Search results for "Environmental Protection"
showing 10 items of 289 documents
Drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in the Baltic States: A structural decomposition analysis
2014
Since the mid-1990s three Baltic States have significantly increased their per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and at the same time have managed to keep the CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions low. We used structural decomposition analysis to identify the drivers of change for CO2e emissions in these countries between 1995 and 2009, a period that includes the collapse of the Soviet Union, restructuring and economic growth and the great recession. The results show that final demand has been the main driving force for increasing emissions in the Baltic States and would have caused an 80%, 64% and 143% emission increase in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, respectively, all other factors kept con…
Household carbon footprints in the Baltic States: A global multi-regional input–output analysis from 1995 to 2011
2017
The paper analyzes consumption related household CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions for the three Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from 1995 to 2011. The analysis is based on a multi-regional input–output model, which allows us to estimate life-cycle emissions for all major household consumption items. Results demonstrate that household carbon footprints in all the Baltic States significantly increased by 47% in Estonia, 20% in Latvia and 52% in Lithuania during the study period. In 2011 in Estonia expenditures for housing and utility contributed the highest per capita life-cycle emissions – 43%. However, in Lithuania housing accounted only for 16% of per capita emissions, but foo…
A Case-Study of Green Roof Monitoring: The Building of Council for Agricultural Research and Economics in Bagheria, (Italy)
2018
The energy saving in building goes on as an important challenge in the policy of Developed Countries. While the issue of energy building efficiency in heating season has deeply been investigated for a long time, the issue of energy building efficiency in cooling season is relatively recent. Moreover, considering the increase of electric consumption for air-conditioning in summer, mainly due to the growing quality of life, the research of technologies for reducing energy building consumption during this season becomes essential. The green roof represents a technology useful to reduce the energy consumption during the cooling season. In this work the authors report the results of a monitoring…
Meeting the environmental challenge of port growth: A critical appraisal of the contingent valuation method and an application to Valencia Port, Spain
2012
In order to support effective policy-making, this research is aimed to emphasise the need of measuring the negative impact - or external costs - resulting from port growth. Considering the non-market nature of these external costs, a critical appraisal of the Contingent Valuation method is made paying special attention to the problem of hypothetical bias and the suitability of a willingness to accept (WTA) scenario for damage assessment. Finally, the results of a case study, conducted in Valencia (Spain), are presented with the intention of paving the way for future research in this specific context of port growth and negative externalities. In particular, results indicate that the average …
From the LCA of food products to the environmental assessment of protected crops districts: A case-study in the south of Italy
2010
In the present study, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology was applied to evaluate the energy consumption and environmental burdens associated with the production of protected crops in an agricultural district in the Mediterranean region. In this study, LCA was used as a ‘support tool’, to address local policies for sustainable production and consumption patterns, and to create a ‘knowledge base’ for environmental assessment of an extended agricultural production area. The proposed approach combines organisation-specific tools, such as Environmental Management Systems and Environmental Product Declarations, with the environmental management of the district. Questionnaires were distribute…
Continental Construction in Central Asia (IGCP-592): Scientific Results and Meetings in 2012
2013
IGCP-Project #592 (2012-2015) "Continental construction in Central Asia", funded by UNESCO-IUGS, was launched in April 2012. The Project focuses on tectonic and magmatic aspects of formation of continental crust in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and their comparison with actualistic examples from the western Pacific. This report summarizes related scientific results and meetings. In total, in 2012 the Project organized, and/or participated in the organization of, six international conferences and workshops, three of which were accompanied by training schools for young scientists and special training courses. At the present time, more than 250 scientists from 27 countries expressed their in…
Human leptospirosis cases in Palermo Italy. The role of rodents and climate
2018
Many regions of the world are increasingly exposed to leptospirosis due to poverty, global warming and high urban density. Here, we report a molecular survey for pathogenic Leptospira spp. in rodents and two symptomatic human cases of leptospirosis in the city of Palermo, Italy.Four rodent species were captured in six areas of the city, and a molecular analysis for pathogenic Leptospira spp. on DNA from the kidney samples showed a different prevalence of leptospirosis in all the species of rodents. In addition, two human cases that occurred in May and October of 2009 in the city were also reported. A 67-year-old woman recovered after antibiotic treatment, whereas a 71-year-old woman did not…
Cultural and socio-economic impacts of Mediterranean marine protected areas
2000
Marine protected areas (MPAs) may be important for protecting the marine environment, but they may also have substantial socio-cultural impacts about which very little is currently known, or acknowledged. In the Mediterranean, few data are available on the socio-economic consequences of MPAs. The present study reviews the existing data on MPAs in Spain, France, Italy and Greece. A general increase in tourist activities in Mediterranean MPAs is evident, as are increases in the abundances of larger fish species, although there are no data indicating yields for fisheries increase adjacent to MPAs. A large increase in the number of divers and vessels using MPAs has already had impacts on natura…
Environmental Protection as a Trojan Horse of Criminal Law in the European First Pillar? A new Statement of the ECJ
2008
Dopo la storica sentenza del 13 settembre 2005, la Corte di Giustizia è intervenuta nuovamente a definire il riparto delle competenze tra Unione e Comunità in materia di diritto penale, annullando anche la decisione quadro sul rafforzamento della cornice penale per la repressione dell’inquinamento provocato da navi (caso C-440/05, Commissione c. Consiglio). Due erano le questioni fondamentali che attendevano una risposta da parte della Corte di Giustizia: 1) l’ammissibilità di direttive a contenuto penale per settori ulteriori rispetto a quello specifico della tutela dell’ambiente; 2) la definizione delle competenze della Comunità nella scelta del contenuto delle norme penali. Sul secondo p…