Comprised of John Gibbons's non-technical writings from the last three decades, THIS GIFTED AGE shows readers both the limiting and the liberating influences of government on technological research and development. In many of the articles, essays, and interviews collected here, Gibbons addresses the broad issue of the government's role in supporting, advocating, and directing technological advancement. Other selections focus on specific areas where science and government join forces in the service of society. Together, these writings provide a behind-the-scenes look at national science and technology initiatives since 1972, and chart the changing public and political attitudes that shaped those initiatives.

This book introduces numerical methods for processing datasets which may be of any form, illustrating adequately computational resolution of environmental alongside the use of open source libraries. This book solves the challenges of misrepresentation of datasets that are relevant directly or indirectly to the research. It illustrates new ways of screening datasets or images for maximum utilization. The adoption of various numerical methods in dataset treatment would certainly create a new scientific approach. The book enlightens researchers on how to analyse measurements to ensure 100% utilization. It introduces new ways of data treatment that are based on a sound mathematical and computational approach.

Environmental Policy and NEPA is a concise study of environmental policy-where we have come from, what we are facing and where we can go in the future. An outgrowth of initiatives taken by the Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ), and edited by the current Associate Director, this publication studies the effectiveness and efficiency of the implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Divided into three main sections, part one covers the historical background and trends of NEPA. Part two addresses current substantive and conceptual issues associated with the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. Part three discusses future opportunities including impact on humans, effective public participation in the EIA process and the need for sustainability. This excellent reference brings together 28 contributing authors who combine their expertise to address a multitude of topics. Environmental Policy and NEPA is mandatory reading for the professional, researcher, government policymaker, activist, student or anyone looking for a complete presentation of the EIA process.

This volume presents a comprehensive introduction to the key environmental issues threatening our global environment. Offering an introduction to the key topics, a source of latest environmental information, and an innovative stimulus for debate, this text should be of value to all those studying or concerned with global environmental issues. In this second edition, the most topical global environmental issues are brought more clearly into focus. Explanations of the evolution of the earth's natural systems (hydrosphere, biosphere, geosphere, ecosphere) provide the essential understanding of the scientific concepts, processes and historical background behind key environmental issues. Contemporary socio-economic, cultural and political considerations are explored and important conceptual approaches such as Gaian hypotheses and Chaos Theory are introduced. Human impact and management of the natural environment, and concerns for maintaining biodiversity are emphasised throughout. Specific features include: case studies drawn from across the world; illustrations: 4-colour plate sections; informative diagrams; and a glossary of key terms, with key concepts highlighted throughout the text

