Introduction to Sustainable Engineering

S-1 Module -I

Sujith S TAsst Professor

Mechanical Department

Module-1

Text Book : An Introduction to Sustainable Engineering by Prof. Shibu Krishnan

INTRODUCTION

• The term sustainability is the capacity to endure (continue to exist in the same state).

• Sustainability can be thought of as the goal of “sustainable development”

• Sustainable development is a process for meeting human development goals while maintaining the ability of natural systems to continue to provide the natural resources.

• Basic Spheres of Sustainability

• Environment - Ecological sustainability• Economy - Fair distribution of wealth• Social - Community participation

United Nations Key Concepts

• Inter-generational equity - Inter-generational equity expects the present generation to hand over a safe healthy and resourceful environment to the future generation.

• lntra-generational equity - Intra-generational equity emphasizes that technological development should support economic growth of the poorer section so as to reduce the gap within nations as well as between nations.

NEED FOR SUSTAINABILITY

• Over exploitation of resources• Accumulation of waste

• Sustainability is more concerned over the reckless exploitation of our natural resources which is leading to environmental degradation.

• Population explosion in the developing world• Unsustainable consumption levels in the developed world

• The sustainability goal is to raise the global standard of living without increasing the use of resources beyond global sustainable levels; that is, not to exceed “One Planet” consumption.

• lt is necessary for all of us to maintain an acceptable standard of living, at the same time, maintaining sustainable use of resources.

CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY

• “Meeting the needs of current and future generations through integrating environmental protection, social advancement and economic prosperity".

• Thus sustainability refers to the quality of life which is to be achieved in a manner that does not harm the quality of life of future generations.

• For the world to be sustainable, the following four principles are to be followed:– Reduce dependence upon fossil fuels– Reduce dependence upon synthetic chemicals and other

unnatural substances– Reduce encroachment upon nature– Meet human needs fairly & efficiently

• The figure shown below illustrates the three spheres of sustainability (which makes a community sustainable)

Venn Diagram for Sustainability

CONCEPT OF SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY

• “Social sustainability is a process for creating sustainable, successful places that promote wellbeing, by understanding what people need from the places they live and work.”

• Three values that forms the core of social sustainability are:– Quality of life– Growth and – Equality

• Hence socially sustainable communities are equitable, diverse, democratic and provide good quality of life.

• But there is a universal disagreement between nations (not only between nations, religions, culture, political parties etc.) on what the quality of life goals should be.

• Thus social sustainability is the least defined and least understood (hence the weakest among the three spheres of sustainability) as people can‘t even agree on what quality of life is.

CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

• “Environmental sustainability is improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting Ecosystems.”

• Currently, environmental sustainability is receiving plenty of attention from the media and from different governmental departments.

• This is as a result of the amount of research going into assessing the impact that human activity can have on the environment.

• When the sum total of natural resources is used up faster than it can be replenished, degradation of the environment occurs.

• However, if human activity only uses natural resources at a rate at which they can be replenished naturally, sustainability occurs.

• These situations are summarized below in the form of a table.

• Environmental sustainability involves making decisions and taking actions that are in the interest of protecting the natural world especially the capability of the environment to support human life.

• It is not simply about reducing the amount of waste we produce or using less energy, but is concerned with development processes that will lead to businesses becoming completely sustainable in the future.

CONCEPT OF ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY

• “The real idea of economic sustainability is to make sure that the industry/ business is making profit without creating much environmental harm to the balance of the existing ecology.”

• Currently, the average resource consumption in the developing world is sustainable, at the same time population is exploding which is totally unsustainable.

• In the developed economies, population increase is less (which is sustainable) but the resource consumption is very high which is unsustainable.

• The challenge for sustainability is to

– Curb and manage western style consumption, at the same time

– Raising the standard of living of the developing world,

– Without increasing the resource use and environmental impact.

• HELIX OF SUSTAINABILITY– A concept for the manufacturing industries to move to

more sustainable practices.– Sustainable use of materials has targeted the idea of

convening the linear path of materials (i.e. raw material extraction, product use and disposal) to a circular material path (i.e. raw material extraction, product use and reuse) that reuses material as much as possible.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT• Until two decades ago, the world looked at economic status alone

as a measure of human development.

• The developed countries not only exploited their own natural resources rapidly, but also used the natural resources of developing countries.

• The rich countries got richer, while the poor nations got poorer.

• Then the developed countries began to realise that their lives are seriously affected by the environmental consequences because of the development based on economic growth.

