10 - Engineering The Environment

Engineering and Society:
Engineering the Environment
Dr. Gershon Weltman

Engineering 183W, UCLA SEAS
Lecture 10
Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2014
The Environment
Image courtesy Malin Space Science Systems, 2004
The Environment is Complex

Biosphere in Arizona
Biosphere II (1990-Present)
Closed Ecology
High Aspirations
Technical Failure
Todays Uses
Tourist Attraction
R&D Site
Creative Stimulus
Space Prototype?
Biosphere in Tucson, AZ
Biosphere on Mars
The Environment Affects.
How human beings live today

The lives of future human beings
The lives of future species
Is the environment improving or deteriorating?

Are we the primary causer, or only the affected?
Historical Insults to the Environmental

Circa
Environmental Effect
55 BC
Deforestation of the British Isles
0-100
Deforestation of the Mediterranean region
900
Waste and pollution from inefficient heating
1700
French streams blocked by 10,000 mills
1830
European cities devastated Cholera from sewage
1840
Settlers shave the plains on several continents
1870
Factories spew toxic fumes into atmosphere
1900
Major industrial cities choked by coal smog
1940
Europes forests denuded to fuel WWII
1960
More than 400 test nuclear explosions
Dr. Joseph Miller, SEAS Engineering 193, 2003

The Point Being.
Environmental sins and suffering are not new. Humans have

always exploited the territories within reach. The question is
whether the technology that has extended our reach can now also
liberate the environment from human impact..
and perhaps even transform the environment for the better.
Present cultural conditions favor this latter movement.
Dr. Joe Miller, 2003
Todays Major Environmental Problems
Depletion of Natural Resources

Effects of Urbanization
Effects of Industrialization
Smog & Ozone Production

Chlorofluorocarbons & the Ozone Layer
Greenhouse Gases & Global Warming
Wastes & Contamination
Technology Byproducts
meet
Natural Phenomena
Example: Smog Conditions in Los Angeles
Smog Components
Smoke
Ozone
Nitrous Oxides
Unburned Fuel
Other Pollutants
San Fernando Valley Inversion
Production of Photochemical Smog
http://mtsu32.mtsu.edu:11233/Smog-Atm1.htm
10
Smog Control Measures
Problem Recognition
State and Local Regulation
Home Incinerator Removal
Gasoline Effluents Control
Catalytic converters
Filling shields
Local Industry Change
11
Ozone
Results of Smog Control in LA Area
1976
2004
http://www.aqmd.gov/
12
Ozone Layer Depletion
(Chlorofluorocarbons)
http://www.okiu.ac.jp/Language/contest/02/12/ozone.htm
13
Growth of the Ozone Hole
14
Models of Emission-Limiting Protocols
15
Latest Data is Encouraging
16
Global Warming: The Greenhouse Effect
A typical greenhouse
17
Global Warming: The Greenhouse Effect
4
5
2
Greenhouse Gases
Carbon Dioxide
Methane
Chlorofluorocarbons
Others
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/globalwarming/Global_Warming_site.html
18
Temperature Change
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/globalwarming/Global_Warming_site.html
19
Increase in Greenhouse Gases

Carbon Dioxide
Methane
Nitrous Oxide
World Meteorological Association Bulletin, November 2010

20
Some Emitters Weve Talked About
Power Plants In Colstrip, Mont. (Associated Press/Billings Gazette, Larry Mayer)
A Crowded Street In The Southern Indian City Of Bangalore. (Credit: Reuters)
21
and the Trend Continues
22
Causes, Effects & Solutions Not So Obvious
Causes of Temperature Change
Natural Cycle or Something New?

Human Contribution: What percent?
23
The Science Implicates Us
The New York Times, July 30, 2012

24
Causes, Effects, & Solutions Not Obvious

Potential Effects & Problems
Melting of Polar Ice and Glaciers Causing:
Rise in Ocean Level

Loss of Coastal Lands
Significant Changes in Climate Affecting:
Natural Environment: Flood, Draughts, Storms, Pests

Quality of Life: Coastal vs. Inland, Developed vs. Undeveloped
25
Some Effects Are Already Obvious
The Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy in the Recent Arctic

(Credit: Dave Withrow/United States Coast Guard Via Associated Press)
26
Others May Be Appearing
Super storm Sandy inundates the New Jersey seacoast, October 2012
(Credit: HANDOUT/REUTERS)
27
and Concern is Growing
28
Causes, Effects, & Solutions Not Obvious

Potential Effects & Problems
Melting of Polar Ice and Glaciers Causing:
Significant Changes in Climate Affecting:
Natural Environment: Flood, Draughts, Storms, Pests

