Capstone Project

Introduction

The dam that will be built along the river near the community and will also be used to generate electricity which will be used for domestic and industrial purposes. The dam will be providing hydropower to an electrical station which will turn generators to produce electricity. Supplementary sources will be available to provide energy when maintaining the generators. Additional sources of energy that will be used include nuclear energy, geothermal energy as well as the use of solar energy panels and windmills in various areas. Geothermal energy is power produced from beneath the earth. This is a sustainable energy source, and it is environmentally friendly. High temperatures produced continuously inside the crust of the earth through the slow radioactive particles heats water that produces steam which helps in moving turbines. The rotating turbines power generators that then produce energy.

Ensuring sustainability

The community will be developed to be a modern town, and this means that there are various housing units that will be constructed. This also means that the households will be served by a lot of energy resources that will be utilized by people (Ferreira, Simoes & Marques, 2012). The shopping malls, residential houses as well as the different types of multiuser residential homes will need energy and electricity to operate effectively. Therefore, vital facilities will have to be established including power resources, electricity networks, water supplies, tunnels and even telecommunication and sewers (Jacobson, 2009).

The sustainable development plan for this sustainable community is intended to incorporate the subsequent components: prevention, recycle, waste categorizing, assembling, transport, reprocessing, treatment, and disposal. Every one of these stages is vital to the strategy as they trace the transfer of waste from sources to the disposal location which all require energy (Pope III, Ezzati & Dockery, 2009). Furthermore, the plan categorizes points of collecting solid and hazardous wastes from the sources to optimize time, efforts and resources. The sustainability plan also includes using renewable sources of energy as well as the use of technology to achieve sustainability.

Technological innovation has continued to be essential in decreasing the environmental footprints in the development of oil sands. The energy production commercial sector and the government have significantly contributed in making considerable investments to encourage a variety of new technologies (Ferreira, Simoes & Marques, 2012). The energy industry initiative is required to integrate the community economic concerns into equity, loans, insurance products as well as the fixed income in various disclosure accounting and reporting frameworks. These initiatives should work with supporting agencies to develop tools and metrics that integrate capital aspects into the current business establishments. Steps should be taken to increase the understanding of business reliance on the energy sector assets. Efforts should be made to support tools developments that incorporate natural capital concerns into the process of decision-making in every financial services and product. Also, efforts to encourage approvals through unified reporting should include money as one of the major components of the national success of the community.

Laws and regulation

This northeastern community should implement and adhere to various regulations that aim at promoting sustainable development and control air pollution. The regulations that will be used include the Pollution Development Act which will prevent climate change. Also, the Clean Air Act will be used to control the operations of the community power plants. Other regulations that will be used within the locality will aim at maintaining a green economy and sustainable manufacturing practices. The Pollution Prevention Act which will be used describes the reduction in sources of any practice that minimizes the number of hazardous substances, pollutants and as well as contaminants that enter any stream or those that are released into the air or other parts of the environment before recycling, disposal or treatment. The act aims to reduce community health hazards as well as the environment related to the release of pollutants, contaminants, and harmful substances. Operations to provide access to clean housing and the health of individuals are fundamental to decreasing family unit emissions in creating sustainability within the community, while emission controls and fuel exchanging are urgent in the power sector (Kampa & Castanas, 2008).

Economics

The area will benefit economically from this plan because there will be employment opportunities for the community and infrastructural development that will require a significant workforce. Similarly, the community will develop economically because of the renewable energy resources that will come from economic activities such as farming (Mckendry, 2002). The community will also benefit from facilities and amenities which will be brought closer. There will be a community economic development plan. This will promote using local resources in a means that stimulates economic opportunities while improving social conditions in a way that is sustainable. The products and services vary from water, clean air, and the soils that are used in planting crops as well as minerals that are extracted from the natural environment (Lavaine & Neidell, 2017). The natural environment adds to economic growth through two major channels that include indirectly through its impact on the productivity of other factors of production and directly as an input to the business process. The natural environment will provide raw materials for the commercial production of several goods and services. They include resources in the natural environment such as fossil fuels, which can be depleted with time. Ecosystem services include a broad range of advantages provided through a healthy natural environment (Weiderman et al. 2017). Having the best natural resources such as forests, and natural water will have a direct contribution to the economy.

The main ethical implication that can arise in this plan is the mismanagement of resources. This is because the individuals that are responsible for managing energy resources as well as maintaining natural resources may fail to take responsibility or to take due diligence on their actions and policies past. Energy production is one of the processes that can lead to air pollution and needs to be addressed before the plan can come into operation. The sustainable community relies on energy produced through various processes such as hydropower, solar, geothermal and when needed non-renewable resources. The process should be carried out in an environment-friendly manner to ensure people reside in a healthy environment.

The sustainability concept is a broad concept when approaching the issue of energy in this community. This is because the process of energy production results from human activities and, therefore, human solutions are required. Sustainability includes sustaining the requirements of the current community without affecting the capacity of future generations to sustain their necessities as well. Three major pillars which have been discussed throughout these assignments describe social, economic as well as environmental approaches to sustainability which is also literally represented as people, profit, and the planet. Sustainability in this community will be ensured by ensuring this community has a constant supply of all the resources it needs and making sure these areas in the project are addressed. The areas include Land Use Change, Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment, Solid and Hazardous Waste Treatment and Recycling, Energy Production and Air Pollution.

