Climate Reality - What Roles Can Engineers Play?

Tue, 2015-05-12 18:45 -- adminssee

Andrew will present a short version of the Climate Reality Project Training which he has tailored to suit engineers. He believes that engineers have a vital role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the management of climate change impacts (some of which are already unavoidable). He will demonstrate the global nature of the climate issues we face while focussing on Australian examples. The talk is in two parts of about equal length and expected to take about 45 minutes all up with time for questions and discussion afterwards, an outline is as follows.

Implementation of Water Sensitive Urban Design in South Australia

Fri, 2015-05-01 10:25 -- adminssee

Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) can be defined as “an approach to urban planning and design that integrates the management of the total water cycle into the urban development process”. Four leaders in this field will present on the progress in WSUD in South Australia, with an emphasis on stormwater management.

Smart wastewater processes - leading the way in innovation

Thu, 2015-03-05 21:41 -- adminssee
Wastewater treatment consumes huge amounts of energy and contributes to some of the nation’s largest greenhouse gas footprints. As populations increase in Australia, daily flow wastewater volumes are increasing resulting in greater energy use in treatment processes. Increasing sludge end products is also becoming a trickier issue for water authorities to manage. How can engineers manage this sustainably and innovatively?  
 

Waste as a resource

Thu, 2015-03-05 21:36 -- adminssee

At one time, product design considering by engineers were limited to functionality and cost. Over time this expanded to cradle-to-grave considerations, also known as life-cycle assessments, that took into account the environmental impacts of the product from its raw material extraction all the way through to its final disposal. Later a greater understanding of toxic waste and non-renewable raw materials drove the cradle-to-cradle design which further took into consideration the impact of future generations.

Renewable Energy - Fostering Innovation

Thu, 2015-03-05 21:33 -- adminssee
The transition of energy systems from traditional fossil fuels to renewable sources poses technical, financial and policy challenges. It is a transition that must be accomplished if the globe is to curb greenhouse gas emissions in order to contain global average atmospheric temperature rise to a safe level, generally accepted as being less than two degrees above the pre industrial figure. Australia, as a mid size economy and a large emitter per capita and per unit GDP has a clear responsibility to substantially reduce its emissions.

Innovation in Building Construction - Energy efficiency and low emissions

Thu, 2015-03-05 21:31 -- adminssee
This seminar will focus on low emissions innovations in the building and construction industry from three perspectives. 
Alkali-activated cement (AAC) made from fly ash, metallurgical slags and natural pozzolans could reduce such CO2 emissions by at least 80% compared with Portland cement. However, the uptake of these materials is impeded by established practice and specifications based on Portland cement. There is also a scarcity of supply of source materials including fly ash, granulated blast furnace slag and alkaline activators.

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