The draft articles on the law of international watercourses adopted by the International Law Commission: an overview and some remarks on selected issues

In 1994, after more than twenty years of work, the International Law Commission of the United Nations adopted a set of thirty-three draft articles on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses. In the same year, the draft articles were submitted to the General Assembly with a view to the adoption of an international convention. The present paper analyzes and comments upon some of the major issues dealt with in the draft articles, devoting special attention to the substantive legal principles governing the utilization of international rivers and the protection of related ecosystems. Various questions still remain open for consideration by the Working Group convened by the General Assembly in 1996–1997 for the elaboration of a definitive convention. In spite of this, the draft articles adopted by the International Law Commission stand as an important achievement in the effort at codification of the law of international water resources. The present article was written within the framework of the research project "Technical aspects of the international law of the sea" which is being carried out at the Faculty of Law, University of Milan, Italy.     

Macroeconomic effects of the recycling of waste derived from imported non-renewable raw materials

The literature on waste recycling neglects the potential effects that this process can have at the aggregate level, although there are positive externalities which have not emerged in the microeconomic analysis of this phenomenon.This paper investigates the macroeconomic effects of the waste recycling process, with particular reference to a country, such as Italy, which uses many foreign non-renewable resources. We use the Keynesian multiplier theory as a theoretical framework to evaluate the potential results of an increase in waste recycling on the gross national product, the balance of payments and employment. In such a way the policy maker can better evaluate whether to promote the process considered here rather than discharging the waste in the environment.     

城市光污染侵害案件法律适用问题的探讨

在城市光污染侵害案件日益增多的同时,我国光污染侵害的法律救济手段和救济结果却不尽人意。虽然我国在宪法、环境保护法等法律、法规及民法中都有处理光污染侵害案件的法律依据,但由于缺少直接的规定,使环境保护法律体系存在太大的缺陷。因此,亟待制定有关的标准和修改相关的法律,从而更好地防治光污染,维护受害人的合法权益。     

Selective collection as a pretreatment for indirect solid recovered fuel generation

Effective selective collection (SC) has been increasing in many countries of the European Union. As a consequence the composition of residual municipal solid waste (RMSW) is changing not only because of economic development, but also due to the collection system. The input of RMSW treatment plants is thus not homogeneous. This paper analyses two case studies involving a total of five SC scenarios and their impact on the generation of solid recovered fuel (SRF) with/without bio-drying, post-treatment and packaging take back programs (TBPs). These case studies are based on two types of SC: kerbside and drop-off. The latest regulation on SRF classification is taken into account: energy content, Cl and Hg concentrations are assessed and discussed. The role of the respirometric index (RI) is also analyzed. Results show that when SC is highly efficient RMSW can be classified directly as SRF, but only if the introduction of RI does not set stringent respirometric targets. The role of packaging TBPs is important as the residual waste remaining after the packaging has been processed, can be valorized increasing the lower heating value (LHV) of the residual RMSW and minimizing the streams that should be landfilled. The source separation of food waste has a significant impact on the suitability of bio-drying: when the SC of food waste is very efficient, its percentage in the RMSW may be too low for effective bio-drying.     

Research status,challenges and future prospects of renewable synthetic fuel catalysts for CO2 photocatalytic reduction conversion

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In recent years, with global climate change, the utilization of carbon dioxide as a resource has become an important goal of human society to achieve...     

Analysis of Key Features of Non-Linear Behaviour Using Recurrence Quantification. Case Study: Urban Airborne Pollution at Mexico City

The use of recurrence plots have been extensively used in various fields. In this work, recurrence plots investigate the changes in the non-linear behaviour of urban air pollution using large datasets of raw data (hourly). This analysis has not been used before to extract information from large datasets for this type of non-linear problem. Two different approaches have been used to tackle this problem. The first approach is to show results according to monitoring network. The second approach is to show the results by particle type. This analysis shows the feasibility of using recurrence analysis for pollution monitoring and control.     

Drivers of broadleaved evergreen species spread into deciduous forests in the southern Swiss Alps

Regional Environmental Change - The spread of non-native species into natural communities is a noticeable phenomenon linked to global change. Drivers of such invasions, however, may differ...     

Co-treatment of fruit and vegetable waste in sludge digesters. An analysis of the relationship among bio-methane generation,process stability and digestate phytotoxicity

The co-digestion of a variable amount of fruit and vegetable waste in a waste mixed sludge digester was investigated using a pilot scale apparatus. The organic loading rate (OLR) was increased from 1.46 kg VS/m³ day to 2.8 kg VS/m³ day. The hydraulic retention time was reduced from 14 days to about 10 days. Specific bio-methane production increased from about 90 NL/kg VS to the maximum value of about 430 NL/kg VS when OLR was increased from 1.46 kg VS/m³ day to 2.1 kg VS/m³ day. A higher OLR caused an excessive reduction in the hydraulic retention time, enhancing microorganism wash out. Process stability evaluated by the total volatile fatty acids concentration (mg/l) to the alkalinity buffer capacity (eq. mg/l CaCO₃) ratio (i.e. FOS/TAC) criterion was <0.1 indicating high stability for OLR <2.46 kg VS/m³ day. For higher OLR, FOS/TAC increased rapidly. Residual phytotoxicty of the digestate evaluated by the germination index (GI) (%) was quite constant for OLR < 2.46 kg VS/m³ day, which is lower than the 60% limit, indicating an acceptable toxicity level for crops. For OLR > 2.46 kg VS/m³ day, GI decreased rapidly. This corresponding trend between FOS/TAC and GI was further investigated by the definition of the GI ratio (GIR) parameter. Comparison between GIR and FOS/TAC suggests that GI could be a suitable criterion for evaluating process stability.