Appropriate technology for sustainable living

Our Mission
Solutions to Global Problems that are:
 Small
 Simple
 Inexpensive
 Sustainable

Introduction

Technology has been the driving force of civilization as we know. Earlier, technologies used
to be small in scale, responsive to local skills and needs. These evolved slowly over a long
period of time and catered to the local needs. Today, the technologies have grown in scale
with high production rates, consuming large quantities of energy and resources, requiring
large capital and highly-skilled manpower. The high production rate, consuming large
quantities of natural resources has been damaging the ecosystem by indiscriminate extraction
and the resulting environmental degradation. It is clear that present mode of production is
unsustainable and damaging to the society. For example, ill effects of pesticides and
fertilizers used in agriculture, have now become the concern of all. Hence, there is need to
consider alternative ways of meeting our needs without damaging our ecosystems.
Appropriate technologies (AT) refer to technologies that are adaptable to local needs,
acceptable to users and made using locally available materials with the aim to improve the
lives and livelihoods of people in resource-constrained environments. Appropriate technology
is used to address wide range of issues. The concept of appropriate technology is multi-
faceted; in some contexts, appropriate technology can be described as the simplest level of
technology that can achieve the intended purpose, whereas in others, it can refer to
engineering that takes adequate consideration of social and environmental ramifications and
connected to sustainable living.

Characteristics of Appropriate technologies (AT) l Require only small amount of capital l

Use of locally available materials l Relatively labour intensive but more productive than
many traditional technologies l Small enough in scale to be affordable to individual families
or small group of families l Can be understood, controlled and maintained by villagers
whenever possible, without a high level of special training l Can be produced in villages or
small workshops l Suppose that people can and will work together to bring improvements to
the Communities l Offer opportunities for local people to become involved in the
modification and Innovation process l Are flexible, can be adapted to different places and
changing circumstances l Can be used in productive ways without doing harm to the
environment
The expected outcomes of a technology are compared to a list of characteristics generally
associated with “appropriateness.” These characteristics are defined in terms of the expected
socio-economic impacts on the poor in rural and/or urban areas, and the environmental
impacts. Technology specifications lists are also subjective and often considers short-term
and long-term impacts
A. Concept of Appropriate Technology in Sustainability Framework Appropriate
Technology based development focuses on development within an ecosystem limit
with emphasis on regenerative development to strengthen the process of self-reliance
of the community with appropriate Science and Technology Literacy and Eco-
literacy. In the process it stresses on developing knowledge and skill of community on
scientific understanding of daily work and life and equally ecological understanding
of their context, so that appropriately they can design their daily walk of life with
more hand print and reduced foot print. In order to make it more efficient, it leverages
through appropriate technology design which is developed locally, as per their
requirement. Here, technology is designed with principle of minimalism, energy
efficiency, more option of renewability, regenerative cycle, more user friendly so that
everyone is empowered through the process of its application. Entire inquiry-based
learning in the context of AT followed a framework as mentioned below.

B. Focus No technology by itself can be considered as Appropriate Technology as it is

always with reference to the context. An ‘appropriate technology ‘in one place may be
inappropriate at another place. Hence, the understanding the local context is to be
used and evolved accordingly.
Some of the areas where appropriate technologies are widely used are:
I. Water
II. Renewable Energy
III. Transportation
IV. Agriculture
V. Habitat
VI. Livelihoods
VII. Disaster Management
VIII. Food preservation IX. Education.

