"Ecosystem Services: Global Issues, Local Practices" covers scientific input, socioeconomic considerations, and governance issues on ecosystem services. This book provides hands-on transdisciplinary reflections by administrators and sector representatives involved in the ecosystem service community. "Ecosystem Services" develops shared approaches and scientific methods to achieve knowledge-based sustainable planning and management of ecosystem services. Professionals engaged in ecosystem service implementation have two options: de-emphasize the ecological and socioeconomic complexity and advance in the theoretical, abstract field, or try to develop research that is policy relevant and inclusive in an uncertain environment. This book provides a wide overview of issues at stake, of interest for any professional wishing to develop a broader view on ecosystem service science and practice.
Examines a broad scope of relevant issues to create common understanding in the ecosystem services communityIncludes contributions from several backgrounds, providing a broad, multidisciplinary viewOffers recommendations to develop a thorough understanding and management of ecosystem services based on tools and research in larger territories as well as on local scales

This book analyses the state of the natural environment and the causes of its degradation using the biosphere approach. Further, those issues that must be resolved immediately on the global level are identified following the ideas defined by V.I. Vernadsky, and new principles of Man-Nature interaction are pursued. The modern world currently faces three global trends inducing biosphere degradation and the aggravation of ecological hazards, namely: a) rapid and uncontrolled growth of human population on the Earth and insufficient natural resources to sustain it; (b) technogenesis development; and (c) global climate change and the aggravation of natural disasters. Ecological safety and military security are becoming the crucial conditions for the survival of modern civilization. To mitigate the ecological strain on the Earth, the technogenesis strategy should be changed and many other pressing issues must be resolved. These problems should be addressed using the biosphere approach, because the individual human being is the biosphere constituent, and his or her safety cannot be provided without maintaining the entire natural system on our planet.

The book presents engineering concepts, techniques, practices, principles, standard procedures, and models that are applied and used to design and evaluate traffic systems, road pavement structures, alternatives of transportation systems, roadway horizontal and vertical alignments to ultimately achieve safety, sustainability, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. The book provides plentiful number of problems on five major areas of transportation engineering and includes broad range of ideas and practical problems that are included in all topics of the book. Furthermore, the book covers problems dealing with theory, concepts, practice, and applications. The solution of each problem in the book follows a step-by-step procedure that includes the theory and the derivation of the formulas in some cases and the computations. Moreover, almost all problems in the five parts of the book include detailed calculations that are solved using the MS Excel worksheets where mathematical, trigonometric, statistical, and logical formulas are used to obtain a more rapid and efficient solution. In some cases, the MS Excel solver tool is used for solving complex equations in several problems of the book. Additionally, numerical methods, linear algebraic methods, and least squares regression techniques are utilized in some problems to assist in solving the problem and make the solution much easier. The book will help academics and professionals to find practical solutions across the spectrum of transportation engineering. The book is designed to be informative and filled with an abundance of solutions to problems in the engineering science of transportation. It is expected that the book will enrich the knowledge and science in transportation engineering, thereby elevating the civil engineering profession in general and the transportation engineering practice in particular as well as advancing the transportation engineering field to the best levels possible. FEATURES: Presents coverage of five major areas in transportation engineering: traffic engineering, pavement materials, analysis, and design, urban transportation planning, highway surveying, and geometric design of highways. Provides solutions to numerous practical problems in transportation engineering including terminology, theory, practice, computation, and design. Includes downloadable and user-friendly MS Excel spreadsheets as well as numerical methods and optimization tools and techniques. Includes several practical case studies throughout. Implements a unique kind of approach in presenting the different topics.

