Global warming is widely reported to be a cause of water scarcity and increased water con-sumption. As a consequence, it becomes harder for water suppliers to be prepared for increaseddemands. It is possible to predict the upcoming demand with the help of machine learningtools, however, a preliminary analysis of water consumption patterns is important for a goodprediction. This work focuses on water consumption patterns and studies their change withtime as well as the effects of meteorological factors on it.In order to aid the investigation and scrutinization of the patterns, a new semi-automatedtool was developed. Its algorithm is based on the Mann-Whitney U statistical test and performsgrouping of the weeks with similar sets of hourly water consumption. It helps to frame off theseasons of the year within which the patterns are similar. Along with that, K-means clusteringwas applied to the data to retrieve the patterns and to compare the performance with the newlydeveloped algorithm. On top of that, the effects of the population growth and meteorologicalvariables on water consumption were studied.K-means clustering showed more robust performance than the newly developed algorithmand therefore the ways of improvement were discussed along with the significance of gooddata quality and thorough data pre-processing. It was detected that municipalities with thedifferent housing situation had different persistent summer patterns of water consumption. Ingeneral municipalities with prevailing individual housing tend to consume more water duringthe summer per capita than others. Furthermore, municipalities with prevailing individualhousing were observed to be less robust against temperature growth and humidity decreasethan those with prevailing apartment housing as the latter increase their water consumptionless significantly in response to mentioned meteorological variables change. Therefore, consid-ering the population growth, the benefits of planning new multi-apartment dwelling areas inpreference to individual housing were discussed in the context of sustainable water use andclimate change. / Global uppvärmning kan orsaka både vattenbrist och ökad vattenförbrukning. Som en kon-sekvens blir det svårare för vattenförsörjningsföretag att förberedda sig på de ökande kraven.Det är möjligt att förutsäga den kommande efterfrågan med hjälp av verktyg för maskininlärn-ing, men det är viktigt att analysera vattenförbrukningsmönster för att få en bra förutsägelse.Detta arbete fokuserar därför på att analysera, samt studerar effekterna av meteorologiskafaktorer och hur semesterperioden påverkar vattenförbrukningen.Ett nytt halvautomatiskt verktyg utformades för att extrahera dagliga vattenförbrukn-ingsmönster från förbrukningstidserier. Algoritmen anger vilka veckor på året som har liknandemönster och grupperar dem i så kallade konsumtionssäsonger. För att utvärdera prestandan förverktyget användes en grupperingsmetod den så kallade K-means clustering på samma data.Utöver det studerades även effekterna av befolkningstillväxten och meteorologiska variabler påvattenförbrukningen.K-means klustring visade sig ha en mer robust prestanda än den nya framtagna utveckladealgoritmen och därför diskuterades olika sätt att förbättra algoritmen samt vikten av god rå-datakvalitet. Det upptäcktes att kommuner med olika bostadssituation reagerade olika på varmtoch torrt väder samt vissa semesterhändelser. I allmänhet brukar kommuner med enbostadshu-sområden förbruka mer vatten under sommaren per capita än andra. Fördelar med att planeranya flerbostadsområden som ett mer hållbart alternativ till enbostadshusområden diskuteradesi kontexten av befolkningstillväxt och klimatförändringar.

South Africa is a water-scarce country and receives less rainfall than the average rainfall of the World. As population increases, and development calls for increased allocation of ground water and surface water for the domestic, agriculture and industrial sectors, the pressure on water resources intensifies. This is exacerbated by the wastages that occur in schools and homes. Conservation of water by all consumers is essential. The study attempts to identify practices that lead to wastage of water and indicate strategies for the reduction of water wastage and conservation strategy. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Environmental Education)

