Technology: The Art of the Science of the Possible

Technological change has played a central role in historical transitions, and is expected to remain central to a future transition to global environmental sustainability. Technology can be conceived as the art of the science of the possible. It is art in being founded in human creativity and ingenuity. Historical analysis of technological change increasingly emphasizes the indispensability of a wide range of actors and institutions. Technology is science in its more obvious applications as hardware and devices wrought through lengthy periods of research, development, testing and learning. It also lends itself to scientific assessment, although it is important that this integrates rather than ‘holding constant’ the human dimension. An innovation systems framework developed as part of the Global Energy Assessment illustrates how the roles of actors, institutions, resources, and knowledge generation can be integrated with conventional technological development processes. Applying this framework to examine current innovation efforts for climate change mitigation reveals a marked asymmetry. Innovation inputs strongly favour large-scale energy supply technologies. But actual and required innovation outputs are weighted towards dispersed energy end-use technologies in which people are so much more central. This sets a challenge for the possibility space for future technological change. Scenario assessments as well as innovation efforts need rebalancing in favour of people

Expanded Benefits for Humanity from the International Space Station

In 2012, the International Space Station (ISS) partnership published the updated International Space Station Benefits for Humanity, 2nd edition, a compilation of stories about the many benefits being realized in the areas of human health, Earth observations and disaster response, and global education. This compilation has recently been revised to include updated statistics on the impacts of the benefits, and new benefits that have developed since the first publication. Two new sections have also been added to the book, economic development of space and innovative technology. This paper will summarize the updates on behalf of the ISS Program Science Forum, made up of senior science representatives across the international partnership. The new section on "Economic Development of Space" highlights case studies from public-private partnerships that are leading to a new economy in low earth orbit (LEO). Businesses provide both transportation to the ISS as well as some research facilities and services. These relationships promote a paradigm shift of government-funded, contractor-provided goods and services to commercially-provided goods purchased by government agencies. Other examples include commercial firms spending research and development dollars to conduct investigations on ISS and commercial service providers selling services directly to ISS users. This section provides examples of ISS as a test bed for new business relationships, and illustrates successful partnerships. The second new section, Innovative Technology, merges technology demonstration and physical science findings that promise to return Earth benefits through continued research. Robotic refueling concepts for life extensions of costly satellites in geo-synchronous orbit have applications to robotics in industry on Earth. Flame behavior experiments reveal insight into how fuel burns in microgravity leading to the possibility of improving engine efficiency on Earth. Nanostructures and smart fluids are examples of materials improvements that are being developed using data from ISS. The publication also expands the benefits of research results in human health, environmental change and disaster response and in education activities developed to capture student imaginations in support of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education internationally. Applications to human health of the knowledge gained on ISS continues to grow and improve healthcare technologies and our understanding of human physiology. Distinct benefits return to Earth from the only orbiting multi-disciplinary laboratory of its kind. The ISS is a stepping stone for future space exploration by providing findings that develop LEO and improve life on our planet

Life cycle analysis of environmental impacts of earthen materials in the Portuguese context: Rammed earth and compressed earth blocks

In the Portuguese context, the life cycle assessment of building materials is still in its infancy. So far, there is only a small number of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) available, all target for industrially based materials. Although vernacular earthen materials are seen as ecological materials, with low potential environmental impacts, there are no studies that allow to quantitatively compare these materials with conventional ones, according to the applicable standards. In the case of Portugal, there are no EPDs or studies for these materials and the studies available worldwide are hard to compare, since they not follow the same life-cycle assessment methodology. This paper aims at contributing to a better understanding about the environmental performance of earthen materials by presenting results from the life cycle assessment of Compressed Earth Blocks (CEBs) and Rammed earth, based on specific life cycle inventory values obtained from a producer company, following the guidance provided by the standard EN15804. Among other conclusions, results show that CEB and Rammed earth have a total Embodied Energy of 3.94 MJ/block and 596 MJ/1m3 and a Global Warming Potential of 0.39 kg CO2 eq/block and 47.5 kg CO2 eq./1m3, respectively. In a cradle-to-gate analysis of different walls, the use of earthen building elements can result in reducing the potential environmental impacts in about 50%, when compared to the use of conventional ones. Additionally, the advantages of using earthen materials are also discussed for the different building life-cycle stages, focusing on the possibility to recycle these materials in a closed-loop approach.FEDER funds through the Competitivity and Internationalization Operational Programme (POCI) and by national funds through FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of the project with the reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029328, and of the Ph.D. grant with the reference PD/BD/113641/2015, that were fundamental for the development of this study. The authors also wish to thank the construction company for providing the life cycle inventory data and helping this research wor

Futures Studies in the Interactive Society

This book consists of papers which were prepared within the framework of the research project (No. T 048539) entitled Futures Studies in the Interactive Society (project leader: Éva Hideg) and funded by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA) between 2005 and 2009. Some discuss the theoretical and methodological questions of futures studies and foresight; others present new approaches to or procedures of certain questions which are very important and topical from the perspective of forecast and foresight practice. Each study was conducted in pursuit of improvement in futures fields

Will solar radiation management enhance global security in a changing climate?

