Green Technologies and Their Impact on the Modern World

M-Kh. R. Umarkhadzhiev

and R. R. Suleymanova

Kadyrov Chechen State University, Grozny, Russia

Chechen State Pedagogical University, Grozny, Russia

Keywords: Biological waste, ocean pollution, recycling, nature pollution, green technology, nature cleanup.

Abstract: Thanks to a huge breakthrough in the field of information technology and in the pursuit of improving human

life. We can observe that every person has several gadgets to improve their life. But it is our inventions that

have a very detrimental effect on the planet. The most promising measure to combat pollution is to change

the attitude of consumers towards the environment. This is what will be discussed in this scientific work.

1 INTRODUCTION

Today, we see how far humanity has advanced with

its technologies and how much further it will go. Most

people have mobile phones and computers as they

become more affordable and reliable than they were

in the last century.

Nowadays, people are working on quantum

computers, unmanned technologies, nanotechnology,

alternative fuel sources, virtual reality, and many

others.

Perhaps one of the important pieces of technology

today will be the Large Hadron Collider, which is

used to discover Bazon's dark matter. Higgs .

Mankind has been sent to Mars by robots, one of

which is constantly transmitting data to NASA. Plans

are under way to send humans to Mars, which until

recently was considered a one-way trip due to solar

radiation, but NASA and others are working to

improve space suits and spacecraft to protect the

humans they carry from said solar radiation. NASA

has scheduled a manned mission to Mars by 2030, 61

years after the first moon landing.

Unfortunately, coal is still used today to generate

44% of the world's electricity despite being the worst

pollutant (Adharanand, 2008).

Green technology is a newer concept, so it is not

widely used. The goal of green technologies is the

practice of environmentally sustainable computing.

The goal of green computing is to minimize the

negative environmental impact of IT operations by

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9141-3668

creating and disposing of computers and related

products in an environmentally friendly manner.

Not all of these past inventions may seem

relevant, especially if they are no longer in use. In

fact, all of these inventions served a purpose. What

are their goals, you ask? Think of them well as stairs,

each step may seem insignificant, but in the end it

leads to something, to the end result. Green

technologies and other environmentally friendly

products are still a new concept for many.

Technology has made more rapid progress over time,

but many have not stopped thinking about the

consequences and it may affect the environment. It

wasn't until 1992 that the EPA launched Energy Star

(Environmental Protection Agency) in the United

States of America. They created a voluntary program

that helps organizations save money as well as reduce

their emissions when they successfully identify

products that have superior energy efficiency. These

products typically use 20% to 30% less energy than

required by federal standards. The list below shows

some of the major green initiatives. There are many

more, but here are the most famous ones:

The Save the Climate Computing Initiative

(CSCI), which aims to reduce the power consumption

of all personal computers in active/inactive state

(Case, 2010).

The Electronic Product Environmental Evaluation

Tool (EPEAT) can assist in the purchase of

environmentally friendly computing systems. The

Council assesses computing technology against 51

criteria - 23 mandatory and 28 optional to measure the

Umarkhadzhiev, M. and Suleymanova, R.

Green Technologies and Their Impact on the Modern World.

DOI: 10.5220/0011570700003524

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Methods, Models, Technologies for Sustainable Development (MMTGE 2022) - Agroclimatic Projects and Carbon Neutrality, pages

295-299

ISBN: 978-989-758-608-8

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

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effectiveness and sustainability of the product.

Products rated Gold, Silver or Bronze.

Green Grid is a global association dedicated to

improving energy efficiency in data centres and

business computing ecosystems. Companies such as

AMD, APC, Dell, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft are

responsible for its creation.

The Energy star is an association founded by the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992 that

labels products that use 20% to 30% less energy than

required by the federal standard. As of 2006, over

40,000 Energy Star products are available.

TCO certification contributes to the promotion of

sustainable IT products. Certified products comply a

wide range of criteria, including requirements for

socially responsible production of the environment,

as well as health and safety throughout the product

life cycle (Cartridge World, 2016).

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

There are many problems that we face today as a

result of the advancement of technology. Technology

has definitely helped push our species further than we

ever imagined. Technology has greatly improved life

from many on Earth. For example, it has also saved

countless human lives; installation of disposable

robots to harm instead of people. However, progress

came at a high price.

Excessive e-waste, also known as environmental

waste. Many are unaware of how bad these conditions

are. A lot of people don't know how to use

technology. Many are wary of recycling their old

technology because of privacy concerns. The device

still contains sensitive information that can be easily

recovered, and simply removing it does not actually

remove it from the hard drive. If the user is concerned,

the hard drive should be safely removed and

physically destroyed in a safe location. If this is not

possible, look for recycling centers that sign an NDA.

