ENERGY – CLIMATE CHANGE PACKAGE IMPACT ON ROMANIAN URBAN AREAS

Europe recognized the tight link between energy and climate change and took - through a coherent legislative package - the role of a global leadership to tackle climate change, to face up to the challenge of secure, sustainable and competitive energy, and to make the European economy a model for world sustainable development in the 21st century. EU targets to improve the relation between energy and environment are very ambitious and can not be reached without a clear understanding of the requirements of European policies and the effort that each and every Member State has to do. In these conditions, the present paper aims to make a short qualitative analysis on the possible impact that the legal package energy-climate change could have on housing and urbanism in Romanian towns in order to raise some question marks and alert the decision makers.sustainable energy, housing, urbanism, public authorities.

ENERGY MANAGEMENT – PUBLIC POLICIES AND IMPLEMENTATION. THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS, FROM OVERLAP TO SYNERGY

Energy management refers to all activities aimed to improve the effectiveness of the production, transport, distribution and use of energy. On the supply side of the chain, the number of actors is relatively limited, and either the competitive pressure or the regulation of natural monopolies leads to increased efficiency. On the demand, side the number of actors is enormous (all consumers, from large industries to households). Therefore, specific policies for improving energy efficiency have to be put în place. And those policies strongly interfere with environmental and social policies. The role of institutions and particularly of the public administration is very important and should lead by example. At the same time, given the potential overlaps, it is important to ensure that the public institutions involved have well defined functions and liaise with each other în a way to exploit synergies. Various ministries, agencies, local authorities, NGOs are involved and sometimes do what other public actors should do, and not enough of what they realy should do. Even în countries with over twenty years of experience în this field, there is a need to improve the performance of public administration, to reform the functions and ways of operation of the various institutions. The current paper will present approaches of public authorities to energy efficiency în various EU countries and identify key success factors for securing effective policy development and implementation.energy management, energy efficiency, public administration, institutional reform.

INSTITUTIONAL COMPONENT IN THE CURRENT GLOBAL CRISIS

The setting of the new rules which have to govern the human society is the opportunity opened by the dangers arising from the current moral, cultural, spiritual and intellectual crisis, from a new system of values affecting the economy as an organic part of human society and the "systemic wisdom" what characterizes our “whole common living”.crisis, whole common living, systemic wisdom, institutional respiritualization, intelligent self - governance

Increasing Responsibility towards Environment

In the international climate of the early millennium, the need for reconciliation between economic and social development, on one hand, and the environment, on the other hand, is essential. Therefore, sustainable development must be promoted, because it integrates economic growth, improved quality of life, health, education, social development and environmental protection. Environmental issues are particularly complex as their causes are interdependent. This requires actions at all levels: local, national, regional as well as at the European Union level, each with its own role in increasing responsibility for the environmental protection. It is widely recognized that to obtain successful results an integrated approach has to be used to manage the environment, by adopting long-term strategies and action plans. It requires a detailed analysis of the links between different policies and responsibilities, including the links between different administrative levels.environment; responsible involvement; sustainable development; integrated approach.

Ternary Holey Carbon Nanohorns/TiO2/PVP Nanohybrids as Sensing Films for Resistive Humidity Sensors

In this paper, we present the relative humidity (RH) sensing response of a chemiresistive sensor, employing sensing layers based on a ternary nanohybrids comprised of holey carbon nanohorns (CNHox), titanium (IV) oxide, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) at 1/1/1/(T1), 2/1/1/(T2), and with 3/1/1 (T3) mass ratios. The sensing device is comprised of a silicon-based substrate, a SiO2 layer, and interdigitated transducer (IDT) electrodes. The sensitive layer was deposited via the drop-casting method on the sensing structure, followed by a two-step annealing process. The structure and composition of the sensing films were investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The resistance of the ternary nanohybrid-based sensing layer increases when H increases between 0% and 80%. A different behavior of the sensitive layers is registered when the humidity increases from 80% to 100%. Thus, the resistance of the T1 sensor slightly decreases with increasing humidity, while the resistance of sensors T2 and T3 register an increase in resistance with increasing humidity. The T2 and T3 sensors demonstrate a good linearity for the entire (0–100%) RH range, while for T1, the linear behavior is limited to the 0–80% range. Their overall room temperature response is comparable to a commercial humidity sensor, characterized by a good sensitivity, a rapid response, and fast recovery times. The functional role for each of the components of the ternary CNHox/TiO2/PVP nanohybrid is explained by considering issues such as their electronic properties, affinity for water molecules, and internal pore accessibility. The decreasing number of holes in the carbonaceous component at the interaction with water molecules, with the protonic conduction (Grotthus mechanism), and with swelling were analyzed to evaluate the sensing mechanism. The hard–soft acid-base (HSAB) theory also has proven to be a valuable tool for understanding the complex interaction of the ternary nanohybrid with moisture

