Journal of Environmental Management

www.elsevier.co~i~/Iocatc/jenvn~a~~ EMERGY-based environmental systems assessment of a multi-purpose temperate mixed-forest watershed of the souther

Evaluating renewable energy options for small islands using emergy methodology: A case study of coconut biodiesel in the Fiji Islands

The Pacific Island Countries including the Fiji Islands are heavily dependent on imported petroleum fuels for their energy needs. This is a major cause of environmental vulnerability as well as economic vulnerability due to high and volatile crude oil prices. A combination of Demand Side Management (DSM) to reduce energy consumption and optimize usage, and Renewable Energy Technologies (RET) to substitute fossil fuels can reduce their vulnerability. DSM consists of Smart Grids, Energy Efficiency and Storage, while RETs substitute fossil fuels by harnessing solar, wind, small hydro, biomass, geothermal and ocean energies. Comparative costs of electricity from RETs show that most of them are cheaper than the typical price of electricity in Pacific island countries. Nearly half of Fiji’s electricity is generated using petroleum fuels that can be substituted by biodiesel produced from locally grown coconuts. To evaluate the sustainability of coconut biodiesel, two different Environmental Accounting methods have been used: i) Emergy Analysis, and ii) Embodied Energy Analysis. Emergy Analysis is a holistic methodology that integrates all major inputs from the human economy and those coming ‘free’ from the environment, to evaluate complex systems. Emergy Performance Indicators for coconut biodiesel are: i) Emergy Yield Ratio is 1.32 indicating a low ability to exploit local resources efficiently; ii) Environmental Loading Ratio is 8.57 implying that biodiesel production causes significant environmental or ecosystem stress; and iii) Emergy Index of Sustainability is 0.15 indicating a low contribution to the economy per unit of environmental loading and a very high degree of environmental stress per unit of Emergy yield. Embodied Energy Analysis is a complimentary methodology that accounts for only the commercial energy (in kgs oil equivalent) required directly or indirectly to provide all the inputs (goods and services) for the entire biodiesel production process. Embodied Energy Performance Indicators are: i) Energy Return on Energy Invested is 2.47 which means that it is not worth the effort in energetic terms; and ii) Carbon dioxide Emissions during the production of coconut biodiesel is 1.38 kg CO2 per kg biodiesel showing that biodiesel is not climate neutral. This thesis adds to the growing body of knowledge that uses Emergy Analysis to evaluate sustainability of biofuels and other renewable energy options in a holistic manner. This is the first time in reported literature that Emergy Analysis has been used to determine the sustainability of coconut biodiesel. The Emergy and Embodied Energy performance indicators clearly show that coconut biodiesel is not a sustainable alternate source of energy for the Fiji Islands

Typhoon disaster risk assessment based on emergy theory: A case study of Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, China

Typhoons and cyclones are the most impacting and destructive natural disasters in the world. To address the shortcomings of a previous typhoon disaster risk assessment (for example, human factors were involved in determining weights by importance, and this affected the experimental results), an emergy method, which converts energy flows of different properties into the same solar energy basis for a convenient comparison, was used to assess the risk of regional typhoon disasters. Typhoon disaster-related data from 2017 were used to develop an index system including resilience, potential strength, and sensitivity which was in turn applied to assess typhoon disaster risks in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, China. The results showed that the spatial distribution of the typhoon disaster risks in Zhuhai significantly differed, with the highest risk in Xiangzhou district, the second highest risk in Doumen district, and the lowest risk in Jinwan district. In addition, improving the level of regional resilience can effectively reduce risks from typhoon disasters. The application of the emergy method in a typhoon disaster risk assessment may provide some theoretical support for national and regional governmental strategies for disaster prevention and reduction

Ecosystem properties and principles of living systems as foundation for sustainable agriculture – Critical reviews of environmental assessment tools, key findings and questions from a course process

With increasing demands on limited resources worldwide, there is a growing interest in sustainable patterns of utilisation and production. Ecological agriculture is a response to these concerns. To assess progress and compliance, standard and comprehensive measures of resource requirements, impacts and agro-ecological health are needed. Assessment tools should also be rapid, standardized, userfriendly, meaningful to public policy and applicable to management. Fully considering these requirements confounds the development of integrated methods. Currently, there are many methodologies for monitoring performance, each with its own foundations, assumptions, goals, and outcomes, dependent upon agency agenda or academic orientation. Clearly, a concept of sustainability must address biophysical, ecological, economic, and sociocultural foundations. Assessment indicators and criteria, however, are generally limited, lacking integration, and at times in conflict with one another. A result is that certification criteria, indicators, and assessment methods are not based on a consistent, underlying conceptual framework and often lack a management focus. Ecosystem properties and principles of living systems, including self-organisation, renewal, embeddedness, emergence and commensurate response provide foundation for sustainability assessments and may be appropriate focal points for critical thinking in an evaluation of current methods and standards. A systems framework may also help facilitate a comprehensive approach and promote a context for meaningful discourse. Without holistic accounts, sustainable progress remains an illdefined concept and an elusive goal. Our intent, in the work with this report, was to use systems ecology as a pedagogic basis for learning and discussion to: - Articulate general and common characteristics of living systems. - Identify principles, properties and patterns inherent in natural ecosystems. - Use these findings as foci in a dialogue about attributes of sustainability to: a. develop a model for communicating scientific rationale. b. critically evaluate environmental assessment tools for application in land-use. c. propose appropriate criteria for a comprehensive assessment and expanded definition of ecological land use

