ENV 101 - Module 3

Environmental cost of technology

Technology

Use of scientific knowledge for practical applications or to solve a problem. 

When were stone tools invented?

2.6 MYA.

What are some uses of stone tools?

Hunting, processing food, making clothing and shelter, creating art.

What was a global event caused by the invention of stone tools? 

The Quaternary megafauna extinction. 

What planetary boundaries were most affected by the invention of stone tools?

Land use change, biosphere integrity.

What is the oldest known human impact on the landscape?

Mine in Libya. 100km² and 0.5 million years old.

Quaternary megafauna extinction

Shortly after human arrival to new areas, the megafauna here went extinct. 

When was fire discovered by humans?

1-1.5 MYA.

What were some early uses of fire by humans?

Hunting, vegetation clearance, cooking.

How did the invention of fire impact humans’ development?

Cooking increased the digestibility of food and may have facilitated the growth of the human brain. 

What planetary boundaries were most affected by the invention of fire?

Land use change, climate change, biosphere integrity.

What happens after vegetation has been burned?

It is more flammable and susceptible to future fires.

How much of NZ was covered by forest before human arrival? 

80%

Where has vegetation clearing by fire led to more fires and sedimentation of waterways?

Lake Malawi.

When does steam power date back to?

2000 YA. The Hero engine.

When did steam power and locomotives develop quickly?

18th and 19th centuries.

Why was steam power a major driver of the Industrial Revolution?

It improved the speed and volume of transport.

How much of the anthropogenic CO2 was attributable to burning of coal at the beginning of the 20th century?

100%

How much of the anthropogenic CO2 is attributable to burning of coal today? 

40%

What are the negative impacts of burning coal for steam power?

Creating gases and particulates, which add aerosols to the atmosphere and create smog.

How can acid rain be attributed to the burning of coal?

The sulphuric and nitrous oxides created combine with water to create sulphuric and nitric acid, which rains down on the land.

How is coal used today? 

In coal-fired power plants. 

How does steam power work?

Boiling water creates steam, which drives an engine.

What planetary boundaries are most affected by steam power and burning of coal?

Atmospheric aerosols, climate change, freshwater, land use change

When was artificial fertiliser created? 

Early 20th century. 

Haber-Bosch process

A method of taking atmospheric nitrogen and turning it into a form that plants can uptake from soil.

How much of the world’s population relies on food grown using synthetic fertiliser?

50%

How does artificial fertiliser contribute to GHG emissions? 

Creating fertiliser is an energy-intensive process, N2O is produced in soil from urea. 

How much of the world’s energy is used for fertiliser production?

2%

Eutrophications

When a body of water has an oversupply of nutrients.

How does fertiliser use contribute to eutrophications? 

Runoff and leaching of nitrogen and phosphorus into waterways. 

What are the impacts of eutrophications on the water?

Anoxia, excess algae sink, toxins from cyanobacteria.

What planetary boundaries are most affected by artificial fertiliser use?

Land use change, freshwater, climate change, biogeochemical fluxes.

What are two lakes in NZ affected by eutrophications? 

Lake Ellesmere and Lake Forsyth. 

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Using a computer to complete tasks that a human would usually do or would require human intelligence.

How much water is used in the creation of one AI-generated image?

500mL.

How much electricity is used in the creation of one AI-generated image?

Enough to power a lightbulb for half an hour.

What are the three uses of water for AI?

Cooling, power generation, making materials/components.

Scope 1 water

Water used for cooling.

Scoe 2 water

Water used for power generation. 

Many AI datacentres are located in areas with a ____ population and/or ____ water scarcity.

high, high

Water security

Sufficient access to quality and quantity of water for human needs.

What is water security needed for? 

Domestic use, drinking water, sanitation, commerical use, ecosystems, water hazards. 

What factors influence water security?

Climate, governance, financing, transboundary cooperation, politics/peace.

What is the global per capita water consumption?

1385m³/yr

What are the three main uses of water? 

Agriculture, domestic use, commercial use. 

Water footprint

Water directed to human uses.

Water scarcity index

Overlaps natural and human factors relating to water quality and quantity to give an idea of the water scarcity of a place.

What is the turnover time for water in rivers? 

A few weeks. 

What is the turnover time for water in lakes?

Up to decades.

What is the turnover time for groundwater?

