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From the environmental debt to the environmental loan: trends and future challenges for intergenerational discounting

It is well known that the incorporation of the intergenerational equity objective has turned the traditional Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) approach into an obsolete tool for the evaluation of certain types of projects, particularly those exhibiting many environmental externalities and those whose effects extend throughout a long period of time. Two main changes are taking place in CBA in order to adapt this methodology to the sustainable development paradigm: (a) the development of new tools for the economic valuation of environmental externalities that were traditionally left out of the analysis; and (b) an in-depth revision of the theoretical foundations underlying the traditional approaches to discounting, since the repercussions of decisions that are presently being debated will extend to a distant future (in some cases for centuries), whereas in the classical CBA, we deal with few decades at best. This paper aims at investigating the discounting operation in CBA, trying to summarize the main approaches available in the literature, with specific reference to the tools which allow future generations to be included in the analysis. In order to support the theoretical explanation, a real case study is analysed concerning the evaluation of a waste incinerator that has been constructed in the Province of Turin (Italy)

Patterning and substrate adhesion efficiencies of solid films photodeposited from the liquid phase

We experimentally and theoretically investigated the patterning and adhesion, always assumed and almost never discussed, of coatings photochemically deposited on substrates from photoactive solutions of different compositions and pHs. Considering the well-known deposition of Cr(III) layers from potassium chromate solutions, we analyzed the morphology and properties of the deposit when induced by two interfering continuous Ar+ laser waves. The solubility, patterning, and adhesion are investigated in both organic (acetic acid) and inorganic (HCl) acidic solutions. The photodeposition process is also compared for several types of substrates usually found in the literature (glass, silanized glass, PMMA, silicon wafer, indium tin oxide (ITO), and stainless steel). We demonstrate the major role played by the interaction between the generated coating and the substrate and propose a strategy to find the best conditions for photochemical deposition from the liquid phase, an approach that is mandatory for any application requiring optical recording developments