Introduction to advances in construction and demolition waste

Resource efficiency, as well as the importance and limitations of the Circular economy concept, are highlighted. The case of construction and demolition waste-CDW recycling is introduced. The 70% recycling rate for EU in 2020 is analyzed and a literature review on the Waste Framework Directive is carried out. Brief comments on CDW containing hazardous substances are made. A book outline is included

A Regression on Climate Policy - The European Commission's Proposal to Reduce CO2 Emissions from Transport

As part of its efforts to reach the targets of the Kyoto Protocol, the European Commission is currently considering a new directive to reduce the per-kilometer CO2 emissions of newly registered automobiles. This paper critically assesses this proposal with respect to its economic and technological underpinnings. We argue that the proposal's reliance on targets based on per-kilometer emissions not only conceals the true costs of compliance and thereby stifles informed public discourse, but is also less cost-effective than alternative measures such as emissions trading. We further examine the proposal's underlying assumptions, finding that these misrepresent the current state of automotive technology and therefore may overestimate the feasibility of achieving the suggested emissions targets. Alternative targets are consequently proposed that are argued to more accurately reflect the industry's technological evolution to date

Bacterial diversity in typical abandoned multi-contaminated nonferrous metal(loid) tailings during natural attenuation

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordAbandoned nonferrous metal(loid) tailings sites are anthropogenic, and represent unique and extreme ecological niches for microbial communities. Tailings contain elevated and toxic content of metal(loid)s that had negative effects on local human health and regional ecosystems. Microbial communities in these typical tailings undergoing natural attenuation are often very poorly examined. The diversity and inferred functions of bacterial communities were examined at seven nonferrous metal(loid) tailings sites in Guangxi (China), which were abandoned between 3 and 31 years ago. The acidity of the tailings sites rose over 31 years of site inactivity. Desulfurivibrio, which were always coupled with sulfur/sulfide oxidation to dissimilate the reduction of nitrate/nitrite, were specific in tailings with 3 years abandonment. However, genus beneficial to plant growth (Rhizobium), and iron/sulfur- oxidizing bacteria and metal(loid)-related genera (Acidiferrobacter and Acidithiobacillus) were specific within tailings abandoned for 23 years or more. The increased abundance of acid-generating iron/sulfur-oxidizing and metal(loid)-related bacteria and specific bacterial communities during the natural attenuation could provide new insights for understanding microbial ecosystem functioning in mine tailings. OTUs related to Sulfuriferula, Bacillus, Sulfurifustis, Gaiella, and Thiobacillus genera were the main contributors differentiating the bacterial communities between the different tailing sites. Multiple correlation analyses between bacterial communities and geochemical parameters indicated that pH, TOC, TN, As, Pb, and Cu were the main drivers influencing the bacterial community structures. PICRUSt functional exploration revealed that the main functions were related to DNA repair and recombination, important functions for bacterial adaptation to cope with the multi- contamination of tailings. Such information provides new insights to guide future metagenomic studies for the identification of key functions beyond metal- transformation/resistance. As well, our results offers novel outlooks for the management of bacterial communities during natural attenuation of multi-contaminated nonferrous metal(loid) tailings sites.International Key Project from National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaProjects of Natural Science Foundation of ChinaPublic welfare project of Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protectionnternational key project of Ministry of Science and Technology of ChinaS2016G2135Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueRoyal Society Newton Mobility GrantNational Natural Science Foundation International Joint collaboration China-Swede

Low carbon governance: Mobilizing community energy through top-down support?

Community energy makes an important contribution to sustainable energy generation, reduction and management, and is a desirable feature of a low carbon future. Renewable community energy is increasingly gaining momentum even in the centralized UK energy market. The challenge of low carbon transitions is faced by multiple territorial governments, and requires inclusive governance arrangements in which a combination of actors work together to implement community strategies towards a climate-resilient future. Low carbon governance is a multi-level and (co-)evolving process, especially in the complex interactions between actors of the core, inner periphery and civil periphery. The devolution of power within the UK has enabled Scotland to establish an ambitious policy agenda for renewable energy. By exploring an established national community energy programme, this study examines the interplay among different actors and looks into how multi-level governance can be strengthened. This paper combines multi-level and evolutionary governance theory to understand the extent to which top-down initiatives facilitate community renewable energy projects and help drive wider system transformations. It concludes that in an evolving policy environment, top-down support for community energy is a necessary motivator. This requires the state to play a dominant role in directing low carbon transitions, while acting in concert with non-state, local and regional actors. If communities are to benefit from energy transitions, wider policies must be aligned with community needs, otherwise community energy will be pushed to the margins of the next energy revolution. Copyright©2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environmen

"Youth" making us fit : on Europe as operator of political technologies

This article problematizes the construction of youth as a ‘driving force’ in the contemporary configuration of the European Union (EU) as an educational and political space. The study draws empirical nourishment out of documents that are central to the ongoing formation of the Union, be it White Papers, scripts or memos concerning political arenas such as youth and education policies and the Bologna process. Theoretically the article draws on insights from post-Foucauldian traditions with a focus on mentalities, subject constructions, technologies and practices operating within the ongoing governmentalization of Europe. Central questions are ‘who’ and ‘what’ the problematization of youth as political technology is about. Drawing on homologies in the coding of citizen, independent of age, the authors claim that problematization of youth is directed to all of us. We are all, in the name of youth, expected to constantly ‘adapt’ ourselves in compliance with the aim of the Lisbon process. Furthermore, as the Union itself is coded in a similar way, we may even claim that the EU, literally speaking, appears as a youth project in itself. Thus, the notion that youth can be seen as political rationality that becomes a powerful driving force in the ongoing European project

Regulating traffic with land use planning

This article deals with integrating land use planning and traffic planning to promote sustainable development: how land use planning may be used as one of the means to reduce problems caused by traffic. The growth in car-borne traffic has increased rapidly and consumes more and more land because of land-extensive structure of cities and the traffic demand between human activities (home, work, services). Planning solutions emphasizing the separation of urban functions, in order to avoid health problems, have, together with the availability of inexpensive land on the outskirts of urban areas, contributed to the current generation of environmental problems, primarily from increased dependency on private cars. The OECD and EU have developed principles of sustainable transport and sustainable traffic to tackle the growth of traffic. Urban form and location of activities together with economic incentives and well organized public transport has a significant impact on traffic flows. There is not yet a general political agreement on how the reduction of traffic demand should be legally regulated, but some criteria are suggested to measure sustainable mobility in land use planning. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment