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Answer:
Answers will vary, and students may have difficulty with the nuances of this
question and the models in Figure 7.2 without further discussion and exploration.
Chapter 3 notes simply that the Ogallala Aquifer is an ancient groundwater reserve,
and that water from this vast aquifer is being withdrawn faster than it is recharging.
There has been a net decline of total aquifer storage of 9% compared to pre-
development levels and it is agricultural irrigation that is driving the rate of use. Not
noted in chapter 3 is that the aquifer has significant spatial variation; some zones
are already fully depleted and will take thousands of years to recharge; other zones
are experiencing accelerated abstraction of groundwater.
The resource maintenance model shows the three pillars as a nested set of
relationships, where the environment establishes the defining limit on human social
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and economic activity. The goal here is to sustain the environmental resource, not
human development per se. From this perspective, the goal is to maintain the
resource to the greatest extent possible; it suggests that we should extract from the
aquifer only what is recharged each year. If we followed this principle of
environmental sustainability, the foundation of American agriculture in the Great
Plains would have to be drastically altered and restructured (and may not survive at
all in some places). These two different approaches to sustainable development can
consequently lead to fundamentally different ways of defining problems and their
solutions.
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Chapter 7: Models for Sustainable Engineering
7-2. Can all of the Earth’s abiotic substances and biotic species be considered
natural resources? Explain why or why not.
Answer:
No, not all of the Earth’s abiotic substances and biotic species may be considered
natural resources. By traditional definition, a natural resource is something that is
useful to human beings, meaning that the substances provide us with food,
materials, energy, or culturally significant items. This approach reflects a classic
“consumption” approach to natural resources, and there are thousands of living
species (biota) that people do not use for food, fibers, or materials. There are
likewise many elements and naturally-occurring compounds that we do not use,
either. By even stricter definition, a natural resource must be something that is also
technologically and economically feasible to harvest or extract.
Yes, all of the Earth’s abiotic substances and biotic species may be considered
natural resources. If we consider the concept of ecosystem services (see section
7.3.2), then we can see that all of the substances and species on Earth are interacting
in some manner to support human life. Although some of these interactions are at
small biogeochemical or ecological scales (such as water purification or plant
pollination), these resource interactions are vital to human survival. The resources
are not necessarily directly consumed, but they do provide a “life support” service.
Answer:
The distinction between regenerative renewable and non-renewable resources is
the amount of time that it takes for the resource to be regenerated. For renewable
resources such as fish, forests, and groundwater, replenishment may occur in a
matter of months or years (but no longer than a typical human lifetime, or about 75
years). For non-renewable yet regenerative resources such as soil, some surface
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Chapter 7: Models for Sustainable Engineering
water, and some groundwater, it may take hundreds of years for the resource to
replenish itself.
7-4. “All renewable resources are the same.” Do you agree with this statement?
Explain why or why not.
Answer:
Answers may vary, but the correct answer should be to disagree with this
statement. All renewable resources are not the same because some require time to
replenish themselves (fisheries, forests, animals, etc.), and others are infinitely
available to us (wind, solar, and tidal forces, for example). In addition, living species
reproduce at different rates and have differing degrees of population vulnerability.
Some species are more vulnerable to overharvest than others.
Answer:
a. renewable
b. nonrenewable
c. non-renewable
d. renewable
e. renewable
f. non-renewable
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Chapter 7: Models for Sustainable Engineering
Answer:
a. regenerative
b. infinitely available
c. regenerative
d. regenerative
e. infinitely available
f. regenerative
7-7. Why are all elemental minerals and metals theoretically recoverable?
Answer:
Most simply, they are theoretically recoverable precisely because they are elements.
An element is a substance whose atoms all have the same number of protons.
Elements are the most basic substances because they cannot be broken down or
transformed further by chemical means. As a consequence, all elemental metals and
minerals embodied in an engineered product are theoretically recoverable because
of their property of irreducibility.
Answer:
7-9. Consider the biogeochemical cycle for water (Chapter 3). Why isn’t water
always an infinitely renewable resource?