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Hydrogen-powered road vehicles : the health benfits and drawbacks of a new fuel

Because of the political, social and environmental problems associated with dependency on fossil fuels, there is considerable interest in alternative energy sources. Hydrogen is regarded as a promising option, particularly as a fuel for road vehicles. The Dutch Energy Research Centre (ECN) recently published a vision of the future, in which it suggested that by 2050 more than half of all cars in the Netherlands could be running on hydrogen. A switch to using hydrogen as the primary energy source for road vehicles would have far-reaching social consequences. As with all technological developments, opportunities would be created, but drawbacks would inevitably be encountered as well. Some of the disadvantages associated with hydrogen are already known, and are to some degree manageable. It is likely, however, that other drawbacks would come to light only once hydrogen-powered cars were actually in use. With that thought in mind, and in view of the social significance of a possible transition to hydrogen, it was decided that the Health Council should assess the positive and negative effects that hydrogen use could have on public health. It is particularly important to make such an assessment at the present early stage in the development of hydrogen technologies, so that gaps in existing scientific knowledge may be identified and appropriate strategies may be developed for addressing such gaps. This report has been produced by the Health and Environment Surveillance Committee, which has special responsibility for the identification of important correlations between environmental factors and public health

Pursuing Geoengineering for Atmospheric Restoration

Geoengineering is fraught with problems, but research on three approaches could lead to the greatest climate benefits with the smallest chance of unintentional environmental harm. The authors propose a model for thinking about geoengineering based on the concept of restoration, suggesting the term “atmospheric restoration.” Under this model geoengineering efforts are prioritized based on three principles: to treat the cause of the disease itself, to reduce the chance of harm, and to prioritize activities with the greatest chance of public acceptance. Based on these principles, the authors propose three forms of geoengineering that could provide the greatest climate benefits with the smallest chance of unintentional harm to the environment. Forest protection and restoration is an opportunity available now. The other two, industrial carbon removal and bioenergy linked to carbon capture and storage, need extensive research to make them effective and to reduce their costs. These options will be cheaper than most forms of geoengineering and will provide many additional benefits, including improved air and water quality, national security, balance of trade, and human health. Our climate is already changing, and we need to explore at least some kinds of carbon-removal technologies, because energy efficiency and renewables cannot take CO2 out of the air once it’s there. Some scientists increasingly argue that we need to do research on sunshade technologies as a backup plan if climate change starts to accelerate dangerously. This argument has merit. However, the sooner we invest in and make progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions today and promote ways to restore the atmosphere through carbon-scrubbing technologies in the future, the less likely we are ever to need global sunshades. The principle of atmospheric restoration should guide us in curing climate change outright, not in treating a few of its symptoms

Design for the contact zone. Knowledge management software and the structures of indigenous knowledges

This article examines the design of digital indigenous knowledge archives. In a discussion of the distinction between indigenous knowledge and western science, a decentred perspective is developed, in which the relationship between different local knowledges is explored. The particular characteristics of indigenous knowledges raise questions about if and how these knowledges can be managed. The role of technology in managing indigenous knowledges is explored with examples from fieldwork in India and Kenya and from web-based databases and digital archives. The concept of contact zone is introduced to explore the space in which different knowledges meet and are performed, such as indigenous knowledge and the technoscientific knowledge of the database. Design for the contact zone, this article proposes, is an intra-active and adaptive process for in creating databases that are meaningful for indigenous knowers. The meta-design approach is introduced as a methodology, which may provide indigenous knowers tools for self-representation and self-organisation through design

A Climate of Disorder: What to do About the Obstacles to Effective Climate Politics

The emphasis on general distributive principles in the climate justice literature has left significant gaps regarding the problem of weak climate governance. The main contribution of this chapter is to show how normative theory can contribute to addressing the apparent political incapacity to respond to the threat of climate disruption. The chapter argues that a set of six underlying obstacles to effective climate change politics can serve as a framework around which ‘non-ideal’ normative theorizing about climate politics can be organized. Policies and other tactics to mediate the six obstacles are shown to raise distinct normative issues in need of deeper analysis