What is Biodiversity?

The large number of unique plant life, animal life, microorganisms, genes and the different natural habitats
form the Biodiversity of the Earth.

Why is it important?
Biodiversity ensures the survival and sustenance of all animal and plant life on Earth, in each of their
natural habitats, allowing each and every organism to fulfill its role towards greater availability and
sustainability of crops, food sources and withstanding natural calamities and disasters.

Healthy Biodiversity Offers :

Ecosystem Services:
Protection of Natural Sources of Water
Formation and protection of soils
Recycling and storage of natural nutrients
Absorption and breakdown of pollutants
Climate stability
Ecosystem Maintenance
Recovery from unforeseen incidents

Biological Resources:
Food
Pharmaceuticals and medicines
Wood Products
Ornamental plants
Population reservoirs and breeding stocks( prevent defects due to in-breeding because of lack of numbers)
Resources for the future
A healthy and natural variety in genetics, species and ecosystems, help prevent or slow down extinction

Social Benefits:
Research, education and ongoing monitoring
Recreation and tourism
Cultural benefits

When is a system or process sustainable

If it can be continued indefinitely without depleting or harming the natural resources needed to run it.

Trees can reproduce faster than they are harvested.

Fish can also reproduce faster than they are harvested
Soil can repair itself form pollutive chemicals and over harvesting to a certain degree over years

What is a sustainable society

One that can survive and sustain itself over and over again without destroying resource base by over
harvesting or creating harm beyond the natural habitat’s capacity of self-preservation.
What is Stewardship?

Actions and procedures to manage natural resources for the welfare and common betterment. In charge of
people and property belonging to the owner.

A sustainable activity is one that can run indefinitely and adequately without depleting the very resources
that help run that activity beyond naturally unreplenishable levels.

Impact to environment =
Population that consumes X Affluence (ave amt of goods/services we use) X Technology (how efficiently or
inefficiently we produce these goods/services)

Technology – how we apply scientific and tacit knowledge to solve everyday problems.
It is the way resources are turned into building blocks for creating new goods and services.
It is also recognizing the need for replenishing and experimenting with singular or combinations of
alternate or synthetic raw materials to explore ways to substitute traditional natural resources with the
aim of conserving them for the future.

Causes and reasons for human population growth

-stable, ample food source

-increased communication, travel, exchange and trade
-discovery of new lands , new food sources and technological discoveries allowing exploitation of natural
resources to create new food , services, goods and wealth
-increased wealth leads to buying power to acquire new technology, land, possessions and put value on
resources
-increased wealth and technology leads to greed , willingness to dominate and become a super power
to control Earth’s resources for their own countries / civilizations

The four dimensions of sustainability are economic, environmental, social and cultural.

sustainable society - ensures the health and vitality of human life and of nature’s capital,

for present and future generations

stop the activities that serve to destroy human life and culture and nature’s capital
encourage those activities that serve to conserve what exists, restore what has been damaged, and
prevent future harm.”
Law of Limiting Factors
A factor that limits growth
factor that is outside the optimal range will cause stress and limit growth, reproduction or even the
survival of a population.
usually a lack of a particular resource, they also include problems of excessiveness.
For example, plants may be stressed or killed by insufficient water or fertiliser,
as well as too much water or fertiliser.
Limiting factors may be biotic (e.g. food, water, mates, competition etc.)
or abiotic (e.g. space, temperature, amount of sunlight, etc.).
Some limiting factors may change from one time to another,
many limiting factors may be at work at the same time.
Ultimately, limiting factors determine the maximum size of a population which can supported.

Effects of Over Population

Low standard of living

Live in poverty – low standard of living contributing to poor hygiene and living standards – hence
detrimental to normal everyday life

Malnutrition
Over 1 billion people in developing countries remain malnourished.
More than 6 million pre-school child die each year of hunger and malnutrition.
In Asia and Africa, malnutrition contributes to nearly half of all deaths in children under 5.

