Designing IA for AI - Information Architecture Conference 2024
Global Climatic Change - Engineers Perspective
1. Global Climate Change
ASHOK GHOSH
Professor In charge
Dept.
Dept of EWM
A. N. College, Patna
2. GLOBAL CLIMATIC CHANGE
If everyone on Earth continue
our current life style, it would
take more than 7 Earths to
support human population by
the end of this century.
4. Our planet is
heating up …
… and we are
responsible
Unless we take steps NOW
to curb global warming,
b l b l i
our way of life,
our future, and
our family are all in
y
GRAVE DANGER.
10. Antarctic Ice, 2000
Antarctic Ice 2000
Some of the
massive glaciers in
Antarctica, such as
Marr Ice Piedmont
pictured here, are
thinning and racing
to the sea at a
faster rate. Some
ice shelves, such as
Larsen B, have
disintegrated
altogether.
11. Bangladeshi Village, 2005
A one‐meter (3.2‐
foot) rise in sea level,
which could result
from the melting of a
fraction of
Greenland's glaciers
or Antarctica's ice
sheets, would flood
sheets would flood
10 percent of
Bangladesh,
including the village
on Bhola Island
pictured here, and
i d h d
displace at least 20
million people.
million people
12. Chicago Heat, 1995
Extreme weather
events, such as
h
the heat wave in
Chicago in 1995
Chi i
that killed 700
people or the hot
l h h
spell in Europe
that killed 20,000
h kill d
in 2003, will
become more
b
common as the
globe warms.
l b
13. Mountain Retreat, 2004
Mountain Retreat 2004
Plants and animals
that live at climatic
boundaries, such as
specific elevations
in the mountains,
have been
retreating up alpine
slopes as
temperatures
warm, like these
plants on Mount
l t M t
Schrankogel in
Austria.
Austria
14. Drought with Chinese Characteristics, 2005
Droughts will also
become more
common in some
areas, like the one
that gripped
Gua gdo g
Guangdong
Province in China
in 2005 and dried
5
up wells and
p
ponds that had
served for
centuries.
15. Penguin Peril, 2000
Islets off of
Antarctica's Anvers
Island have lost half
of their nesting pairs
of Adélie penguins
(Pygoscelis adeliae)
since the 1970s. This
h h
rookery that has
existed for at least
e isted for at least
600 years must move
because of rising
temperatures and
changing ice cover.
16. Modern Atlantis, 2005
The children of
Tuvalu, an island
nation in the South
Pacific just 16.5 feet
(
(five meters) above
)
sea level at its
highest point, wait
out an inundating
high tide, more
common with each
ith h
passing year, on
their kaupapa, an
their "kaupapa " an
outdoor sleeping
platform.
17. GLACIAL SPEED:
Greenland may get
much of the scientific
attention but it is
smaller glaciers such as
the Columbia Glacier in
Alaska pictured here
that are already
contributing to sea
level rise‐‐and will
continue to do so in
future.
future
24. Greenland Ice Sheet
WATER POWER
Water pressure
cracked all the
way through the
nearly half‐mile
thick Greenland
ice sheet, leaving
this fissure where
a meltwater lake
once rested.
25. Greenland s…………………….
Greenland’s
On July 29, 2006, there was a roughly 11‐billion‐
gallon lake that stretched more than two square
miles and covered the western portion of
G ee a d s ass e ce s eet t e spa o 6
Greenland's massive ice sheet. In the span of 16
hours, it was gone. The reason: water pressure
c ac ed t oug t e o e t a a
cracked through the more than half‐mile thick ice,
e t c ce,
draining the lake as its water rushed through the
new funnel and gathered below the giant ice sheet,
g g ,
raising it nearly four feet and moving it nearly three
feet to the north.
26. When did the
p
problem begin?
g
The problems began when
human activities created &
released more gases in the
atmosphere than are necessary
necessary.
27. Burning natural gas, coal & oil
B i t l l il
raise the level of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere & accelerate
the warming effect.
28.
29. Anthropogenic CO2 ‐ Many factories
g
produce long‐lasting gases that contribute to
the global warming
AES Drax in
Yorkshire pumps
p p
smoke out of the
tallest chimneys in
the country The
country.
coal-fired power
p
plant emits more
CO2 – 22.8 million
tonnes annually –
more than the 100
least-industrialized
nations combined.
