NATS 1510 Final Flashcards
What is the environmental movement?
to protect and preserve the natural environment
What is environmentalism
Broad movement that includes:
Preservations: Defend the wilderness
Conservation: Maintaining resource for long term
Pastoralism: living a simple, or back to nature lifestyle
Pragmatic view
Nature is used for our benefit
Essentialist view
Nature is valuable in and of itself
Past concerns for the environment
Philosophical or aesthetic reasons
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
the dangers of pesticides and chemicals, backed up by statistics and quantitative analysis
Would allow the environmental movement to challenge the industry and government
What happneded to Ecologists
Became technicians for nature to make sure it was managed properly
Worked on behalf of the state
Evernden’s view
Should protect and/or wisely manage natural resources
Can compromise our standard of living
self interest dominates environmental concerns
What is Environmental impact assessments
A tool for developers
They develop and build while minimizing environmental costs
Analogy for the environment
Compared to cutting the vocal cords of experimental animals
Scientist must be emotionally detached from the subject of study
Resourcism
Science concerned with predicting and controlling , not experiencing or appreciating
Treating nature as a resource to be used
Analysis of Science and Industry
By the late 19th/early 20th century, science gave potential advantages with new products and efficiencies
19th-century interest in theoretical science, less in applied science
why did Capitalists invest in science at universities and R+D laboratories
Goal was profit and increased efficiency
Started with chemistry and physics
Downside of R+D laboratories
Long and Expensive, requires excess capital: Traditional manufacturing profits
Financial speculation
Industrial consolidation (vertical integration)
what happened to family-owned industries
Gone, large corporate organizations appeared due to
1920s: 500+ mergers in chemical and electrical industries
and Small number of large companies emerged as dominant
Engineers and scientists
From electrical and chemical industries went to different industries
The chemical industry in the US
industrial revolution high demand met by batch production and artificial substances
Chemical industries supplied manufactures with generic chemicals:
Acids
Alkalis
Inorganic salts
Chemical were in high demand
Dyes
Popular in textile and printing industries
Before WWI, german companies dominated chemical dye market
Due to initial lead, production at low cost, university science R+D network and ownership of patents
Germany and USA’s relationship
German patents put national trust in US and sold to individual companies to develop processes in US
Tariff barriers put up protect domestic industry
US industry developed different processes
Electrolytic process
Used to produce salts, soda, chlorine and bromine
The Reciprocal Relationship between science and industry
Science provided new processes and products for industry, reinforced monopolies, and allowed patent control
Scientific research changed towards applications and improvements of application
Corporate interest shaped educational curriculum
Industrial Momentum and the Electrical industry
US electrical industry dominated by a few large companies
Electrical power generation, lighting, transportation and communications all developed into industries in late 1800’s
Engineers and scientists from electrical industry moved to other industries
Patents
Lasted 17 years before reverted to public domain
allowed mergers to gain control patents allowing large companies to thrive
Idea of protection
Maintenance and pursuit became expensive and time consuming
Companies decided to pool access to patents to share costs
Innovation
Technological systems sufficiently complex to require a network of innovations
Vertical integration
A company accuires another at a different point of its supply chain
Industrial processes became more scientific and capital intensive
Vertical integration used to reduce transaction costs and to guarantee supply at fixed prices
Automobile today
Pervasive and Integrated in North America
Pervasive:
Millions of automobiles owned, thousands being produced
Integrated:
Birth and death occur inside and outside the car
Cars in NA
Linked with pop culture, music, movies and etc
Indicators of individual freedom, economic prosperity and signs of adulthood
Motor vehicle shaped patterns of urbanization and suburbanization
Allowed personal mobility and increase in distribution of goods
Problem with internal combustion engines
Burns gasoline, producing greenhouse gasses
Individual cars don’t pollute much, but millions of cars pollute a lot
Possible fixes
Technological fixes:
Designing a car that emits fewer emission like hybrid or electric cars
Difficult to achieve
Social fixes:
Encourage the use of public transit or carpool
Difficult to arrange do to people being habitual
History of the Electric Car
Been put forward as a possible solution to our problems
In 1898 a stated there may be cars propelled by five different methods of propulsion: steam, cable, underground trolley, battery and horses
Before 19th century
First electric car on the road
1885 Daimler and Benz built car engines that run on liquid benzene
1887 Diesel added compressed fuel injection
First electric car in 1894, electric cabs in 1897
Horses vs automobiles
Horses:
Lots of shit
Automobiles:
Expensive
Brought as technological fix
Further and faster
Won out after WW2
Steam cars
Pros:
Lighter than electric
High pressure and temperature for efficiency
Flexible on fuel, gasoline, kerosene, wood or coal
Cons:
Steam boiler explosions caused bad stigma
Water had to be pure or would clog
Electric cars
Pros:
More flexible than gasoline
Worked up to 2-3x rated power, where gasoline engines would stall
In 1909, the US had over 4000 charging stations
Cons:
Stopped and restarted easily
Fueling presented challenges
Technology not standardized
Charging unreliable
Required frequent small adjustments by experts
Limited capacity and different charge times
Internal Combustion
Pros:
Lighter and higher speeds
Simpler to fix
Fuel availability
Infrastructure investments not needed
Cons:
Sensitive to fuel impurities
High speeds cause accidents, wear, tear and fags
Initially less reliable, less efficient and prone to breakdowns
Automobile Industry Innovation
The automobile industry has been slow to innovate.
Small-Bore IC Engine Innovation
Considerable innovation in IC engine applications, development of small-bore IC engine.
Applications of Small-Bore IC Engines
Small-bore IC engines used in snowmobiles, motorcycles, ATV’s, motorboats, leaf blowers, lawnmowers.
Two Varieties of Small-Bore IC Engines
Two varieties: two-stroke and four-stroke. Two-stroke engines pollute more, expelling unburnt fuel with oil, causing environmental concerns.
Environmental Impact of Two-Stroke Engines
Two-stroke engines emit pollutants, including carcinogens, contributing to air and water pollution.
Noise Pollution from Small-Bore Engines
In addition to air pollution, small-bore engines create significant noise pollution, affecting operators’ hearing. (85-100 dB)