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Books > Professional & Technical > Environmental engineering & technology > General
This book opens new approach to the study of global environmental changes having unfourable character for peoples and other living systems. Main advantage of this book consists in the accumulation of knowledge from different sciences to parameterize global biogeochemical cycles in the context of globalization and sustainable development. Basic global problems of the nature-society system dynamics have been considered and the key problems of ensuring its sustainable development have been discussed. An analysis has been made of the present trend in changing ecological systems and characteristics of the present global ecodynamics have been estimated. The emphasis has been placed on the accomplishment of global geoinformation monitoring, which could provide a reliable control of the environmental processes development with further obtaining prognostic estimates of consequences of realization of anthropogenic projects. A new approach to the nature-society system numerical modelling has been proposed and demonstrative results have been given of modelling the dynamics of this system s characteristics in cases of realization of some scenarios of anthropogenic impact on the biogeochemical cycles. The importance and the need has been emphasized of development of adaptive algorithms of monitoring data processing which make it possible to reduce the economic expenses on its accomplishment and raise the reliability of the obtained estimates of the global ecodynamics characteristics. Perspective approaches have been suggested for the development of technology to estimate the risk of realization of decisions on ecosystems management. The realization of this approach allows integration within a complex structure of all international and national means of environmental monitoring and provides a tool for objective evaluation of the environmental quality. The main purpose of this book is to develop an universal information technology to estimate the state of environmental subsystems functioning under various climatic and anthropogenic conditions and to assess the dependence of global bviogeochemical cycles on the globalization processes. Applied mathematicians, geophysicists, hydrologists, socio-economists, statesmans and other researchers of global change will find a wealth of information and ideas in this book."
This book analyzes water policies in South Asia from the perspective of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). It seeks to address the problems of water scarcity, conflict and pollution resulting from the gross mismanagement and over-exploitation of this finite resource. Highlighting the need for IWRM in mitigating abuse and ensuring sustainable use, it discusses issues relating to groundwater management; inter-state water conflicts; peri-urban water use; local traditional water management practices; coordination between water users and uses; and water integration at the grassroots level. With case studies from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal, the innovative, painstaking and transnational researches presented in the volume deal with questions of equity, gender, sustainability, and democratic governance in water policy interventions. It will interest researchers and students of development studies, environmental studies, natural resource management, water governance, and public administration, as also water sector professionals, policymakers, civil society activists and governmental and nongovernmental organizations.
This volume is the 3rd in a series of comprehensive publications devoted to the molecular spectra and environmentally important properties of polycyclic aromatic compounds which constitute one of the most interesting classes of environmental carcinogens. Since the first identification of dibenz(a, h)anthracene and later benzo(a)pyrene as chemical carcinogens in the 1930's, the number of publications devoted to this ubiquitously occurring group of compounds has increased constantly. Therefore, this reference source for the spectral, physicochemical and en vironmentaJ properties of polycyclic aromatic compounds should be a welcome addition to the previous volumes for scientists engaged in the investigation, characterisation and control of this hazardous class of pollutants. As was the case with the preceding volume, this publication is the fruit of a close collaboration within the General Directorate for SCience, Research and Development of the Commission of the European Communities between the Environment Institute of the Joint Research Centre Ispra, the Community Bureau of Reference and expert laboratories in the member states. F. Geiss Director of the Environment Institute JRC Ispra 1. Introduction Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds (PAC) are an important class of carcinogenic environmental pollutants, which occur in air, water, soils, sediments, in food and in the work area. Because many hundreds of closely related isomers are being formed and released in the environment from combustion processes of fossil fuels and other organic materials, their environmental and health con trol presents a difficult task."
1 AUK ISMAIL-ZADEH ,2, TOM BEER3 1 International Institute of Earthquake Prediction Theory and Mathematical Geophysics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Warshavskoye shosse 79-2, Moscow 113556, Russia; e-mail: [email protected] 2 Geophysikalisches Institut, Universittit Karlsruhe, Hertzstr. 16, Karlsruhe 76187, Germany; e-mail: [email protected] 3 CSIRO Environmental Risk Network, CSIRO Atmospheric Research, Aspendale, Vic. 3195 Australia; e-mail: [email protected] The world faces major threats to the sustainability of our planet. These threats are accompanied by the immediate dangers of natural and man-made disasters. Our vulnerability to them is greatly magnified with each passing year undermining our ability to maintain a sustainable and productive world into the 21st Century and beyond. Both history and common sense teach us that science has a tremendous potential to find ways to cope with these threats. 1 The EUROSCIENCE working group "Science and Urgent Problems of Society" 2 and the IUGG Commission on Geophysical Risk and Sustainability were initiators of the EUROSCIENCE - IUGG Advanced Research Workshop "Science for Reduction of Risk and Sustainable Development of Society" sponsored by the NATO Science Program. The Workshop was held on 15-16 June 2002 in Budapest, Hungary. More than 40 participants from 17 countries took part in the Workshop. Talks and discussions addressed mainly the question of how science can help in reduction of risk and sustainable development of society.
When NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott first saw the Earth from space, she was filled with awe. Our shared home was a brilliant blue marble, with a razor thin atmosphere protecting billions of people, including everyone she loved. She realized that we are all bound together on this fragile planet. When she came back to earth, she knew she had to share this vision to help protect it. Stott knows the scale of the daunting task at hand-and yet, she believes we can set aside our differences and work together to tackle the most challenging planetary problems humanity has ever faced. She knows this, because she's seen it happen, on the International Space Station. Throughout her book, Stott imparts hard-won lessons in high-stakes problem solving, survival, and responding to crisis in space. On a space station, astronauts can't wait for someone else to handle a rescue; and when it comes to our earthbound problems, Stott learned that everyone should live like a crewmember, not like a passenger. In space, where everyone survives in a closed system, everything is local-and Stott discovered that in a profound way, the same is true back at home. Back to Earth distills these lessons and more into seven principles that can be practiced by each and every one of us to make much-needed change. In addition to sharing stories from her own spaceflight, Stott offers eye-opening insights from scientists and changemakers already sparking meaningful change in their communities and around the globe. She explores the complexities and splendor of the earth's biodiversity, and what it takes to preserve it, with both pioneering scientists on earth and engineers working to enable life in space. She meets with activists who use their time in space to advocate for clean water, and with executives who quit their corporate positions and use their global reach to become environmental leaders. Through her stirring call to action, Nicole Stott reveals how we each have the power to respect the Earth and one another-and to change our own lives in the process. And, while we're at it, we might just save humanity.
This title, first published in 1987, provides an authoritative account of both the science and the politics of acid rain. Chris Park places the debates surrounding acid rain in context, and examines the full implications of scientific studies and the effects of acid rain on surface waters, soils and buildings. Evidence is drawn from around the world, including an examination of the damage in Scandinavia and Germany and the effects of acid rain in the U.K. and U.S.A. A comprehensive and relevant work, this is an important guide for students of geography, environment and sustainability and energy policy.
First written in 1977, Economics of Natural and Environmental Resources presents a collection of articles written in exploration of the economic, social, and ecological problems peculiar to natural and environmental resources. Whilst focusing on the economic theory of natural resources, the contributions also consider geological, technological, and institutional features of particular resources. Policy implications and considerations are central to the text and although the book was published over thirty years ago, the issues discussed remain relevant to today's society.
The book discusses new algorithms capable of searching for, tracking, mapping and providing a visualization of invisible substances. It reports on the realization of a bacterium-inspired robotic controller that can be used by an agent to search for any environmental spatial function such as temperature or pollution. Using the parameters of a mathematical model, the book shows that it is possible to control the exploration, exploitation and sensitivity of the agent. This feature sets the work apart from the usual method of applying the bacterium behavior to robotic agents. The book also discusses how a computationally tractable multi-agent robotic controller was developed and used to track as well as provide a visual map of a spatio-temporal distribution of a substance. On the one hand, this book provides biologists and ecologists with a basis to perform simulations related to how individual organisms respond to spatio-temporal factors in their environment as well as predict and analyze the behavior of organisms at a population level. On the other hand, it offers robotic engineers practical and fresh insights into the development of computationally tractable algorithms for spatial exploratory and mapping robots. It also allows a more general audience to gain an understanding of the design of computational intelligence algorithms for autonomous physical systems.
Reconstructing Medical Practice examines how doctors see health care and their place in it, why they remain in medicine and why they are limited in their ability to lead change in the current system. Doctors are beset by doubts and feel rejected by systems where they should be leaders - some see their role as 'flog[ging] a derelict system to get the last breath of workability out ... for their patients'. Others simply turn away. Rigorous studies carried out at large public teaching hospitals in Australia found that doctors were reluctant to increase safety in the wider health system, despite making every effort for their 'own' patients. Doctors' self-esteem was found to be delicate due to the uncertain nature of their work; colleagues provide the support doctors need to deliver good care. However, these essential relationships and their cherished connections with patients have disadvantages: reducing doctors' ability to admit to error. On top of this, senior doctors predict a future bereft of professional values - one where medicine is 'just a job'. While the loss of professional identity introduces new risks for patients and doctors, the repercussions of the more self-serving attitudes of younger doctors are unknown. Reconstructing Medical Practice concludes that regulation, despite its recent proliferation, is a clumsy and limited approach to ensuring good care. It presents original and much-needed ideas for ways to rebuild the critical relationship between doctors and the system. By better valuing communicative interactions and workplace relationships, safe and satisfying medical practice can be reconstructed.
