Chem321:Discussion 3

THE SUSTAINABLE WORLD (Chemistry 321)
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This discussion is based on discussing two questions, and it is set to take place on the wiki, over the next few days (until midnight on Monday, 16th July). We will leave comments on the page below, in response to (and under) the questions posted or the related responses. Be sure to start your text with a *, and sign your responses with four tilde marks at the end.

The Internet

In what ways can we use the Internet to help the environment? In what ways might it harm the environment?

• The internet has had a positive impact for the environment. There are endless opportunities at your finger tips on the web. This class for example is helping the environment, by allowing all of us to communicate and take this course without having to drive to any location. So many companies are now going paperless, almost every bill I have I can pay online. Suny Potsdam is even going paperless, paying our tuition bills online. I also have used textbooks over the web, that reduces the amount of paper products being used. Just think of the ebooks available, reducing paper use, even libraries have book access online. The education opportunities are endless on the internet, learning greener ways of living from very basic to more advanced levels are available on line. Of course there are negative affects as well.Technology changes and advances so quickly that our gadgets are outdated within months. Where do all these old gadgets go, how much waste and pollution is produced by this. It made me think of the BBC assignment from Unit 1, the towns that are full of old electronics in China. Children and adults make their livelihood by melting down and collecting pieces of old computer parts. The fumes and hazardous material on these parts cause incredible damage to these people. There are no regulations for these people in these towns, they are paid meager amounts, but they have no choice. Emitch (talk) 13:05, 13 July 2012 (EDT)

• The internet can be a useful aid in helping the environment. One of the major ways that it helps is by providing information to citizens about: what actions are environmentally unfriendly, what can and can't be recycled, how certain ecosystems function, environmental history, modifications that can be made to reduce CO2 emissions, etc. The internet is incredibly useful is supplying information to citizens who don't have a background in this field and often puts ideas into simpler terms so that it's not like reading a textbook. The internet also provides a method of meeting with coworkers without having to commute. Skype, as we all know, is a convenient application that allows for face to face chat without having to leave the comfort of your home. This kind of application helps save on fossil fuel usage. However, the internet can also harm the environment. The internet itself is run over computers (which take a lot of energy to produce and have several negative by products in production and labor), which run on electricity (coal-fueled). This means that using the internet has a high CO2 footprint. Also, since we're so dependent on the internet and we use it so frequently, our energy costs have increased. HKopelson (talk) 08:05, 12 July 2012 (EDT)

• The internet has been a great invention. It has allowed me to take this class without having to get in my car and commute to a class everyday. It has also allowed people to have face to face conversations from great distances that would otherwise have to fly or drive to see each other(good demonstration of this is the movie Up In The Air.) The internet has also allowed people to share knowledge that couldn't have been shared outside of books and textbooks just decades ago. These are some aspects of how the internet contributes to sustainability. However, computers use vast amounts of energy each year and are composed of parts such as silicon that require huge amounts of energy to purify into a form that is useable in computers, which creates a lot of CO2 emissions. Technology changes quickly in the electronics industry which causes many computers to be thrown away long before they are not useful. This causes increased wastes in the world's landfills. Many end up being somewhat recycled in developing countries such as China, where the waste is not disposed of properly and creates health hazards to the local population. Maxwelk192 (talk) 14:42, 12 July 2012 (EDT)

Technology

How can technology help to reduce our (negative) impact on the environment? When can it increase our impact? How can we avoid some of the negative effects of technology? (Do not simply replicate your arguments from above, but consider different types of technology such as cars, washing machines, scientific instruments, etc.)

• I'd argue that certain advancements in technology can reduce our negative impacts on the environment. For example, the efficiency of the scrubbers used in coal producing facilities has been enhanced to reduce Sulfur content entering the atmosphere. Cars today can also be more efficient in mileage through hybrid technology, enhanced design, or through a fully electric design. There's also technology that helps reduce our emissions, such as solar panels. By relying on solar panels, our carbon emissions drop substantially because we're getting our power from a non-polluting source and turning it into a renewable resource. Advancements in technology can also lead to a better understanding of how the environment functions, which can reduce some of the negative impacts we cause daily. However, technology can also increase our negative impact on the environment. For example, our hardware updates (cell phones, laptops, etc.) occur more often than our software updates, which means people are buying newer hardware more often. If software updated more frequently and could be downloaded easily to major platforms, then there would be less waste of technology because the advancements wouldn't need to come in a physical form. Also, to advance technology, we need natural resources. How do we get natural resources? By exploiting the environment in search of them. I know I mentioned this in my last post, but the advancement of technology often comes at the expense of mountains, forests, and water bodies. There are ways we can avoid these harmful effects, though. You could rely on technology less. Don't replace your cell phone or laptop so often, don't waste electricity; use your gadgets at home less. Don't dry your clothes in the summer time, hang them out to dry. Through industry, we could become more dependent on software vs. hardware, which would make a big difference in consumer purchases. There are many different ways we could reduce our negative impact on the environment through cutting back on the use of technology.HKopelson (talk) 07:51, 13 July 2012 (EDT)