Search results for "esotericism"
showing 10 items of 91 documents
Alternative Vehicle Fuel Management: Impact on Energy Security Indicators
2019
Land transport consumes primarily oil products. Their use effects on climate change. A tendency of crude oil price increasing, uneven allocation, and exhaustibility forces to look for alternatives. Alternative vehicle fuel can to reduce energy dependence and meet ecological requirement. The aim of the study was to reveal the basic principles of the alternative vehicle fuel management and its influence on energy security indicators. The fundamental objectives and principles of alternative fuel management were reviewed. The energy security indicators which are affected by the use of alternative fuels were considered. The primary goal of the alternative vehicle fuel management is profit optimi…
Teaching of energy issues: A debate proposal for a global reorientatiom
2007
The growing awareness of serious difficulties in the learning of energy issues has produced a great deal of research, most of which is focused on specific conceptual aspects. In our opinion, the difficulties pointed out in the literature are interrelated and connected to other aspects (conceptual as well as procedural and axiological), which are not sufficiently taken into account in previous research. This paper aims to carry out a global analysis in order to avoid the more limited approaches that deal only with individual aspects. From this global analysis we have outlined 24 propositions that are put forward for debate to lay the foundations for a profound reorientation of the teaching o…
Fostering the energy efficiency through the energy savings: The case of the University of Palermo
2019
This paper reports the strategy implemented by the Palermo University (Italy) aimed at fostering the energy performance of its campus, particularly towards financing energy saving measures. The basic idea is that the money saved through the energy efficiency actions, constitute the main flywheel to fund further savings and energy efficiency interventions. Results of this paper might bring a useful contribution to the energy planning of cities, since campuses may be regarded as emblematic case study of what can be done in cities because they reproduce, at a little scale, the functioning of wider urban contexts.
Life-Cycle Assessment of Buildings
2019
The chapter presents a complete overview of LCA applied to buildings. After a brief introduction on the origin and developments of the LCA, it describes four steps of the LCA methodology, according to the framework of the International standards of ISO 14040 series. Then, the authors focus on the LCA applied to the building sector and on the standard EN 15978. They identify the main issues related to the application of the methodology to buildings, such as the selection of the functional unit, the systems boundaries,the environmental indicators, etc. In the context of the sustainability, a brief overview on the economic and social aspects of buildings and on the available building life-cycl…
Analysis of the effects of climate change on the energy and environmental performance of a building with and without onsite generation from renewable…
2020
Climate Change is a priority, due to the large variety of implications and importance that it may cause in the next decades. In this context, the building sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. For this reason, buildings should be designed in such a way that they are responsible for fewer GHG emissions. In this context, the paper analyses the potential impact of climate change on the energy performances of buildings, with and without onsite generation from renewable energy, using a prototype building located in Messina (Italy) as case study. The analysis is based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change RCP scenarios and the results confirm the already known ov…
An empirical approach for ranking environmental and energy saving measures in the hotel sector
2009
The energy demand of the hotel sector of an Italian region is here utilized for hierarchizing, by means of an empirical method, efficient measures devoted to energy saving and reduction of CO2 emissions. Due to the large number of consumers present in the selected territorial area and the lack in detailed data, the energy demand assessment is here carried out by the analysis of a sample of representative consumers. A short set of indexes, referring to energy and environmental performances, are defined and calculated for different clusters of hotels, grouped on the basis of site characteristics, opening periods, number of beds, and building age. Such indexes are utilized to establish lists o…
An assessment of energy vulnerability in Small Island Developing States
2020
Abstract Small Island Developing States (SIDS) suffer from several structural characteristics that jeopardize their ability to achieve a sustainable energy future. Their reliance on imported fossil fuels exacerbates their exposure to external threats on international energy markets. Their energy systems are also exposed to internal disturbances that disrupt the proper production, transmission and distribution of energy. The aim of this paper is to investigate the extent to which island energy systems are vulnerable to shocks and internal dysfunctions over which they have no control. For this purpose, we build a composite index of energy vulnerability using the Multi-Layer Benefit-of-the-Dou…
Democracy and Depression: A Cross-National Study of Depressive Symptoms and Nonparticipation
2020
Depression is the most common mental health disorder. It has consequences not only on individuals but also on social and political levels. We argue that depressive symptoms impair political participation by reducing the motivation and physical energy of sufferers. We test our hypotheses by conducting regression analyses of four nationally representative cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys that collectively span many democracies. Our results are threefold. First, we find that the severest depressive symptoms lower the probability of voting by 0.05–0.25 points, an effect that is exceeded only by education and age. Second, we show that depressive symptoms negatively affect political inter…
Tax benefits for the energy requalification of Italian real estate assets
2020
The need for energy-efficient buildings has emerged since the onset of the first energy crises in the 1970s. It's in this decade that the concepts of sustainable development and energy saving have been introduced in the construction sector. Currently, the greatest energy saving potential for buildings does not lie in new buildings, but in the energy redevelopment of existing buildings. In order to promote interventions for building restoration, which are often costly and not economically convenient, Italian legislation has made a series of economic incentives available to the sector. This work reviews the main incentive systems for the energy requalification of buildings.
Political Challenges, Best Practices and Recommendations for Energy Sustainable Municipalities
2016
Integrated system solutions, together with improved management of municipal infrastructure and environments, are essential to address energy challenges. A number of aspects should be examined and developed, including eco-cycle models demonstrating integrated solutions for energy, waste and water, integrated land use and transportation, ecosystems planning, sustainable building design, and strategies to reduce air pollution. It is imperative to apply the principles of sustainable development and support smart solutions today if we are not to compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs tomorrow. We should think of urban systems as living organisms and find synergies betwe…