Radon: exploring the log-normal mystery

The term “log-normal mysticism” has been coined by Tóth et al. (2006) for the so far unexplained observation that indoor radon concentration data from geographical surveys very often appear to be quite accurately log-normally distributed. In this contribution, I try to verify the statement with the dataset of the Austrian indoor radon survey and data from the ongoing European indoor radon mapping project. It appears that, with some limitations, an approximate log-normality is present for a large scale of spatial ranges. Investigation of the frequency of outliers points to the systematic presence of a “fat tail” in Rn frequency distribution, i.e. of extremes which disturb log-normality. “Local log-normality”, i.e. within a neighbourhood, possibly restricted to geological units, is an important assumption in certain radon mapping approaches.     

悖论下的失落:环境改良主义误区

美国的环境改良主义在人们的环境道德启蒙方面发挥了重要作用．但它在法律改良方面却并未取得预期效果。从法学的角度看。环境改良主义把适用于自然人的代理和监护制度直接适用于自然物是对人与自然物区别及法律本身性质的漠视；把人负有的保护环境的义务解读为自然物拥有权利的佐证不过是一种充满感情色彩的误读。假定自然物权利在伦理学上是成立的。但也并不意味着它在法律上同样成立。也就是说．道德和法律是相互渗透、相互影响和相辅相成的．但不是所有的道德都可以转化为法律。因此，环境改良主义应当重新审视道德与法律的关系。把主要精力放在人们的道德启蒙而不是法律的改良上。     

Erratum to: Fuelling the English breakfast: hidden energy flows in the Anglo-Danish trade 1870–1913

The 1870–1914 globalization period had profound impacts on the international division of labour, with coal-endowed countries specializing in the production of energy-intensive manufacturing goods and others in the production of agricultural goods. This study analyses the environmental consequences of this specialization, by quantifying the flows of energy and hidden energy embodied in the bilateral trade between the UK, the industrial workshop of the world, and Denmark, a coal-poor country with an agricultural economy. We show that the transformations that occurred in Danish agriculture to meet the growing demand for breakfast foods in the UK required significant quantities of feed and coal. Denmark was a net importer of energy throughout the period and a net importer of hidden energy in 1870. However, by the end of this wave of globalization, Denmark had become a significant net exporter of hidden energy to the UK. This was due both to an increase in its land productivity and to the import of coal, grain and fertilizers from abroad.

     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Perspectives for the long-term penetration of new renewables in complex energy systems: the Italian scenario

Renewable energy sources are mainly used in the electrical sector. Electricity is not a storable commodity. Hence, it is necessary to produce the requested quantity and distribute it through the system in such a way as to ensure that electricity supply and demand are always evenly balanced. This constraint is actually the main problem related to the penetration of new renewables (wind and photovoltaic power) in the context of complex energy systems. The paper analyzes some aspects in connection with the problem of new renewable energy penetration. The case of Italian scenario is considered as a meaningful reference due to the characteristic size and the complexity of the same. The various energy scenarios are evaluated with the aid of a multipurpose software taking into account the interconnections between the different energetic uses. In particular, it is shown how the penetration of new renewable energies is limited at an upper level by technological considerations and it will be more sustainable if an integration of the various energy use (thermal, mobility and electrical) field will be considered.     

Trade and the environment: An application of the WIOD database

The new WIOD database allows for improved empirical analysis on a wide range of important environmental research questions.In this paper we demonstrate the scientific power of the WIOD database and analyze very urgent policy questions on the impacts of international trade and structural change on the environment.We apply recent econometric approaches to show the impact of international trade on the environment via its different channels as for instance to increase welfare and potentially affect environmental regulation as well as countries’sector.This approach has become known as the econometric structural decomposition method.In addition to these guidelines by the literature,an econometric panel data approach is offered to shed some light on the impact of structural change and international trade on environmental pressure,where we especially address and solve several endogeneity issues that add further complexity to the analysis.     

Assessing the impacts of sustainable development projects in the Amazon: the DURAMAZ experiment

Since 1992, a boom of “sustainable development projects” has been registered in the Brazilian Amazon, turning it into a kind of open-air laboratory for sustainability. But their real impacts remain unclear, especially because of inadequate evaluation tools. A new device is therefore needed to unveil the inner mechanisms of development aid despite the difficulties linked with the diversity of contexts or the heterogeneity in the relevant parameters. Those are the challenges we met when we engaged in comparing the impacts of sustainable development programs in 13 sites throughout the Brazilian Amazon in order to identify determining factors of sustainability. To achieve our objective, we conceived an indicator system based on the results of intensive fieldwork, including social, economic, environmental, and biographical issues. Our results show that the most prominent problem of sustainability—evaluation of effectiveness—has not been tackled; life conditions and environmental preservation continue to appear antagonistic. At the same time, variability appears among outwardly coherent social groups, showing that a case-to-case approach is definitely indispensable and confirming the need to go “beyond panaceas” to find resolutions. This article successively addresses three points. First, we present the starting point of our research, or how the Amazon region was turned into a laboratory for sustainability and how our research project aimed at analyzing the consequences of this trend. Second, we discuss how available indicator systems fail to respond to the need for a multidimensional evaluation at the local level and, therefore, how we constituted our own analytical tool. Third, we focus on some results that can be derived from our system, especially in terms of identifying key factors needed to achieve sustainability in the Amazon.     

Estimations of the Transparency of the Forest Canopy: Analysis of the Ecological Content

The transparency of the forest canopy of lichen-green moss pine forests was estimated for different numbers of sectors of the celestial hemisphere. The ecological contents of these estimations are discussed. The dominance frequencies of species of the herbaceous-dwarf shrub and moss-lichen layers were analyzed. Based on the results of this analysis, it was concluded that the transparency estimated for the zenith sector alone better reflects the influence of leaf debris and the rainfall interception by the crowns. If the transparency was estimated taking into account all sectors of the celestial hemisphere, the effect of community disturbance increased and the redistribution of rainfall was masked.     

Specifying information needs: improving the working methodology

Specification of information needs is an important step in the design of monitoring networks. Within the framework of Monitoring Strategy 2000+, a programme of the Dutch Directorate General of Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) which seeks to provide innovation in the monitoring sector, a method has been developed to link water management policy to monitoring through specification of information needs. Over the past 2 years, this method has been applied in several projects within the Rijkswaterstaat organisation. Use of this method has led to improvements in the monitoring practice and was judged very positively by the people involved. Nevertheless, the main obstacle to employing the method was the actual translation of policy matters into information products. A special study is carried out, focusing on this aspect within the method, to provide the participants of a project with a mental framework that enables them to clearly specify their information needs. The major requirements for this mental framework are that all participants have a clear view of the process (system), and that they are able to relate their contribution to this process and to the contributions of others (transparency). The first step of the process is to focus the attention of stakeholders on the information they will actually need for decision-making. The next step is to confront the different expressed opinions through the method of the 'devil's advocate', which implies criticising the results of the first step by finding as many as possible arguments against these opinions. This should force the stakeholders to better specify their arguments. The method, its improvements and the results of one pilot project will be discussed in this paper. Electronic Publication     

Value in sustainability: the process industry perspective

The most important driver for management is successful business that increases its value to shareholders. The adoption of environmentally responsible business practices can open up an additional range of opportunities for companies, for example by improving material efficiency. The choice to improve environmental performance of a company tends to also improve its financial performance. In this paper, our aim is to study the value of sustainability in process and mining industry from the perspective of interest groups such as investors, customers and the public, by using case examples. Interviews and workshops were employed to investigate whether or not investors and customers are interested in sustainability in the process and mining industries. We also illustrate how easy it can be to jeopardize corporate reputation through. The present situation and challenges faced in bringing sustainability into everyday business practices are summarized and proposals made concerning ways to achieve increased sustainability.     

Uranium mine rehabilitation: the story of the South Alligator Valley intervention

The rehabilitation of radioactively contaminated sites is an activity generally regarded with suspicion by the community. This is certainly the case for Australian Aboriginal traditional landowners. This paper describes the historical background to, and the successful development and implementation of, a consultation and planning process to rehabilitate former uranium mining and milling facilities on Aboriginal lands of the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park in northern Australia. The process of developing an appropriate community communication and consultation process to allay concerns about radioactivity is a cornerstone of the rehabilitation program. The initial stages of the program's implementation are also described. This program is also the first example of a radiological intervention under modern environmental and radiation protection legislation in the region. It was necessary to develop radiological standards for use in the program as none had been promulgated under existing relevant legislation.     

Blue economy and the quadruple helix model: the case of Qingdao

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Blue Economy (BE), as a novel approach fostering the sustainability of oceans and coastal areas for economic growth, is considered an enabler for...     

Achieving sustainable homes by 2016 in the UK: the current status

The code for sustainable homes (CSH), which came into existence in 2006, has not yet been investigated to determine whether its rate of adoption is on course to meet the UK government’s 2016 target for full implementation. Therefore, the aim of this investigation is to ascertain the level to which CSH has been implemented and the barriers preventing this. A questionnaire survey was sent to 71 of the Home Builders Federation (HBF) member organisations in the UK, to gauge and ascertain the following: the barriers to the implementation of CSH; the implications of implementation; and the general awareness of CSH amongst practitioners. The results from the analysis of the survey reveal that full implementation by 2016 appears a rather difficult target, as factors like economic downturn are hitting HBF and similar organisations quite hard. However, a government-driven injection of sustainable schemes is helping to bring back confidence to house builders, while also enhancing the way that barriers are handled within the industry. The key findings of the literature review identify barriers preventing the housing sector from achieving zero carbon homes by 2016. These include cost, and legislative, cultural and technical barriers, and are concordant with the results from the data obtained during the primary research. The analysis suggests that with the current trend, achieving full implementation will be difficult. However, comments made by some practitioners appear to suggest that the appointment of a CSH champion for implementation would accelerate the process of full implementation and that the target could be reached by 2016.     

Antibiotics in the aquatic environments: A review of the European scenario

The discovery of antibiotics is considered one of the most significant scientific achievements of the 20th century, revolutionizing both human and veterinary medicine. However, antibiotics have been recently recognized as an emerging class of environmental contaminants since they have been massively administrated in humans and animals and persist in the environment through a complex vicious cycle of transformation and bioaccumulation. The diffusion of antibiotics in the environment, particularly in natural water systems, contributes to the development and global dissemination of antibiotic resistance. This phenomenon is one of the most important challenges to the health care sector in the 21st century. As a result, studies on the occurrence, fate, and effects of antibiotics in European aqueous environments have increased in the last years. Nevertheless, their potential aquatic ecotoxicity and human toxicity via environmental exposure routes remain unknown. Consequently, antibiotics are not regulated through the current European environmental water quality standards, which requires evidence concerning their widespread environmental contamination and intrinsic hazard. In this context, this literature review summarizes the state of knowledge on the occurrence of antibiotics in the different aqueous environmental systems across the Europe, as reported since 2000. Relating this subject to antibiotic consumption and their dynamic behavior in the environment, the acquired insights provide an improved understanding on aquatic pollution by antibiotics to outline the European scenario. Moreover, it addresses challenges, prospects for future research, and typical topics to stimulate discussion.