Poor hygiene leads to poor medical health

Diseases due to poor hygiene and malnutrition affect otherwise healthy individuals

Decline of Ecosystems due to Increased Population

Natural and managed ecosystems support human life and economies with a range of goods and services.

most of these vital resources are not managed well – much of the groundwater supplies are depleted,

agricultural soils are degraded, oceans are overfished, and forests are cut faster than they can regrow by
human societies.

The world economy depends heavily on many renewable resources for goods (e.g. fresh water, all of our
food, much of our fuel, wood, leather, furs, raw materials, oil, alcohols etc.).
Agriculture, forestry and fishing account for 50% of all jobs worldwide, and 70% of all jobs in sub-Sahara
Africa, eastern Asia and the Pacific Islands.
same ecosystems provide a flow of services that support human life and economic well-being,

such as the breakdown of waste, regulation of the climate, erosion control, pest management,

maintenance of crucial nutrient cycles, etc. Human well-being and economic development are absolutely

dependent on the goods and services from ecosystems. Thus, the stock of goods and services in a nation

and its income-generating capacity represents a major form of wealth of the nation.

These goods and services are provided year after year, as long as the ecosystems producing them are
protected.

Global Climate change as a result of overpopulation

Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns when that change lasts for an
extended period of time (i.e., decades to millions of years).

Climate change may refer to a change in average weather conditions, or in the time variation of weather
around longer-term average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events).
(Extracted from Wikipedia[Link]

A more serious problem today is the danger of global climate change due to the accumulation of
greenhouse gases, especially of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
CO2 is an unavoidable by-product of burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas).
Because of the large amount of fossil fuels currently being burned, CO2 levels in the atmosphere have
grown from about 280 parts per million (ppm) in 1900 to over 390 ppm in 2010.
For the last few years, the level of atmospheric CO2 has increased by 2 ppm per year, and given our
dependency on fossil fuels, the increase is unlikely to stop.

How does CO2 contribute to Global Warming

CO2 and Global Warming. CO2 is a natural component of the atmosphere, along with nitrogen and oxygen.
It is required by plants for photosynthesis.
CO2 gas is transparent to incoming light from the Sun, but it absorbs infrared (heat) energy radiated from
Earth’s surface, thus slowing the loss of this energy to space.
The absorption of infrared energy by CO2 warms the lower atmosphere in a phenomenon known as the
greenhouse effect.
Although CO2 is a small percentage of the atmospheric gases, increases in the volume of this gas affect
temperatures.
Loss of biodiversity due to over population

Biodiversity is the existence of a variety of life on Earth and the ecosystems that they create and are part
of. It includes different types of plants, animals, microorganisms and genetics that forms these species

The rapidly growing human population, with its growing appetite for food, water, timber, fiber and fuel, is
accelerating the conversion of forests, grassland, and wetlands to agriculture and urban development .

The inevitable result is the loss of most of the wild plants and animals that occupy those natural habitats.
Pollution also degrades habitats, especially aquatic and marine habitats, destroying the species they
support.
Further, hundreds of species of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds and butterflies and plants are
exploited for their commercial
value.
Even when species are protected by law, many are hunted, killed and marketed illegally.
According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the majority of wild plant and animal species are
declining in their range and/or population size.

As a result, Earth is rapidly losing many of its species, although no none knows exactly how many.
About 2 million species have been described and classified, but scientists estimate that 5 to 30 million
species may exist on Earth.
The most dramatic declines have occurred in the tropics, in both ground-dwelling species and marine
species.

the richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical
discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate change.’

Biodiversity is the mainstay of agricultural crops and of many medicines.

The loss of biodiversity curtails development in these areas.
Biodiversity is also critical in maintaining the stability of natural systems and enabling them to recover after
disturbances such as fire or volcanic eruptions.
There are also aesthetic and moral arguments for maintaining biodiversity.
Technology

Science is the examination, analysis, observation and inference of naturally occurring phenomenon. It is a
pursuit of knowledge and empowerment which is factual and consistent and is a tool in discovery and not
something that changes.

