Environmental chemistryEnvironmental chemistryEnvironmental chemistry is the scientific study of the chemical and biochemical phenomena that occur in natural places. It should not be confused with green chemistry, which seeks to reduce potential pollution at its source...
, 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 technologyEnvironmental technologyEnvironmental technology or green technology or clean technology 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...
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.
Criticisms
Extreme radical environmentalismRadical environmentalism
Radical environmentalism, is a grassroots branch of the larger environmental movement that emerged out of an ecocentrism-based frustration with the co-option of mainstream environmentalism...
, exhibited in publications such as Green Anarchy
Green Anarchy
Green Anarchy was a magazine published by a collective located in Eugene, Oregon. The magazine's focus was primitivism, post-left anarchy, radical environmentalism, African American struggles, anarchist resistance, indigenous resistance, earth and animal liberation, anti-capitalism and supporting...
, criticizes the concept of environmental technology. From this viewpoint, technology is seen as a system rather than a specific physical tool. Technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, accordingly, requires the exploitation of the environment through the creation and extraction of resources, and the exploitation of people through labor, specialization and the division of labor. Thus, no “neutral” form of technology; things are always created in a certain context with certain aims and functions. Green technology is rejected as an attempt to reform this exploitative system, merely changing it on the surface to make it seem environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly
Environmentally friendly are terms used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies claimed to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment....
, despite continued unsustainable levels of human and natural exploitation.
See also
- The All-Earth Ecobot ChallengeThe All-Earth Ecobot ChallengeThe All-Earth Ecobot Challenge is a competition that occurs yearly for students throughout Texas in grades 5-8 that started in 2009. It encourages students to be creative, learn more about robots, learn about the environment and how to help protect it, and prepares them for future jobs...
- Pulser PumpPulser pumpA pulser pump is a device that uses gravity to pump water to a higher elevation. It has no moving parts.The Hydraulic ram, a hydraulic device is based on the principles running this device...
- Environmentally friendlyEnvironmentally friendlyEnvironmentally friendly are terms used to refer to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies claimed to inflict minimal or no harm on the environment....
- Sustainable livingSustainable livingSustainable living is a lifestyle that attempts to reduce an individual's or society's use of the Earth's natural resources and his/her own resources. Practitioners of sustainable living often attempt to reduce their carbon footprint by altering methods of transportation, energy consumption and diet...
- Sustainable energySustainable energySustainable energy is the provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable energy sources include all renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy, wind energy, wave power, geothermal...
- Sustainable designSustainable designSustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability.-Intentions:The intention of sustainable design is to "eliminate negative environmental...
External links
- Environmental Technologies Action Plan - European Commission - Wiki Environmental Technologies Action Plan
- BiobasedNews.com: a comprehensive database of environmental technology business news and stories and press releases
- EUCETSA - European Committee of Environmental Technology Supplier Associations (representing over 1.000 companies in the environmental industry)
- Related "Norway Online" resources
- Norway Exports - Publication: Renewable energy & environmental Technology
- How Silicon Valley could become the Detroit of electric cars.
- Consumer Reports GreenerChoices.
- Top 10 emerging environment technologies. livescience.com.
- Reed, Daniel. 2009. Environmental and Renewable Energy Innovation Potential Among the States: State Rankings. Applied Research Project. Texas State University. http://ecommons.txstate.edu/arp/291/
- E - The Environmental Magazine
- Texas A&M University-Dallas Urban Living Laboratory project
- TED Talk: Amory Lovins, "On Winnin the Oil Endgame"
- Amory Lovins, NATURAL CAPITALISM
- "Use of Green Energy" (in agriculture) Dr. Roger Beachy, US Embassy in France
- 7 Modern Wonders of Green Technology: Conceptual and Actual Ecological Designs of the Future
- Going green can be good for business
- IBM Green Technology
- Unintended Consequences of Green Technologies