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Environmental Protection and Sustainable Ecological Development: Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on Environmental Protection and Sustainable Ecological Development (EPSED 2014), Wuhan, Hubei, China, October 24-26, 2014
by Jiaxing ZhangThis volume contains the papers presented at the 2014 International Conference on Environmental Protection and Sustainable Ecological Development (EPSED2014). The contributions cover the latest research results and explore new areas of research and development, like Earth Science, Resource Management, Environmental Protection, and Sustainable
Environmental Protection and the Social Responsibility of Firms: "Perspectives from Law, Economics, and Business"
by Bruce L. Hay Robert N. Stavins Richard H. VietorEveryone agrees that firms should obey the law. But beyond what the law requires-beyond bare compliance with regulations-do firms have additional social responsibilities to commit resources voluntarily to environmental protection? How should we think about firms sacrificing profits in the social interest? Are they permitted to do so, given their fiduciary responsibilities to their shareholders? Even if permissible, is the practice sustainable, or will the competitive marketplace render such efforts and their impacts transient at best? Furthermore, is the practice, however well intended, an efficient use of social and economic resources? And, as an empirical matter, to what extent do firms already behave this way? Until now, public discussion has generated more heat than light on both the normative and positive questions surrounding corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the environmental realm. In Environmental Protection and the Social Responsibility of Firms, some of the nation?s leading scholars in law, economics, and business examine commonly accepted assumptions at the heart of current debates on corporate social responsibility and provide a foundation for future research and policymaking.
Environmental Protection Strategies for Sustainable Development
by Elisabeth Grohmann Abdul MalikThe environment of our planet is degrading at an alarming rate because of non-sustainable urbanization, industrialization and agriculture. Unsustainable trends in relation to climate change and energy use, threats to public health, poverty and social exclusion, demographic pressure and ageing, management of natural resources, biodiversity loss, land use and transport still persist and new challenges are arising. Since these negative trends bring about a sense of urgency, short term action is required, whilst maintaining a longer term perspective. The main challenge is to gradually change our current unsustainable consumption and production patterns and the nonintegrated approach to policy-making. This book covers the broad area including potential of rhizospheric microorganisms in the sustainable plant development in anthropogenic polluted soils, bioremediation of pesticides from soil and waste water, toxic metals from soil, biological treatment of pulp and paper industry wastewater, sustainable solutions for agro processing waste management, solid waste management on climate change and human health, environmental impact of dyes and its remediation. Various methods for genotoxicity testing of environmental pollutants are also discussed and chapters on molecular detection of resistance and transfer genes in the environmental samples, biofilm formation by the environmental bacteria, biochemical attributes to assess soil ecosystem sustainability, application of rhizobacteria in biotechnology, role of peroxidases as a tool for the decolorization and removal of dyes and potential of biopesticides in sustainable agriculture. It offers a unique treatment of the subject, linking various protection strategies for sustainable development, describing the inter-relationships between the laboratory and field eco-toxicologist, the biotechnology consultant, environmental engineers and different international environmental regulatory and protection agencies.
Environmental Public Interest Litigation in China
by Xi Wang Xiaobo Zhao Noeleen McNamaraThis book offers readers an accessible and broad-ranging guide to Environmental Public Interest Litigation (EPIL), which has burgeoned in China over the past decade. The aim of this book is to provide a systematic review of Chinese experiences with EPIL in environmental matters, both with a view to gauging its success to date and well as discussing some more critical aspects. To this end, the book systematically examines the establishment and development of EPIL in China's legal, social, and political contexts. It examines particularly the significant role and functions of EPIL in China's environmental governance, and the far-reaching impacts on Chinese civil society and governments. It also offers readers an insiders' perspective in terms of procedural and substantive issues with respect to EPIL, by reviewing the institutional designs, theoretical underpinnings and specific mechanisms, the roles of various participants and stakeholders involved in this legal process. At the same time, it studies leading EPIL cases raised from environmental pollution, natural resource damage and ecological damage, and the effectiveness of environmental adjudication that sustains EPIL as a new form of judicial instrument. This book is written to remedy the gap between Chinese and English literature in this area of law. The analysis of these issues, through a historic and comparative perspective, reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the current legal regime and serves as a basis for recommendations for bringing about more effective EPIL in China.
