Appropriate Technology

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Appropriate Technology
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A.T.

• To be appropriate, technology must be connected
  to the place, resources, economics, culture, and
  impacts of its use.
• Development Center for Appropriate Technology

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A.T.

• A technology is appropriate when its intended
  positive consequences outweigh its unintended
  negative consequences.
• Markert and Backer

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A.T.

• a technology is appropriate if it has little or
  no adverse effect on the environment, social
  structure, and culture
• Markert and Backer

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A.T.

• Philosophy of
• Providing for human needs without creating
  additional problems
• Balancing growth without extensive damage to the
  environment
• Using green technologies for sustained
  solutions to human problems

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A.T.Issues / Emerging Technologies

• Renewable Energy
• Smart Growth
• Sustainable Agriculture
• International Sustainability

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Renewable Energy

• Sources of energy that are always available
  because, in reality, they cannot run out, and
  they can be replenished.
• Diffuse
• Intermittent

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Renewable Energy

• Generation of Electricity

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Renewable Energy

• Biomass fuel to generate heat
• Organic plant matter
• Wood
• Agricultural waste
• Biogas
• Processed plant matter
• Ethanol or Extracted oils

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Renewable Energy

• Hydropower power to generate electricity
• Uses water movement to power turbines
• Water must be impounded or redirected from
  natural flow
• Impacts
• Amount variety of fish
• Increased sediment

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Renewable Energy

• Geothermal uses earth s heat to generate
  electricity
• Subsurface steam / hot water to power turbines
• May also be used as a source of heat for homes
  and businesses

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Geothermal
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Renewable Energy

• Wind windmills turn turbines
• Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program How
  Wind Turbines Work
• Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program How
  Wind Turbines Works - Animation

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Renewable Energy

• Ocean
• Wave power
• Thermal energy conversion
• Tidal power

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Renewable Energy

• Sunlight
• Photovoltaic Cells
• Direct conversion to electricity
• Thermal Solar Power
• Indirect conversion to electricity

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A.T.Issues / Emerging Technologies

• Renewable Energy
• Smart Growth
• Sustainable Agriculture
• International Sustainability

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Smart Growth

• Development accommodating the needs of a
  community without sacrificing the environment
• Balancing development and environmental
  protection
• Development that contains housing, dining,
  shopping, cultural activities all accessible by
  mass transit systems

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Smart Growth

• Advantages
• Improved air and water quality
• Preserve open space
• Rejuvenate older areas of cities

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Smart Growth

• COMPACT DEVELOPMENT
• Infill development
• Adding additional housing or business inside an
  existing development
• Brownfield redevelopment
• Remodel/upgrade industrial sites to housing
• Cluster development
• Smaller house lots more green space

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Smart Growth

• Green Buildings
• A building constructed in a way that minimizes
  waste and includes recycled, renewable, and
  reused resources to the maximum extent possible.
• Markert and Backer

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Smart Growth

• Green Buildings
• Energy Efficiency
• More insulation
• Air infiltration reduction
• Incorporation of renewable energy sources
• Reduced Material Use
• Smaller w/ better utilized space
• Alternative framing methods
• Modularization

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Smart Growth

• Green Buildings
• Low Impact Materials
• Renewable materials
• Straw
• Rammed earth
• Recycled materials
• Composites
• Reuse / alternative use

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A.T.Issues / Emerging Technologies

• Renewable Energy
• Smart Growth
• Sustainable Agriculture
• International Sustainability

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Sustainable Agriculture

• A philosophy of land use for present and future
  agricultural applications.
• Goals
• Farm profitability
• Improvement of the environment
• Increased quality of life for farmers

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Sustainable Agriculture

• Dominant Practices
• Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
• Ecologically sound, non-pesticide methods
• Manage pests to an acceptable level
• Biological controls
• Targeted vs broad spectrum pesticides

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Sustainable Agriculture

• Dominant Practices
• Conservation Tillage
• Leaves residue from previous crop as ground cover
• Reduces soil erosion from rain and wind
• Conserves moisture
• Reduces fuel usage

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Sustainable Agriculture

• Dominant Practices
• Enhanced Nutrient Management
• Provide the correct nutrient for the crop
• Soil analysis identifies deficiencies
• Crop rotation may reduce fertilizer needs

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Sustainable Agriculture

• Dominant Practices
• Precision Agriculture
• Provides farmer with detailed information
  regarding field conditions and crop needs
• Requires computers, GPS, remote sensors, and
  specialized farm equipment
• Allows for precision application for water,
  fertilizers, pesticides, etc.

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A.T.Issues / Emerging Technologies

• Renewable Energy
• Smart Growth
• Sustainable Agriculture
• International Sustainability

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Sustainability

• Using resources at the same or a lesser rate than
  they are replenished
• Producing waste materials at a rate that does not
  exceed the rate of reabsorption into the
  environment

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Sustainability

• Roadblocks
• Human Overpopulation
• Zero population growth
• Overconsumption
• Consumerism
• Underconservation
• Excessive use of resources

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