Are we there yet? A legal assessment and review of the concept of sustainable development under international law

Some of the most consistently utilized terms in international environmental law are “sustainable  development” and “sustainability”. Sustainable development is mentioned in virtually every domestic, regional and international laws on environment, energy and natural resources. This has led to the contentions by some scholars that the concept of sustainable development has matured into customary international law, or at least has become a general principle of international environmental law. Many researchers, however, argue that the idea of sustainable development is vague, elusive and does not add much to the efficient implementation of international environmental law. This article aims to examine and discuss these views. In this paper, the content of the widely used concepts “sustainability” and  “sustainable development” are studied from the perspective of their implementation in different parts of the world. The article examines the status of the concept of sustainable development under international law, its implementation across sectors, its key contributions to international law and how its practical actualization can be further strengthened. The article sets out with a broad inter-disciplinary review of the existing definitions of the concepts  “sustainability” and “sustainable development”. The article will then examine examples of how “sustainability” and “sustainable development” are incorporated in  contemporary environmental law, in order to highlight its current status under international law and its overall influence on different spheres of our life. Major  difficulties and challenges associated with  implementing and enforcing sustainability are also examined. It is suggested that market systems should be  supplemented by political processes and legal regulations that include special mechanisms and tools to protect and control the health of the environment. Growing awareness of sustainability, primarily environmental, among produces is viewed in the article as a very positive trend. It is welcomed that more and more  industries are engaged in sustainable production throughout the entire product life  cycle. The use of such tools as sustainability criteria, sustainability standards and eco-labels must also be promoted.Keywords: sustainability, sustainable development, implementing sustainability, industrial sustainability

Legal analysis of the European Union sustainability criteria for biofuels

This paper provides a legal analysis and review of the European Union (EU) sustainability criteria for biofuels, presented in Directive 2009/28/EC. The paper discusses the EU sustainability criteria as a tool that could be efficiently utilized to operationalize and implement the concepts of sustainable development and sustainability in an industrial setting. The results of the analysis highlight that to safeguard the sustainable quality of biofuels and their production, the list of the EU sustainability criteria should be elaborated further. Other criteria that regulate various aspects of environmental, social and economic sustainability need be added. For example, there is a need for further elaboration of the sustainable agricultural practices and tolerable use of water resources. Furthermore, as long as the EU requirements to fulfill the sustainability criteria have global impacts, the perspective of the involved actors from other regions and countries should be taken into account. Practical possibilities of the involved actors, their costs for the implementation of the sustainability criteria and regional differences should also be considered. More generally, the paper suggests that the list of sustainability criteria, incorporated in a legal framework, should neither be too long, nor too short. A long list is not easy to implement. For a short list, as illustrated by the EU, it could be difficult to guarantee sustainability. Consequently, to the extent possible, the legislated list of sustainability criteria should be complemented by non-binding recommendations, explanations and guidelines. Furthermore, before making the suggested sustainability criteria legally binding, possible conflicts between different interests and contradictions with the already existing regulations from neighboring spheres of law should be investigated as a matter of necessity.Keywords: Sustainability, Sustainability criteria, Biofuels, Directive 2009/28/EC

Global dynamics of a harmonically excited oscillator with a play : Numerical studies

This work was supported by the National Secretariat of Science, Technology and Innovation of Ecuador (SENESCYT); the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral of Ecuador (ESPOL); the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11272268, 11572263) and Scholarship of China. A.S.E. Chong and Y. Yue acknowledge the hospitality of the Centre of Applied Dynamics Research at the University of Aberdeen.Peer reviewedPostprin

Controlling multistability in coupled systems with soft impacts

This work has been supported by Lodz University of Technology own Scholarship Fund (PB) and by Stipend for Young Outstanding Scientists from Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Poland (PP). PB is supported by the Foundation for Polish Science (FNP).Peer reviewedPostprin

Клинико-лабораторные признаки полиорганной дисфункции у новорожденных с внутриамниотической инфекцией: проспективное наблюдательное исследование

АКТУАЛЬНОСТЬ: Оценка тяжести состояния новорожденных и раннее выявление инфекций являются крайне важной проблемой интенсивной терапии. ЦЕЛЬ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ: Изучить клинико-лабораторные признаки полиорганной дисфункции у новорожденных с внутриамниотической инфекцией при поступлении в отделение реанимации и интенсивной терапии. МАТЕРИАЛЫ И МЕТОДЫ: Обследовано 165 новорожденных, находящихся на лечении в отделении реанимации и интенсивной терапии (ОРИТ). Масса детей составила 1870 (1480–2550) г, оценка по шкале Апгар на 1-й мин — 7 (6–7), на 5-й — 8 (7–8) баллов. В зависимости от срока гестации дети были разделены на 4 группы: I группа — 26–29, II — 30–33, III — 34–37, IV — 38–40 нед. В I–III группах преобладали дети с респираторным дистресс-синдромом и внутриамниотической инфекцией, в IV — с асфиксией. Длительность неинвазивной искусственной вентиляции легких составила 96 (2–600) ч, инвазивной — 120 (24–720) ч. РЕЗУЛЬТАТЫ: Максимальная оценка по шкале NEOMOD (Neonatal Multiple Organ Dysfunction) была характерна для детей I и IV групп: 4 (3–5) и 3 (1–4) балла соответственно. Количество лейкоцитов у новорожденных IV группы в 1-е сут лечения было статистически значимо выше, чем во II и в III группах: 19,6 (8,5–43,7) vs 12,4 (5,8–33,1) и 12,5 (6,4–32,5) соответственно (p = 0,003). Дефицит оснований (BE) в I группе были статистически значимо выше, чем в IV группе: −7,2 vs −4,2 ммоль/л (р < 0,001). Минимальная концентрация С-реактивного белка была характерна для детей I группы — 1,7 (1,3–2,2) мг/л, что явилось значимым по сравнению с показателями других групп (р < 0,001). Новорожденные I группы нуждались в максимально длительной гемодинамической поддержке. ВЫВОДЫ: Наиболее выраженная полиорганная дисфункция отмечалась у новорожденных со сроком гестации 26–29 и 38–40 нед., что подтверждается высокими оценками по шкале NEOMOD, увеличением количества лейкоцитов и показателей нейтрофильного индекса. Гемодинамические нарушения у новорожденных со сроком гестации 26–29 нед. являются основным фактором, определяющим тяжесть состояния ребенка, оценку по шкале NEOMOD и длительность лечения в ОРИТ

A drifting impact oscillator with periodic impulsive loading: Application to percussive drilling

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<Contributed Talk 14>Complex Dynamics of Pendulums for Energy Harvesting

[Date] November 28 (Mon) - December 2 (Fri), 2011: [Place] Kyoto University Clock Tower Centennial Hall, Kyoto, JAPA