The book presents a collection of selected papers from the I Workshop of the Venezuelan Society of Fluid Mechanics held on Margarita Island, Venezuela from November 4 to 9, 2012. Written by experts in their respective fields, the contributions are organized into five parts: - Part I Invited Lectures, consisting of full-length technical papers on both computational and experimental fluid mechanics covering a wide range of topics from drops to multiphase and granular flows to astrophysical flows, - Part II Drops, Particles and Waves - Part III Multiphase and Multicomponent Flows - Part IV Atmospheric and Granular Flows - and Part V Turbulent and Astrophysical Flows. The book is intended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students as well as for physicists, chemists and engineers teaching and working in the field of fluid mechanics and its applications. The contributions are the result of recent advances in theoretical and experimental research in fluid mechanics, encompassing both fundamentals as well as applications to fluid engineering design, including pipelines, turbines, flow separators, hydraulic systems and biological fluid elements, and to granular, environmental and astrophysical flows.

The sea is steadily rising, presently at ~3.4 mm/y, already costing Billions in Venice, on the Thames River and in New York City, to counter sea-level-related surges. Experts anticipate an accelerated rise, and credible predictions for sea level rise by the year 2100 range from 12 inches to above 6 feet. Study of the Earth's geologic history, through ice-core samples, links sea level rise to temperature rise. Since the lifetime of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is measured in centuries, and it has upset the balance of incoming and outgoing energy, the Earth's temperature will continue to rise, even if carbon burning ceases. Engineering the Earth's solar input appears increasingly attractive and practical as a means to lower Earth's temperature, and thus, to lower sea level. The cost of engineering the climate appears small, comparable, even, to the already-incurred costs of sea level rise represented by civil engineering projects in London, Venice and New York City. Feasible deployment of geoengineering, accompanied by some reduction in carbon burning, is predicted to lower the sea level by the order of one foot by 2100 AD, negating the expected rise, to provide an immense economic benefit. The accompanying lower global temperature would reduce the severity of extreme weather, and restore habitability to lethally hot parts of the world. This book is primarily conceived to aid and inform the educated citizen: aspects may also interest climate workers.

Putting forward an innovative approach to solving current technological problems faced by human society, this book encompasses a holistic way of perceiving the potential of natural systems. Nature has developed several materials and processes which both maintain an optimal performance and are also totally biodegradable, properties which can be used in civil engineering. Delivering the latest research findings to building industry professionals and other practitioners, as well as containing information useful to the public, 'Biotechnologies and Biomimetics for Civil Engineering' serves as an important tool to tackle the challenges of a more sustainable construction industry and the future of buildings.

This book provides an overview of the current and emerging industrial applications of ionic liquids, covering the core processes, the practical implementation and technical challenges involved, and exploring potential future directions for research and development. The introductory chapter describes the unique physical and chemical properties of ionic liquids, and illustrates the vast potential for application of these materials across the industrial landscape. Following this, individual chapters written by leading figures from industry and academia address specific processes and products, such as the development of a new chloroaluminate ionic liquid as an alkylation catalyst and a new class of capillary gas chromatography (GC) columns with stationary phases based on ionic liquids. Over the past twenty years, ionic liquids have moved from being considered as mere academic curiosities to having genuine applications in fields as wide-ranging as biotechnology, biorefineries, catalysis, pharmaceuticals, renewable fuels, and sustainable energy. This book highlights several commercial products and processes that use or will soon be using ionic liquids.

The aim of this book is to present qualitative and qualitative aspects of logistics operations and supply chain management which help to implement the sustainable policy principles in the companies and public sector s institutions. Authors in individual chapters address the issues related to reverse network configuration, forward and reverse supply chain integration, CO2 reduction in transportation, improvement of the production operations and management of the recovery activities. Some best practices from different countries and industries are presented. This book will be valuable to both academics and practitioners wishing to deepen their knowledge in the field of logistics operations and management with regard to sustainability issues."

