We also need to think big. Should we only be looking to reduce the impact on climate change or can engineering be the solution to completely reverse it? Negative emissions technology NET will play a big part towards achieving climate targets by leading to a negative balance of carbon in the atmosphere. There are numerous options of NETs which are reviewed in depth by J. Pires in Science of the Total Environment July Typically, they are separated into direct or indirect air capture.
One of the highly effective indirect air capture is through algae culture which can photosynthesise with efficiency of ten times higher than plants. The use of these methods lends itself well towards bioenergy with carbon capture and storage such that biomass energy could help convert the energy sector from the carbon source it currently is into a net carbon sink in the future.
The legislation passed in government last year committing to net zero UK carbon emissions by is a giant forward milestone to push pioneering technology to achieve the target. Coordinated effort with industry will be imperative in order to make this happen as soon as possible.
Projects and funding need to be handled in such a way that there is incentive for engineering companies to collaborate and tackle the big problems. Investments need to be targeted to achieve the most impact in order to hit the target. It is also important to increase interest and uptake of STEM subjects in school and university to encourage more young engineers to work on low carbon technologies to find innovative solutions to battle climate change.
Renewable energy does not currently pay the same high wages as other fossil fuel industries, yet the engineers working on renewable energy are potentially doing one of the most important jobs in the world.
As a result of that summit, held in Los Angeles on Nov. Lewis said the member cities are excited to have the engineers on board, with one caveat.
The coalition expects to have its first full meeting in January and activities this year will focus on connecting city leaders with engineers, as well as looking for ways to address infrastructure funding gaps to improve sustainability and resilience. While all engineering and construction answers to climate change may still be years away, there are some things that can be done now to help reduce emissions, including implementing engineering standards, evaluating life-cycle costs and taking a whole-systems approach to construction, according to Lewis, Smith and Clarke.
Lewis explains that at its most basic level, there is not a standard that defines resilience. Adaptive and resilient infrastructure must consider life-cycle costs, says Smith. Lewis says that one good example is the life-cycle cost of renewable energy. Up front, the capital cost may be higher, but if long-term operations and maintenance costs are included, they are a quarter to a half of the costs of fossil-fuel power generation.
According to an analysis by the International Finance Corp. Clients, he argues, will actually lead the push for lower carbon buildings and infrastructure. Clarke forecasts that through technology, entire net zero carbon building systems, such as HVAC and elevators, will be developed and handed over to general contractors to install.
Carbon emissions, he adds, will be the primary design parameter for future infrastructure and buildings. He just taught a course on climate change for engineers and was energized by the excitement his students brought to the class. This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies.
Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more. This Website Uses Cookies By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. The engineering community can address these issues only by ensuring that we consciously come up with technological innovations that promote environment friendliness.
Some examples of the innovative technologies and solutions that promise to reduce global warming include:. The recently concluded Paris climate change agreement is only a hope, but a better and much-needed approach to address environmental sustainability starts at the grassroots, with every individual stepping forward to combat the problem.
As simple initiatives, we must focus on reducing our daily energy consumption, migrating to renewable resources, using greener transportation, and adopting eco-friendly technologies in our daily lives.
A collective problem requires a collective solution. Economic growth and the progressive social thread of a nation are directly proportional to its emphasis on education at Building economic sustainability and self-reliance is the foundation for imbuing excellence in national growth. As humanity continues to Subscribe to Email Updates.
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