4.3 Environmental
Mindmap
Notes
🌳 4.3A Natural resources and ecosystems
| Subtopic | Examples of uses | Positive impacts | Negative impacts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 💎 Use and distribution of natural resources, including in digital systems and devices | - Fairphone (sustainable smartphone) - Dell's closed-loop recycling program - Tesla's electric vehicles | - Increased awareness of resource consumption - Promotion of circular economy | - Continued extraction of finite resources - E-waste generation |
| 🦋 Protection and threats to ecosystems and biodiversity | - Wildlife conservation drones - Global Forest Watch (deforestation monitoring) - iNaturalist (citizen science platform) | - Enhanced monitoring and protection of ecosystems - Increased public engagement | - Potential for data misuse - Disturbance to wildlife |
| 🌪️ Natural events and disasters | - Google Earth Engine (satellite imagery analysis) - Pacific Disaster Center's DisasterAWARE platform - NASA's Disasters Program | - Improved disaster response and preparedness - Increased public awareness | - Overreliance on technology - Potential for data inaccuracies |
🗞️ News item: The Global Forest Watch platform, developed by the World Resources Institute, uses satellite imagery and AI to track deforestation in real-time, enabling governments and organizations to take action against illegal logging. (Source)
💨 4.3B Pollution and waste
| Subtopic | Examples of uses | Positive impacts | Negative impacts |
|---|---|---|---|
| ♻️ Recycling and waste management | - Rubicon Global (waste management software) - Litterati (litter tracking app) - TerraCycle (recycling solutions) | - Increased efficiency in waste management - Promotion of recycling and upcycling | - Potential for greenwashing - Continued generation of waste |
| 🏭 Types of pollution, including air, water, solid, noise and light pollution | - PurpleAir (air quality monitoring) - Swim Guide (water quality information) - Light Pollution Map (light pollution tracking) | - Increased public awareness of pollution - Data-driven policy making | - Potential for data inaccuracies - Limited impact on pollution reduction |
| 💻 Green computing, e-waste, planned obsolescence | - EPEAT (green electronics rating system) - Apple's Daisy (iPhone disassembly robot) - iFixit (repair guides and tools) | - Promotion of energy-efficient and recyclable electronics - Increased device longevity | - Continued generation of e-waste - Limited adoption of sustainable practices |
🗞️ News item: Apple's recycling robot, Daisy, can disassemble up to 200 iPhones per hour, recovering valuable materials like cobalt, aluminum, and rare earth elements for reuse in new products. (Source)
🏙️ 4.3C Cities, infrastructures and built environments
| Subtopic | Examples of uses | Positive impacts | Negative impacts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🌆 Design and use of urban spaces and cities | - Sidewalk Labs (smart city development) - CityMapper (urban navigation app) - ParkMobile (smart parking solutions) | - Increased livability and sustainability of cities - Data-driven urban planning | - Concerns about privacy and data ownership - Potential for social inequity |
| 🏗️ Local and regional infrastructures | - IBM Intelligent Water (water management system) - Siemens' Smart Grid (energy management) - Cisco's Connected Communities (smart city infrastructure) | - Improved efficiency and resilience of infrastructure - Reduced resource consumption | - High implementation costs - Potential for system vulnerabilities |
| 🚘 Transportation and wayfinding, maps, global positioning systems (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS) | - Google Maps - Waze (real-time traffic navigation) - Uber (ride-sharing) - Lime (micromobility) | - Increased convenience and efficiency of transportation - Reduced congestion | - Concerns about data privacy - Impact on public transit and urban planning |
🗞️ News item: Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Alphabet (Google's parent company), has proposed the development of a smart city in Toronto, Canada, featuring autonomous vehicles, adaptive traffic signals, and sensor-equipped buildings to optimize energy use and livability. (Source)
🌾 4.3D Agriculture
| Subtopic | Examples of uses | Positive impacts | Negative impacts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🚜 Agricultural production and distribution | - John Deere's Precision Ag Technology (smart farming equipment) - Indigo Ag (data-driven agronomy) - FarmBot (open-source farming robot) | - Increased crop yields - Reduced water and pesticide use - Improved soil health | - High cost of adoption - Potential for data misuse - Impact on small-scale farmers |
🗞️ News item: Indigo Ag, a Massachusetts-based startup, uses satellite imagery, machine learning, and microbial seed treatments to help farmers optimize crop yields and reduce the environmental impact of agriculture. (Source)