This book covers water quality indices (WQI) in depth - it describes what purpose they serve, how they are generated, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and how to make the best use of them. It is a concise and unique guide to WQIs for chemists, chemical/environmental engineers and government officials. Whereas it is easy to express the quantity of water, it is very difficult to express its quality because a large number of variables determine the water quality. WQIs seek to resolve the difficulty by translating a set of a large number of variables to a one-digit or a two-digit numeral. They are essential in communicating the status of different water resources in terms of water quality and the impact of various factors on it to policy makers, service personnel, and the lay public. Further they are exceedingly useful in the monitoring and management of water quality. With the importance of water and water quality increasing exponentially, the importance of this topic is also set to increase enormously because only with the use of indices is it possible to assess, express, communicate, and monitor the overall quality of any water source.

Industry wastewater is a major contributor to environmental pollution with chemicals such as dyes, acids, fungicides, and more creating a threat to the environment. Nanocomposites of heterogeneous photocatalysis can be used to cure such problems due to its efficiency and ease of use, as well as the fact that it turns toxic chemicals completely to carbon dioxide and inorganic acids. With toxic chemicals posing a tremendous threat to ecological wellbeing and human health, it is integral that a variety of nanocomposites are studied for their use in the degradation of toxic and hazardous chemicals. Innovative Nanocomposites for the Remediation and Decontamination of Wastewater describes the synthesis of nanomaterials and its application for the protection of the environment. It presents studies on the photodegradation of the various toxic and hazardous chemicals by different nanocomposites, as well as the decontamination of bodies of water through the use of various nanocomposites. Covering topics such as dye degradation, novel biomaterials, and structural modification, this premier reference source is a vital resource for environmental scientists, construction managers, compliance officers, biochemists, biophysicists, conservation scientists, hydrologists, microbiologists, libraries, students and educators of higher education, researchers, and academicians.

Due to legal and consumer demands, eco-friendly resources that comply with environmental concerns while maintaining or improving performance are highly sought amongst manufacturers. Green materials are a specific material that are widely found in many product markets and are popular choices as alternative materials due to their recyclable, reusable, highly available, and corrosion-resistant features. These materials positively impact the environment through fewer emissions during the production process, positive carbon credits and energy recovery from incineration, and lower global warming effect. Extensive research is required to understand the full potential of these eco-friendly substances. Implementation and Evaluation of Green Materials in Technology Development: Emerging Research and Opportunities provides emerging research exploring the theoretical and practical aspects of environmentally friendly resources and applications within technology. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as life cycle analysis, nanomaterials, and environment management, this book is ideally designed for manufacturers, engineers, product developers, industrial practitioners, policymakers, researchers, academicians, students, and business and marketing associates seeking current research on the advancements and applications of green materials in future technology.

Oil Spill Science and Technology, Second Edition, delivers a multi-contributed view on the entire chain of oil-spill related topics from oil properties and behaviors, to remote sensing through the management side of contingency planning and communicating oil spill risk perceptions. Completely new case studies are included with special attention to the Deepwater Horizon event, covering the impacts of wetlands and sand beaches, a mass balance approach, and the process for removing petroleum chemicals still trapped near Alabama beaches. Other new information on lingering oil left behind from the Exxon Valdez spill, the emergency system used in the Prestige incident, and coverage on the Heibei Spirit spill in Korea are also included. This updated edition combines technology with case studies to identify the current state of knowledge surrounding oil spills that will encourage additional areas of research that are left to uncover in this critical sector of the oil and gas industry.

Thermal Solar Desalination: Methods and Systems presents numerous thermal seawater desalination technologies varying from the very simple, easy to construct and operate solar stills, to the more advance membrane and indirect distillation methods. All types of solar thermal desalination technologies are presented in detail to enable readers to comprehend the subject, from design details to enabling further research to be carried out in this area. The various units used in desalination are outlined, along with diagrams of all detailed working principles of desalination methods and systems. The authors consider the economic aspects of these processes, demonstrating successful implementation of desalination units suitable for areas where supplies of fresh water in natural ways is limited or non-existent.

