Consuming technologies – developing routines

Routines in daily life are crucial for consumption of energy and water in households and therefore, knowledge of how routines develop and change is extremely relevant from a sustainable consumption perspective. Routines emerge, develop and change in close relation with different kinds of everyday technologies. In this article, these processes are investigated from three different perspectives: an historical perspective of how new technologies have entered homes, a consumer perspective of how both houses and new technologies are purchased and finally, as the primary part of the article, a user perspective of how routines develop while these technologies are being used. In the conclusion these insights are discussed in relation to possible ways of influencing routines.     

Commercial development of energy—environmentally sound technologies for the auto-industry: the case of fuel cells

The economic importance of energy and environmental issues is continuously increasing, affecting both process and product design in business. The energy crisis in California in 2001 made this basic issue universal. New technologies are expected to reduce pollution derived both from production processes and products, with costs that are still unknown and in competition with more mature technologies high. Nevertheless, until now there is still little, but growing knowledge concerning the process of technological innovation in the fields of energy and environment.In this paper we analyze the development of zinc air fuel cell (ZAFC) and its transfer from a research laboratory to potential mass production. ZAFC are a new ‘environmentally sound technology’, proven to have commercial value, that can be used for substituting internal combustion engines (ICEs) and meeting zero emission vehicles (ZEV) regulations. Although ZAFC performances are higher than traditional electric batteries ones, commercial costs are still high. Hence the pathway to mass production may come from stationary application of fuel cells for power.In contrast to the conventional ‘paradigmatic’ approach, we argue that the existing economic and organizational literature concerning technological innovation is not able to fully explain steps followed in commercializing energy—environmentally sound technologies. Existing models mainly consider adopting problems, which are due to market uncertainty, weak application, lack of a dominant design, and problems in reconfiguring existing organizational routines. Above all ‘market power’ exists in terms of control over technological innovation and its commercial application. Barriers are erected that prevent new technologies such as fuel cells from becoming adapted. Through pro-active government intervention, such as the case in California, new advanced technologies can move rapidly into the marketplace.From this discussion we draw some conclusions and issues for further research concerning policy making for sustaining the process of technological transfer and firms’ strategies in technological innovation.     

Ethical aspects of scientific incertitude in environmental analysis and decision making

There have been too many environmental surprises during the last century—too many occasions where decisions relative to the environment were taken in the belief that there was a well-established, scientific basis for the decisions and faith in the expertise that provided the information. The surprises illustrate that the knowledge base and models in some cases do not even come close to reality. The reason may be incertitude, which covers the spectrum from determinism, uncertainty, ignorance and indeterminacy. In relation to risk assessment and sustainability, society, politicians and professionals have to come to terms with the fact that ignorance plays a far greater role than normally acknowledged by natural scientists and engineers.     

Rethinking the role of information in chemicals policy: implications for TSCA and REACH

This article analyses the role of different kinds of information for minimizing or eliminating the risks due to the production, use, and disposal of chemical substances and contrasts it with present and planned (informational) regulation in the United States and the European Union, respectively. Some commentators who are disillusioned with regulatory approaches have argued that informational tools should supplant mandatory regulatory measures unflatteringly described as “command and control.” Critics of this reformist view are concerned with the lack of technology-innovation forcing that results from informational policies alone. We argue that informational tools can be made more technology inducing – and thus more oriented towards environmental innovations – than they are under current practices, with or without complementary regulatory mechanisms, although a combination of approaches may yield the best results.The conventional approach to chemicals policy envisions a sequential process that includes three steps of (1) producing or collecting risk-relevant information, (2) performing a risk assessment or characterization, followed by (3) risk management practices, often driven by regulation. We argue that such a sequential process is too static, or linear, and spends too many resources on searching for, or generating information about present hazards, in comparison to searching for, and generating information related to safer alternatives which include input substitution, final product reformulation, and/or process changes. These pollution prevention or cleaner technology approaches are generally acknowledged to be superior to pollution control. We argue that the production of risk information necessary for risk assessment, on the one hand, and the search for safer alternatives on the other hand, should be approached simultaneously in two parallel quests. Overcoming deficits in hazard-related information and knowledge about risk reduction alternatives must take place in a more synchronized manner than is currently being practiced. This parallel approach blurs the alleged bright line between risk assessment and risk management, but reflects more closely how regulatory agencies actually approach the regulation of chemicals.These theoretical considerations are interpreted in the context of existing and planned informational tools in the United States and the European Union, respectively. The current political debate in the European Union concerned with reforming chemicals policy and implementing the REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals) system is focused on improving the production and assessment of risk information with regard to existing chemicals, although it also contains some interesting risk management elements. To some extent, REACH mirrors the approach taken in the United States under the Toxics Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976. TSCA turned out not to be effectively implemented and provides lessons that should be relevant to REACH. In this context, we discuss the opportunities and limits of existing and planned informational tools for achieving risk reduction.     