The complexity of issues requiring rational decision making grows and thus such decisions are becoming more and more difficult, despite advances in methodology and tools for decision support and in other areas of research. Globalization, interlinks between environmental, industrial, social and political issues, and rapid speed of change all contribute to the increase of this complexity. Specialized knowledge about decision-making processes and their support is increasing, but a large spectrum of approaches presented in the literature is typically illustrated only by simple examples. Moreover, the integration of model-based decision support methodologies and tools with specialized model-based knowledge developed for handling real problems in environmental, engineering, industrial, economical, social and political activities is often not satisfactory. Therefore, there is a need to present the state of art of methodology and tools for development of model-based decision support systems, and illustrate this state by applications to various complex real-world decision problems. The monograph reports many years of experience of many researchers, who have not only contributed to the developments in operations research but also succeeded to integrate knowledge and craft of various disciplines into several modern decision support systems which have been applied to actual complex decision-making processes in various fields of policy making. The experience presented in this book will be of value to researchers and practitioners in various fields. The issues discussed in this book gain in importance with the development of the new era of the information society, where information, knowledge, and ways of processing them become a decisive part of human activities. The examples presented in this book illustrate how how various methods and tools of model-based decision support can actually be used for helping modern decision makers that face complex problems. Overview of the contents: The first part of this three-part book presents the methodological background and characteristics of modern decision-making environment, and the value of model-based decision support thus addressing current challenges of decision support. It also provides the methodology of building and analyzing mathematical models that represent underlying physical and economic processes, and that are useful for modern decision makers at various stages of decision making. These methods support not only the analysis of Pareto-efficient solutions that correspond best to decision maker preferences but also allow the use of other modeling concepts like soft constraints, soft simulation, or inverse simulation. The second part describes various types of tools that are used for the development of decision support systems. These include tools for modeling, simulation, optimization, tools supporting choice and user interfaces. The described tools are both standard, commercially available, and nonstandard, public domain or shareware software, which are robust enough to be used also for complex applications. All four environmental applications (regional water quality management, land use planning, cost-effective policies aimed at improving the European air quality, energy planning with environmental implications) presented in the third part of the book rely on many years of cooperation between the authors of the book with several IIASA's projects, and with many researchers from the wide IIASA network of collaborating institutions. All these applications are characterized by an intensive use of model-based decision support. Finally, the appendix contains a short description of some of the tools described in the book that are available from IIASA, free of charge, for research and educational purposes. The experiences reported in this book indicate that the development of DSSs for strategic environmental decision making should be a joint effort involving experts in the subject area, modelers, and decision support experts. For the other experiences discussed in this book, the authors stress the importance of good data bases, and good libraries of tools. One of the most important requirements is a modular structure of a DSS that enhances the reusability of system modules. In such modular structures, user interfaces play an important role. The book shows how modern achievements in mathematical programming and computer sciences may be exploited for supporting decision making, especially about strategic environmental problems. It presents the methodological background of various methods for model-based decision support and reviews methods and tools for model development and analysis. The methods and tools are amply illustrated with extensive applications. Audience: This book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in the fields of model development and analysis, model-based decision analysis and support, (particularly in the environment, economics, agriculture, engineering, and negotiations areas) and mathematical programming. For understanding of some parts of the text a background in mathematics and operational research is required but several chapters of the book will be of value also for readers without such a background. The monograph is also suitable for use as a text book for courses on advanced (Master and Ph.D.) levels for programs on Operations Research, decision analysis, decision support and various environmental studies (depending on the program different parts of the book may be emphasized).

This innovative introduction to environmental planning is designed for an international readership. Each of the book's chapters focuses on a key question in environmental planning and works through principles which are appropriate in any national context. Case studies from around the world show how the principles apply in practice.

This book bridges the gap between the many different disciplines used in applications of risk analysis to real world problems. Contributed by some of the world's leading experts, it creates a common information base and language for all risk analysis practitioners, risk managers, and decision makers.
Valuable as both a reference for practitioners and a comprehensive textbook for students, Fundamentals of Risk Analysis and Risk Management is a unique contribution to the field. Its broad coverage ranges from basic theory of risk analysis to practical applications, risk perception, legal and political issues, and risk management.

Due to increasing practical needs, software support of environmental protection and research tasks is growing in importance and scope. Software systems help to monitor basic data, to maintain and process relevant environmental information, to analyze gathered information and to carry out decision processes, which often have to take into account complex alternatives with various side effects. Therefore software is an important tool for the environmental domain. When the first software systems in the environmental domain grew - 10 to 15 years ag- users and developers were not really aware of the complexity these systems are carrying with themselves: complexity with respect to entities, tasks and procedures. I guess nobody may have figured out at that time that the environmental domain would ask for solutions which information science would not be able to provide and - in several cases - can not provide until today. Therefore environmental informatics - as we call it today - is also an important domain of computer science itself, because practical solutions need to deal with very complex, interdisciplinary, distributed, integrated, sometimes badly defined, user-centered decision processes. I doubt somebody will state that we are already capable of building such integrated systems for end users for reasonable cost on a broad range. The development of the first scientific community for environmental informatics started around 1985 in Germany, becoming a technical committee and working group of the German Computer Society in 1987.

The two themes of integration of structural and durability design, and integration of concrete technologies in relation to global environmental issues are drawn together in this text. It presents the views of international researchers and engineers on these key topics as the 21st century approaches. Derived from a workshop on rational design of concrete structures held in Hakodate, Japan, in August 1995, the book provides a focus for debate about the ways in which concrete technologies around the world must respond to the necessity of ensuring that concrete construction achieves higher levels of durability, and about the growing imperative to meet higher environmental standards in concrete production and use.

