Identifying the land use and land cover change drivers: methods and case studies of two forest reserves in Northern Benin

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Land use and land cover change (LULCC) is one of the problems that the world has been facing for the last few decades despite political attention....     

Estimation of the Thermal Sensitivity of a Dwelling to Variations in Architectural and Behavioural Parameters

The provision of energy for households is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the domestic sector. There is significant scope for energy savings and thus emission reduction in this sector. This paper constructs a bridge between thermal analysis and environmental assessment in the occupancy stage of the dwelling life cycle, approaching both methods as being on a common system Environment–Dwelling–Inhabitant. The importance of the local level in the thermal analysis and assessment of either a dwelling or an inhabitant's behaviour is demonstrated. It is shown that the researcher can choose between natural experiment, computer experiment and mathematical modelling to analyze the system. Such a choice is discussed for two particular methods of thermal analysis. Thermal Nomograms are the result of mathematical modelling, and the Energy Score Sheet is the result of a computer experiment in energy rating. Despite being developed for the purpose of thermal analysis, these methods can also be utilized for environmental assessment at the local level. The discussion centres on Australian conditions where the majority of the population resides in a relatively benign climate wherein behavioural alterations have significant potential for energy savings and environmental impact. The purpose of the paper is to emphasise benefits apart from energy minimisation to promote the use of energy efficient housing strategies.     

Metals, non-metals and PCB in electrical and electronic waste--actual levels in Switzerland

The chemical composition of waste of small electrical and electronic equipment (s-WEEE), a rapidly growing waste stream, was determined for selected metals (Cu, Sb, Hg etc.) and non-metals (Cl, Br, P) and PCBs. During a 3-day experiment, all output products and the s-WEEE input mass flows in a WEEE recycling plant were measured. Only output products were sampled and analyzed. Material balances were established, applying substance flow analysis (SFA). Transfer coefficients for the selected substances were also determined. The results demonstrate the capability of SFA to determine the composition of the highly heterogeneous WEEE for most substances with rather low uncertainty (2 sigma +/- 30%). The results confirm the growing importance of s-WEEE regarding secondary resource metals and potential toxic substances. Nowadays, the thirty times smaller s-WEEE turns over larger flows for many substances, compared to municipal solid waste. Transfer coefficient results serve to evaluate the separation efficiency of the recycling process and confirm--with the exception of PCB and Hg--the limitation of hand-sorting and mechanical processing to separate pollutants (Cd, Pb, etc.) out of reusable fractions. Regularly applied SFA would serve to assess the efficacy of legislative, organizational and technical measures on the WEEE.     

Handling the phosphorus paradox in agriculture and natural ecosystems: Scarcity,necessity, and burden of P

This special issue of Ambio compiles a series of contributions made at the 8th International Phosphorus Workshop (IPW8), held in September 2016 in Rostock, Germany. The introducing overview article summarizes major published scientific findings in the time period from IPW7 (2015) until recently, including presentations from IPW8. The P issue was subdivided into four themes along the logical sequence of P utilization in production, environmental, and societal systems: (1) Sufficiency and efficiency of P utilization, especially in animal husbandry and crop production; (2) P recycling: technologies and product applications; (3) P fluxes and cycling in the environment; and (4) P governance. The latter two themes had separate sessions for the first time in the International Phosphorus Workshops series; thus, this overview presents a scene-setting rather than an overview of the latest research for these themes. In summary, this paper details new findings in agricultural and environmental P research, which indicate reduced P inputs, improved management options, and provide translations into governance options for a more sustainable P use.     

An urban emissions inventory for South America and its application in numerical modeling of atmospheric chemical composition at local and regional scales

This work describes the development of an urban vehicle emissions inventory for South America, based on the analysis and aggregation of available inventories for major cities, with emphasis on its application in regional atmospheric chemistry modeling. Due to the limited number of available local inventories, urban emissions were extrapolated based on the correlation between city vehicle density and mobile source emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Emissions were geographically distributed using a methodology that delimits urban areas using high spatial resolution remote sensing products. This numerical algorithm enabled a more precise representation of urban centers. The derived regional inventory was evaluated by analyzing the performance of a chemical weather forecast model in relation to observations of CO, NOx and O₃ in two different urban areas, São Paulo and Belo Horizonte. The gas mixing ratios simulated using the proposed regional inventory show good agreement with observations, consistently representing their hourly and daily variability. These results show that the integration of municipal inventories in a regional emissions map and their precise distribution in fine scale resolutions are important tools in regional atmospheric chemistry modeling.     