Noisy and definitely not normal: responding to wicked issues in the environment,energy and health

Attempts by researchers and policy-makers to address the ‘wicked’ issues which pervade environmental policy usually revolve around attempting – or recommending – both more participatory and transparent, and more systematic and evidence-based, policy-making. Post-normal science (PNS), with its ‘extended peer community’, has emerged as one approach, whilst others focus on procedural reforms of the policy process, particularly on enhancing democratic decision-making. This paper applies a novel analytical framework to a primarily documentary analysis of three cases we argue are wicked—Canadian regulatory review of health products and food, European union (EU) environmental thematic strategies, and United Kingdom (UK) energy and climate change policy. It explores how various responses to wicked issues are implemented, through the ‘lenses’ of PNS and, more generally, ‘democratic and effective decision-making’. It finds such responses are often limited by practical and fundamental barriers relating to handling of uncertainty, issue framing, participation, power, politics, and attitude to evidence. We draw conclusions about future research on PNS, particularly the need to more clearly relate theory to different strands of literature on the evidence–policy-making relationship, and to continue empirical testing.     

Sustainable mobility: from technological innovation to societal learning

This paper addresses a persistent and worsening societal dilemma worldwide: the ecological unsustainability of the automobile as the primary means for providing personal mobility. The solution to this problem will require input from all segments of society, and must include technological innovation, changes in the physical infrastructure and land use, and social, cultural, and institutional changes. A fundamental rethinking of the entire system of personal mobility is necessary. Governments can play a significant role in promoting change: by stimulating technological innovation through regulations, incentives and subsidies, by investing in the infrastructure, by providing leadership, and by organizing and supporting a debate with a focus on the system as a whole: its spatial characteristics, the motives for transport, and the alternatives that are presently not developed. From the technological perspective, one of the much-discussed solutions is a hydrogen-powered automobile. We argue that the future of this approach is questionable, and propose a fundamental re-framing of the significance of hydrogen: from viewing it as a solution to the personal mobility problem to seeing it as a medium for transporting and storing energy that has been generated elsewhere (preferably by renewable resources). A new and radically different way of seeing the problem of individual mobility, and of the roles of various stakeholders in finding solutions, is also necessary. This is the essence of higher order learning. To facilitate such learning among various societal groups, we advocate a combination of multi-stakeholder visioning processes, scenario building, backcasting exercises, and small-scale socio-technical experiments. These approaches may be practiced at various levels, from local to national, with experimentation probably being best suited for a smaller scale. An ongoing process of visioning future mobility in the Boston Metropolitan area illustrates how such approaches may be used.     

