Hello,
I ma an undergraduate student studying environmental science and about to start on my dissertation and I am still thinking around a topic.I am interested in technology and sustainability and was thinking of doing my dissertation on the influence of technology on energy efficiency.To narrow down my focus I was intending to look at higher education institutes in the UK.
Alternatively I was thinking of researching on this question " what are innovative ways to develop sustainability strategies for a university through a bottom up approach.
Any suggestions ?
Thank you
Hi Patricia Makoni,
your ideas are very interesting. Of course, technological innovations are one important avenue for achieving higher energy efficiencies in the context of wider sustainability efforts - but they are far from being the only way. Influencing the behavior of energy consumers - be they individual, public (like universities, for instance) or corporate - is just as important in my mind (if not more important...). Nudging solutions are one possible way here. I would definitely encourage you in looking at organizations of tertiary education as potential case study materials for your dissertation. For example, many big - and prestigious - universities boast about their ambitious sustainability (e.g., energy saving etc.) goals. But the reality on the ground and eventual outcomes are often an entirely different story. So, if you could, for instance, conduct a critical examination of the sustainability goals and programs and what actually materializes of them in the end of a major university (perhaps even your own?!), this would be an interesting and relevant thesis topic, I think.
Hope this provides some inspiration...
Best,
Julius
Julius Riese Thank you very much for this.It is very helpful and has provided me more insight into this topic .
A very simple but practical example would be looking at solar arrays on farms coupled with modern pasture mgt. practices. I expanded my array this summer, installing much more efficient panels and also replaced my baseboard heating with a 22 SEER AC/Heat pump system. My beef cattle operation now has a negative carbon footprint--something that was believed to be unattainable just two years ago.
Lot of energy could be saved especially in field of agriculture and constuctions
Interesante e importante dada las tecnologia que crece a pasos agigantados es combinar la electronica al control de los procesos agricolas creo que se deberia ahondar mas en el desarrollo de estas tematicas para ser mas efectivos y eficientes.
Sustainability programs regarding energy efficiency in educational institutions should consider the following (indicatively):
-Promotion of less energy-consuming choices for materials mining and processing, like regeneration of used frying oils, production of plates-cups-pots-spoons from recyclable materials, water reuse for toilet flushing and irrigation, thus, adding value to depreciated matter (sustainability dimension) after more than one rounds of use (energy saving dimension).
-Installation of bioclimatic and passive systems of heating and cooling, bioclimatic architecture/design of university campuses (sustainability and energy saving dimensions).
-Adoption of circular economy principles, instead of linear economy routes, in energy and materials (energy dimension), while accomplishing carbon capture and sequestration (sustainability dimension).
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