A Shadowy backlash against environmentalists has begun to emerge in America, the most visible element of which calls itself the "Wise Use" movement. Among its stated goals are the unregulated use of timber, oil, gas, minerals, and range land, and the abolition of all environmental laws and agencies. In this first in depth investigation of the "Wise Use" backlash, author David Helvarg visits rallies, conferences, and confrontations that are the fronts in its war against the greens. Helvarg shows the dimensions of this struggle as it is being waged in the courts; in the media, through popular mouthpieces like Rush Limbaugh and sympathetic coverage in influential newspapers such as the New York Times; in the heretical claims of the movement's "counterscience"; and in the growing number of physical confrontations and threats used against environmental activists. Helvarg also documents the failure of the FBI to prevent such violence.
Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology publishes authoritative reviews on the occurrence, effects, and fate of pesticide residues and other environmental contaminants. It will keep you informed of the latest significant issues by providing in-depth information in the areas of analytical chemistry, agricultural microbiology, biochemistry, human and veterinary medicine, toxicology, and food technology.
Biofuels and Rural Poverty makes an original contribution to the current controversial global debate on biofuels, in particular the consequences that large-scale production of transport fuel substitutes can have on rural areas, principally in developing countries but also in some poor rural areas of developed countries. Three key concerns are examined from a North-South perspective: ecological issues (related to land use and biodiversity), pro-poor policies (related to food and land security, gender and income generation) and equity of benefits within the global value chain. Can biofuels be pro-poor? Can smallholder farmers be equitably integrated in the biofuels global supply chain? Is the biofuels production chain detrimental to biodiversity? Most other books available on biofuels take a technical approach and are aimed at addressing energy security or climate change issues. This title focuses on the socio-economic impacts on rural people's livelihoods, offering a unique perspective on the potential role of biofuels in reducing rural poverty.
Resilience and Urban Risk Management presents the latest progress made in designing resilient towns, and identifies leads to be explored for attaining the objective of systematically integrating risks into urban environments The aim of the book is to provide guidance in designing and planning future cities, and to create a new form of risk management that does not ignore what already exists, but integrates it in the same way as if it were new. Resilience and Urban Risk Management is of interest to academics, architects, town planners and engineers concerned with the relationship between urban projects and the various aspects of the urban resilience concept via concrete applications and methodological or historical reflections. Damien SERRE, HDR, Professor Assistant at the Paris-Est University, EIVP, in charge of the "urban resilience" research section. The final objective of his research is to formalize knowledge useful for decision-making and helping in designing towns that are resilient when facing risks. His research is trans-disciplinary and in service of the city. Bruno BARROCA, Architect and Professor Assistant in Urban Engineering at the Paris-Est University, a member of the urban engineering team of the LEESU laboratory (Water, Environment and Urban Systems Laboratory). His research establishes links between geography, town planning and regional development. Applications cover assessment of urban vulnerability and integration of resilience objectives in urban projects located on territories subject to natural and technological risks. Richard LAGANIER, Professor in Geography at the Universite Paris 7 Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cite, the PRODIG laboratory (Centre of Research for Organization and Distribution of Geographical Information). His research activities cover the study of relationships between risks linked with water and territories and analysis of the conditions needed for developing resilience. He is the author/co-author of a large number of works on hydrological extremes and their management.
Fatigue is a recognized problem in many facets of the human enterprise. It is not confined to any one area of activity but enters all situations in which humans have to perform for extended intervals of time. Most problematic are the circumstances in which obligatory action is continuous and the results of failure are evidently serious or even catastrophic. Therefore, the modern media especially highlights fatigue-related failures in industries such as transportation, materials processing and healthcare. It can be, and indeed is, no coincidence that most of the spectacular failures in process control that have resulted in the world's largest industrial accidents have occurred in the small hours of the morning when the circadian rhythm is lowest and operator fatigue itself peaks. While there have been legislative efforts made at state, federal and international levels to regulate working hours of employees, the appropriate implementation of such legislation is still a long way off. The Handbook of Operator Fatigue provides a comprehensive account of the subject to serve as the definitive reference work for researchers, students and practitioners alike. The volume features 30 chapters written by experts from around the world to address each important facet of fatigue, including: the scale of the fatigue problem (Section I), the nature of fatigue (Section II), how to assess fatigue (Section III), the impact of fatigue on health (Section IV), fatigue in the workplace (Section V), the neurological basis of fatigue (VI), sleep disorders (VII), and the design of countermeasures to fatigue (VIII).
