THREE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY

Nature’s Survival Strategies Follow Three Principles of Sustainability

Nature has been dealing with significant changes in environmental conditions that affect the planet for at least 3.5 billion years. This is why many environmental experts say that when we face an environmental change that becomes a problem for us or other species, we should learn how nature has dealt with such changes and then mimic nature’s solutions. 

To learn how to live more sustainably and thus more wisely, we need to find out how life on the earth has sustained itself. Our research leads us to believe that in the face of drastic environmental changes, there are three overarching themes relating to the long-term sustainability of life on this planet: solar energy, biodiversity, and chemical cycling. In other words, rely on the sun, promote multiple options for life, and reduce waste. These powerful and simple ideas make up three principles of sustainability or lessons from nature.



  • Reliance on solar energy:

The sun warms the planet and supports photosynthesis—a complex chemical process used by plants to provide the nutrients, or chemicals that most organisms need in order to stay alive and reproduce. Without the sun, there would be no plants, no animals, and no food. The sun also powers indirect forms of solar energy such as wind and flowing water, which we can use to produce electricity.

  • Biodiversity (short for biological diversity): 

This refers to the astounding variety of organisms, the natural systems in which they exist and interact (such as deserts, grasslands, forests, and oceans), and the natural services that these organisms and living systems provide free of charge (such as renewal of topsoil, pest control, and air and water purification). Biodiversity also provides countless ways for life to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Without it, most life would have been wiped out long ago.

  • Chemical cycling:

Also referred to as nutrient cycling, this circulation of chemicals from the environment (mostly from soil and water) through organisms and back to the environment is necessary for life. Natural processes keep this cycle going, and the earth receives no new supplies of these chemicals. Thus, for life to sustain itself, these nutrients must be cycled in this way, indefinitely. Without chemical cycling, there would be no air, no water, no soil, no food, and no life.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ZEOLITE OR PERMUTIT PROCESS

Image
  Zeolites are naturally occuring hydrated sodium alumino silicate minerals.  Na2O. Al2O3. xSiO2. yH2O where x = 2 to 10 and   y = 2 to 6. Natural zeolites are nonporous. The synthetic form of zeolite is known as permutit. Synthetic zeolite is represented by Na2Ze. Synthetic zeolites are porous and have a jelly structure. They are prepared by heating together china clay, feldspar and soda ash. These zeolites have higher exchange capacity per unit weight than natural zeolites. In this synthetic zeolite process, the hard water is allowed to percolate through sodium zeolite. The sodium ions which are loosely held in Na2Ze are replaced by Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions present in the water. Process: In   this process , the hard water is passed through a bed of sodium zeolite (Na2Ze). The hardness-causing ions (Ca2+, Mg2+) in hard water is replaced by loosely held sodium ions in zeolite bed. The outgoing soft water contains only sodium ions. Na2Ze + Ca(HCO3)2  --> CaZe + 2NaHCO3 Na2Ze + Mg(HCO3)2  -
Read more

BATTERIES AND ITS TYPES

Image
A battery is an arrangement of several electrochemical cells connected in series that can be used as a source of direct electric current. A cell is one that contains only one anode and cathode, but a battery contains several anodes and cathodes.   TYPES OF BATTERIES: (a) Primary Battery or Primary Cells In the case of a primary battery, the electrode and the electrode reactions cannot be reversed by passing an external electrical energy. The reactions occur only once and after use, they become dead. Therefore, they are not rechargeable. Example: Dry cell, Mercury cell (b) Secondary Battery or Secondary Cells In case of a Secondary battery, the electrode reactions can be reversed by passing an external electrical energy. Therefore, they can be recharged by passing an electrical current and used again again. These are called storage cells or accumulators. Example: Lead-acid storage cell, nickel-cadmium cell
Read more

REVERSE OSOMOSIS: ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Image
  ADVANTAGES of Reverse Osmosis: This method has greater advantages of removing ionic, non-ionic, colloidal and high-molecular weight organic matter. The lifetime of the membrane is quite high (2 years). The membrane can be replaced within a few minutes. It provides nearly uninterrupted water supply. Due to low capital cost, low operating cost and high reliability, this method is superior than other methods. DISADVANTAGES of Reverse Osmosis: Reverse Osmosis plays a major role in providing portable water defined by the WHO criterion of < 500 ppm of total dissolved solids (TDS). Extremely high-quality water required for nuclear power plants can be made from sea water by the reverse-osmosis process. Sugar concentration, waste-water recovery and beverage uses are a few of the current popular applications of the reverse-osmosis process.
Read more