30. Intensive farming leads to global warming
• Some farming practices & use of fertilizers produce
gases that trap heat more than Carbon Dioxide.
• For instance, Nitrous Oxide, found in pesticides can
retain 300 times more heat than CO2.
31. Forests are vital for
absorbing & storing
the world's carbon
world s
dioxide (CO2).
When trees are cut & burnt
the damage is two-fold:
two fold:
* The world's capacity to
world s
absorb CO2 is reduced.
* Large amounts of stored
carbon are released back
into the atmosphere.
32. The oceans are like giant storage heaters
g g
Oceans trap heat and absorb Carbon dioxide.
They are like time-bombs, masking the real effects
of the Carbon dioxide we have been releasing into
the atmosphere. Constant disturbance of the sea
currents is a threat awaiting to unleash.
39. Global warming will kill
BILLIONS this Century
Green house gases can stay in the atmosphere
for hundreds and thousands of years.
Here are few DEADLIEST effects
of global warming..
41. A: Spread of infectious
disease
Global Warming leads to
150,000
150 000 deaths every year
These numbers could double by 2020
As the globe warms, disease-carrying
mosquitoes & rodents spread, infecting
q p , g
people. Outbreaks of Dengue fever,
Malaria, Chikingunia, Allergies & Asthma
have already started affecting daily lives.
42. More Intense Hurricanes are on the Way
The oceans are getting warmer stronger
warmer,
hurricanes & calamities like tsunami are
getting more frequent.
43. “Sawing off the branch we are sitting on”
Sawing on
Deforestation is Choking the Earth.
34 million acres of trees,
the size of Italy, are cut each year.
45. Stronger Hurricanes
Katrina
320 Million trees , corresponding to a biomass of 0 09 to 0 11
0.09 0.11
petagrams of CO2 were transferred form live to dead pools
47. D: Economic consequences
q
Natural calamities do billions of money in damage
& disease outbreaks cost money to treat and control
control.
48. H: Food will cost as much as gold
g
The threat to future food supplies
from climate change weighs h
f li t h i h heavily
il
on an expected world population
of 9 billion people by 2050.
49. G: We will lose
drinking water
As sea levels rise,
sea water will invade
coastal groundwater,
t l d t
making it salty
hence undrinkable.
50. Coastal Flooding
A NASA high-tech aerial survey shows that Global
warming is melting 50 billion tons of ice in a year
from the Greenland ice sheet.
This is increasing the likelihood of coastal flooding
around
aro nd the world.
orld
51. EPA Findings 2009
The U.S. EPA is finally acknowledging that
Th U S EPA i fi ll k l d i th t
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere contribute
to air pollution which in turn poses a health
t i ll ti hi h i t h lth
threat. This year, the EPA issued a finding that
identified six greenhouse gases in the
id tifi d i h i th
atmosphere “endanger the public health and
welfare of current and future generations.”
lf f t d f t ti ”
The six GHGs are carbon dioxide, methane,
nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons,
perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. In
2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the EPA to
conduct a thorough review of greenhouse gases
pollution and air pollution.
52. EPA Findings 2009
The finding acknowledged that the high concentrations of GHGs in
Th fi di k l d d th t th hi h t ti f GHG i
the atmosphere is the “unambiguous result of human emissions.”
EPA also listed ten effects of climate change that are currently being
g y g
observed and are projected to occur in the future:
The increased likelihood of more frequent and intense heat waves
More wildfires
Degraded air quality
Heavy downpours and flooding
Increased drought
Greater sea level rise
More intense storms
Harm to water resources
Harm to agriculture
Harm to wildlife and ecosystems
53. Greenhouse Gas Emission
Farmed animals generate more greenhouse gases than
SUVs, tractor trailers, trains, and jumbo jets put
SUV t t t il t i d j b j t t
together.
According to U.N. scientists, the livestock sector is one
According to U N scientists the livestock sector is one
of the largest sources of carbon dioxide and the single
largest source of both methane and nitrous oxide
g
emissions.
Nitrous oxide is about 300 times more potent as a global
g
warming gas than carbon dioxide.
The meat, egg, and dairy industries account for a
staggering 65 percent of worldwide nitrous oxide
f ld d d
emissions.