Alternative future environmental regulatory approaches for petroleum refineries

Recently, many industrial, regulatory, and community leaders have expressed concern that the current environmental regulatory structure disregards multimedia environmental impacts, provides few incentives to develop and use new technologies, and fails to consider site-specific conditions. For the US petroleum refining industry, faced with the need to produce higher-quality fuels from poorer-quality feedstocks, such criticisms are expected to increase. This article offers two alternative environmental regulatory approaches for existing petroleum refineries to use in the future. These alternative approaches are multimedia in scope, provide for new technology development and use, and allow flexibility in the means for meeting environmental goals. They have been reviewed and critiqued by various stakeholders, including industry representatives, regulators, and local and national community and environmental organizations. The integration of stakeholder comments and findings of ongoing national and international regulatory reinvention efforts in the development of these approaches positions them for potential use by other industries in addition to petroleum refineries.     

庐山不同海拔森林土壤中重金属含量分析

为阐明庐山森林土壤重金属含量及沿海拔梯度的分布特征,在庐山的南、北坡按200 m的高差分别选择6个和5个不同海拔采样点,分层(0~10 cm、10~20 cm和20~30 cm)采集土样,测定了土壤Cu、Zn、Cd和Pb含量以及土壤基本理化性质。结果表明:对照我国土壤环境质量一级标准,庐山表层土壤Cu、Pb、Zn和Cd含量普遍超标,且北坡污染程度比南坡更重,其综合污染指数最高达2.54。随着海拔高度的增加,南坡Cu、Pb和Zn污染程度加重,而北坡未表现出这一变化规律。土壤重金属在剖面上的垂直分布是随着土层深度的增加而递减,证实了土壤重金属的污染主要来源于外部,而非成土母质。     

Integrating local and scientific weather knowledge as a strategy for adaptation to climate change in the Arctic

As the climate warms, stressors are developing that challenge the adaptive capabilities of Arctic peoples. In Nunavut, one of Canada??s Arctic territories, increased weather variability and changes in physical and climatic conditions are having profound effects on residents. One problem is that while these changes have magnified risks associated with travel and land-based activities, individuals lack sufficiently reliable and useful information on which to base decisions. In this paper, we argue that weather-related risk assessment can be improved by integrating local and scientific weather knowledge and making this information accessible to residents through the creation of weather hazards impact advisory groups. We present a qualitative case study of Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, using data from participant observation and semi-structured interviews conducted with indigenous and non-indigenous long-term residents in summer 2009. We examine how long-term residents of Iqaluit acquire, perceive, and use both local and scientific weather knowledge. We find that various barriers, such as a lack of land-based experience, cultural and linguistic differences, and an absence of social networks, prevent most people from obtaining all the information required to make fully informed decisions about the risks associated with land-based activities at different locations. Experienced hunters are perceived to be a reliable source of weather-related information, while scientific weather knowledge is not as accessible or informative as it could be. Increasing the potential use of traditional and scientific hazardous weather knowledge, by making both more universally accessible, can enhance strategies for adapting to climate change in the Arctic.     

The interplay between knowledge and governance: Insights from the governance of recreational boating in the Dutch Wadden Sea area, 1981–2014

Through shifts toward interactive and participatory forms of environmental governance, knowledge dynamics may come into play that differ from those of traditional forms of policy-making. This paper investigates how shifts of environmental governance and knowledge are related. In order to do so, it reconstructs the development of the governance of recreational boating in the Dutch Wadden Sea on the empirical basis of interviews, document analysis, and a focus group. Moreover, it analyzes this development by means of an analytical framework that combines governance modes, knowledge systems and knowledge–governance interfaces. Our results show that in the last decades partly an accumulation and partly a sequence of various governance arrangements concerning recreational boating has occurred; this has entailed a shift from predominantly centralized governance to a combination of governance modes with a stronger emphasis on decentralized, interactive and self-governance. This shift has occurred together with an increasing prominence of qualitative local knowledge, stakeholders’ knowledge, and the integration of various forms of knowledge. Furthermore, a shift has taken place toward more participatory knowledge–governance interfaces. Our analysis suggests that environmental governance and knowledge are interconnected in various ways: the regulatory and epistemic aspects of environmental issues are bound up with each other, and governance and knowledge are coproduced and mutually constitutive. Key lessons from this analysis are that room for experimentation is an important factor in improving environmental governance, and that increasing stakeholder involvement in governance implies that new modes of jointly creating and exchanging knowledge may need to be taken into account.     