All too often, senior reservoir managers have found that their junior staff lack an adequate understanding of reservoir management techniques and best practices needed to optimize the development of oil and gas fields. Written by an expert professional/educator, Integrated Reservoir Asset Management introduces the reader to the processes and modeling paradigms needed to develop the skills to increase reservoir output and profitability and decrease guesswork. One of the only references to recognize the technical diversity of modern reservoir management teams, Fanchi seamlessly brings together concepts and terminology, creating an interdisciplinary approach for solving everyday problems. The book starts with an overview of reservoir management, fluids, geological principles used to characterization, and two key reservoir parameters (porosity and permeability). This is followed by an uncomplicated review of multi-phase fluid flow equations, an overview of the reservoir flow modeling process and fluid displacement concepts. All exercises and case studies are based on the authors 30 years of experience and appear at the conclusion of each chapter with hints in addition of full solutions. In addition, the book will be accompanied by a website featuring supplementary case studies and modeling exercises which is supported by an author generated computer program.

Environment and Society connects the core themes of environmental studies to the urgent issues and debates of the twenty-first century. In an era marked by climate change, rapid urbanization, and resource scarcity, environmental studies has emerged as a crucial arena of study. Assembling canonical and contemporary texts, this volume presents a systematic survey of concepts and issues central to the environment in society, such as: social mobilization on behalf of environmental objectives; the relationships between human population, economic growth and stresses on the planet's natural resources; debates about the relative effects of collective and individual action; and unequal distribution of the social costs of environmental degradation. Organized around key themes, with each section featuring questions for debate and suggestions for further reading, the book introduces students to the history of environmental studies, and demonstrates how the field's interdisciplinary approach uniquely engages the essential issues of the present.

This book dispels common myths about electricity and electricity policy and reveals how government policies manipulate energy markets, create hidden costs, and may inflict a net harm on the American people and the environment. Climate change, energy generation and use, and environmental degradation are among the most salient—and controversial—political issues today. Our country's energy future will be determined by the policymakers who enact laws that favor certain kinds of energy production while discouraging others as much as by the energy-production companies or the scientists working to reduce the environmental impact of all energy production. The Reality of American Energy: The Hidden Costs of Electricity provides rare insights into the politics and economics surrounding electricity in the United States. It identifies the economic, physical, and environmental implications of distorting energy markets to limit the use of fossil fuels while increasing renewable energy production and explains how these unseen effects of favoring renewable energy may be counterproductive to the economic interests of American citizens and to the protection of the environment. The first two chapters of the book introduce the subject of electricity policy in the United States and to enable readers to understand why policymakers do what they do. The remainder of the book examines the realities of the major electricity sources in the United States: coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydrodynamic, wind, biomass, solar, and geothermal. Each of these types of energy sources is analyzed in a dedicated chapter that explains how the electricity source works and identifies how politics and public policy shape the economic and environmental impacts associated with them.

Energy Islands provides an urgent and nuanced portrait of collective action that resists racial capitalism, colonialism, and climate disruption. Weaving together historical and ethnographic research, this story challenges the master narratives of Puerto Rico as a tourist destination and site of "natural" disasters to demonstrate how fossil fuel economies are inextricably entwined with colonial practices and how local community groups in Puerto Rico have struggled against energy coloniality to mobilize and transform power from the ground up. Catalina M. de Onis documents how these groups work to decenter continental contexts and deconstruct damaging hierarchies that devalue and exploit rural coastal communities. She highlights and collaborates with individuals who refuse the cruel logics of empire by imagining and implementing energy justice and other interconnected radical power transformations. Diving deeply into energy, islands, and power, this book engages various metaphors for alternative world-making.

It is necessary to understand the extent of pollution in the environment in terms of the air, water, and soil in order for both humans and animals to live healthier lives. Poor waste treatment or pollution monitoring can lead to massive environmental issues, such as diminishing valuable resources, and cause a significant negative impact on society. Solutions, such as reuse of waste and sustainable waste management, must be explored to prevent these adverse effects. The Handbook of Research on Resource Management for Pollution and Waste Treatment is a collection of innovative research that examines waste and pollution treatment methods that can be adopted at local and international levels and examines appropriate resource management strategies for environmentally related issues. Featuring coverage on a wide range of topics such as soil washing, bioremediation, and runoff handling, this book is ideally designed for environmentalists, engineers, waste management professionals, natural resource regulators, environmental policymakers, scientists, academicians, researchers, and students seeking current research on viable resource management methods for the regeneration of their immediate environment.