This book explores the use of recent advanced multiple stage conversion technologies. These applications combine conventional fluidised bed systems with new plasma technologies to efficiently generate different energy outputs from waste materials with minimum cleaning effort. Using a mix of modelling and experimental approaches, the author provides fundamental insights into how the key operating variables of the two-stage process may impact the final quality of syngas. This thesis serves as a useful reference guide on the modelling and design of single and multiple-stage systems for thermal waste treatment. Its extended section on plant configuration and operation of waste gasification plants identifies the main technical challenges, and is of use to researchers entering the field.

This book develops a fundamental understanding of geophysical fluid dynamics based on a mathematical description of the flows of inhomogeneous fluids. It covers these topics: 1. development of the equations of motion for an inhomogeneous fluid 2. review of thermodynamics 3. thermodynamic and kinetic energy equations 4. equations of state for the atmosphere and the ocean, salt, and moisture effects 5. concepts of potential temperature and potential density 6. Boussinesq and quasi-geostrophic approximations 7. conservation equations for vorticity, mechanical and thermal energy instability theories, internal waves, mixing, convection, double-diffusion, stratified turbulence, fronts, intrusions, gravity currents Graduate students will be able to learn and apply the basic theory of geophysical fluid dynamics of inhomogeneous fluids on a rotating earth, including: 1. derivation of the governing equations for a stratified fluid starting from basic principles of physics 2. review of thermodynamics, equations of state, isothermal, adiabatic, isentropic changes 3. scaling of the equations, Boussinesq approximation, applied to the ocean and the atmosphere 4. examples of stratified flows at geophysical scales, steady and unsteady motions, inertia-gravity internal waves, quasi-geostrophic theory 5. vorticity and energy conservation in stratified fluids 6.boundary layer convection in stratified containers and basins

The book reveals how green buildings are currently being adapted and applied in developing countries. It includes the major developing countries such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan, Cambodia, Ghana, Nigeria and countries from the Middle East and gathers the insights of respected green building researchers from these areas to map out the developing world's green building revolution. The book highlights these countries' contribution to tackling climate change, emphasising the green building benefits and the research behind them. The contributing authors explore how the green building revolution has spread to developing countries and how national governments have initiated their own green building policies and agendas. They also explore how the market has echoed the green building policy, and how a business case for green buildings has been established. In turn, they show how an international set of green building standards, in the form of various techniques and tools, has been incorporated into local building and construction practices. In closing, they demonstrate how the developing world is emerging as a key player for addressing the energy and environmental problems currently facing the world. The book helps developers, designers and policy-makers in governments and green building stakeholders to make better decisions on the basis of global and local conditions. It is also of interest to engineers, designers, facility managers and researchers, as it provides a holistic picture of how the industry is responding to the worldwide call for greener and more sustainable buildings.

This monograph describes ways of using trees and their byproducts in environmental protection technologies and methodologies throughout their lifecycles. The tree, the planet's main source of biomass, is an indispensable tool for sustainable technologies, and the authors present a holistic picture of how and why in this volume. The authors describe the indispensable role of the living tree in phytoremediation and biomonitoring and detail the relationship of the tree with its surrounding ecosystem. The direct and indirect relationships of a tree at its vegetation period with various components of the ecosystem (i.e. atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and soil) contribute to the role of a tree as the medium for integrating aerogenic and edaphic pollutants. Trees phytostabilize pollutants in their organisms and remove them from the soil. The ability of some species of trees to reflect the quality of the environment makes a basis for the environmental bioindication, while quantitative representation of the chemical composition of the surrounding environment allows for the use of trees in biomonitoring. Morphological features of trees (e.g. annual tree rings) allow us to observe environmental conditions in the past and retrospectively evaluate them. This monograph also details how wood products (e.g. biochar, chips, bark, etc.) of a tree after it has died are used in environmental technologies. Due to the specific morphological form and physical and chemical composition of wood products, they may be used as active materials in the technologies aimed at reducing pollution in an effective and sustainable manner.

