Andy Situ

Dr. Tait
ENG 101
November 19, 2015
Issue Report Rough Draft
Sustainability and Environmental Issues of Materials Engineering
Many people do not realize the sheer amount of objects that they used on a daily basis.
From the toothbrush in the morning to their bed at night, most people would have interacted with
hundreds of items in a single day and when one object breaks, it is replaced. These broken
objects are replaced without a second thought and shows how sustainability is not a daily
concern for most individuals. People should have more immediate concerns but most of these
engineered items cannot be produced indefinitely. Materials engineering studies the material that
an object is composed of and is one branch of engineering that affects the development of items
and objects. Sustainability and environmental issues are just two of the many problems that have
plagued engineering researchers for many years.
Whenever environmental destruction is mentioned people may picture big industries and
gas-guzzling cars. Their depiction of negative environmental impact is not false but something
just as impactful, like adhesive, does not come to mind. Most people think of adhesive as the
superglue or tape that they can buy from their supermarket but they miss that fact that adhesive is
a crucial component in many consumer products. Cars are an example of a consumer product
that relies on adhesive as the base frame was made of aluminum, bonded with impact-resistant

epoxy resinthe vehicle depended entirely on adhesives for its structural integrity (Packham
248). Unknown to most, adhesive is one of the crucial factors that make cars structurally safe and
rigid. Adhesive is essential to consumer products, but they are made of polymers that can only be
obtained from petroleum, a non-renewable resource (Packham 248). Adhesive may seem to be in
large stock at the present, but no one can say how long the production of adhesives can continue
as human continue devise more innovations and products that rely on the use of adhesives. Along
with sustainability issues, the production of adhesives has a negative impact on the environment:
the production and use of adhesives produces pollutants which can have an adverse
environmental effect (Packham 249). The production of commodities just in regard to adhesives
alone has a large environmental impact. If other materials and components are concerned, it is
astounding to see how much of an environmental and sustainability impact humanity has had.
Along with the production of adhesives, the construction industry also makes a large, negative
impact on the environment.
Housing and businesses are essentials as human population increases year after year. The
main material used in buildings is concrete and because one ton of concrete is made for every
human being in a years time, the carbon footprint nearly doubled from 1990 to 2005 (Maxineasa
and ranu 57). It is common knowledge that creating a building takes many resources, but
producing the materials to make the building also makes a large environmental impact. In
addition, buildings do not last forever, so the demolition is a waste of materials and the
development of the new building would take even more resources. The entire creation process of
buildings, from the extraction of the material to the construction, as a significant impact on the
environment (Maxineasa and ranu 59). Along with controlled demolitions, extreme weather
and accidents could cause the destruction of buildings. Buildings are a necessity, so humans are

forced to create more and more material resulting in a greater environmental impact. The
creation of building material could also drain more natural resources creating a sustainability
issue along with an environmental one. In addition to the construction industry, the creation of
technology is another topic that has sustainability and environmental issues.
The modern world is so technologically reliant that almost every single piece of
equipment relies on computers. Some people believe that the future will be full automated with
computers in practically everything and every piece of technology with artificial intelligence but
this future is not currently plausible. The metals in technology, like computers and phones, are
non-renewable and the extraction of metal will lead to its complete exhaustion (Khler, Bakker
and Peck 443). This sustainability problem is not relieved when people throw away old or broken
computer and phone when they can recycle them instead. Since most of these metals are not
recycled businesses and companies are forced to mine for more of the rare metal. Mining is
known for its environmental impacts, including disruption and pollution of vulnerable ecosystems, such as the deep sea and the Arctic (Khler, Bakker and Peck 445), so now this
sustainability issue creates an environmental one as well. Some may argue that companies can
decrease the amount of mining that is done but this is not plausible as the amount of consumers
and technology increases. As technology increases, the usage and need for electricity increases
and escalates the environmental impact of energy production.
Regardless of what is produced, energy is required to change a raw material to a
consumer good. As of 2014 the United States produced 4,093 billion kilowatt hours of electricity
with 67% of it produced from fossil fuels (What Is 1). Human population is increasing and this
will result in the use of more and more electricity. Companies will not turn to renewable and
environmentally friendly methods to produce electricity because these methods are costly and do

not have the same amount of yield. Fossil fuels produce more electricity and are cheaper so
companies are more inclined to use fossil fuels opposed to renewable energy sources. By having
a preference for fossil fuels, companies are going to continue to burn fossil fuels contributing to
the release of greenhouse gases and results in global warming (Appenzeller 1). As the amount of
energy need increases companies will burn more fossil fuels and increase the amount of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Along with the environmental issue of burning fossil fuels,
fossil fuels are nonrenewable. As human drain all of easily accessible fossil fuels they use new
methods of extracting fossil fuels like fracking. Techniques like fracking have a larger negative
environmental impact then the traditional methods of extracting fossil fuels.
One of the lesser known engineering branches is materials engineering. As the name of
this major suggests, this branch of engineering focuses on the composition of the material that
everything is made of. Those in material engineering try to create new materials or modify
existing materials for a particular use. Materials engineers try to create and improve everything
and this action is being used to combat the environmental and sustainability issues that plagues
the modern world.
Many people are aware of the large environment impact that cars have but they overlook
the fact that everyday items like adhesives have environmental impacts as well. People already
waste adhesives on the daily whether if it is using an absurd amount of glue for a small fix or
throwing away a piece tape because it is crinkled. Adhesives, like glue and tape, are made from
nonrenewable resources. Wasting tape maybe wasting a small fraction of the finite amount of
resources available but it is a fraction that cannot be recovered. Adhesives are also used in large
objects like cars and is crucial for the structural integrity. When humanity goes through all of
their resources for adhesives, cars and other objects alike cannot be produced anymore. Airplanes

