2,426 research outputs found
Willingness-to-Pay for Improved Air Quality in Hamilton-Wentworth: A Choice Experiment
No full textPrepared for Hamilton-Wentworth Air Quality Initiative pursuant to a memorandum of understanding among McMaster University, the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy and the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth, dated November 5, 1996.
Circular construction and demolition waste?: Barriers and opportunities for creating circular business models in the EU C&DW sector
No full textThe main goal of this paper is to identify barriers and opportunities for creating the circular business models in the EU C&DW sector. Having in mind this fact, author of the paper describes market, social, governance and regulatory failures which may limit opportunities for achieving market success in the EU C&DW sector. The presentation will take into account current economic situation of the sector which is under the pressure of both global economic challenges and the EU policy aiming at popularization of the circular economy approach. As a result, different recommendations that may determine the final shape of the business models will be identified, including key resources that have to be used for successful commercialization of the different circular C&DW solutions
Seed rain and soil seed banks limit native regeneration within urban forest restoration plantings in Hamilton City, New Zealand
No full textRestoration of native forest vegetation in urban environments may be limited due to isolation from native seed sources and to the prevalence of exotic plant species. To investigate urban seed availability we recorded the composition of seed rain, soil seed banks and vegetation at native forest restoration plantings up to 36 years old in Hamilton City and compared these with naturally regenerating forest within the city and in a nearby rural native forest remnant. Seed rain, soil seed banks (fern spores inclusive) and understorey vegetation in urban forest were found to have higher exotic species richness and lower native species density and richness than rural forest. Both understorey vegetation and soil seed banks of urban sites >20 years old had lower exotic species richness than younger (10–20 years) sites, indicating a developmental threshold that provided some resistance to exotic species establishment. However, the prevalence of exotic species in urban seed rain will allow reinvasion through edge habitat and following disturbance to canopy vegetation. Persistent soil seed banks from both urban and rural sites were dominated by exotic herbaceous species and native fern species, while few other native forest species were found to persist for >1 year in the seed bank. Enrichment planting will be required for those native species with limited dispersal or short-lived seeds, thus improving native seed availability in urban forests as more planted species mature reproductively. Further research into species seed traits and seedling establishment is needed to refine effective management strategies for successful restoration of urban native forests
First photometric study of two southern eclipsing binaries IS Tel and DW Aps
No full text32nd International Physics Congress of Turkish-Physical-Society (TPS) -- SEP 06-09, 2016 -- Bodrum, TURKEYThe paper presents the first photometric analysis of two southern eclipsing binary stars, IS Tel and DW Aps. Their V light curves from the All Sky Automated Survey were modelled by using Wilson-Devinney method. The final models give these two Algol-like binary stars as having detached configurations. Absolute parameters of the components of the systems were also estimated.Turkish Phys So
Policy analysis of water management for the Netherlands. Vol VII: Assessment of impacts on drinking-water companies and their customers
No full textThis volume assesses the impacts of a number of water management policies developed by PAWN on drinking-water (DW) companies and their customers (households, commercial entities, and industrial firms). Chapter 2 summarizes briefly the major water-related problems facing DW companies in the Netherlands today, and shows why the author believes they will become more severe in the future. Chapter 3 describes the methodology in detail. Chapter 4 presents the impacts and associated discussion of PAWN's primary and groundwater cases on DW production, and on DW companies and their customers. Finally, in Chap. 5, the author assesses those impacts, draws some overall conclusions, and discusses the implications of those conclusions for the future supply and costs of DW in the Netherlands.PAW
Novel circular economy business model of high-added value products for energy efficiency: from C&DW to aerogels
No full textSince the Industrial Revolution, humanity’s use of natural resources has been basically the same: TAKE, MAKE and THROW AWAY; which consequently led to the indispensable problems of waste materials. Around 461 million tons of Construction & Demolition Waste (C&DW), excluding excavation materials, are yearly generated in EU28. This undoubtedly gives a call to novel closed-loop circular business models which reshape the Eco-system in a way the waste is 'designed out'. Here, we present a novel closed-loop circular economy model of a high-performance building insulation material from silica containing C&DW materials to silica aerogels with λ≈0.015 W/mK. In the present model, the benefit comes with the use of massive construction waste to a silica precursor and thereby aerogel production guaranteeing at least 40% product cost reduction and 40% reduction in energy consumption in real construction environment
The biodegradation of decabromo diphenylether in Hamilton Harbour sediments
