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Sustainability and Green Technology
Watch the two brief videos linked here:
· Smart Communities : Technology for Sustainability: https://youtu.be/eS1GfMmLtgg
· WMU’s Second Nature 2014 Climate Leadership Award Submission: https://vimeo.com/89154836
In general terms, sustainability is the endurance of systems and processes. The organizing principle for sustainability is sustainable development, which includes the four interconnected domains: ecology, economics, politics and culture.
Technology continues to play an ever increasingly important role in the sustainability effort. According to The Wall Street Journal, “More sophisticated computer technology will allow us to use existing infrastructure more intensively and efficiently. This means better air-traffic control allowing more efficient use of runways, and self-driving ‘Google cars’ (already in trial) allowing faster movement on existing road networks. The challenge isn't to move more meat; it is to move more information more effectively.”
WMU has committed to becoming climate neutral institution - producing zero net carbons - by 2065 without purchasing carbon offsets. Its greenhouse gas emissions are 25 percent lower than the average institution in its class. WMU is one of 680 institutions that have signed on to the American Colleges and Universities Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).
Explore WMU’s Sustainability website (https://wmich.edu/sustainability). Navigate through the Building Sustainability Dashboard (http://buildingdashboard.net/wmich/ ) and answer the following questions:
1. Locate Schneider Hall on the Building Comparison list and tell how it compares to the other buildings on campus in terms of electric use for the current year. What are some possible explanations for this difference? How much electricity (kWh) has been used in Schneider Hall so far during 2015?
2. Identify the day during the past month that the most electricity was used in Schneider Hall, and suggest some possible reasons for this peak in electric use.
3. During which month was the most electricity used? How much was used (kWh) during that period? What are some possible reasons for the heavier electric use during that month and how could electric use be reduced?
In a brief paper (@500-1,000 words, 1-2 pages), include your answers to the questions above and discuss some of the ways that green technology and infostructure (Internet of Things, big data, security, analytics, sensors and control systems in manufacturing, etc.) can be used to make a business (any business) more sustainable. Submit your finished paper by email or share with your instructor via Google Drive.