Environmental technology

CleanTech

Sustainable urban design and innovation: Photovoltaic ombrière SUDI is an autonomous and mobile station that replenishes energy for electric vehicles using solar energy.

Environmental technology (envirotech), green technology (greentech) or clean technology (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. The term is also used to describe sustainable energy generation technologies such as photovoltaics, wind turbines, bioreactors, etc. 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.

Examples

Recycling

Renewable energy

A view across a reverse osmosis desalination plant in Nepal.

Renewable energy 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.^[1]

Water purification

Water purification: 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.^[2]

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 oxygen. The best examples are: Dypsis lutescens, Sansevieria trifasciata, and Epipremnum aureum.^[3]

Sewage treatment

Sewage treatment is conceptually similar to water purification. Sewage treatments are very important as they purify water per levels of its pollution. The most 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 various other concepts of environmental protection, sustainability etc.^[4]

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 movements. (encyclopedia of medical concepts)^[5]

Solid waste management

Net Zero Court zero emissions office building prototype in St. Louis, Missouri

Solid waste management is the purification, consumption, reuse, disposal and treatment of solid waste that is undertaken by the government or the ruling bodies of a city/town.^[6]

eGain forecasting

Egain forecasting is a method using forecasting technology to predict the future weather's impact on a building.^[7] 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 gases.^[8]

Energy conservation

Energy conservation 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

The Tesla Roadster was the first all-electric sports car for sale and in serial production. It can be plugged into conventional outlets and can be charged fully or partially on renewable energy, including solar, hydroelectric, geothermal or wind power.

Principles:

• Green syndicalism
• Sustainability
• Sustainable design
• Sustainable engineering

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 industrial use of energy accounts for 51% of worldwide energy usage^[9] improving energy efficiency in this field is a top priority for environmental technology companies around the globe. 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.^{[10][11][12][13][14]}

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 Systems courses oriented towards a civil engineering approach in which structures and the landscape are constructed to blend with or protect the environment;
• Environmental chemistry, 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 technology 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, and developing novel energy generation technologies.

See also

• Appropriate technology
• Groasis Waterboxx
• The All-Earth Ecobot Challenge
• Pulser Pump
• Environmentally friendly
• Sustainable living
• Sustainable energy
• Sustainable design

References

Further reading

• OECD Studies on Environmental Innovation Invention and Transfer of Environmental Technologies. OECD. September 2011. ISBN 978-92-64-11561-3. 

External links

Wikiversity has learning materials about Appropriate technology Designs

• EUCETSA - European Committee of Environmental Technology Supplier Associations (representing over 1.000 companies in the environmental industry)
• Related "Norway Online" resources
• How Silicon Valley could become the Detroit of electric cars.
• 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/
• "Use of Green Energy" (in agriculture) Dr. Roger Beachy, US Embassy in France
• IBM Green Technology
• Unintended Consequences of Green Technologies

Environmental technology Appropriate technology Clean technology Environmental design Environmental impact assessment Sustainable development Sustainable technology Pollution Air pollution (control dispersion modeling) Industrial ecology Solid waste treatment Waste management Water (agricultural wastewater treatment industrial wastewater treatment sewage treatment waste-water treatment technologies water purification) Renewable energy Alternative energy Efficient energy use Energy development Energy recovery Fuel (alternative fuel biofuel carbon negative fuel hydrogen technologies) List of energy storage projects Renewable energy (commercialization) Sustainable energy Transportation (electric vehicle hybrid vehicle) Conservation Birth control Building (green natural sustainable architecture New Urbanism New Classical) Conservation biology Conservation ethic Ecoforestry Environmental preservation Environmental remediation Green computing Permaculture Recycling

Environmental science Main fields Atmospheric sciences Biogeochemistry Ecology Environmental chemistry Geosciences Hydrology Limnology Oceanography Soil science Related fields Biology Chemistry green Ecological economics Environmental design Environmental economics Environmental engineering Environmental health epidemiology Environmental studies Environmental toxicology Geodesy Physics Sustainability science Systems ecology Urban ecology Applications Energy conservation Environmental technology Natural resource management Pollution control Recycling Remediation Renewable energy Sewage treatment Urban metabolism Water purification Waste management See also Human impact on the environment Sustainability Environment portal Category scientists Glossary Degrees Institutions Journals Research institutes