Environment - ANSWER -the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions or
influences, especially as affecting existence or development of someone or
something
-physical: air,water,land,ocean,rivers,forests
State of Environment - ANSWER -directly and indirectly affects the viability
of all living things on the planet
Framing Environmental Issues - ANSWER -human activity influences the
environment
-humans demand food and shelter which kills living things as well as
ressources
-as population increases, lands are altered for homes, industrial processes,
transportation and agriculture
-lots of waste emissions
Enter Public Policy - ANSWER -potential changes in the env are of sufficient
concern to adopt policy mesures (laws) to prevent, alter or reverse changes
-important approach is benefits clearly outweighs the cost of measures taken
*lowest cost*
Environmental Policy - ANSWER -fairness, equity, everyone deserves clean air
-basic ethics; protect endangered species
,Role of Engineering - ANSWER -engineers are primarily involved in problems
related to technology, development and deployment
-design and building manufacturing processes, industrial technology and
transportation infrastructure needed to extract, transport and refine raw
materials
Anthropogenic Environmental Change - ANSWER 1. Changes in land use
2.Changes induced by emissions/residues
Green Engineering - ANSWER -engineers are now forced to safely dispose of
their technologies once the consummer "throws them" ex: IBM in Germany
-this makes engineers rethink design by eliminating toxic materials
-this reduces environmental impacts without comprimising the product's
performance or adding to its cost
Sources of Environmental Impacts - ANSWER 1. Material Selection
2. Manufacturing Process
3. Energy Use
Materials Selection - ANSWER -the choice of an engineers materials will
directly effect the environment
-as well as quantity (environmentally preferable)
Manufacturing Process - ANSWER -turning raw material into finished
materials and produtcs
1. digging out raw material
2. refining
,3. transportation
4. transformation
5. assembly into final products
-every step releases waste
-environmental engineering involved developing additional technology and
methods for cleaning up the process
Energy Use - ANSWER -the most pervasive and most important
-quantities and types of energies directly effect the environment quality
(heating, cooling, electricity, gasoline, other fuels)
-most energy comes from fossil fuels (oil, coal and natural gas)
-any engineering improvement that reduces the energy required for a
particular service will be beneficial
Life Cycle Perspective - ANSWER -an environmental life cycle assessment
(LCA) provides the big picture of how engineering decisions effect the
environment
1. Material Extraction
2.Material Processing
3. Manufacturing
4. Use
, 5. Waste Management
-improvements result from creating cleaner, more efficient manufacturing
operations
Industrial Ecology - ANSWER -the perspectives of a LCA provide the
foundation for more comprehensive view of design for the environment
-it is the means by which humans can deliberately and rationally approach
and maintain desirable carrying capacity, given continued economic, cultural
and technological evolution
-optimize: resources, energy and capital
Sustainable Development - ANSWER -development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their needs
Industrial Ecology should include: - ANSWER 1. Circulating and reusing
material flows within the system
2. Reducing the amount of materials used in products to achieve a particular
function
3. Protecting living organisms by minimizing or eliminating the flow of
harmful substances
4. Minimizing the use of energy and the flow of waste heat back to the
environment
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