Environmental Public Policy Making Exposed: A Guide for Decision Makers and Interested Citizens (Risk, Systems and Decisions)
by Cynthia H. Stahl Alan J. CimorelliThis book exposes the barriers to inclusive and effective public policy making, which are the current decision making paradigm and commonly held ideas that reduce public policy problems to scientific and technical ones. Through both environmental policy and other decision making examples, readers are shown the commonalities of all decision making. Solution-oriented practitioners and stakeholders will find this book filling a conceptual and methodological gap in existing policy literature and practice. The authors deftly guide readers from post-normal science, wicked problems, and uncertainty concepts to a conceptually-grounded, practical implementation of a new approach, the open solution approach. The Multi-criteria Integrated Resource Assessment (MIRA) is described as the first generation methodology that fulfills the expectations for the inclusive, transparent, and learning-based open solutions approach. MIRA is a holistic package of concepts, methods and analytical tools that is designed to assess Decision Uncertainty, the combined uncertainties that include data, problem formulation, expert judgments, and stakeholder opinions. Introduction of the Requisite Steps, the common steps found in all decision making, provides the yardstick for evaluating a variety of decision making processes, decision tools, and commonly found indices such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the Newsweek Green Ranking of corporations. The use of anecdotes, policy stories, and case examples makes this a very readable and practical book for citizens and experts. With this book, readers are prepared to critically evaluate these common indices for their personal use as well as challenge policy processes as a stakeholder. For policy practitioners, this guidebook will become a rubric to ensure an effective public policy making process and to critically evaluate decision support tools.
Environmental Radon: A Tracer for Hydrological Studies (Environmental Science and Engineering)
by Sukanya S. Sabu JosephThis book presents state-of-the-art techniques on radon (222Rn) in the environment, including measurement techniques in air, soil and water and its potential applications to various hydrological investigations, especially for water resources development and management. The future directions of its use are also discussed.As a radon tracer can be used to solve hydrological issues, the highlights of this book are useful for stakeholders to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 6, which addresses the sustainability of water resources. The most relevant target audiences are hydrologists, hydrogeologists, geologists, environmental scientists, nuclear physicists, hydraulic engineers and academicians, among others. This book also covers health implications of radon and mitigation strategies, thus creating a valuable resource for health physicists working on environmental radiation safety as well.
Environmental Regulations and Industrial Competitiveness: Case Studies of Toxic Industries in Southern California (Environment & Policy #62)
by Ward Thomas Paul OngWhile polluting industries in the U.S. continue to emit billions of pounds of toxic chemicals into the air, land and water every year, many economists and policy makers argue that environmental regulations stifle economic growth and reduce the standard of living for the American people. This book takes a fresh look at this question through three case studies of highly regulated polluting industries in the Southern California region: metal finishing, wood furniture, and dry cleaning. The case studies are based on a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, including in-depth interviews with corporate managers and environmental regulators. The authors find that there is no universal pattern for predicting the effects of environmental regulations on industrial competitiveness, but that the outcomes depend on the structure of the industry being regulated, the design of the regulations, and the technologies that are available for compliance. The book is written in straight forward language that is accessible to the non-economist and will prove an essential resource for academics and students of all levels, and professionals and policy makers in the fields of environmental policy and regional economic development.
