Please read the abstract in the 00front part of this document / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology / MSc / Unrestricted

In the household appliance industry, heat pump systems have been used for a long time in refrigerators and freezers to cool food, and the industry has driven the development of small, high-quality, low-price heat pump components. In the last few decades, heat pump systems have been introduced in other household appliances, with the express purpose of reducing electricity consumption. Heat pump tumble dryers have been on the market since 2000 and dominate the market today. A heat pump dishwasher was introduced on the market in 2014 and a heat pump washing machine in 2016. The purpose of adding a heat pump system in these three products was to decrease electricity consumption. Papers I and II used a methodology where transient simulation models were developed and used to increase knowledge about how to decrease electricity consumption for a tumble dryer and a dishwasher by adding a heat pump system. Papers II to V showed that a lower electricity consumption and lower global warming potential together with an energy-efficient drying method, where no humid air evacuates to the kitchen, give a heat pump dishwasher competitive advantages compared to any conventional dishwasher currently on the market. Using simulations, this dissertation concludes that a future commercial heat pump dishwasher, using R600a as a refrigerant, will reduce electricity consumption and total equivalent warming impact (TEWI) by 50% compared to the conventional dishwasher. The willingness from the customer chain to pay extra for this heat pump dishwasher is because of the decreases electricity consumption and the fact that no humid air evacuates to the kitchen. This willingness makes the heat pump dishwasher to a variant which have possibility to succeed on the future market. The challenge for the manufacturer is to develop and produce a high-quality heat pump dishwasher with low electricity consumption, predict future willingness to pay for it, and launch it on the market at the right moment with the right promotion in order to succeed. / The competition in the household appliances industry is strong. Manufacturers are continuously trying to develop, produce and sell product functions and features with good profit. To continually develop new features that the customer chain is willing to pay for is a key factor for a manufacturer to survive. In this study has a heat pump system been added as a new feature to a dishwasher. The first heat pump dishwasher was introduced on the market in 2014 and the heat pump system was only used to heat the dishwasher. Comparing that first heat pump dishwasher was a new closed drying method introduced in this study where no humid air evacuates to the kitchen. Experiments and simulations showed that a dishwasher with an added heat pump system can decrease the total electricity consumption by 50% when cleaning and drying the dishware comparing to an on market conventional dishwasher. The willingness from the customer chain to pay extra for this heat pump dishwasher is because of the decreases in electricity consumption and the fact that no humid air evacuates to the kitchen. This willingness makes the heat pump dishwasher to a variant which have possibility to succeed on the future market.

