Environmental Issues

Question 1

How can we continue to sustainable develop

Answer 1

To continue to develop sustainably we must:

• Rethink and regulate our consumption
• Develop more sustainable practices
• Ensure that the demand of future generations can be met

Question 2

What 3 things should designers focus on to meet both current and future needs

Answer 2

• Environmental sustainability
• Economic sustainability
• Social sustainability

Question 3

What is Carbon Footprint

Answer 3

Carbon footprint is the term used to measure the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from:

• an individual
• a company
• a country

Your carbon footprint is the sum of all emissions caused by your activities over one year

Question 4

What is Carbon Offsetting and how is it done?

Answer 4

To compensate for the CO2 we create, individuals, companies and countries can ‘offset’ it by stopping it being created elsewhere:

• Planting trees
• Using electric vehicles
• Choosing renewable energy
• Donating to environmental charities
• Environmental journalist George Monbiot questions this practice saying, “You buy yourself a clean conscience by paying someone else to undo the harm you are causing” –

Question 5

What environmental factors could sway decisions that are made when designing, developing and manufacturing products and parts?

Answer 5

• Energy generation and consumption
• The sourcing and use of materials
• Disposal of waste and used products

Question 6

What Environmental Pollutants are released in Farming, extraction, processing and manufacture

Answer 6

• Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides
• Methane and VOCs
• Particulates
• Petrochemicals
• Biochemicals

Question 7

Downsides to farming trees, even though they’re a renewable resource

Answer 7

Whilst trees are a renewable resource, they are being used faster than they can be planted

• Forests act as a carbon sink and produce oxygen, deforestation is responsible for 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions
• Communities are displaced and invaluable habitats are lost
• Deforestation leads to soil erosion and flooding

Question 8

What are the effects of climate change on our ecosystem

Answer 8

The effects of climate change on our eco system are far reaching and include:

• Melting sea ice and glaciers and rising sea levels
• Desertification and loss of habitats
• Extreme weather conditions

Question 9

What effect is waste plastic having on our world today?

Answer 9

• Waste plastic is becoming the biggest problem we face
• Over the last 70 years plastic use has hugely increased, due to its low cost and durability
• In the UK we use more than 5 million tonnes of plastic each year
• In recent scientific studies, patches of plastic waste have been found on the surface of about 40 percent of the world’s oceans
• Seals and turtles are among 300 species which become entangled in plastic waste or mistake it for food
• Microplastics provide a medium to transport other toxic compounds

Question 10

How is the Government and Retailers clamping down on single use plastic

Answer 10

A recent area of focus has been single-use plastic products and packaging which currently make up one fifth of all litter

• Plastic bag use in England plummeted when a 5p charge was introduced in 2015
• In Norway, deposit return schemes have led to 96% of plastic bottles being returned
• The UK government is currently considering a plastic bottle recycling scheme and a tax on takeaway and other plastic packaging