Changes in Technology Anticipated to Change the Pattern of Pollutant Emissions - Research Paper Example

Changes in Technology Anticipated to Change the Pattern of Pollutant Emissions Introduction As years go by, the world is becoming more advanced. Societies are adopting new technologies to make transactions easy and faster. This has made the world smaller and flatter according to Thomas Friedman (qtd. in Gray 81). Accordingly, more energy are used and exhausted to maintain this development and discover more efficient tools. However, no matter how good these changes are, corresponding sacrifices and consequences are always present which can either affect locally or internationally. As such, energy consumptions have environmental consequences. One of which is pollution through emissions coming from the different energy dependent machineries. Nonetheless, critics argue that changes in technology are anticipated to change the pattern of these pollutant emissions. Changes in Technology According to Jaffe, Newell, and Stavins technological change is the general process of innovation and diffusion of technology (41). It is related to environmental policy (Jaffe, Newell, and Stavins 41). They contend that changes in technology significantly affect social activity which in turn has environmental impacts. Policy intervention regarding the environment produces restrictions and incentives that impinge on technological innovations (Jaffe, Newell, and Stavins 41). This theory is comprehensible since complex environmental concerns today are due to the employment of new technologies which have unprecedented emissions. As a result, legislators pass laws which will regulate the use of such technology to lessen the bad effects of emissions to the individual members of the society and to the environment. Pollutant Emissions Pollutants can either be emitted naturally or by anthropogenic sources. Natural emissions which are beyond the capacity of man include volcanic eruption and biogenic emissions. On the other hand, anthropogenic sources of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide exist because of human activities. Sulfur dioxide is largely emitted than nitrogen oxide since 1950 as shown in Table 1 below. These emissions are primarily transmitted through the air making it an all-encompassing environmental problem anywhere on earth (Best 87). Emissions in Tg (1012)/year SO2/IPCC NOx/Graedel Volatile Organic comp Biomass burning 2.2 6 45 Volcanoes 9.3 Lightning 5 Biogenic emissions from land areas 1.0 15 350 (isoprenes) + 480 (terpenes) Biogenic emissions from oceans 24 27 Industrial and utility activities 76 22 45 Solvents 15 Total natural emissions 34 21 855 Total anthropogenic emissions 78 27 105 Total emissions 113 48 960 Table 1. “Global, natural and anthropogenic emissions of SO2 and NOx” Source: Slanina, Sjaak. “Air Pollution Emissions.” The Encyclopedia of Earth. The Encyclopedia of Earth, 21 Aug. 2008. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency describes emissions as the gases and particles which are deposited into the air or emitted by various sources. The known sources for emissions are classified into four namely: point, mobile, biogenic and area. Point sources include factories and electric power plants while mobile sources come from cars, trucks, airplanes and everything that moves and pollutes the air (“Air Pollution Emissions Overview”). The Change in Pattern It is contended that a change in the pattern of pollutant emissions can be anticipated whenever there is a change in technology. Significantly, this involves the commercialization of advanced technologies (Freeman, and Kolstad 3). This is done by inventing and introducing zero emission technologies in the market such as hybrid-electric vehicles, battery-powered electric vehicles, direct hydrogen fuel–cell vehicles and biodiesel-fuel vehicles (Dixon, Porche, and Kulick 21-24). In relation, there are already many states in U.S. that are implementing a zero emissions vehicle program like the one in California. In fact, since 1990, this program has been proven effective to lessen the degree of vehicle emissions in that state (Dixon, Porche, and Kulick 1). Another study revealed that there is a decline of sulfur dioxide emissions in Europe and U.S. while there is an increase emission in developing countries as can be observed in Table 2 (Slanina). Moreover, nitrous oxide emission increased in developing countries too while there is a significant decline in developed countries. According to Sjaak Slanina, this finding suggests that “acid disposition is being exchanged with exposure to increased oxidant concentrations.” This change in pattern of emissions is actually “caused by changes in economy, industrial activity, technology improvements, traffic, and by many other factors” (Slanina). Nonetheless, the US Environmental Protection Agency has declared that, “one of the distinct and natural occurrences in inventory development is the evolution and improvement of emission estimate methods over time” (“National Emissions Inventory”). Table 2. Overview of emissions of sulfur, nitrogen and organic compounds Source: Slanina, Sjaak. “Air Pollution Emissions.” The Encyclopedia of Earth. The Encyclopedia of Earth, 21 Aug. 2008. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. Conclusion One of the best ways that humans could do to protect the environment while in the process of innovation is to create tools that will not cause harm or destroy their habitat. This is what we call as the balancing between human activities and environmental consequences. In relation, the zero emissions program should be adopted by the international community if everyone is determined to protect and save the world we live in. We can in fact and in reality anticipate a change in the pattern of pollutant emission if we continue to implement this rule. Hence, a change in technology can be equated to a change in the trend of pollutant emission. Works Cited “Air Pollution Emissions Overview.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 10 Aug. 2009. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. . Best, Gerry. Environmental Pollution Studies. Liverpool, England: Liverpool University, 1999. Print. Dixon, Lloyd, Isaac Porche, and Jonathan Kulick. Driving Emissions to Zero: Are the Benefits of Californias Zero Emission Vehicle Program Worth the Costs? Santa Monica, CA: Rand, 2002. Print. Freeman, Jody, and Charles Kolstad. Moving to Markets in Environmental Regulation: Lessons from Twenty Years of Experience. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Gray, Kenneth. “The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century.” International Journal on World Peace 22.3 (2005): 81. Print. Jaffe, Adam, Richard G. Newell, and Robert N. Stavins. “Environmental Policy and Technological Change.” Environmental and Resource Economics 22 (2002): 41- 69. Print. “National Emissions Inventory (NEI) Air Pollutant Emissions Trends Data.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 10 Aug. 2009. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. . Slanina, Sjaak. “Air Pollution Emissions.” The Encyclopedia of Earth. The Encyclopedia of Earth, 21 Aug. 2008. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. . Read More