Ecological Footprint of Clay Brick Essay Example for Free

Ecological Footprint of Clay Brick Essay An ecological footprint highlights human impact on the environment through specific, measurable terms usually relating to a type of material that can be diagramed from manufacturing to use. To understand the impact of a single material, such as clay brick, there must be a cataloguing of the process of excavation, manufacturing, and transportation. In the architectural realm, clay bricks are often used for convenience, but the actual process of creating and transporting clay bricks obviously consumes energy and produces waste affecting the health of the environment and the distribution of resources. Despite the fact forming clay bricks is less harmful than other building materials, such as glass and chemically formed plastics, clay bricks do take a toll on the environment. By examining the life cycle of a clay brick it is possible to make observations that can potentially alter the process of excavation, manufacturing, and transportation, which allows for a cleaner, more efficient means of production. The Life Cycle Analysis or LCA of clay brick categorizes the various environmental impacts, including climate range, stratospheric ozone depletion, human toxicity, eco-toxicity, photo-oxidant formation, acidification and nitrification. It is now a common practice to make the LCA of specific materials accessible on the job site as a reference to monitor how an ecologically-friendly process compares to the more traditional practices of the past. By providing a benchmark, it is easier to track the life cycle and easier implement small changes that will lead to a significant difference in the final ecological footprint of a clay brick. Energy and material use can be categorized in the life cycle of brick in two ways. There is the primary use of materials and energy, such as the clay and stone that physically make up the brick. Then there is secondary energy that is required in the machinery that is used to excavate or to form the brick. Energy for these processes has traditionally been provided through fossil fuels, as a non-renewable resource, some companies have replaced using fossil fuel with more environmentally friendly choices such as, biogas and liquefied rendering fat. From these two types of energy use and consumption comes material and energy waste and emission. To begin, clay and stone, the main material of brick, is excavated from a quarry. Here energy is consumed by the machinery used to retract the rock. Despite the plasticity of clay compared to many other types of excavation, bracing and support may still be needed for the extraction. With the bracing and support more energy and more resources are consumed. Also, with the clay and rock now gone, there is possible destruction of a habitat along with a new likelihood of erosion due to the large hole created by the excavation. This can lead to long term, if not permanent dangers to the habitat and its creatures. The future use of the site for any other building and excavation can also be determined by the extent of excavation. The process continues with delivery to the manufacturer. Energy is consumed through fuel consumption, emissions from the delivery vehicle, and heat radiation of its engine. The manufacturing process can now begin with clay processing, continuing on with the brick formation, brick drying and finally firing the brick. Initially, the clay is crushed, ground and screened to reduce it to a fine consistency. Then, depending on the type of clay being used, water is added or taken out. The stiff mud process, the process most common currently, places clay with 12 percent to 15 percent water into a vacuum to remove any pockets of air. The new bricks are then cut and placed in a kiln to dry for one or two days. During the cutting and drying processes, the cut away parts of the clay are lost, thrown away as waste, the material is no longer used in the clay making process. They then continue on to the firing process in which the bricks are places in an oven as hot as 2400 degrees for 40 to 150 hours. Throughout this part of the steps, co2 is emitted from the burning fuel . Also as a part of the firing there are fuel emissions and energy waste as a result of machinery use that leads to co2 being released into the air and other heat pollution that can affect the ozone. Those same wastes continue with the packaging of the product and the transportation of the bricks to construction sites. Eventually the bricks make it to their destination where they are used. Combined with mortar, the bricks are used to build walls, or in walkways, etc. , and the actually construction of such structures only adds to the extent of clays bricks ecological footprint. Technically, pure clay bricks are completely recyclable. Unfortunately due to the building process the bricks come into contact with common building materials that ultimately compromise the of clay bricks. However, in some cases the bricks are eventually taken down, either to be replaced by new bricks that have followed the same process or just to demolition the structure they inhabit. In this deconstruction step, there is cleaning and crushing that requires labor and that also releases atmospheric emissions. With the crushing process completed, the brick pieces can be reused by taking them back to the initial manufacturer to be reformed into brick. By doing this the bricks formed from the reused pieces are more efficiently produced and in turn the ecological footprint is lessened because the excavation process is skipped entirely. Clay Bricks are usually referred to as a sustainable product. The only real energy consuming aspect of them comes when the raw materials are quarried or the bricks are fired. When just making the bricks, the energy consumption ranges from 1840-2800 kj/kg. However, recently that number is much higher because it is becoming increasingly common for the bricks to be fired in a â€Å"tunnel kiln in which fire remains stationary and bricks are moved on kiln cars through a tunnel divided preheat, firing and cooling zones. † With this added energy use, 800-1250 kj/kg is added to the total energy consumption of bricks. As seen in the last step of a clay bricks LCA, there are ways to decrease the energy usage of clay brick production and use. Other than simply reusing materials, another way to make for more efficient production is to combine the areas of production to a unified space so less energy is consumed by transportation and travel. By housing the excavation area, the manufacturing area, and the packaging area into one facility could save transportation costs and energy consumption and waste Also, buyers and contractors can do more accurate calculation to ensure that they are ordering the correct amount, not more than needed as that would lead to more waste and energy loss. Another method to decrease bricks environmentally impact could lie in the ability to ensure the bricks integrity and recyclability. Many of these ideas are being adapted into construction processes as the LCA of materials make it easier for people to understand the waste that is the consequence of production and use of materials such as clay brick. This proves that awareness is a significant factor in changing human ecological footprints. Essentially clay, as a raw material, is pure. The environmental impact of clay bricks begins with emissions when clay has been fired, not when clay is in its raw state. It is possible to reduce the emissions caused by the various stages by compacting the out going sources into one factory and ultimately condensing the energy consumed and waste produced. Also, to help maintain the sustainability of clay bricks it is possible to recycle the product in its final state rather than generate new bricks for the same purpose. The clay brick itself is not a source of waste, rather, the energy required to create a new brick, therefore it is important to recycle clay bricks. By closely examining the ecological footprint it is possible to observe what steps in the process can be altered or improved to stop overusing materials and harming the earth. In essence, by condensing sources and recycling it is possible to continue maximum productivity while eliminating the ability to create a larger ecological footprint by using clay bricks. Bibliography http://www. scribd. com/doc/8746950/Clay-Brick-LCA http://www. staywithclay. com/downloads/SustainableBuildingConference-Italy. pdf http://linkinghub. elsevier. com/retrieve/pii/S0360132306000795 http://www. ibstock. com/pdfs/technical-support/TIS16Howbricksaremade. pdf Fundamentals of Building Construction, 4th Edition, Allen and Iano

