A comprehensive bibliometrics of ‘walkability’ research landscape: visualization of the scientific progress and future prospects

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study quantitatively investigated the scientific progress of walkability research landscape and its future prospects using bibliometric...     

Forest owners’ perceptions of ecotourism: Integrating community values and forest conservation

The use of forest land for ecotourism has been well accepted due to its ability to provide income to local people and to conserve the forest. Preparing the forest with infrastructure to attract and educate visitors has been reported of importance. This study applied Q methodology in a small rural community of the State of Puebla, Mexico, to reveal forest owners’ perceptions to build infrastructure in their forest as part of their ecotourism project. It also discloses forest owners’ underlying motives to use their forest for ecotourism. Ecotourism is perceived as a complementary activity to farming that would allow women to be involved in community development. Low impact infrastructure is desired due to forest owners’ perception to preserve the forest for the overall community well-being.     

Measurement of China’s green GDP and its dynamic variation based on industrial perspective

Over the previous two decades, Chinese economic development presented a rapid growth. However, with continuous industrialization and urbanization, China is confronted with great challenges of energy security and environmental issues. These problems are closely related to the current accounting method of economic growth to a certain extent. In order to meet these challenges, it is imperative to establish a green accounting system of economic growth and measure China’s green GDP and its changing trend based on the industrial perspective. Using the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) and industry data, this paper estimates China’s green GDP and green value added by industry sectors in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2015, and 2017. The results reveal the following: First, the ratio of green GDP to traditional GDP gradually increases from 89.85 to 95.83% during 2005–2017, which means that the negative externalities of economic growth of the resource and environment are gradually weakened. Second, the difference between traditional GDP and green GDP during 2005–2017 is about 6.96%, with the carbon emissions accounting for 70.71% of environmental impact. Third, due to more than 80% of the environmental impact coming from three sectors: manufacturing (49.99%), electricity industry (22.63%), and other services (11.37%), these three sectors should be key sectors for energy conservation and emission reduction; fourth, the green GDP of the mining, electricity industries, and manufacturing accounts for the lowest proportion of GDP, which means that the development patterns of these three industries in recent years should be adjusted and optimized step by step.

     

Evaluating carbon emissions of China’s waste management strategies for building refurbishment projects: contributing to a circular economy

This study evaluates carbon emissions of construction and demolition (C&D) waste generated by building refurbishment, using a life cycle assessment approach through a case study project in China. Three waste management scenarios were developed for a building refurbishment project in the city of Suzhou. Scenario 1 is under the business-as-usual C&D waste management practice in China; scenario 2 is based on the open-ended 3R strategy, which focuses on the downstream impact of waste; and scenario 3 considers both the upstream and downstream impact of waste. The results reveal that the composition of the waste generated from building refurbishment projects is different from construction and demolition projects. In the life cycle of C&D waste management of building refurbishment projects, the refurbishment material stage generates the highest carbon emissions compared to the dismantlement, refurbishment construction, and refurbishment material end of life stages. Scenario 1 produces higher carbon emissions than scenario 2, but the difference is not significant in the whole life cycle of the building refurbishment project, whereas carbon emissions for scenario 3 are significantly less than both scenario 1 and scenario 2. The study finds the reason for this difference is that scenario 1 and scenario 2 are based on a linear economy that relies on unsustainable demand for raw materials, whereas scenario 3 is based on a circular economy that uses upcycled materials to substitute for raw materials and considers waste management from a cradle to cradle perspective. This study fills a research gap by evaluating carbon emissions of different waste management strategies for building refurbishment projects, which are expected to be an increasing portion of overall construction activity in China for the foreseeable future.

     

Impact of green supply chain management practices on firms’ performance: an empirical study from the perspective of Pakistan

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This article investigates the impact of five determinants of the green supply chain practices on organizational performance in the context of Pakistan...     

A review of coal gangue identification research—application to China’s top coal release process

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Top coal caving is a process for the rational extraction of large amounts of coal resources. However, this process readily causes release of excessive...     

Site Sampling and Treatability Studies for Demonstration of WasteChem’s Asphalt Encapsulation Technology Under EPA’s SITE Program

ABSTRACT

Exposures from indoor environments are a major issue for evaluating total long-term personal exposures to the fine fraction (<2.5μm in aerodynamic diameter) of particulate matter (PM). It is widely accepted in the indoor air quality (IAQ) research community that biocontamination is one of the important indoor air pollutants. Major indoor air biocontaminants include mold, bacteria, dust mites, and other antigens. Once the biocontaminants or their metabolites become airborne, IAQ could be significantly deteriorated. The airborne biocontaminants or their metabolites can induce irritational, allergic, infectious, and chemical responses in exposed individuals.

Biocontaminants, such as some mold spores or pollen grains, because of their size and mass, settle rapidly within the indoor environment. Over time they may become nonviable and fragmented by the process of desiccation. Desiccated nonviable fragments of organisms are common and can be toxic or allergenic, depending upon the specific organism or organism component. Once these smaller and lighter fragments of biological PM become suspended in air, they have a greater tendency to stay suspended. Although some bioaerosols have been identified, few have been quantitatively studied for their prevalence within the total indoor PM with time, or for their affinity to penetrate indoors.

This paper describes a preliminary research effort to develop a methodology for the measurement of nonvi-able biologically based PM, analyzing for mold and ragweed antigens and endotoxins. The research objectives include the development of a set of analytical methods and the comparison of impactor media and sample size, and the quantification of the relationship between outdoor and indoor levels of bioaerosols. Indoor and outdoor air samples were passed through an Andersen nonviable cascade impactor in which particles from 0.2 to 9.0 um were collected and analyzed. The presence of mold, ragweed, and endotoxin was found in all eight size ranges. The presence of respirable particles of mold and pollen found in the fine particle size range from 0.2 to 5.25 um is evidence of fragmentation of larger source particles that are known allergens.     

Research on China’s embodied carbon transfer network in 2012 from the perspective of provinces and sectors

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Resource endowment and economic development of different provinces in China vary greatly, resulting in large amount of CO2 transfers. We need further...     

Decarbonization of Vietnam’s economy: decomposing the drivers for a low-carbon growth

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Vietnam has witnessed a rapid increase in national-level CO2 emissions due to rising urbanization, economic expansion, export growth, and industrial...     

Prevalence of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Global prevalence trend and regional differences of coal worker’s pneumoconiosis (CWP) remain unclear. This study aimed to provide systematic...     

Farming experience and farmers’ adoption of low-carbon management practices: the case of soil testing and fertilizer recommendations in China

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In response to global climate change, the Chinese Government has taken numerous measures to promote low-carbon management practices, but the overall...     

Assessment of Needs for Technical Information in EPA’s Hazardous and Solid Waste Programs

Headquarters managers and Regional staff in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s hazardous and solid waste programs were surveyed to determine priorities for technical information and guidance among EPA Regional staff, state hazardous waste management staff, EPA contractors, and the regulated community. The survey also examined delivery systems effective for EPA Regional staff. The fifteen highest ranked technical needs for RCRA, Superfund, and UST reflect a pervasive interest in hazardous waste remediation. Top priority technical needs focus on establishing cleanup levels, subsurface fate and transport, field monitoring and quality assurance, remedy selection, and most importantly, which remedies work and which do not in specific situations. Technical needs of non- EPA audiences are quite similar to those for EPA field staff. Preferences for technology transfer delivery systems are generally for conventional distribution methods (such as print materials and workshops) rather than electronic or video media. Regional staff report serious problems in utilizing technology transfer because of time constraints, insufficient knowledge of available products, insufficient travel funds, and limited access to and training on computers.     

A comparative study of national variations of the European WEEE directive: manufacturer’s view

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - We are facing the challenge of rapid growth in waste from electrical products (e-waste). In Europe, handling e-waste is regulated by the European...     

Henry’s law constant measurements for formaldehyde and benzaldehyde as a function of temperature and water composition

Henry’s law constants H of formaldehyde and benzaldehyde were determined using a dynamic system based on the water/air equilibrium at the interface within the length of a microporous tube. The measurements were conducted over the range 273–293 K in (i) deionized water, (ii) 35 g L^?1 solution of NaCl simulating seawater and (iii) two nitric acid solutions, i.e. 0.63 and 6.3 wt%.In pure water, the obtained data were used to derive the following Arrhenius expressions: ln H = (6423 ± 542)/T ? (13.4 ± 2.0) and ln H = (6258 ± 280)/T ? (17.5 ± 1.0) for formaldehyde and benzaldehyde, respectively. The H values, calculated at 293 K from Arrhenius expressions cited above were the following (in units of M atm^?1): H = 5020 ± 1170 (formaldehyde), H = 47 ± 5 (benzaldehyde). The temperature dependence of H permits then to derive the solvation enthalpies for both compounds: ΔH_solv = ?(53.4 ± 4.5) kJ mol^?1 and ΔH_solv = ?(52.0 ± 2.3) kJ mol^?1 for formaldehyde and benzaldehyde, respectively.In 35 g L^?1 salt solution, the H values were 27–66% and 12–21% lower than their respective determinations in deionized water, for formaldehyde and benzaldehyde respectively. The observed salt effect was used to estimate the following Setschenow coefficients at 293 K for 0.6 M NaCl: formaldehyde (0.21) and benzaldehyde (0.09).In 6.3 wt% nitric acid solution, H values of benzaldehyde were approximately 30% higher than those found in pure water although no significant influence was observed for formaldehyde.Finally, our experimental data were then used to estimate the fractions of formaldehyde and benzaldehyde in atmospheric aqueous phase and their derived atmospheric lifetimes.     

A review of Yemen’s current energy situation,challenges, strategies,and prospects for using renewable energy systems

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -     

Managing Manure from China’s Pigs and Poultry: The Influence of Ecological Rationality

We have investigated manure management practices at three farm scales in Chinese pig and poultry production. The concept of ecological rationality was employed to explore empirically how environmental concerns drive adoption of environmental-friendly manure management technologies at different farm scales. The more developed Rudong County in Jiangsu Province and the less developed Zhongjiang County in Sichuan Province were chosen as cases for study of 258 animal breeders. On the contrary to our hypothesis, medium-scale farmers were not always found to be laggards in adoption of manure management technologies. Government ecological rationality played a key role to induce environmental-friendly technology adoption on its own, but also in cooperation with ecologically rational individual or network drivers. Authorities no longer applied their efforts in a conventional command-and-control way, but more in the form of incentives, stimulation, and information to farmers. Individual farmers in general showed low environmental responsibility in relation to manure handling.     

Backward and forward multilevel indicators for identifying key sectors of China’s intersectoral CO2 transfer network

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Many countries face a dilemma of economic growth and carbon emission mitigation, which is highly associated with energy consumption. In order to...