Engineers Role in Environmental Protection - Essay Example

Engineer’s role in Environmental Protection affiliation Introduction Engineer’s role in Environmental Protection Industrialization has come with indescribable wealth and has changed the way of living in the past century. Together with urbanization, the two have developed to be a worldwide phenomenon, bringing about serious ecological issues such as pollution, climate change, and resource depletion. Environmental issues have been worsened by the enormous usage of natural resources, their process of pollution and transport infrastructure. Engineers have specialized duties to society. They are normally called upon to find remedies to the problems that have a negative effect on the society. The remedy of such issues needs responsible and careful use of scientific principles. Therefore, it is essential for the engineer to address issues in a professional manner that will ensure there are minimal or no effects towards the environment (Brown, 2002). The purpose of this paper is to show the role of engineers in maintain a healthy environment suitable for the living of human beings. The paper will tackle how engineers are working hand in hand with environmentalist to make sure that their activities do not affect the ecology. Additionally, the paper will look at the role of engineers in recycling waste products that have the potential of being re-used and how they are trying to substitute the use of organic materials with plastics. For another thing, the role of engineers in developing the old methods of engineering that had environmental and health effects to new methods that are safe will be taken into account. Lastly, the paper is going to tackle on renewable sources of energy that can be used so as to save energy and meet the needs of the accruing world population in the years to come. Dumping of chemical wastes in the water, soil and air directly lead to the pollution of rivers and air, and automotive and industrial smoke. Urban development and housing have numerous ecological consequences; the process of building a house consumes energy and raw materials, and the subsequent expansions affect the extensive environment. The energy necessities of housing contribute extensively to global warming. The Generation of dangerous gases and other waste materials, and the release of harmful materials from the different stages of nuclear fuel phases results in global warming (Bell, 2011). Environmentalists and engineers need to work in harmony more than in the ancient times. Ecologists and other ecological scientists must work together with the engineers so as to define the necessities of significant environmental processes and conditions in ways that can be integrated into engineering plan considerations, and carry on to work in harmony in developing engineering plans. The engineers need to focus on progress of new systematic tools and instruments to attend to three major areas of management: field measurements; laboratory analysis; and hypothetical tools for comparison and modelling with experimentation. So as to attend to the challenges of monitoring and sampling soil, water and air more frequently and extensively developing management necessities for waste water efficacies by presenting waste water treatment in total water managing scheme by decreasing the overall demand for water via the reuse of water. Recycling According to Freeman, (2013), recycling is the procedure of altering the waste materials to fresh products, thus, reducing waste of possibly valuable materials, decreases the use of new raw materials, reduces water pollution and air pollution, and decreases the use of energy through minimizing the necessity for conservative disposal of waste and reducing emissions of gas from greenhouses in comparison to plastic production. Engineers have a role to play in recycling products since most of their activities involve the production of numerous wastes and as a way of reducing the wastes it is important to recycle them. Recycling is cheap since it does not involve a lot of money like acquiring new materials, also it helps to reduce damages to the environment which are caused when harvesting trees, drilling petroleum and also mining for metals. Although also in recycling, there is some pollution that occurs in the environment, but it is less compared to manufacturing of new materials. Metallurgists and chemical engineers have worked in harmony for many years to perfect the methods that are used in the recycling of metal, for instance, cans that are stainless are easier to recycle with minimal or no prior processing than aluminum. Moreover, in today’s world, aluminum is the most used material and also its recycling is often. Around 90% of aluminum cars and about two-third of cans in the U.S. are recycled. The process of recycling of aluminum involves the removal of labels, paint and lacquer in a heated oven. Afterward, the chopping of cans into smaller parts takes place, and they are added to a melted aluminum bath together with chemicals so as to extract any impurities (Mehta, 2006). Thus, the remaining component of aluminum is the one that is reused. Other than aluminum, paper is also a different post-consumer product that is recycled often. Chemical engineers have optimized and devised procedures that involve: blending reused water and paper to come up with a pulp slurry; getting rid of all inks and other chemicals present in the paper; and filtering the slurry to do away with solid impurities. Paper recycling has enabled the reduction in both the ecological cost of gathering virgin wood and the burden of disposal on landfills. Thus, engineers play a significant role in the recycling process that helps to conserve the environment. Use organic material Conferring to Tuomisto, Hodge, Riordan, & Macdonald, (2012), organic materials originate from living animals and plants and are managed best as a resource instead of a waste. From crop residue and animal manure to grass and leaves to the unconsumed food produced daily in homes, restaurants and cafeteria, organic materials have become part of life. The management of organic materials can be done by recycling, reuse, and reduction. In the construction field, more so in civil engineering organic materials are observed as bonding additives. Whether it is about bitumen used for road surfacing, polymers for articulating materials for repair and mechanical pasting or admixtures for a more dense concrete. Civil engineers center on bioremediation, hydrology, managing water resources, and water purification plant design. In order to prevent global warming it is good to consider recycling the products rather than cutting down trees or slaughtering of animals so as to find new raw materials. There are various techniques for recycling the organic materials. Coming up with a technique depends on multiple aspects comprising: government incentives offered; technological cost; soil products markets; availability of facility siting; agricultural land availability; the quantity; and type of material; among others. Additionally, civil engineers should also use plastics which can be synthetically produced from the factories rather than wood which by frequent