This short, readable book is intended as a big-picture introduction/overview for environmental students and lay-people involved with environmental issues. Every freshman in college intending to study environmental science should read it. It begins with a historical perspective on waste and environmental control. Basic instruction on some important fundamentals faced by environmental professionals every day, such as sampling, analysis, data visualization, risk assessment and forensic chemistry are provided in the following chapter. Important regulatory fundamentals, such as the National Contingency Plan, which is the U.S. regulatory framework for addressing hazardous waste is also defined. The book concludes with pertinent and provocative considerations on the future of environmental management, such as alternative approaches (technical impracticability), the "not-in-my-backyard syndrome," and the safety of chemicals in consumer products. The book contains many useful facts about waste production rates, energy use and recycling rates-all referenced to allow substantiation and provide a springboard for further research.

The polar regions are the 'canary in the coal mine' of climate change: they are likely to be hit the hardest and fastest. This comprehensive textbook provides an accessible introduction to the scientific study of polar environments against a backdrop of climate change and the wider global environment. The book assembles diverse information on polar environmental characteristics in terrestrial and oceanic domains, and describes the ongoing changes in climate, the oceans, and components of the cryosphere. Recent significant changes in the polar region caused by global warming are explored: shrinking Arctic sea ice, thawing permafrost, accelerating loss of mass from glaciers and ice sheets, and rising ocean temperatures. These rapidly changing conditions are discussed in the context of the paleoclimatic history of the polar regions from the Eocene to the Anthropocene. Future projections for these regions during the twenty-first century are discussed. The text is illustrated with many color figures and tables, and includes further reading lists, review questions for each chapter, and a glossary.

Growing energy demand and environmental consciousness have re-evoked human interest in wind energy. As a result, wind is the fastest growing energy source in the world today. Policy frame works and action plans have already been for- lated at various corners for meeting at least 20 per cent of the global energy - mand with new-renewables by 2010, among which wind is going to be the major player. In view of the rapid growth of wind industry, Universities, all around the world, have given due emphasis to wind energy technology in their undergraduate and graduate curriculum. These academic programmes attract students from diver- fied backgrounds, ranging from social science to engineering and technology. Fundamentals of wind energy conversion, which is discussed in the preliminary chapters of this book, have these students as the target group. Advanced resource analysis tools derived and applied are beneficial to academics and researchers working in this area. The Wind Energy Resource Analysis (WERA) software, provided with the book, is an effective tool for wind energy practitioners for - sessing the energy potential and simulating turbine performance at prospective sites.

This book synthesizes knowledge from several fields that are crucial to sustainable rural development: the physical environment, biological and agricultural production, rural sociology and economics. It takes a systems perspective incorporating systems analysis, landscape analysis and soil, water, and land planning. Directed toward graduate students and professionals, it provides a source of information and concepts for those concerned with land and water policies and practice. It presents an integrated approach using practical and applicable models and methods and takes a middle position between an elementary conceptual approach to land and water management and a highly mathematically advanced treatise based exclusively on system modeling. The book is based on almost twenty years of experience in teaching a course on rural planning and the environment, the authors being specialists from universities, research institutions and companies in Europe and North America.

This book aims to clarify the priorities of the Sendai Framework for the DRR 2015 - 2030, through gathering recent contributions addressing the different ways researchers define, measure, reduce, and manage risk in the challenge of the DRR. Beyond a discussion of the different definitions of disaster risk; this book provides contributions focused on optimization approaches that support the decision-making process in the challenge of managing DRR problems considering emerging disaster risks in the medium and long term, as well as national and local applications. Some of the topics covered include network flow problems, stochastic optimization, discrete optimization, multi-objective programming, approximation techniques, and heuristic approaches. The target audience of the book includes professionals who work in Linear Programming, Logistics, Optimization (Mathematical, Robust, Stochastic), Management Science, Mathematical Programming, Networks, Scheduling, Simulation, Supply Chain Management, Sustainability, and similar areas. It can be useful for researchers, academics, graduate students, and anyone else doing research in the field

