<p>  </p> <p>The pandemic prompted buildings globally to transition to low or no occupancy as social distancing to reduce the spread of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). This consequence prompted concerns about the chemical and microbiological safety of building drinking water due to stagnation. At the same time, microplastic (MP) pollution received increasing global attention due to their presence in the environment and recent discoveries within water distribution systems and at building faucets. MP sources have primarily been targeted as originating within the drinking water sources, but plastic plumbing components are less discussed and known to deteriorate into fragments and smaller pieces that reach faucets. Literature at the time of this work as sparse on stagnation impacts to drinking water quality and the fate of MPs in plumbing. In particular, health officials and building owners issued and received many differed guidance documents telling building owners do different things and no standard guideline was available to reduce the health risks caused by stagnant building drinking water. This dissertation  examined three different types of buildings during closed to low water use conditions and conducted bench-scale testing to explore the phenomena observed in the field. Chapter 1 describes water quality impacts during a 7 year old ‘green’ middle school as it transitioned from Summer (low water use) to Fall (normal use). Field experiments revealed that more than half of first draw water samples exceeded the copper (acute) health-based action limit during low water use. Copper concentration within the school increased as distance from building entry point increased. Chapter 2 and 3 describe report on chemical and microbiological water quality in buildings at a university buildings (Chapter 2), and elementary school (Chapter 3). Chapters 2 and 3 revealed that stagnation negatively impacted chemical and microbiological building water quality (cold and hot) but flushing was effective at remediating high concentration of heavy metals and <em>Legionella pneumophila</em> at most locations. But in large buildings, where building plumbing system was more complicated, flushing did not always result in improved water quality. Also discovered was that water quality again deteriorated even after whole building water system was flushed. It is important to understand own building systems to maintain water quality as each building complexity requires specific knowledge and solutions. Chapter 4 describes current knowledge associated with MPs in drinking water and results of bench scale experiments on MP fate and transport in building plumbing. This work identified that while MPs have been reported at building faucets, sampling details lacking from available studies often resulted in study results not being comparable across others. Based on the review of the issue, it was found that MPs have likely reached building faucets for decades but have received no characterization until recently. Bench-scale testing using two MPs, of different density, in copper and crosslinked polyethylene (PEX) pipes revealed size influenced the amount of MPs retained in a pipe. Research needs were identified to determine the fundamental factors that control MP fate in plumbing and their presence at building faucets. </p>

The European Union aims to reduce energy use and CO2-emissions by 40 % by the year 2030. The building sector has been identified as having a great potential to reduce emission of CO2 by increasing its energy efficiency. Also, there is a growing concern of the buildings environmental performance, that lead to the development of building environmental assessment tools. However, different types of energy sources and confusing environmental impacts affect the decision making when renovating for improved energy efficiency. This study develops and tests a methodology to help decision-makers when considering major renovation of their building stock when connected to adistrict heating system. The proposed methodology is applied and used to investigate how different renovation scenarios affects the building environmental impacts in terms of CO2 emissions and identify and discuss future improvements of the methodology. The novelty of the method is the expanded system boundaries that include both the distribution and production of district heating and the energy use at a building level. In this way it is possible to compare and weight measures made both at the energy system level and the building level. This work has limited its approach to energy use in buildings, but it is important to bring the life cycle thinking to the methodology. During the choice of the renovation methods it was noticed that the environmental impact of the production of some components in order to reduce the energy use of a building are not insignificant. Even if all the renovation measures considered in this case study are feasible, it is important to determine in which order they are desirable or achievable from an economic point of view. Uncertainty in the future development of energy, and limited economic resources can play an important role in the possibility of energy efficient renovation. / Den Europeiska Unionen har som målsättning att minska energianvändning och utsläpp av växthusgaser med 40 % till året 2030 jämfört med 1990. Byggnader har identifierats som ett område med stor potential för utsläppsminskningar om de energieffektiviseras. Användningen av olika energislag och olika sätt att värdera miljöpåverkan påverkar beslutsfattandet i samband med energieffektivisering. I studien utvecklas och testas en metodik som kan hjälpa beslutsfattare vid renovering med energieffektivisering inom fjärrvärmeområdet. Först utvecklades en översiktlig metodik vilken inkluderar både byggnadsenergisimulering och energisystemsimulering. Sen implementerades metodiken genom olika renoveringsscenarier och utsläppen av växthusgaser analyserades. Metodiken visar att det finns en möjlighet att utveckla ett verktyg som kan hjälpa beslutsfattare när energibesparingsstrategier ska implementeras vilka kan bli positiva för både byggnader och fjärrvärmesystemet. / REESBE

