Using the principle that extracting energy from the environment always involves some type of impact on the environment, "The Future of Energy "discusses the sources, technologies, and tradeoffs involved in meeting the world's energy needs. A historical, scientific, and technical background set the stage for discussions on a wide range of energy sources, including conventional fossil fuels like oil, gas, and coal, as well as emerging renewable sources like solar, wind, geothermal, and biofuels. Readers will learn that there are no truly "green" energy sources all energy usage involves some tradeoffs and will understand these tradeoffs and other issues involved in using each energy source.
Each potential energy source includes discussions of tradeoffs in economics, environmental, and policy implicationsExamples and cases of implementing each technology are included throughout the bookTechnical discussions are supported with equations, graphs, and tablesIncludes discussions of carbon capture and sequestration as emerging technologies to manage carbon dioxide emissions"

Is the earth's oil supply starting to run out, or is there far more oil than some experts believe? This book points out flaws in the research used to warn of an oil shortfall and predicts that large new reserves of oil are soon to be tapped. In the last decade, oil experts, geologists, and policy makers alike have warned that a peak in oil production around the world was about to be reached and that global economic distress would result when this occurred. But it didn't happen. The "Peak Oil" Scare and the Coming Oil Flood refutes the recent claims that world oil production is nearing a peak and threatening economic disaster by analyzing the methods used by the theory's proponents. Author Michael C. Lynch, former researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), debunks the "Peak Oil" crisis prediction and describes how the next few years will instead see large amounts of new supply that will bring oil prices down and boost the global economy. This book will be invaluable to those involved in the energy industry, including among those fields that are competing with oil, as well as financial institutions for which the price of oil is of critical importance. Lynch uncovers the facts behind the misleading news stories and media coverage on oil production as well as the analytic process that reveals the truth about the global oil supply. General readers will be dismayed to learn how governments have frequently been led astray by seeming logical theories that prove to have no sound basis and will come away with a healthy sense of skepticism about popular economics.

Sustainability is becoming an increasingly urgent factor in all areas of life, and its effect on contemporary economies can be vast. Sustainable development can truly propel modern economies forward, and it is important to study the impacts of such progress. Measuring Sustainable Development and Green Investments in Contemporary Economies provides an authoritative look at how green investments are shaping global economies. Highlighting emerging topics such as socio-economic systems, green performance strategies, forest ecosystems, and food security, this is a detailed reference resource for all practitioners, academicians, graduate students, and researchers interested in discovering more about the impact of sustainable development on modern economies.

Alongside increasing demands for transparency and accountability, business governance is transforming due to decades of economic turmoil, regulatory reform, and technological change. There is now a holistic approach to this concept, as it is no longer just about running companies and organization efficiently. Ethics and Decision-Making for Sustainable Business Practices is a critical scholarly resource that examines issues of sustainability, ethics, governance, and cultural influence in the business world. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as entrepreneurship, cost management, environmental business, and cultural diversity, this book is geared towards managers, leaders, researchers, and organizations interested in the integration of sustainable business practices.

Vertical flow constructed wetlands for wastewater and sludge treatment represent a relatively new and still growing technology. "Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands" is the first book to present the state-of-the-art knowledge regarding vertical flow constructed wetlands theory and applications. In this book, you will learn about vertical flow systems with information about application and performance. "Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands" also includes information on how different countries are applying the technology, with design guidelines to illustrate best practices worldwide. A focus on water conservation through reuse of treated water showcases the benefit of vertical flow construction, which has greatly increased the attractiveness of the technology in recent years.
All state-of-the-art knowledge regarding vertical flow constructed wetlands gathered in one bookA review of various constructed wetland approaches, including information about applications and performance, helps clarify what is currently known about constructed wetland principles and designDiscussion of how to manage the treated wastewater leaving the vertical flow for increasing biodiversity, providing food and habitat for birds, and producing harvestable biomass or cropsIncludes case studies of constructed wetlands in developing countries

"Natural Resources in Afghanistan: Geographic and Geologic Perspectives on Centuries of Conflict" details Afghanistan's physical geography - namely climate, soils, vegetation, water, hazards, and basic geologic background and terrain landforms - together with details of its rich natural resources, ethnic problems, and relevant past histories. The book couples these details with the challenges of environmental degradation and new environmental management and protection, all of which are considered finally in both pessimistic and optimistic modes. The reader comes away with a nuanced understanding of the issues that are likely to have great affect for this pivotal region of the world for decades to come.