Early in 2012, the Minister of Natural Resources Joe Oliver released an open letter to Canadians where he identified 'an urgent matter of Canada's national interest': 'radical groups' were 'threaten[ing] to hijack [Canada's] regulatory system' for major projects and argued they should 'be accomplished in a quicker and more streamlined fashion'. This came on the eve of the first day of oral hearings for the public review into the controversial Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline and tanker project that would allow for oil sands from Alberta to access outside markets other than the United States. A few months later, Canada's environmental decision-making process was dramatically reformed, resulting in a significant outcry across the country over the likely effects on environmental oversight and Aboriginal rights. In Haida Gwaii, a series of islands off of the north coast of British Columbia (BC) around which the proposed tanker traffic would navigate, a process of reconciliation is in its early stages. The forestry sector is now subject to a collaborative provincial and Haida (First) Nation planning and decision process and a Haida-owned company is the biggest tenure holder and forestry sector employer. However, the Government of Canada has refused to participate in this reconciliation process in any meaningful way. It has, instead, encountered the Haida Nation through the court-like environmental review process for the proposed Enbridge project, the very same process that has been used to justify the dramatic environmental planning reforms. This research constructs a framework for tracing the spatial and institutional dynamics of the reconciliation process in planning. A significant amount of the Crown's approach to reconciliation relies upon the consultation that takes place within and alongside planning and regulatory decision making for natural resource developments. While the process does not, in itself, lead to any meaningful engagement over reconciliation, a central research question is: What opportunities might exist for reconciliation to take place in planning? And, how do these opportunities change? Contributing to the Indigenous planning literature, this dissertation examines some of the discursive and institutional factors that led to (a) the collaborative planning taking place on Haida Gwaii today and (b) the 2012 federal planning reforms. For each case, the opportunities available in planning for modifying the dominant view of reconciliation are considered. The dissertation begins with an overview of the very initial discussions on reconciliation between the Haida Nation and the Province of BC. It is argued that this move was facilitated by the Haida Nation shifting their concerns to various venues that were more or less receptive to their interests: the courts, a road blockade, collaborative planning, and bargaining. On the other hand, Canada has attempted to regain control by actively modifying the venues available to the Haida Nation in ways that excluded them or moved them to a venue that was less receptive to their concerns. It is reasoned that while planning spaces operate in ways that tend to be colonial, certain conditions and mechanisms are available in these systems that can be used to open up (perceived) opportunities for changing the way reconciliation is implemented across this system. These spaces reveal information about Indigenous-state power relations that are usually not observable until a conflict arises, at which point analysts may observe how actors respond to these perceived opportunities. Evidence is collected from numerous sources. Interviews with key informants, observation, and policy document review composed the bulk of the data collection for both cases. Four days of oral hearings in Haida Gwaii were observed in 2012, offering a window into the encounter between the Haida and Canada just as a streamlined environmental review process was being developed and implemented. In contrasting the two cases, this research finds that planning is used both to control development and as an opportunity to engage with the Crown over the long-standing dispute about overlapping title to and, thus, jurisdiction over Haida Gwaii. The process by which one use prevails over another is the central research problem; indeed, there remains an important disconnect between Indigenous political actors and the Crown (and, in some examples, industry) on how environmental planning institutions ought to be used. This tension is present within a planning venue and across the planning system, opening up potential opportunities, such as those used by the Haida Nation to regain control over Haida Gwaii, or closing down these opportunities. For these reasons, planning is one of the most useful arenas for influencing and for understanding the politics of reconciliation in Canada.

This dissertation describes a model that predicts airline flight network, frequency and fleet changes in response to policy measures that aim to reduce the environmental impact of aviation. Such airline operational responses to policy measures are not considered by existing integrated aviation-environment modelling tools. By not modelling these effects the capability of the air transport system to adjust under changing conditions is neglected, resulting in the forecasting of potentially misleading system and local responses to constraints. The model developed follows the overriding principle of airline strategic decision making, i.e., airline profit maximisation within a competitive environment. It consists of several components describing different aspects of the air transport system, including passenger demand forecasting, flight delay modelling, estimation of airline costs and airfares, and network optimisation. These components are integrated into a framework that allows the relationships between fares, passenger demand, infrastructure capacity constraints, flight delays, flight frequencies, and the flight network to be simulated. Airline competition is modeled by simulating a strategic game between airlines competing for market share, each of which maximizes its own profit. The model is validated by reproducing historical passenger flows and flight frequencies for a network of 22 airports serving 14 of the largest cities in the United States, using 2005 population, per capita income and airport capacities as inputs. The estimated passenger flows and flight frequencies compare well to observed data for the same network (the R2 value comparing flight segment frequencies is 0.62). After validation, the model is applied to simulate traffic growth and carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions within the same network from 2005 to 2030 under a series of scenarios. These scenarios investigate airline responses to (i) airport capacity constraints, (ii) regional increases in costs in the form of landing fees, and (iii) major reductions in aircraft fuel burn, as would be achieved through the introduction of radically new technology such as a blended wing body aircraft or advanced open rotor engines. The simulation results indicate that, while airport capacity constraints may have significant system-wide effects, they are the result of local airport effects which are much greater. In particular, airport capacity constraints can have a significant impact on flight delays, passenger demand, aircraft operations, and emissions, especially at congested hub airports. If capacity is available at other airports, capacity constraints may also induce changes in the flight network, including changes in the distribution of connecting traffic between hubs and the distribution of true origin-ultimate destination traffic between airports in multi-airport systems. Airport capacity constraints are less likely to induce any significant increase in the size of aircraft operated, however, because of frequency competition effects, which maintain high flight frequencies despite reductions in demand in response to increased flight delays. The simulation results also indicate that, if sufficiently large, regional increases in landing fees may induce significant reductions in aircraft operations by increasing average aircraft size and inducing a shift in connecting traffic away from the region. The simulation results also indicate that the introduction of radically new technology that reduces aircraft fuel burn may have only limited impact on reducing system CO2 emissions, and only in the case where the new technology can be taken up by the majority of the fleet. The reason for this is that the reduced operating costs of the new technology may result in an increase in frequency competition and thus aircraft operations. In conclusion, the modelling of airline operational responses to environmental constraints is important when studying both the system and local effects of environmental policy measures, because it captures the capability of the air transport system to adjust under changing conditions.