A review of electrokinetically enhanced bioremediation technologies for PHs

Since the early 1980’s there have been several different strategies designed and applied to the remediation of subsurface environment including physical, chemical and biological approaches. They have had varying degrees of success in remediating contaminants from subsurface soils and groundwater. The objective of this review is to examine the range of technologies for the remediation of contaminants, particularly petroleum hydrocarbons, in subsurfaces with a specific focus on bioremediation and electrokinetic remediation. Further, this review examines the efficiency of remediation carried out by combining bioremediation and electrokinetic remediation. Surfactants, which are slowly becoming the selected chemicals for mobilizing contaminants, are also considered in this review. The current knowledge gaps of these technologies and techniques identified which could lead to development of more efficient ways of utilizing these technologies or development of a completely new technology.     

Future needs in potato post-harvest technology in developing countries

The reduction of post-harvest food losses, which are particularly high in perishable crops in developing countries, is important not only from an obligation to avoid waste, but also because the cost of preventing food losses in general is considered to be less than producing a similar additional amount of food of the same quality. In perishable vegetatively propagated crops like the potato, appropriate post-harvest technology is not only required to reduce food losses, but also to maintain the perishable planting material from one growing season to the next.Extensive knowledge on basic post-harvest technologies and principles exists for potatoes. The future emphasis in tropical developing countries should be in their low-cost application to specific local problems. In attempting to use known technologies to solve these problems, lessons should be learnt from many past failures where attempts concentrated on the direct transfer of technologies which were successfully used in one location to a similar problem in another location. Basic technologies and principles are universal but their application is location-specific and requires a good understanding of the socio-economic as well as technical needs of each location. The best use of limited resources in the transfer and application of known technologies could be achieved through the use of interdisciplinary research teams which involve their final client — farmer, merchant or consumer — in their efforts at an early stage, rather than relying on traditional disciplinary research and extension approaches.As an alternative to trying to copy the development path of countries which use high-input technologies, the authors suggest that developing countries, in an effort to reduce post-harvest potato losses and to make potatoes available to an increasing number of their peoples by the year 2000, should investigate alternative low-cost application of basic principles.     

Fluid modeling applied to atmospheric diffusion in complex terrain

Wind-tunnel and towing-tank studies conducted over the past 10 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Fluid Modeling Facility (FMF) of flow and diffusion in complex terrain are reviewed. A primary impetus for this work was EPA's Complex Terrain Model Development Program (CTMDP)—designed to develop reliable atmospheric dispersion models applicable to large pollutant sources in complex terrain, with primary emphasis on plume impaction during night-time stable conditions. The FMF interacted closely with the model developers participating in the CTMDP and provided support in various ways through the conduct of a wide range of laboratory studies. Work at the FMF prior to the inception of the program provided the basic framework for the model—the dividing-streamline concept— and the focal point around which the field program was designed. At the beginning of the program, the FMF provided direct support as an aid to planning the details and strategies of the field experiments and testing the limits of applicability of the dividing-streamline concept. Later work included exercises of ‘filling in the gaps’ in the field data, furthering the understanding of the physical mechanisms important to plume impaction in complex terrain and in stably stratified flows in general, testing various modeling assumptions, providing data for ‘calibration’ of various modeling parameters, and testing the ability of the laboratory models to simulate full-scale conditions. Simultaneously, the FMF responded to the needs of the regulatory arm of EPA, the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS), by providing guidance concerning expected terrain effects and by conducting demonstration studies. These latter studies were concerned primarily with simulation of diffusion in the neutral atmospheric boundary layer. Finally, several supplemental studies were conducted, broadening and expanding upon the specific requests of the model developers and the OAQPS. The highlights of the FMF complex-terrain research work are described herein.     

