The Development of Green Technologies

This article discusses green technology, types of energy, green buildings, green chemistry, and green nanotechnology. It explains the definition of green technology, types of renewable energy, green buildings, green chemistry, and green nanotechnology. It also highlights the benefits of green technology and its impact on our lives.

Running head: THE DEVELOPMENT OF GREEN TECHNOLOGIES 1
The Development Of Green Technologies
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THE DEVELOPMENT OF GREEN TECHNOLOGIES 2
The Development Of Green Technologies
Introduction
In this digital era, technology is evolving at a rapid pace and has led to improved
lifestyles for human beings (Alvisi & Franchini, 2016). Nowadays, there exists a lot of energy
which is which is produced in an effective and continuous manner. However, there’s a downside
to these forms of energy for instance, oil and coal energy lead to the pollution of the environment
(Dornfeld, 2014). In recent years, countries have shifted from the agricultural sector to the
manufacturing industry which has led to a rise in production of energy. To salvage the situation
for our future generations who might be impacted by the adverse effects of pollution associated
with these forms of energy, many countries have now turned to green energy (Dornfeld, 2014).
Discussion
Green Technology- Definition
In essence, Green Technology which is also referred to as clean technology is a form of
technology that involves the creation and extension of practices and processes that reduce
environmental risks (Alvisi & Franchini, 2016). Green Technology brings innovative solutions
that change our way of life. Although this field is still in its infant stage, bigger and better things
are expected of it. This form of technology is expected to come up with technology that will not
deplete earth’s natural resources (Dornfeld, 2014). Specifically, Green Technology aims to lower
the impacts of global warming, fossil fuels, energy costs and environmental degradation.
Types Of Energy?
The green revolution relies heavily on the presence of “Alternative Energy” to get rid of
emissions that lead to global warming and to ensure that the planet’s resources remain

THE DEVELOPMENT OF GREEN TECHNOLOGIES 3
“sustainable”. There are many forms of renewable energy such as solar energy, wind power,
hydroelectric power, biofuels, geothermal energy and hydrogen & fuel cells (Glassley,
2014). Solar energy comes from sunlight and is used mostly for heating and lighting buildings as
well as generating electricity for industrial uses (Glassley, 2014). Furthermore, the sun’s heat is
responsible for driving the winds that turn wind turbines. The wind and the heat from the sun
lead to the evaporation of water and the resultant water vapor brings rain and snow (Glassley,
2014).
Hydroelectric power is one of the oldest ways of producing power. A hydropower plant
creates a water reservoir in the form of a dam (Mohammad, 2014). The water that is released
from the water reservoir flows through and spins a turbine which consequently leads to the
activation of a generator which produces electricity (Guo et al., 2016). However, hydroelectric
power needn’t require a large dam. Some plants make use of a small canal from a river to turn a
turbine. Bioenergy is form of energy generated from organic matter. For many years, wood has
been the primary source of bioenergy (Guo et al., 2016). Nowadays, there exists other multiple
bioenergy sources such as plants, remains from agriculture and the organic compounds from
industrial wastes. Among the applications of bioenergy include biofuels, biopower and
bioproducts (Guo et al., 2016).
Geothermal energy refers to the heat that is emitted from the Earth (Guo et al., 2016).
This form of energy is not only clean but sustainable as well. Some of the resources of
geothermal energy include a shallow ground, hot water, hot rock situated below the earth’s
surface and lastly, the extreme temperatures of molten rock referred to as magma (Guo et al.,
2016). Applications of geothermal energy include heating water for fish farming, heating