Paranoia and pseudo-science have led to serious misconceptions about environment and human health. Biodegradable bags are perceived as "environmentally friendly' but their decomposition in landfill sites contributes to the greenhouse effect. Potassium rich bananas are regarded healthy but they are also rich in naturally occurring carcinogenic chemicals. The electric car is seen as a solution to air pollution but pollution from car exhaust is transferred to the power plant. This work exposes environmental falsehoods, widely held assumptions and serious errors in environmental vocabulary which have helped to obscure an informed understanding of the environmental crisis. Fears and misconceptions of words relating to scientific and technological investigations are removed for non-scientists through informal explanations of basic concepts and ideas. Examining a wealth of examples of international environmental concern, this work offers a more informed knowledge of the elements of the environmental crisis and moves the environment debate closer to establishing an essential common language.

This book is a practitioner's guide to sustainable development, laying out strategies for attracting investment for communities and their partners. It proposes an innovative Sustainable Development Proposition (SDP) decision-making tool based on a propositional calculus that can be used to analyse the sustainability of an infrastructure investment. It draws on environmental sustainability governance data analysis enabling investors to understand the economic indicators, income potential, return on investment, demand and legal compliance, as well as community and social benefits. Identified risks, issues and advantages are managed and monitored, and the SDP guidance can be applied to improve the prospects of the project in order to attract investment. Sustainable Community Investment Indicators (SCIIs (TM)) have been developed to assist with attracting investment and monitoring feedback on infrastructure projects, designed by the author for remote rural and indigenous communities - in response to current industry tools that are designed for urban environments. The book includes a broad range of real-world and hypothetical case studies in agricultural and indigenous areas in South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific. Taking a diverse economies approach, these industry tools can be adapted to allow for enterprise design with unique communities. This book provides sustainable development practitioners, including government agencies, financiers, developers, lawyers and engineers, with a positive, practical guide to addressing and overcoming global issues with local and community-based solutions and funding options.

This book presents a variety of climate change impact and mitigation strategies for different environments in India. These include fractional snow cover change in the Himalayan region, and the impact of frequent cyclonic storms on land use and land cover changes along coastal areas. The book explores watershed, surface water, and hydrologic conditions for urban storm water drainage, as well as trend analysis of precipitation, and a statistical approach to detect rainfall trends. The book starts with a critical review of climate change diplomacy, adaptation and mitigation strategies in South Asian countries. It also covers the role of natural gas in energy security. There are chapters pertaining to farmer's perception on the impact of climate change, as well discussion on land use change and ecological implications. Many geographical areas are covered including; the Mahananda River Basin, Pindar Basin, Kumaun Himalaya, the Upper Tapi River Basin, Southern Kerala Districts, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka State, Telangana State, Tamil Nadu State, to name a few.

Cities around the world are facing severe environmental challenges; many have high levels of air and soil pollution, overcrowding, poor sanitation and growing waste disposal problems. This book takes a positive attitude; cities can be made to work sustainably, and many are already doing so. Their high population density works in the environment's favour if they achieve efficient use of resources such as energy and water supplies, and improve transport and infrastructure. The best cities today are clean, resource efficient, green and pleasant, and act as cultural and entertainment centres as well as being efficient generators of economic activity.Making Cities Work looks at the vital role which local authorities can and are playing in safeguarding and developing our towns and cities. Their role is crucial, and the aim of this book is to make governments, international bodies, local authority associations and interested readers aware of how potential environmental and social problems can be overcome, and what can be achieved particularly through cooperation between local governments around the world. The second part of the book comprises 18 case studies from around the world which demonstrates how cities can learn from each other's best practice in urban sustainable development. Written by urban development experts, based on material supplied by the world's leading city associations and commissioned and commissioned by UNCHS for the Habitat II Conference, this is a crucial contribution to the urban debate. Clearly written, accessible and illustrated throughout with photographs, figures and graphs, it is ideal for students, fascinating reading for the general public, and essential for those involved in local authorities, planning and development.