Sustainable Development
For those looking for more sustainable ways of living, technology is increasingly providing
tools and techniques to help achieve this. From apps that help you to buy more
environmentally-friendly products, to smart technologies to help power your home, here are
five ways in which technology can help you improve your ecological footprint.
1. Invest In A Smart Thermostat
One of the easiest changes you can make is investing in a smart thermostat. Whilst many
thermostats allow you to manually program them, smart thermostats are even better as they
regulate your house’s temperature according to real-time data. This data is collected using a
variety of sensors throughout your home and the adjustments made over the course of the day
not only help to save energy, but in the long-run will also help you to save money on your
energy bills.
1. Invest In Energy Saving Appliances
Another important aspect of your home to adapt is lighting. If you’re not using LED lighting
already, then consider adopting these. However, just as with smart thermostats, smart lighting
is even more advanced and environmentally-friendly.
Smart lighting requires your lightbulbs to be connected to the Wi-Fi. Using an app, you can
then easily control and even schedule when each lightbulb should come on. In this way, you
can ensure that your lights don’t stay on unless you are actually using them.
“The great thing about many smart, energy-saving appliances is that they can be easily
tracked and adjusted using apps which can be downloaded onto your smartphone, meaning
you can control them from anywhere. Even better, over time, most of these smart appliances
are able to learn your preferences and schedules automatically,” explains Michael Smith, a
green lifestyle blogger at Draft beyond and Research papers UK.
1. Streaming Services
Another simple way to reduce energy is to adapt the type of entertainment you purchase.
Rather than buying physical copies of films or CDs, consider switching to a streaming service
instead. Similarly, consider buying eBooks instead of physical hard copies. By purchasing
digital content, you can reduce waste from packaging. Another benefit of this is that it takes
up less space in your home. As a result, you require less furniture to store these items,
reducing demand for new products to be made.
1. Apps To Help Reduce Household Waste
Reducing household waste is an incredibly important step towards living a more sustainable
lifestyle. Make sure that you are correctly recycling all items and packaging which can be
recycled. Examine the type of products you are using and wherever possible, switch to either
a reusable or biodegradable option.
You could also consider buying or selling items second-hand, which will reduce the demand
for making new products which require energy and raw materials. In this way, you’ll help to
prevent waste and reduce the number of items ending up in landfill.
“If you’re not sure which products are the most environmentally-friendly or you need some
help and advice on reducing your waste, there are some fantastic apps on the market that can
use,” explains Jennifer Ito, a tech writer at Writinity and Last minute writing. “GoodGuide,
ForGood and Oroeco are just three apps that can help you keep on top of your lifestyle
choices and help you make greener choices. If you’re looking to exchange, buy or sell items,
then give OfferUp a try. This app allows you to get in touch with other locals interested in
doing the same.”
1. Renewable Energy Sources
Investing in a renewable energy source for your home is another fantastic option for leading a
more sustainable lifestyle. Renewable energy options, such as solar panels and residential-
scale windmills harness the energy of the sun and the wind respectively to generate electricity
for your home. Even better, in recent years the price for these has continued to steadily
decrease and there are often incentives or, in some cases, even tax breaks which are offered to
homeowners who are making use of renewable energy sources.