• Development based on economic growth had begun to suffer from serious environmental problems due to air and water pollution, solid waste accumulation, deforestation etc, that seriously affected peoples wellbeing and health.

• This form of development did not add quality of life as the environmental conditions has begun to deteriorate.

• Theoretical frame work for sustainable development

The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972 was the first major international gathering to discuss sustainability at the global scale.

Led to the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as well as the creations of numerous national environmental protection agencies at the global level.

UNEP aimed to advance Sustainable Development by meeting the needs of people for natural resources and the environment for future generations.

• In 1987 the World Commission on Environment and Development clearly defined the term sustainable development.

• Definition of Sustainable Development:– “Development which meets the needs of the present

without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

3 Pillars of Sustainable Development

Sustainable Developement

Social(Community / Societal

development that provides food, shelter,

clothing, education and health for human beings)

Economic(Economic

development such as industrial development, business policy change and so on for improving

the quality of life).

Environment(Environmental

protection that provides pollution free air, water and soil for the present and future generations)

• The actions of government to implement sustainable development in their policies may even be considered as the fourth pillar (Institutional pillar) of sustainable development.

• Thus sustainable development is based on – improving the quality of life for all, especially the poor and the

deprived, – which leads to better quality of life – while reducing the impact on the environment – within the carrying capacity of the supporting ecosystems.

• The Earth Summit held at Rio de-Janeiro in 1992 put the world on the path of sustainable development.

• The Rio declaration propagated that eradication of poverty is indispensable and thus development process and environment protection must go hand in hand.

• The two aspects of Sustainable Development are:– Inter-generational equity - Inter-generational equity expects the

present generation to hand over a safe healthy and resourceful environment to the future generation.

– lntra-generational equity - Intra-generational equity emphasizes that technological development should support economic growth of the poorer section so as to reduce the gap within nations as well as between nations.

• Measures for sustainable development– To promote environmental education and awareness to

develop a feeling of belongingness to our planet.

– Three ‘R’ approach: Three ‘R’ means reduce, reuse and recycle i.e we should not only reduce the excessive use of natural resources but also reuse them again and again.

– Appropriate technology: The technology should use less resource and produce minimum waste i.e it should be eco-friendly.

– Utilize resources as per carrying capacity of the environment: Once the carrying capacity is exceeded degeneration starts.

• Frame work to measure Sustainable Development:

• To ensure sustainable development, every activity is expected to bring about economic growth and also consider its environmental impact so that it is more consistent with long term growth and development.

• There must be a scientifically and honestly carried out Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for every project we carry out.

NEXUS BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• Technological innovation can be seen as a double-edged sword with respect to sustainable development.

• On one hand, technology has offered the promise of a better world through the elimination of disease and material improvements to standards of living.

• On the other hand, resource extraction and pollution of air, water and soil have created conditions leading to environmental catastrophe and have already caused irreversible damage to the biosphere.

• Despite the ongoing technological revolution,

– the majority of the world population still lives in extreme poverty with inadequate food, housing sanitation and energy, plagued by illnesses

– that could be easily cured if clean water and simple drugs were made available.

• Thus, the focus should be

– not only to allow renewable resource withdrawals exceed the nature’s regenerative capacity

– but also not to generate waste which exceeds the environmental absorptive capacity.

• Technology can support sustainability of natural by:– Reducing waste– Raising efficiency standards– Finding substitutes

• Some of the technological applications towards sustainable development on various sectors are explained below:– Agricultural Technologies– Energy Technologies– Environmental Technologies – Disease related Bio medical Technologies– Technologies for Local Development

• Agricultural TechnologiesThe goal of agricultural research and technology development generally has been – to improve productivity, – soil and water conservation, – improving human nutrition, – food quality, and – safety which contribute to the economy as a whole.

• Concerns– The absence of Maximum Residue Levels (MRL) for

pesticides used on various vegetables and fruits in many countries.

– Genetically Modified Crops (GMC)

• Energy Technologies• Energy efficiencies of the developing world is much lower

than in the industrialized countries.• Energy is produced, converted, and used in developing

countries with low technical efficiencies could be improved through adoption of proven technologies.

• Technologies to provide and improve energy services for developing world include:– more efficient biomass stoves– simple motor-driven systems for pumping water and

grinding grains– energy-efficient pumps, fertilizers, and mechanical

traction to improve agricultural productivity

• Increased emphasis on natural gas and other alternative fuel sources (e.g., biomass systems and renewable energy) could reduce adverse environmental impacts compared with conventional sources, and avoid some of the problems of large hydroelectric and nuclear projects.It helps in,– Developing local energy resources and – Reducing imports– Promote rural development – Employment

• Concerns– The policy environment that determines patterns of

incentives and disincentives to energy efficiency is crucial to the adoption of new technologies.