Because of the potential for development to have negative environmental impacts, one of the most important questions addressed by environmental law and policy is whether and how to allow development to proceed. In Canada this question is answered primarily through environmental impact assessment ("EIA"). At the federal level, EIAs are required under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, S.C. 1992, c. 37 ("CEAA") for certain types of proposed projects and activities. Although CEAA's purposes include fostering both a healthy environment and economy, the Act does not provide any instruction on how to balance or choose between these goals in situations where both goals cannot be served. In 1999 Professor Daniel Farber developed a methodology he refers to as 'eco-pragmatism' in an attempt to create a means by which society's competing (and often contrary) values can be balanced and satisfactory trade-offs arrived at. In this thesis the differences between CEAA and eco-pragmatism are explored and consideration is given to whether eco-pragmatism might assist in resolving the value conflicts that often characterize EIAs. Of particular interest is whether Farber's approach might improve the CEAA framework and assist CEAA decision-makers in determining whether proposed projects should be approved. It is argued that although eco-pragmatism is useful, it is not adequate if the ultimate goal is environmental protection that is sustainable into the future. Both CEAA and eco-pragmatism focus on the mitigation of negative environmental effects, rather than on achieving long-term environmental gains or observing a minimum environmental standard. Accordingly, both arguably have the effect of slowing the erosion of environmental quality, but each fails to observe some sort of environmental 'bottom line' that would impose an ultimate limit on negative impact. It is suggested that an ultimate limit is a necessary (albeit difficult) element of environmental law. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

Antropogena utsläpp av klimatpåverkande gaser är enligt IPCC med 95 % sannolikhet anledningen till de klimatförändringar vi nu står inför. För att klimatförändringarna inte ska bli för omfattande finns det nu ett mål att försöka hålla den globala medeltemperaturökningen under 2 °C. Detta mål kräver bidrag ifrån flera sektorer och ett gemensamt ansvar för att lyckas, eftersom klimatpåverkan är ett globalt problem. Inom byggindustrin fanns tidigare en uppskattning att större delen av en byggnads miljöpåverkan uppkommer under driftskedet, till följd av energianvändning för uppvärmning.  Tack vare nya standarder på klimatskal för byggnader bidrar numera byggprocessen till den större miljöpåverkande delen i en byggnads livscykel. För att ytterligare minska byggsektorns miljöpåverkan behöver miljövänligare byggnadsmaterial användas. En byggmetod som på senare tid blivit intressant är konstruktion med korslimmat trä, så kallat KL-trä. KL-trä är ett byggmaterial av trä med god bärighet och styvhet, vilket gör att det lämpar sig som bärande och stabiliserande material i byggnader. Det vanligaste bärande och stabiliserande materialet i byggnader idag är betong, men KL-trä har visat sig vara ett konkurrerande alternativ. När miljöbedömningar genomförts över byggnaders livscykler har det visat sig att byggnader med en högre andel biobaserade material resulterar i lägre miljöpåverkan jämfört med byggnader med lägre andel biobaserat material. Syftet med arbetet är att undersöka skillnaden i miljöpåverkan och energianvändning mellan två flerbostadshus genom att göra en miljöbedömning. Flerbostadshusen kallas i studien för Klippan och Klippan-KL. Byggnaderna är likvärdiga utifrån funktion och användningsyta men konstruerade med betong respektive KL-trä som bärande och stabiliserande material. Miljöbedömningen redovisas i form av klimatpåverkan, försurnings- och övergödningspotential samt energianvändning.  Resultatet från miljöbedömningen visar skillnad i miljöpåverkan beroende på om man väljer byggnation med KL-trä eller betong. Miljöbedömningen visar också skillnad i energianvändning mellan de två flerbostadshusen, om deras klimatskal utformas enligt studien. Baserat på de undersökningar som gjordes i studien så är den samlade bedömningen att flerbostadshuset som undersöktes ska utformas med KL-trä och inte betong, för att minska på miljöpåverkan från byggprocessen. / Anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are according to IPCC with 95 % probability the reason to the climate changes we now are facing. For climate change to not be too extensive, there is now a goal to try to keep the global average temperature increase below 2 ° C. This goal requires contributions from several sectors and a shared responsibility for success, since climate change is a global problem. In the construction industry, there was earlier an estimate that most of a building's environmental impact arises during the operational process, due to energy use for heating. Thanks to new standards on building envelope, the construction process now contributes to the major environmental impact of a building's life cycle. To further reduce the environmental impact from the construction sector, environmentally friendly building materials need to be used.  A building method which has recently become interesting is the construction with cross laminated timber, so-called CLT. CLT is a building material made of wood with good bearing and stiffness, which makes it suitable as the load-bearing and stabilizing material in buildings. The most common load-bearing and stabilizing material in buildings today is concrete, but CLT has proven to be a competing alternative. When environmental assessments have been carried out over building life cycles, buildings with a higher proportion of bio based materials have resulted in lower environmental impact compared to buildings with a lower proportion of bio based materials. The purpose of the study is to investigate the difference in environmental impact and energy use between two multi-family houses by making an environmental assessment. The multi-family houses in the study are called Klippan and Klippan-KL. The buildings are equal in function and usable space but are constructed with concrete or CLT, as load-bearing and stabilizing material. The environmental assessment is presented in terms of climate impact, acidification and eutrophication potential and energy usage. The result of the environmental assessment shows a difference in environmental impact, depending on whether a building is chosen with CLT or concrete. The environmental assessment also shows a difference in energy usage between the two multi-family houses, if their building envelope is designed according to the study. Based on the studies conducted, the overall assessment is that the multi-family house surveyed should be designed with CLT and not concrete, in order to reduce environmental impact from the construction process.

