Summary

Environmental science emerged from the fields of natural history and medicine during the Enlightenment. Today, it provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems. Environmental studies are incorporating more of the social sciences in order to understand human relationships, perceptions and policies towards the environment. This entry collection features information about design and technology for improving environmental quality in every aspect.

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Entries
Topic Review
Batteries vs Hydrogen Storage: Complementary or Substitute
Batteries and hydrogen storage technologies are treated as complementary technologies in some cases, but in other ones they are considered opposed technologies. 
  • 590
  • 20 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Radon Risk Perception, Awareness and Knowledge
Radon is a natural radioactive gas that is present in buildings and is the second cause of lung cancer after smoking. Risk perception has been studied from multiple perspectives, including social studies, anthropology, and medical disciplines, with psychology playing a primary role. Two main dimensions are involved in risk perception: a cognitive dimension, related to knowledge and understanding of risk, and an emotional dimension, which includes feelings; both are components of the reaction to risks, representations of immediate and/or future consequences and their implications, and how people decide how to behave accordingly. Perceived risk is therefore quantifiable and predictable: the psychometric paradigm has helped to clarify how certain elements and characteristics are specifically influential in people’s perception of the dangerousness of an activity, such as controllability, voluntariness, threat to future generations, and responsibility. The research for the implementation of evidence-based radon communication programs is progressing rapidly. Many countries have issued regulations or recommendations to ensure that radon concentration levels do not exceed certain threshold values. Following the results of numerous epidemiological studies conducted two decades earlier, in 2009 the World Health Organization proposed a reference level of 100 Bq m−3 to minimize health risks from indoor radon, adding that if this level could not be achieved due to country-specific conditions, the chosen reference level should not exceed 300 Bq m−3. According to the 2013 Euratom Directive, radon is an indoor pollutant monitored in workplaces and homes, with established limits and exposure control obligations but exposure continues to be very high in some situations.
  • 380
  • 31 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Multiple Facets of Nitrogen
Nitrogen is a gas present in the air with an atomic mass of 14.007, a boiling and melting points of 77.36 K and 63.15 K, respectively, and a density of 0.0012506 g·cm–3. N was first discovered in 1772 by the Scottish physician and chemist Daniel Rutherford. The multiple facets of N are described. A paradigm shift is important to shape to the future use of N-rich fertilizers in crop production and their contribution to the current global greenhouse gases (GHGs) budget would help tackle current global environmental challenges toward a sustainable agriculture.
  • 320
  • 25 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Food Waste and Circular Economy
The world’s population is expected to grow at an increasing rate, leading to increased food consumption and waste production. Even though food waste represents one of the most challenging economic and environmental issues of the 21st century, it also provides a vast array of valuable resources. Eight broad themes emerged in circular economy: (1) anaerobic digestion of food waste for circular economy creation; (2) food waste systems and life cycle assessments for circular economy; (3) bio-based circular economy approaches; (4) consumer behavior and attitudes toward circular economies; (5) food supply chains and food waste in a circular economy; (6) material flow analysis and sustainability; (7) challenges, policies, and practices to achieve circularity; and (8) circular economy and patterns of consumption. 
  • 512
  • 25 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Urban Digitization Governance in Birth Registration Field
Digitization governance is one of the most significant current discussions in the urban governance field. Especially, with the spreading of Blockchain Technology (BCT), researchers have shown an increased interest in the application of the technology in solving birth registration challenges as a digital infrastructure in developing countries.
  • 463
  • 17 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Evaluating Geothermal Systems through Life Cycle Assessment
In these days of heightened environmental consciousness, many countries are shifting their focus towards renewable energy sources for both large-scale uses (such as power plants that generate electricity) and smaller-scale applications (e.g., building heating and cooling). Taking into account a holistic method, LCA on the one hand allows to display the whole life cycle of a system from the extraction of raw materials, its creation to the production phase and finally to its disposal. On the other hand, it reveals through multiple environmental impact categories, the hot spots that account for the different stages of the cycle defining the environmental identity of the system and consequently driving policy makers on taking final decisions. Geothermal energy is an extremely viable alternative that, combined with other renewable energy systems, may mitigate the negative effects of the existing energy mix worldwide.
  • 1.1K
  • 18 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Traditional Ecological Knowledge versus Ecological Wisdom
A novel concept has emerged in the landscape planning and design field as a response to environmental sustainability, which is known as ecological wisdom (EW). EW is defined as the ability to make prudent actions in contextual ecological practices. On the other hand, Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) has been developing for a long time and become a reference for environmental management. It refers to the evolving knowledge acquired by indigenous and local peoples over hundreds or thousands of years through direct contact with the environment. It is concerned with the relationship of living beings (including humans) with their traditional groups and environment. This study would like to search for evidence and define the distinction between both topics and find that they are distinct from their definition, agent, sources, and research scope. This study also found that TEK and EW could be similar when discussing the topic of indigenous culture capital, traditional knowledge, ecosystem services, and sustainability in the context of cultural landscape research. It also proposed a conceptual framework to help scholars to understanding the relationship between TEK and EW in the cultural landscape. Furthermore, states the potential areas for research improvement among TEK, EW, and its convergence.
  • 1.3K
  • 24 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Alternative Fuels in Maritime Sector
The current sulfur oxide (SOx), nitrogen oxide (NOx), and greenhouse gases (GHG) regulations have pressured international maritime transportation to adopt lower-emission fuels. Alternative fuels have received strong attention due to the fact they can be cleaner and environmentally friendly and, in some options, similar to the heavy fuel oil (HFO) and marine gas oil (MGO) used. The liquefied natural gas (LNG) is undoubtedly the main low carbon alternative with many ships already operating with this source in the world. Eighty-eight percent of the papers referred to LNG as an important source in the maritime sector for greenhouse gases (GHG) reduction. Hydrogen is one of the most cited options (16.2%). In a tank-to-wheel assessment, H2 from fossil sources has nil GHG emissions, which can also be highly carbon-intensive when analyzed from a well-to-wheel perspective. Biodiesel is a renewable and low carbon source, which represented 14.5% of total mentions. This option, together with hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) (3.8%) and straight vegetable oil (SVO) (3.4%) are sources that can be blended into the current marine engines without further modification. 
  • 712
  • 12 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Woody Plant Growth and Development under Elevated CO2
Climate change is mainly driven by the accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere in the last century. Plant growth is constantly challenged by environmental fluctuations including heat waves, severe drought and salinity, along with ozone accumulation in the atmosphere. The effects of the predicted environment scenario of elevated CO2 concentration (e[CO2]) and more severe abiotic stresses have been scarcely investigated in woody plants, and an integrated view involving physiological, biochemical and molecular data is missing.
  • 475
  • 12 Aug 2022
Topic Review
IOT & Control Systems Used in EAHX
An IoT-based EAHX control system plan is used to optimize energy efficiency and thermal comfort to suit operating conditions under different time zones.
  • 440
  • 12 Aug 2022
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