Slides - Week 1 - Lecture 1 - Introduction Notes√

Introduction to SustainabilityProblems associated with economic development:Human lifestyles, especially in the developed world, are unsustainable.Energy and raw materials will run outPollution and waste will continue to accumulate and damage ecosystemsThe industrial revolution and the economic and political systems that accompanied it have led to very uneven patterns of global development. The majority of the world live in poverty, while a minority devote more and more resources to ever more innovative forms of entertainment. This is ethically indefensible and it also represents a security time-bomb.These two problems reinforce each other; any attempt to address the problem of underdevelopment by spreading the practices and technology of the developed world will considerably worsen the problem of global unsustainability.The move towards sustainable developmentDuring the last few years, Sustainable Development has become accepted as the model according to which world society must progress: “that which meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (UNCED, 1987).Social progress that meets the needsof everyoneHigh and stable economic growth andemploymentEffective protection and enhancementof the environment with prudent useof natural resources[The last objectives is sometimes splitinto two, (see Arup’s SPEAR, fourquadrant approach)]If something is genuinely sustainable, then it will be able to continue indefinitely. Not just ‘business as usual with less pollution’, but fundamental changes in the way we organise our lives.Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organisations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which humanity impacts on the environment. [The ‘21’ refers to the 21st Century]. Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the Statement of principles for the Sustainable Management of Forests were adopted by more than 178 Governments at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, 1992 (The Earth Summit).In 2002 the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg)’s stated aim was to reconcile development and economic growth with environmental sustainability. Many multinational firms (McDonald’s, Nike, etc.) were present.Most industrial processes are linear. We mine raw materials, turn them into products, use them and then throw them away. The raw material passes once through the system and islost. By contrast, nature is characterised by cyclic processes. A tree extracts materials from the soil and carbon from the air to enable it to grow but when it dies all these materials are returned to where they came from to be used again. The sustainability of a process depends on its similarity to natural ecological processes.Some key principles of sustainable development:Use life-cycle analysis (see later lecture) to optimise whole systemsFocus on the service to be provided, rather than individual productsDesign for high durability, upgradeability and reparabilityUse clean processes which minimise waste and pollutionMaximise overall energy efficiency of systems (see section on ‘Green’ building)Minimise use of non-renewable materials and use renewables within sustainable limits Conduct operations on as small a scale as is consistent with the efficient use of resourcesUse technologies that enhance human skills and match the abilities of local populationsGood, professional Civil Engineering activity is likely to be consistent with – rather than in conflict with – the goals of Sustainable Development. i.e. cost-effective, energy-efficient, socially fit-for-purpose and with minimal environmental impact.Broad spectrum of requirements for Environmental Engineering awareness:Environmentally aware, environmentally conscious, engineere.g. choice of materials, use of mitigation (e.g. tree planting for screening), knowledgeof relevant legislation (e.g. on environmental impact assessment, health and safety), adoption of environmentally-sensitive site practices.Specialist in environmental engineering applicationse.g. public health engineering (water supply and treatment), geotechnics, remediationof contaminated land.Environmental scientiste.g. applications of biological principles to design innovative water treatment processes(reedbeds).Environmental Engineering SkillsBasic civil engineering skills in numerical analysis and designAppreciation of key environmental issues and sustainability conceptse.g. sustainability, resource depletion, energy generation and use, climate change,pollution, politics/economics, national and global perspectives etc.Multidisciplinary awarenessScientific – e.g.sewage treatment uses biological and chemical processes;understanding groundwater pollution requires knowledge of hydrogeology;environmental impact assessment requires knowledge of ecology, acoustics, etc.Political – solutions may be determined by politics/economics/education rather than Technology – e.g. transport planning, subsidies for alternative energy, publicopposition to GM crops, education to promote waste minimisation and recycling.Effective communicationCross-disciplinaryAwareness of the ‘language’ of ecologists, chemists etc.Ecological principles/models: cycles; systems and webs; biodiversity.PublicAbility to present civil engineering concepts to a broader audience.Conceptual analysis and innovationNew technologies emerging. ‘Standard’ solutions are not always available orappropriate in particular circumstances. Use knowledge of interacting processes to develop novel and effective solutions.Ability to ‘guesstimate’ order-of-magnitude quantities.Holistic, system-based, integrated, interdependent analysis.e.g. consider the hydrological cycle as a whole in order to appreciate the implications ofdeforestation.Why is Civil Engineering more environmentally conscious than ever before?Public awareness of environmental problemsEnergy use, global warming and climate changeResources, waste and recyclingPollution and disruption of atmospheric, terrestrial, freshwater and marine environmentsAccidents related to hazardous chemicalsLand use, conservation and biodiversityAll these directly or indirectly