Social learning and sustainable communities: An interim assessment of research into sustainable communities projects in the UK

Abstract

The delivery of many of the most pressing environmental issues will rely on changes in environmental attitudes and behaviour at community level. At a UN Special Session in 1997, the British Government highlighted its initiatives on Local Agenda 21 (LA21) and Going for Green (GFG) as significant advances. This paper adds a new perspective, drawing on the range of experiences of some of the research teams that have been working with local authorities on pilot Sustainable Community Projects (SCPs) in England and Scotland. It sheds light on three substantive themes: the tensions inherent in the implementation of internationally and nationally agreed goals through local action; the ambiguity of local agencies acting as facilitators of community ownership of processes, and the requirements for successful partnership between local authorities and higher education.     

Comparison of sampling collection strategies for assessing airborne trichloramine levels in indoor swimming pools

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Since 1995, Hery’s trichloramine sampling procedure has been widely used to determine trichloramine exposure in indoor swimming pools. This...     

Preconcentration of tin in environmental and biological samples by ion exchange using modified Amberlite XAD-2

Utilization of Amberlite XAD-2 surface modified by covalent immobilization of brilliant green through an azo spacer for adsorptive enrichment of Sn(II) from environmental and biological samples was highlighted. The resulting resin was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The resin retained Sn(II) ions at an optimum pH of 9.5 with a sorption capacity of 40 mg g^?1. The modified sorbent could be reused for 10 cycles without significant changes in sorption capacity. The recovery of Sn(II) was 98% when eluted with 0.1 mol L^?1 ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Scatchard analysis revealed that binding sites in the modified resin were homogeneous. The equilibrium adsorption data were analyzed using the Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Redlich–Peterson isotherm models. The method was applied with satisfactory results for determination of Sn(II) ions in human plasma and sea water.     

Removal of acid yellow 36 using Box–Behnken designed photoelectro-Fenton: a study on removal mechanisms

Photoelectro-Fenton was applied for the removal of acid yellow 36 (AY36) from synthetic aqueous solution using iron electrodes. A Box–Behnken design was used for optimization of the effects of pH, H₂O₂ concentration, current density, and reaction time. Individual effects of these variables were more important than their interaction effects. The derived model was in good agreement with the experimental results. Total organic carbon was determined in solution and sludge in order to clarify the removal mechanism. Increase of H₂O₂ concentration and current density led to domination of oxidation and coagulation mechanisms, respectively. The effects of scavenging and inhibiting agents were also investigated: (1) presence of alcohols can reduce the efficiency through competition with dye for reaction with hydroxyl radicals; (2) anions (NO₃^?, HCO₃^?, and H₂PO₄^?) scavenged hydroxyl radicals and reduced decolorization of AY36.     

Temperature-responsive graphene oxide/N-isopropylacrylamide/2-allylphenol nanocomposite for the removal of phenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol from aqueous solution

In this study, a novel thermo-responsive polymer was synthesized with efficient grafting of N-isopropylacrylamide as a thermosensitive polymer onto the graphene oxide surface for the efficient removal of phenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol from aqueous solutions. The synthesized polymer was conjugated with 2-allylphenol. Phenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol were monitored by ultra-performance liquid chromatography system equipped with a photodiode array detector. The nanoadsorbent was characterized by different techniques. The nanoadsorbent revealed high adsorption capacity where the removal percentages of 91 and 99% were found under optimal conditions for phenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol, respectively (for phenol; adsorbent dosage = 0.005 g, pH = 8, temperature= 25 °C, contact time = 60 min; for 2,4-dichlorophenol; adsorbent dosage = 0.005 g, pH = 5, temperature = 25 °C, contact time = 10 min). Adsorption of phenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol onto nanoadsorbent followed pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models, respectively. The values of ΔG (average value = ? 11.39 kJ mol^?1 for phenol and 13.42 kJ mol^?1 for 2,4-dichlorophenol), ΔH (? 431.72 J mol^?1 for phenol and ? 15,721.8 J mol^?1 for 2,4-dichlorophenol), and ΔS (35.39 J mol^?1 K^?1 for phenol and ? 7.40 J mol^?1 K^?1 for 2,4-dichlorophenol) confirmed spontaneous and exothermic adsorption. The reusability study indicated that the adsorbent can be reused in the wastewater treatment application. Thermosensitive nanoadsorbent could be used as a low-cost and efficient sorbent for phenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol removal from wastewater samples.

     

The effect of neglecting spatial variations of the parameters in pollutant transport modeling in rivers

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - For many environmental projects and plans, it is necessary to model pollutant transport in rivers. Pollutant transport modeling is a complex phenomenon with multiple...     

Spatial and temporal analysis of the COVID-19 incidence pattern in Iran

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In the present paper, province-level variations of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease incidence across Iran were investigated. To this end, a...     

Fabrication of a pH-Responsive Magnetic Nanocarrier Based on Carboxymethyl Cellulose-Aminated Graphene Oxide for Loading and In-Vitro Release of Curcumin

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - In this study, a pH-responsive magnetic drug delivery system was prepared by cross-linking of Cofe2O4/graphene oxide to carboxymethyl cellulose...     

Social learning and sustainable communities: An interim assessment of research into sustainable communities projects in the UK

The delivery of many of the most pressing environmental issues will rely on changes in environmental attitudes and behaviour at community level. At a UN Special Session in 1997, the British Government highlighted its initiatives on Local Agenda 21 (LA21) and Going for Green (GFG) as significant advances. This paper adds a new perspective, drawing on the range of experiences of some of the research teams that have been working with local authorities on pilot Sustainable Community Projects (SCPs) in England and Scotland. It sheds light on three substantive themes: the tensions inherent in the implementation of internationally and nationally agreed goals through local action; the ambiguity of local agencies acting as facilitators of community ownership of processes, and the requirements for successful partnership between local authorities and higher education.