Quality of Life: Coastal vs. Inland, Developed vs. Undeveloped
Approaches to Reversing Effects Include:
Rise in Ocean Level

Loss of Coastal Lands
Hope for Natural Adjustment; e.g., Ocean Absorption of Heat, Reversal

Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Find Other Technological Solutions
Ethical Issues: Who to protect? Who will suffer? Who will act?
29
The U.S. is Polarized and Politicized
30
Even Today
Are
Arewe
wereturning
returningto
toRevelation
Revelationvs.
vs.Observation?
Observation?
31
Annual Carbon Footprint: Major Variations
U.S. Average
~ 20 metric tons
World Average
~ 4 metric tons
U.S. Homeless
~ 8.5 metric tons
From MIT class tracks carbon footprint of different lifestyles. www.co2-handel.de, 29.04.2008
32
The Responsibility: Federal, State, Private?

10 States Sue EPA Over Global Warming
By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer, April 27, 2004
WASHINGTON - Ten states fired a new legal salvo at the federal

government Thursday in a long-running court battle over global warming
and pollution from power plants.
The states, joined by environmental groups, sued the
Environmental Protection Agency over its decision not to regulate carbon
dioxide pollution as a contributor to global warming.
New York, California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico,
Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin filed the lawsuit in the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Courts
Courtsruled
ruledfor
forthe
theStates,
States,the
theEPA
EPAwas
wasready
readyto
toregulate
regulateCO
CO22,,
recent
recentPresidential
Presidentialdirective
directiveoverrules
overrulesCongressional
Congressionalchallenges
challenges
33
Are There Other Means of Cooling?
IsIscontrolled
controlledpollution
pollutionaasolution
solutiontotoglobal
globalwarming?
warming?IsIsititfeasible?
feasible?IsIsititsafe?
safe?
Image courtesy University Corporation for Atmospheric Research; photo by Caspar Ammann
34
A Bit of Humor
Sign seen on
Bruin Walk
35
Waste Management: A Growing Concern
Pre-Historic Throw it out, build on it, use it for fertilizer
Greco-Roman
Medieval
Industrial Rev
New wastes in bigger cities, waste
environmental science,
early connection to disease
collection services,
19th Century Germ Theory Paradigm Shift: Disease clearly

sanitation engineering
associated with waste,
20th Century Growing populations, more urbanization,

new types of waste, waste
management
technology -- more efficient applications of
old methodologies
21st Century Time for another Paradigm Shift?
Sewer systems, landfills, dump sites,
personal responsibility
Same approaches, little or no improvement
36
Waste on Todays
Urban Scene
Garbage city (Cairo) by Bas Princen; Tire Dump, Gorton by David Johnson
37
.and in Suburban &

Country Waterways
38
Waste Hits the Headlines
39
Major Industrial Waste Sources
Energy Industries
Coal Mines
Atomic Reactors
Food Industries
Clothing Industries
Textile Plants
Tanneries
Material Industries
Wood Fiber Industries

Metal Industries
Liquid Material Industries
Animal Farming and Processing

Fruit and Vegetable Farms
Canneries
Dairies
Wineries and Distilleries
Pharmaceutical Plants
Chemical Industries
Organic Compounds
Acids and Bases
Explosives
40
Waste Category
Industrial
Hazardous
Municipal
Medical
Radioactive
~Tons in 2000
15,000 M
200 M
175 M
0.7 M
2.5 K
1,400
National
Product
Population
Organic
Chemical
Production
Percent Increase
Increasing Amounts
of Technical Waste
1930
1990
41
Municipal Solid Wastes in U.S.
42
On a Personal Basis
Waste Source
Industrial
Hazardous
Municipal Solid
Medical
Radioactive
Total
Per Person Per Day

290 lb
5.4 lb
4.5 lb
0.1 lb
-~300 lb
43
Adverse Effects of Waste Products

Ecological Effects
Direct Human Health

Food Chain Contamination
Plant and Animal Species Destruction
Contamination Pathways
Open Water Contamination (Rivers, Lakes, Oceans)
Ground Water Contamination
Air Pollution
Acid Rain
Direct and Indirect Radioactivity
44
Example: Open Water Pollution

Untreated
Runoff &
Sewage
Illegal Discharge
45
Pollution from Factory Farms
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sustainabletable/2950338288/
46
Sample Results: Mutations

Frogs around the world are being born
with severe deformities because of
pollution, say scientists.
BBC News, 2002
47
Sample Results: New Silent Springs
pH Table from library.thinkquest.org