Countries and governments around the world have accepted the scientific argument on the prevalence and the possible effect of global warming and climate change on the environment, world economy and ultimately human life (Nhamo, 2011). Amongst all industrial corporations, the mining industry is the biggest environmental polluter due to its extractive nature and energy intensive operations. However because of its economic importance, it cannot be abandoned, instead it needs to find a win-win situation, where it continues to succeed but minimizes environmental damage. This thesis aims to examine the possible impact of clean technology on the sustainability of South African gold mining sector. Specifically, the study aims to determine the drivers behind the move towards clean technologies and methods, identify challenges and opportunities associated with this transition at Harmony Gold’s Kusasalethu mine. This was achieved through using Kusasalethu as a case study to which investigations of the effectiveness of clean technology and methods were carried out. The case study was multidimensional; exploring the effect of clean technology on energy consumption, greenhouse gas emission (GHG), water consumption, cyanide management and Kusasalethu’s financial performance. While the case study was largely qualitative it involved quantitative data analysis that had to be triangulated with other data sources and data gathering instruments to achieve legitimacy. This meant that the study had to adopt the mixed research methods. The instruments used included; key informant interviews, and document analysis, structured questionnaire and a set of open ended questions that served as interview guide. The qualitative data were analyzed by means of coding, descriptions, typologies, taxonomies and visual representations, whilst quantitative data were processed through Microsoft Excel to generate various forms of descriptive statistics. The findings indicate that resource consumption (energy, water, cyanide) depends on the mine design and gold output rate. Clean technology implementation at Kusasalethu helped the mine reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions. However scope 2 (indirect GHG emissions associated with energy consumption) is also determined by coal production technologies and methods used by coal mines. Although data on Kusasalethu water and cyanide management and related technologies was not available, the aggregate data for all Harmony Gold mines indicated higher annual water and cyanide consumption during 2010 and 2012. In terms of Kusasalethu’s financial performance and clean technology adaptation, acquisition of clean technologies increased capital expenditure temporarily. However, the positive effects of the clean technology transition and implementation minimized operational cost and increased operational profit greatly. Although adopting clean technologies calls for increased capital expenditure, this study reveals that this expenditure pays off in lower operation costs for the mine and the environment benefits through lower GHG emission. However, clean technologies are yet to impact significantly in lowering water and cyanide consumption levels as they do with energy consumption. The study concluded that clean technology and methods played a positive role on Kusasalethu’s environmental impact and financial performance by reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions. Though, more need to be done in terms of water and cyanide management. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

Countries and governments around the world have accepted the scientific argument on the prevalence and the possible effect of global warming and climate change on the environment, world economy and ultimately human life (Nhamo, 2011). Amongst all industrial corporations, the mining industry is the biggest environmental polluter due to its extractive nature and energy intensive operations. However because of its economic importance, it cannot be abandoned, instead it needs to find a win-win situation, where it continues to succeed but minimizes environmental damage. This thesis aims to examine the possible impact of clean technology on the sustainability of South African gold mining sector. Specifically, the study aims to determine the drivers behind the move towards clean technologies and methods, identify challenges and opportunities associated with this transition at Harmony Gold’s Kusasalethu mine. This was achieved through using Kusasalethu as a case study to which investigations of the effectiveness of clean technology and methods were carried out. The case study was multidimensional; exploring the effect of clean technology on energy consumption, greenhouse gas emission (GHG), water consumption, cyanide management and Kusasalethu’s financial performance. While the case study was largely qualitative it involved quantitative data analysis that had to be triangulated with other data sources and data gathering instruments to achieve legitimacy. This meant that the study had to adopt the mixed research methods. The instruments used included; key informant interviews, and document analysis, structured questionnaire and a set of open ended questions that served as interview guide. The qualitative data were analyzed by means of coding, descriptions, typologies, taxonomies and visual representations, whilst quantitative data were processed through Microsoft Excel to generate various forms of descriptive statistics. The findings indicate that resource consumption (energy, water, cyanide) depends on the mine design and gold output rate. Clean technology implementation at Kusasalethu helped the mine reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions. However scope 2 (indirect GHG emissions associated with energy consumption) is also determined by coal production technologies and methods used by coal mines. Although data on Kusasalethu water and cyanide management and related technologies was not available, the aggregate data for all Harmony Gold mines indicated higher annual water and cyanide consumption during 2010 and 2012. In terms of Kusasalethu’s financial performance and clean technology adaptation, acquisition of clean technologies increased capital expenditure temporarily. However, the positive effects of the clean technology transition and implementation minimized operational cost and increased operational profit greatly. Although adopting clean technologies calls for increased capital expenditure, this study reveals that this expenditure pays off in lower operation costs for the mine and the environment benefits through lower GHG emission. However, clean technologies are yet to impact significantly in lowering water and cyanide consumption levels as they do with energy consumption. The study concluded that clean technology and methods played a positive role on Kusasalethu’s environmental impact and financial performance by reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions. Though, more need to be done in terms of water and cyanide management. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

