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Earth Island: Solutions

Earth Island: Solutions. Industrial Engineering & The Environment. Lecture 14 Outline Environmental Solutions. Some facts about the problem Some Roles for Industrial Engineers Pollution Prevention in Production Processes Understanding the Systems Problems Assessing Systems

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Earth Island: Solutions

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  1. Earth Island: Solutions Industrial Engineering & The Environment

  2. Lecture 14 Outline Environmental Solutions • Some facts about the problem • Some Roles for Industrial Engineers • Pollution Prevention in Production Processes • Understanding the Systems Problems • Assessing Systems • Sustainability • at Georgia Tech • The Natural Step • Natural Capitalism

  3. Frightening Facts • 180 million tons of trash/year in U.S. • 50% of topsoil in U.S. lost this century • 25 billion tons/year worldwide • Everglades extinct? • Loss of species • frogs: 1/3 or more • we save mountains, not lowlands

  4. “Every natural system in the world today is in decline” • Water, aquifers • 20 billion gallon/year deficit in groundwater • Ogalala Aquifer dry in 30-40 years at present extraction rates • Fertility rates • Waste: 1 ton/week per person in U.S. • Pesticides: 4.1 billion tons/year, 25 million deaths • Equilibria: ozone, everglades, warming

  5. Pollution Prevention Idea: instead of treating waste, don’t produce it. • Move the environmental solution upstream in the production process,just as we move quality concerns upstream. • Role of I.E.s

  6. Understanding Systems Problems • Tragedy of Commons. • Example: whales and the IWC • Example: strip mining the ocean floor, where there is a new species every square meter. • Limits to Growth • Example: Human Population, now over 6,000,000,000 • Transportation Engineering: • Building more highways does not reduce traffic problems. (Why?) It increases oil usage and pollution.

  7. Assessing Systems • A production process can not always be evaluated in isolation, but must be evaluated in situ, as part of a system • IE methods and approaches can help in the evaluation of systems

  8. Sustainability The idea: Could we continue our current activities indefinitely? “But really, this cannot go on indefinitely, can it? Does anyone rationally think it can?” --Ray Anderson

  9. A definition of sustainability(Carol Carmichael, Ga. TechCenter for Sustainability) • Primer available on web • A portion is on the handout

  10. Sustainability at Georgia Tech • We are one of the leading institutions • Georgia Tech mission statement: • “…Georgia Tech seeks to create an enriched, more prosperous, and sustainable society for the citizens of Georgia, the nation, and the world.” • Institute for Sustainable Development and Technology • Project 3: you assess sustainability.

  11. The Natural Step • Four Principles • No Systematic destruction of green space and other physical bases for the earth’s productive natural cycles and biodiversity • No Systematic removal of material from earth’s crust • No Systematic placement of persistent material into the environment • Fair and efficient use of resources with respect to meeting human needs

  12. The Natural Step • Founded by Dr. Roberds. Now in many countries. Paul Hawken, U.S.A. • Can we tax resource use rather than profits • Companies and individuals don’t pay the true cost for resources consumed • Prisoner Dilemma and Tragedy of commons tell us that the rules of the game must be changed

  13. Natural Capitalism(Lovinses, Hawken) • Paul Hawken in The Ecology of Commerce says that industry must save the environment because it must. It is the only entity powerful enough to do so. • Natural Capitalism proposes ideas for a different business mindset. • One idea: Provide services, not goods • Example: Ray Anderson’s company Interfaces leases carpet squares

  14. Service vs. Product • Imagine buying the use of a working automobile for 12 years. Notice how this would change the incentives of the automobile manufacturer.

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