Ecological engineering methods
Encyclopedia
Ecological Engineering Methods (also known as Biological Engineering or ECO-Engineering) is when researchers try to tap biologically-based energy sources. Some projects include engineering new organisms that produce hydrogen from water and sunlight in environmentally friendly ways with no waste products, and transforming the way man interacts with the environment. One of the more familiar techniques of ECO-Engineering is Bioremediation
. Using oil-eating bacteria
created by Eco-Engineering, Bioremidiation is applied to oil spills and chemical spills worldwide.
Bioremediation
Bioremediation is the use of microorganism metabolism to remove pollutants. Technologies can be generally classified as in situ or ex situ. In situ bioremediation involves treating the contaminated material at the site, while ex situ involves the removal of the contaminated material to be treated...
. Using oil-eating bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
created by Eco-Engineering, Bioremidiation is applied to oil spills and chemical spills worldwide.
Primary and Secondary methods of producing energy
We have to distinguish between Primary and Secondary methods of producing energy. Making hydrogen from water by electrolysis will use more energy than is available in the hydrogen, because processing always has nonzero wastage. When the hydrogen is produced there are all the emissions for generating electricity from fossil fuels for electrolysis, but when the hydrogen is used in automobiles as fuel the automobiles will emit harmless water vapour. If power is made from fossil fuels, then the hydrogen automobile fuel, as a whole, causes even more emissions than directly burning fossil fuels in automobiles.Non-chemical Primary fuel is less polluting
The trick is that if we use non-chemical Primary fuels, like Solar energy or Nuclear energy, then the complete process is less polluting.Emissions versus hydrogen
As long as fossil fuels are used for producing hydrogen, the only benefit is that, although it produces even more emissions, these emissions are near Power Generating Stations, which can be kept away from urban areas. Earth as a whole suffers more emissions than without use of hydrogen automobile fuel.Emission control
Emission control implies control on use of fossil fuels. The fossil fuels can produce greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and others. So, we need to control the use of fossil fuels, because they can harm our world. We can use petrol without plumbum (unleaded gasoline) because this petrol does not release the smoke that can pollute our environment.Greenhouse gas capture
Nuclear or solar energy can be used to actively capture greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and convert them into non-polluting chemical compounds, in other words, to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into solid carbon and gaseous oxygen. Earth will get more heat (waste heat of the nuclear power station, and energy consumption of the processes, minus the internal energy added to carbon and oxygen when chemically separating them out of the carbon dioxide). Also, the removed carbon dioxide will reduce it in the atmosphere. Instead of direct chemical reactions, the capture could be done by biological means, accelerated with help of nuclear energy. In other words, air separation plants could run on nuclear energy, capturing liquid or solid carbon dioxide. Then, possibly, chlorophyll-containing genetically modified algae could be used to convert it into fixed carbon compounds. We could have an interim technology of spraying microspheres loaded with algae into the open atmosphere from aircraft or even balloons. If the microspheres were small enough, these could remain in the air for long times, and go on converting carbon dioxide with help of direct solar energy.Theory
The technology of artificially accelerated reduction of already emitted green house gases is as yet unexplored but is theoretically possible.Traditional versus Ecological Engineering
Traditional engineering use the concrete [overshoes?] to compensate the flaws which have mentioned above, but this method can not really reinforce the natural environment’s power—over-using the concrete [overshoes?] can enlarge the destruction for natural environment. Recently, the new method, Ecological Engineering Methods, has been invented, so the nature-working method engineer has attracted people’s attention, respect and broad application. Moreover, nature-working method engineer notice the importance of the environment protection, soil and water conservation, and reduction and protection for the natural calamity, thus, people can maintain the sustainable exploitation permanently.See also
- Sustainable agricultureSustainable agricultureSustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...
- PermaculturePermaculturePermaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
- PermaforestryPermaforestryPermaforestry is an approach to the wildcrafting and harvesting of the forest biomass that uses cultivation to improve the natural harmonious systems...
- Forest gardeningForest gardeningForest gardening is a food production and agroforestry system based on woodland ecosystems, incorporating fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines and perennial vegetables which have yields directly useful to humans...
- Home gardensHome gardensHome gardens, also known as forest gardens, are found in humid areas. They use inter-cropping to cultivate trees, crops, and livestock on the same land...
- BiomassBiomassBiomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
- Biomass (ecology)Biomass (ecology)Biomass, in ecology, is the mass of living biological organisms in a given area or ecosystem at a given time. Biomass can refer to species biomass, which is the mass of one or more species, or to community biomass, which is the mass of all species in the community. It can include microorganisms,...
- Forest farmingForest farmingForest farming is an agroforestry practice characterized by the four "I's"- Intentional, Integrated, Intensive and Interactive management of an existing forested ecosystem wherein forest health is of paramount concern. It is neither forestry nor farming in the traditional sense.Forest farming, or...
- Analog forestryAnalog forestryAnalog forestry is a system of planned, managed forests, primarily employed in tropical or subtropical areas. The forests are designed to mimic the function and ecology of the preexisting climax vegetation for the area, and are also designed to provide economic benefits.Analog forestry draws design...
- Terra pretaTerra pretaTerra preta is a type of very dark, fertile anthropogenic soil found in the Amazon Basin. Terra preta owes its name to its very high charcoal content, and was indeed made by adding a mixture of charcoal, bone, and manure to the otherwise relatively infertile Amazonian soil, and stays there for...
- WildcraftingWildcraftingWildcrafting is the practice of harvesting plants from their natural, or "wild" habitat, for food or medicinal purposes. It applies to uncultivated plants wherever they may be found, and is not necessarily limited to wilderness areas...
- AgroforestryAgroforestryAgroforestry is an integrated approach of using the interactive benefits from combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock.It combines agricultural and forestry technologies to create more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land-use systems.-Definitions:According to...
- Buffer stripBuffer stripA buffer strip is an area of land maintained in permanent vegetation that helps to control air, soil, and water quality, along with other environmental problems, dealing primarily on land that is used in agriculture. Buffer strips trap sediment, and enhance filtration of nutrients and pesticides by...
- Great Plains ShelterbeltGreat Plains ShelterbeltThe Great Plains Shelterbelt was a project to create windbreaks in the Great Plains states of the United States, and was launched in 1934. President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated the project in response to the severe dust storms of the Dust Bowl, which resulted in significant soil erosion and...
- Macro-engineeringMacro-engineeringIn engineering, macro-engineering is the implementation of extremely large-scale design projects...
- DesertificationDesertificationDesertification is the degradation of land in drylands. Caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities, desertification is one of the most significant global environmental problems.-Definitions:...
- Ecological engineeringEcological engineeringEcological engineering is an emerging study of integrating ecology and engineering, concerned with the design, monitoring and construction of ecosystems...
- Human ecologyHuman ecologyHuman ecology is the subdiscipline of ecology that focuses on humans. More broadly, it is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary study of the relationship between humans and their natural, social, and built environments. The term 'human ecology' first appeared in a sociological study in 1921...
- Collaborative innovation network
- Ecological engineering methods
- EcotechnologyEcotechnologyEcotechnology is an applied science that seeks to fulfill human needs while causing minimal ecological disrupution, by harnessing and subtly manipulating natural forces to leverage their beneficial effects...
- Energy-efficient landscapingEnergy-efficient landscapingEnergy-efficient landscaping is a type of landscaping designed for the purpose of conserving energy. There is a distinction between the embedded energy of materials and constructing the landscape, and the energy consumed by the maintenance and operations of a landscape.Design techniques include:*...
- Hedgerow
- Proposed sahara forest project
- Sand fenceSand fenceA sand fence is a structure similar to a snow fence used to force wind blown, drifting sand to accumulate in a desired place. Sand fences are employed to control erosion and to recruit new material in desert areas....
- Seawater GreenhouseSeawater GreenhouseThe Seawater Greenhouse is a technology that enables the growth of crops in arid regions, using a greenhouse structure, seawater and solar energy...
- WindbreakWindbreakA windbreak or shelterbelt is a plantation usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted around the edges of fields on farms. If designed properly, windbreaks around a...
- AfforestationAfforestationAfforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no forest. Reforestation is the reestablishment of forest cover, either naturally or artificially...
- Deforestation during the Roman periodDeforestation during the Roman periodThe rise and fall of the Roman Empire encompasses the time when Rome was the leading contributor to deforestation in the Mediterranean. Whereas the Mediterranean was largely "prehistoric" in 1000 BC, it was definitely "historic" by 500 AD. Roman geographical and population expansion spread methods...
- DeforestationDeforestationDeforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
- Megaprojects