Modeling water consumption and energy in sun and beach hotels

El propósito de este artículo es el desarrollo de un método que permita a una cadena hotelera conocer el consumo actual y óptimo de sus hoteles, tanto de agua como de energía, uno a uno o por áreas, desarrollando una herramienta objetiva para obtener una disminución en sus suministros. Partimos de datos históricos de consumo en hoteles con estudiadas características comunes, creando un modelo matemático del consumo actual para cada hotel y para el conjunto de hoteles. Se obtienen modelos de consumo de agua y energía en función de la ocupación mediante regresiones lineales, validados por el cuadrado del coeficiente de correlación de Pearson y obteniendo un modelo hiperbólico final con un simple cambio de variable. Los modelos óptimos se calculan sin más que tomar como datos los valores mínimos de una serie de intervalos de ocupación.The purpose of this article is to develop a method to possibility a hotel chain to know optimal and current water and energy consumption of its hotels, one by one or in areas so that their managers have an objective tool to obtain a reduction in their consumption supplies. In order to develop the method of development of the models, we begin with historical data of consumption of hotels with common studied characteristics, modeling current consumption for each hotel and the group of hotels. Mathematical models of water and energy consumption based on occupation are obtained by linear regressions, validated by the square of the Pearson correlation coefficient, and obtaining a final hyperbolic model by a simple change of variable. The optimal models are calculated simply by taking the minimum values of a series of intervals of occupation, as dat

Dealing with water conflicts: a comprehensive review of mcdm approaches to manage freshwater ecosystem services

This paper presents a comprehensive review of the application of Multiple-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) approaches exclusively to water-related freshwater ecosystem services. MCDM analysis has been useful in solving conflicts and it works well in this framework, given the serious conflicts historically associated with water use and the protection of freshwater ecosystems around the world. In this study, we present a review of 150 papers that proposed the use of MCDM-based methods for the social, economic, or ecological planning and management of water ecosystem services over the period 2000–2020. The analysis accounts for six elements: ecosystem service type, method, participation, biogeographical realm, waterbody type, and problem to solve. A Chi-square test was used to identify dependence between these elements. Studies involving the participation of stakeholder groups adopted an integrated approach to analysing sustainable water management, considering provisioning, regulating, and cultural services. However, such studies have been in decline since 2015, in favour of non-participatory studies that were strictly focused on ecological and provisioning issues. Although this reflects greater concern for the health of freshwater ecosystems, it is a long way removed from the essence of ecosystem services, which entails an integrated approach to the interrelationships between hydrology, landscapes, ecology, and humans.The authors thanks the UNESCO UNED-URJC Chair in Water and Peace institutional coverage to the development of this study.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Estado del Bienestar, ecología y desarrollo sostenible : 40 años de Economía ambiental = Welfare State, ecology and sustainable development : 40 yearsof Environmental Economics

Since 1970 when “The limits to Growth” were published by Roma Club a tran-disciplinary field of academic research has been gestating, being its goal to give answers to one of the first objectives that are on the table of all institutions around the world, –the sustainable development–. Today it’s impossible to increase or even to reach a certain level of welfare without including sustainable concept and environment factor as a main element in any grow process. Environment, from the point of view of economics, has experimented a great development particularly from the field called Environmental Economics. Nowadays the subjects in which this sub discipline is based are basically focused on three elements, Asses and to give a value to the environment, to propose a new National Accountability System that to take into account the effects on the environment that the economic activity has and to look for ways for economies to growth sustainably. This article analyzes from the beginning the relationships had existed between the Economy and the environment and shows the challenges and the main environmental problems from an economic perspective.Desde la publicación del informe “Los límites al crecimiento” en 1970 por el Club de Roma se ha ido gestando todo un desarrollo multidisciplinar que intenta dar respuesta a uno de los principales objetivos que están sobre la mesa de todos los gobiernos e instituciones del mundo, el crecimiento sostenible. Hoy, es impensable perseguir aumentar o –en su caso–, alcanzar, ciertos niveles de bienestar, sin incluir el concepto de sostenibilidad y el factor ambiental como uno de los ejes fundamentales en cualquier proceso de crecimiento. El desarrollo que se ha producido en el ambientalismo y en los modelos económicos que estudian el bienestar, ha cristalizado en una serie de ideas que han servido de base al desarrollo de la Economía ambiental en sentido amplio. Hoy los temas sobre los que se estructura esta subdisciplina de la Economía se centran básicamente en la idea de medir y dar un valor al medio ambiente, en proponer sistemas de contabilidad nacional alternativos que tengan presente el factor ambiental y el efecto que tiene la actividad económica sobre le medio ambiente y en buscar caminos que permitan a las economías prosperar en términos de sostenibilidad. El presente artículo recoge precisamente desde sus orígenes, la relación que ha existido entre la economía y el medio ambiente y pone sobre la mesa cuáles son los retos y los principales problemas en materia ambiental desde una perspectiva económica y sobre los que todavía hay mucho que decir