This book addresses questions of relevance to governments and industry in many countries around the world, in particular concerning the link between contaminated-land-management programs and the protection of drinking water resources and the potential effects of climate changes on the availability of these same resources. On the "problem" side, it reports and analyzes methodologies and experiences in monitoring and characterization of drinking water resources (at basin, country and continental scales), pollution prevention, assessment of background quality and of impacts on safety and public health from land and water contamination and impacts of climate change. On the "solution" side, the book presents results from national cleanup programs, recent advances in research into groundwater and soil remediation techniques, treatment technologies, research needs and information sources, land and wastewater management approaches aimed at the protection of drinking water.

This authoritative volume reviews the environmental chemistry and toxicological effects of a marine pollutant of exceptional potency, tributyltin (TBT), and outlines the international response to control TBT. TBT compounds have been widely utilized in marine anti-fouling paint formulations to obtain increased fuel efficiencies and long lifetimes for maritime vessels and structures. However, its extreme toxicity has resulted in numerous adverse biological effects, and its persistence ensures that such problems are likely to continue. A wide variety of disciplines are brought together to illustrate the general principles, pathways and problems involved in identifying and quantifying an environmental toxin, elucidating deleterious biological consequences, and the legal framework that can invoke mitigation via regulation. This text not only has wide appeal for undergraduate courses in environmental science, chemistry and marine ecology, but also forms a valuable sourcebook for environmental planners and serves as a 'successful' case study for undergraduate courses in environmental law, planning and science.

This book provides readers with the latest developments in environmental research. Chapter One presents the strongest wind erosions of the Sinjsko polje, a karst field situated in the Dalmatia, Croatian south region. Chapter Two provides an analysis for sediment formation by model experiments in karstic depressions. Chapter Three presents the effects of different water pollutants on different assays, biomonitors and biomarkers to evaluate the aquatic environment, as well as justify the importance of inclusion of mutagenicity and genotoxicity tests in water monitoring programs. Chapter Four focuses upon the role of spatial analysis in informing water management into the future and reviews the spatial analysis literature in water resources management/economics from a global and local scale. Chapter Five discusses the impact of climatic variation on reference crop evapotranspiration in the North-East hydrological region of Bangladesh. Chapter Six reviews the causes and impacts of land degradation in Pakistan and devises some improvement measures. Chapter Seven evaluates the impact of partially harvesting the lavender biomass. Chapter Eight introduces benefits and cost of green roof installation, and also gives a new insight into the cost-related issues of green roof installation from owners developers and governments perspectives. Chapter Nine examines the potential environmental risk of food waste management. Chapter Ten discusses the ecophysiology of entomopathogenic fungi used against insect pests of storage maize.

Ecologists and economists both use models to help develop strategies for biodiversity management. The practical use of disciplinary models, however, can be limited because ecological models tend not to address the socioeconomic dimension of biodiversity management, whereas economic models tend to neglect the ecological dimension. Given these shortcomings of disciplinary models, there is a necessity to combine ecological and economic knowledge into ecological-economic models. Gradually guiding the reader into the field of ecological-economic modelling by introducing mathematical models and their role in general, this book provides an overview on ecological and economic modelling approaches relevant for research in the field of biodiversity conservation. It discusses the advantages of and challenges associated with ecological-economic modelling, together with an overview of useful ways of integration. Although being a book about mathematical modelling, ecological and economic concepts play an equally important role, making it accessible for readers from very different disciplinary backgrounds.