Provides a concise text addressing the key issues and principles central to the practice of building surveying Deciphers and prioritises the legislative, descriptive and advisory material available to practitioners Provides fundamental, under-pinning, first principle information so that more complex or prescriptive material can be understood Bite-sized and simply-presented information and guidance

Presents a global view of today's most pressing issues through an analysis of the twelve major regions of the world. Economic and political restructuring, agriculture, industry, catastrophe, human conflict are just some of the issues covered

Through various international case studies presented by both practitioners and scholars, Environmental Justice in the Anthropocene explores how an environmental justice approach is necessary for reflections on inequality in the Anthropocene and for forging societal transitions toward a more just and sustainable future. Environmental justice is a central component of sustainability politics during the Anthropocene - the current geological age in which human activity is the dominant influence on climate and the environment. Every aspect of sustainability politics requires a close analysis of equity implications, including problematizing the notion that humans as a collective are equally responsible for ushering in this new epoch. Environmental justice provides us with the tools to critically investigate the drivers and characteristics of this era and the debates over the inequitable outcomes of the Anthropocene for historically marginalized peoples. The contributors to this volume focus on a critical approach to power and issues of environmental injustice across time, space, and context, drawing from twelve national contexts: Austria, Bangladesh, Chile, China, India, Nicaragua, Hungary, Mexico, Brazil, Sweden, Tanzania, and the United States. Beyond highlighting injustices, the volume highlights forward-facing efforts at building just transitions, with a goal of identifying practical steps to connect theory and movement and envision an environmentally and ecologically just future. This interdisciplinary work will be of great interest to students, scholars, and practitioners focused on conservation, environmental politics and governance, environmental and earth sciences, environmental sociology, environment and planning, environmental justice, and global sustainability and governance. It will also be of interest to social and environmental justice advocates and activists.

This edited collection approaches the most pressing discourses of the Anthropocene and posthumanist culture through the surreal, yet instructive lens of Jeff VanderMeer's fiction. In contrast to universalist and essentializing ways of responding to new material realities, VanderMeer's work invites us to re-imagine human subjectivity and other collectivities in the light of historically unique entanglements we face today: the ecological, technological, aesthetic, epistemological, and political challenges of life in the Anthropocene era. Situating these messy, multi-scalar, material complexities of life in close relation to their ecological, material, and colonialist histories, his fiction renders them at once troublingly familiar and strangely generative of other potentialities and insight. The collection measures VanderMeer's work as a new kind of speculative surrealism, his texts capturing the strangeness of navigating a world in which "nature" has become radically uncanny due to global climate change and powerful bio-technologies. The first collection to survey academic engagements with VanderMeer, this book brings together scholars in the fields of environmental literature, science fiction, genre studies, American literary history, philosophy of technology, and digital cultures to reflect on the environmentally, culturally, aesthetically, and politically central questions his fiction poses to predominant understandings of the Anthropocene.

Explores SMS as it is implemented in aviation based on examples from several countries and regions, namely the UK, USA, and Australia. Presents a socio-historical analysis of how SMSs emerged in high-risk industries. Provides insights to explain the existing limitations of SMS. Proposes new avenues to reach beyond the limitations of SMS. Discusses the COVID-19 pandemic within the framework of risk analysis.

Geographic information system (GIS) computer technology is revolutionizing the way we interact with information. Data, text, drawings, maps, and images contain information that can be accessed and used intuitively through drawings containing graphical representations of the facilities to which they apply, e.g., emission stacks, sampling locations, and sites, to name only a few examples.
Environmental GIS technology is being applied with increasing frequency to manage industrial facilities. Environmental GIS describes the application of this information technology. It addresses environmental, safety, and health (ES&H) information management in an integrated manner. The book focuses on dealing with information from an organizational or corporate standpoint, meaning that the needs are not specialized to the ES&H area, but are an inherent part of managing the organization. Environmental, safety, and health information management needs are examined in the context of the overall corporate information flow. This book addresses

Caught between underdevelopment, poverty and environmental degradation, and the need for exploiting their natural resources for development, Africa has, during the last two decades, been engaged in a serious effort to integrate environment and development. The nine case studies (Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Tanzania, Sudan, Uganda and Zambia) presented in this book explore the complexity involved in environmental planning and policy in one of the World's poorest regions. The authors articulate an informed debate, with new conclusions and alternative policy recommendations.

The changing climate poses serious dangers to human and non-human life alike, though perhaps the most urgent danger is one we hear very little about: the rise of climatism. Too many social, political and ecological problems facing the world today – from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the management of wildfires – quickly become climatized, explained with reference to ‘a change in the climate’. When complex political and ethical challenges are so narrowly framed, arresting climate change is sold as the supreme political challenge of our time and everything else becomes subservient to this one goal. In this far-sighted analysis, Mike Hulme reveals how climatism has taken hold in recent years, becoming so pervasive and embedded in public life that it is increasingly hard to resist it without being written off as a climate denier. He confronts this dangerously myopic view that reduces the condition of the world to the fate of global temperature or the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide to the detriment of tackling serious issues as varied as poverty, liberty, biodiversity loss, inequality and international diplomacy. We must not live as though climate alone determines our present and our future.

Managing environmental contamination requires decision makers to weigh eXlstmg risks against the potential effects of implementing environmental policies - considering both the benefits and disruptions that may result from different actions. The NATO Advanced Research Workshop in Lisbon was an important step in the development and application of cost efficient methods of risk assessment especiaIly within the constraints of a budget. The goal of the workshop was to evaluate the potential for risk assessment to serve as a unified and unifying technique in addressing a wide range of environmental problems. Papers presented in this book discuss issues ranging from specific and local studies (specific site, ecosystem, pollutant) to global decision and management frameworks (watersheds, regions, integration of multiple poIlutants and stressors); they develop a range of approaches starting from specific methods to widely applied public policies (Figure 1). The papers show that the use of risk assessment can provide the scientific basis for environmentaIly sound and cost-efficient policies, strategies, and solutions to our environmental chaIlenges. The organization of the Proceedings reflects sessions and discussions during the workshop. The papers in the introductory Chapter summarize the positions of Drs. Glenn Suter (EPA) and Jim Wilson (Resources for the Future) regarding whether the use of often-expensive risk assessments in developing countries can be justified, given evolving regulatory institutions and limited resources.

Most photovoltaic (PV) installations utilise heavy conventional glass or polycarbonate panels, and even newly developed thin plastic or metal films for PV cell use may fracture during both construction and application. Textile fabrics, the most widespread flexible materials in everyday use, offer a solution to the need for lightweight, flexible solar PV generators. Solar Textiles: The Flexible Solution for Solar Power is about the incorporation and operation of solar cells on textile fabrics. The combination of textile manufacturing and solar PV cell technology opens up further avenues for both the textile and semiconductor industries. Thus, this book reflects the progressively increasing commercial interest in PV cell technology and the versatility that their integration in textiles provides. Discusses textiles as electrical substrates Explains the photovoltaic effect and associated parameters Offers special consideration of solar cells on textiles Compares fibres and fabrics and how to implement PV activity on a textile Describes manufacturing methods outside of semiconductor technology Includes applications open only to textiles This work is aimed at textile technologists, electronic engineers, solar technologists, civil engineers and designers in building fabrics and architecture.

The Plant Hormone Ethylene: Stress Acclimation and Agricultural Applications presents current knowledge on our understanding of ethylene perception and signaling, its role in the regulation of plant physiological processes, and its contribution to acclimation in stressful environments. Plants regularly face environmental constraints due to their immobile nature. In persistently changing environmental conditions, several stress factors influence cellular metabolism, ultimately causing reduced plant growth and development with a significant loss in agricultural productivity. Sustainable agriculture depends on the acclimation of plant processes to the changing environment through altered physiological and molecular responses, which are controlled by plant hormones, including ethylene. Ethylene interacts with other plant hormones and signaling molecules to regulate several cellular processes, plant growth and development, and, ultimately, crop productivity. This book begins with an introduction to ethylene before providing a detailed study of the latest findings on the role of ethylene in plants, including its role in photosynthetic processes, flower development, leaf senescence, nutrients acquisition, and regulation of abiotic stress responses as well as its application in agriculture. The book is an ideal guide for researchers exploring plant physiology and biochemistry as well as for those investigating the use of ethylene knowledge in agriculture in persistently changing environmental conditions.