Engineering is the application of scientific knowledge towards formulating a problem solving or product
and service developing methodology.

Technology is a combination of scientific and engineering practices working together to creae a framework
of methodology and practices that would benefit people by improving living standards or improve and
increase efficiency in already existing elements.

Innovation is the creation of a new service, system or process that solves a problem or enhances an
already existing solution which can be made better.

Why will innovation accelerate ?

 Movement from owning products to accessing experiences

 Business is done differently
 Digital fabrication
 Rise of information
 Infinite computing

What sparks or causes sharp increase in innovation ?

 Interconnected Global exchange network which led to exchanges of new

foods/animals resulting in population growth; exchange of new information and
ideas contributed to scientific revolution
 Increasing competitive markets encourage innovation
 Discovery of new sources of energy
 Availability of vast data due to interconnected data sources.
Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Energy

Technological advancement was always limited to finding continual sources of energy to run machinery.
Initially muscle power and huge numbers of human labour were used and later supplemented with help
from beasts of burden. Later, wind and water power was harnessed.

The breakthrough was the steam engine which used steam produced under pressure by boiling water in a
closed vessel to turn pistons which ran machinery.
Mills, plants and railways all used this form of energy.

Energy sources drive our economy today.

Fossil fuels are energy compounds which were formed through the organic breakdown of decaying animal
and plant matter over millions of years, buried deep beneath the earth’s surface.
Deep inside the earth’s rock layer, there was no aerobic decomposition. Instead, anaerobic conditions
forced dead animal and plant matter to be compressed under pressure inside rock layers which turned
them into coal, crude oil and natural gas.

Four major sectors that consume energy are industrial, commercial, residential and transportation.

Industrial energy consumed for – mining , drilling, smelting, forging. Also chemical industry, manufacture of
cement, glass, bricks, tiles, paper and processed food.

Residential and commercial sectors consume for – space heating, air-conditioning, lighting and water
heating.

Work is force over distance. Measured in joules

Energy is the capacity to do work.

Power is the rate of work done. One watt = 1 joule/sec

100watt light bulb used for 10 hours = 100x10 = 1000 watt/hours or 1kWh

Drawbacks of using coal as energy source

Burning coal produces metallic by products like arsenic, mercury, chromium and lead.
Coal is difficult to mine, dangerous and very dirty to handle

After the advent of the internal combustion engine, oil became the dominant source of fuel and its
derivatives like petroleum or gasoline and diesel became dominant fuels of choice for most machinery and
vehicles.

Gas became the world’s third largest commercial fuel.

Methane or natural gas burning is much cleaner, only producing carbon dioxide and water vapour.
How Nuclear Power works

Power produced from the nuclear reactions to induce the release of raw heat energy to convert water into
steam to drive turbines which would generate electricity.
Revolutions

Neolithic

Small tribes of hunter gatherers

Settlements never large, mostly wanderers
Populations could never rise due to shortage of natural food sources, attack from natural predators ,
disease and famine

Once animal husbandry, agriculture started developing, it allowed people to stay in one area longer,
creating a longer term settlement.
Food source more stable and present in larger amounts to feed a population increase.
Agricultural methods allowed creation of food and allowed exchange and set the stage for trade and
exchange, giving incentives for work done.
Soon, demand for better methods and processes sparked technological improvement and development.

Industrial

Agriculture and natural ecosystems supported the growth of numerous civilizations which increased
knowledge and mastery over the natural world.

Then advancements in modern science and technology sparked the industrial revelution
Powered by fossil fuels, as population and development soared, so too did unsafe practices, diseases and
occupational hazards.
Pollution and exploitation increased as the industrial revolution demanded extraction and race to
dominate natural resources became very aggressive.

Medical

Previously the widespread existence of diseases led to the fatality of most people. Diseases like diphtheria,
smallpox, measles and scarlet fever often killed many.
Typhus and cholera also eliminated many during the black plague.
Population was kept low by deaths balancing births.

