Download - Session #8 engineering & environment
Humanities
Lecture (8) :Engineering & Environment
Engineering and Environment
Global Warming
Noise
Insecticides
Nuclear Power
Biodegradabale Materials
Electric Cars
An increase in global temperature will cause sea levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of precipitation, and a probable expansion of subtropical deserts. Warming is expected to be strongest in the Arctic and would be associated with continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice. Other likely effects of the warming include more frequent occurrence of extreme-weather events including heat waves, droughts and heavy rainfall, species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes, and changes in crop yields.
Global Warming
Responses to global warming
Mitigation
Adaptation
Geoengineering
Noise
When unwanted sound created by human beings hits our ears and disturbs the environment, noise pollution is created. Chiefly, noise pollution comes from vehicles, aircraft and rail transport, air-conditioners, factories, amplified music and construction work.
Measures of noise: Noise pollution is measured in decibels. When noise is at 45 decibels, no human being can sleep, and at 120 decibels the ear is in pain and hearing begins to be damaged at 85 decibels. Effects of noise pollutionHuman health: Noise pollution disturbs our health and behavior in a number of ways including deafness causing lack of sleep, irritability, indigestion, heartburn, high blood pressure,, and heart disease. Annoyance:Speech interference:Sleep interference:Decreased work performance:
White Noise!!!!
Insecticides
An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects.
DDTEven though someone created DDT back in the 19th century, only around 1939 did Dr. Paul Muller discover that it was effective in killing insects, and shortly after, he won the nobel prize in medicine for this work.
DDTOne of the bigger drivers in the development of new insecticides has been the desire to replace toxic insecticides
One of the better known impacts of DDT is to reduce the thickness of the egg shells on predatory birds. The shells sometimes become too thin to be viable, causing reductions in bird populations
As a pesticide, DDT was first used during WWII. It was so effective as an insect killer that some called it the "atomic bomb" of pesticides.
DDT
What does this graph tell you? What years did malaria minimize and maximize? Can you guess during which years DDT was used?
Nuclear PowerNuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity.
Some serious nuclear and radiation accidents have occurred. Nuclear power plant accidents include the Chernobyl disaster(1986), Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (2011). Nuclear power has caused far fewer accidental deaths per unit of energy generated than other major forms of power generation. Energy production from coal, natural gas, and hydropower have caused far more deaths due to accidents.
However, nuclear power plant accidents rank first in terms of their economic cost, accounting for 41% of all property damage attributed to energy accidents.
Nuclear plants attack
•In September 1980, Iran bombed the Al Tuwaitha nuclear
complex in Iraq.
•In June 1981, an Israeli air strike completely destroyed Iraq’s
Osirak nuclear research facility.
•Between 1984 and 1987, Iraq bombed Iran’s Bushehr nuclear
plant six times.
•In Iraq in 1991, the U.S. bombed three nuclear reactors and an
enrichment pilot facility.
•In 1991, Iraq launched Scud missiles at Israel’s Dimona
nuclear power plant.
•In September 2007, Israel bombed a Syrian reactor under
construction
In many places, and particularly in Japan, the nuclear industry
has felt a need to tell the public that nuclear power is safe in
some absolute way. Many government agencies and nuclear
companies have promoted a public myth of "absolute safety"
that nuclear power proponents had nurtured over decades.
The tsunami that began the Fukushima nuclear disaster could
and should have been anticipated
The myth of absolute safety
Biodegradable materials
Biodegradable waste will eventually break down
and become part of the earth and soil, like food
scraps and paper.
Non-biodegradable waste will NOT break down
(or won't for many many years).
Examples are plastics, metal and glass. Some
dangerous chemicals and toxins are also non-
biodegradable, as are plastic grocery bags,
Styrofoam (polystyrene),
Advantages of Biodegradable Plastic
1. Biodegradable plastics take less time to break
down
2. Biodegradable plastics are renewable
3. Biodegradable plastics are good for the
environment
4. Biodegradable plastics require less energy to
produce
5. Biodegradable plastics are easier to recycle
6. Biodegradable plastics are not toxic
7. Biodegradable plastics reduce dependence on
foreign oil
Electric Cars
Electric cars have several potential benefits compared to
conventional internal combustion automobiles, including a
significant reduction of urban air pollution, as they do not
emit harmful tailpipe pollutants from the onboard source
of power at the point of operation (zero tail pipe
emissions); reduced greenhouse gas emissions from the
onboard source of power, depending on the fuel and
technology used for electricity generation to charge the
batteries
Advantages of Electric Cars
Disadvantages of Electric Cars
Time required to recharge the batteries.
Weight
Driving range
Initial Cost