The aim of this book is to assist environmental authorities and technicians in the design of effective environmental monitoring programs. Consensus exists that any good management program must be able to distinguish between natural variability and changes induced by anthropogenic activities. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to implement continuous monitoring programs. Sampling design is critical for the success of these programs due to the high spatio-temporal variability of coastal ecosystems. No potential sources of pollution should be neglected in sampling design, such as submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), which has been recognised as an important link between the continent and the ocean. Additionally, sampling design should avoid Type II decision errors (false negatives), which means a problem is not found when in fact it does exist. Being able to detect undesired effects is indispensable to adopt preventive and corrective measures. It is essential that these programs change their primarily anthropocentric focus to an ecocentric focus. The need to cover large spatial regions periodically makes necessary the development and application of new technologies such as remote sensing data into monitoring programs. The development of environmental "diagnostic" tools to allow early warning detection of pollution exposure, such as biomarker measurements in bioindicator organisms, are also valuable tools for environmental monitoring, which are examined in this book.

This textbook covers the entire spectrum of topics required to completely understand air pollution. It emphasizes the atmospheric processes governing air pollution (emissions, atmospheric dispersion, chemical transformations, deposition on surfaces and ecosystems). Other areas of focus include air pollutant emission control technologies, health and environmental impacts, regulations and public policies, and interactions between climate change and air pollution. Topics are first presented conceptually, and then in terms of their fundamental aspects. Actual case studies are incorporated throughout to illustrate major air pollution phenomena, such as the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere, and the development of strategies to reduce urban air pollution, mitigate acid rain, and improve atmospheric visibility. Graduate students, researchers, and air quality professionals will find the full coverage of these important matters to be well suited to their needs.

Makers around the globe are building low-cost devices to monitor the environment, and with this hands-on guide, so can you. Through succinct tutorials, illustrations, and clear step-by-step instructions, you'll learn how to create gadgets for examining the quality of our atmosphere, using Arduino and several inexpensive sensors.

Detect harmful gases, dust particles such as smoke and smog, and upper atmospheric haze--substances and conditions that are often invisible to your senses. You'll also discover how to use the scientific method to help you learn even more from your atmospheric tests.Get up to speed on Arduino with a quick electronics primerBuild a tropospheric gas sensor to detect carbon monoxide, LPG, butane, methane, benzene, and many other gasesCreate an LED Photometer to measure how much of the sun's blue, green, and red light waves are penetrating the atmosphereBuild an LED sensitivity detector--and discover which light wavelengths each LED in your Photometer is receptive toLearn how measuring light wavelengths lets you determine the amount of water vapor, ozone, and other substances in the atmosphereUpload your data to Cosm and share it with others via the Internet

"The future will rely on citizen scientists collecting and analyzing their own data. The easy and fun gadgets in this book show everyone from Arduino beginners to experienced Makers how best to do that."--Chris Anderson, Editor in Chief of "Wired" magazine, author of Makers: The New Industrial Revolution (Crown Business)

In this wholly revised second edition, Michael Edelstein draws or iis thiffy years as a community activist tc provide a much-expanded theoretical foundation for understanding the psychosocial impacts of toxic contaminagtion. Informed by social psychological theory and an extensive survey of documented cases of toxic exposure, and enlivened by excerpts drawn from more than one thousand Interviews with victims, Contaminated Communities, Second Edition, presents, a candid portrayal of the toxic victim's experience and the key stages in the course of toxic disaster. The second edition introduces dozens of new cases and provvides expanded considerations of environmental justice, environmental racism, environmental turbulence, and environmental stigma, as well as a fully articulated theory of "lifescape." The new edition moves past the well-charted role of reactive environmentalism to explore issues for a proactivist approach that employs a "third path" of social learning, sustainable innovation, consensus building, and community empowerment.

Time-series analysis is used to identify and quantify periodic features in datasets and has many applications across the geosciences, from analysing weather data, to solid-Earth geophysical modelling. This intuitive introduction provides a practical 'how-to' guide to basic Fourier theory, with a particular focus on Earth system applications. The book starts with a discussion of statistical correlation, before introducing Fourier series and building to the fast Fourier transform (FFT) and related periodogram techniques. The theory is illustrated with numerous worked examples using R datasets, from Milankovitch orbital-forcing cycles to tidal harmonics and exoplanet orbital periods. These examples highlight the key concepts and encourage readers to investigate more advanced time-series techniques. The book concludes with a consideration of statistical effect size and significance. This useful book is ideal for graduate students and researchers in the Earth system sciences who are looking for an accessible introduction to time-series analysis.