Soon, many great doctors and scientists like Louis Pasteur showed that pathogens, which are disease
causing micro-organisms like viruses, bacteria and fungi were often transmitted through water, food ,
insects and rodents. They developed effective vaccinations against most of these diseases and
recommended sewage and water treatment. The discovery of penicillin as an effective antibiotic against
most diseases and improvements in nutrition, drinking water, sanitation and living standards brought
about a huge healthy population surge.

Green
After populations increased rapidly, the problem of meeting food to feed the masses developed.
Agricultural efficiency had to be developed and improved. Pesticides, fertilizers and irrigation methods
started taking shape. High yield demands came with high prices to pay in the way of erosion, soil and water
pollution and loss of biodiversity. Agriculture depleted undergound water more rapidly than it could be
replaced. Overuse of pesticides created resistance to treatment.
Environmental revolution

Increase in efficient technologies

Better urban and regional planning
Policy and industrial changes
Personal decisions of everyone needed to drive this revolution

Sustainability

A system or process is sustainable if it can be continued indefinitely,

without depleting any of the material or energy resources required to keep it running.
The term was first applied to the idea of sustainable yields in human endeavours such as forestry and
fisheries.
Trees, fish, and other biological species normally grow and reproduce at rates faster than that required just
to keep their populations stable. This built-in capacity allows every species to increase or replace a
population following some natural disasters.

possible to harvest a certain percentage of trees or fish every year without depleting the forest or reducing
the fish population below a certain base number.

As long as the number harvested stays within the capacity of the population to grow and replace itself, the
practice can be continued indefinitely.

The harvest then represents a sustainable yield. It becomes unsustainable only when trees are cut or fish
are caught at a rate that exceeds the capacity of their present population to reproduce and grow.

The concept of a sustainable yield can also be applied to freshwater supplies, soils and the ability of natural
systems to absorb pollutants without being damaged.

The notion of sustainability can be extended to include ecosystems.

Sustainable ecosystems are entire natural systems that persist and thrive over time by recycling nutrients,
maintaining a diversity of species in balance and using the Sun as a source of sustainable energy.

Applying the concept of sustainability to human systems, a sustainable society is a society that is in
balance with the natural world, continuing generation after generation, without depleting its resource
base by exceeding sustainable yields or producing pollutants in excess of nature’s capacity to absorb them.

Many primitive societies were sustainable in this sense for thousands of years.

As long as impact to environment is small, a society can still be sustainable.

Sustainable development is a form of development or progress that “meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

What is required to make a society sustainable

Try to keep population stable and fluctuation to a minimum.

Protect the goods and services given by nature from near depletion and not become too obsessed with
growth and over demands
Use environmentally friendly and sustainable technology and practises.
Policies that embrace protecting the environment, safeguard it and focus on improving and providing
people’s needs and alleviate large scale poverty

Stewardship - actions and programs that manage natural resources and human well-being for the common
good.
Stewardship is a concept that can be traced back to ancient civilizations.
A steward was put in charge of his master’s household, responsible for maintaining the welfare of the
people and the property of the owner, because a steward did not own the property himself, the steward’s
ethic involved caring for something on behalf of someone else.

Today, stewards are those who care for something that they do not own and that they will pass on to the
next generation.
Modern-day environmental stewardship thus incorporates an ethic that guides actions taken to benefit the
natural world and other people.
Stewardly care is compatible with the goal of sustainability, but is different from it too, because
stewardship deals more with how sustainability is to be achieved,
what actions are taken and what values and ethical considerations are behind those actions.

The move to a more sustainable society will require 2 factors

The first would be a ‘global citizens movement’ where people begin to play an important role in changing
society’s treatment of Earth.
For example, many people have formed and contributed to hundreds of environmental and professional
organizations devoted to controlling pollution and protecting wildlife.
People in business have formed the Business Council for Sustainable Development, economists have
formed the International Society for Ecological economics, etc.

