THE EFFECT OF FLY ASH UTILIZATION IN REINFORCEMENT CONCRETE: A REVIEW

Indonesia signed the Paris Agreement on facing climate change. Carbon dioxide is the main issue contributing to the greenhouse effect. Most power plant in Indonesia uses non-renewable energy to generate electricity. Increasing demand for electricity makes increasing coal consumption for steam power plants and directly contributes to greenhouse gasses from coal combustion and produces fly ash as a waste product. Otherwise, fly ash from Steam Power Plant is classified as pozzolanic materials being a part of substitution ordinary portland cement (OPC) on making reinforcement concrete. Many Researchers studied reinforcement concrete from fly ash composition and others development using renewable energy resources such as biomass. This paper presents a literature review on focus studying the properties of various types of fly ash and their effect on the performance of concrete, including corrosion resistance.

Life Cycle Assessment of 2.0 MW Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine for Sustainability Analysis

The world is increasingly experiencing unanticipated catastrophic events because of the impact of greenhouse gasses. The two major issues with the conventional energy system are unsustainability and global warming, which are extremely harmful for the climate. The core objective of this study is a compilation of the findings related to a life cycle assessment of horizontal axis wind turbines in regard to sustainable development. Sustainability aspects and concerns have been studied and reported in terms of the life cycle of wind energy technology. This article focused on energy consumed during the life of the 2.0 MW wind turbine, mostly in the production of primary materials, processes, and maintenance-related transport phase. The turbine’s overall energy produced 1,750,000 kWh throughout a 20-year life. Over a 20year lifespan, the overall energy produced by the turbine is approximately 32% more than the energy needed to construct, and the destination for the turbine materials is a landfill at the end of the turbine’s life. For a 40% wind turbine power ratio, with the wind turbine materials delivered to landfill at the end of the turbine’s life, the electricity payback period is around 10 months, and for recycled materials it is 6 months. The comparison is also done for the wind turbine materials which are sent to landfill with and without recycling.

The impacts of electric vehicles and heat pumps load profiles on low voltage distribution networks in Great Britain by 2050

The impacts of uptake and electricity load profiles of Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Heat Pumps (HPs) on the low voltage (LV) distribution networks were analyzed. The United Kingdom (UK) has a legally mandated policy concerning reduction of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) emissions. Therefore, the integration of low carbon technologies (LCTs) especially EVs and HPs at the LV networks is expected to increase in the drive to reducing the GHGs emissions. Future uptake scenarios, adapted from the National Grid studies, of EVs and HPs were developed for a real and typical urban LV distribution network in Great Britain (GB). Gridlab-D, an agent-based power system simulation software, was used to model the LV distribution network. The model was run for four different scenarios considering seasonal load profiles and projected EVs and HPs uptakes for each of the year 2020, 2030, 2040 and 2050 respectively. The results were analyzed in terms of transformer loading, voltage profiles of the feeders, and the ampacity loading of the cables for the different scenarios of the years.

The Role of Green Technology Innovation on the Development of Sustainable Tourism: Does Renewable Energy Use Help Mitigate Environmental Pollution? A Panel Data Analysis

The tourism industry has been long blamed as the major driver to global warming due to it being the largest industry that uses more energy, most of which comes from sources that emits carbon-dioxide. However, despite all the blames on tourism for its negative effects on the environment, less work has been done to ascertain its impact on the environment. Unlike past studies that that alludes that tourism development exacerbates the emission of carbon-dioxide hence global warming, the current research shows that in the OECD countries, tourism does not have any significant link with greenhouse gasses emissions. This is so because OECD nations have long started to shift from fossil fuel use, as sources of energy, to renewable energy use which doesn’t exacerbates greenhouse gasses emissions. However, the current research concurs with the findings of past studies that renewable energy consumption significantly decreases greenhouse gases emissions. Using renewable energy sources of energy instead of fossil fuels should continue to be encouraged in all nations for the purpose of achieving low carbon in the future. The current study uses dynamic GMM model for 38 OECD countries from 2008 to 2019. Dynamic GMM model remains one of the best models since it corrects endogeneity problem in a model. GMM model overcomes autocorrelation, heteroskedasticity and normality problems, hence the robustness and reliability of results obtained. Gross Domestic Product and population size negatively affect greenhouse gasses emissions while inflation rate is observed to have a significant strong positive link with greenhouse gasses emissions.

COLLABORATIVE PLANNING FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY OF THE HAJJ

Every year, millions of Muslim worshippers visit Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj which is the fifth and final pillar of Islam. Mecca hosts more than 2,300,000 people from around 183 different countries and cultures every year. In 2016, these numbers were forecast to grow to 2,500,000 in 2020. This goal, however, has not been achieved due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has forced the government to severely reduce the number of pilgrims in 2020 to just 10,000 people. Ultimately, this situation is temporary and visitor numbers should continue to rise. Tourism, especially religious tourism such as the Hajj, is expected to boost the economy and create new jobs for Saudi youth in the services sector. Yet, despite the many benefits of the pilgrimage, the Hajj itself has several severe adverse environmental impacts. The activities of Hajj generate considerable solid and liquid waste, use large quantities of scarce fresh water and produce high levels of greenhouse gasses (GHGs).