According to the plan, the community will have an elaborate plan of building housing facilities and ensuring the community is supplied with a sustainable and constant water supply. Multilevel family homes will be established in dry parcels of land in the community. The dry land is fitting because it is precisely suitable for housing this project.

There will also be another assessment that will be conveyed to ensure the water source is not depleted and that the community is properly supplied with water. This also includes effects of climate change. The main water sources include the construction of a dam that will harvest water during the rainy periods and supply enough water to the community. The dam will be a practical solution since water will be stored for community use and later provided to the people. To augment the primary source when it is limited for rehabilitation a close by spring or river will be connected where the water will be extracted for use by the community.

The solid waste plan will include hazardous waste generation, which will make sure that wastes are classified, shipped, treated, amassed and reused or disposed of. With the cooperation of the local law agencies and community heads, the solid waste plan will effectively operate as follows by identifying various locations of collecting solid and hazardous wastes from the sources to improve time, workforces and resources. This will include: Each household shall be educated on the importance of proper waste management, sorting out of hazardous and organic wastes and proper handling. In the industrial sector the plan shall execute regulations of solid waste handling, routes for collection, transport to the recycling plant and subsequent treatment and recycling or disposal.

The energy production sustainability plan of the community is people-centered. This means that it has an objective of improving the quality of human life. Similarly, the concept is conservation-based since it is organized by the need to recognize the ability of nature to offer life-supporting services and resources. From this view, it means that sustainable development is aimed at advancing the quality of life even as things are living within the bounds of the carrying capacity essential for ecosystem maintenance.

Conclusion

The sustainability concept is a broad concept when approaching the issue of energy in this community. This is because the process of energy production results from human activities and, therefore, human solutions are required. Sustainability includes sustaining the needs of the present community without affecting the capacity of future generations to sustain their needs as well. Three major pillars which have been discussed throughout these assignments describe social, economic as well as environmental approaches to sustainability which is also literally represented as people, profit and the planet. Sustainability in this community will be ensured by ensuring this community has a constant supply of all the resources it needs and making sure these areas in the project are addressed. The areas include Land Use Change, Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment, Solid and Hazardous Waste Treatment and Recycling, Energy Production and Air Pollution.

According to the plan, the community will have an elaborate plan of building housing facilities and ensuring the community is supplied with a sustainable and constant water supply. Multilevel family homes will be established in dry parcels of land in the community. The dry land is suitable because it is exactly appropriate for housing this Project.

There will also be a different assessment that will be carried out to ensure the water source is not depleted and that the community is properly supplied with water. This also includes effects of climate change. The main water sources include the construction of a dam that will harvest water during the rainy periods and supply enough water to the community. The dam will be a practical solution since water will be stored for community use and later supplied to the people. To supplement the primary source when it is closed for rehabilitation a nearby spring or river will be identified where the water will be pumped for use by the community.

The solid waste plan will include hazardous waste generation, which shall make sure that wastes are identified, transported, treated, stored and recycled or disposed of. With the collaboration of the local level law agencies and community leaders, the solid waste plan will operate effectively as follows by identifying various points of collecting solid and hazardous wastes from the sources to optimize time, efforts and resources. This will include: Each household shall be educated on the importance of proper waste management, sorting out of hazardous and organic wastes and proper handling. In the industrial sector the plan shall execute regulations of solid waste handling, routes for collection, transport to the recycling plant and subsequent treatment and recycling or disposal.

The energy production sustainability plan of the community is people-centered. This means that it has an objective of improving the quality of human life. Similarly, the concept is conservation-based since it is organized by the need to recognize the ability of nature to offer life-supporting services and resources. From this view, it means that sustainable development is aimed at advancing the quality of life even as things are living within the bounds of the carrying capacity essential for ecosystem maintenance.

Finally, the paper reviews various sustainable energy production plans and their implications that can arise in this plan such as the mismanagement of resources. The process of energy production is one of the processes that can lead to air pollution and this is also one of the ethical implications concerning the environment. The population relies on energy produced through various processes. The process should be carried out in an environmentally friendly manner to ensure people reside in a healthy environment. The primary sources of energy in this community will be hydropower, solar and geothermal energy with the necessary use of fossil energy such as oil and natural gas as well as coal for industrial when needed.

References

Ferreira, N., Simoes, P., & Marques, R.C. (2012). Economic cost recovery in the recycling of packaging waste: the case of Portugal. Journal of Cleaner Production, 37, pp.8-18.

Jacobson, M. Z. (2009). Review of solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy security. Energy & Environmental Science, 2(2), 148-173.

Kampa, M., & Castanas, E. (2008). Human health effects of air pollution. Environmental Pollution, 151(2), 362-367.

Lavaine, E., & Neidell, M. (2017). Energy production and health externalities: Evidence from oil refinery strikes in France. Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, 4(2), 447-477.

McKendry, P. (2002). Energy production from biomass (part 3): gasification technologies. Bioresource technology, 83(1), 55-63.

Pope III, C. A., Ezzati, M., & Dockery, D. W. (2009). Fine-particulate air pollution and life expectancy in the United States. N Engl J Med, 2009(360), 376-386.