The second would be a shift in values away from consumerism, individualism and domination in nature
towards quality of life and ecological sensibility and human solidarity.
The movement towards sustainability is growing as people, businesses and governments slowly but surely
begin to change direction (examples include using renewable sources of energy, curbing carbon emissions,
car-sharing, designing manufacturing on principles of no waste and carbon neutrality etc.)
Pollution

Atmosphere:
-Nitrogen – 78.08%
-Oxygen – 20.95%
-Argon – 0.93%
-Carbon Dioxide – 0.04%
-Water Vapour – 0.4%
- Dust, spores, pollen, carbon particles, volcanic ash, sea salts and microorganisms
Why atmosphere is important

Provides valuable gases , minerals while shielding us from the Sun’s harmful radiation and keeps the planet
warm through healthy greenhouse effect.

Air pollution is a major contributor of strokes, heart diseases and respiratory illnesses

Hazardous substances in air pollution

Benzene from gasoline
Methylene chloride from dry cleaning
Dioxin, asbestos and toluene

Sources of air pollution

anthropogenic in referring to environmental change caused or influenced by people, either

directly or indirectly.

The sources of anthropogenic air pollutants may be mobile (e.g. cars, trucks, buses),
stationary (e.g. factories, refineries, power plants), and indoor (e.g. building
materials and from cleaning activities).

Incomplete combustion causes by products

Emissions from factories

Emissions from vehicles
Emissions from building materials

People are exposed to air pollutants through

  breathing contaminated air,

  eating contaminated food products
  drinking contaminated water
  ingesting or touching contaminated soil

Major air pollutants

Particulate matter – comes from smoke soot dust salts and dirts from wind erosion
Reduces lung functions and affects respiration and cardiovascular disease – greatest threat as they
penetrate deep

Volatile organic compounds – from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels- evaporation of solvents or
gasoline – causes lung problems due to ozone formation – may be carcinogenic

Nitrogen oxides – from wood burning, high combustion temperatures – causes lung irritation, weakening
immune against respiratory infections, major source of acid rain , contributes to ozone formation

Sulphur dioxide – combustion of sulphur containing substances especially coal – impairs breathing –
contributes to acid rain and particle formation

Carbon monoxide – incomplete burning of fossil fuel mostly from vehicular emissions – blocks oxygen
intake to tissues, brain and vital organs – fatal

Lead – battery manufacture – lead smelters and combustion of leaded fuel and solid wastes – toxic even in
low concentrations – accumulates in body , leading to brain damage

Impacts of air pollution

Environmental effects

Acid Rain

Formed when nitrogen and sulphur oxides in polluted air dissolve in rain water.
Fall to earth as wet or dry precipitation due to wind movements.
Cause soils and plants to turn acidic , killing them or poisoning animals which consume these plants
Turns water bodies acidic, poisoning fish and water species.
Speeds up decay and surface or structural damage to buildings because of acid eating away at material.

Eutrophication

High concentrations of nutrients through irresponsible or heavy agriculture and mismanaged waste and
chemicals causes accelerated, abnormal amounts of algae or plant bloom in water bodies killing fish and
other species due to oxygen contention and clear water blockage. Emissions from vehicular discharge
sends nitrogen oxides into aquatic ecosystems. This is also another cause of excessive nitrogen speeding up
eutrophication.
Haze

Sunlight collides with tiny pollutive particles in air , blocking clarity, color , texture and forms of what we
see. This is haze. Excessive forest burning, vehicular emission, excessive and heavy factory or
manufacturing emissions and construction activities are all contributors.

Effects of air pollution on wildlife

Animals also experience health problems due to pollutants in the air, causing birth defects, unhealthy
mutations and undesirable effects. Pollutive chemicals may reside and accumulate in animals for a long
time, intensifying and poisoning the eventual food chains.

Ozone depletion

Ozone at ground level is harmful because it is a pollutant which impairs respiration.