From time to time you may see electronic

recycling centers or trash cans, and maybe even discs.

It is recommended that you bring any electronic

products or printer cartridges in to be safely recycled,

but unfortunately, the Silicon Valley Toxics coalition

estimates that 80% of e-waste is sent overseas to

developing countries. Many companies that claim to

recycle electronics safely actually don't. Many uses

Third World countries as landfills because it is

cheaper than proper disposal with professionally

trained workers. Then the inhabitants of these

developing countries are left with no choice but to

salvage valuable materials (like copper) in their cars

or try to recover the technology. Few affected

countries have managed to repair equipment and have

even turned profitable businesses from selling the

equipment they repair. This already shows a big

difference in attitude towards technology, the first

world country is abandoning the "old technology"

that is useless to them (despite the fact that it may not

be so old), and the third world countries are trying to

repair it (NASA Global Climate Change, 2007).

Even though these countries are trying to make

the most of the current situation, the impact on the

environment is still lingering. The average computer

contains 8 pounds of lead. Lead jar cause nervous

disorders and joint pain in adults. High lead levels in

children have been linked to brain damage and

anemia, according to the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention. Cars are also harmful, and can leak

liquids such as oil, which can contaminate food and

water, or even kill people and wildlife.

Figure 1: Recycling e-waste.

Figure 1 shows which countries receive e-waste

(or e-waste) and how it is distributed. E-waste comes

from all over the world, with North America and

Europe being the main contributors to this problem.

It is terrible to see that not one country is to blame,

but many countries. Many deny their involvement,

how universal this problem is. As you can see, China

and India are the main recipients of waste (Vinvent,

2014).

One of the technologies that has completely

changed the world is the endless search for oil, which

has led to a decline in the population of some animal

MMTGE 2022 - I International Conference "Methods, models, technologies for sustainable development: agroclimatic projects and carbon

neutrality", Kadyrov Chechen State University Chechen Republic, Grozny, st. Sher

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species and even complete extinction. For example,

there are only 880 mountain gorillas left in the world,

200 of them live in the Virunga National Park in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The

mountain gorilla is a species of gorilla that is slowly

increasing in numbers due to several conservation

efforts. The Park is also home to 218 mammal

species, 706 bird species, 109 reptile species, 78

amphibian species, and over 2,000 plant species.

Unfortunately, with oil concessions, 85% of the

park is allocated for it. “Habitat loss and degradation,

exploitation and climate change are major threats to

the world's biodiversity. And this has contributed to a

52% decline in the Living Planet Index since 1970, in

other words, the number of mammals, birds, reptiles,

amphibians and fish with which we share our planet

has been halved.”

It was said that in order to keep up with our energy

and resource needs, we would need 1.5 lands as we

are already over the supply. The population is also

growing rapidly, as expected. The population by 2050

will be 9.6 billion people. With this growing

population, not only comes more energy and resource

requirements, but more space. Most of the population

lives in cities, and cities will have to expand to keep

up with the growing population. How can we place

these people in cities when we are already fighting for

survival? Nearly a billion people go hungry, 760

million live without fresh, clean water, and more than

1.4 billion people lack access to reliable electricity.

Figure 2: Human Ecological Footprint.

Figure 2 shows the ecological footprint of

humanity. You can see that carbon was the main

ingredient. Carbon comes from fossil fuels, which are

becoming more and more popular.

Humans have been living in predictable as well as

stable environmental conditions for the past 10,000

years. period known as the Holocene. This period

provided an opportunity for sedentary human

communities to develop and eventually evolve into

today's modern as well as complex societies. We are

now on the threshold of a new period called the

Anthropocene. During this period, human activities

are the biggest drivers of change on a planetary scale.

This critical change could change all life on earth as

we know it.

Figure 3: Debris decomposition time.

There are currently several large areas of debris

floating in the Pacific Ocean. This is the result of the

mixing of the tides. A mass the size of a "continent"

is composed of mixed debris. Figure 3 shows how

long it will take for various items to decompose in the

ocean. The most shocking thing is the fishing line

from 600 years old and the glass bottles are not

identified. This spot is huge, many aquatic animals

get stuck in it, as well as birds that take it for solid

ground and then get entangled in it. As these various

items decompose, they release various toxins into the

ocean, sometimes even rendering the ocean incapable

of supporting life. One of the most widely known

toxin is Bisphenol A (BPA) associated with health

and environmental issues. The patches stretch from

Japan to the west coast of the states, they are called

the Western and Eastern garbage patches. The two

sites are somewhat related to each other due to the

northern Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone, a

few kilometres north of Hawaii. In this zone, warm

water mixes and mixes with cooler water, creating a

bond between the two sites. Another key factor

contributing to the formation of these patches are

whirlpools, which are circular ocean currents that

form due to the Earth's varying winds as well as the

planet's rotation. The cycle is like a tornado, the

center is calm and stable. The hands of the whirlpool

pull the debris into the silence center, where it forms

together and is eventually trapped (Whitman, 2016).