This report analyzes the current greenhouse gas emissions inventory for The University of Texas at Austin (UT-Austin), reviews the carbon reduction strategies being implemented at UT-Austin and other peer institutions, and offers recommendations for strategies that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions at UT-Austin in the future. / text

South Africa is a water-scarce country and receives less rainfall than the average rainfall of the World. As population increases, and development calls for increased allocation of ground water and surface water for the domestic, agriculture and industrial sectors, the pressure on water resources intensifies. This is exacerbated by the wastages that occur in schools and homes. Conservation of water by all consumers is essential. The study attempts to identify practices that lead to wastage of water and indicate strategies for the reduction of water wastage and conservation strategy. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (Environmental Education)

Acompanha: Caderno pedagógico: inserção da pegada hídrica nas aulas de ciências do Ensino Fundamental / A inclusão de discussões associadas ao consumo de água nas aulas de Ciências assinala para a necessidade da contextualização e ampliação desse tema, direcionando-o a abordagens mais atualizadas, frente à crise hídrica do Brasil e de vários outros lugares do mundo. Deste modo se promovem discussões mais aprofundadas no contexto educacional, levando em conta a Pegada Hídrica. Este estudo diz respeito a uma investigação cujo problema central reside na seguinte questão: como a utilização de estratégias didático-metodológicas embasadas por elementos decorrentes da ferramenta denominada Pegada Hídrica contribui para a compreensão de assuntos relacionados à utilização/destino e conservação da água por parte dos estudantes, a considerar a crise atual envolvendo esse recurso natural? A investigação é de natureza qualitativa, desenvolvida com 35 estudantes do 6º ano do Ensino Fundamental em uma escola de Curitiba. O recorte metodológico é do tipo participante com a utilização de múltiplos recursos para a constituição de dados. Para estruturar a composição de tais estratégias realizou-se, antes do trabalho em sala de aula, uma pesquisa de levantamento sobre questões relativas à água, especialmente quanto à percepção dos estudantes frente aos níveis de consumo em diferentes contextos (agricultura, indústria e doméstico). Isso permitiu a elaboração de um questionário investigativo (levantamento) sobre a forma como os estudantes percebem, relacionam e compreendem aspectos relativos aos recursos hídricos. Aliou-se a isso a opção de instrumentos que facilitam a apreensão de dados, tais como: diário de campo (espécies de memorandos), manuscritos de participantes da investigação e gravações em áudio. Diante desse contexto, a análise de conteúdo, proposta por Laurence Bardin, se mostrou mais apropriada para a apreciação dos dados, uma vez que tal método constitui-se em uma pré-análise, seguida de exploração do material para tratamento dos dados e por fim, sua interpretação. Os resultados da investigação salientaram que os estudantes participantes têm se mostrado reflexivos e abertos às discussões sobre o conteúdo tratado. A análise dos dados nos informa que as proposições de estratégias didático-metodológicas diferenciadas e contextualizadas, embasadas por elementos decorrentes da Pegada Hídrica, objetivou de modo mais acurado, na compreensão de assuntos relacionados à utilização/destino e conservação da água. Deste modo, entendemos que o uso de temas de caráter socioambiental pode se configurar em importante ferramenta para propiciar discussão e contribuir para o aprendizado em ensino de Ciências, como no caso a crise atual dos recursos hídricos no Brasil. / The inclusion of discussions about water consumptions in Science classes highlights the need of contextualization and expansion of the theme, in particular the need to deal with the theme accor-ding to more updated approaches due to the current water crisis lived in Brazil and in many other places around the world so that more profound discussions are carried out in the educational context; examples of this are discussions that focus on water footprint. This investigation refers to a study which main research question was: how does the use of didactic-methodological strategies based on elements of water footprint contribute to students´ understanding of issues related to the use and water preservation considering the current crisis of this natural resource? This qualitative inves-tigation was carried out at a post-graduate level – Master´s degree – with the participation of 35 (thirty-five) 6th grade students at a Basic Education school in the Curitiba. The methodology involved participants and the use of multiple tools for data generation. In order to structure the teaching strategies, before the work in class, a survey was developed about issues related to water, especially students´ perception about the level of water consumption in various contexts (agriculture, industry and domestic). The survey supported the design of an investigative questionnaire about how students perceive, relate to and understand aspects related to water resources. In addition to the survey, tools that facilitate the generation of data such as: field diary (similar to memos), participants´ manuscripts and audio recordings were used. From this perspective, content analysis proposed by Laurence Bardin, seemed the appropriate approach for the data analysis, as this method represents a pre-analysis followed by the exploration of the material for later treatment of the data and, finally, the interpretation. The research results point out that participating students have shown reflective and open to discussions about the treaty content. Data analysis tells us that the propositions of educational-methodological strategies differentiated and contextualized, supported by elements stemming from the WF, the objective of accurate way in understanding issues related to use / destination and water conservation. Thus, we noted that the use of social environmental issues, can set an important tool to foster discussion and contribute to learning in science teaching, such as the current crisis of water resources in Brazil.