• Environmental Technologies– Environmental awareness and transfer of environmental

technologies can reduce day-to-day operating inefficiencies, emissions, exposure to hazardous materials and risks of technological disasters.

– For developing countries, provision of basic facilities such as access to drinking water and proper sanitation, gaseous liquid and solid waste disposal services are major environmental priorities.

– Technologies such as forest management and improved agricultural practices are primary environmental needs in most of the developing countries.

– Electric power, chemical, petroleum refining, steel, pulp and paper, food, textile, etc. are major potential buyers of environmental technologies.

• Disease- related Biomedical Technologies– A majority of the total deaths are caused by infectious and

parasitic diseases in developing countries.

– Opening of International Health Research Centers (IHRCs) could make a large contribution in improving the health care/ maintenance systems in developing countries.

– They could identify and analyze the sources of health problems as well as conduct local research on design and delivery of health maintenance systems.

– Better sanitation and cleaner water would have tremendous benefits for controlling diseases.

• Technologies for Local Development– Projects such as solar greenhouses, small farm systems,

farmer’s markets, resource recovery from municipal solid wastes, wastewater treatment, etc. could be developed at the community level.

– These projects can be developed only with the help of public interest, proper financing, technical information and expertise.

– These technologies need to be shared with other local communities as well in order to bring out the best of the technologies.

• TECHNOLOGICAL UNDERPINNINGS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

• The fundamentals to the pursuit of sustainable development are : a. INFORMATION

b. EDUCATION c. COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES

a) Sharing of Information and appropriate technologies with sister institutions in developing countries is very essential.– However, with intellectual property rights protection,

technology developers may be not willing to invest in research and development.

– Hence, the creation of international centres for sustainable development that would be funded is the need of the hour.

b) Education is one mechanism through which the objectives of sustainable development might be realized.

– Educational programs at all levels that teach the relationship among poverty, population growth, unsustainable production, environmental degradation should be imparted.

c) Communication technologies are playing an important role in business, trade, health and education.

– Satellite based personal communication systems and wireless technology are extremely costly and sophisticated.

– In order to improve its availability widely, the United Nations Sustainable Development Network (SDN) is working make the modern technologies accessible to developing nations.

– The SDN is just one goal as to how information and communication can be linked to assist decision makers and to promote education

– Some new and emerging technologies such as recycling, renewable energy and low-input agricultural production systems have been generated primarily to reduce waste.

CHALLENGES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

i. Misconception about sustainable development: The popular perception that undertaking a sustainable development path hinders developmental activities.

ii. Population explosion in the developing economies (requires more food, energy, goods etc.).

iii. Poverty (To achieve sustainable development, eradication of poverty is indispensable).

iv. Absence of adequate political and industrial will for moving towards a sustainable future .

v. Over exploitation of natural resources in the developed countries

vi. Corruption and misuse of sustainable development assistance funds.

vii. Poor solid waste management (Focusing on mere waste disposal )

viii. High cost of the appropriate technology to tap renewable energy resources .

ix. Lack of co-ordination between the three pillars of sustainable development is one of the biggest challenge in finding long- term solutions that combine economic growth, social needs and environmental protection .

x. Unsustainable urbanization results in slums, congestion of living space, inadequate food, poverty and so on.

xi. Fresh water scarcity (According to a United Nations report, one out of six persons in this planet lacks access to safe drinking water and around 2.4 billion lack access to adequate sanitation)

xii. Loss in biodiversity.

xiii. Over dependence on fossil fuels leading to global warming and climate change.

xiv. Absence of strict environment laws and legislations, to curb the menace of pollution .

xv. Lack of broad based public awareness towards sustainable development .

MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENTS AND PROTOCOL

• A multilateral environmental agreement is a legally binding agreement between two or more nations which contains

commitments to meet specific environmental objectives. • The first international enlightenment towards the problems of

environmental pollution was the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm, Sweden in June 1972 which laid the foundation of modern environmentalism.

• The key events were the Villach Conference (October 1985), the Toronto Conference (June 1988), the Ottawa Conference (February 1989), the Tata Conference (February 1989), the Hague Conference and Declaration (March 1989), the Noordwijk Ministerial Conference (November 1989), the Cairo Compact (December 1989), the Bergen Conference (May 1990), and the Second World Climate Conference (November 1990).

• The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), was held in Rio-de-Janeiro from 3rd to 14 June 1992 and around 172 countries participated.