Reliability, Risk and Safety: Back to the Future covers topics on reliability, risk and safety issues, including risk and reliability analysis methods, maintenance optimization, human factors, and risk management. The application areas range from nuclear engineering, oil and gas industry, electrical and civil engineering to information technology and communication, security, transportation, health and medicine or critical infrastructures. Significant attention is paid to societal factors influencing the use of reliability and risk assessment methods, and to combinatorial analysis, which has found its way into the analysis of probabilities and risk, from which quantified risk analysis developed. Integral demonstrations of the use of risk analysis and safety assessment are provided in many practical applications concerning major technological systems and structures. Reliability, Risk and Safety: Back to the Future will be of interest to academics and engineers interested in nuclear engineering, oil and gas engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, information technology, communication, and infrastructure.

Introduces key terms, quantitative and qualitative research, debates, and histories for Environmental and Nature Studies Understandings of "nature" have expanded and changed, but the word has not lost importance at any level of discourse: it continues to hold a key place in conversations surrounding thought, ethics, and aesthetics. Nowhere is this more evident than in the interdisciplinary field of environmental studies. Keywords for Environmental Studies analyzes the central terms and debates currently structuring the most exciting research in and across environmental studies, including the environmental humanities, environmental social sciences, sustainability sciences, and the sciences of nature. Sixty essays from humanists, social scientists, and scientists, each written about a single term, reveal the broad range of quantitative and qualitative approaches critical to the state of the field today. From "ecotourism" to "ecoterrorism," from "genome" to "species," this accessible volume illustrates the ways in which scholars are collaborating across disciplinary boundaries to reach shared understandings of key issues-such as extreme weather events or increasing global environmental inequities-in order to facilitate the pursuit of broad collective goals and actions. This book underscores the crucial realization that every discipline has a stake in the central environmental questions of our time, and that interdisciplinary conversations not only enhance, but are requisite to environmental studies today. Visit keywords.nyupress.org for online essays, teaching resources, and more.

This book presents an overview of current renewable energy sources, challenges and future trends. Drawing from their longtime expertise and deep knowledge of the field, the authors present a critic and well-structured perspective on sustainable power sources and technologies, including solar, wind, hydrogen and nuclear, both in large and small scale. Using accessible language they provide rigorous technological reviews and analyze the main issues of practical usage. The book addresses current questions in this area, such as: "Is there enough biomass to make a difference in energy needs? Should biomass be used in Energy Generation?"; "How mature is battery technology? Will it finally become cost effective, and will it make a significant difference this next decade?"; "How big a role will small and modular nuclear power generation play in the coming decades?"; "What will be the influence of national tax policies?". No prior technical knowledge is assumed of the reader. It is, therefore, ideal for professionals and students in all areas of energy and power systems, as well as those involved in energy planning, management and policy.

The convertors would spew it out,"" employee Arturo Hernandez recalled, referring to molten metal. ""You'd see the ground, the dirt, catch on fire. . . . If you slip, you'd be like a little pat of butter, melting away."" Hernandez was describing work at ASARCO El Paso, a smelter and onetime economic powerhouse situated in the city's heart just a few yards north of the Mexican border. For more than a century the smelter produced vast quantities of copper - along with millions of tons of toxins. During six of those years, the smelter also burned highly toxic industrial waste under the guise of processing copper, with dire consequences for worker and community health. Copper Stain is a history of environmental injustice, corporate malfeasance, political treachery, and a community fighting for its life. The book gives voice to nearly one hundred Mexican Americans directly affected by these events. Their frank and often heartrending stories, published here for the first time, evoke the grim reality of laboring under giant machines and lava-spewing furnaces while turning mountains of rock into copper ingots, all in service to an employer largely indifferent to workers' welfare. With horror and humor, anger, courage, and sorrow, the authors and their interviewees reveal how ASARCO subjected its employees and an unsuspecting public to pollution, diseases, and early death - with little in the way of compensation. Elaine Hampton and Cynthia C. Ontiveros weave this eloquent testimony into a cautionary tale of toxic exposure, community activism, and a corporate employer's dubious relationship with ethics - set against the political tug-of-war between industry's demands and government's obligation to protect the health of its people and the environment.