Introduction to Environmental Technology

Preserving the Legacy

Introduction cont.Developed in the early 70s

Pollutant, a general terms that refers to any substance introduced to the environment that adversely affects that environment.

Contaminant, a more specific term that refers to specific substance or features (whether physical, chemical, biological or radiological) that has an adverse affect on air, water or soil.

Environmental ConsciousnessDeveloped in the early 70s

Environmental health is now a national and global priority

New government agencies set standards and enforce compliance with regulations

Environmental TechnologyKnowledge and skills necessary to manage, work with and control hazardous materialsAlso refers to an industry that has developed around the skills and knowledge base that has developedCan be very technical or more politically developed.What do I mean by political?

Hazardous materials substances that may cause an increase in death or irreversible illness in the population or pose a hazard to human health or the environment when handled improperly

Hazardous waste hazardous material for which there is no further use

Environmental CompartmentsAlso called an environmental medium

Includes air, water, soil and biota

A spill of hazardous material that evaporates quickly could contaminate air and soil immediately, migrate to ground and surface water, and be ingested by animals and humans

Primary Federal AgenciesEPA Environmental Protection Agency

OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration

DOT Department of Transportation

Historical PerspectivesDuring colonial times our national resources were viewed as an unlimited supply of raw materials for our developing nation

Concern for the environment and reverence for nature were first expressed by people such as Thomas Jefferson and Ralph Waldo Emerson

Henry David ThoreauInfluenced policy makers during the 19th centuryWilderness was vital to human existenceIt was neither an enemy to be conquered or a resource to be exploitedContributed to the establishment of the first nation park at Yellowstone in 1872

John MuirA geologist and botanist, was the first president of the Sierra Club in 1892

Contributed to the formation of six more national parks including Yosemite

Has become a force in shaping US conservation policies

Post WWIIRise of automobile based urban culture

Era of abundance and consumption

Petrochemical products plastics, pesticides, additives for food and fuels, detergents and solvents

Rachael CarsonBiology teacher and researcher for the Bureau of US Fisheries - Wrote Silent Spring in 1962

Accumulation of pesticides such as DDT had caused disruption of the reproductive processes in birds

Public health and the environment are inseparable and should be regulated by government

Environmental AwarenessPublic concern about the environment increased Colleges began to offer courses in environmental science

Paul Erlich wrote The Population Bomb in 1968We will talk about this further, were his predictions accurate?

First Earth Day - April 22, 1970 A national teach-in on the crisis of the environment

Love CanalFirst highly publicized environmental crisis occurred in the late 1970s

Casual dumping of highly toxic industrial chemicals and municipal waste

Citizens group led by Lois Gibbs forced the government to address the problem

The area was declared a federal disaster area by Jimmy Carter in 1978

Love Canal before and after19511980

More Love Canal photos19782007

SuperfundIn 1980 Love Canal led to the enactment of CERCLA

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act

Identifying sites and the responsible parties as well as selecting cleanup technologies

Exxon ValdezMarch 24, 1989

of a quarter million ton load of crude oil was spilled into Prince Edwards Sound

Resulted in changes in the regulation of oil transport

Consequences of our ActionsMany of our environmental problems today are a result of activities that were once perfectly acceptable

DDT was considered a miracle chemical!

CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) were used in aerosol propellants and refrigerants

Today we recognize that they are depleting the ozone layer, exposing us to dangerous ultraviolet radiation

What present practices and activities will be found to have harmed the environment we leave for our children and grandchildren?

Population and Sustainable DevelopmentEconomic productivity is no longer considered the ultimate measure of success

There has been little incentive to develop long-range plans for sustainable resource use

Many of the global problems that we face are interconnected

Poverty, population growth, industrial development and destruction of the environment

What is a carrying capacity?What is sustainable growth?What is per capita consumption?

Population GrowthAt present and projected growth rates our world population today of 6.6 billion

May increase to 10-12 billion by 2050

However, new estimates indicate a slowing of population growth w/ a peak of ~ 9.4 billion

90% of this growth will occur in the worlds poorest countries

United Nations data on projected world population growth

Linear growth; where the rate of growth remains constant

Exponential growth: where the rate of growth is non-constant but instead varies at a compounded percentage rate

Population Growth IIhttp://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2002/WPP2002-HIGHLIGHTSrev1.PDF

http://www.unfpa.org/6billion/

http://www.un.org/popin

http://www.un.org/esa/population/unpop.htm

The US represents 5% of the worlds population

We consume 25% of the worlds energy resources

Sustainable DevelopmentA global goal for the 21st century

Management of resources to enable us to meet our current needs without jeopardizing the ability of the earths future inhabitants to do the same

And without degrading the environment

Career OpportunitiesOccupational health and safetyRegulatory agenciesIndustryTransportationPublic ServiceEnvironmental consulting firms

Environmental cleanup contractorEducation/trainingBankingEnvironmental laboratoriesInsurance

Changing Nature of Environmental RegulationsThe scope and strictness of regulations has increased over the years

This regulation forms the backbone on which environmental work is conducted in the private sector

Small businesses, farms and municipalities are being affected by regulation at a higher level

Use of toxic substances and disposal of hazardous waste are now a major concern

Higher drinking water standards, protection from leaking underground storage tanks (LUST), and now increasing regulation of non-point source pollution

Radon contamination and the removal of asbestos

It is estimated that municipalities will have to charge an additional $100 per year to each household to cover the additional regulatory burden

Many small businesses may be unable to absorb the additional cost of compliance

Business, industry and the general public need to educate themselves and provide input in the process of regulation