M.Comm. / The Randburg Waterfront which was built in a residential area in Randburg, officially opened it's doors to the public on the 1st of March 1995. Shortly thereafter complaints and affidavites from unhappy residents started to stream to the management of the Waterfront, Randburg Town Council, as well as police stations and newspapers. Committees were also established by concerned residents to fight their cause. Unfortunately all socio-economic activities of man have both a social and and physical impact on the environment. For this reason, social and environmental impact assessments have become a measuring rod in the twentieth century, whereby the effect of man's socio-economic activities on human beings as well as the environment, can be determined. With the above-mentioned in mind, a study was undertaken in 1995, which was aimed at investigating the positive and/or negative impact of the Randburg Waterfront on the surrounding residential area. The aim of this follow-up study, is to determine the positive and/or negative impact of the Randburg Waterfront on the surrounding residential area, by comparing the results of the 1995 and 1996 data. Questionnaires were used as data gathering method. In 1995, 160 questionnaires were distributed in the testsample area of a 250m radius around the Waterfont, of which 108 (67,5%) were received back. To ensure meaningful comparisons between the data sets of 1995 and 1996, questionnaires, in 1996, were only distributed amongst the 108 residents who responded in 1995. Of these 108 questionnaires, 82 were received back, with a resulting response rate of 75,9%. In chapter 1 of this mini-thesis, background in connection with the Waterfront Development is given. In chapter 2 the potential impacts of the Waterfont on the surrounding residential area are discussed, and the study problem and study methodology are defined. The property on which the Waterfront was developed, as well as the surrounding residential area are dicussed in detail in chapter 3. All information regarding the data gathering process, as well as graphic presentation of the 1995 and 1996 data for visual interpretation, are presented in chapter 4. Chapter 5 entails the analysis of the gathered data, and comparisons are made between the data sets of 1995 and 1996. In closing, a summarised synthesis is given and recommendations are made in chapter 6. The synthesis shows that the Randburg Waterfront, although aesthetically attractive and economically viable to Randburg, has an adverse effect on the surrounding residential area, which has worsened during the past year. The importance of this study is that the results can be used to determine methods whereby the negative impacts of the Waterfront on the surrounding residential area and individuals, can be minimised. Lastly, recommendations are made from an environmental management perspective, in order to mitigate present problems, as well as to prevent potential problems associated with similar development in the future.