La experiencia internacional en los planes hidrológicos nacionales

Hydrologic Planning has become a nned either b water quality ir quantity problems in many countries. Nonetheless, this planing responds to different schemes that meet different social, institutional, economic and environmental realities of resource related countries. This article analyzes five national or state water plans belonging to Spain, Portugal, Mexico, California and South Australia. In general, the state plab is understood as the greatest exponent of the hydrologic planning, which integrally involves all aspects related to the management of water resources. Its importance and significance are evident. By the time of releasing this article, the Spanish Hydrologic National Plan has been abolished and replaced by a new one, although its aprroval as a law is still pending.water planning economic

La experiencia internacional en los planes hidrológicos nacionales

  En muchos países ha surgido la necesidad de la planificación hidrológica tanto por problemas de cantidad como por los de calidad del agua. No obstante, esta planificación responde a distintos esquemas que se ajustan a las diferentes realidades sociales, institucionales, económicas y ambientales de los países en relación al recurso. El artículo analiza cinco planes hídricos nacionales o estatales. Son los de España, Portugal, México, California y Australia del Sur. En general, se entiende el plan estatal como el máximo exponente de la planificación hidrológica y éste abarca de forma integral todos los aspectos relacionados con la gestión de los recursos hídricos. Su importancia y trascendencia es evidente. En el momento de la publicación de este artículo el Plan Hidrológico Nacional español ha sufrido una derogación y ha sido sustituido por uno nuevo, aunque está pendiente su aprobación como ley

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

La economía del agua en España: Incidencia de la nueva ley y del Plan Hidrológico Nacional

water, Spanish Hydrological Plan

Nuevas tendencias en la política de subvenciones para el agua

This paper examines sater subsidies and their influence in consumption and demand on water. Actually, water prizes don't allow the full cost recovery as it's established in the Water Frame Directive of the European Union. In this sense, prizes policy doesn't give adequate information and incentives to consumers. There are different types of subsidies: Direct, indirect and cross subsidies between users ans indeed between countries. A new way of cross subsidies is due to chages of virtual water between countries because of the water that is incorporated in products. We describeb some examples of subsidies in Spain and all over the worl. Water subsidies are perverse when they don't pursuit an objective and the distort the market. Nevertheless, it's necessary to go to positive subsidies in order to achieve a water and an environmental sustainable policy.water economics subsidies water policy

Water consumption model for three star hotels in Majorca

The purpose of this article is to develop a method to obtain a mathematical model for monthly water consumption versus occupation, from historical data from hotels, using linear regressions, validated by the square of the Pearson correlation coefficient. Based on data of Majorca hotels with common studied characteristics, current consumption is modeled for each hotel and the group of hotels. Minimum values by intervals of occupation can be obtained from the corresponding optimal models. It is concluded that the methodology displayed for selection of data and hotels, allowed to reach values of the square of the correlation coefficient, higher than 0.89 in the optimal models of the hotels studied.El propósito de este artículo es desarrollar un método para obtener un modelo matemático para el consumo mensual de agua contra la ocupación, desde datos históricos de hoteles, usando regresiones lineales, validadas por el cuadrado de coeficiente de correlación de Pearson. Basado en los datos de la mayoría de hoteles con características similares estudiadas, el consumo actual es modelado para cada hotel y cada grupo de hoteles. Valores mínimos por intervalos de ocupación pueden ser obtenidos a partir de los modelos óptimos correspondientes. Se concluye que la metodología mostrada por selección de datos y hoteles, permitió alcanzar valores del cuadrado de correlación de coeficiente, superiores a 0.89 en el modelo óptimo de los hoteles estudiados

Recursos hídricos y contabilidad verde

La gestión del agua requiere una información específica que permita afrontar correctamente su particularidad. La contabilidad ambiental es uno de los sistemas que proporciona esta información. La contabiliad verde o ambiental pretende suministrarnos el conocimiento necesario sobre las relaciones entre el hombre y la naturaleza que nos permita gestionar de forma más eficiente los recursos naturales, tanto en términos cuantitativos y cualitativos como monetarios, tanto en términos económicos como ambientales. En eta comunicación vamos a analizar las principales experiencias internacionales en contabilización de recursos hídricos, analizando en mayor profundidad las de la Unión Europea y, mas concretamente, el caso español. Para ello, nos centraremos en los dos trabajos más completos sobre contabilidad del agua que se han realizado en España, Las Cuentas del Agua españolas elaboradas por Naredo y Gascó en 1995 y las Cuentas Satélite del Agua del INE para el periodo 1997- 1999.agua economía contabilidad ambiental cuentas del agua