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND WASTE TREATMENT CAPABILITIES OF SMALL-SCALE ANAEROBIC DIGESTION SYSTEMS

Anaerobic digestion is a common form of waste treatment and energy production throughout the world, and in the United States the number of agricultural digesters is increasing at a rate of approximately 10% annually. As the number of digesters grows, efforts to assess the environmental cost of their installation and the potential utility of their by-products are required. This research investigates the relative environmental sustainability of small-scale digesters treating dairy manure in the U.S. and human waste in Haiti, and explores the biogas potential and nutrient transformations resulting from the anaerobic digestion of dairy manure. Specifically, the objectives of the research are: 1) to conduct an eMergy analysis on the two digestion systems to assess the effect of waste source, climate, and infrastructure on system sustainability; and 2) to provide an overview of waste treatment and energy production options for agricultural digesters treating dairy manure in the United States

Organic vegetables from community-supported agriculture in Italy: emergy assessment and potential for sustainable, just, and resilient urban-rural local food production

Global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic highlight the interconnectedness and vulnerability of human systems, requiring integrated transdisciplinary studies aimed at breaking unsustainable and unjust practices. In this work, a horticultural collaborative production system is addressed, inspired by the community-supported agriculture (CSA) model. In a highly industrialised area of Northern Italy, with significant wild land consumption, an alternative bottom-up experience is described for the provision of vegetables in a short and cooperative not-for-sale supply chain. Local organic farming and just labour conditions seek ecological sustainability and social equity beyond market dynamics. This CSA project contributes to the resilience of a territory currently affected by health and economic plights. Its claims, limits, and potentials of a project of this kind are investigated for the first time by means of the Emergy Assessment (EMA). The socio-ecological and economic inputs in the system at issue are identified and quantified, partly eased by the transparent process of the target community, and some key indicators are calculated. The new specific emergy values for the organic horticultural produce at hand are 3.15E+12 sej/kg (without labour and services), with organic manure as a leading input (37%) and 1.02E+13 sej/kg (with L&S), with labour as a leading input (38% paid, 8% voluntary) as key inputs; their calculation corrects underestimations present in some biased studies. This EMA provides fruitful insights of a single replicable and/or scalable project, thus offering current barrier and future opportunities for local improvement and exportability to crisis and post-crisis scenarios, and anyway for pursuing sustainability goals

SOIL FERTILITY, EMERGY EVALUATION, AND IMPROVEMENTS TO MILPA IN INDIGENOUS ZAPOTEC AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS

This research was conducted in the tropical mountainous area in the northeast of Oaxaca, Mexico (Sierra Norte). This area is inhabited by the Zapotec indigenous people whose livelihoods rely upon traditional agriculture. The Zapotec farmers’ main agricultural system is the milpa, an intercropping of primarily corn and beans; shaded coffee; and sugar cane. Trees are also part of the cropping systems and provide shade as in shaded coffee, function as barriers between land uses, or are used to shift from annual cropping to perennial shade coffee. This research demonstrates that these various land uses are part of a traditionally designed agroforestry system that provide ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, and soil fertility. The first approach to study this system was an emergy evaluation of the Zapotec traditional education system (TEK-education). More specifically, I looked at the energy inputs from renewable and non-renewable resources that supports this knowledge system. Second, I compared soil fertility, carbon and nitrogen concentrations, among land-uses within the Zapotec agroforestry. For shaded coffee, I determined carbon sequestration in the standing biomass and carbon inputs from litterfall from the leguminous species Inga spp. Results from these lines of research indicated that TEK education systems have similar emergy transformity values, and lower environmental impact than conventional systems. Soil organic carbon and nitrogen concentrations were higher in secondary forest and were not statistically different among land uses under cropping, thus providing evidence of the conservation of soil nutrients among land uses. I found that milpa cropping had an acidic pH, and sugar cane had the lowest soil organic carbon and nitrogen. Hence, I developed an experiment to test the use of mulch derived from Inga vera Wild. and the organic fertilizer Bio-orgamin to increase soil pH, exchangeable cations, and milpa yields. This treatment showed promise for increasing pH and exchangeable cations, and to increase biomass in milpa. Finally, I included a chapter on performance ethnography, reflecting on my own experiences while engaging in research within the Zapotec community to which I belong

A Systems Approach to Process Design and Sustainability - Synergy via Pollution Prevention, Control, and Source Reduction

Historically, process design prioritized efficiency and profitability, often overlooking environmental and societal implications. However, given the global challenges like climate change and resource scarcity, there is a growing emphasis on embedding sustainability into process design. Adopting a systems-oriented approach provides a comprehensive view, spanning from raw material acquisition to end-of-life product management. Such an approach not only identifies potential sustainability challenges but ensures that solutions foster both environmental responsibility and economic viability. In this study, a comprehensive framework for designing industrial systems is introduced, aiming to encompass the entire lifecycle impacts of chemical processes. The research initially delves into two end-of-life scenarios: solvent recovery (as a pollution reduction intervention) and wastewater treatment systems (as a pollution control intervention). Employing graph-theoretical methods and multi-objective optimization, a thorough systems analysis which incorporates Ecological footprint and Emergy analysis, coupled with economic assessment is presented. Furthermore, a Machine Learning (ML) model (as a source reduction option) is developed to predict the cradle-to-gate impacts of chemicals. Merging the insights from this ML model with the end-of-life scenarios offers a comprehensive systems strategy, advocating for a sustainability-focused approach during the early stages of process design