GREEN TECHNOLOGY
Green technology, also known as environmentally friendly technology uses science to safeguard the
natural environment and resources as well as reducing the human impact on the
Earth.
Some of the more commonly known green technologies are recycling, water
purification, renewable energy and solid waste management.
Most cities in the United States and the United Kingdom have
recycling programs available; many with curb side pick
up.
Water
purification and sewage treatment is a common and older technology to help conserve and treat the water used in the
homes as well as industries.
Solar and geothermal power is being used today
and with the threat of global warming the market is growing.
Currently
the largest solar thermal power station is located in the Mojave Desert and the largest geothermal power
station is located in California.
Renewable energy is becoming more widely sought
and homes can often be found with solar panels and energy efficient appliances; businesses are playing a larger
role in renewable energy with the use of water and air to assist in the power supplies.
Solid waste management is enforcing regulation on the landfills
encouraging recycling and landfill gasses have even been used for power sources and the sites have been
leveled for parks.
Recycling is a type of green technology that uses old materials to
make new products. Old used tires are being recycled to create playground flooring in parks and provide a
soft surface that increases the safety of the children playing
there.
Post consumer recycled paper is being used in products such as computer paper, books, paper
plates, paper towel, toilet paper and packaging materials to name just a
few.
Recycling saves not only energy and raw materials but also space used in
landfills.

Wind farms are being used more and more
everyday. The ease of harnessing the wind to generate power... a no brainer!
Water purification is the process of turning
raw and or contaminated water into useful water for drinking, medical and industrial uses.
Water is purified by means of filtration, treatment with ultraviolet
light, softening and reverse osmosis as well as other treatment
processes.
Technology is even being developed that can
remove the salt from sea water to make it into drinking water.
The government controls the water purification
and safety standards of minimum and maximum allowed contaminates for drinking water.
The current sources for drinking water is
groundwater and lakes, rivers and reservoirs; however, there is new technology being developed to utilize water
from fog collection, rain collection and even atmospheric water generation.
Renewable energy
uses our natural resources such as wind, water and sunlight for the power needed in homes and
industries. Renewable fuel sources are a growing development with ethanol made
from corn in the United States and sugar cane in Brazil.
Wind and Water power is being utilized with
water leading the way in technology.
Since water is much denser than
air even the slowest water current can produce power sources.
Technology is
being created to use the tides with large turbines that are much like the wind turbines that are used for
air.
By utilizing the solar, wind, water and other natural renewable
sources for power we can protect the earth and its non renewable sources such as oil and stop the clear
cutting of the rain forests.
Solid Waste Management
Solid waste
management includes the transportation, processing, recycling and disposal of our waste
materials. We live in a disposable world in many ways with the modernization and
convenience of our world we have cluttered it with our
refuse.

As people begin to
become aware of our impact on the Earth we are learning to become less self consumed in
our efforts to protect it. Many people are choosing to use cloth diapers instead of
disposable diapers which go into the
landfill.
The average baby
goes through approximately 5000 diapers before being potty
trained.
As of 2007 the
figured world wide birth rate was approximately 134 billion babies born each year,
multiply that by 5000 and you have 670,000 diapers in the landfill if everyone used
disposable diapers.
Landfills are
filling up with our abundance; clothing, toys, diapers, electronics and
packaging.
We have been
familiarized with the waste hierarchy of reduce, reuse and recycles but do we really take
this into consideration before we just toss out our unwanted
items?
Reduce the amount
of packaging by buying in bulk, using cloth or reusable bags at the grocery
store and analyzing if we really need something
before buying it.
Reusing items instead of throwing them out also cuts down on the waste we
produce.
Look for ways to
use what you already have before purchasing new
items.
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Creating systems that are multi
functional
Recycle! Instead of
taking items to the dump take them to a resale shop and buy clothes and items that others
are replacing.

In this way we
reduce the amount of raw materials that are used and the end result is we have something
new to us and that is also environmentally sound and
responsible.
Technology companies these days are now focusing on
green technology, energy conservation.
Creating systems
that are multi functional, instead of having a separate fax, printer and photocopier companies
are using multifunctional systems, one piece of technology for all three
uses.
When an office
closes the screens are left on which consumes energy.
Leading technology
companies are creating computer screens which when they go to sleep mo power is
used.
Data centres are
now thinking of moving or opening up nearer to renewable energy sources such as hydro
electricity or wind power sites.
Most companies are
thinking long and hard about what happens to all their technology when it needs to be disposed
of and recycling where ever possible. try to pass on the world of recycling and the
environment.
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