technology is both a cause and a fix for unsustainable resource use.

1. 3. TECHNOLOGY is both a CAUSE and a FIX
for unsustainable resource use. Discuss
Prepared by:
Md. Hafiz Juddin bin Jimat (16B2091)
Ak Junaidi Bin Pg Hj Samat (16B9009)
Muhammad Afiq Qamalul Azri bin Azmi (16B9037)

2. TABLE OF CONTENT
-Introduction Definition
-Technology is a cause to unsustainable resource use.
-Technology is a fix to unsustainable resource use.
-Case study 1- China (coal)
-Case study 2- China (Three Gorges Dam)
-Conclusion
-References

3. Introduction
Topic: Technology is both a cause and a fix for unsustainable resource
use. Discuss.
Definitions of key terms;
Technology
• According to Ramey(2013) technology is a
body of knowledge to create tools, processing
actions and extraction of materials. We use
technology to complete various works in our
daily lives, thus we can describe technology
as products, processes or organizations. We
use technology to extend our abilities, and that
makes people as the most important part of
any technological system.
Unsustainable and Sustainable
resource use
• According to Convention on Biological Diversity
(CBD) 1992 Article 2, sustainable use means the
use of components of biological diversity at a
rate that does not lead to the long-term decline
of biological diversity while maintaining its
potential to meet the needs and aspirations of
present and future generations.
• Unsustainable= not able to last or continue for a
long time. (Merriam-Webster, 2017)
• Thus, unsustainable resource use is resources
that does not consider future needs and the
protection of the environment (or of social
needs) on its plans.

4. Cause
• Many of the technologies we used every day consume more resources and power
than they need to, and using or manufacturing them produces wastes.
• Here are a few causes of technology that could harm the environment which are
1. pollutions such as air, water, heat and noise pollution that can all be
caused by producing and using technology. Coal burning, while a simple
technology, has numerous side effects in addition to carbon dioxide emission.
2. Coal occurs in combination with sulfur in many places. High sulfur coal, when
burned, produces sulfur dioxide, which is the source of acid rain. High sulfur
coal must be cleaned before it can be burned. Coal burning also produces large
amounts of particulates in the form of fly or bottom ash, which must be
disposed of or recycled.

5. 3. Consuming resources especially non-renewable resources,
including precious metals like rocks, are used to
make technology. Many others, such as coal, are consumed to
generate electricity to use technology. Even some renewable
resources, like trees and water, are becoming contaminated or
are used up faster than they can renew themselves because of
technology.
4. Building technology such as Hydro Electric Power(HEP) and
drilling to extract fossil fuel may disrupt the ecology due to
clearing land where animals used to live to build factories and
allowing pollution to contaminate the food chain which can
greatly affect the environment's natural cycles.

6. 5. Nuclear energy: The technology used to produce nuclear power is
based on nuclear fission. The fuel for fission reactions are heavy
nuclei, particularly uranium, thorium, and plutonium. According to
Energy Information Administration International Energy Annual 1999,
the U.S. led the world in nuclear power production, producing about
728 billion kilowatt-hours. France ranked second, with 375 billion
kilowatt-hours, and Japan was third, at about 309 billion kilowatt-
hours produced.
According to Energy Information Administration International Energy
Outlook 2001, In 1999 the nuclear share of total electricity
generation for France was 75%, for Japan was 33%, and for the U.S.
was 20%. Nuclear energy is often considered the desirable
alternative to coal, because it does not release carbon dioxide but it
produces "radioactive waste“.

7. Technology is a fix to the use of unsustainable
resource
-Continual growth in a finite world is possible through the power of technology
(Sharon, 1994)
-Later on enable us to find new sources or provide alternatives
if a particular resource appears to be running out.
-Help to use and reuse what we have left in the efficient manner.
-Replacing the unsustainable resources (alternative resources).
-To tackle environmental problems for example pollution.

8. Case study: Coal in China
-Coal has been the most important source
of energy supply and resources in China
ever since industrialization which began in
1950s (Sun, 2010).
-Nearly 97 percent of China’s coal is
consumed in five sectors: power generation,
industrial sectors, coking, residential use,
and heating supply (Sun, 2010).
-Power generation has been the largest
coal-consuming sector since 1995 when it
overtook the industrial sectors.
-China’s energy consumption is mostly
being used for industrial purposes and one
of the principal users is the steel industry in
China.

