ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
CHAPTER 1
SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH GREEN SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
“If we do not change direction, we are likely to end up
where we are headed,” (old Chinese proverb).
“If we make the effort to learn its language, Earth will
speak to us and tell us what we must do to survive.”
This PowerPoint presentation is designed to accompany the book Environmental Science and Technology: A Sustainable Approach to Green Science and Technology, 2nd ed., by Stanley E. Manahan,
Main Points Covered By Chapter 1
What is sustainability and how is it achieved?
Evolution of environmental protection
Natural capital
The environmental commons
Green science and technology
Life-cycle analysis
Eco-economy and eco-efficiency
Design for environment
The Anthropocene
Earth is now entering a new epoch in which human
influences predominate in determining conditions on
the planet:
The Anthropocene
• Major changes have occurred over a miniscule time
period
• Climate and other changes may take place very rapidly
and irreversibly in the future
• Earth may become unable to support civilization as it is
now known
What is sustainability and how is it achieved?
Many unsustainable aspects of modern civilization
including environmental pollution, loss of land
productivity, and exhaustion of essential resources
We enter the
anthropocene
in which human influences
dominate
Sustainability
can be defined as managing Earth and its
resources so that future generations may have
hospitable conditions and a satisfactory standard of
living for an indefinite period of time
Three key characteristics of a sustainable economic
system operating within Earth’s carrying capacity
• The usage of renewable resources is not greater than
the rates at which these resources are regenerated.
• The rates of use of nonrenewable resources do not
exceed the rates at which renewable substitutes are
developed; recycling is of the utmost importance in
achieving this goal.
1.2. NATURAL CAPITAL AND THE QUALITY OF LIFE
Natural capital
consists of material resources,
biological productivity, capacity to absorb pollutants,
and other environmental economic assets
• Natural resources • Ecosystem services
The recognition of natural capital has given rise to a
new economic system model called natural capitalism
1.3. SUSTAINABILITY AND THE COMMON GOOD
The “Tragedy of the Commons” occurred when too
many animals were added to a common pasture and the
system collapsed
There are commons in the modern age including air,
land, mineral resources, and environmental capacity to
absorb wastes, mismanagement of which can lead to
detrimental effects such as the following:
• Rain forest destruction
• Topsoil loss
• Desertification
• Ocean fisheries loss
1.5. THE GOALS AND PRIORITIES OF GREEN SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY
Four “Grand Objectives” in the book, Industrial Ecology, by Graedel and Allenby
1. Maintenance of the human species, which might become difficult or impossible because of several circumstances
• Major global climate change (ice age or warming) • Large-scale nuclear war (nuclear winter)
• Catastrophic depletion of water, soil, or mineral resources • Degradation of human DNA by toxic substances
• Disease
Four Grand Objectives (continued)
3. Maintenance of biodiversity threatened by
• Habitat destruction from loss of water, changed land use, deforestation
• Species loss such as from over-fishing, ozone layer depletion • Loss from the gene pool
4. Maintenance of esthetic richness threatened by
• Photochemical smog that obscures clear air • Oil spills that ruin beaches
1.6. GREEN SCIENCE
Science is a body of knowledge or system of study dealing with an organized body of facts verifiable by experimentation that are
consistent with a number of general laws Green science is
• Strongly oriented toward maintenance of environmental quality • Reduction of hazards
• Reduction of resource consumption
1.7. GREEN TECHNOLOGY
Technology refers to the ways in which humans do and make things with materials and energy directed toward practical ends • In modern times, engineering based on scientific principles • Benefits and adverse effects
Hunter/gatherer
Agriculture
Industrial revolution
250 years b.p. Advan
cing t
echno
Green Technology
Green technology is technology that • Minimizes environmental impact • Minimizes resource consumption
• Maximizes economic output relative to materials and energy input
Industrial Ecology in Green Technology
Industrial ecology
• Integrates the principles of science, engineering, and industrial systems through which goods and services are provided in a way that minimizes environmental impact and optimizes utilization of resources, energy, and capital
• Considers every aspect of the provision of goods and services from concept, through production, and to fate
• A sustainable means of providing goods and services
1.8. LIFE-CYCLE ANALYSIS
Life-cycle analysis considers process and product design in the management of materials
• Source
• Manufacturing • Use
• Reuse (recycle) • Ultimate fate
To determine, quantify and minimize adverse impacts • Resource
Four major components of life-cycle analysis
1. Determination of the scope of the assessment 2. Inventory analysis of materials mass and energy
3. Analysis of impact on the environment, human health, and other impacted areas
1.9. THE ECO-ECONOMY AND ECO-EFFICIENCY
Eco-efficiency refers to the affordable provision of goods and services to satisfy human needs within Earth’s carrying capacity Eco-efficient economic systems
• Emphasize delivery of services over material
• Use less material reducing costs of control and disposal
• By inherent limitations on materials and wastes, less regulation is required
Essential aspects of eco-efficiency include
• Dematerialization with less material, especially non-renewable • Substitution of service and knowledge for materials
• Service extension by shift from supply-driven to demand-driven economy
1.10. DESIGN FOR ENVIRONMENT
Design for environment considers environmental impact at all stages of a product lifetime
• Raw materials acquisition • Manufacturing
• Packaging • Distribution • Installation • Operation • Ultimate fate
Design for environment in two broad areas
• Design for sustainability (minimize consumption)
1.11. GREEN PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
A green product is one that uses smaller amounts of materials that are less hazardous to produce and that have a lower potential to expose people or the environment to hazardous substances,
pollutants, and wastes in its use and disposal. A green service provides the same for a service • Hybrid automobile is a green product
• A good public transportation system is a green service
1.12. TWELVE PRINCIPLES OF GREEN SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
1. With their present activities, humans will deplete Earth’s
resources and damage Earth’s environment to an extent that conditions for human existence on the planet will be seriously compromised or even become impossible. In the past,
civilizations have declined and entire populations have died out because they have degraded key environmental systems.
2. The equation,
Burden = (number of people) × (demand per person)
describes burden on, and degradation of Earth’s support system; both factors must be addressed.
3. Even at the risk of global catastrophe, technology will be used
in attempts to meet human needs; therefore, technologies must be designed with a goal of zero environmental impact and
Twelve Principles (Cont)
4. In the recognition of the reality of Principle 3, it is essential to recognize the anthrosphere as one of five basic spheres of the environment.
5. A key to sustainability is the development of efficiently-used abundant sources of energy that have little or no
environmental impact; such sources will require hard decisions and compromise.
6. Climate conducive to life on Earth must be maintained.
7. Earth’s capacity for biological and food productivity must be maintained and enhanced; this will require consideration of the interactions of all five environmental spheres.
9. The production and use of toxic, dangerous, persistent
substances should be minimized and such substances should never be discarded to the environment.
10. Human welfare must be measured in terms of quality of life, not just acquisition of material possessions. Economics, governmental systems, creeds, and personal lifestyles must consider environment and sustainability.
11. The risks of not taking risks must be acknowledged.