Understanding the balance of society and nature is imperative when researching ecosystems and their global influence. A method of studying the health of these ecosystems is biodiversity. The more diverse the species that live in an ecosystem, the healthier it is. As the climate continues to transform, small-scale ecosystems are affected, altering their diversity. Environmentalists need a book of research that studies the specific impacts of climate change and how it affects the future of the environment. Current State and Future Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on biological systems and how climate change influences their health. While highlighting topics such as genetic diversity, economic valuation, and climatic conditions, this publication explores the effects of climate change as well as the methods of sustainable management within ecosystems. This book is ideally designed for environmental scientists, environmental professionals, scientists, ecologists, conservationists, government officials, policymakers, agriculturalists, environmentalists, zoologists, botanists, entomologists, urban planners, researchers, scholars, and students seeking research on current and future developments of various ecosystems.

I: Grundlagen.- 1 Einleitung.- 1.1 Bedeutung des Themas.- 1.2 Ziele und Aufbau der Arbeit.- 1.3 Begriffsdefinitionen.- 1.3.1 Rating, Ranking, Screening.- 1.3.2 OEkologieorientierte Informationen, oekologieorientierte Daten.- 1.3.3 OEkologieorientierte Berichterstattung.- 1.3.4 OEko-Rating.- 2 OEkologieorientierte Bewertungen als Grundlage oekologieorientierten Handelns.- 2.1 Informieren, Bewerten, Entscheiden, Handeln.- 2.2 Alternativen, Umweltzustande, Ziele und Praferenzen als Determinanten einer Bewertung.- 2.2.1 Ziele und Kriterien.- 2.2.2 Praferenzen.- 2.2.3 Umweltzustande.- 2.2.4 Alternativenraum.- 2.2.5 Bewertungen durch Nutzenfunktionen.- 2.3 Delegation von oekologieorientierten Bewertungen im Rahmen eines OEko-Ratings.- 2.3.1 Delegation als Metaentscheidungsproblem.- 2.3.2 Informationsoekonomische Aspekte.- 2.3.3 Agency-Problematik.- 3 Die Bewertung von OEko-Rating-Ansatzen.- 3.1 Bewertungsziele.- 3.2 Bewertungskriterien.- 3.3 Zielbeziehungen.- II: Bisherige oeko-Rating-Ansatze.- 1 Kurzbeschreibung bestehender OEko-Rating-Organisationen.- 1.1 OEkom.- 1.2 CSH.- 1.3 Eco-Rating International.- 1.4 Hamburger Umweltinstitut.- 2 Vergleich und Analyse eingesetzter Verfahren.- 2.1 Treffsicherheit.- 2.1.1 Alternativenraum.- 2.1.2 Ziele.- 2.1.3 Praferenzen.- 2.1.4 Umweltzustande.- 2.2 Kosten.- 2.3 Transparenz.- 2.4 Verfalschende Anreize.- 3 Zusammenfassende Wurdigung bestehender OEko-Rating-Ansatze.- III: Handlungsorientiertes oeko-Rating.- 1 Ziel der Weiterentwicklung.- 2 Verbesserung der Zielorientierung.- 2.1.1 Arten von Zielen.- 2.1. Arten von Kriterien.- 2.2 Zusammenfassung.- 3 Verbesserung der Praferenzgerechtigkeit der Aggregation.- 3.1 Das zugrundeliegende Aggregationsproblem.- 3.2 Arten von Praferenzen.- 3.3 Nutzwertanalysen: Die Wahl der Praxis.- 3.3.1 Vorgehensweise.- 3.3.2 Pramissen und geeignete Bewertungssituationen.- 3.4 Nutzwertanalyse zweiter Generation: Die theoretische Weiterentwicklung.- 3.4.1 Vorgehensweise.- 3.4.2 Pramissen und geeignete Bewertungssituationen.- 3.5 Scoringverfahren auf der Basis unscharfer Logik.- 3.5.1 Modellierung nicht-linearer Zusammenhange: Das Beispiel Steuerungstechnik.- 3.5.2 Fuzzy Logic: Die Philosophie.- 3.5.3 Fuzzy Control: Die Anwendung.- 3.5.4 Beispiel.- 3.5.5 Pramissen und geeignete Bewertungssituationen.- 4 Aufbau eines handlungsorientierten oeko-Ratings-Ein Ablaufschema.- Iv: Fallstudie.- 1 Analyse der Entscheidungssituation.- 2 Beschreibung und Abgrenzung der Bewertungsaufgabe.- 3 Aufbau des Bewertungsmodells.- 3.1 Instrumentalziel-/Kriteriengenerierung.- 3.2 Feststellung der Praferenzen/Strukturierung.- 3.3 Umsetzung durch Wertfunktionen.- 4 Bewertung.- 5 Analyse des OEko-Ratings der Fallstudie.- V: Zusammenfassung.- Exkurs A: Erweiterung Fuzzy Logic.- 1 Weitere Operatoren.- 2 Verallgemeinerung auf den n-Faktorenfall.- 3 Parametrisierte Operatoren.- 4 Weitere Defuzzifizierungsmethoden.- Exkurs B: Skalentypen, Skalentransformationen.