Over five decades of economic and technical assistance to the countries of Africa and the Middle East have failed to improve the life prospects for over 1.4 billion people who remain vulnerable. Billions of dollars have been spent on such assistance and yet little progress has been made. Persistent hunger and hopelessness threaten more than individuals and families. These conditions foster political alienation that can easily metastasize into hostility and aggression. Recent uprisings in the Middle East are emblematic of this problem. Vulnerable people give rise to vulnerable states. This book challenges the dominant catechism of development assistance by arguing that the focus on economic growth (and fighting poverty) has failed to bring about the promised "convergence." Poor people and poor countries have clearly not closed the gap on the rich industrialized world. Pursuing convergence has been a failure. Here we argue that development assistance must be reconstituted to focus on creating economic coherence. People are vulnerable because the economies in which they are embedded do not cohere. The absence of economic coherence means that economic processes do not work as they must if individual initiative is to result in improved livelihoods. Weak and vulnerable states must be strengthened so that they can become partners in the process of creating economic coherence. When economies do not cohere, countries become breeding grounds for localized civil conflicts that often spill across national borders.
As society has become increasingly concerned with the protection and preservation of the environment, many industries have been pushed to comply with new policies and social demands for more environmentally-friendly and sustainable practices and products. However, the textile dyeing industry remains a significant source of complex environmental issues with legislative requirements that often vary in detail and severity concerning the exposure and hazards of potentially harmful chemicals and other associated materials. It is vital that the industry sector involved in the application of dyes continues to be sensitive to potential adverse effects on the environment in its widest sense and respond accordingly. Impact of Textile Dyes on Public Health and the Environment is an essential reference source that focuses on the environmental impact and social responsibility of the dyeing industry. While highlighting topics such as toxicology, bleaching, and greenhouse gases, this publication is ideally designed for chemists, industrialists, non-governmental organization members, environmentalists, fashion designers, clothes manufacturers, scientists, academicians, researchers, students, and practitioners seeking current research on dyeing's potentially adverse effects on the environment and strategic, effective responses.
On June 28 through July 1 of 2006, a NATO Advanced Research Workshop was held in Kyiv, Ukraine. This workshop brought the top researchers in Fuzzy GIS together, both from NATO countries as well as partner countries. The workshop focused on how uncertainty and fuzziness can be better modelled and implemented in Geographic Information Science to help decision makers make more informed choices, especially as they pertain to environmental security and protection.
Since the inception of the United Nations Global Compact-sponsored initiative Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) in 2007, there has been increased debate over how to adapt management education to best meet the demands of the 21st-century business environment. While consensus has been reached by the majority of globally focused management education institutions that sustainability must be incorporated into management education curricula, the relevant question is no longer why management education should change, but how.
This fact-filled resource helps readers understand the issues surrounding wilderness, preservation, and conservation. Here, in a single, unbiased volume, can be found the views and opinions that will shape America's landscape for future generations. Government management of the public domain is detailed, as is federal legislation pertaining to the environment and wilderness areas. Biographical sketches of individuals who have influenced modern attitudes toward preservation and a detailed chronology of the events that have brought us to the present are also provided. In addition, annotated listings of organizations and resources are included to assist readers in further study. Wilderness Preservation delivers solid, useful information that will serve as a foundation for decision-making, research, or simply enhanced understanding of this critical subject. Includes biographical sketches of individuals who have influenced modern attitudes toward preservation Contains a detailed chronology of the events that have brought us the present
Writer and Antarctic explorer Neider tells of his third trip to the frozen continent, describing the international stations there and the goals they are working toward. Neider also tours the Antarctic landscape, observing the geography and wildlife and evoking it in detail. Devoting scrutiny to the international treaties that protect the continent politically and environmentally, Neider reveals how important those treaties are. Also included in this work are interviews with Antarctic pioneers Sir Charles Wright, Sir Vivian Fuchs, and Laurence Gould.
International maritime transport is the backbone of the world
globalized economy. It is a significant contributor to global CO2
emissions but also likely to be affected by wide-ranging and
potentially devastating climate change impacts associated with
rising sea levels and increased frequency/intensity of extreme
weather events. |
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