Technological innovations will shape the sustainability

1. Public electric transport. It’s not only individual vehicle owners who have better
access to electric vehicles (EVs) than ever before—there are 160 electric and hybrid
vehicle models available today—but municipalities are taking notice as well. In
China, 300,000 electric buses hum down city streets every day. Their widespread
adoption in China—an economic coup as much as a policy one—will entice European
cities to follow suit. Although these eBuses have higher acquisition prices due to
upfront battery costs, their total cost of ownership (TCO) is lower due to their
independence from pricey diesel. They also eliminate local particulates, including
SOx, NOx, and CO2, all major issues in most cities today.
2. Electric trucks. With personal electric vehicles grabbing more and more market share,
commercial fleets could follow suit rapidly. But to ensure an efficient transition, we
need a firm understanding of the total cost of ownership. Decades ago, widespread
adoption of electric trucks—or “eTrucks”—was cost prohibitive. But today, the total
cost of ownership could soon be on par with diesel-run trucks, due in part to
increasingly cost competitive and available electric vehicle infrastructure. We predict
that adoption of battery electric commercial vehicles (BECVs), especially in the light-
and medium-duty segments, could surpass the car EV sales mix in some markets by
2030. And although many heavy-duty BECVs will need to charge mid-route, our
analysis shows that a charging station every 80 to 100 kilometers on popular routes
will suffice for early phases of adoption.
3. Cheap energy storage. The new age of electric vehicles has rapidly expanded the
market for lithium and cobalt batteries—and drastically reduced their price. Lithium
ion batteries now cost $200 per kilowatt-hour compared to $1,000 per kilowatt-hour
just nine years ago. The expanded market for batteries has implications for more than
just EVs. Industry and utilities are finding broader use for them as energy-storage
solutions. With prices for batteries rapidly dropping, they are proving valuable to
reduce power costs, increase reliability and resiliency, and make power systems more
flexible to operate. But the wide accessibility of cheap energy storage also means
utilities will need to change quickly. One way will be to move away from a variable
rate structure to a fixed fee for access to the grid (like cable TV), especially as
consumers begin to generate their own energy. Another will be to revise grid-planning
approaches by increasing circuit-by-circuit nodal planning.
4. 4. Long-term storage. Lithium-ion batteries are great for addressing short-term storage
needs (4-5 hours) that arise frequently (20-200 times per year), but the market also
wants solutions that address long-term storage needs brought on by seasonal shifts
and multi-day periods when the sun does not shine and the wind does not blow.
Historically, hydropower dams were one of the only approaches to manage these
seasonal shifts. Otherwise, the system would need to build a whole series of plants
that only run for a few days each year. Fortunately, a new series of innovators believe
they are close to developing long-duration storage technologies. Google X just spun
off Malta, which is storing renewable energy in molten salt. Antora Energy is trying
 to solve the same problem by building a low-cost thermal battery for grid-scale
energy storage. And BP-backed Lightsource is adding storage to solar developments.
What’s clear is that if long-term energy storage works, the price of power will decline
significantly. These long-term solutions could eliminate the cost incurred through the
underutilization of assets during and save money by inserting lower-cost generators
such as solar and wind in the power supply.
5. 5. Plastic recycling. 260 million tons of plastic waste is generated across the globe
every year, but only 16 percent gets recycled. The plastics industry has the
opportunity to move away from a “take, make, and dispose” business model and
adopt a circular model, which aims to eliminate waste across sectors while creating
economic, societal, and environmental benefits. One promising circular process is
pyrolysis, which uses heat and the absence of oxygen to reconvert plastic waste back
into liquid feedstock. The benefits are economic as much as environmental, with a
recycling-based profit pool estimated at $55 billion by the next decade.
6. 6. LED light efficiency. Energy-efficient LED lighting is quickly replacing traditional
incandescent bulbs in American homes and is expected to achieve 84 percent market
share by 2030. In 2030 alone, LED lights will reduce energy consumption by 40
percent, which adds up to $26 billion in savings adjusted to today’s energy prices.
These are dramatic cost savings, but according to the Department of Energy, the U.S.
can still see an additional 20 percent in energy savings with increased investment in
LED lights.
7. 7. Accessible solar power. Renewable energy continues to become cheaper and more
accessible into 2019, a trend that has major implications for the nearly 1 billion
people across the globe without access to electricity. While expanding the grid is part
of the access solution, countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, which
account for a majority of the world’s unelectrified population, are exploring
renewable solutions like solar energy to bring energy quickly and inexpensively to
millions. Innovative financing plans can help make previously unaffordable solar
home systems (SHSs) a smart solution for communities that are too far from a reliable
grid connection. A recent McKinsey assessment determined that SHSs can help power
150 million households by 2020.
8. Carbon capture and storage. Instead of just focusing on completely decarbonizing the
major industrial commodities behind plastics and cement, we can also consider safely
capturing the carbon emitted when these commodities are produced. Carbon capture
and storage (CCS) allows industry to capture carbon at its source, compress it, and
move it to a suitable permanent storage site. The technology not only has the potential
to significantly reduce greenhouse-gas emissions—it can also mean more money if
the CO2 can be used profitably to make other products. Several industries are already
working to put captured carbon dioxide to profitable use, including manufacturers
who use captured carbon to make plastics, such as polyurethane. Emerging
technologies, including direct air capture, have previously been too cost prohibitive to
implement at scale. But a new Stanford University study predicts that direct air
capture, which grabs carbon dioxide from the air and converts it into synthetic fuel,
could eventually drop from $600 per ton of carbon dioxide to less than $100.
9. Hydrogen in the energy transition. It’s difficult to imagine how we meet ambitious
global warming benchmarks without including hydrogen as a critical part of the
solution. Hydrogen-led pathways to cleaning up the environment forecast hydrogen
powering more than 400 million cars, 15 to 20 million buses, and more than 20
percent of passenger ships and locomotives by 2050. Although battery-powered
electric vehicles exhibit overall higher fuel efficiency, hydrogen-powered fuel cells
 can store more energy with less weight. This makes them an ideal solution for heavy
cargo vehicles that must travel long distances. Hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles
are already on the road in Japan, South Korea, California, and Germany—and more
than 10 models are slated for release by 2020. In short, hydrogen fuel could help the
world meet its goal of decreasing carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent. Although
the necessary technology exists today, the costs for producing hydrogen need to
decline significantly, and the infrastructure that supports it needs a step up. Hydrogen
could facilitate smarter use of other renewables by acting as a long-term transport and
storage solution for renewable electricity. It could be a key enabler in the energy
transition.

Conclusion
For those who want to make changes to their lifestyle in order to become more
environmentally-friendly, technology is increasingly providing resources to help. With ever
more affordable and sophisticated technologies available, it’s easier than ever to reduce your
carbon footprint and help to make our world a greener place for everyone.