Fish Kill photo from Russell Faben, www.web-and-flow.com
48
Ethical Considerations
Traditional
Rights of people to a healthy and pleasant life
Duty not to inflict harm on other people
Current populations
Future generations
Virtue of being a non-polluter
Utilitarian balance of benefits and costs
Immediate costs
Long term benefits
Pragmatic solutions to conflicting objectives
Non-Traditional
Rights of Nature, and of other Species
Duties to Eco-System as a whole
49
Current Waste Management Strategies

Conventional
Regulation
Source Reduction
Combustion/Incineration
Physical Containment
Less Conventional
Recycling
Eco-Efficiency
50
Regulation of Waste Management
1969
National Environmental Policy Act (New paradigm)
1972
Clean Water Act (Rigorous control of toxic waste)
1974
Safe Drinking Water Act (National water standards)
1976
Toxic Substances Control Act (EPA tracks and controls
75,000 industrial chemicals)
1976
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (Cradle-tograve
control of hazardous waste)
1980
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and
Liability Act (Superfund clean-up of
closed and abandoned sites
after Love Canal disaster)
1980
Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act (Regional control of
normal radioactive waste disposal)
1982
Nuclear Waste Policy Act (Federal high-level waste disposal)
2002
Selection of Yucca Mt, Nevada as nuclear disposal site
51
Yucca Mt. Time Line

The Department of Energy
(DOE) has set a new target date
for the opening of the proposed
Yucca Mountain repository.
According to a July 18
announcement, Yucca Mountain
will be ready to start accepting
shipments of nuclear waste in
March of 2017. This is the first
timeline DOE has set for the
repository since it abandoned its
previous deadline of 2010 two
years ago. Receipt of waste is
now scheduled 35 years after the
original bill passage!
35 Years after Enabling Bill
52
Problems with Traditional Strategies
Regulation
Source Reduction
Technologies are expensive

Industries fight compliance
Combustion/Incineration
Administrations change
Waste producers dispute, delay and evade
Creates pollution itself

Adds to greenhouse gases
Physical Containment
Economical & available space is limited

Materials resist biodegradation
Toxic leakage occurs (groundwater and air)
NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) factor
53
Recycling Trend
54
Recycling by Product
55
Recycling Attitude by Country

I try to recycle everything I can
Survey from Roy Morgan Research http://www.roymorgan.com, The Australian, 4 May 2006
56
Recycling is Now Big Business
57
But Recycling is Also Dangerous
Landfill, Mumbai, India; http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/08/0805

http://img1.photographersdirect.com/img/2293/wm/pd139285.jpg
58
.and a Child Labor Problem
Original page: http://www.decentcomedy.com
http://www.english-online.at/society
59
Issues with Re-Cycling Paradigm
Inefficient
Dangerous
Recycling may use more energy than it saves

Applications require too much individual initiative
Recycled materials are often toxic

Recycling encourages child and forced labor
Inadequate
Trying to sustain dwindling resources

Trying to maintain a fundamentally flawed system
60
A New Paradigm?
Prof. Michael Braungart

Hamburg, Germany
William McDonough
Charlottesville, Virginia
Cradle to
Grave
61
Cradle to Cradle Rationale
Rethink the Industrial Revolution

Redesign the way we make things
Abandon linear processes of waste production
Use nature as a model: Waste equals Food
Prof. Michael Braungart
Lets start designing things with the idea that they will never
become waste but will always be reused in some form or other.
62
Linear Process of Waste Production
63
The Cradle to Cradle Alternative1

The 1st Industrial Revolution:
Generates gigantic amounts of

waste
Puts billions of pounds of toxic
material into air, water and soil
every year
Requires constant vigilance of
highly dangerous materials
Buries valuable materials
Necessitates thousands of
complex regulations
Creates prosperity through
destruction of natural resources
Erodes the eco-environment
The New Industrial Objectives:
Factory affluent water that is

cleaner than the influent
Products that become food for
plants, animals and soil or raw
materials for new products
Buildings that produce more
energy than they consume
Trillions of dollars worth of
materials accrued each year
A world of abundance, not one
of limits, pollution and waste
MBDC (2004) www.mbdc.com

64
Example: C-to-C Design Protocol

Categories of chemicals in products:
Green
Yellow
Orange
Red
Company applies equivalent

criteria in their product designs.
Little or no risk
Low to moderate risk
Lack of information
High risk
In applying the Protocol, materials in products are first inventoried and

then evaluated according to their characteristics within the desired
application, and placed into one of four categories (Green, Yellow,
Orange, or Red) based on human health and environmental relevance
criteria. After all chemicals are assessed, the materials in a product are
optimized by positively selecting replacements for chemicals
characterized as Red and using Green chemicals as they are available.
65
Example: Complete C-to-C Product
In 1993, William McDonough and