threaten human existence on Earth.Legislative pressures – global, EU and National legislationEconomic pressures – polluter pays, legal battles cost money and cause delays (e.g.Newbury bypass, Manchester Airport second runway) for developers, construction companies with poor public image for environmental awareness lose contracts.The four phases of technology:Immediate Technology. Development of tools that assist in hunting, planting crops, building shelters.Urban Technology. Communal development of facilities (e.g. irrigation), development of specialist and trade. Construction based on ‘rules of thumb’.Rational Technology. Industrial revolution. Engineering science. Massive harnessing of energy.Systems Technology. Complex problems. Focus on behaviour of whole structure, rather than a single beam. Focus on long-term management of water resources, rather than on the principles of dam design. Holistic river basin management, rather than design of treatment works. Environmental, social economic factors as well astechnology.A force for Good ..Edwin Chadwick, Secretary of the Poor Law Commission in the United Kingdom, penned the ‘sanitary idea` as a means of promoting better health among the masses, in the 1842 report ‘An inquiry into the Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Population of Great Britain’. Prior to this period, household wastes, liquid and solid, were simply dumped on the public streets and left to rot and blow away. Chadwick called for street and house cleaning by means of supplies of water and improved sewage collection and specifically stated that‘aid be sought from the science of the Civil Engineer, not from the Physician’. It is hoped that Civil Engineers will also find themselves at the forefront of sustainable development and environmental management initiatives of the next 150 years.In the last 50 years, for example, civil engineering has brought:potable water to millionseffective treatment of sewage and waste other than waste waters, with dramatic reductions in discharges of pollutants to rivers and the seareliable electricity suppliesextensive reclamation of contaminated land and its subsequent beneficial development extensive flood defencesEnvironmental impact of the construction sector72.5 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste was produced in England andWales in 1999. However, 35% of this waste was recycled and a further 13% was used for engineering on landfill sitesthe quarrying of about 220 million tonnes of aggregate in England and Wales in 1998the use of 24% of total energy consumption by industry in the UK in 1996 for the manufacture and transportation of construction materials[ICE, 2002, Society, sustainability and civil engineering]Selected Notable Events:1854 10,000 deaths in Broad Street Pump cholera outbreak. 1840s London drinking water pumped from Thames, sewage pumped into Thames. 1870 Bazalgette’ssewerage system. Abstraction of drinking water upstream at Teddington.Air pollution episodes in many major cities due to combination of SO2 from coal burning and winter atmospheric inversions. 4000 excess deaths in London in 1952. UK Clean Air Act in 1956.1957 Fire in Windscale (Cumbria, UK) plutonium production reactor ignited three tonnes of uranium. Official death toll 39.1962 Rachel Carson in ‘Silent Spring’ noted the demise of plant and animal life in rural USA arising from increased use of agro-chemicals.1976 dioxin (carcinogen) release at Seveso, Italy.1978 Cypriot tanker, the Amoco Cadiz, grounded. Spillage of 65,562,000 gallons of oil.Pollution of 160 km of French coast.1979 Release of radioactive stream after water pump breaks down at Three Mile Island, USA.1980 Chemical spill due to Sandez factory fire, Basel, Switzerland. Rhine polluted for 200 km.1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor explodes. Radioactive cloud spreads across Europe. 1984 Union Carbide pesticide plant leaks toxic gas, Bhopal, India. Death of 2,352+ people officially.1989 Exxon Valdez tanker grounded on Bligh Reef, Prince William Sound, Alaska.Over 1000 km of coastline polluted.1991 Oil fields set alight by Iraqi forces during the Gulf war.And more recently:2005 Hurricane Katrina.2010 BP Deepwater Horizon, Gulf of Mexico oil spill.Some points to note:Problems associated with sewage and energy use have existed for over 150 years.Now we are also witnessing complex chemical/nuclear issues, political/economic considerations and biotechnology.Many incidents have acted as triggers for significant developments in environmental engineering and legislation, but ideally we should anticipate rather than react.Increasingly transnational and global effects.Distrust of engineers (particularly chemical, nuclear).International Agreements:1954 ‘Law of the Sea’, London. Prevention of pollution of the sea by oil. Subsequent conventions on other forms of marine pollution.1972 Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment – wide-ranging, including rainforest protection and protection of water quality.1979 Montreal Protocol – elimination of CFCs and other ozone-depleting gases by the year 2000.1992 Rio ‘Earth Summit’ declaration – climate change, biodiversity, tropical forests and sustainable development.1997 Kyoto Protocol - sets legally-binding greenhouse gas emission objectives for each industrialised country, as listed in its Annex B. These countries should, as a whole, achieve at least a 5% reduction in emissions from 1990 levels over the 2008-2012 period. 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, JohannesburgThe Value of the EnvironmentFood (including clean water and unpolluted air)Industrial and commercial productsMedicinesTourism and recreationCycles, chains, webs and biodiversityCycles represent storage and flow, e.g. water cycle, nutrient (e.g. nitrogen, carbon) cycles. The water cycle:Ecosystems represent interaction/dependency between biotic (living) and abiotic components. Ecosystems are complex, dynamic and little understood.Biodiversity – species form communities, food chains, food webs.e.g. food web for the Arctic Ocean:Genetic diversity enables species to evolve/adapt to disturbed conditions.。