THE DEVELOPMENT OF GREEN TECHNOLOGIES 4
buildings, drying crops, supporting the growth of plants inside green houses and other industrial
applications like milk pasteurization(Guo et al., 2016).
Hydrogen is an element that is the most plentiful on earth. Despite its abundance,
Hydrogen mostly comes as a combination of other elements such as propane, gasoline,
methanol, and natural gas as opposed to occurring naturally as a gas (Dutta, 2014). At present,
hydrogen is harnessed in huge amounts from natural gas. A fuel cell is used to combine
hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity and heat. Fuel cells have a promising future ahead
and are used to supply electricity and heat to buildings as well as electric power for electric
vehicles (Dutta, 2014). Renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind may not be capable
of producing energy continuously, but they can produce hydrogen which can stored and later
used in future (Dutta, 2014).
Green Buildings
A green building is a project that enables human beings to preserve the natural
envrionment around while at the same time coming up with a building that’ll be used for a
certain purpose (Allen et al., 2015). The construction promotes a healthy sorrounding for all
parties involved and doesn’t disrupt resources such as water or land around the building. To
construct green buildings, the materials that’ll be used must be effective and inventive towards
the environment (Dwaikat & Ali, 2016). The buildings must be well designed, renovated and run
in an eco-logical and cost effective manner. A green building may be expensive to construct but
huge savings will be achieved in the long run attributed to its low operating costs. Dwaikat and
Ali (2016) argue that most green building structures may come with high up-front costs but will
eventually yield incredible savings.

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Many green buildings can attain efficient standards that are beyond the set standards
while others will mostly reach the standard set. Studies have shown that buildings with great
environmental quality bring numerous benefits such as the trimming of airway or lung diseases,
asthma, allergy and the enhancement of employee productivity (Dwaikat & Ali, 2016). Financial
benefits associated with improvements in indoor surroundings exceed costs by a range of 8 to 14.
Green buildings are a chance to make use of our resources efficiently through the construction of
a building that enhances the surroundings, and present cost savings related to green purchases
(Dwaikat & Ali, 2016).
Green Chemistry
Green chemistry which is also referred to as sustainable chemistry is defined as the
design of chemical processes as well as products which eliminate or scale down the use or
production of dangerous substances (Lancaster, 2016). Green chemistry is implemented
throughout the lifecycle of a chemical substance ie. during its design, manufacture, deployment
and disposal (Lancaster, 2016). Green chemistry lessens pollution through the minimization of
hazards produced from chemical feedstocks, solvents and reagents. This contrasts to remediation
which involves cleaning environment spills and the treatment of waste streams (Never & Kemp,
2017).
If a technology happens to eliminate or scale down hazardous chemicals that are adopted
in the cleanup of environmental contaminants, then this technology falls under the category of
green chemistry (Lancaster, 2016). One instance is the replacement of a hazardous sorbent that is
normally used to trap mercury from the air for its safe discarding with an effective nonhazardous
sorbent. The usage of nonhazardous sorbent implies that hazardous sorbent will never be
produced (Lancaster, 2016)

THE DEVELOPMENT OF GREEN TECHNOLOGIES 6
Green Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is a field comprised of the realms of atoms as well as nanostructures
(Sivaraj et al., 2015). Green nanotechnology is capable of influencing: how the design of
nanomaterials takes place by minimizing pollution from the manufacture of the nanomaterials,
following a lifecycle approach to determine where environment impacts might be witnessed and
designing toxicity from nanomaterials to correct current environmental problems (Sivaraj et al.,
2015). There is a realization that nanotechnologies will play a key role in the development of
green technologies that will prove to be beneficial for the environment. The best instances of the
application of nanotechnology include water treatments, hydrogen applications and energy
breakthroughs (Sivaraj et al., 2015). It is widely expected that renewable energy applications is
the area where nanotechnology will make its first breakthrough.
Conclusion
Green technology is set to have a positive impact on our lives. More countries are now
investing heavily on green technologies which makes the future bright. There are multiple things
we can do to have a positive influence in the world. Taking small steps which include shifting to
a greener lifestyle through the use of efficient light bulbs and recycling waste materials will
make our planet more sustainable (Alvisi & Franchini, 2016). In addition to helping the planet,
going green especially through renewable energy, purifying of water and rejuvenating
Ecosystems will help us to save money. Human beings have an obligation to keep the planet
Earth alive for future generations to have healthy lifestyles (Never & Kemp, 2017).

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References
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Dutta, S. (2014). A review on production, storage of hydrogen and its utilization as an energy
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