Ozone at the atmospheric level is important because it protects us from ultra violet rays of
the sun.
The good ozone at the atmospheric level is gradually depleting because of man’s harmful
activities of using chlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons and halons. These chemicals are
used in foaming agents, fire extinguishers, solvents, pesticides and aerosol propellants.
Ultra violet radiation can cause skin cancer, cataracts, impaired immune and can also damage
crops and reduce their yields.

Crop and forest damage

Ground level ozone can actually reduce crop yields by reducing growth and survivability of
trees and plants. Excessive ozone also causes seedlings to perish and subjects them to
diseases. Crops also die as a result of acid rain and too much ultra violet radiation because of
a lack of ozone in the atmosphere as well.

Global climate change

The natural balance of the composition of greenhouses has been greatly disturbed by human activities and
we are now facing global warming due to too much methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
leading to a blanket of greenhouse effect as the Sun’s heat is trapped beyond tolerable, healthy levels
leading to undesirable results. These are increased global temperatures, polar ice caps melting , sea levels
rising to dangerous levels and vast destruction due to forest fires and flash floods in many parts of the
world.

In humans :

Causes irritation of eye , nose and throat

Wheezing, coughs , chest tightness and breathing difficulties

Increased risk of heart attacks , lung infections and asthma

How to bring Air Pollution under control

Reduce emissions from burning and production and manufacturing

Use alternatives and find environmentally friendly substitute methods
Limit pollutants usage, impose carbon taxes and switch to renewable energy sources.

Follow mitigations laid out for climate change as the same measures would also reduce harmful pollutants
in the air as these two areas are interconnected.

Water Pollution
What has led to water pollution

- Soaring human population growth

- Immense levels of waste production
- Inability to deal with increasing waste but no effective mesure to reuce waste
- Dumping and irresponsible ways of sewerage and waste management
- Dumping of chemicals and offloads into the sea
- Eutrophication causes where high levels of nitrides and phosphorus are present, contributing to
plant growth in water systems

Sources of water pollutants

Can come from point sources which are direct discharge point likes factories, sewage, power plants and
coal mines and oil wells

Can come from non point sources which are indirect sources like agricultural runoffs ( farms and croplands)
stormwater ( from streets, parking lots and lawns) ad atmospheric deposition

Types of water pollutants

Disease causing organisms like bacteria, viruses and parasitic organisms

Toxic chemicals and pesticides which include metallic discharges like lead , mercury, arsenic and nickel.

Industrial chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyl or PCB.

These are very toxic even in low levels and become concentrated as they are ingested and passed up the
food chain

Sediments as a result of soil erosion from farmlands, deforested plains. Land that is overgrazed ,
construction sites. High sediment levels turn water into a muddy sludge, preventing plants from sunlight
and oxygen , preventing photosynthesis, killing them and fish as well. Sediments also clog and impair
breathing in aquatic animals and poison their eggs and young.

Unwanted, excessive nutrient levels from sewage and chemical plant runoffs in water cause eutrophication
which impairs water quality and proper functioning by encouraging abnormal plant and algal growth.
Eutrophication

Causes:

Use of fertilizers in agriculture contribute to high levels of soil fertility.

When these nutrients reach high levels, the soil cannot retain them and they are carried from rain runoff
into rivers and groundwater that flow into seas or lakes.

In many countries, typically poorer countries or developing countries, waste water and sewage discharge is
pumped directly into rivers, lakes and seas. In developed countries, illegal discharge of industrial waste is
also pumped into water bodies. This causes abnormal levels of nutrient content to be present in water
bodies, causing abnormal growth of aquatic plant matter.

