Tourism is an activity that anyone can take part in, regardless of their age, gender, nationality or level of income. This makes tourism one of the most rapidly developing industries in the world. Despite the number of benefits which tourism produces, it also has significant negative impacts on the environment. To minimise the scope of these negative impacts, joint efforts combining tourism and environmental management are called for. This book examines the application of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method and lifecycle thinking as a tool to generate more accurate and holistic appraisals of the environmental impacts of tourism. Looking at the issue of sustainability of tourism operations, the book evaluates how it can be improved. It highlights the potential of LCA to affect tourist behaviour and contribute to tourism policy-making and managerial practice. This book provides a valuable resource for undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers interested in sustainable tourism, sustainable development and environmental impact assessment.

Whether it is the effects of climate change, the avalanche of electronic and plastic waste or the substandard living and working conditions of billions of our fellow global citizens, our ability to deal with unsustainability will define the twenty-first century. Given that most consumption is mediated through products and services, the critical question for designers is: How can we radically reshape these into tools for sustainable living? As a guide and reference text, Product Design and Sustainability provides design students, practitioners and educators with the breadth and depth needed to integrate the most appropriate sustainable strategies into their practice. It establishes the principles that underpin sustainability and introduces a diverse range of social, economic and environmental design responses and tools available to designers. The numerous real-world examples illustrate how these strategies play out in different product sectors and reinforce the view that sustainability is the most positive opportunity and creative challenge facing designers today. This book: delivers a comprehensive guide to the principles of sustainability and how they apply to product design that can readily be integrated into curricula and design practice reveals many of the issues specific product sectors are facing, and provides the depth and breadth needed for formulating and developing sustainable design strategies to address these issues empowers and inspires designers to engage with sustainability through its many examples and insightful interviews with practitioners is fully illustrated with over 300 photographs, graphs and diagrams and supported by chapter summaries, annotated further reading suggestions, and a glossary.

This book aims to perform an impartial analysis to evaluate the implications of the environmental costs and impacts of a wide range of technologies and energy strategies. This information is intended to be used to support decision-making by groups, including researchers, industry, regulators, and policy-makers. Life cycle assessment (LCA) and technoeconomic analysis can be applied to a wide variety of technologies and energy strategies, both established and emerging. LCA is a method used to evaluate the possible environmental impacts of a product, material, process, or activity. It assesses the environmental impact throughout the life cycle of a system, from the acquisition of materials to the manufacture, use, and final disposal of a product. Technoeconomic analysis refers to cost evaluations, including production cost and life cycle cost. Often, in order to carry out technoeconomic analysis, researchers are required to obtain data on the performance of new technologies that operate on a very small scale in order to subsequently design configurations on a commercial scale and estimate the costs of such expansions. The results of the developed models help identify possible market applications and provide an estimate of long-term impacts. These methods, together with other forms of decision analysis, are very useful in the development and improvement of energy objectives, since they will serve to compare different decisions, evaluating their political and economic feasibility and providing guidance on potential financial and technological risks.

We cannot imagine a world without plastics. Plastic products make our daily life safe, healthy and convenient. Besides all the benefits, the current plastics economy gives rise to environmental concerns with respect to fossil oil depletion and plastic waste accumulation. In a circular economy, however, plastics can be redesigned for reusability and recyclability. This book makes the topic of sustainable plastics approachable for students and career starters alike, describing the nature and chemistry of (bio)polymers as well as how to create a closed loop of plastic materials. The new edition expands on vitrimers, microplastisc, recycling and examples. Discusses the new plastics economy chemistry and properties of polymers biodegradable plastics and polymers from renewable resources and plastics recycling.