use adhesives for construction and structural stability of their elevators and ailerons so when all
of our supply of adhesives are exhausted the production of airplanes, cars, and other modes of
transportation would stop. This inspires materials engineers to look for a new material that is
similar to adhesives but without its cons to avoid the possible catastrophes when there is no more
adhesives. Another material that has a great environment impact and sustainability issue is
concrete.
The housing and construction industry continues to grow as the human population grows.
This industry is essential but buildings are constantly being destroyed by natural causes or
whether it is to make room for new buildings. The destruction of these building creates a lot of
waste and is a waste of resources as well. In addition to the demolition of buildings, the
production of the materials takes a mass amount of resources as well. It is a complete waste of
resources to constantly destroy old buildings and rebuild new ones. As previously stated, the
production of concrete has already doubled the carbon footprint from 1990 to 2005 and
destroying old buildings are not aiding the situation. Recycling and reusing old buildings would
be the ideal solution but in most cases this cannot happen because the structural strength has
compromised. In this case, it is essential for material engineers to find a material that has the
strength of concrete but is recyclable and environmentally friendly. In addition to the
construction industry, the technology industry also has environmental and sustainability issues.
It is inarguable that human technology and reliance on technology has grown. People
nowadays are glued to their smartphones or computers and when a newer, slicker version comes
out, they toss away their old gadget for the new one. Phones and most pieces of technology are
created with rare earth metals. These metals are nonrenewable and are being wasted as
individuals continue to throw out perfectly working devices. However, even if these devices are

recycled there is still a finite amount of the rare metal. The sustainability of future technology is
questionable as more innovations are created and require these rare metals. Technology cannot
grow if these metals are completely depleted and components that control processes cannot be
manufactured. Looking towards the future, materials engineers will need to look for a new type
of materials that can replace these rare earth metals. Regardless of the industry, the production of
all goods require energy.
Energy is vital in todays society. Almost everything need to be powered and this creates
an environmental problem. Currently, most of the electricity being produced in the U.S. is
produced by burning fossil fuels. These fossil fuels are nonrenewable and create air pollution,
such as the excess release of carbon dioxide, when burned. Fossil fuels have environmental and
sustainability issues which are completely evident as deposits are running out and companies
rely on fracking as a new technique of extraction. Fracking does allow for the collection of more
fossil fuels but contaminates ground water and releases even more pollutant into the air which
only supplements the environmental impact that burning fossil fuels already has. The large
amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has already cause acute effects of global
warming such as melting polar caps and longer droughts. The use of fracking contaminates one
of the few methods we have of obtaining clean water. As human population increases and more
energy is being consumed theses environmental issues, along with many others, will only
intensify. It is evident that humans cannot continue to use fossil fuels as a source of energy and
should look to renewable sources of energy. Some sources of energy might include solar, wind,
and water but these processes of harvesting energy are not optimized. The materials used in solar
panels are not efficient and is losing a large amount of potential energy. It will be imperative for

material engineers to create a more efficient material for solar panel for the potential to be the
main source of energy production.
Humans may have been on this earth for a long time but it is questionable if this trend
will continue. Our consumerism way of living has taken a toll on the environment and the
sustainability of this lifestyle is in question. Resources are beginning to dwindle and nature is
beginning to shrivel away. This problem is one of the many issues that material engineers are
trying to solve. In the past, materials engineering has only created new materials to allow for the
creation of new products, like silicon wafers to make computers. Materials engineering has yet to
compose any solution for environmental or sustainability problems, so for the future, I believe
that materials engineers need to revise or modify the materials that are necessities in our daily
lives. If adhesives were made from environmentally friendly and renewable resources then
adhesives would be one less material that relies on the use of fossil fuels. Materials is such a
broad topic but an improvement to even a single process or material would be a step towards a
better future.

Works Cited

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Sustainable Education of Industrial Designers and Engineers." European Journal of
Engineering Education 38.4 (2013): 441-451. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Nov.
2015.
Maxineasa, Sebastian-George and Nicolae ranu. Traditional Building Materials and Fibre
Reinforced Polymer Composites. A Sustainability Approach in Construction Sector.
Bulletin of the Polytechnic Institute of Iasi - Construction & Architecture 63.2 (2013): 5568. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
Packham, D.E. "Adhesive Technology and Sustainability." International Journal of Adhesion
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"What Is U.S. Electricity Generation by Energy Source?" EIA U.S. Energy Information
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