9. ISSUES arised:
-Pollution
16 out of 20 of most populated cities in the
world are in China (Nagle, 2015)
Lanzhou- the world’s most polluted city (1998)
due to:
1. Major Industrial Centre
2. Burning Large amount of coal every day.
Lanzhou

10. -Investment on cleaner coal technology (Coal Plants)
 There are three basic categories of coal plants. All of them burn coal to boil water to generate
steam to spin a turbine. They are distinguished by how much heat and pressure they put the
steam under.
1. Subcritical plants do not reach water’s critical point, which is 705 degrees Fahrenheit and
3,208 pounds per square inch.
2. Supercritical plants do — they get up over 1,000 degrees.
3. Ultra-supercritical plants get even hotter — up to 1,400 degrees and 5,000 pounds of pressure
per square inch.
(Hart, M., Bassett, L., & Johnson, B. 2017)
With each boost in temperature and pressure, the process gets cleaner, yielding more energy and
less pollution per unit of coal.
BUT Increasing temperature and pressure would be very expensive..
Government’s actions

11. Three gorges Dam in China
China realized that they need to replaced the
overconsumption of Coal and fossil fuel and move
to the clean resources such as Hydroelectric power
as well as energy efficiency and other modern
technologies.
Location: Yangtze River, Chongqing, Central China
-The world’s Largest and Longest dam stretching across
Yangtze River.
-Totalled about 2.3KM in width and a height of 185
meters with maximum water retention of 175 meters.
- This gigantic dam was built with a capital totaling of USD
$24 Billion and at maximum capacity will output 22,500
MegaWatt per hour and 98.8 Terrawatt annually which is
equivalent to 60,000 tons of coal. (“China’s hydropower
energy.” n.d.)
-Able to cover the building cost in 10
years time while providing almost
one/tenth of the power needs in China.
-The dam also serves as a flood control
for the lowland areas
THE THREE GORGES DAM

12. Problems of Three Gorges dam
1. It is very expensive which cost USD24 Billion (Hvistendahl, 2008)
2. It flooded many places such as archaeological and cultural sites.
3. Need to evacuate 1.3 million people to build the dam.
4. Increase risk of landslides due to pressure from the dam.
5. Damaging other resources such as agriculture and land.
6. Reduction of water flows to other region and alters weather patterns which
endangering at least 57 plant species and 177 fish species. (Hvistendahl, 2008)

13. CONCLUSION
Technology may be a cause to the unsustainable resource use but It also a fix to the unsustainable
resource use.
Technology helps in overcoming several problems such as pollution. it replaces the use of
unsustainable resource with other renewable resources such as Hydroelectric power eg Three
Gorges Dam in China.
Technology also help to convert a very dirty Fossil fuel such as coal into a cleaner coal via coal
plantation which was introduced by the government of China.
The big point here is that, the world’s governments tried to innovate a cleaner and greener
technology which can be helpful in both Develop and Developing countries so that there is no
problems arise from the use of the unsustainable resources.

14. References
• Carnegie Mellon University(2003). Energy Sources, Technologies, and Impacts Retrieved from
http://environ.andrew.cmu.edu/m3/s3/11sources.shtml#ftnref1_2
• Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) Convention on Biological Diversity. Secretariat of the Convention
on Biological Diversity, Montreal, Canada. Retrieved from http://www.biodiversitya
-z.org/content/sustainable-use
• China’s hydropower energy: Case Study Three Gorges Dam. (n.d.).
• Hart, M., Bassett, L., & Johnson, B. (2017). Everything you think you know about coal in China is
wrong. Retrieved from:
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/reports/2017/05/15/432141/everything
think -know-coal-china-wrong/
• Hvistendahl, M. (2008). China’s three gorges dam: An Environmental Catastrophe.
Retrieved from: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/chinas-three-
gorges- dam-disaster/
• Karehka Ramey(2013). What Is Technology – Meaning of Technology and Its Use. Retrieved from
https://www.useoftechnology.com/what-is-technology/
• Merriam-Webster(2017). Learner's definition of UNSUSTAINABLE. Retrieved from
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/unsustainable

15. Nagle, G., & Guinness, P. (2015). Cambridge international As and A level.
Sharon, B. (1994). The Role of Technology in Sustainable Development, Technology and
Society, Vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 14-19.
Sun, G. (2010). Coal in China: Resources, Uses and Advanced Coal Technologies.
Retrieved from: https://www.c2es.org/docUploads/coal-in-china-resources-uses
-technologies.pdf