M.Sc. / The transmission system of Eskom occupies approximately 28 000 km of servitude that crosses a number of biomes in South Africa. The management of these servitudes, with respect to the impacts that the system has on the surrounding environment, as well as the effect of biotic, social and natural phenomena on the electrical system, needs to be carefully managed. This study investigates these bi-directional influences to determine which are pertinent to the management to the transmission line servitudes. This study also derives a number of strategic actions and accountabilities for all participating departments in the Transmission Division of Eskom, who are involved in the management of one or more phases of the life cycle of the servitude.

Orientador: Gisleiva Cristina dos Santos Ferreira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Tecnologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-26T17:24:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Domingues_LucieneGachetFerrari_M.pdf: 2343160 bytes, checksum: d94ee8fa2a1db00758930c4259251ab1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: Do processo de fundição de metais é gerado um resíduo chamado de areia descartada de fundição (ADF), o qual é prioritariamente destinada para aterros sanitários, tornando-se um passivo ambiental de grande proporção. O Brasil gera cerca de 3 milhões de toneladas de ADF por ano, o que propiciou a criação de normas para gerenciamento e aplicação deste resíduo em outras atividades, principalmente na construção civil. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi de verificar a viabilidade ambiental e econômica na utilização de misturas de solo + ADF em teores de 30%, 50% e 70%, na cobertura de resíduos sólidos urbanos em aterros sanitários. A mistura de solo + 70% ADF foi a que apresentou funcionalidade na cobertura das camadas intermediárias de resíduos sólidos, nos aspectos físico (permeabilidade), mecânico (resistência ao cisalhamento), ambiental (classe II-A e não tóxico) e econômico (menor custo). Portanto, este estudo comprovou a viabilidade ambiental e econômica deste inovador modelo de operação e gestão proposto para maciços de aterros sanitários / Abstract: From the metal casting process is generated the waste foundry sand (WFS), which is primarily discarded in landfills, becoming an environmental liability of large proportions. The Brazil generates about 3 million tons per year of WFS, which led to the creation of standards for management and implementation of this residue in other activities, especially in construction. The objective of this research was to verify the environmental and economic viability in the use of soil-foundry sand mixtures in 30%, 50% and 70% level of substitution, in the coverage of solid wastes landfills. The soil + 70% WFS mixture presented the feature in the intermediate layers of solid waste landfills coverage, in the physical (permeability), mechanical (shear strength), environmental (II-A class and non-toxic) and economic (lower cost) aspects. Therefore, this study proved the environmental and economic feasibility of this innovative operating model and management proposed for massive landfills / Mestrado / Tecnologia e Inovação / Mestra em Tecnologia

Este trabalho propõe uma metodologia inovadora de seqüenciamento de lavra em minério de ferro a qual, além de considerar os parâmetros operacionais e econômicos das técnicas tradicionais, permite uma abordagem ambiental proativa para sequenciar a lavra de forma a antecipar a exaustão de parte da cava para disposição do estéril dentro da cava final. A metodologia proposta de seqüenciamento ordenado de lavra permite reduzir a área degradada a ser reabilitada na mina, com significativos benefícios associados à reducão do impacto ambiental, sem comprometer as metas de produtividade e competitividade econômica da lavra. A metodologia de seqüenciamento ordenado de lavra foi aplicada em um estudo de caso de projeto de lavra de minério de ferro, e os resultados alcançados comprovaram os benefícios esperados com a aplicação da metodologia proposta. / This paper presents a innovative approach for an environmentally pro-active mine scheduling process. The proposed methodology has been developed for identifying a mine sequence that meets all operational and economical constraints in iron-ore mining, and takes into account a pro-active approach for scheduling the mine according to environmental criteria. The proposed methodology allows a significant reduction of the environmental impact related to the mining operation without compromising productivity and the economical feasibility of the mine. The methodology has been applied to a case study of iron ore mining in Brazil, where the expected benefits have been proven.