This book explores the National Forest System with a focus on congressionally designated special management areas and road-less area initiatives. Congress authorised the President to reserve public forests to protect the lands and resources. The many presidential proclamations and subsequent land purchases have led to the current National Forest System. These lands are managed to balance the many purposes and values under the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960 through an interdisciplinary planning process, with public involvement, under the National Forest Management Act of 1976. Congress has also designated many specific national forest areas to emphasise particular values or resources, and continues to consider legislation to designate additional specially managed areas within the national forests.

Scientists generally conclude that rising concentrations of greenhouse gases are warming the Earth's climate. Concern about the damage that might result has led policymakers and analysts to consider policies designed to restrict emissions of those gases. One type of policy, a cap-and-trade program, could minimise the cost of achieving a limit, or cap, on emissions by allowing market forces to determine where, how, and to some extent when the cuts in emissions necessary to achieve the cap would be made. This new book examines the potential effects of features that would help manage allowance prices, and thus the cost of complying with a cap-and-trade program.

This book considers the results of the theoretical and practical works dealing with forest fire detection from space. This first part of the book addresses the results of forest fire detection on the territory of Tomsk region for period of 1998-2008 with application of AVHRR/NOAA satellite system. The second part of the book presents the methodic foundations of RTM approach to the multispectral monitoring of the earth's surface. The third part describes the software for implementation of the RTM approach and the results of its practical application.

Severe wildfires have been burning more area and more houses in recent years. Some assert that climate change is at least partly to blame; others claim that the increasing number of homes in and near the forest is a major cause. However, most observers agree that wildfire suppression and historic land management practices have led to unnaturally high accumulations of biomass in many forests, primarily in the intermountain West. While high-intensity conflagrations (wildfires that burn the forest canopy) occur naturally in some ecosystems (called crown-fire or stand-replacement fire ecosystems), abnormally high biomass levels can lead to conflagrations in ecosystems when such crown fires were rare. This book explores wildland fires, fuels and non-native invasive plants in our forest ecosystems.

Details the source, release, exposure, adsorption, aggregation, bioavailability, transport, transformation, and modeling of engineered nanoparticles found in many common products and applications * Covers synthesis, environmental application, detection, and characterization of engineered nanoparticles * Details the toxicity and risk assessment of engineered nanoparticles * Includes topics on the transport, transformation, and modeling of engineered nanoparticles * Presents the latest developments and knowledge of engineered nanoparticles * Written by world leading experts from prestigious universities and companies

There are still insufficient general theories on the law of diminishing returns, despite 100 years of development. Starting with intensive variables theory, and by utilizing tools of spatiotemporal correlation and intensive functions, moving on to the integrated curve of diminishing returns and intensive theory, and even more importantly, using a combination of static and dynamic GIS, and integrating numerical calculation and spatial optimization, this book not only creates a unique theoretical framework and methodology for the evaluation of land use effect, but also addresses the long-standing lack of universal theories and methods on the law of diminishing returns. It will have far-reaching impacts on the development of this area and its practical application.
The book covers a wide range fields in geography, land science, geographic information science, management science and related areas. Novel theoretical perspectives illustrated with many detailed case studies offer an easier way for readers to expand their research, ensuring that both academic and business audiences will benefit.
Prof. Xinqi Zheng works at the China University of Geosciences (Beijing), People s Republic of China."

Feeding the world, climate change, biodiversity, antibiotics, plastics - the list of concerns seems endless. But what is most pressing, what are the knock-on effects of our actions, and what should we do first? Do we all need to become vegetarian? How can we fly in a low-carbon world? Should we frack? How can we take control of technology? Does it all come down to population? And, given the global nature of the challenges we now face, what on Earth can any of us do? Fortunately, Mike Berners-Lee has crunched the numbers and plotted a course of action that is practical and even enjoyable. There is No Planet B maps it out in an accessible and entertaining way, filled with astonishing facts and analysis. For the first time you'll find big-picture perspective on the environmental and economic challenges of the day laid out in one place, and traced through to the underlying roots - questions of how we live and think. This book will shock you, surprise you - and then make you laugh. And you'll find practical and even inspiring ideas for what you can actually do to help humanity thrive on this - our only - planet.