Environmental Remediation Technologies for Metal-Contaminated Soils
by Hiroshi Hasegawa Ismail Md. Mofizur Rahman Mohammad Azizur RahmanThis book presents a comprehensive and detailed description of remediation techniques for metal-contaminated soils derived from both natural processes and anthropogenic activities. Using a methodical, step-by-step presentation, the book starts by overviewing the origin of toxicants and the correlated comparative extent of contamination to the environment. The legal provisions as proposed or applied in different countries are then discussed to explain the global regulatory situation regarding soil contamination and the extent of consequent concern. The core part of this publication describes the major techniques for in situ or ex situ treatment of the contaminated soil to meet the regulatory limits. Finally, risk evaluation is incorporated, giving special attention to possible impacts during or after implementation of the remediation strategies. The intrusion of metals in soils mostly occurs from various anthropogenic activities, e. g. , agricultural practices, industrial activities, and municipal waste disposal. The volumes of metal-contaminated soil are becoming greater than before and are ever-increasing due to rapid urbanization, intensified industrialization, and/or population booms in certain parts of the world. Hence, the options previously proposed, such as isolation of the contaminated site or movement of the contaminated mass to a secure disposal site after excavation, are becoming unsuitable from the economic point of view, and instead, decontamination alternatives are preferred. This book will help readers such as scientists and regulators to understand the details of the remediation techniques available to deal with the soils contaminated by toxic metals.
Environmental Remediation Through Carbon Based Nano Composites (Green Energy and Technology)
by Mohammad Jawaid Norli Ismail Akil Ahmad Mohd RafatullahThis book examines carbon-based nanocomposite materials and their application in various environmental fields, such as wastewater treatment, and air and soil remediation. Featuring illustrations, and tables summarizing the latest research, it gathers up-to-date information on the application of carbon nanocomposites in the removal of environmental pollutants from different sources. Given its scope, the book is a valuable textbook for research students, and a useful handbook and reference resource for researchers, academics and industrial scientists working in the field of environmental pollutants and their safe removal.
Environmental Remote Sensing and GIS in Iraq (Springer Water)
by Ayad M. Fadhil Al-Quraishi Abdelazim M. NegmThis unique book focuses on remote sensing (RS) and geographical information systems (GIS) in Iraq. The environmental applications include monitoring and mapping soil salinity and prediction of soil properties, monitoring and mapping of land threats, proximal sensing for soil monitoring and soil fertility, spatiotemporal land use/cover, agricultural drought monitoring, hydrological applications including spatial rainfall distribution, surface runoff and drought control, geo-morphometric analysis and flood simulation, hydrologic and hydraulic modelling and the effective management of water resources. Also, this book assesses the impacts of climate change on natural resources using both RS and GIS, as well as other applications, covering different parts of Iraq. The book chapters include tens of maps extracted from the remotely sensed datasets, in addition to tables and statistical relations obtained from the results of the studies of the chapters' authors. These studies have been conducted in different parts of Iraq; in the north (Kurdistan region) with its mountainous and undulating lands, in western parts which have desert soils, and in central and southern Iraq where there are salty soils, dunes, wetlands, and marshes.The book is written by distinguished scientists from Iraq, China, USA, Italy, Iran, Germany, and the Czech Republic who are interested in the Iraqi environment. The book is therefore a useful source of information and knowledge on Iraqi environment for graduate students, researchers, policy planners, and stakeholders in Iraq as well as similar regions.
Environmental Remote Sensing and GIS in Tunisia (Springer Water)
by Abdelazim M. Negm Faiza Khebour AlloucheThis book focuses on monitoring and assessing various environmental processes in Tunisia using state-of-the-art remote sensing and GIS technologies. In addition to addressing the diversity of Tunisian landscapes and providing spatial analysis of natural, cultivated and urbanized environments. It presents and discusses several case studies on integrated RS / GIS approaches for mapping, modeling, monitoring and evaluation. Moreover, in this volume authored by experts in the topic from Tunisia and other countries, authors assess the agro-environmental applications from Tunisia and offer different methods and applications to environmental processes and risks including drought, degradation, flood, planning, Yield estimation, dust storm detection, dry land vulnerability, wetland dynamics and others. The material presented here will help decision-makers plan sustainable landscape and agricultural management policies that preserve biodiversity and contribute to achieving sustainability goals and for researchers, it will expose methodological approaches used in different fields of research. Graduate students and Practionioner engineers working in the field of RS/GIS will also benefit from the book. The book ends with a set of conclusions and recommendations to support researchers underscoring the need for further research in this area.
