Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 28, 1 January 2017
This paper discusses the CO2 footprint of California's drought during 2012–2014. We show that California drought significantly increased CO2 emissions of the energy sector by around 22 million metric tons, indicating 33% increase in the annual CO2 emissions compared to pre-drought conditions. We argue that CO2 emission of climate extremes deserve more attention, because their cumulative impacts on CO2 emissions are staggering. Most countries, including the United States, do not have a comprehensive a nationwide energy-water plan to minimize their CO2 emissions.
Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 28, 1 January 2017
Disasters impacts on urban environment are the result of interactions among natural and human systems, which are intimately linked each other. What is more, cities are directly dependent on infrastructures providing essential services (Lifeline Systems, LS). The operation of LS in ordinary conditions as well as after disasters is crucial. Among the LS, drinking water supply deserves a critical role for citizens. The present work summarizes some preliminary activities related to an ongoing EU funded research project.
Procedia CIRP, Volume 61, 2017
The European Union (EU) has had laws on the disposal of waste for over 30 years and laws concerning the environmental performance of products for over 20. However, these laws have not formed a cohesive whole - and that is about to change. December 2015 saw the European Commission (the body responsible for proposing new EU legislation) published its Circular Economy Package, with the stated objective of "closing the loop" of product lifecycles. This paper provides an overview of this package and demonstrates why the development of standards underpins future legislation.
Sustainable Cities and Society, Volume 28, 1 January 2017
The sustainability of water resources depends on the dynamic interactions among the environmental, technological, and social characteristics of the water system and local population. These interactions can cause supply-demand imbalances at diverse temporal scales, and the response of consumers to water use regulations impacts future water availability. This research develops a dynamic modeling approach to simulate supply-demand dynamics using an agent-based modeling framework that couple models of consumers and utility managers with water system models.
