information society as surveillance society - College of Science

Environmental Studies Implications for Sustainability
Florida Tech - BME
Partnership Programme
Yearbook 2005 Edited by Gordon Nelson - Imre Hronszky
2005.
The programme was morally supported and sponsored by USIAP Partnership
Programme from 2001 to 2004. Lectored by Éva Vámos Technical Edition by Tünde Balog, Ágnes Fésüs and László Várkonyi
ISBN 963 86670 4 4 2005. Arisztotelész Publishing Co., Budapest
FORWORD
Florida Tech (Florida Institute of Technology) and BME (the Budapest
University of Technology and Economics) have been developing a close
cooperation over the last several years. This cooperation has involved
numerous researchers from different faculties from BME and Florida Tech.
and was based on a generous supporting grant from the US Department of
State over three years. One of the results of this fruitful cooperation was
the publication of two volumes in a series established to document the
research results. It is my greatest pleasure to add my greetings to this third volume as one
sign of the importance of the ongoing cooperation. Károly Molnár
Rector of BME Contents FORWORD 3
INTRODUCTION 7
1. Imre HRONSZKY and Gordon NELSON: A Short History - Initiating a
Forum on Sustainable Technological Development in a Globalizing
World 7
A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE 15
2. William F. CARROLL, Jr: Sustainability Through Green Chemistry, Green
Engineering and Commodity Chemicals 15
3. William F. KOCH and Ellyn S. BEARY: Doing More with Less Through
Better Measurements and Modeling - the Role of NIST 31
4. Duane E. DE FREESE: "Sustainability Horizon" Perspectives on
Sustainability 47
5. Thomas MARCINKOWSKI and Susan CARLSON: An Introduction and Overview -
"Planning for Sustainability in East Central Florida: Contributions,
Issues and Prospects" 63
6. Susan CASWELL: The Regional Planning Council's Role in a Sustainable
Future 69
7. Bill KERR: The St. Johns River Water Management District - Partnering
for Sustainability 75
ECOTOURISM 81
8. Michael H. SLOTKIN: Educational partnerships, sustainability, and
ecotourism project development 81
9. Karen CHAMBLISS: The Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival 91
10. John G. MORRIS: Festival prerequisites: Hungary's biological,
cultural, and infrastructure assets 97
11. Gabrielle GRIFFIN: Hungary's Comparative Advantage: Birds and
Migration Pathways 107
12. Alexander R. VAMOSI: Hungarian Birding and Wildlife Days: Is There
a Market Interest? 117
SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES 125
13. Márton HERCZEG and Kálmán KÓSI: Sustainability Issues in Hungary:
How companies deal with it? 125
14. Charles BOSTATER: Sustained Safe Environment: Remote Sensing and
Remote Sensing Platforms 139
15. Alan B. BROWN: Sustained Safe Environment: (Photochemistry As)
Green Chemistry 147
16. Szabolcs CZIFRUS, Gyula CSOM and Attila VÉRTES: Sustainability of
nuclear power generation 155
17. György POKOL and Virender K. SHARMA: Chemistry and Environmental
Sustainability 165
ROLE OF IRON IN THE ENVIRONMENT: INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION 171
18. Virender K. SHARMA: Iron(VI)[Ferrate(VI)]- Green Chemistry 171
19. Virender K. SHARMA and Jen? FEKETE: Inorganic and Organic
Pollutants in the Hungarian Environment 183
20. Attila VérteS, Zoltán Homonnay, Ern? Kuzmann, Petra Á. Szilágyi,
Krisztina Kovács, Alexander A. Kamnev and Virender K. Sharma:
Iron(III)-EDTA-(H2O2) and Iron(III)-(indole-3-alkanoic acids)
Systems: Environmental Significance and Mossbauer Studies in Frozen
Aqueous Solutions 195
21. Libor MACHALA, Radek ZBO?IL, Miroslav MASHLAN, Ji?í TU?EK and
Virender K. SHARMA: Nanoparticles of Iron(III) Oxides from Thermal
Processes - Syntheses, Characterization and Applications 209
22. János MADARÁSZ, Virender K. SHARMA, György POKOL and Zoltán
HOMONNAY: Mössbauer Spectroscopic and Thermal Characterization of
Potassium Ferrate(VI) 223
23. Jia-Qian JIANG, S. WANG and A. PANAGOULOPOULOS: Comparative
Disinfection/ Coagulation Performance of Potassium Ferrate(VI) in
Water and Sewage Treatment 231
24. Karel BOUZEK and Zuzana MACOVA: Green chemical Ferrate(VI) - An
Electrochemical Approach 243
25. Ján HÍVE? and Michaela BENOVÁ: Electrochemical Study of Iron in a
Molten Eutectic NaOH-KOH System 255
EAST-EUROPEAN CONTRIBUTION 267
26. Galyna CHYBISKOVA: Environmental Deterioration through Technologies