Water is an irreplaceable resource and the strain on it is getting tougher. Around 40 per cent of the water withdrawn in Europe is for industrial use. With a growing population and an increased demand for food and energy per capita, the demand and pressure on our water resources will increase. CEEQUAL is a rating scheme for the civil construction industry and has raised the water footprint as an important sustainability issue to consider when choosing building materials. There is however little knowledge within the industry of how to do this. This paper offers information regarding available water footprint tools and gives a practical example using two of the most developed methods; the Water Footprint Network (WFN) method and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). The case study showed that the results are very dependent on which method one chooses. The LCA method gives a bigger footprint since it is more inclusive than the WFN method. There are however some similarities when looking at which of the materials that are high-risk and low-risk materials when it comes to freshwater footprint. Among the studied products, steel was the material that uses and consumes the most water per kilogram, and could also be imported from water scarce areas. Fill material had a low water consumption and use per kilogram, but the huge amount used in the project makes it the material that used and consumed most water in total. Fill material is most often produced locally because of the large amount used, and was therefore not as significant when weighting the results by a water stress index. Calculating a water footprint can be used as a part of declaring the environmental performance of a project by including it in an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), a sustainability report or by setting up an Environmental Profit and Loss (E P&L) account for water. It can also be used to identify and assess risks related to water use. / Färskvatten är en begränsad, men förnybar resurs som på grund av sina unika egenskaper saknar substitut i många processer och användningsområden. Resursen är ojämnt fördelad över världen och många lever idag i vattenstressade regioner. I Europa står industrisektorn för cirka 40 procent av det totala vattenuttaget. Med en växande befolkning och ökad efterfrågan på mat och energi per capita kommer konkurrensen om vattenresurserna att bli hårdare. Vi måste därför anpassa oss efter denna verklighet och framtid och börja använda våra färskvattenresurser mer effektivt. Certifieringssystemet CEEQUAL har lyft vattenavtryck för byggprodukter som en viktig fråga vid val av material. Inom branschen vet man i dagsläget inte hur man ska hantera den frågan och utgångspunkten för denna rapport är att ge vägledning bland de metoder som finns tillgängliga idag samt att ge ett praktiskt exempel på två av de mest utvecklade metoderna, Water Footprint Network (WFN) metoden och livscykelanalys (LCA). Som ett praktiskt exempel utfördes en fallstudie som visade att resultatet av en vattenavtrycksanalys beror väldigt mycket på vilken metod som väljs, vilket innebär att harmonisering inom branschen är viktigt. LCA-metoden ger ett större avtryck än WFNmetoden då metoden inkluderar fler typer av vattenanvändning. Av de studerade materialen visade sig stål vara det som både använder och förbrukar mest vatten per kilogram. Det är också ett material som i betydande grad importeras från regioner som kan vara vattenstressade. Fyllnadsmaterial var ett av materialen med lägst vattenavtryck per kilogram, men då det används i så stora mängder i anläggningsprojekt är det detta material som bidrar med störst totalt vattenavtryck. På grund av den stora mängd som används utvinns fyllnadsmaterial dock oftast lokalt. Detta gör att vattenavtryckets signifikans minskar när det viktas med ett vattenstressindex, då det generellt finns gott om vatten i Sverige. Vattenavtryck kan användas till deklaration av potentiell påverkan på vattenresurser genom att inkludera resultatet i en miljövarudeklaration eller hållbarhetsrapport. Det kan även användas i ett naturkapitalkonto (E P&L) för vatten eller för att identifiera risker kopplade till vattenanvändning samt ge vägledning vid materialval och val av leverantör.