Environmental Remote Sensing and Systems Analysis
by Ni-Bin ChangUsing a systems analysis approach and extensive case studies, Environmental Remote Sensing and Systems Analysis shows how remote sensing can be used to support environmental decision making. It presents a multidisciplinary framework and the latest remote sensing tools to understand environmental impacts, management complexity, and policy implicatio
Environmental Remote Sensing in Egypt (Springer Geophysics)
by Abdelazim M. Negm Salwa F. Elbeih Andrey KostianoyThis book presents a comprehensive selection of applications employed in environmental remote sensing using optical and thermal infrared satellite-sensors aiming to map natural resources, crops, groundwater, surface water, aquatic ecosystem, land degradation, air quality, renewable energy, regional resources, and climate-related geophysical processes. The technologies presented in this book also include satellite images, space-borne radar sensors focusing on the most versatile one, data from synthetic aperture radar (SAR), scatterometers and radar altimeters in Egypt. This volume also presents a thorough explanation of the remote sensing role showing physical fundamentals of the climate change phenomenon including gas emissions, and the impact on resources concerning the sustainable development of Egypt. Besides, the book includes an analysis of oil pollution in both Mediterranean and Red Seas This book is intended for environmental policymakers working in Egypt as well as scientists working with remote sensing technologies in highly populated arid regions.
Environmental Remote Sensing in Flooding Areas: A Case Study of Ayutthaya, Thailand
by Chunxiang Cao Min Xu Patcharin Kamsing Sornkitja Boonprong Peera Yomwan Apitach SaokarnThis book introduces flood inundation area and flood risks assessment based on a comprehensive monitoring system using remote sensing and geographic information system technologies. Taking the 2011 flood disaster of Ayutthaya in Thailand as an example, it presents a flood intrusion zone identification method based on remote sensing technology, spatial information technology and geographic information system for flood disaster monitoring and early warning system. It introduces the study area and data, vegetation index, improved support vector machine and flood intrusion zone identification method. It also analyzes the flood remote sensing parameters and waterborne diseases, method of risk assessment of waterborne disease outbreak, waterborne disease outbreak risk monitoring based on backpropagation neural network and its expert system. It not only promotes a new interdisciplinary approach both in public health and space information technology, but also greatly supports decision makers in disaster reduction.
Environmental Resilience: Food and the City—Zimbabwe (Advances in 21st Century Human Settlements)
by Percy Toriro Innocent ChirisaThis book discusses the production, distribution, regulatory and management frameworks that affect food in urban settings. It plugs a gap in knowledge especially in the sub-Saharan Africa region where food, despite its critical importance, has been ignored as a ‘determinant of success’ in the planning and management of cities and towns. The various chapters in the book demonstrate how urban populations in Zimbabwe and elsewhere have often devised ways to produce own food to supplement on their incomes. Food is produced largely by way of urban agriculture or imported from the countryside and sold in both formal and informal stores and stalls. The book shows how in spite of the important space food occupies in the lives of all city residents, the planning and regulatory framework does not facilitate the better performance of food systems.
Environmental Resilience in the Pandemic Years 2020–2021: COVID-19 and Environmental Ecosystem (Environmental Science and Engineering)
by Darren Jones Ahmed Jalal Khan ChowdhuryThis book focuses on the indirect effects on environmental resilience. The COVID-19 epidemic and the 2020 global pandemic have had an unprecedented public health impact. These included not only economic impacts but also social activities, and environmental and ecological impacts. This study examined the fact that net effects were positive, for example, in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, oil and gas exploration activities, and reductions in pollution. The most notable and most positive environmental impact of COVID-19 is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation sources. Air and road transport cause a huge portion of the pollution from closures and outages. Restrictions on economic and social mobility have had positive impacts, with reductions in transport and trade contributing significantly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By increasing their scale, endangered ecosystems benefit from improved environmental quality. To better understand how the environment is maintained, we summarize the evolution of COVID-19 and subsequent pandemics. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unexpected and lasting impact on the environment. At the same time, ecological hotspots where human activity is commonly prevalent benefit from improved environmental quality, allowing wildlife and other life forms to thrive. For this reason, we can conclude that the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent pandemic were beneficial to environmental stewardship.