洞庭湖沉积物及上覆水体氮的空间分布

2009年12月底在洞庭湖全湖20个采样点采样,通过测量该20个沉积物样和对应的20个上覆水样的总氮、氨氮、硝氮浓度和沉积物的含水率,揭示洞庭湖沉积物及其上覆水体氮的空间分布。研究表明:洞庭湖各点位沉积物全氮平均浓度为547.0mg/kg,与滇池、太湖和巢湖相比较低。洞庭湖各分区沉积物氮形态分布比例相差不大,主要形态为有机氮,占全氮的比例达59.9%。洞庭湖各点位沉积物上覆水体总氮平均浓度为2.45mg/L,已经达《地表水环境质量标准》劣V类水体的标准。洞庭湖各分区沉积物上覆水体氮形态分布不一,硝氮所占比例最大,为35.6%。其中东洞庭湖水体主要氮形态为氨氮,西、南洞庭水体主要氮形态为硝氮。造成这种差异的主要原因是东西洞庭湖的人类生活方式以及城市、工业发展水平的不同。     

Contribution to advances in waste-to-energy technologies

This paper presents a number of recent advances in technologies and improvements in units for the thermal processing of municipal solid waste (MSW) and various other types of waste. The focus is on the ‘waste-to-energy’ approach; various criteria for this approach are discussed, as well as the inconsistent attitudes about waste management approaches that are present in various countries in the European Union. The presented achievements include low-NO_x burners, improved efficiency, heat exchangers, waste heat recovery systems, newly developed equipment for wet scrubbing, dioxin filters and systems for the treatment of sewage sludge.A new concept for a regional Waste-to-Energy Centre (WTEC) is outlined, the design of which is based on a combination of experience, know-how and a sophisticated approach. The proposed WTEC will use up-to-date technologies and will provide an adequate response to the growing population and rising standards of living as well to increasingly stringent environmental regulatory standards.Utilization of computational methods such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for design optimisation and/or for troubleshooting is demonstrated with examples (flue gas duct, burner, combustion chamber). Several examples from industrial applications are summarized.     

软锰矿浆烟气同步脱硫脱硝资源化利用新工艺

燃煤烟气中的SO2和NOx是大气中重要的污染物,开发高效、经济的同步脱硫脱硝技术是环保领域的研究热点。针对现有同步脱硫脱硝技术存在的氧化剂成本较高和产物不能资源化利用等突出问题,提出了软锰矿浆烟气同步脱硫脱硝,并副产硫酸锰和硝酸锰的资源化新工艺。研究结果表明:软锰矿浆可以有效的脱除烟气中的SO2和NOx,反应产物分别为硫酸锰和硝酸锰。在烟道中注入臭氧,将难溶于水的NO快速氧化为NO2,可大大提高脱硝效率,在O3/NO=1.2的条件下可以达到72%的脱硝率、90%的脱硫率和85%的锰浸出率;吸收液经过空气氧化除铁和加入铜试剂除重金属后,结晶分离溶液得到的硫酸锰和硝酸锰可分别达到HG/T 2962—1999标准的硫酸锰产品和HG/T 3817—2006标准的工业硝酸锰产品要求。该工艺实现了SO2和NOx污染治理与低品位软锰矿资源化利用的双重目的,为SO2和NOx的资源化污染治理技术的开发和应用提供了新的思路。     

Predicting the aquatic risk of realistic pesticide mixtures to species assemblages in Portuguese river basins

