Environmental engineers just got cool
Climate change has created a demand for engineers who can help navigate and create a sustainable future. Environmental engineering has emerged as playing a crucial role in the development of sustainable living, and is highly active in the resources sector with the development of sustainable assessment, mining practices and post-extraction restoration.
For Australia and our resource-heavy economy, environmental engineers with masters qualifications are in high demand for their skills in preserving the Australian environment, especially on the government side. In the resources sector, environmental engineers are hotly contested for innovative solutions to mine efficiently and responsibly.
The need for the modern environmental engineer is broad and traverses many new areas, due to constant innovation in the field. We take a look at the top ten disruptions in environmental engineering.
- Hybrid cars: HEVs have been around for a while but it took Elon Musk to take it to the masses. Musk claims that Tesla exists to give the planet a sustainable future and has “zero emissions” of air pollution and CO₂. Yet, environmental engineers at the University of Minnesota claim HEVs cause around 80 per cent greater emissions from coal than driving a gasoline-powered vehicle.
- Green certification for buildings: green stars and other markers of rating the environmental impact and efficiency of buildings and homes have changed the way dwellings are built and designed.
- High-altitude wind kites: already backed by Google X, this innovation uses kite-like wind turbines attached to tethers to generate wind power at high altitudes.
- Agroforestry: environmentally sustainable and efficient land use via management of trees with crops and/or livestock for farmers.
- Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI): assists in cleaning water, air and surfaces of micro-organisms such as viruses and bacteria.
- Ecological Sanitation: the creation of environmentally friendly toilets or latrines that generally require little or no water, and designed for third-world or remote areas to curb disease.
- Bioswales: vegetation patches that assist in removing pollutants within bodies of used water before flowing untreated into water or sewer systems.
- Biofiltration: the process of passing air or water through microorganisms in order to remove odours and contaminants.
- Sewers: the city of Rome still hosts a massive sewer system beneath it that was built in the 7th century BC, providing a template for urban waste disposal.
- Aquaducts: the inventive Romans also built a significant network of stone aqueducts to carry water from areas where it was abundant to areas that could suffer if in a drought.
RMIT’s online Master of Engineering (Management) can give you that competitive advantage in an environmentally-sustainable world. Learn more about our leading online programs or speak to one of our expert Student Enrolment Advisors today on 1300 701 171.