With an estimated $1-3 trillion dollars of ore in the ground, and multiple cross-reinforcing cancellations of big Asian power machinations (China, India, Iran, Pakistan), Afghanistan has an opportunity to gain more economic independence. At the same time, however, historic forces of negativity also pull it back toward the chaos and uncertainty that has defined the country and constrained its economic progress for decades.
Authored by the world s foremost expert on the geology and geomorphology of Afghanistan and its lucrative natural resourcesAids in the understanding of the physical environment, natural hazards, climate-change situations, and natural resources in one of the most geographically diverse and dangerous terrains in the worldProvides new concepts of resource-corridor development in a country with no indigenous expertise of its resources
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"This fascinating and most timely critical medical anthropology study successfully binds two still emergent areas of contemporary anthropological research in the global world: the nature and significant impact of multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers on human social life everywhere, and the contribution of corporations to the fast-paced degradation of our life support system, planet Earth. . . . Focusing on a pharmaceutically-impacted town on the colonized island of Puerto Rico, Dietrich ably demonstrates the value of ethnography carried out in small places in framing the large issues facing humanity." -Merrill Singer, University of Connecticut The production of pharmaceuticals is among the most profitable industries on the planet. Drug companies produce chemical substances that can save, extend, or substantially improve the quality of human life.However, even as the companies present themselves publicly as health and environmental stewards, their factories are a significant source of air and water pollution--toxic to people and the environment. In Puerto Rico, the pharmaceutical industry is the backbone of the island's economy: in one small town alone, there are over a dozen drug factories representing five multinationals, the highest concentration per capita of such factories in the world. It is a place where the enforcement of environmental regulations and the public trust they ensure are often violated in the name of economic development. The Drug Company Next Door unites the concerns of critical medical anthropology with those of political ecology, investigating the multi-faceted role of pharmaceutical corporations as polluters, economic providers, and social actors. Rather than simply demonizing the drug companies, the volume explores the dynamics involved in their interactions with the local community and discusses the strategies used by both individuals and community groups to deal with the consequences of pollution. The Drug Company Next Door puts a human face on a growing set of problems for communities around the world. Accessible and engaging, the book encourages readers to think critically about the role of corporations in everyday life, health, and culture.

The new green industrial revolution is driven by a variety of global environmental concerns. In some regions, it is spurred by the scarcity of cheap affordable renewable energy that will also lead to a reduced reliance on fossil fuel in the production of power. In others, it is driven by a need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power generation. This book provides a comprehensive review of the most popular green "disruptive" technologies in energy production as well as their economic impact. In addition, the book includes a multitude of international case studies where these technologies are currently deployed and their economic impact on the region.

Consisting of presented papers from the 15th International Conference on Urban Regeneration and Sustainability, the included works address various aspects of the urban environment and provide solutions leading towards sustainability. Urban areas result in a series of environmental challenges varying from the consumption of natural resources and the subsequent generation of waste and pollution, contributing to the development of social and economic imbalances. As cities continue to grow all over the world, these problems tend to become more acute and require the development of new solutions. The challenge of planning sustainable contemporary cities lies in considering the dynamics of urban systems, exchange of energy and matter, and the function and maintenance of ordered structures directly or indirectly supplied and maintained by natural systems. The task of researchers is to improve the capacity to manage human activities, pursuing welfare and prosperity in the urban environment. Any investigation or planning on a city ought to consider the relationships between the parts and their connections with the living world. The dynamics of its networks (flows of energy matter, people, goods, information and other resources) are fundamental for an understanding of the evolving nature of today’s cities. Large cities represent a fertile ground for architects, engineers, city planners, social and political scientists, and other professionals able to conceive new ideas and time them according to technological advances and human requirements. Coastal areas and coastal cities are an important area covered in this volume as they have some specific features. Their strategic location facilitates transportation and the development of related activities, but this requires the existence of large ports, with the corresponding increase in maritime and road traffic and all its inherent negative effects. This requires the development of well-planned and managed urban environments, not only for reasons of efficiency and economics but also to avoid inflicting environmental degradation that causes the deterioration of natural resources, quality of life and human health. These research papers put a focus on sustainability across the multidisciplinary components of urban planning, the challenges presented by the increasing size of cities, the number of resources required and the complexity of modern society.

Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have transformed the Earth's atmosphere, committing our planet to more extreme weather, rising sea levels, melting polar ice caps, and mass extinction. This period of observable human impact on the Earth's ecosystems has been called the Anthropocene Age. The anthropogenic climate change that has impacted the Earth has also affected our literature, but criticism of the contemporary novel has not adequately recognized the literary response to this level of environmental crisis. Ecocriticism's theories of place and planet, meanwhile, are troubled by a climate that is neither natural nor under human control. Anthropocene Fictions is the first systematic examination of the hundreds of novels that have been written about anthropogenic climate change. Drawing on climatology, the sociology and philosophy of science, geography, and environmental economics, Adam Trexler argues that the novel has become an essential tool to construct meaning in an age of climate change. The novel expands the reach of climate science beyond the laboratory or model, turning abstract predictions into subjectively tangible experiences of place, identity, and culture. Political and economic organizations are also being transformed by their struggle for sustainability. In turn, the novel has been forced to adapt to new boundaries between truth and fabrication, nature and economies, and individual choice and larger systems of natural phenomena. Anthropocene Fictions argues that new modes of inhabiting climate are of the utmost critical and political importance, when unprecedented scientific consensus has failed to lead to action.