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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Topic Review Video
Waste Plastic Pyrolytic Catalysis
With the increase in demand for plastic use, waste plastic (WP) management remains a challenge in the contemporary world due to the lack of sustainable efforts to tackle it. The increment in WPs is proportional to man’s demand and use of plastics, and these come along with environmental challenges. This increase in WPs, and the resulting environmental consequences are mainly due to the characteristic biodegradation properties of plastics. Landfilling, pollution, groundwater contamination, incineration, and blockage of drainages are common environmental challenges associated with WPs. The bulk of these WPs constitutes polyethene (PE), polyethene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene (PS). Pyrolysis is an eco-friendly thermo-chemical waste plastic treatment solution for valuable product recovery, preferred over landfilling and incineration solutions.
  • 1.1K
  • 24 Apr 2022
Topic Review
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Reaching the land-related UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and similar goals articulated by the EU Green Deal (GD) by 2030 presents a major challenge and requires a pragmatic approach focused on joint learning by land users (mostly farmers), researchers and other stakeholders in “Living Labs” and system experiments at experimental farms of research organizations. Defining specific indicators and thresholds for ecosystem services in line with land-related SDGs is crucial to establish “Lighthouses” that can act as inspiring examples if they meet the various thresholds.
  • 575
  • 25 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Atmospheric Turbulence
The foundation of any smart city requires an innovative and robust communication infrastructure. Many research communities envision free-space optical communication (FSO) as a promising backbone technology for the services and applications provided by such cities. However, the channel through which the FSO signal travels is the atmosphere. Therefore, the FSO performance is limited by the local weather conditions. The variation in meteorological variables leads to variations of the refractive index along the transmission path. These index inhomogeneities (i.e., atmospheric turbulence) can significantly degrade the performance of FSO systems.  The effect of atmospheric turbulence on FSO systems is a considerable challenge. Such turbulence can produce beam scintillation, spreading, and wandering, resulting in a significant reduction in BER performance and the inability to use the communication link.
  • 1.4K
  • 24 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Applications of Online UV-Vis Spectrophotometer for Drinking Water
Water quality monitoring is an essential component of water quality management for water utilities for managing the drinking water supply. Online UV-Vis spectrophotometers are becoming popular choices for online water quality monitoring and process control, as they are reagent free, do not require sample pre-treatments and can provide continuous measurements. The advantages of the online UV-Vis sensors are that they can capture events and allow quicker responses to water quality changes compared to conventional water quality monitoring.
  • 1.2K
  • 24 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Framework for Building Resilient Water and Infrastructure Systems
Planning and developing resilient socio-technical and natural systems to cope with and respond to unprecedented changes has been one of the top goals of government bodies, researchers, and practitioners worldwide. 
  • 563
  • 24 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Quality and Historical Marks of National Interest
Trademarks are distinctive signs designed to promote and enhance the products/services of companies. In Italy have been created historical brands to promote their strategic importance and enhance the temporal continuity of the marks.
  • 666
  • 27 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Research Directions Toward Carbon-Neutral Concrete
Carbon storage has become a key aspect of dealing with greenhouse gases such as CO2. Currently, many solutions are being explored to reduce the greenhouse effect caused by CO2, with one being carbon capture and storage. In view of this, there is a need to develop higher-density, highly permanent forms of carbon storage, to reduce the volume required for storing captured CO2. 
  • 586
  • 22 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Dentistry
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have been found to be beneficial tools for clinical practice and for enhancing the learning experiences of students during their pre-clinical education and training sessions. Clinicians can use VR technology to show their patients the expected outcomes before the undergo dental procedures. Additionally, AR and VR can be implemented to overcome dental phobia, which is commonly experienced by pediatric patients. Future studies should focus on forming technological standards with high-quality data and developing scientifically-proven AR/VR gadgets for dental practice. 
  • 2.4K
  • 22 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Urban Ecosystem Models
Urban ecosystem services provide many benefits for human beings. Given the dramatic increase of urbanization, maintaining sustainability of cities relies heavily on ecosystem services, and it is crucial for quantifying, managing, and optimizing urban ecosystem services to promote social and ecological sustainable development. 
  • 816
  • 22 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Lignocellulosic Biofuels: A Renewable Bioenergy
Biofuel consists of non-fossil fuel derived from the organic biomass of renewable resources, including plants, animals, microorganisms, and waste. Energy derived from biofuel is known as bioenergy. The reserve of fossil fuels is now limited and continuing to decrease, while at the same time demand for energy is increasing. In order to overcome this scarcity, it is vital for human beings to transfer their dependency on fossil fuels to alternative types of fuel, including biofuels, which are effective methods of fulfilling present and future demands. The conversion of lignocellulosic feedstock is an important step during biofuel production. It is, however, important to note that, as a result of various technical restrictions, biofuel production is not presently cost efficient, thus leading to the need for improvement in the methods employed. 
  • 1.4K
  • 26 Apr 2022
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