This book is a guide to energy efficiency and environmental impact assessment in high-performance buildings projects. It compares four state-of-the-art buildings to examine the steps needed for a transition from negative impact reduction architecture to positive impact regenerative architecture, utilizing life cycle analysis. The book provides a solid grounding in the areas of energy-efficient building and building materials life-cycle assessment, discussing carbon efficiency within a wider context that includes its technical, socio-cultural and environmental dimensions and covers the key areas for green buildings performance (operational and embodied energy). The analysis and comparison of four case studies of state-of-art modern building projects in Europe and North America serve as inspiring examples for architects and building professionals in the fields of high performance buildings, ecological materials and carbon efficiency.

The Handbook of Clean Energy Systems brings together an international team of experts to present a comprehensive overview of the latest research, developments and practical applications throughout all areas of clean energy systems. Consolidating information which is currently scattered across a wide variety of literature sources, the handbook covers a broad range of topics in this interdisciplinary research field including both fossil and renewable energy systems. The development of intelligent energy systems for efficient energy processes and mitigation technologies for the reduction of environmental pollutants is explored in depth, and environmental, social and economic impacts are also addressed. Topics covered include: Volume 1 - Renewable Energy: Biomass resources and biofuel production; Bioenergy Utilization; Solar Energy; Wind Energy; Geothermal Energy; Tidal Energy. Volume 2 - Clean Energy Conversion Technologies: Steam/Vapor Power Generation; Gas Turbines Power Generation; Reciprocating Engines; Fuel Cells; Cogeneration and Polygeneration. Volume 3 - Mitigation Technologies: Carbon Capture; Negative Emissions System; Carbon Transportation; Carbon Storage; Emission Mitigation Technologies; Efficiency Improvements and Waste Management; Waste to Energy. Volume 4 - Intelligent Energy Systems: Future Electricity Markets; Diagnostic and Control of Energy Systems; New Electric Transmission Systems; Smart Grid and Modern Electrical Systems; Energy Efficiency of Municipal Energy Systems; Energy Efficiency of Industrial Energy Systems; Consumer Behaviors; Load Control and Management; Electric Car and Hybrid Car; Energy Efficiency Improvement. Volume 5 - Energy Storage: Thermal Energy Storage; Chemical Storage; Mechanical Storage; Electrochemical Storage; Integrated Storage Systems. Volume 6 - Sustainability of Energy Systems: Sustainability Indicators, Evaluation Criteria, and Reporting; Regulation and Policy; Finance and Investment; Emission Trading; Modeling and Analysis of Energy Systems; Energy vs. Development; Low Carbon Economy; Energy Efficiencies and Emission Reduction. Key features: Comprising over 3,500 pages in 6 volumes, HCES presents a comprehensive overview of the latest research, developments and practical applications throughout all areas of clean energy systems, consolidating a wealth of information which is currently scattered across a wide variety of literature sources. In addition to renewable energy systems, HCES also covers processes for the efficient and clean conversion of traditional fuels such as coal, oil and gas, energy storage systems, mitigation technologies for the reduction of environmental pollutants, and the development of intelligent energy systems. Environmental, social and economic impacts of energy systems are also addressed in depth. Published in full colour throughout. Fully indexed with cross referencing within and between all six volumes. Edited by leading researchers from academia and industry who are internationally renowned and active in their respective fields. Published in print and online. The online version is a single publication (i.e. no updates), available for one-time purchase or through annual subscription.

This book discusses essential approaches and methods in connection with engineering education for sustainable development. Prepared as a follow-up to the 2015 Engineering Education in Sustainable Development (EESD) Conference held in British Columbia, Canada, it offers the engineering community key information on the latest trends and developments in this important field. Reflecting the need to address the links between formal and informal education, the scholars and professionals who contribute to this book show by means of case studies and projects how the goal of fostering sustainable development in the context of engineering education can be achieved. In particular, they discuss the need for restructuring teaching at engineering‐focused institutions of higher education and provide practical examples of how to do so. The book places special emphasis on state-of-the art descriptions of approaches, methods, initiatives and projects from around the world, illustrating the contribution of engineering and affiliated sciences to sustainable development in various contexts, and at an international scale.