Environmental Resource Management and the Nexus Approach
by Hiroshan Hettiarachchi Reza ArdakanianThis book elaborates how water, soil, and waste may be managed in a nexus and how this approach may help combat global change. In addition to providing a brief account on nexus thinking and how it may help us tackle issues important to the world community such as food security, the book presents the environmental resource perspective of three main aspects of global change: climate change, urbanization, and population growth. Taking as its point of departure the thematic discussions of the Dresden Nexus Conference (DNC 2015) held in March 2015, the book presents the perspectives of a number of thought leaders on how the nexus approach could contribute to sustainable environmental resource management. Thefirst chapter provides an introduction to the issues and consent of the book. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on climate change adaptation. Chapters 4 and 5 discussthe role of urbanization as a main driver of global change. The last twochapters of the book present ideas on how the nexus approach may be used tocope with population growth and increased demand for resources.
Environmental Resources
by A.S. Mather K. ChapmanEnvironmental Resources provides a comprehensive text for undergraduate resource management courses. It begins with an introduction to natural and environmental resources and then considers them in the context of politics, time and space.
Environmental Restoration: Proceedings of F-EIR Conference 2021 (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering #232)
by Deepankar Kumar Ashish Jorge De BritoThis book gathers peer-reviewed contributions presented at the F-EIR Conference 2021, Environment Concerns and its Remediation, held in Chandigarh, India, on October 18-22, 2021. The respective papers focus on environmental monitoring and remediation, and cover topics such as efficiency in the use of energy, water, resources and human capital, waste minimization & management, durability and sustainability of building materials, green technologies, environmental sustainability and resilience, renewable energy, prevention and management of water pollution, life cycle assessment, and climate change. Accordingly, the book offers a valuable, up-to-date tool and essential overview of the subject for scientists and practitioners alike, and will inspire further investigations and research.
Environmental Risk Analysis: Probability Distribution Calculations
by Louis TheodoreA Training Tool for the Environmental Risk ProfessionalEnvironmental Risk Analysis: Probability Distribution Calculations defines the role that probability distributions play in risk analysis, and gives direction on how to measure and compare the magnitude of risk more efficiently. Designed for the practicing environmental engineer and scientist, t
Environmental Risk Analysis for Asian-Oriented, Risk-Based Watershed Management: Japan And Malaysia
by Mazlin Mokhtar Minoru YonedaThis publication is a practical guidebook on environmental risk assessment, especially for watershed-scale management. It highlights case studies of watershed environmental risk in Malaysia, including the potential health risks as well as screening methods and management in practice. In order to apply environmental risk assessment methods for the management of toxic chemicals, it is necessary to consider the geological and climate features of each country as well as their cultural characteristics. Focusing on Malaysia as a representative country, the book also discusses studies in other Asian countries. The insights provided can be applied to advanced and developing countries alike. A suitable textbook for graduate students, it is also a valuable reference source for researchers, practitioners and policymakers.
Environmental Risk and Resilience in the Changing World: Integrated Geospatial AI and Multidimensional Approach (GIScience and Geo-environmental Modelling)
by Swapan Talukdar Atiqur Rahman Somnath Bera G. V. Ramana Atish PrasharThis book provides huge knowledge and data in the fields of geospatial sciences, earth environmental sciences, humanities, and social sciences, which target a diverse range of readers, such as academics, scientists, students, environmentalists, meteorologists, urban planners, remote sensing, and GIS experts. Earth environment (ecological envelope of geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and cryosphere) faces a significant challenge from different risks and threats due to due to rapid changes in global land use, population increase and pollution. They might drastically impair the ecosystem's ability to maintain long-term service levels while bolstering the economic, social, and environmental pillars of sustainable development. Therefore, risk assessment (RA) has lately become a prominent research topic and a powerful mechanism for enforcing legal activities-related environmental restoration and health improvements to do sustainable development. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) first used the risk assessment approach in 1980, and since then, it has expanded and become standard practice in many areas of ecological research. Some practices are air quality assessment, land degradation assessment, natural hazards risk assessment, urban surface ecological health condition, wetland and forest health assessment and drinking water quality assessment. However, recently risk assessment alone is not sufficient to propose any sustainable management plans. Also, there is no universal strategy for conducting risk assessments, and insufficient expertise with the methodology may result in erroneous findings. Therefore, scientists are increasingly interested in developing resilience strategies with AI and geospatial-based risk assessment to lower environmental risk. Different resilience approaches make different assumptions about the system dynamics involved in resilience-based environmental risk and impact assessment. Therefore, this book seeks to showcase the most current advances in risk and hazards assessment of environments with resilience strategies to mitigate the prevailing environmental issues with the help of remote sensing, GIS, artificial intelligence, and state-of-the-art frameworks like PSR, VIOR, nature-based solutions.
Environmental Risk Communication: Principles and Practices for Industry
by Susan Zummo Forney Anthony J. SadarModern industry faces many communication challenges, including social media. The second edition of this book is thoroughly updated, expanded, and reorganized to help industry communicators remain effective in addressing these challenges. At the core of this book are foundational building blocks that address the human factors responsible for driving success or failure when communicating about environmental risk. Features Provides principled guidance for building relationships and engaging in constructive dialogue with stakeholders. Offers straight talk and practical, easy-to-follow guidance on effective risk communication for various situations, stakeholders, and modes of communication. Gives lessons learned from environmental permitting and crisis situations involving risk communication in various industries, including chemical manufacturing, waste management, and the energy sector. Addresses nuanced, recent concerns regarding issues like fake news and social media bullying. Examines the dos and don’ts of communicating effectively during tough conditions like environmental emergencies. Environmental Risk Communication: Principles and Practices for Industry is intended to be both a grounding in enduring principles and a continued resource for best approaches and techniques. Coupled with tools and best practices from decades of experience, this insider’s guide provides CEOs, plant managers, environmental compliance professionals, health and safety officers, and others with the direction and the confidence needed to prepare for difficult dialogue and high-pressure encounters.
Environmental Risk Communication: Principles and Practices for Industry
by Anthony Sadar Mark ShullA public meeting with angry residents and eager reporters is a common feature on the local news. Whether addressing environmental, or other issues, the experience for the board members, consultants, and specialists at these meetings ranges from uncomfortable to nightmarish. The issues discussed in these meetings usually stem from years of community disappointment, mistrust, fears, factions, political or social positioning, or all of the above. Industry faces a labyrinth of environmental and business regulations, and unique challenges in dealing with the public and the media. Environmental Risk Communication serves as a guide to understanding and complying with the Federal Risk Management Program and applying risk management and communication principles to daily plant operations. This book also helps Risk Management Plan (RMP) facilities successfully meet the new Federal requirements for public disclosure of RMP offsite consequence analysis results and provides techniques for communicating effectively during environmental emergencies.Written in a straight-forward, no-nonsense style the book presents concise informative chapters, flow diagrams, checklists, and a thorough index. The authors present step-by-step instruction on developing a principled plan of action that generates open communications. CEOs, Corporate Communications Specialists, Plant Managers, Environmental Compliance Supervisors, Health and Safety Officers, Environmental Scientists and Engineers, and Consultants will benefit from Environmental Risk Communication.
Environmental Risk Mitigation
by Barbara Weiss Michiyo ObiThis book presents an extensive review of the context and an analysis of the market for clean energy technologies, with batteries as the primary case study. The focus of this book is on clean energy technology and in particular, on renewable energy and portable, mobile, and stationary battery and energy supply. The authors examine how effectively countries with large and advanced economies are building and coaxing the markets needed to effectively mitigate environmental risk. The analysis takes a country-level perspective of some of the largest and most technologically advanced economies in the world including China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States. The authors explore the measures being taken to foster markets that effectively reduce environmental risk, increase its resilience and even its recovery. In the concluding chapter, the authors suggest that while the market for environmental risk mitigation remains nascent, the possibility for its rapid development is high. A number of market coaxing mechanisms to promote its more rapid development are proposed. The book will be of interest to researchers, policy makers, business strategists, and academics in the fields of political science and business management.