Embodied energy and CO2 in UK dimension stone

A process based life cycle assessment of dimension stone production in the UK has been carried out according to PAS 2050. From a survey of eight production operations, on a cradle-to-site basis for UK destinations the carbon footprint of sandstone is 77 kgCO₂e/tonne, that of granite is 107 kgCO₂e/tonne and that of slate is 251 kgCO₂e/tonne. These values are considerably higher for stone imported from abroad due to the impact of transport. Reducing the reliance on imported stone will contribute to emissions reduction targets as well as furthering the goals of sustainable development.     

调蓄池在区域水系生态治理中的应用

在串湖流域黑臭水体污染治理过程中,调蓄池起到了合流污水截流及初期雨水面源污染控制的作用。本工程根据汇水分区的划分,共设置11座调蓄池,总调蓄容积为130500m^3。调蓄池的设置可最大限度地消减排入河道的污染物,同时对于控制初期雨水带来的面源污染至关重要。     

Carbon exchange by establishing biofuel crops in Central Illinois

Perennial grass biofuels may contribute to long-term carbon sequestration in soils, thereby providing a broad range of environmental benefits. To quantify those benefits, the carbon balance was investigated over three perennial grass biofuel crops - miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and a mixture of native prairie plants - and a row crop control (maize-maize-soy) in Central Illinois, USA, during the establishment phase of the perennial grasses (2008-2011). The eddy covariance technique was used to calculate fluxes of carbon dioxide and energy balance components, such as latent and sensible heat fluxes. Whereas maize attained the highest maximal carbon uptake rates, the perennial grasses had significantly extended growing seasons, such that their total carbon uptake rivaled that of corn in the second growing season and greatly exceeded that of soy in the third growing season. To account for the removal of carbon through harvest, net ecosystem exchange of carbon (NEE) was combined with estimates of yields, resulting in the net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB). After 2.5 years, NECB for the maize/soybean plot was positive (a source of carbon), while the grasses were a sink of carbon. Continuous measurements over the next years are required in order to confirm whether miscanthus, switchgrass and prairie can sustain a long-term sink of carbon if managed for biofuels, i.e., if harvested annually.     

Salience of carbon taxes in the gasoline market

We demonstrate that the carbon tax imposed by the Canadian province of British Columbia caused a decline in short-run gasoline demand that is significantly greater than would be expected from an equivalent increase in the market price of gasoline. That the carbon tax is more salient, or yields a larger change in demand than equivalent market price movements, is robust to a range of specifications. As a result of the large consumer response to the tax, we calculate that during its first four years, the tax reduced carbon dioxide emissions from gasoline consumption by 2.4 million tonnes.     

“Mama,I can’t breathe.” Louisville’s dirty air has steep medical and economic costs

ABSTRACT

The calls for greater racial equity also means cleaning up the air, water, and soil. Poor people needlessly suffer more in Louisville than the same low-income people in West Coast cites. If we adopted the same tough, environmental regulations as our West Coast Counterparts West Louisville would surely bloom instead of slowly die. The unfairness between black and white neighbourhoods is stark and vivid. As the great urbanist, Jane Jacobs, once said: “everyone hungers for a first class neighbourhood for both pride and dignity?…?nobody wants a second class neighborhood.” First class neighbourhoods are safe, healthy, sustainable, and prosperous. It is a human right; a Worldwide right.     

The sensitivity of carbon sequestration to harvesting and climate conditions in a temperate cypress forest: Observations and modeling

The role of disturbance and climate factors in determining the forest carbon balance was investigated at a Japanese cypress forest in central Japan with eddy flux measurements, tree-ring analyses, and a terrestrial biosphere model. The forest was established as a plantation after intermittent harvesting and replanting between 1959 and 1977, and acted as a strong carbon sink of approximately 500 g C m⁻² year⁻¹ for the measurement years between 2001 and 2007. A terrestrial biosphere model, BIOME-BGC, was validated using the eddy flux data at daily to interannual timescales, and the tree-ring width data at interannual to decadal timescales. According to the model simulation, during the observation period 270 ± 55 g C m⁻² year⁻¹ was additionally sequestered due to the indirect effects of the harvesting and planting, whereas the increase of CO₂ concentration and the change in climate increased the sink of 110 ± 40 and 30 ± 80 g C m⁻² year⁻¹, respectively. The model simulation shows that the forest is now recovering from harvesting, and that harvesting is a more important determinant of the current carbon sink than either interannual climate anomalies or increased atmospheric CO₂ concentration. We found that harvesting with long rotation length could be effective management activity in order to increase carbon sequestration, if the harvested timber is converted into products with long lifecycles.     

Biodecolorization and partial mineralization of Reactive Black 5 by a strain of Rhodopseudomonas palustris

A strain of photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodopseudomonas palustris W1, isolated from a lab-scale anaerobic moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) treating textile e?uent was demonstrated to decolorize Reactive Black 5 (RB5) effciently under anaerobic condition. By a series of batch tests, the suitable conditions for RB5 decolorization were obtained, namely, pH < 10, light presence, glutamine or lactate as carbon source with concentration more than 500 mg/L when lactate is selected, NH4Cl as a nitrogen source with ...     

中国省域能源消费碳排放时空异质性的EOF和GWR分析

利用自然正交函数(EOF)揭示中国各省份能源消费碳排放量变动的时空特征,借助地理加权回归模型(GWR)分析了碳排放量驱动因素的空间分布状况.研究结果表明:中国省域能源消费碳排放量整体处于增长状态,但其增长速度有减缓趋势;EOF第一模态结果显示,碳排放量以四川省为中心向南北方向扩散,低值区集中分布在西北地区和珠三角地区;第二模态结果显示,碳排放量增长速度表现出西南地区和东南沿海地区较快,而中部省份碳排放量增长速度较慢的态势.碳排放量影响因素的重要程度由大到小依次为:总人口变化量、人均GDP变化量、城镇化率变化量、二产比重变化量、贸易开放程度变化量和能源消耗强度变化量,其中,总人口变化量的影响程度最为剧烈,每当总人口变化1%时,碳排放量相应地会变化0.5358%.     

Towards a spatially explicit and quantitative vulnerability assessment of environmental change in Europe

Over the next century, society will increasingly be confronted with the impacts of global change (e.g. pollution, land use changes, and climate change). Multiple scenarios provide us with a range of possible changes in socio-economic trends, land uses and climate (i.e. exposure) and allow us to assess the response of ecosystems and changes in the services they provide (i.e. potential impacts). Since vulnerability to global change is less when society is able to adapt, it is important to provide decision makers with tools that will allow them to assess and compare the vulnerability of different sectors and regions to global change, taking into account exposure and sensitivity, as well as adaptive capacity. This paper presents a method that allows quantitative spatial analyses of the vulnerability of the human-environment system on a European scale. It is a first step towards providing stakeholders and policy makers with a spatially explicit portfolio of comparable projections of ecosystem services, providing a basis for discussion on the sustainable management of Europe’s natural resources.