Why energy efficiency is not sufficient – some remarks on “Green by IT”

Most part of the “Green IT“ or “Green ICT“ discussion is addressing issues of energy efficiency, implicitly assuming that more energy-efficient technologies will substantially contribute to a reduction of total energy consumption and, as a consequence, of CO2 emissions. This assumption is usually challenged by historical evidence for the rebound effect. This paper presents a case study on smart vending machines, showing that the ocurrence and size of the rebound effect can vary greatly depending on several factors. Some suggestions on how to avoid rebound effects when applying “smarter” technologies to save energy are derived

Izvješćivanje o kvaliteti zraka u stvarnom vremenu kontinuiranim prijenosom podataka i web tehnologijama - povezivanje kvalitete zraka sa zdravstvenim rizicima u urbanim sredinama

This article presents a new, original application of modern information and communication technology to provide effective real-time dissemination of air quality information and related health risks to the general public. Our on-line subsystem for urban real-time air quality monitoring is a crucial component of a more comprehensive integrated information system, which has been developed by the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health. It relies on a StreamInsight data stream management system and service-oriented architecture to process data streamed from seven monitoring stations across Zagreb. Parameters that are monitored include gases (NO, NO2, CO, O3, H2S, SO2, benzene, NH3), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), and meteorological data (wind speed and direction, temperature and pressure). Streamed data are processed in real-time using complex continuous queries. They first go through automated validation, then hourly air quality index is calculated for every station, and a report sent to the Croatian Environment Agency. If the parameter values exceed the corresponding regulation limits for three consecutive hours, the web service generates an alert for population groups at risk. Coupled with the Common Air Quality Index model, our web application brings air pollution information closer to the general population and raises awareness about environmental and health issues. Soon we intend to expand the service to a mobile application that is being developed.U ovom se članku predstavlja nova, originalna primjena suvremene informacijske i komunikacijske tehnologije radi učinkovitoga izvješćivanja opće populacije o kvaliteti zraka i s njom povezanih zdravstvenih rizika. Naš online podsustav praćenja kvalitete zraka u gradovima ključan je dio složenijega integriranoga informacijskoga sustava koji je razvio Institut za medicinska istraživanja i medicinu rada. Oslanja se na sustav upravljanja kontinuiranim prijenosom informacija (engl. data stream management system) razvijen pomoću StreamInsighta i SOA arhitekture radi obrade podataka koji neprekidno dolaze sa sedam automatskih postaja za praćenje kvalitete zraka diljem Zagreba. Prate se sljedeći parametri: NO, NO2, CO, O3, H2S, SO2, benzen, NH3, čestice u zraku (PM10 i PM2.5), brzina i smjer vjetra, temperatura i tlak zraka. Zbog stalnih složenih upita (engl. continuous query) podaci se obrađuju u stvarnom vremenu. Prvi je korak automatska validacija pristiglih podataka, zatim se izračunava indeks kvalitete zraka za svaki sat, a potom se izvještaj šalje Agenciji za zaštitu okoliša. Ako tri sata za redom vrijednosti pojedinih parametara nadilaze granične vrijednosti utvrđene zakonom, web usluga šalje upozorenje osjetljivim populacijskim skupinama (bolesnicima, trudnicama, djeci, radnicima na otvorenom i dr.). Oslanjajući se na model europskoga indeksa kvalitete zraka (Common Air Quality Index, CAQI), naša web aplikacija približava općoj populaciji aktualne podatke o onečišćenju zraka te podiže svijest o problemima vezanima uz okoliš i zdravlje. Uskoro namjeravamo proširiti ovu uslugu na mobilnu aplikaciju, koja je u izradi

Remote sensing of geomorphodiversity linked to biodiversity — part III: traits, processes and remote sensing characteristics

Remote sensing (RS) enables a cost-effective, extensive, continuous and standardized monitoring of traits and trait variations of geomorphology and its processes, from the local to the continental scale. To implement and better understand RS techniques and the spectral indicators derived from them in the monitoring of geomorphology, this paper presents a new perspective for the definition and recording of five characteristics of geomorphodiversity with RS, namely: geomorphic genesis diversity, geomorphic trait diversity, geomorphic structural diversity, geomorphic taxonomic diversity, and geomorphic functional diversity. In this respect, geomorphic trait diversity is the cornerstone and is essential for recording the other four characteristics using RS technologies. All five characteristics are discussed in detail in this paper and reinforced with numerous examples from various RS technologies. Methods for classifying the five characteristics of geomorphodiversity using RS, as well as the constraints of monitoring the diversity of geomorphology using RS, are discussed. RS-aided techniques that can be used for monitoring geomorphodiversity in regimes with changing land-use intensity are presented. Further, new approaches of geomorphic traits that enable the monitoring of geomorphodiversity through the valorisation of RS data from multiple missions are discussed as well as the ecosystem integrity approach. Likewise, the approach of monitoring the five characteristics of geomorphodiversity recording with RS is discussed, as are existing approaches for recording spectral geomorhic traits/ trait variation approach and indicators, along with approaches for assessing geomorphodiversity. It is shown that there is no comparable approach with which to define and record the five characteristics of geomorphodiversity using only RS data in the literature. Finally, the importance of the digitization process and the use of data science for research in the field of geomorphology in the 21st century is elucidated and discussed

Towards Our Common Digital Future. Flagship Report.

In the report “Towards Our Common Digital Future”, the WBGU makes it clear that sustainability strategies and concepts need to be fundamentally further developed in the age of digitalization. Only if digital change and the Transformation towards Sustainability are synchronized can we succeed in advancing climate and Earth-system protection and in making social progress in human development. Without formative political action, digital change will further accelerate resource and energy consumption, and exacerbate damage to the environment and the climate. It is therefore an urgent political task to create the conditions needed to place digitalization at the service of sustainable development

Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation: Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

This Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX) has been jointly coordinated by Working Groups I (WGI) and II (WGII) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report focuses on the relationship between climate change and extreme weather and climate events, the impacts of such events, and the strategies to manage the associated risks. The IPCC was jointly established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in particular to assess in a comprehensive, objective, and transparent manner all the relevant scientific, technical, and socioeconomic information to contribute in understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, the potential impacts, and the adaptation and mitigation options. Beginning in 1990, the IPCC has produced a series of Assessment Reports, Special Reports, Technical Papers, methodologies, and other key documents which have since become the standard references for policymakers and scientists.This Special Report, in particular, contributes to frame the challenge of dealing with extreme weather and climate events as an issue in decisionmaking under uncertainty, analyzing response in the context of risk management. The report consists of nine chapters, covering risk management; observed and projected changes in extreme weather and climate events; exposure and vulnerability to as well as losses resulting from such events; adaptation options from the local to the international scale; the role of sustainable development in modulating risks; and insights from specific case studies