Up to thousands of years.

What are the three types of water? 

Blue, green, grey. 

Blue water

Readily accessible surface and groundwater.

Green water

Less accessible water stored in plants, soil, and precipitation.

Grey water

Water used for pollution. 

Virtual water trade

Water used in one place to benefit another place.

How much of the global water footprint is due to trade?

1/5

What are some examples of virtual water trade? 

Exporting crops, overseas data centres. 

Rare Earth elements (REE)

A group of 17 metals that are found in low concentrations in the Earth’s crust.

What are the REEs?

15 lanthanides, Yttrium, Scandium.

What properties of REEs has made the demand for them increase recently? 

Magnetic, catalytic, luminescent properties. 

What are REEs used for? 

Electronics, renewable energy generation, water treatment. 

Why do REEs have such a large impact on landscapes?

They are found in low concentrations, so must be mined over a large area.

Where are most of the world’s REEs mined?

Southeast Asia, China.

Open pit mining

Rock is blasted from the ground, then taken to a processing plant to extract the minerals. 

What is the most common method of REE mining?

Open pit mining.

What planetary boundaries are most affected by open pit mining?

Land use change, climate change, biosphere integrity, freshwater.

How is land use changed by open pit mining?

A pit is dug and forests are cleared to make space for infrastructure, road, and processing plants.

How does open pit mining impact climate change?

The clearing of forests reduces the amount of CO2 that can be taken from the atmosphere by trees, and the burning and decomposition of vegetation adds more CO2 to the atmosphere.

How much CO2 do humans emit each year? 

9GT

How much of the anthropogenic CO2 is removed by photosynthesis each year?

3GT

How does open pit mining impact biosphere integrity?

Habitat loss and fragmentation from clearing of forests.

What are the two measures of biodiversity?

Richness and evenness.

Richness

The number of species. 

Evenness

The proportions of species or functional groups.

Fragmentation

Splitting a large forest into many smaller forests.

Why is fragmentation bad for biodiversity? 

It creates an edge effect and loses the forest core, where much of the biodiversity is. The edges see more human impacts. 

What levels does biodiversity exist at?

Within species, between species, between ecosystems.

Why is REE mining especially impacting biodiversity?

Many mines are located in biodiversity hotspots, such as SE Asia and South America.

How does open pit mining impact freshwater? 

Chemicals are dissolved in water and move downstream. Water becomes acidic and precipitates form. 

Acid mine drainage

Formation of acids from dissolution of chemicals from mines.

What impacts does formation of precipitates in freshwater have?

Increases turbidity, blocks sunlight, affecting organisms.

What metals were mined at Tui Mine? 

Zinc, copper, lead. 

When did mining take place at Tui Mine?

1960s.

When was Tui Mine abandoned?

1973.

How much did remediation at Tui Mine cost? 

$22 million. 

When did the Tui Mine remediation take place?

2007-2013.

What environmental impacts occurred due to the abandonment of the Tui Mine?

Leaching of lead and copper into streams, reduced richness and evenness of biodiversity.

Seabed mining

Retrieving mineral deposits from the ocean floor. 

What are the three main types of seabed mining?

Cobalt-rich crust, sulphides, polymetallic nodules.

How deep is cobalt-rich crust mining?

Up to 2000m below the surface.

How deep is sulphide mining?

1800-4000m below the surface. 

Where does sulphide mining take place?

In the vicinity of tectonic boundaries.

How deep is mining of polymetallic nodules?

4000-6000m below the surface.

What metals are found in polymetallic nodules? 

Manganese, cobalt, copper, REEs. 

How many polymetallic nodules are estimated to be in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone?

21 billion tonnes.

What are the suggested benefits of seabed mining?

Increased metal supply for electronics and renewable energy

Boosting knowledge about deep-sea ecosystems

Revenues for humankind

Less impact than land-based mining

What are some of the uncertainties associated with seabed mining? 

Costs

Remoteness and harsh conditions - darkness, high pressure, low temperature

Limited operation and research

Environmental impacts

What are some of the potential environmental impacts of seabed mining?

Removal of habitat and biodiversity, sediment plumes, contaminant release, changes to physical and geochemical properties, increase in light, sound, and vibrations.

What are the impacts of seabed mining on rays, sharks, and chimeras?

Disturbance of the seafloor - eggs and sediment plumes.