Effects :

Anoxia – absence of oxygen or hypoxia – low levels of oxygen , killing fish and other species, releases
unpleasant and injurious gases

Causes abnormal, accelerated growth of algae and aquatic plants

Toxic substances produced by blue green algae

High levels of organic matter which may become carcinogenic

Deterioration of water as a platform for recreation

Reduced existence of biodiversity

Decreased availability of quality fish like trout and more appearances of undesirable fish species like carp ,
drop in fishery cultivation and yields

Change colour of water

Taint drinking water supply possibly poisoning it and making it unsafe

Control of eutrophication

Install systems that filter and inhibit algal growth

Install systems that remove excess nutrients from water bodies
Plant more natural filtration plants in the ecosystems
Alternative forms of fertilizer like slow release or low release, apply limit of waste water production
Incentives to show evidence of fully treated waste water before being released
Identify and remove high phosphorus sediments with healthy level limitations
Chemical breakdown of phosphorus by introducing iron or aluminium salts to breakdown phosphorus salts
Oxygenation of tainted water.
Municipal Solid Waste

Total amount of waste, garbage and all other type of refuse deemed unusable or unwanted
from homes and other establishments which are then collected by government sanitary
organizations.

Landfills. In a landfill, waste is put on or in the ground and is covered with earth.
However, the problems associated with landfills are:

 Leachate generation and groundwater contamination.

 Methane production
 Incomplete decomposition and
 Settling.

Disposal , solutions to landfills and waste

Combustion of waste to turn it into energy

Advantages Disadvantages
Combustion can reduce the weight of trash by
Air pollution and offensive odors
more than 70% and the volume by 90%
Toxic or hazardous combustion products are
Combustion facilities are
concentrated into ash, which is easier to hand
expensive to build
and control
No changes required for trash collection
Siting problems
procedures or people’s behaviors
Most combustion facilities are WTE facilities with Combusted ash often has metals
emission- control technologies and other hazardous substances
MSW releases about 35% as much energy as coal, Must have continued supply of
weight for weight MSW
Resource recovery

Source reduction – reduce, recycle, reuse and recover.

Best way to manage waste is to reduce it at the source.

Recycle and reuse. Saves energy, saves cost and is environment friendly.

Many materials can be recycled, and they include paper and paperboard, most glass,
some forms of plastic, metals, yard wastes, textiles and old tires.

Organic waste can be subject to healthy composting and be used as a natural fertilizer. The resulting
material is usually half the original contents and it is environment friendly.

Climate Change
Weather is daily variation and temperature, air pressure, wind, humidity and rainfall.

Climate however, is the prolonged, sustained weather patterns observed in a geographic location over
time.

Global warming is the ongoing phenomenon where average temperatures around the world have been
rising near the earth’s surface due to the increased levels of greenhouse gases.

Climate change is the observation of crucial changes in climate that last longer than the usual and includes
changes in wind trends, precipitation levels and temperature over several years or even longer than that.

Evidence for climate change

Sea level rise

Global temperature rise
Warming and expansion of oceans
Shrinking ice sheets and melting polar caps
Decline in arctic sea ice
Ocean acidification
Decreased snow cover
Glacial meltdown

Impacts of climate change

Agriculture
Severe warming , floods or severe droughts cause crop yields to drop and create food shortage.
Livestock are exposed to extreme heat and may develop heat exhaustion and might potentially perish.
Their food source is also threatened.
Warm oceans can lead to territorial hostility and cultivate undesirable traits in fish species and might
possibly harm fish husbandry or fishery harvest by affecting their lifecycle and reproduction cycles.

Coastal Area

There is additional stress on coastal areas. More underground salt water invasion, making groundwater
more salty and detrimental to vegetation.
Coastal erosion leads to flooding and destruction of coastal ecosystems.
Increased uptake of carbon dioxide by seawater leads to acid formation and hence sea water acidification.
Coral ecosystems are under threat from increased thermal fluctuations.
Beaches will sink and wetland ecosystems will get washed away or submerged, rendering life in these
ecosystems to survive questionably.

Ecosystems
The effect of climate change on ecosystems would be a ripple effect in that food chains will inevitably be
affected as a direct result of organisms mutating or reacting to changes. Many species might even become
extinct as climate change would affect reproduction cycles and food systems.