“Keeping the wet in wetlands”: A case study of wetland response to projected changes in climate at Mathews Lagoon, Boggy Pond and Wairio Wetlands

<p>Wetlands are some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. They are critical for global, regional and local ecosystems, and provide considerable social and economic value for human populations (Findlayson, et. al., 2011). Wetlands have been extensively destroyed in many developed countries, establishing a growing concern and greater awareness of the importance of wetlands in the global hydrological cycle - for climate regulation, and for ecological migration (Pfadenhauer & Grootjans, 1999). Changes in climate, driven by increases in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gasses are predicted to cause significant changes to the spatial and temporal distributions in rainfall. Since water is the dominant forcing component in the structural development of wetland systems, they are particularly susceptible to changes in climate. While considerable work is now being conducted globally to better understand how wetlands will respond to changes in climate, little work has been conducted in New Zealand to identify the vulnerability of New Zealand wetland systems. Recent projection by NIWA (2016a) on regional changes in climate have been used to assess how three wetland systems (Wairio Stage 1, Boggy Pond, and Mathews Lagoon), located in the Lower Wairarapa Valley may respond to changes in climate. This study identifies relationships between ground and surface water, examines the interactions and connections between the three wetlands, and explores the sensitivity of the wetlands to climate-induced changes in evapotranspiration, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and rainfall. Wairio stage 1 has been identified as the most susceptible wetland of the three due to a lack of recharge source, while Boggy Pond is the least susceptible due to its interaction/connection with the local groundwater system.</p>

“Keeping the wet in wetlands”: A case study of wetland response to projected changes in climate at Mathews Lagoon, Boggy Pond and Wairio Wetlands

<p>Wetlands are some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. They are critical for global, regional and local ecosystems, and provide considerable social and economic value for human populations (Findlayson, et. al., 2011). Wetlands have been extensively destroyed in many developed countries, establishing a growing concern and greater awareness of the importance of wetlands in the global hydrological cycle - for climate regulation, and for ecological migration (Pfadenhauer & Grootjans, 1999). Changes in climate, driven by increases in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gasses are predicted to cause significant changes to the spatial and temporal distributions in rainfall. Since water is the dominant forcing component in the structural development of wetland systems, they are particularly susceptible to changes in climate. While considerable work is now being conducted globally to better understand how wetlands will respond to changes in climate, little work has been conducted in New Zealand to identify the vulnerability of New Zealand wetland systems. Recent projection by NIWA (2016a) on regional changes in climate have been used to assess how three wetland systems (Wairio Stage 1, Boggy Pond, and Mathews Lagoon), located in the Lower Wairarapa Valley may respond to changes in climate. This study identifies relationships between ground and surface water, examines the interactions and connections between the three wetlands, and explores the sensitivity of the wetlands to climate-induced changes in evapotranspiration, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and rainfall. Wairio stage 1 has been identified as the most susceptible wetland of the three due to a lack of recharge source, while Boggy Pond is the least susceptible due to its interaction/connection with the local groundwater system.</p>

Asbestos Removal Acceleration for New Jobs and Fossil Fuel Use Reduction for Public Health and Climate Readiness: A Contribution to the Revival of the Italian Economy Post-COVID-19

The Italian economy has been battered by the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic. European Union and Italian government economic recovery funds will provide special economic recovery loans aimed toward energy saving and the consequent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) to meet the Paris Agreement climate goals. In, Italy, millions of square meters of asbestos cement (AC) roofing cover industrial and civic buildings. Removal of this asbestos containing material (ACM) would contribute to three pandemic and economic recovery objectives: job creation, reduction of greenhouse gasses (thru energy savings), and public health improvements. Though asbestos was used for its excellent thermal insulation properties, we provide calculations that demonstrate that the cement binding in AC roofing negates the asbestos insulation function. Therefore, replacing AC roofing with roofs made with alternative materials with better thermal transmission coefficients can contribute significantly to energy savings, reduce the risk of asbestos-related morbidity and mortality, and establish substantial economic activity.

The Cyclical Sine Model Explanation for Climate Change

Climate Change due to excessive buildup of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere from hydrocarbon combustion is one explanation (NASA greenhouse effect) for the Earth’s temperature increase since 1850. If this is true, then eliminating fossil fuel use is the only way to preserve our planet. However, there is another explanation for Global Warming/Climate Change that leads to the opposite conclusion – hydrocarbon energy will be needed well into the future to cope with future, excessively hot and cold temperature cycles. This paper will show that the Global Warming/Climate Change underway on Earth today is a totally natural occurrence with solid scientific and historical support. The Earth is currently in the upswing part of its normal temperature cycle. Very warm (Medieval Warming) and very cold (Little Ice Age) cycles have been historically documented on Earth for at least the last 3,000 years. This cyclicity has a repeated period of about every 1,500 years (Singer 2008). This explanation for the Earth’s temperature increases since 1850 is captured in a mathematical model called the Cyclical Sine Model. This model fits past climate cycles, measured temperatures since 1850, and correlates closely with the cyclicity of Bond Atlantic Drift Ice Cycles (Bond 1997), the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (NASA AMO), and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (NASA PDO). This model also quantitively explains the time span 1945-1975 when an impending ice age was feared (Time Magazine 1974). The Cyclical Sine Model is the best explanation for the Earth’s recent temperature increases.

An assessment of tree biodiversity and carbon stocks in mangrove forests, Langsa City, Aceh, Indonesia

Mangrove forests are a unique coastal ecosystem with trees adapted to a constantly fluctuating and sometimes extreme physical environment. Mangrove forests provide important ecosystem services that benefit local people and all of us in terms of climate regulation through the storage of greenhouse gasses in biomass. This research reports carbon stock, wood volume, tree density, and biodiversity indices for two mangrove forest areas in Langsa City Regency, Aceh Province, Indonesia. The two sites represent and inland area and an ocean-exposed area within a large mangrove forest ecosystem complex. The results of the analysis show that these two tracts are quite similar in terms of carbon stock and biodiversity even though they occupy different locations within the larger tract of mangrove habitat. The study confirms these are healthy forest areas with relatively high carbon stocks.