Water, Land, and Forest Susceptibility and Sustainability, Volume 1: Geospatial Approaches & Modeling brings an interdisciplinary perspective to solving complex problems in sustainability, utilizing the latest research and technologies, and includes case studies that emphasize the applications of remote sensing, GIS, and image processing for addressing the current state and future needs to achieve sustainability. As forests, land, and water are among the most precious resources on earth, emphasizing the need to conserve them for future generations and, of course, a safe and sustainable planet. The assessment of the susceptibility of all these three precious resources must therefore be addressed to inform their sustainable management. This 1st volume encourages adaptive activities among experts employed in interdisciplinary fields, from data mining and machine learning to environmental science by linking geospatial computational intelligence technology to forest, land and water issues.

The book contains the contributions at the NATO Study Institute on Exposure and Risk Assessment of Chemical Pollution - Contemporary Methodology, which took place in Sofia - Borovetz, Bulgaria, July 1-10, 2008. Rapid advances in mathematics, computer science and molecular biology and chemistry have lead to the development in of a new branch of toxicology called Computational Toxicology. This emerging field is addressing the estimation and prediction of exposure risk and effects of chemicals based on experimental data, measured concentration and biological mechanisms and computational models of biological systems. Mathematical models are also being used to predict the fate and transport of substances in the environment. Because this area is still in its infancy, there has been limited application from governmental agencies to regulating controllable processes, such as registration of new chemicals, determination of estimated exposure and risk based limits and maximum acceptable concentrations in different compartments of the environment - ambient air, waters, soil and food products. However, this is soon to change as the ability to collect, analyze and interpret the required information is becoming increasingly more efficient and cost effective. Full implementation of the new processes have to involve education on both part of the experimentalists who are generating the data and the models, and the risk assessors who will use them to better protect human health and the environment.

This publication includes peer-reviewed manuscripts from the 2011 International Network of Environmental Forensics (INEF) Conference held at St John's College in Cambridge, UK. INEF is an organization founded by environmental forensic scientists for the express purpose of sharing and disseminating environmental forensic information to the international scientific community. Environmental forensic information presented at this conference included topics on contaminant age dating, the use of chemical and biological diagnostic markers for contaminant source identification, advancements in the use of petroleum hydrocarbon pattern recognition techniques, the availability of surrogate chemicals to identify the age of a contaminant release, the identification and application of chemical impurities for source identification and advancements in compound specific isotopic analysis, especially related to chlorinated solvent releases. All of these topics were presented in terms of their applications in contaminant releases throughout the world in terrestrial and marine environments. This professionally edited book is the second of a series of INEF conference publications chronicling the current state of the art in environmental forensics. The intent of this publication and subsequent INEF conference volumes is to capture the evolution of environmental forensic topics as a scientific discipline.

This volume offers expert contributions proposing new and recently set scientific standards for smart air quality (AQ) networks data processing, along with results obtained during field deployments of pervasive and mobile systems. The book is divided into 5 main sections; 1) future air quality networks, 2) general data processing techniques, 3) field deployments performances, 4) special applications, and 5) cooperative and regulatory efforts. The authors offer different sources of data for the production of trustworthy insights, including spatio-temporal predictive AQ maps meant to boost citizen awareness, and informed participation in remediation and prevention policies. Readers will learn about the best and most up-to-date practices for measuring and assessing air quality, while also learning about current regulatory statuses regarding air quality technology design and implementation. The book will be of interest to air quality regulatory agencies, citizen science groups, city authorities, and researchers and students working with air quality sensors and geostatistics.