Energy
Climate will definitely increase temperature or cause colder temperatures which would demand more
electricity for either cooling or warming. Water contention could arise as it will be a tussle for water
sources to be used for cooling or energy production.
Sea levels rising could affect energy production and delivery of energy adversely.
Storms at sea could also damage deep sea power cables or data cables in a non-deterministic way.

Forests
Climate change would affect forests by affecting water cycles , temperature and through extreme heat and
radiation.
Soil quality could be affected and this could damage vegetation as well.
Affect the already serious problem of deforestation by affecting the survivability of new vegetation.

Society

Disease, sickness and extreme weather related afflictions like drowning incidents might trouble us.
People might lose jobs or lose homes due to climate issues as seen during the hurricane Katrina issues.

Transport

Rising sea levels can impact coastal roads, railways and other forms of transportation as well.
Power lines and cable works can also be adversely damaged.
Vehicles and transportation infrastructure can also suffer from damage and debilitating situations.

Water

Water as a whole would be affected by the various forms of temperature, chemical and natural pollutive
effects of climate change either directly or indirectly.

Response to climate change requires mitigation and adaptation

Sustainable Cities
Making cities sustainable

Ensure possibly all populations have access to safe affordable housing with basic necessities utilities

Ensure accessible , safe transportation with emphasis to communities at risk like women, children,
physically impaired and the old

Reduce poverty

Reduce illness and death from starvation and unsafe conditions

Livability factors

Competitive economy which can attract healthy investments and create employment

Sustainable environment which promotes minimalist living demands with existing resources , especially in
terms of scarce land and water

Good quality of life which maintains healthy social and psychological conditions of the general population

Challenges towards sustainability and livability

Connectivity
Interconnecting cities and their inhabitants so that intermingling and exchange will bring about shared
ideas and methodologies to prevent repeat errors and mismanagement techniques while promoting
learning of workable and effective ideas.

Technology
To discover new methods to use technology to manage data and communication effectively and efficiently
to create better solutions to improve transport and urbanization.

Equity
Maintain equal rights to all to have access to good livability features regardless of racial, economic and
demographic backgrounds. Strive to be inclusive and share benefits with all.

Engagement
Find ways to get populations to engage with one another, reach out, help out and participate willingly and
wholeheartedly in improving environment and urbanization.

Identity
Maintain culture, heritage and history of all communities so that unique identities and practises are not
lost but remain integrated while urbanization takes place.

What is a technologically livable city or smart city

A city that can use technology, namely information data and the internet of things to create intelligent
systems and applications that can effectively monitor, maintain and improve assets, features and services
to raise the standard of living without compromising the needs , raising costs while sustaining resources
available to inhabitants.

How can we improve a person’s experience with a city

-Create a proper, planned design of the urban model that is desired

-Infuse technology within the city’s systems to use the data collected to make better and more informed
decisions. Which will lead to better and more prudent governance with healthy choices.

-Create an environment where residents engage with one another, consult and take responsibility into
making choices that affect the environment as a whole and their respective communities.

How to Apply technology or where to apply technology in cities to make them smarter:

Planning area – plan using technology and data collected – simulations of wind flow , analysis, statistics,
observations of trends or patterns , like scan for faults, using sensors for early warning

Create smart monitoring systems – use sensors and combined technology networks to generate and share
data in multiple formats and make it available in the most convenient manner in the quickest time possible

Use technology to manage municipal services like public lighting, signages, notices and warnings to be
energy efficient, clear, informative, useful and productive, including early warning systems to manage
crowds and unforeseen incidents.

Integrate smart living features for the senior population to assist, like electric elevators, warning systems
when in distress, smart applications which can be integrated in watches or phones that can monitor sick
patients and that can assist the physically or visually impaired or wheelchair bound citizens. Home systems
can monitor energy usage, fire hazards or prevent electrical surges which can turn off appliances which are
not in use or allow remote control from phone apps.