No full textPolybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) are a class of commonly used flame retardants. Through product breakdown, these compounds may become concentrated in the environment. This study investigated the presence and anaerobic breakdown of decaBDE (a fully brominated PBDE congener) in Hamilton Harbour sediment over a laboratory incubation period of 189 days. The detected background concentration of this compound in the harbour sediment is 15.4 ng/g sediment (dw). Over the entire incubation period, there was no significant degradation of decaBDE; yet, fluctuations in decaBDE concentration throughout the incubation time period may be attributable to the presence and initial consumption of organic carbon by microbial communities in the sediments. Microbial identification did not show the presence of known PCB or PBDE degraders. Due to the heterogeneity of Hamilton Harbour sediments, however, it is highly possible that these communities thrive in other parts of the harbour sediment not sampled for this particular study
Decomposition in flocculent sediments of shallow freshwaters and its sensitivity to warming
No full textShallow waterbodies are abundant in many landscapes across the globe and are increasingly acknowledged for their role in freshwater C cycling. This study investigated organic-matter decomposition potentials in flocculent organic sediment, a rarely-investigated sediment type commonly found in shallow waters. Further, this study investigated how porewater chemistry and temperature affect decomposition rates within flocculent sediment. We quantified decomposition rates during 3 seasons by deploying a standardized substrate (cotton strips) within and above the flocculent sediment layer in the littoral zones of lakes, shallow through-flow wetlands, and depositional zones on the margins of stream channels of southwestern Michigan, USA. We then compared our results with those reported for other freshwater settings that used the same cotton-strip assay. There was high accumulation of organic matter in the shallow waterbodies, but decomposition rates in flocculent sediments averaged 1.7× greater than rates measured in oxic overlying waters and were generally only eclipsed by temperature-adjusted rates reported in streams, which are typically well-oxygenated, flowing environments. Rates were positively correlated with sediment porewater concentrations of soluble reactive P and dissolved iron and negatively correlated with ammonium. Warmer temperatures also resulted in increased decomposition rates, and the temperature sensitivity results suggest that decomposition rates in flocculent sediments could increase 11 to 52% with a 1 to 4°C increase in water temperatures, a realistic range of increase for this region in the next 100 y if climate change continues at the current pace. Thus, high organic matter inputs, rather than slow decomposition, must lead to the development of flocculent organic sediments. Future warming could therefore increase decomposition rates and tip the balance toward net losses of organic matter.Full Tex
Performance of C&DW materials for road applications validated by field monitoring
No full textSUPREMA – Sustainable Application of Construction and Demolition Recycled Materials in Road Infrastructures was a research project developed by the Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC), in cooperation with the University of Lisbon (IST). The use of recycled materials has major environmental and economic benefits. Its recycling contributes for a more sustainable construction and rehabilitation of road pavements. The main goals of this project were to achieve a deeper knowledge on recycled materials and correspondent technologies and to increase the confidence of road agencies and construction companies for its application in road pavements. The objective of the paper is to analyse the mechanical performance of recycled aggregates, from construction and demolition waste (C&DW), used in unbound granular layers and evaluated on experimental sections of asphalt pavements. Four sections were instrumented with strain gauges and load cells. The recycled aggregates used in these sections were: crushed concrete, crushed mixed concrete and crushed and milled reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). A crushed natural limestone aggregate was used in one section as a reference material. The sections were submitted to in situ load tests performed by the Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD). In addition, an extensive program of laboratory tests was also performed related to geometrical, physical, mechanical, chemical and environmental characteristics. This paper presents the mechanical behaviour of aggregate layers obtained from the backanalysis of FWD tests results and from the instrumentation measurements. In general, it was concluded that stiffness of unbound granular layers with recycled aggregates could be considered equivalent to the stiffness of layers constructed by natural aggregates. Results of resilient modulus obtained for the studied recycled aggregates could be useful for pavement design purposes
Author reply
No full textHealth data linkage in Australia remains challenging1 as reflected in our recent experience of multi‐jurisdictional data linkage. We welcome the Population Health Research Network (PHRN) collaborative's initiatives in establishing a streamlined and unified application process in multi‐jurisdictional data linkage projects, and we fully support their vision. We acknowledge the concerns raised by Flack and Smith2 and take this opportunity to elaborate.Full Tex
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