Women in Technology Essay -- Technology Technological Computers Essays

Women in Technology Women have played a major role in computing for centuries as well as men. The purpose of this paper is to gain knowledge on women involved in technology who for some reason do not gain as much recognition as do men. There are numerous women within this field worth talking about, but the ones chosen were Ada Byron, Grace Hopper, Evelyn Granville, and Krisztina Holly. The history of each individual will be discussed as well as what form of influence they had in computers. Introduction The revolution of computers had begun centuries ago. It has been the work of many over the course of years to bring computers where they are today. For quite some time it entailed people with bright imaginations to come up with technological inventions. These inventions were then taken and built upon to improve its functionality. Finally, computers were no longer a revolution but an evolution since the 1950’s. During the course of this time many men as well as women had influenced technology. Unfortunately, women have not received the same form of recognition as the men have in this field of study. After carefully researching women in technology, it was observed on how true this was. It was difficult to find the names of women who were influential in computing let alone their biographies. On the other hand, finding men who were involved in this field were numerous. After spending time finding a list of women who were instrumental in computing, it was then narrowed down to four women of interest. The first woman to be discussed is Ada Byron. Following her will be Grace Hopper, Evelyn Granville, and Krisztina Holly. Ada Byron, Lady Love Lace Ada Byron, also known as Lady Lovelace, was born on December 10, 1815. She was the daughter of the famous poet, Lord Byron. Shortly after Ada was born, her mother asked for a separation from Lord Byron out of fear her daughter would become a poet like her father. Because of this, she was taught to be a mathematician and scientist. Ada at the age of 19 was having dinner at her friends’ house when she first heard of Babbage’s idea to invent a new calculating engine. According to Toole, â€Å"Babbage wanted a calculating engine that could not only foresee but could act on that foresight† (2000). Ada was very intrigued by his ideas and began a friendship with Babbage shortly after. â€Å"Ada predicted that a machine l... ... Each one of these women has had a tremendous role with computer advancement and deserves equal recognition for their accomplishments. It is up to computer science professors and major computer corporations to help get the word out on how women had a part in computer technology and still do. Maybe this will help take away many of the stereotypes and more women would have the desire to follow a career in computer technology. The time has come for major corporations to highlight noteworthy talents and insights of women, which have remained relatively unknown outside the workplace. References Danis, S. (1997). Rear admiral grace murray hopper. Retrieved February 10, 2006, from http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Hopper.Danis.html Granville, E. (2000). My life as a mathematician, by evelyn boyd granville. Retrieved February 10, 2006, from http://www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/granvill.htm MIT. (2002). Krisztina holly engineer, entrepreneur. Retrieved February 10, 2006, from http://web.mit.edu/invent/www/inventorsA-H/holly.html Toole, B. (2000). Ada byron, lady lovelace (1818-1852). Retrieved February 10, 2006, From http://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/tap/files/ada-bio.html

