Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is a high-performance green cloud solution with a strong focus on sustainability. A high-density computing environment powered by renewable resources, OCI aligns with the circular economy to support a clean cloud solution. A suite of advanced technology tools on OCI also enables customers to develop innovative solutions and reduce their environmental impact.
Oracle Cloud further reduces its environmental footprint by leveraging state-of-the-art cooling and energy efficiency technologies at our green data centers. For example, in Europe, Oracle Cloud data centers are powered using 100% renewable energy. Our goal is to achieve 100% renewable energy use in all our OCI data centers by 2025.
Green data, clean environment
Customers are leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and blockchain to reduce their overall environmental impact and achieve sustainability goals. From ensuring ethical supply chains in cobalt mining for electric vehicle batteries to using machine learning (ML) to realize larger crop yields, advanced technologies help customers achieve their sustainability goals.
Cleaning up the environment is an important focus of the green economy. Sites that are polluted because of industrial activity, the use of pesticides and fertilizer, or the release of other pollutants must be cleaned up in order to redevelop them or return them to their natural state.
Prior to the enactment of modern environmental regulation, many companies simply released hazardous materials into the environment. They would dump chemicals and other pollutants onto unused land or into lakes, rivers, and streams. Sites also would become polluted through accidents or improperly functioning equipment. Polluted sites that can be cleaned and redeveloped are known as brownfield sites.[1]
Environmental professionals use a number of technologies to clean up polluted sites, a process known as environmental remediation. Many companies specialize in environmental remediation, and they employ a wide variety of workers. This report provides information on careers in environmental remediation. The first two sections describe types of remediation and some of the technologies used in the remediation process. The final section profiles key occupations in environmental remediation. The information for each occupation includes a brief job description; the credentials needed to work in these occupations, such as education, training, certification, or licensure; and wage data.
Environmental remediation is the removal of pollution or contaminants from water (both ground water and surface water) and soil. These waste products are removed for the protection of human health, as well as to restore the environment. Remediation restores brownfield sites either for redevelopment or to return them to their natural state. Sites that have been used to dispose of hazardous waste present a unique challenge to clean up. Many of these sites, known as Superfund sites, fall under federal regulations and are overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA coordinates the cleanup of these sites, requiring the responsible party either to perform the cleanup or reimburse the government for EPA-led cleanups.[2] Environmental remediation is highly regulated and subject to an array of legal requirements, which are generally based on assessments of human health and environmental risks.
Remediation projects can range from large, expensive projects, on which a great deal of effort is spent to clean up contaminated sites, to smaller, less costly projects, such as cleaning up a highway accident in which oil is spilled. In some cases, a site is so contaminated that it can only be fenced off and isolated as much as possible from the rest of the environment. Remediation projects usually begin with a site assessment to determine the costs of the project, as well as the technology that would be the most appropriate for the particular site.
Prior to beginning a remediation project, the site in question must be assessed to ascertain what types of contaminants are involved and to determine the most appropriate technologies for cleaning it up. Assessments must be made to identify any potential hazards to the workers who will be working on the project and to assess the impact that pollution might have on the local community, as well as its overall environmental impact. A site assessment also includes estimates of potential costs and needed resources.
Several types of workers are involved in each step of a remediation project. Managers oversee the project at each stage. Business specialists who work in environmental remediation are experts in regulation issues, cost estimation, or public relations. Cartographers and photogrammetrists create maps and charts of the contaminated areas. Scientists and engineers determine the most effective methods of cleaning up a site and perform tests to determine the extent of the contamination and to monitor the progress of the remediation project. Construction workers and operators of various types of heavy equipment carry out the day-to-day work on the project.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not have data specifically for workers in environmental remediation. However, BLS does have information on jobs associated with producing green goods or providing green services from its Green Goods and Services (GGS) survey. The survey found that there were 284,889 GGS private sector workers in the Waste Management and Remediation Services Industry in the United States in 2010.[6] The data include waste management and recycling workers, in addition to those working solely in environmental remediation. An alternative study of green jobs by the Brookings Institution counted 56,241 jobs in remediation in 2010.[7]
Management and business specialists handle the administrative work of an environmental remediation project. These people are typically office workers who plan and organize remediation projects, as well as those who supervise the workers cleaning up a site.
Environmental scientists and specialists use their knowledge of the natural sciences to protect the environment. Environmental scientists have a broad knowledge of biology, chemistry, and physics. They work to reclaim lands and waters that have been contaminated by pollution and work with other scientists and engineers to determine the most effective and safest ways to clean up a site.
Engineers who work in environmental remediation devise technical solutions for cleaning up pollution. They work closely with scientists and other remediation workers to implement the best methods for remediating polluted areas. They also might be responsible for developing methods to increase safety and to reduce the risk of illness and injury for a company's employees.
Environmental engineers use the principles of engineering, soil science, biology, and chemistry to solve environmental problems. They work to control pollution, clean up polluted areas, and monitor the progress of remediation projects.
Environmental engineering technicians carry out the plans that engineers develop. They test, operate, and, if necessary, modify equipment that is used for the cleanup of environmental pollution. They might collect samples for testing, or work to mitigate sources of environmental pollution. They might also assist in the inspection of the site for compliance with regulations.
Green stormwater infrastructure, also known as GSI or green tools, reduce overflows by decreasing how much runoff gets into sewers. Stormwater is soaked up by plants and soil and evaporates into the air, or is released into sewers more slowly. Trees, plants, and other natural elements provide benefits for people and the environment, while also managing stormwater.
At the same time, renewable energy sources and storage continue to drop in price, increase in reliability, and provide more numerous, safer and higher paid jobs. Energy infrastructure decisions taken now will be locked in for decades to come. Factoring in the full economic and social consequences, and taking decisions in the public health interest, will tend to favour renewable energy sources, leading to cleaner environments and healthier people.
Several of the countries that were earliest and hardest hit by COVID-19, such as Italy and Spain, and those that were most successful in controlling the disease, such as South Korea and New Zealand, have put green development alongside health at the heart of their COVID-19 recovery strategies. A rapid global transition to clean energy would not only meet the Paris climate agreement goal of keeping warming below 2C, but would also improve air quality to such an extent that the resulting health gains would repay the cost of the investment twice over.
Most fundamentally, protecting lives, livelihoods and the environment depends on the support of the people. There is widespread public support for policies that do not seek only to maximize GDP, but to protect and enhance wellbeing, and for governments to combat climate change and environmental destruction with the same seriousness with which they are now fighting COVID-19. It is also shown by the millions of young people who have mobilized to demand action not only on climate and biodiversity - but also for the right to breathe clean air, and for their future on a liveable planet. 2ff7e9595c
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