Innovations for the Environment

The Path to Auto-Sustainability...

ENERGY

One of the great challenges that we currently face is how to ensure the energy provision in a way that the present needs are satisfied without putting at risk the ability of future generations to satisfy their energy needs. Important advances have been made in this area by means of the development of technologies like solar energy, energy generated by wind, and geothermal energy, among others.

Ensuring energy provision not only is related to renewable or non-renewable sources of energy, but also to improving the equipment, machineries, processes, vehicles and others to reduce the use of energy. An example of this is the work that Hewlett Packard (http://www.hpl.hp.com/environment/) has done through the development of innovations in diverse areas throughout their value chain, in the design of its products, in the improvement of the consumption of energy and the logistic and provision chain of the company.

For developments of new technologies to indeed contribute to sustainability, it is necessary that the solutions that are developed in the energy field are incorporated in the solution of present problems. Thus, the challenge in this area consists of presenting / displaying a project that provides some solution in the energy field that has a positive impact in the environment. The solution can be applied to a problem of the immediate surroundings of the student, or can be related to some of the subjects that appear below. There are many options in areas like:

Access to Electricity: In developing countries, millions of people (700 million in the South of Asia and 550 million in Africa) do not have access to modern energy, especially in rural areas.
Renewable Energy
Reduction of Energy Consumption
Non-Contaminant Energy
Improvement of Energy Infrastructures

WATER

At this moment nearly a billion of people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water daily. Even though important advances have been made, nearly 5 million people die every year as result of drinking contaminated water.

Not only does potable water availability continue to be a problem in several parts of the world, but also the conservation of this natural resource, mainly due to the industrial consumption; manufacturing processes use from 10 or up to 100 times more water than the volume of the products that are made.

Under this context, the challenge consists of developing a project that offers a solution to a problem related to water, or that offers alternatives in areas like:

Water Purification and Securing of Reliable Water Sources
Conservation
Improvement of Irrigation Systems
Quality of the Water, purification and basic cleaning

RECYCLING

Recycling offers many advantages in several stages of the service life of a product, from the materials that it has been made, until the disposal of the product when it has completed its cycle.

Let us think on the value of the material and the energy that we lose when we discard a product. For example to discard one ton of aluminum cans, 1,500 gallons of gas are required. To recycle the same amount of aluminum cans saves the gallons of gas that are wasted if it is simply discarded. In this way when we recycle, not only are the emissions that contaminate the environment reduced; also the natural energy and resources are conserved.

The challenge consists of developing a project in this area through the use of recycled materials or the reusability of components for the creation of a new product, or suggesting alternative ways to recycle products and waste for having a positive impact in environment. Also there can be projects in areas like:

Efficient Waste Handling
Reduction of Emissions and Polluting Agents to the Air and Water Sources
Waste Treatment
Reusability of Equipment