Macro-engineering
Encyclopedia
In engineering
, macro-engineering (alternatively known as macroengineering or macro engineering and as megaengineering) is the implementation of extremely large-scale design projects. In particular, macroengineering is the process of marshaling and managing of resources, technology, and public opinion on a large scale to carry out complex tasks that last over a long period of time.
In contrast to conventional engineering projects, macroengineering projects (called macroprojects or megaprojects) are multidisciplinary, involving collaboration from all fields of study; they involve not only engineers, but scientists, lawyers, industrialists, soldiers, and politicians as well. Macroprojects are usually international; they override political boundaries because most countries lack the social, financial, or physical ability to undertake them alone. As a consequence, macroprojects have the power to fundamentally transform its area of focus.
Macroengineering is an evolving field that is only recently receiving attention. Because we routinely deal with challenges that are multinational in scope, such as global warming
and pollution
, macroengineering is emerging as a transcendent solution to worldwide problems. Macroengineering, or megaengineering, is distinct from megascale engineering
which deals with projects on a planetary or stellar scale. Where macroengineering is currently practical, megascale engineering is still within the domain of speculative fiction.
and Suez Canal
, the construction of cross-country oil pipelines, and most recently, a multinational effort to standardize satellite communication.
Two intellectual centers focused on macroengineering theory and practice are the Candida Oancea Institute in Bucharest, Romania and The Center for Macro Projects and Diplomacy at Roger Williams University
in Bristol, Rhode Island
, United States
.
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, macro-engineering (alternatively known as macroengineering or macro engineering and as megaengineering) is the implementation of extremely large-scale design projects. In particular, macroengineering is the process of marshaling and managing of resources, technology, and public opinion on a large scale to carry out complex tasks that last over a long period of time.
In contrast to conventional engineering projects, macroengineering projects (called macroprojects or megaprojects) are multidisciplinary, involving collaboration from all fields of study; they involve not only engineers, but scientists, lawyers, industrialists, soldiers, and politicians as well. Macroprojects are usually international; they override political boundaries because most countries lack the social, financial, or physical ability to undertake them alone. As a consequence, macroprojects have the power to fundamentally transform its area of focus.
Macroengineering is an evolving field that is only recently receiving attention. Because we routinely deal with challenges that are multinational in scope, such as global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
and pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
, macroengineering is emerging as a transcendent solution to worldwide problems. Macroengineering, or megaengineering, is distinct from megascale engineering
Megascale engineering
Megascale engineering is a form of exploratory engineering concerned with the construction of structures on an enormous scale. Typically these structures are at least 1,000 kilometers in length—in other words, at least 1 megameter, hence the name...
which deals with projects on a planetary or stellar scale. Where macroengineering is currently practical, megascale engineering is still within the domain of speculative fiction.
Macro-engineering in reality
Past macroprojects include the construction of the Panama CanalPanama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
and Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
, the construction of cross-country oil pipelines, and most recently, a multinational effort to standardize satellite communication.
Two intellectual centers focused on macroengineering theory and practice are the Candida Oancea Institute in Bucharest, Romania and The Center for Macro Projects and Diplomacy at Roger Williams University
Roger Williams University
Roger Williams University, commonly abbreviated as RWU, is a private, coeducational American liberal arts university located on in Bristol, Rhode Island, above Mt. Hope Bay. Founded in 1956, it was named for theologian and Rhode Island cofounder Roger Williams...
in Bristol, Rhode Island
Bristol, Rhode Island
Bristol is a town in and the historic county seat of Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,954 at the 2010 census. Bristol, a deepwater seaport, is named after Bristol, England....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
See also
- 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...
- 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...
- Atlantropa (Gibraltar Dam)AtlantropaAtlantropa, also referred to as Panropa, was a gigantic engineering and colonization project devised by the German architect Herman Sörgel in the 1920s and promulgated by him until his death in 1952...
- 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...
- Bering Strait bridgeBering Strait BridgeA Bering Strait crossing is a hypothetical bridge or tunnel spanning the relatively narrow and shallow Bering Strait between the Chukotka Peninsula in Russia and the Seward Peninsula in the U.S. state of Alaska...
- 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...
- 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,...
- Collaborative innovation network
- 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....
- 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...
- Ecological engineeringEcological engineeringEcological engineering is an emerging study of integrating ecology and engineering, concerned with the design, monitoring and construction of ecosystems...
- Ecological engineering methodsEcological engineering methodsEcological Engineering Methods 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...
- 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:*...
- 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...
- 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...
- GeoengineeringGeoengineeringThe concept of Geoengineering refers to the deliberate large-scale engineering and manipulation of the planetary environment to combat or counteract anthropogenic changes in atmospheric chemistry The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded in 2007 that geoengineering options, such...
- 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...
- Green Wall of ChinaGreen Wall of ChinaThe Green Wall of China, also known as the Green Great Wall or Great Green Wall , will be a series of human-planted forest strips in the People's Republic of China, designed to hold back the expansion of the Gobi Desert...
- 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...
- 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...
- Integrated biotectural systemIntegrated biotectural systemAn integrated biotectural system is a system which integrates natural and architectural elements. It can include desalination of sea water....
- 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...
- Proposed sahara forest project
- Qattara Depression, Hydroelectric possibilities
- Red Sea damRed Sea damThe Red Sea dam is a speculative macro-engineering proposal put forward in 2007 by a group of scientists and engineers. Although the authors' intentions are to explore "the ethical and environmental dilemmas and some of the political implications of macro-engineering", the proposal has attracted...
- 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...
- Sustainable agricultureSustainable agricultureSustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...
- TerraformingTerraformingTerraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms.The term is sometimes used more generally as a...
- 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...
- 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...