A Framework for Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment of Road Salt Used in Winter Maintenance Operations

It is important to assess from a holistic perspective the sustainability of road salt widely used in winter road maintenance (WRM) operations. The importance becomes increasingly apparent in light of competing priorities faced by roadway agencies, the need for collaborative decision-making, and growing concerns over the risks that road salt poses for motor vehicles, transportation infrastructure, and the natural environment. This project introduces the concept of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), which combines Life Cycle Costing, Environmental Life Cycle Assessment, and Social Life Cycle Assessment. The combination captures the features of three pillars in sustainability: economic development, environmental preservation, and social progress. With this framework, it is possible to enable more informed and balanced decisions by considering the entire life cycle of road salt and accounting for the indirect impacts of applying road salt for snow and ice control. This project proposes a LCSA framework of road salt, which examines the three branches of LCSA, their relationships in the integrated framework, and the complexities and caveats in the LCSA. While this framework is a first step in the right direction, we envision that it will be improved and enriched by continued research and may serve as a template for the LCSA of other WRM products, technologies, and practices

Perceived drivers of change among mountain farmers and linkages to agroecological resilience in Norway.

Using Q-Methodology, the objective of this study was to describe drivers of change processes in Norwegian mountain farming for the region of Valdres, as perceived by farmers themselves. This mixed-methods approach intended to capture the latent subjectivity among farmers for multiple issues. Two distinct factors – or social perspectives – were described based on 20 participants’ Q-Sorts, revealing areas of relative agreement and disagreement towards these drivers. These in turn were linked to different behaviour-based indicators of agroecological resilience, put forth by Cabell and Oelofse (2012). Corresponding indicators described various changes and phases within farmers’ adaptive cycles. Farmers within perspective 1 were found to be more vulnerable to exogenous drivers, particularly to the negative impacts of landscape fragmentation and development in outfields. Farmers within perspective 2 also identified with such vulnerabilities, but their resilience was upheld by their perceived greater life quality. Multiple conflicting development trajectories suggest potential spatial and temporal idiosyncrasies in resilience capacities within the regional panarchy. Most notably, many participants spoke of the paradoxes in national agricultural policies seeking to promote multifunctional agriculture and efficiency goals. A relational approach to studying resilience uncovered the extent to which farmers perceived these multifunctional goals as achievable in the face of multiple wicked problems, whose impacts are described by participants

The climatic changes and their role in the urban planning in Iraq (GIS.RS)

Known as the green establishment or sustainable building, they are buildings whose design depends on building technologies that take into account the environment in the materials used, energy consumption and sustainability. Climatic considerations were taken in the field of urban planning of the city? A number of scientific hypotheses have been formulated that serve as an organizational framework for this study. They were represented in the following: The emergence and formation of Iraqi cities in their current location resulted in various environmental impacts. The study aimed to identify the effect of climate elements in determining the location of cities, and to identify the effect of climate elements in The establishment of housing and its characteristics in terms of building materials and others, and the study adopted an analytical approach based on the analysis of a number of climatic factors that significantly affect the establishment of cities. A group of programs were used in this study that complemented others, including the Erdas V.9.1 program and the Alois program. (IL WIS 3.7) and the geographic information systems program (ARCGIS-V.10) The satellite images of the US satellite Landsat for the years 1970 (ETM) 2021 (ETM + 7) were obtained and satellite images were analyzed. The borders of northern Baghdad were projected onto the satellite images and a cut was made. Sub setting for satellite image analysis

Strategic Research Agenda for organic food and farming

The TP Organics Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) was finalised in December 2009. The purpose of the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) is to enable research, development and knowledge transfer that will deliver relevant outcomes – results that will contribute to the improvement of the organic sector and other low external input systems. The document has been developed through a dynamic consultative process that ran from 2008 to 2009. It involved a wide range of stakeholders who enthusiastically joined the effort to define organic research priorities. From December 2008 to February; the expert groups elaborated the first draft. The consultative process involved the active participation of many different countries. Consultation involved researchers, advisors, members of inspection/certification bodies, as well as different users/beneficiaries of the research such as farmers, processors, market actors and members of civil society organisations throughout Europe and further afield in order to gather the research needs of the whole organic sector

Ecology and Applied Environmental Science

Ecology and Applied Environmental Science addresses the impact of contemporary environmental problems by using the main principles of scientific ecology. It offers a brief yet comprehensive explanation of ecosystems based on energy, populations, and cycles of chemical elements. The book presents a variety of scientific ecological issues and uses these to examine a range of environmental problems while considering potential engineering, scientific, and managerial solutions. It takes an engineering approach and avoids excessive biological detail, while introducing ecology with a systemic approach. The book examines categories of organisms as well as the physical and chemical processes that affect them. It refers to the dynamics of populations and analysis of their major mutual influences, elaborates on the roles of primary production, limiting factors, energy flow, and circulation of chemical substances in the ecosystems, and presents the basic functions of aquatic ecosystems. The author considers important issues related to environmental degradation of forests, aquatic habitats, coastal zones, other natural landscapes, and urban areas, includes a survey of problems related to waste and toxic and radioactive substances, and presents the greenhouse effect and impacts from climate change. He discusses environmental management prospects and the potential for technological control of pollution from liquid, solid, and gaseous waste. He also highlights existing tools for environmental management, ecological and social aspects of biodiversity and landscape protection, and the contrast between development and environment in combination with ideas about sustainability. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

An Overview of Carbon Footprint Mitigation Strategies. Machine Learning for Societal Improvement, Modernization, and Progress

Among the most pressing issues in the world today is the impact of globalization and energy consumption on the environment. Despite the growing regulatory framework to prevent ecological degradation, sustainability continues to be a problem. Machine learning can help with the transition toward a net-zero carbon society. Substantial work has been done in this direction. Changing electrical systems, transportation, buildings, industry, and land use are all necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Considering the carbon footprint aspect of sustainability, this chapter provides a detailed overview of how machine learning can be applied to forge a path to ecological sustainability in each of these areas. The chapter highlights how various machine learning algorithms are used to increase the use of renewable energy, efficient transportation, and waste management systems to reduce the carbon footprint. The authors summarize the findings from the current research literature and conclude by providing a few future directions

Ecology and Applied Environmental Science

Ecology and Applied Environmental Science addresses the impact of contemporary environmental problems by using the main principles of scientific ecology. It offers a brief yet comprehensive explanation of ecosystems based on energy, populations, and cycles of chemical elements. The book presents a variety of scientific ecological issues and uses these to examine a range of environmental problems while considering potential engineering, scientific, and managerial solutions. It takes an engineering approach and avoids excessive biological detail, while introducing ecology with a systemic approach. The book examines categories of organisms as well as the physical and chemical processes that affect them. It refers to the dynamics of populations and analysis of their major mutual influences, elaborates on the roles of primary production, limiting factors, energy flow, and circulation of chemical substances in the ecosystems, and presents the basic functions of aquatic ecosystems. The author considers important issues related to environmental degradation of forests, aquatic habitats, coastal zones, other natural landscapes, and urban areas, includes a survey of problems related to waste and toxic and radioactive substances, and presents the greenhouse effect and impacts from climate change. He discusses environmental management prospects and the potential for technological control of pollution from liquid, solid, and gaseous waste. He also highlights existing tools for environmental management, ecological and social aspects of biodiversity and landscape protection, and the contrast between development and environment in combination with ideas about sustainability. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license