Appraisal of measurement methods, chemical composition and sources of fine atmospheric particles over six different areas of Northern Belgium

Daily and seasonal variation in the total elemental, organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) content and mass of PM_2.5 were studied at industrial, urban, suburban and agricultural/rural areas. Continuous (optical Dustscan, standard tapered element oscillating micro-balance (TEOM), TEOM with filter dynamics measurement system), semi-continuous (Partisol filter-sampling) and non-continuous (Dekati-impactor sampling and gravimetry) methods of PM_2.5 mass monitoring were critically evaluated. The average elemental fraction accounted for 2-6% of the PM_2.5 mass measured by gravimetry. Metals, like K, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn and Pb were strongly inter-correlated, also frequently with non-metallic elements (P, S, Cl and/or Br) and EC/OC. A high OC/EC ratio (2-9) was generally observed. The total carbon content of PM_2.5 ranged between 3 and 77% (averages: 12-32%), peaking near industrial/heavy trafficked sites. Principal component analysis identified heavy oil burning, ferrous/non-ferrous industry and vehicular emissions as the main sources of metal pollution.     

Improving Baghouse Performance at the Monticello Generating Station

At the Monticello station, operated by the Texas Utilities Generating Company, lignite coal obtained locally in Titus and Hopkins Counties fuels each of the three units. Units 1 and 2 are identical 575-MW Combustion Engineering (CE) boilers, each of which discharges its effluent to a 36- compartment shake/deflate cleaned baghouse paralleled with four electrostatic precipitators (ESP). Unit 3 is a larger boiler and is followed by an ESP and a scrubber. The Unit 1 and 2 baghouses were designed to clean 80 percent of the flue gas. Since startup, these baghouses have regularly experienced flange-to-flange pressure drops in excess of 10 in. H₂O, with large opacity spikes caused by ash bleeding through the bags after compartment cleanings. Because of higher-than-expected pressure drop, the baghouses receive only about 45-50 percent of the flue gas. Analysis has shown the Monticello lignite ash significantly differs from most other coal ashes. Testing has shown that the Monticello ash is not filtered effectively by many "standard" bag materials. However, this testing indicates that there are fabrics that show promise of eliminating the ash bleedthrough with little pressure drop penalty. Testing has also shown that injection of low concentrations (10-15 ppm) of ammonia (NH₃) into the flue gas significantly decreases ash bleedthrough, so that with NH₃ injection "standard" bag materials may perform adequately. Currently, fullcompartment testing of four fabrics, with and without NH₃ injection, is under way at the Unit 1 baghouse. The research conducted at the Monticello station is reviewed in this paper and the encouraging results from the full-compartment tests are presented.     

Garnering input for recycling communication strategies at a Big Ten University

With increasing environmental challenges confronting our planet, colleges and universities are trying different approaches for minimizing their adverse environmental impacts. Among the approaches being used to revitalize campus sustainability efforts, new waste management strategies have included attempts to improve campus-recycling programs. This paper presents select findings from a comprehensive study at a large, Tier I university aimed at, among other things, informing university administration and decision makers working on the planning and implementation of a new campus-wide recycling facility and program. The researchers used a mixed-method approach to help them develop an understanding of the campus community's (1) perceived barriers to recycling, (2) recycling knowledge, (3) program preferences, and (4) environmental attitudes. The results from a web-based survey (n = 3896, RR1 = 24.9%) suggest, communication efforts for recycling programming should focus more on messages concerning what, how, and where to recycle rather than messages on why to recycle. Furthermore, the results suggest recycling-related publicity approaches should differentiate their mode and content for different segments of the community.     

Renewable energy sources: conflicts and opportunities in a changing landscape

Regional Environmental Change - Replacement of conventional energy sources with renewables such as solar panels and wind turbines requires adequate land. Impact assessments should be conducted to...