The depletion of the Earth’s natural resources is a problem which will affect the human race for as long as they call the planet their home. If human beings do not do something to avoid the depletion of the remainder of the Earth’s essential resources it could mean their extinction. The most important and influential solution to such a problem is the pursuit and engineering of sustainable development technologies. According to an article on the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s website, “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (IISD, 2016). This means that in order for the future of the human race to prevail
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Moreover, it is especially important to note that the preservation of such essential resources can only be achieved through the work of engineers. It is only through the creation and inventing of new technologies which do not require the consumption of said resources which will assist in preserving the Earth for future generations. Engineers must focus on using cleaner, less finite resources in order to power future technologies in order to preserve the presently depleting resources. The energy sources which present and future engineers must look towards are renewable sources such as solar energy, wind energy, nuclear energy and other cleaner sources if they wish to preserve the Earth for future generations.
One design which may be a very influential and powerful contributor to the sustainable development field of technological advancements in the near future may be the harvesting of solar energy directly from space. Such an engineering innovation would not only revolutionize the solar power industry, but would be a leading competitor in the energy industry in total. The ability to harvest solar energy …show more content…
The process of reverse electrodialysis is a sustainable, non-pollutant technology which is able to convert the free energy of mixing two solutions with different salinity into electrical energy directly. (Wessling, Nijmeijer, Gambier, & Dlugolecki, 2009). This type of energy is both sustainable and man-made, which allows human beings to have total control of how much energy can be produced from the process. The power output is currently quite limited due to concentration polarization phenomena and spacer shadow effects, which is sadly a crutch to the idea of using this process as a future energy source. Effectively, more research is being done in this field of sustainable energy in order to make it more efficient and powerful for future use. In the near future energy sources such as reverse electrodialysis will be required for the human race to sustain themselves, as well as certain systematic processes such as cogeneration. According to an online book on the website keepeek.com, “Cogeneration is the simultaneous production of electricity and steam (or heat) in a single power plant.” (Deepchand & Nath, 2016). This source of energy is commonly used in sugar mills where bagasse (a residue after cane crushing) is used as
Moreover, it is especially important to note that the preservation of such essential resources can only be achieved through the work of engineers. It is only through the creation and inventing of new technologies which do not require the consumption of said resources which will assist in preserving the Earth for future generations. Engineers must focus on using cleaner, less finite resources in order to power future technologies in order to preserve the presently depleting resources. The energy sources which present and future engineers must look towards are renewable sources such as solar energy, wind energy, nuclear energy and other cleaner sources if they wish to preserve the Earth for future generations.
One design which may be a very influential and powerful contributor to the sustainable development field of technological advancements in the near future may be the harvesting of solar energy directly from space. Such an engineering innovation would not only revolutionize the solar power industry, but would be a leading competitor in the energy industry in total. The ability to harvest solar energy …show more content…
The process of reverse electrodialysis is a sustainable, non-pollutant technology which is able to convert the free energy of mixing two solutions with different salinity into electrical energy directly. (Wessling, Nijmeijer, Gambier, & Dlugolecki, 2009). This type of energy is both sustainable and man-made, which allows human beings to have total control of how much energy can be produced from the process. The power output is currently quite limited due to concentration polarization phenomena and spacer shadow effects, which is sadly a crutch to the idea of using this process as a future energy source. Effectively, more research is being done in this field of sustainable energy in order to make it more efficient and powerful for future use. In the near future energy sources such as reverse electrodialysis will be required for the human race to sustain themselves, as well as certain systematic processes such as cogeneration. According to an online book on the website keepeek.com, “Cogeneration is the simultaneous production of electricity and steam (or heat) in a single power plant.” (Deepchand & Nath, 2016). This source of energy is commonly used in sugar mills where bagasse (a residue after cane crushing) is used as