in Ukraine 267
27. Svitlana V. DEM'YANOVA: Sustainable Development Strategy and
Foresight Programme as Mechanisms of National and Regional
Development of Ukraine 283
AFTERWORD 307
28. Imre HRONSZKY: Cognitive methodological remarks on "sustainability"
307 INTRODUCTION Imre HRONSZKY and Gordon NELSON: A Short History - Initiating a Forum
on Sustainable Technological Development in a Globalizing World
Abstract Modern societies are engaged in innovation. Developing any new technology,
as any innovation, is also engaging in a semi-structured 'social
experiment'. This 'experimentation' leads to partly foreseeable, partly
unforeseeable results that are realized through the interaction of
technology with its natural and social environment. Most of us are eager to
utilize new technologies for our purposes, but simultaneously their safe
utilization is required. Currently, using or abusing technological
development for mankind gets an even more shocking dimension by the threat
of worldwide terrorism. With globalization, we can say that the complexity
of interactions in the entire social-nature system is growing, and with it
the uncertainty surrounding us. Two universities, Florida Institute of
Technology (Florida Tech) located in Melbourne, Florida, and the Budapest
University of Technology and Economics (BME) have cooperated beginning in
2001, supported by a U.S. State Department CUAP Grant for 3 years in the
field of environmental protection and environmentally sustainable
technologies (environmental studies). Keywords: sustainability, technological development, global complexity,
logistics
1.1. Introduction
Why do we need a Forum on Technological Development? The answer
requires a bit of explanation. Modern societies are engaged in innovation.
A substantial part of innovative effort occurs as technological innovation.
We live more and more through technology. Our lives and our social
relationships change with new technologies. Developing any new technology,
as any innovation, is also engaging in a semi-structured 'social
experiment'. This 'experimentation' leads to partly foreseeable, partly
unforeseeable results that are realized through the interaction of
technology with its natural and social environment. This 'experimentation'
needs as much conscious reflection on it as possible, anticipating and
learning the consequences of applying new technologies, to try to orient
them.
While this social experimentation through developing new technologies
repeatedly opens evolutionary possibilities for society, even to develop
new values through utilization of new technologies, all these raise
problems of safety. Most of us are eager to utilize new technologies for
our purposes, but simultaneously their safe utilization is required.
Currently, using or abusing technological development for mankind gets an
even more shocking dimension by the threat of worldwide terrorism. Security
of technologies, to differentiate it from simple safety (the socio-
technical system as a whole being different in both cases, and with this
having a strong effect on the construction of technologies) is becoming an
unavoidable requirement for technological innovation. So, sustainable
technological development for a sustainable society (based on its natural
dimensions) needs a complex series of innovative efforts and anticipatory
actions of safety and security on a global level. This balancing effort can
only be realized through the co-operation of the most probable actors in
the "technological arena." The widest variety of social agents, from
individuals and groups, to firms, movements, institutions, states, etc.,
must be called upon to engage in conscious reflection and ongoing co-
operative discussion on the complexity of both strategic and tactical
measures for developing sustainable technologies. 1.2. Problems of Sustainability The problems of sustainability in relation to nature may now be
widened to the problems of sustainable societies. Among other things, a
deeper understanding of the dynamics of poverty is needed for the
successful construction of these expected sustainable societies.
Furthermore, quick technological progress brings with it the pressing
problem of exclusion through missed access to new technologies, on a
worldwide, regional, country, or community level, down to individuals
(i.e., the digital divide). With any new technology we risk developing new
techno