Answer:
There are at least two reasons why water is not always an infinitely renewable
resource. First, the hydrologic cycle occurs at local and larger scales. A change in
local climate, such as through deforestation or climate change, can affect the amount
of water that returns to a location through precipitation. Second, some ground
water does not recharge at all (such as when it is fossil water), or else recharges so
slowly that an aquifer can be depleted by over-abstraction. And as in the case of
Malta’s water worries (see Chapter 3, Box 3.3), human extraction of water has
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Chapter 7: Models for Sustainable Engineering
disrupted the geophysical ability of Malta’s aquifer to hold fresh water. While water
may be infinitely renewable for the Earth as a whole, it is not necessarily infinitely
available at local and regional scales.
7-10. Use the second law of thermodynamics to explain why fossil fuels and their
energy aren’t recoverable once combusted.
Answer:
The Second Law relies on the principle of irreversibility/irrecoverability. Simple
stated, a given quantity of fossil fuels, once burned, cannot reconstitute themselves
with time—the original system state is not restored once the combustion stops. The
property of entropy in an irreversible process also suggests that we cannot fully
recover the waste heat or energy created by combustion technology (such as an
engine or steam turbine).
7-11. Classify the following by the type of ecosystem service(s) that they
represent.
a. Vegetation growing along a streambed
b. Sisal production
c. A scenic mountain vista
d. Insect pollination
e. A sacred flower
Answer:
a. Regulating service
b. Provisioning service
c. Cultural service
d. Regulating service
e. Cultural service
7-12. A forest provides multiple ecosystem services. Identify and describe five of
these services. (Hint: Some can be found in this chapter, but you may need to do a
quick Internet search.)
Answer:
Answers will vary and should reflect a variety of the four categories of ecosystem
services. Below are examples:
Provisioning services: food, fuelwood, fiber, and forest wood (material) products
Regulating services: climate regulation, water purification
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Chapter 7: Models for Sustainable Engineering
Cultural services: all seven of the cultural services identified in Figure 7.6 are
provided by forests.
7-13. How do the concepts of ecosystem services and natural capital help us better
understand the importance of environmental sustainability?
Answer:
These concepts allow us to show how the Earth’s natural processes have value to
people in an economic sense, even if we do not buy and sell these processes. When
environmental sustainability is threatened, such as overuse of aquifer water or loss
of pollinating insects, there are real consequences for human well-being, both
physically and economically.
7-14. Identify and briefly explain each of the four steps of the waste management
hierarchy. Why is source reduction the most preferred waste management strategy?
Answer:
1. Source reduction and reuse: generating less waste by either reducing the
amount of raw materials required (such as through dematerialization) or
reusing scrap material as an input for the same or other production
processes. This is the most preferred waste management strategy because it
reduces the overall demand for energy and other materials inputs to
production. It also creates life cycle gains because it eliminates the energy
and processing required in the future for recycling, energy recovery, and
ultimate disposal.
4. Treatment and disposal: when nothing useful can be further extracted from
a waste product, it must be treated for safe disposal and then permanently
disposed of. This is the least preferred waste management strategy.
7-15. Think about the slogan “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” Why do you think so much
emphasis is placed on recycling in our popular culture, and not on reduce or reuse?
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Chapter 7: Models for Sustainable Engineering
Answer:
Answers will vary. But the reasons for this are anchored in culture, social
perceptions, and lifestyles. Reduce and reuse are difficult concepts to explain, and
challenge us to rethink our lifestyles and households. Reduce and reuse require us
to change—sometimes in significant ways—our consumption patterns and habits.
They also work against the consumer culture fostered in many industrialized
countries, and some societies have a cultural disdain for things that are used or
second-hand. Recycle is a non-threatening activity that can be easily captured as a
media sound-bite and enables people to “feel good” about helping the environment.
7-16. Give examples of five different engineering methods and practices that
reduce and minimize the waste stream.
Answer:
Answers may include any five of the following that were introduced or discussed in
this chapter:
Answer:
7-18. Is it possible to have a truly zero waste production system? Why or why not?
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Chapter 7: Models for Sustainable Engineering
Answer:
No, because (a) production systems and waste recovery and processing create
unrecoverable energy losses, (b) products and materials have embedded entropy,
and (c) the waste recovery and reprocessing system itself uses energy and other
resources. Human society also uses materials and substances that cannot be readily
recovered, recycled, or reprocessed for reuse. Finally, some synthetic and
biomedical materials (such as fire retardants and radioactive dyes) are extremely
useful and valuable, but also generate toxic and hazardous waste. In a complex
industrial society, we will probably not be able to entirely eliminate such materials
and products.