use will finish the beautiful forests thus affecting the environment. Developing old engineering methods In recent times, Mechanical engineers have developed some of the old methods of engineering that affect the environment and the individuals living in it. Sanborn, Abelsohn, Campbell, & Weir, (2002), states that during the ancient times, fuels used contained lead which was said to protect the engine of cars and other equipment’s in factories. Human beings have used also used lead in numerous applications for many years, and it has been seen to leave behind serious health and environmental problems. Exposure to lead is harmful also to the unborn, and it leads to the development of problems in learning and impaired mental ability in the infants. Adults and pregnant mothers are not prone to its effects as they are affected too in numerous ways. So as to make the environment a safer place to live in, the engineers have developed non-lead fuels which are less harmful. Additionally, Filters in ancient times that the mechanical engineers used were found in gas masks that were worn by the engineers in the place of duty. However, in the occasion that the filter is filled with risky chemicals, it stops giving out protection, and the user might be injured. Majority of the gas masks used the closing caps above the air intake so as to inhibit the filter from losing value before it is used, however, the filter loses its protective capabilities if it is unprotected from heat and moisture. This old gas mask filters that existed in the ancient times are not good at giving its user protection and can affect the user because of the long-term alterations in the chemical composition of the filter. The filters contained blue asbestos which is harmful and caused the demise of 10% of the personnel in the factories because of peritoneal and pleural mesothelioma. This proportion was three times higher than the typical incidence of respiratory or lung cancers. However in recent times, the filters in the gas masks are said to be free from asbestos, hence are safer for use and may not lead to death if used appropriately. For another thing, flutters have been present in the environment from ancient times, however, recently scientists and engineers discovered the negative effects of the flutter in structures. From the beginning of the flight, wing flutters was a deadly issue that caused passengers and pilots to lose their lives in airplanes that failed mechanically because of the primary structure flutter. However, this problem was addressed by considering the perfect flow conditions over a conformably drawn aero-foil. Another incident of flutter causing shocking results was recognized as the Tacoma Bridge Disaster that happened in the year 1940. The bridge wavered with such a big amplitude that it malformed.it was later found out that the primary cause of the fall was aero-elastic flutter. Another discovery showed that the most probable cause of snoring in human beings is palatial flutter. Up to date, flutters are still considered as a bother due to its harmful effect on structures. Renewable energy sources Referring to Report, Panel, & Change, (2012), engineers play a major role in renewing energy that is used for industrial processes, electric power, among others. Through renewing energy is saved, and it makes it easier to meet the needs of the increasing population in the future. Additionally, in the process of conserving sources of energy, countries enjoy a healthier and cleaner environment, and the climate can be protected through the reduction of greenhouse gasses. Renewable sources of energy comprise of biomass, geothermal, wind and water power. There are numerous benefits that come with the use or renewable energy instead of fossil fuels. First of all, renewable energy is necessary for stabilizing atmospheric greenhouse gas levels globally. Locally, it considerably reduces the air pollution that could have come from the use of the fossil fuels hence improving the health of the public. On the other hand, renewable energy aids in reducing the net retail fuel price and electricity prices unpredictability. This might bring a descending pressure on the extensive market of electricity charges by substituting power from more costly production units. Additionally, these technologies of renewable energy assist in balancing the electric grid. Renewable power on sites might meet specific energy requirements simply and cheaply. Distributed micro-grids and generation of renewable power might provide resiliency in the course of natural calamities. Majority of the fossil fuels are imported, unlike renewable energy which can be generated locally, through this the economies of countries are most likely to prosper since much money is saved through the use of renewable energy. Lastly, this energy that is renewed comes with important opportunities. To be specific, the project of incorporating the renewable energy capitals into current energy supplies and end expenditure sectors is projected to lead to significant new systems and products. Data from a smart grid would assist consumers to save money through perceptively governing their usage of power. Combined with a nifty grid, renewables have practically unexploited potential to supply clean energy that serves the growing economies and populations adequately. Conclusion Concisely, environment conservation is a role of engineers, and they play a major part in conserving it. Through their day to day activities that involves manufacturing of products, they are likely to pollute the environment if appropriate measures are not taken to curb the effects of their activities. Therefore, engineers have found ways of recycling products, using renewable energy and substituting organic materials with plastic. Lastly, they have also developed ancient method that caused harm to themselves and the larger population to modern ways that are safer. References Bell, S. (2011). Engineers, society, and sustainability. San Rafael, Calif.: Morgan & Claypool. Brown, P. M. B. L. C. (2002). Statistics for Environmental Engineers. Environmental and Engineering Geoscience. doi:10.2113/8.3.244 Freeman, B. (2013). Engineers improve recycling system used in fracking to save water and energy. Membrane Technology, 2013, 7. doi:10.1016/S0958-2118(13)70207-6 Mehta, M. (2006). Groaning aluminium companies get power relief -- recycling catches on within US Al industry. Aluminium International Today, 18(4), 8. Report, S., Panel, I., & Change, C. (2012). Renewable energy sources and climate change mitigation: special report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Choice Reviews Online (Vol. 49, p. 1076). doi:10.5860/CHOICE.49-6309 Sanborn, M. D., Abelsohn, A., Campbell, M., & Weir, E. Identifying and managing adverse environmental health effects: 3. Lead exposure., 166 CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l’Association medicale canadienne 1287–1292 (2002). Tuomisto, H. L., Hodge, I. D., Riordan, P., & Macdonald, D. W. (2012). Does organic farming reduce environmental impacts? - A meta-analysis of European research. Journal of Environmental Management, 112, 309–320. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.08.018 Read More