Quaternary Holey Carbon Nanohorns/SnO2/ZnO/PVP Nano-Hybrid as Sensing Element for Resistive-Type Humidity Sensor

In this study, a resistive humidity sensor for moisture detection at room temperature is presented. The thin film proposed as a critical sensing element is based on a quaternary hybrid nanocomposite CNHox//SnO2/ZnO/PVP (oxidated carbon nanohorns–tin oxide–zinc oxide–polyvinylpyrrolidone) at the w/w/w/w ratios of 1.5/1/1/1 and 3/1/1/1. The sensing structure consists of a Si/SiO2 dielectric substrate and interdigitated transducers (IDT) electrodes, while the sensing film layer is deposited through the drop-casting method. Morphology and composition of the sensing layers were investigated through scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. Each quaternary hybrid nanocomposite-based thin film’s relative humidity (RH) sensing capability was analyzed by applying a direct current with known intensity between two electrodes and measuring the voltage difference when varying the RH from 0% to 100% in a humid nitrogen atmosphere. While the sensor with CNHox/SnO2/ZnO/PVP at 1.5/1/1/1 as the sensing layer has the better performance in terms of sensitivity, the structure employing CNHox//SnO2/ ZnO/PVP at 3/1/1/1 (mass ratio) as the sensing layer has a better performance in terms of linearity. The contribution of each component of the quaternary hybrid nanocomposites to the sensing performance is discussed in relation to their physical and chemical properties. Several alternative sensing mechanisms were taken into consideration and discussed. Based on the measured sensing results, we presume that the impact of the p-type semiconductor behavior of CNHox, in conjunction with the swelling of the hydrophilic polymer, is dominant and leads to the overall increasing resistance of the sensing film

Distribution and pathways of introduction of invasive alien plant species in Romania

Biological invasions are one of the main drivers of modern human-induced species losses. Research on the distribution of alien species and their pathways of introduction is essential for understanding and tackling the invasion process. A comprehensive overview on invasive alien plant (IAP) species in Romania is lacking. With this paper, we aim to contribute to filling this gap and to provide a visualization of national patterns regarding plant species invasions, geographical origins and pathways of introductions. Based on plant species occurrence records in the published literature and herbaria we compiled a national database of 102 invasive and potentially invasive alien plant species. We georeferenced 42776 IAP species occurrences and performed an analysis of their spatial patterns. The spatial analyses revealed a biased sampling, with clear hotspots of increased sampling efforts around urban areas. We used chord diagrams to visualize the pathway of introduction and geographical origins of the IAP species, which revealed that species in Romania originate mainly in North and Central America, while the dominant pathway of plant introduction was horticulture. Our results provide an important baseline in drafting management and action plans, as invasive alien plant species represent a priority for the European Union through the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and a good starting point for various analyses as the database is further developed and regularly updated

Corrigenda: Sirbu C, Miu IV, Gavrilidis AA, Gradinaru SR, Niculae IM, Preda C, Oprea A, Urziceanu M, Camen-Comanescu P, Nagoda E, Sirbu IM, Memedemin D, Anastasiu P (2022) Distribution and pathways of introduction of invasive alien plant species in Romania. NeoBiota 75: 1–21. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.75.84684

Corrigenda: Sirbu C, Miu IV, Gavrilidis AA, Gradinaru SR, Niculae IM, Preda C, Oprea A, Urziceanu M, Camen-Comanescu P, Nagoda E, Sirbu IM, Memedemin D, Anastasiu P (2022) Distribution and pathways of introduction of invasive alien plant species in Romania. NeoBiota 75: 1–21. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.75.8468