Addresses a gap in the market between policy and academia. Broad readership given the focus on climate change action, a hugely topical area. Interdisciplinary approach - politics, IPE, international economics, and environmental economics. Written in an accessible voice/style.

This book is intended to support the forestry institutions in the tropical countries in the planning, assessment and systematic observation of forests required to fulfill their obligations as laid in international conventions such as the CBD and UNFCCC. Following the Rio Conference, a number of countries, donors and international organizations have implemented capacity-building projects with varying degrees of success. One main reason for the varying success rates seems to lie in the design of technical assistance programs, which have been formulated on the traditional lines of mainly generating forest resources information or transferring technology; whereas Agenda 21 requires fundamental changes in countries' institutions and approaches to planning and implementing the conservation and sustainable development of forests through a process of continuing research and analysis. The book is intended to serve the basic needs of national planning strategies and international and donor support.

This book investigates geological CO2 storage and its role in greenhouse gas emissions reduction, enhanced oil recovery, and environmentally responsible use of fossil fuels. Written for energy/environmental regulators at every level of government (federal, state, etc.), scientists/academics, representatives from the power and fossil energy sectors, NGOs, and other interested parties, this book uses the characterization of the Rock Springs Uplift site in Wyoming as an integrated case study to illustrate the application of geological CO2 storage science, principles, and theory in a real-world scenario.

Introduction to Environmental Science: Earth and Man provides a comprehensive and fully integrated interdisciplinary introduction to our planet, covering the complex interactions between chemistry, physics, biology, geology, hydrology, climatology, social science and environmental policy. Written in a lively and engaging style, it aims to stimulate interest in this dynamic and important area, and facilitate new ways of thinking about how environmental problems should be critically evaluated and solved.

The principles and procedures used to obtain structural measurements of terrestrial vegetation communities are presented in this text/reference. Designed to be the standard work on the topic, it provides a balance between conceptual and practical aspects of measurement procedures and techniques. The four commonly used measurements of vegetation - frequency, cover, density, and biomass - are introduced, along with their associated units. There is also up-to-date coverage of vegetation measurement using remote sensing techniques.

This book offers an introduction to the meteorological boundary conditions for power generation from wind - both onshore and offshore, and provides meteorological information for the planning and running of this important renewable energy source. It includes the derivation of wind laws and wind-profile descriptions, especially those above the logarithmic surface layer, and discusses winds over complex terrains and nocturnal low-level jets. This updated and expanded second edition features new chapters devoted to the efficiency of large wind parks and their wakes and to offshore wind energy.

Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology attempts to provide concise, critical reviews of timely advances, philosophy and significant areas of accomplished or needed endeavor in the total field of xenobiotics, in any segment of the environment, as well as toxicological implications.