1,720,997 research outputs found
Implications of a consumer-based perspective for the estimation of GHG emissions. The illustrative case of Luxembourg
No full textThe Kyoto protocol has established an accounting system for national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions according to a geographic criterion (producer perspective), such as that proposed by the IPCC guidelines for national GHG inventories. However, the representativeness of this approach is still being debated, because the role of final consumers (consumer perspective) is not considered in the emission allocation system. This paper explores the usefulness of a hybrid analysis, including input-output (IO) and process inventory data, as a complementary tool for estimating and allocating national GHG emissions according to both consumer- and producer-based perspectives. We assess the historical GHG impact profile (from 1995 to 2009) of Luxembourg, which is taken as a case study. The country's net consumption over time is estimated to generate about 28,700 Gg CO(2)e/year on average. Compared to the conventional IPCC inventory, the IO-based framework typically shows much higher emission estimations. This relevant discrepancy is mainly due to the different points of view obtained from the hybrid model, in particular with regard to the contribution of imported goods and services. Detailing the GHG inventory by economic activity and considering a wider system boundary make the hybrid IO method advantageous as compared to the IPCC approach, but its effective implementation is still limited by the relatively complex modeling system, as well as the lack of coordination and scarce availability of datasets at the national level
Emergy evaluation vs. life cycle-based embodied energy (solar, tidal and geothermal) of wood biomass resources
No full textSeveral environmental accounting methods exist to evaluate the rate of ecosystems resource exploitation and to strengthen the comparison among human production systems in terms of renewability and sustainable use of resources. However, their application rarely refers to the environmental work that is necessary to produce natural resources. The aim of this research is to advance the characterization of different wood biomass species by using the emergy principles and thus to estimate the geobiosphere work required to generate wood resources. The analysis has been conducted applying the classical emergy methodology and a recently developed life cycle-based embodied energy approach. This latter is implemented with the support of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) principles and tools to disclose as a result vectors of Unit Embodied Energy Value ((UEEV) over right arrow), composed by three components: the Embodied Solar, Tidal and Geothermal Energy. Differently from emergy evaluation, the life cycle-based embodied energy approach does not consider the baseline concept and the emergy algebra, but the Solar, Geothermal and Tidal sources are independently quantified, keeping them separated and not weighted. The present paper shows that the latter method can provide a consistent framework to trace and evaluate the primary provision of energy throughout the formation of resources.
Regionalized UEVs (Unit Emergy Values) and ((UEEVs) over right arrow) have been obtained and compared with regard to Fagus spp., Quercus spp., Picea spp., Pinus spp., Pseudotsuga spp., Fraxinus spp., Populus spp., Castanea spp., and other grouped conifers (Larix spp., Cupressus spp. and Abies spp.) and other deciduous species (Carpinus spp., Betulus spp., Alnus spp. and Robinia spp.).
The trend of output values per unit of resource species obtained by means of the two methods was very similar when looking at the Solar Embodied Energy contribution, meaning that this flow has the main direct (with the life cycle-based embodied energy approach) and indirect (with the emergy one) influence on the generation of wood biomass.
Results obtained by means of both methods can fill out the life cycle of products based on wood biomass, providing the natural contribution to wood species formation and thus embedding this information in the technosphere processes. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
A comprehensive review of carbon footprint analysis as an extended environmental indicator in the wine sector
No full textCurrently, carbon footprint (CF) analysis is gaining a role of primary interest within the extensive
literature regarding wine sustainability issues. It envisages the quantification of greenhouse gas emissions
that underpin the life-cycle of wine, from viticulture and vinification to wine bottling, distribution,
consumption and waste end-of-life. This critical review pursues several methodological and conceptual
issues behind wine carbon footprinting, such as calculation approaches, labeling and standardization
purposes, combinations with other methods and theories, and CF trends in the wine sector. Most studies
have only addressed specific methodological issues from an attributional life-cycle perspective, or have
directly reported the CF profile of a given wine product. Future studies, however, will have to deal with
increasingly complex market interactions linked to the entire life cycle of wine-making. A comprehensive
discussion is presented concerning the benefits the CF indicator may provide both to producers and
consumers and on the needs for reducing uncertainties and misinterpretations within a growing globalized
wine market
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Environmental accounting: In between raw data and information use for management practices
No full textScholars in environmental accounting have developed many methods, capable to transform raw environmental and socio-economic data into useful information, both to protect natural ecosystems and to define the most appropriate policy and planning options to meet the existing sustainable development goals. Due to the high number of existing research challenges and needs, Beijing Normal University organized a World Summit on Environmental Accounting and Management on “Designing A Prosperous and Sustainable Future” which was held in Beijing on July 4–6, 2016. The main topic of the conference was the inclusion of system-wide effects into on-site environmental impacts, considering an integrated environmental accounting and management framework. The outcomes of this international summit, partially represented by the papers published in this Special Volume, provide an opportunity to assess the most recent progresses in biophysical and socioeconomic accounting, as well as in modelling the impacts of anthropogenic activities on environmental and socioeconomic systems. This SV includes cutting-edge papers, that focused on promoting the theories, ideas and practices involved in ecological accounting and management. All the works are aimed to develop broader perspectives, which can be applied to ecosystem protection, as well as on planning and policy-making in view of a transition toward more sustainable and equitable societies, as indicated through the Sustainable Development Goals
The evolution of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): some guidelines for future research in the wine sector
No full textVariations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Response: commentary: system expansion and substitution in LCA: a lost opportunity of ISO 14044 amendment 2
Full text linkA Commentary onCommentary: System Expansion and Substitution in LCA: A Lost Opportunity of ISO 14044 Amendment 2by Heijungs, R., Allacker, K., Benetto, E., Brandão, M., Guinée, J., Schaubroeck, S., Schaubroeck, T., and Zamagni, A. (2021). Front. Sustain. 2:692055. doi: 10.3389/frsus.2021.692055</p
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