55. Role of Engineers in
Addressing Climate Change
Add i Cli t Ch
Engineering associations have long been
advocates for the engineering business
g g
It’s time to change that role
Bridge the gaps among society, science and
B id h i i d
politics
• Society requires strong coordination
between politicians and engineers to arrest
climate change
56. Why a Politician?
y
Consulting Engineers Have Consulting Engineers Lack
Knowledge g Avowed ambition
Capabilities Political sensibility
Technical skills Strong image
Organization Communication
Position skills
to improve living to claim a leadership
conditions in the
p
position for
world,
world
improving our
But… society
58. Consulting Engineers Can Be
g g
That Bridge
BUT…
• Consulting engineers must
act beyond their
commission
• Consulting engineers have
a responsibility to do so
60. Winds of Change
Renewable sources
of energy, such as
the wind farm
pictured here in
Rockville, Ill., offer
hope of
alternatives to the
fossil fuels, such as
coal, that emit the
greenhouse gases,
which cause
climate change
when burned.
62. Do a Better Job of Defining
g
the Problem
Climate change as a
symptom of a flawed
economic
development model
Need to understand
the full breadth of
the problems we’re
dealing with
Current situation
Impacts and urgencies
p g
63. Climate Change as a Symptom of a
Flawed Economic Development Model
Fl d E i D l t M d l
• Our current model for
Our current model for
economic
development is not
development is not
sustainable
• Gl b l Cli
Global Climate change
h
• Leading edge of
many problems to
come
• Many are already
here!
64. Need to Understand the Full Breadth of
the Problems We’re Dealing With
• What are people and
What are people and
organizations doing that
isn’t sustainable?
• What are the consequences
of continuing to be non‐
sustainable?
• How serious and urgent are
these consequences?
h ?
• What needs to be done to
fix them?
fi th ?
• What does it mean to be
sustainable?
68. What it Means to be Sustainable
Renewable resources (ecological)
R bl ( l i l)
Use < Regeneration
Non‐renewable resources
(minerals, fuels)
(minerals fuels)
Use < Rate of development
of renewable substitutes
Pollution emissions
Emissions < Carrying capacity
i i i i
of the environment
69. Understand the Impacts and
Urgencies
i
Changes are occurring at
a scope, scale and speed
we never thought possible
Scope: Being felt
Scope B i f lt
everywhere. More serious
for the poor, less resilient
nations
i
Scale: Happening at all
scales (local, regional,
( , g ,
global) and in all sectors.
Speed: Happening faster
than we ever imagined
Climate change is the
leading edge of this
change
70. Develop a Technology Roadmap for
Improving Sustainable Performance
Response to climate change is most urgent
Adaptation, mitigation
p , g
Working at the project level isn’t sufficient
Engineers owe it to society to challenge unsound,
g y g ,
politically‐motivated initiatives.
The engineering community has that the
requisite knowledge and experience
Knows what works or can work
Also technology gaps
Can team with the scientific community to set
research priorities, agendas
research priorities agendas
71. Path Forward
1.6
16
Projections
1.4
Development and
Development and
Number of Earths Used by Humanity
application of
1.2 more sustainable
Target
Target technologies
1.0
Number of Earths
pathway
Number of Earths Available
0.8 Opportunities
for innovation
0.6
0.4
0.2
Today
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030
72. Revise Engineering Curriculums to
Deliver the Engineer Required for
the 21st Century
y
Provide meaning and
context to engineering
education
Development of globally
p g y
aware and internationally
responsible engineers,
g
students, and
professionals.
“Engineering Education
30
3.0”
73. Mission Green Earth
The more you
Th
plant – The
greener it gets
Plant a tree today
and stand up to
save mother earth
74. YES Climate change
matters
because survival of this
civilization matters !
THANKS
75. “Engineering Education 3 0”
Engineering Education 3.0
1.0 Age of attrition
1 0 Age of attrition
Solving engineering puzzles out
of context
Engineering is not for slackers!
f l k
2.0 Age of competition
Puzzles plus practicum
Design contests, mostly single
discipline focused
Engineering can be fun!
3.0 Age of contribution
Puzzles in context
How engineering contributes to
quality of life
Engineering has significance!