Although pesticide regulatory tools are mainly based on individual substances, aquatic ecosystems are usually exposed to multiple pesticides from their use on the variety of crops within the catchment of a river. This study estimated the impact of measured pesticide mixtures in surface waters from 2002 and 2008 within three important Portuguese river basins(‘Mondego', ‘Sado' and ‘Tejo') on primary producers, arthropods and fish by toxic pressure calculation. Species sensitivity distributions(SSDs), in combination with mixture toxicity models, were applied. Considering the differences in the responses of the taxonomic groups as well as in the pesticide exposures that these organisms experience, variable acute multi-substance potentially affected fractions(ms PAFs) were obtained. The median msP AF for primary producers and arthropods in surface waters of all river basins exceeded 5%, the cut-off value used in the prospective SSD approach for deriving individual environmental quality standards. A ranking procedure identified various photosystem II inhibiting herbicides, with oxadiazon having the relatively largest toxic effects on primary producers, while the organophosphorus insecticides, chlorfenvinphos and chlorpyrifos, and the organochloride endosulfan had the largest effects on arthropods and fish, respectively. These results ensure compliance with European legislation with regard to ecological risk assessment and management of pesticides in surface waters.     

Predicting the aquatic risk of realistic pesticide mixtures to species assemblages in Portuguese river basins

Although pesticide regulatory tools are mainly based on individual substances, aquatic ecosystems are usually exposed to multiple pesticides from their use on the variety of crops within the catchment of a river. This study estimated the impact of measured pesticide mixtures in surface waters from 2002 and 2008 within three important Portuguese river basins (‘Mondego’, ‘Sado’ and ‘Tejo’) on primary producers, arthropods and fish by toxic pressure calculation. Species sensitivity distributions (SSDs), in combination with mixture toxicity models, were applied. Considering the differences in the responses of the taxonomic groups as well as in the pesticide exposures that these organisms experience, variable acute multi-substance potentially affected fractions (msPAFs) were obtained. The median msPAF for primary producers and arthropods in surface waters of all river basins exceeded 5%, the cut-off value used in the prospective SSD approach for deriving individual environmental quality standards. A ranking procedure identified various photosystem II inhibiting herbicides, with oxadiazon having the relatively largest toxic effects on primary producers, while the organophosphorus insecticides, chlorfenvinphos and chlorpyrifos, and the organochloride endosulfan had the largest effects on arthropods and fish, respectively. These results ensure compliance with European legislation with regard to ecological risk assessment and management of pesticides in surface waters.     

Path creation for sustainable consumption: promoting alternative heating systems in Finland

There are many cost-effective technologies to reduce resource use and carbon dioxide emissions in space heating, yet they are adopted very slowly, and inefficient heating systems persist. In this article, we examine path dependence and path creation in home heating systems. Path dependence refers to the self-sustaining characteristics of existing systems such as the dominant energy system. Path creation is a related concept that highlights entrepreneurship in ‘mindfully deviating’ from existing paths and creating new ones by engaging various stakeholders and generating momentum. Research on path creation in energy systems has focused on energy production systems, whereas end-use technologies have gained less attention. We explore the role of path creation in end-use technologies through four attempts to change heating systems for detached houses in Finland via the promotion of heat pump technologies. Within the path creation process, we focus on how the initiators of new paths try to counter the forces maintaining the dominant system. In particular, we pay attention to how small organizations make use of co-operation to challenge the existing path. The aim is to identify the conditions for successful path creation by entrepreneurs and energy end-users under adverse conditions.     

Assessing the environmental impact of metal production processes

Evaluating both new and existing processes for primary metal production to assess their environmental impacts is often difficult due to the many inputs and outputs involved. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a methodology that can be used for such purposes to identify those parts of the metal production life cycle that have significant environmental impacts. LCA has been used by CSIRO Minerals to assess the “cradle-to-gate” environmental impacts of a number of metal production processes practised either currently or potentially in Australia. The metals considered included copper, nickel, aluminium, lead, zinc, steel, stainless steel and titanium, by both pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical routes in some instances. The environmental profile included greenhouse and acid rain gas emissions, solid waste emissions and gross energy consumption. The results for various metals are compared in this paper. New process technologies for primary metal production can be expected to reduce the environmental impacts of metal production, and estimates of likely reductions for technologies involving stainless steel, titanium and aluminium are also presented in this paper.