Diploma thesis describes the design of plumbing systems in student dormitories. The theoretical part discusses the types of waste water, focusing on gray water and its subsequent use. The experimental part is focused on measurement drinking water consumption and drinking water discharge in existing buildings student dormitories and apartment building. The work also contains other variants of possible installation solutions. The project is part of the selected solutions developed a variant form of project documentation for construction.

Abu Dhabi has experienced an unprecedented development during the last half century, growing rapidly from a remote desert settlement to a thriving metropolitan. Today, the Emirate ranks among the countries with the highest GDP per capita in the world, and this impressive development is anticipated to continue in the decades to come.<p><p>However, there are several challenges to the sustainability of the current economic prosperity, and the environmental degradation that was caused by the rapid development is an important factor in this context. Today, the United Arab Emirates as a country has the highest ecological footprint per capita in the world and Abu Dhabi, hosting the major part of the heavy industries and oil extraction capacity in the country, has an even larger footprint. Key drivers of this poor environmental track-record are the high greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption levels.<p><p>This deterioration of environmental conditions has growing implications for the economic welfare and physical well-being of the population. So far, the government's environmental policy is mostly symbolic, and concrete policy measures are largely lacking today. On the contrary, there are crucial elements in the governmental policy that have strong negative impacts on environmental conditions and thus on the sustainability of Abu Dhabi's growth, such as generous implicit subsidies on energy commodities and water and an ambitious strategy for economic growth, depending on a strong expansion of heavy industry.<p><p>This poses the question how environmental conditions will develop, when the population boom and economic expansion are anticipated to continue. However, the academic literature on environmental sustainability issues in Abu Dhabi as well as in the wider Gulf region is limited. Moreover, applied policy studies on the topic are absent as well.<p><p>This dissertation intends to contribute to the academic literature as well as to insights from existing policy studies, by projecting the impact of sustained economic growth on environmental conditions in Abu Dhabi. It compares a baseline scenario of economic growth with the four most relevant policy options aimed at footprint reductions available to policy makers in the Emirate: i) The introduction of a nuclear power plant; ii) An abandonment of utility price controls; iii) Shifts in the subsidization policy of water and energy markets; iv) Energy efficiency improvements in selected parts of the economy.<p><p>A recursively dynamic, multi-sectoral computable general equilibrium (CGE) model is used to generate the results in this dissertation, focusing on the two most important aspects of the ecological footprint in Abu Dhabi mentioned above. The CGE model is calibrated to a SAM for Abu Dhabi for 2009, and its specification is chosen to facilitate a focus on energy consumption and sustainability issues. Besides, it is extended by an environmental module and a fossil fuel module, and it incorporates several other modifications that are tailored to the Abu Dhabi economy.<p><p>Simulation results under a baseline scenario of economic growth show that carbon emissions will grow by 282% by 2030 compared to the base year 2009, and water consumption is anticipated to increase by 312%.<p><p>The introduction of nuclear plants, at the scale that is previewed today, will yield a reduction in emissions of 2.6% compared to the baseline scenario. The economic impact will be positive, with a 0.5% increase in GDP and small gains in employment levels.<p><p>Price liberalizations in the utility markets are a politically sensitive theme. When implemented, they can yield a 7.6% reduction in emissions and a 2.3% in water consumption by 2030 (vs. baseline). However, the economic cost involved amounts to 0.3% of GDP.<p><p>An abandonment of subsidies in the energy and water markets can lead to a 11.1% drop in carbon emissions, and a 28.8% decline in water consumption vs. baseline. The domestic economic impacts of this change are negative, but the GDP shows a modest 0.6% growth, due to improvements in the foreign trade balance.<p><p>Finally, efficiency improvements can lead to reductions in carbon emissions (13.8%) and water consumption (17.5%) compared to the baseline, and bring economic gains of 1.0% of GDP.<p><p>All four simulated policy scenarios in this dissertation bring about reductions in the ecological footprint, compared to the baseline as described above. Nonetheless, the consumption levels of energy and water as well as the related carbon emissions will be substantially higher in 2030 than they are today, under each of these scenarios. As a policy implication, the dissertation therefore finds that the previewed deterioration in environmental conditions requires active policy, if current welfare and prosperity are to be sustained. When assessed in the appropriate policy context, environmental conservation and improvements in the ecological footprint should be treated with a higher priority in the broad portfolio of development goals in Abu Dhabi.<p> / Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished