And we're back with another video about our Engineering heroes,
this time it's about the ones who solve the world's biggest environmental problems.
Like keeping tabs on the health of our planet, looking at the impact of increasing populations,
and even reversing the effects of global warming.
Welcome to Environmental Engineering.
Ever since the dawn of civilisation, access to clean water and the removal of human waste has been a priority for humans.
Now with the exponential growth in population and advancements of technology so have our needs.
Well what needs?
Well just about everything we need to survive.
From water, waste removal, pollution control, food, building regulations, public health, clean energy, the list is endless
and it's down to the Environmental Engineers to ensure our needs are met
all whilst protecting our planet for future generations.
This means looking into the future...
If the population of London doubles will everyone still have access to all these resources.
That's not to mention every day someone is talking about rising CO2 levels and rightfully so!
We only have one planet and the way things are going we definitely need to make some changes.
If we continue producing energy with our old fossil fuels
in other words burning dead dinosaurs to produce electricity
what's going to happen to our planet?
So you're probably thinking...
Ah yes, Environmental Engineers look at renewable energy solutions like wind, solar and hydroelectric power.
But it's not all about that, allow me to explain,
Let's look at solar power, it's something we all know quite well.
The main part of a solar panel is silicon,
this is what allows the panels to convert the sun's energy into electricity.
Now to do this we need to start with a rock-like substance like quartz, also known as Silicon Dioxide.
This needs to be purified to create pure silicon and CO2,
which is done by heating it up to nearly 2000 degrees.
Can you imagine the amount of energy needed to melt rock, yes rock!
And it is this silicon that is put into our solar panels with the help of Mechanical and Electrical Engineers.
So hang on a second where do Environmental Engineers fit into this?
Well, hold on to that thought.
Now for wind turbines, aside from the main turbine itself which is designed again by Mechanical and Electrical Engineers.
There's also the foundations to think about, which is made from concrete and reinforcement to hold the structure in place
Which of course is designed by Civil and Structural Engineers
But here's the fact you might not know the production of cement the main material to make concrete,
is responsible for around seven percent of annual carbon emissions,
oh not to forget hydroelectric dams,
the amount of concrete needed for them, have you seen the size of those things.
So enough with all these different Engineers what about environmental,
well you can probably notice a bit of a trend with creating these renewable energy sources
and the energy they require
and this is where something called a payback period comes in.
Think about it this way,
coal and gas power stations are churning out emissions every day and
although solar, wind and hydro produce enormous amounts before operation
once operating, nearly nothing.
But imagine if that solar panel only lasted five years the negative implications of this could be worse than a coal powered station.
And this is how environmental engineers look at the planet, holistically.
Like plastic bottles,
it's not really about the one bottle that produces 82.8 grams of CO2 when manufactured,
it's the fact that us humans buy over a million of them every single minute.
To make that worse aluminium cans,
that's closer to 1300 grams of CO2 per can
the same as a car driving around for five miles, that's just mind-blowing to think.
So for environmental engineers they need to look at making the most out of these materials.
For example, if you were to recycle this aluminium can this could save 95% of the energy needed to make this metal again.
You can see why Environmental Engineers are so keen on improving recycling techniques,
they're always looking into what's causing problems to our earth
and where our efforts should be focused.
Sometimes the problems are huge like the BP Oil Spill
Engineers here look at all different biological species and the chemistry of the ocean and how it's been impacted.
Or Chernobyl and assessing whether it's safe to actually live in such an ecologically destroyed area.
If you want to know more about this we've done a great video on Nuclear Engineering.
And it really isn't an Aveea video without mentioning how they help the Government
Think BREEAM
a body that assesses how sustainable a building is,
from how it was constructed, how it operates, what demolition would look like,
can some of these materials be reused when we no longer want this building in place?
I mean things do go out of fashion even buildings!
So working very closely with Civil Engineers to get sustainability designed in from the core is critical
and really that's what it boils down to
Environmental Engineers tend not to work alone,
whether it's working on renewable energy with other Engineers or deforestation with Scientists
they work to figure out the problem together.
Environmental Engineers truly understand that infinite growth on a finite planet is impossible
and are doing everything they can to make sure that we have a lovely green plant to live on for many many more years to come.
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