Modern Industry and its Impact: From Raw Materials to Global Economy
Industry: From Artisanal to Modern
Artisanal Craft Workshops: Characterized by handmade products, low productivity, craftsmen organized in guilds, and no division of labor.
Modern Industry: Employs machines and plants, resulting in higher product output. Workers are organized in unions, with specialized roles and a division of labor.
Raw Materials
These are natural resources transformed by industrial processes. They can be:
- Animal Origin: Leather
- Plant Origin: Rubber, cotton
- Mineral Origin: Metallic (iron)
Metamorphic and Sedimentary Rocks: Formation and Classification
Facies and Metamorphic Rocks
A metamorphic facies comprises a set of different metamorphic rocks that have withstood similar pressures and temperatures. Two different initial rocks subjected to similar metamorphic conditions will result in two different metamorphic rocks with mostly different minerals, but with some identical. Although the textures of metamorphic rocks usually distinguish them from magmatic or sedimentary rocks, the following types are common:
Granoblastic Texture
Equivalent to the
Read MoreBiodiversity, Climate, and Environmental Threats
The Wealth of Life: Biodiversity
We depend entirely on plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms. They feed us, provide us with medicines and other goods that enhance the quality of our life and promise a productive and viable future. However, a quarter of all species on Earth may be lost in the next three decades.
Every year, we lose 1.5 to 2 percent of the remaining tropical rainforests due to slash-and-burn practices. 24 billion tons of topsoil are lost annually, and with over 90 million people
Read MoreHarnessing Water and Solar Power: Technologies and Applications
Water Power
Hydropower is generated using water as it moves through a channel (kinetic energy) or when it is impounded at a certain height (potential energy). When water is dropped, the potential energy turns into kinetic energy (speed), which can be exploited for various purposes. It is a renewable energy (not alternative).
There are two main applications of water power:
- From approximately 100 BC until nearly the end of the nineteenth century, all hydropower was transformed into mechanical energy
Fundamentals of Environmental Science: Systems, Models, and Earth’s Climate
Concept of Environment
The concept of environment was established in the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. It encompasses the physical, biological, and social components that can cause direct and indirect, short- or long-term effects on human life and activities. Ecology is the science related to this concept, studying natural ecosystems, the physical environment, and living beings.
The Need for Models
A model is a simplification that mimics real-world phenomena, allowing us to understand
Read MoreWaste Management: Types, Disposal, and the 4Rs of Sustainability
Waste
Waste Products
Waste products generated in all our production and consumption activities are called waste. Waste can be solids, liquids, or gases, and when released into the environment, can cause contamination, i.e., damage or deterioration to the environment, including harm to people.
Biodegradability
Waste production is a phase within natural systems. A balance exists between the natural production of waste and its absorption by nature, through microorganisms that break down matter and reuse
Read More