Michael Braungart undertook a design
assignment to create an attractive and
functional fabric that could safely return
to the environment at the end of its
useful life. After extensive R&D, they
devised a toxin-free blend of wool and
organically grown ramie, a linen-like
fiber, in a process so clean that it
generates potable wastewater, and the
mill turns scrap trimmings into felt which
Swiss farmers use for mulch in
strawberry fields.1
climatex lifecycle(tm)
mcdonough braungart design chemistry
1
www.designboom.com
66
Example: Energy from Onion Waste
Tiffany Hsu, Onions produce tears and energy at an Oxnard plant, LA Times, July 17, 2009
67
Example: Energy-Efficient Buildings
Buildings
Buildingsconsume
consume39%
39%ofofthe
thetotal
totalenergy
energywe
weuse
useininthe
theU.S.,
U.S.,
and
and71%
71%ofofall
allour
ourelectricity.
electricity.Producing
Producingthat
thatenergy
energygenerates
generatesalmost
almosthalf
half
1
(48%)
(48%)ofofour
ourtotal
totalcarbon
carbonemissions
emissions. .1
1
Building Better Buildings, Convergence, UC Santa Barbara, Winter 2010

68
Example: Totally Reusable Cars
Ford Fusion
Chrysler Concept
The Ford Motor Company, a founding

member of CIMSO has recently been
honored for recycling leadership by
receiving an award from the National
Recycling Coalition, a 5000 member notfor-profit group. Driven by good corporate
citizenship and its environmentally sensitive
customers, Ford does use recycled
materials, which have the same
functionality as new ones and at no
additional costs or even at cost savings.
Ford's ultimate goal is to economically
design and manufacture cars and trucks
that come close to being totally recyclable
and maximize the use of materials
recovered from the end-of-life
products.*
Center for Integrated Manufacturing and
Service Operations, 2006
*http://www.insead.fr/cimso/SupplyChainForum/ClosedLoop/CLHome.htm
69
Life Imitates Art

In Lll Abner 1950s comics
Al Capp creates the Shmoo
Only wants to be used
Jumps into frying pan if someone
gives it a hungry look
Tastes like chicken, fish or pork
Skin makes the finest leather
gloves -- or the toughest soles
Whiskers make tooth brushes
No waste at all
Everybody is happy!
Image from http://www.strbrasil.com

70
Summary
We face a number of critical Environmental Problems

Environmental Goals for the 21st Century include:
Improved sources of quality water

Increased food production
Clean power generation and transportation
Waste-free product manufacturing and usage
Better quality of life for entire growing Human Population
Protection of the complete Ecosystem
Successful Engineering of the Environment will require:
Developing innovative technologies

Setting correct priorities
Ensuring the solution doesnt make things worse
71

10 - Engineering The Environment

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Engineering and Society:

Engineering the Environment

Dr. Gershon Weltman

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2014

Image courtesy Malin Space Science Systems, 2004

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2014

The Environment is Complex

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2014

The Environment Affects.

How human beings live today

Is the environment improving or deteriorating?

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2014

Historical Insults to the Environmental

Deforestation of the British Isles

Deforestation of the Mediterranean region

Waste and pollution from inefficient heating

French streams blocked by 10,000 mills

European cities devastated Cholera from sewage

Settlers shave the plains on several continents

Factories spew toxic fumes into atmosphere

Major industrial cities choked by coal smog

Europes forests denuded to fuel WWII

More than 400 test nuclear explosions

Dr. Joseph Miller, SEAS Engineering 193, 2003

The Point Being.

Environmental sins and suffering are not new. Humans have

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2014

Todays Major Environmental Problems

Depletion of Natural Resources

Smog & Ozone Production

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2014

Example: Smog Conditions in Los Angeles

San Fernando Valley Inversion

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2014

Production of Photochemical Smog

Smog Control Measures

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2014

Local Industry Change

Results of Smog Control in LA Area

Ozone Layer Depletion

Growth of the Ozone Hole

Models of Emission-Limiting Protocols

Latest Data is Encouraging

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2014

Global Warming: The Greenhouse Effect

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2014

Global Warming: The Greenhouse Effect

Increase in Greenhouse Gases

World Meteorological Association Bulletin, November 2010

Some Emitters Weve Talked About

Power Plants In Colstrip, Mont. (Associated Press/Billings Gazette, Larry Mayer)

A Crowded Street In The Southern Indian City Of Bangalore. (Credit: Reuters)

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2014

and the Trend Continues

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2014

Causes, Effects & Solutions Not So Obvious

Causes of Temperature Change

Natural Cycle or Something New?

Copyright Gershon Weltman, 2014

The Science Implicates Us

The New York Times, July 30, 2012

Causes, Effects, & Solutions Not Obvious

Causes of Temperature Change