The reason so much trash is left behind is because

virtually none of it is biodegradable and can simply

break into smaller pieces. What makes this clean-up

job impossible is due to the many of the plastics being

destroyed, the island is mostly made up of

Green Technologies and Their Impact on the Modern World

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microplastics, which can be small enough to not be

visible to the naked eye. Smaller pieces are, of course,

interspersed with larger items such as water bottles,

fishing lines or clothing items.

This patch of debris was discovered by boat

racing captain Charles Moore in 1997 while racing

from Hawaii to California. During the races, he

noticed more and more pieces of plastic surrounding

his ship. Unfortunately, little is known about it as it is

too dangerous to explore. Most of the debris is below

the surface, so it's impossible to even measure.

It is estimated that 80% of the garbage comes

from North America and Asia, and 20% comes from

boaters, oil rigs and cargo ships that are dumped into

the ocean. Most of the garbage is fishing nets. These

nets are often discarded if they break due to low cost.

The nets are a huge problem as animals get tangled in

them or turtles mix up their jellyfish food with plastic

bags. Because animals cannot digest waste, it usually

remains in their stomach or causes them to die.

Plankton and algae are also at risk, as the plastic on

the surface blocks light from reaching them. If they

die out, it will lead to the extinction of other animals

due to a decrease in the amount of food (Soltan,

2016).

Things like the Pacific Garbage Patch make you

wonder how this could have happened. Garbage is a

direct result of our consumer culture. It's no surprise

that most trash is various bits of plastic because

plastic is so widely used. Plastic is used to package

just about everything, and most bottles are even

plastic. Plastic bags were also found. Scientists have

been able to collect 750,000 pieces of microplastic in

one kilometre, which is a staggering 1.9 million per

square mile. Because of its remote location, no

country will take the responsibility of trying to clean

up this site, or even raise funding for it. Charles

Moore said it would "bankrupt any country" that tried

to do so. However, several organizations are trying to

stop the spread of the stain. The program estimated

that it would take 67 ships a year to clean up less than

one percent of the ocean.

In addition to the clean-up efforts, David de

Rothschild created a catamaran out of plastic bottles

and named it Plastics. He successfully sailed it from

San Francisco, California to Sydney, Australia. The

purpose of this expedition was to show the durability

of plastic and the possibility of its reuse. Scientists

strongly believe that producing more biodegradable

options would be the most effective way to reduce

stain size. There are now several campaigns that are

ready to move away from harmful single-use plastic

and move towards reusable or biodegradable

materials.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like a big solution,

but progress on this is slow, the main problem being

the sheer size of the patch, which makes it seem like

a difficult task that will never be completed.

Technology has been around for so long that

many of us have not thought about the detrimental

effects on the environment. Many people buy

appliances simply out of boredom or simply because

they want the latest edition. Global warming has been

discovered, as well as a hole in our ozone layer. The

scary thing is that some of the things we've been

warned about, if we don't change our lifestyle, are

already starting to happen. If you want to know what's

going on in the world, you just turn on the news. You

may be shocked at all the bad news, increasing

droughts, floods, hurricanes, melting glaciers, intense

heat waves and rising sea levels. Scientists have been

warning us about these effects of global warming for

decades, but now that they've started happening, it's a

different story. it's not exactly what the future will be,

but it will get worse if we don't change our ways. In

the next century, global temperatures will rise by 2.5

to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. This may be good for some

regions, but bad for many. Rainfall will increase and

the number of regions will decrease, which will lead

to flooding of some areas, while other areas will go

through severe droughts. Heatwaves will be stronger

and last longer, and hurricanes will be more frequent

but also more severe. Winters will be colder and last

longer. All of these facts are pretty scary, but of all,

this may be the most devastating of all; that by 2100

the sea level will rise by 1-4 feet, some cities will be

completely under water. This is the result of polar ice.