7-19. What is design for environment (DfE)? List and briefly describe five different
engineering practices that reflect DfE.
Answer:
DfE is a set of engineering practices based on the principle that environmental
protection is best accomplished by designing it into products and process rather
than managing hazards and problems in the middle or later stages of a life cycle.
7-20. Explain how industrial ecology and Life Cycle Analysis are related to source
reduction in the waste management hierarchy.
Answer:
Industrial ecology and life cycle analysis are both methods and models that
contribute toward dematerialization, minimizing resource inputs into production
processes, and the recovery and reuse of waste materials and energy within the
production process itself. These are important elements of source reduction.
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Chapter 7: Models for Sustainable Engineering
7-21. Compare and contrast ecological design as both aesthetic and functional
approaches to design. Can you find an example of each in your community or
campus?
Answer:
7-22. Reflect on the principles of sustainable and green engineering. Do you think
it’s easy to be green? What are common obstacles to greener engineering and
design?
Answer:
Answers will vary regarding whether it is easy or hard to be green. Common
obstacles to greener engineering and design include: lack of knowledge, insufficient
economic payback or benefit, social resistance, and “old school” engineering and
design practices and values.
7-23. Critique the product that you dissected in Active Learning Exercise 7-2 using
the principles of green engineering. Which principles does it reflect? Which
principles are violated?
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Chapter 7: Models for Sustainable Engineering
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ajoissa nousemaan, kun kuljettavamme matka on niin pitkä."
"Kyllä, kyllä muistan jo. Mutta ensi sijassa olen aatelismies, eikä
minun kaltaiseni mies voi päättää päivätyötään kuin mikäkin
kerjäläinen."
*****
Hän astui saliin sillä perin huolettomalla tavalla, joka oli hänelle
ominainen. Hän ei edes tervehtinyt pyhäinkuvaa, joka riippui
korkealla nurkassa.
"Kyllä."
KAIMAKANIN MORSIAN
"Pyh", sanoi hän, "sen kyllä tiedän! Jos minä tahtoisin näyttää
olevani tässä asiassa hänelle hyödyksi, tekisi se häneen tänään yhtä
vähäisen vaikutuksen kuin kolme kuukautta sitten. Hän ei tahdo
tietää mitään palvelijastaan, ja tämä hänen palvelijansa ei myöskään
vähääkään halua tuottaa itselleen hankaluuksia ja vielä siitä
palkakseen saada ylenkatsetta. Sellaiset tuhmuudet jätän hengen
palvelijoille. Ei, jättäkää minut syrjään. Minä haluan vain
yksinkertaisesti ehdottaa, että Umm Djehan menee naimisiin erään
kaimakamin kanssa. Puhuakseni heti suuni puhtaaksi otin hiljattain
mukaani hänen valokuvansa, jonka kenraalitar oli teettänyt
kahdeksan vuotta sitten. Olen näyttänyt sitä puheenaolevalle
arvokkaalle herralle, ja todentotta hänessä on syttynyt liekki. Toistan
vieläkin, hän on arvokas herra. Hän on vasta seitsemänkymmenen
vanha; häntä pidetään ankarana muhamettilaisena; hän ei juo viiniä
eikä viinaa, ja se seikka viehättänee suuresti Umm Djehania, joka
ehdottomasti vihaa sellaisia ihania aineita. Vielä enemmän inhoaa
kaimakami eurooppalaisia, ja se sopii myös mainiosti Umm
Djehanille, joka huonosti kätkee tunteitaan tässä suhteessa. Lopuksi
ukko on rikas. Tunnen hänen kolmessa kylässä Batumin ympärillä
olevat maatilansa, ja sitäpaitsi hänellä on sievät tulot Gymyshkhanan
hopeakaivoksista. Niin, katsokaahan nyt, mitä teette."
Huone oli pieni ja ahdas. Siellä ei ollut mitään paitsi hyvin lyhyt
sohva nurkassa. Ei eurooppalaisia piirroksia, ei mitään ylellisyyttä, ei
tshibukia — Umm Djehan ei polttanut; ei lasia eikä pulloa — hän ei
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— hän ei edes maalannut itseään, mikä oli hyvin tavatonta
kaupunginasukkaalle, niin että nekin, jotka toivoivat hänelle parasta,
pitivät tätä oikkua yhtenä hänen luonteensa valitettavimmista
piirteistä.
"Siellä on vieraita."
"Upseereja?"