• An important achievement was an agreement on the Climate Change Convention which in turn led to the Kyoto Protocol (1997).

KYOTO PROTOCOL• Among these conferences, the one held in 1997 at Kyoto,

Japan has established legally binding obligation to developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emission.

• Kyoto Protocol requires developed economies listed in its annexure Ito reduce their collective emissions of six important greenhouse gases namely carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, set of per fluorocarbons, and hydro fluorocarbons by at least 5.2% as compared to 1990 level during the period 2008-2012.

• As per the Kyoto Protocol emissions of greenhouse gases needs to be cut by 25% below the current level by 2050, so that the growth of countries is not compromised.

CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM(CDM)

The Clean Development Mechanism is a key component of the Kyoto Protocol — a legally binding global agreement by 192 countries to combat climate change through a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The Kyoto Protocol follows the fundamental UNFCCC principle of "common but differentiated responsibility" which recognizes that the burden of responsibility should fall heaviest on the countries .

The CDM is a market-based mechanism. It entices private companies to fund GHG-reducing projects in developing countries by awarding these projects Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).

PURPOSE OF CDM• The stated purpose of the Clean Development Mechanism is

to help developing countries achieve sustainable development, and assist industrialized countries in complying with their emission reduction commitments.

• They must also meet sustainable development criteria and the "additionality' requirement, which means the emission reductions made must be "additional' to what would have been possible without CDM funding.

• The CDM allows countries to continue emitting greenhouse gases. so long as they pay for reductions made elsewhere.

ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATIONS IN INDIA• Laws that regulate the human interaction with the environment are

termed environmental laws.• We have over 200 environmental laws available in India today.• It was in the year 1976, the 42nd amendment was incorporated into

the Constitution by means of two important articles. • Article 48 - A of the constitution comes under Directive Principles of

State Policy. It states that it is the responsibility of states to protect and improve environment and to safe guard the forests and wildlife of the country.

• Article 51 A (g) of the Constitution comes under the Fundamental Duties of citizens. It states that it is the fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and improve the environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.

• The different legislations in India are as follows:a. The Serais Act 1867 b. The North Indian Canal and Drainage Act 1873 c. Obstruction in Fairways Act 1881 d. Indian Easements Act 1882 e. The Indian Fisheries Act 1897 f. Indian Ports Act 1908 g. The Damodar Valley Corporation Act 1948 h. The Factories Act 1948 The Mines Act 1952 i. The River Boats Act 1956 The Merchant Shipping Act 1958 Other Acts include:i. Indian Forest Act 1927ii. Wildlife Protection Act 1972 iii. Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974 iv. Forest Conservation Act 1980 v. Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981

WATER ACT, 1974• This is an Act to provide measures for the prevention and

control of water pollution and maintaining or restoring the wholesomeness (purity) of water.

• The Act defines terms like pollution, sewage effluent, trade effluent, stream and boards.

• The Act prohibits disposal of any poisonous, noxious or polluting matter or any matter causing obstruction to proper flow of water in a stream.

• Some of the salient features of the water act are listed below

a) Establishment of Boards / Authorities Central and State level .

b) Mandates prior approval of PCB for operating. establishing and expanding industrial activities leading to discharge of industrial effluents.

c) Empowers PCBs to enter into industrial plants, factories establishment etc. and inspect plant/ factory records, registers and documents.

d) Empowers PCBs to take samples of industrial effluents wastewater (discharges) and its subsequent analysis.

e) Provides for criminal liabilities

AIR ACT, 1981• This Act (commonly known as Air Act) was passed under

Article 253 of the Constitution of India which provide measures for the prevention, control and abatement of air pollution.

• The Act defines relevant terms such as air pollution, air pollutant, automobile, industrial plant etc..

• As per this Act, Air pollution is defined as the "presence of any liquid or gaseous substances in the atmosphere in such concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to human beings or other living creatures or plants or property or environment".

• Some of the salient features of the Air act are listed below: a) Empowers PCBs to take appropriate measures for the

prevention, control and abatement of air pollution. b) Mandates prior approval of PCB for operating, establishing

and expanding industrial activities leading to discharge of emissions and air pollutants to the atmosphere.

c) Empowers PCBs to enter into industrial plants, factories establishment etc. and inspect plant / factory records, registers and documents

d) Empowers PCBs to give direction for closure of any industry, operation and regulation of supply of electricity, water or any other service.

e) Empowers PCBs to take samples of ambient air, stock (chimney) emissions.

f) Provides for criminal liabilities