It will only get worse over the years if the previous

ones weren't scary enough. No one knows for sure

what will happen, but it will eventually lead to mass

extinctions and, probably, the end of all life on earth.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

All of this suggests that our world is definitely

heading in a bad direction if people don't just change

their behavior. This includes many things, the main

ones are shopping habits and the way we live from

day to day. Small changes can make a big difference,

for example, if every Russian office worker used one

less brace per day, we would save 120 tons of steel.

Every year, more than 6 billion kilograms of garbage

is thrown into the ocean in the world. Much of this

plastic is toxic to marine life. The decline in the health

of our environment is a direct result of millions of

decisions made without considering the impact on the

world.

MMTGE 2022 - I International Conference "Methods, models, technologies for sustainable development: agroclimatic projects and carbon

neutrality", Kadyrov Chechen State University Chechen Republic, Grozny, st. Sher

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You can always make the best choice, even if it's

not necessarily the easy one. These facts are definitely

shocking, but people have the opportunity to change

the world for the better, because about 75% of the

contents of landfills are actually recyclable.

Consumers are the only ones who have the power

to truly change the world, even though it may not

seem like it, consumers are basically in control of

how companies operate.

Life changes may seem difficult, but it's actually

easiest to start at home to see how things go. After

successfully making green lifestyle changes in your

home, you can suggest ideas for your workplace

(Schmidt, 1899).

If each consumer makes the following changes in

his life, then the indicators will change dramatically.

 Do not litter, collect garbage in or around the

territory.

 Try not to buy things in a plastic case.

 Buy only what you need, no impulse buying.

 Buy clothes made from natural fibers (for

example, fleece releases plastic particles when

washed).

 Try driving to work or school.

 Use cloth napkins instead of paper ones.

 Reuse of waste paper

 Buy only officially certified organic products.

 Buy only organic and fair trade products.

 Try repairing or altering old clothes or donate.

 Give up meat one or two days a week.

 Open curtains for natural light instead of using

electricity.

 Buy a dishwasher.

 Start a home garden.

 Swap non-stick pans for more durable cast iron

pans.

 Use reusable containers and bags.

 Improve home insulation.

 Recycle, sell or give away old

devices/components.

 Buy LED, CFL, or other long-life bulbs.

 Try to repurpose old technology

 Turn on the heating and air conditioning when

needed, make sure they don't run non-stop.

 Virtualization and cloud computing

 Invest in rechargeable batteries

 Get rid of screensavers and allow products to go

to sleep.



Try repairing the technology rather than

replacing it entirely.

 Buy a hybrid / electric car.

4 CONCLUSIONS

Green technology is an important concept that every

person should be familiar with. Understanding past

technologies in addition to green technologies is

critical to understanding the potential future of green

technologies. The direct results of our consumer

lifestyle are often hidden from the public eye because

it is not a pleasant topic to think about, but it is

important to know the truth in order to find solutions

to pollution, planned obsolescence, e-waste and

sweatshops. Since these things are often swept

The public may not know much about these topics

until it is too late to fix something that is permanently

damaged. Modular technology offers a solution that

satisfies both parties. Manufacturers save money by

specializing in certain parts instead of being

responsible for creating entire divisions. The other

side, the consumer receives the savings transferred to

him. Modular technology offers customizable and

even replaceable components that can be easily

replaced. While modular technology is not a complete

solution because it still creates more e-waste, it is an

important step in the right direction. Modular

technology is a stepping stone to other solutions that

can be even better. For example, technology can

become biodegradable in 5-10 years, depending on

the device. One of the greatest aspects of green

technology is that it allows people to live their lives

in a greener and more environmentally friendly way.

Because green technology covers a lot of home

appliances, allowing you to be more environmentally

friendly in your daily life.

REFERENCES

Adharanand, F., 2008. Big green ideas for the workplace.

Case, S., 2010. President Bush Requires Federal Agencies

to Buy EPEAT Registered Green Electronic Products.

Cartridge World, 2016. Cartridge world's fight against 350

million printer cartridges ending up in landfills.

NASA Global Climate Change, 2007. The consequences of

climate change. Journal of Global climate change.

https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/.

Vinvent, J., 2014. Are your gadgets built by slave labour?

Big tech firms ignorant of supply Chains.

Whitman, M., 2016. Should becoming carbon neutral be

part of your carbon management strategy? Sustainable

business toolkit.

https://www.sustainablebusinesstoolkit.com/becoming

carbon-neutral-carbon-management.

Soltan, L., 2016. Technology depleting resources and

pollution. Digital responsibility.

Schmidt, W., 1899. Herons von Alexandria. Druckwerke

und Automatentheater. Lipsae, Teubner. pp. 230-231.

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