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
A Sustainable Circular Plastics Economy in The Netherlands
The circular economy (CE) has become a key sustainability discourse in the last decade. The Netherlands seeks to become fully circular by 2050 and the EU has set ambitious circularity targets in its CE Action Plan of 2015. The plastics sector, in particular, has gained a lot of attention as it is a priority area of both the EU and Dutch CE policies. However, there has been little research on the different and often contested discourses, governance processes and policy mechanisms guiding the transition to a circular economy and society. There is thus a dominance of technocentric imaginaries, and a general lack of discussion on holistic, and transformative visions, which integrate the full social, political, and ecological implication of a circular future. 
  • 3.0K
  • 02 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Environmental Biofilms in Livestock Buildings
Biofilms are three-dimensional biological structures composed of microbial communities embedded in cohesive self-produced extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). EPS can drastically vary between biofilms but is generally composed of water and a complex mixture of polysaccharides, extracellular DNA (eDNA), proteins, and amyloid fibers. The presence of EPS, along with spatial organization and specific signaling systems, triggers a diversification of cell types and emerging community functions, including a fantastic adaptation to environmental fluctuations and the action of antimicrobials, in comparison to their free planktonic homologs.
  • 384
  • 18 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Omics Approaches to Assess Flavor Development in Cheese
Cheese is characterized by a rich and complex microbiota that plays a vital role during both production and ripening, contributing significantly to the safety, quality, and sensory characteristics of the final product. In this context, it is vital to explore the microbiota composition and understand its dynamics and evolution during cheese manufacturing and ripening. Application of high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies have facilitated the more accurate identification of the cheese microbiome, detailed study of its potential functionality, and its contribution to the development of specific organoleptic properties. These technologies include amplicon sequencing, whole-metagenome shotgun sequencing, metatranscriptomics, and, most recently, metabolomics. In recent years, however, the application of multiple meta-omics approaches along with data integration analysis, which was enabled by advanced computational and bioinformatics tools, paved the way to better comprehension of the cheese ripening process, revealing significant associations between the cheese microbiota and metabolites, as well as their impact on cheese flavor and quality. 
  • 485
  • 18 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Benefits and Ecosystem Services Provided by Green Roofs
Water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) strategies have been widely used in cities to mitigate the negative consequences of rapid urbanization and climate change. Whilst WSUD is a popular term in Australia and a few other countries, blue-green infrastructure (BGI) is also a commonly used term. Green roofs (GR) have been regarded as a promising BGI strategy to deal with these globally growing concerns of urbanization and climate change. This BGI strategy, sometimes called a living roof or vegetated roof, offers a wide range of environmental, social, and economic benefits compared to conventional roofs (CRs). The stormwater management and the mitigation of heat-related issues are the two primary GR benefits that have attracted the attention of researchers the most. Additionally, GR is capable of reducing energy consumption, improving air and runoff quality, and alleviating noise pollution.
  • 471
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Arboviral Disease Outbreaks in the Pacific Islands Countries
Arthropod-borne viral (arboviral) diseases are a significant global health problem accounting for >17% of all infectious disease cases and 1 million deaths worldwide annually. Arboviral diseases are infections caused by over 100 viruses belonging to the Flaviviridae, Togaviridae, Reoviridae, Bunyaviridae, Rhabdoviridae and Orthomyxoviridae families. These viruses are spread to humans through arthropods, including mosquitos, ticks, and flies.
  • 429
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
The Invasive Fireweed (Senecio madagascariensis Poir)
Senecio madagascariensis originates from southern Africa but it has been introduced to several other countries including Australia. Climatic suitability suggests that there are large areas around the world suitable for the weed’s growth where it is currently not present. The weed poses a major threat to livestock industries in these countries through its ability to reduce pasture production and poison animals. A range of control techniques has been used to try and manage S. madagascariensis. Besides using traditional approaches, the use of competitive pastures and more tolerant livestock (such as sheep and goats) are some of the other options recommended as part of an integrated approach. 
  • 995
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Garment Quality in a CE Context
The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industrial sectors in the world and its environmental impacts are huge. Garments are produced effectively at a low price, are of low quality, and are used for a very short time before ending up in increasing textile waste streams. One critical aspect in this context is the lifetime of a garment. Short garment lifetimes are the results of low quality and consumer dissatisfaction, or consumers’ constant search for newness, resulting in the early disposal of garments. 
  • 643
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
NIRS in Wild Rodents’ Research
The near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) method proved to be a useful tool to determine the amount of a particular food ingredient in the diet from faeces or chyme and to estimate the food quality.
  • 479
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Fuel Consumption and CO2 of Light-Duty Vehicles
Due to the alarming rate of climate change, fuel consumption and emission estimates are critical in determining the effects of materials and stringent emission control strategies. In this research, an analytical and predictive study has been conducted using the Government of Canada dataset, containing 4973 light-duty vehicles observed from 2017 to 2021, delivering a comparative view of different brands and vehicle models by their fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Based on the findings of the statistical data analysis, this study makes evidence-based recommendations to both vehicle users and producers to reduce their environmental impacts. Additionally, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and various regression models have been built to estimate fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for future vehicle designs. This study reveals that the Univariate Polynomial Regression model is the best model for predictions from one vehicle feature input, with up to 98.6% accuracy. Multiple Linear Regression and Multivariate Polynomial Regression are good models for predictions from multiple vehicle feature inputs, with approximately 75% accuracy. Convolutional Neural Network is also a promising method for prediction because of its stable and high accuracy of around 70%. The results contribute to the quantifying process of energy cost and air pollution caused by transportation, followed by proposing relevant recommendations for both vehicle users and producers. Future research should aim towards developing higher performance models and larger datasets for building APIs and applications.
  • 790
  • 20 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Trends in Emission of Marine Traffic Haifa Port
The vessel fleet calling at Israel ports mainly comprises vessels that have a lower engine tier grade (i.e., Tier 0 and 1), which is considered a heavy contributor to nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution. The entry recommends an additional cost charged (selective tariff) to reflect the external social cost linked to the single vessel air pollution combined with supportive technological infrastructure and economic incentive tools (e.g., electric subsidy) to attract or influence vessel owners to assign vessels equipped with new engine tier grades for calls at Israeli ports.
  • 925
  • 17 Jan 2022
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