Sarah’s Scenario

That will put Sarah In a position to disobey her parent's rules of curfew. Socially, she is extroverted and thrives off of other people. There are three factors that Influence her willing to go against her parent's rules. These Include belonging, understanding, and enhancing-self. She Is new and wants to belong too new crowd and fit In while trying to understand their outlook and ways of talking. With that, she Is likely to feel more worthy to the group and make her feel better about herself.According to chapter 16 of Learn Psychology, (20131 cognitive dissonance Is a discomfort that someone experiences when putting ideas together that conflict with each other. Now in this situation, Sarah displays cognitive dissonance when she knows that she has no business going to anyone's party because if she does, she will miss her parent's curfew. If Sarah chooses not to go to the party, she will miss out on having fun with her new friends. This is likely to give her a uncomfortable feeling bec ause she knows she does not need to go.And that is because she knows it will cause conflict with her parents. Sarah is being affected by a few behaviors in this situation. Conformity is when a person changes their ways and thoughts to be alike another persons. Sarah wants to go to this party because she never attended one before. She also wanted this new roof of individuals to continue to involve her and invite her to events. Plus she was afraid she would miss out on the fun had she not went. Sarah displays conformity by giving in to her friends' beliefs because she went to the party anyway when she should not have.Then Sarah meets a boy named Jack at the party. As they talked, they learned they have quite a few things in common with each other. Jack and Sarah share several factors of attraction such as similarity, proximity, and physical attraction. If they do get to go on the date Jack invited her on, they are likely to enjoy themselves and get along well. They had a few similarit ies such as enjoying the same music or going to the same school. They also live In the same area nearby each other.Also, Jack Is clearly attracted to Sarah because he left her know that he thought she was beautiful. Because of these few factors, they surely have an Interest In each other romantically. Then two guys from the party get Into a pretty abrupt altercation and argument. Of course all the party goers have a piqued curiosity so they run outside to satisfy that need. Funny thing Is, no one stopped these two boys from fighting, That altercation ended up turning physical and again, no one of the party goers went o help the boys.Because of this physical altercation between the two boys, that group of popular kids used the bystander effect which means, â€Å"people are less likely are when they are alone. † (Carter & Sifter, 2013, Chapter Chapter 16). What these kids ended up doing was leave. They all went home. What one of these kids could have done differently is display diffusion of responsibility. That means a person has the tendency to be the responsible one and push the help factor amongst everyone else. Yet, not one child did, they ended up leaving the boys and everyone else there t the party..Sarah was likely going through the initial events of her evening because of her displays of conformity. She had a great deal of experience with social influences that evening. Questions are, if she had attended the party alone, would she have left the party by herself after the fight? Or would she have Just stayed there after the fight even if she had come alone? Sometimes people tend to do things differently when they are around other types of individuals. On this particular evening, Sarah and all her decisions were ultimately influenced by her peers all evening long.

Chapter 7 Anaysis - Crime without Punishment from...

For this assignment I will be summarizing chapter 7 titled â€Å"Crime without Punishment† from Kleimans When Brute Force Fails . This chapter is broken into different short topics, I will be summarizing the chapter in the that order. In the introduction Kleiman begins with the statement that â€Å"punishment is costly to inflict and painful to undergo† (p. 117). The introduction states that we need to find ways to reduce crime without increasing punishment and hurting people. He says that crime accompanies social disadvantage and that those who commit crime have bad decision making skills and lack of self command. The conclusion he draws at the end of the introduction is that â€Å"crime is a cause and consequence of social disadvantage† (p.117). The†¦show more content†¦The evidence that is provided expresses that prisons should be a place to â€Å"conduct health education, screening for disease and treatment† however, right now prison is just a place where disease is allowed to spread back and forth between the general public (p.123). The fourth topic is educational management which covers how the education system can decrease youth crime by making a small change in the time school starts. This section states that if school started later than youth would have less opportunities to commit crime. At the moment the only thing that is hindering this from occurring is the inconvenience it would bring adults (teachers, parents, etc.). This section also discusses peer on peer (mainly bullying) crime and how it should be treated as regular crime not something that can be overlooked. This sections ends stating that we should hold schools more accountable for the crime rates of their students. The fifth section is perinatal and early childhood interventions which mainly discusses intervention that deals with at risk children before they are born by focusing at high risk mothers. The evidence used to support the claim is a piloted p rogram in New York that reduced arrested by 69% of the children whose mothers participated. The next 3 sections are health care, mental health care, and public health, which cover why health care professions do not see preventing crime as a part of their job with the exception being the mental health sector. The