Stadsplaneringen utgör en viktig roll i arbetet för att främja en hållbar utveckling. Enligt Miljöbalken ska en behovsbedömning göras för varje upprättad detaljplan i syftet att utreda huruvida den leder till en betydande miljöpåverkan eller ej. Den bedömningen baseras dock ofta på bristfällig kunskap om de specifika miljöindikatorer som utvärderas. Det ges heller inget utrymme för förändringar i själva planen för att eliminera identifierad miljöpåverkan. En förbättrad strategi för behovsbedömning som innefattar ett anpassningsfokus och tidigt minimerar miljökonsekvenserna är därför önskvärd. En studie gjordes av arbetsprocessen för behovsbedömning i samband med detaljplanering på Örebro kommun i syfte att upprätta ett nytt, mer holistiskt arbetssätt för behovsbedömningsprocessen inom detaljplanering för att underlätta och förbättra arbetet för en hållbar stadsutveckling. Djupgående intervjuer utfördes på kommunen och teorier om hållbar utveckling samt lagar studerades. Mål som relaterade till hållbarhet ur kommunens policydokument sammanfattades. Målet var att undersöka hur det kunde skapas en förändrad strategi med tillhörande processverktyg för behovsbedömning inom detaljplanering, på Örebro kommun, som är praktiskt tillämpbar samt följer rådande lagar och policyer. Arbetet resulterade i ett strategidokument med en förändrad arbetsprocess och två olika tillhörande checklistor. Slutsatsen är att en ny strategi ska innehålla ett iterativt och tvärvetenskapligt arbetssätt samt en alternering mellan checklistorna beroende på detaljplanens omfattning. Det sistnämnda för att strategin ska kunna tillämpas inom kommunorganisationens strikta tidsramar, utan att kompromissa med kvaliteten på miljöarbetet vid omfattande detaljplaner som potentiellt ger stor miljöpåverkan. / Urban planning plays an important role when working for achieving sustainable development. According to the Swedish Environmental Code, a screening has to be executed for every local plan to investigate whether or not the plan generates significant environmental impact. The screening process is however often based on poor knowledge about the environmental aspects that are evaluated, and neither is there room for adaptation of the plan to eliminate identified environmental impact. An improved strategy for the screening process is needed, which has emphasis on the adaptation and a reduction of the environmental impact early in the process. In this master thesis, the screening process for local planning was studied at the municipality in Örebro, a medium sized city in Sweden. The purpose of the study was to establish a new more holistic working process for screening within local planning, to facilitate and enhance sustainable urban planning. Interviews were carried out at the planning department of the municipality, and sustainable development theories and the law were studied. Municipality targets that related to sustainability were extracted from their policy documents and summarized. The objective was to investigate whether an alternative strategy with suitable process tools could be created for screening within local planning at the municipality that is also applicable in practice and in line with prevailing laws and policies. The thesis resulted in a strategy document and two accompanying checklists, and the conclusion is that a new strategy should include an iterative and multidisciplinary working process, along with an alternation between checklists, depending on scope of the local plan. This strategy should be applicable within the municipality organization without compromising the environmental assessment quality when carrying out an extensive local plan that entails a potentially big environmental impact.

Miljöhänsyn i detaljplanering tillämpas antingen via den ordinarie planprocessen eller via miljöbedömningar enligt Miljöbalken. Denna uppsats har ämnat att undersöka hur de två olika metoderna för miljöhänsyn i detaljplanering tillämpas och vilken påverkan de respektive metoderna  i sin tur har på den fysiska planeringen och det politiska målet om en hållbar utveckling. Uppsatsen grundar sig i utgångspunkten att en integration av miljöaspekter i planeringen är ett önskvärt tillstånd och att miljöbedömningar och annan miljöhänsyn innebär en integrering av miljöaspekter som markerar vägen mot integration. Diskussionen bygger på stridigheter mellan två paradigm - miljövård och planering, prioriteringar och samspel mellan de båda i strävan mot gemensamma övergripande mål.     Uppsatsen visar på ett behov av utvecklat samspel mellan översiktlig planering och detaljplanering, samt mellan ekologiska, sociala och ekonomiska aspekter. Även ett behov av mer aktivt hänsynstagande till miljön vid detaljplanering uppdagas. Hur detta ska ske är för vidare forskning att söka svar på. / Environmental consideration within the boundaries of Swedish detailed planning is taken either through the standard planning process or Strategic Environmental Assessments as they are described by Swedish law. This paper means to examine how the two different methods of environmental consideration are put to practice and in turn what affect the specific methods have on the spatial planning and the political goal of a sustainable development. The basis for this paper is that an integration of environmental consideration is a desired state, whilst Strategic Environmental Assessments and other forms of environmental consideration are integrating aspects; the road towards integration. The two paradigms, environmental protection and planning, marks the frame for the discussion; priorities and interaction between the two in the strive towards common comprehensive goals.    The paper points towards a need of a developed interaction between comprehensive planning and detailed planning, a developed interaction between ecological, social and economical aspects of a sustainable development and a more active consideration towards the environment in detailed planning. How this is supposed to come about is for further research to explore.

No description available.

Comme d'autres secteurs d'activité nouant des liens avec les territoires, le tourisme a été marqué par une conscientisation accrue de ses enjeux environnementaux au cours des dernières décennies. Durant les années 90, cette question s'est logiquement inscrite dans le débat plus large de la durabilité du tourisme. Depuis lors, de nombreuses initiatives en faveur d'un tourisme plus durable émergent dans le but de sensibiliser les différents acteurs du secteur à l'importance d'améliorer l'équilibre entre développement économique, protection de l'environnement et valeurs sociales. <p><p>Ces vingt dernières années ont aussi été une période d'intensification des dispositions législatives de protection de l'environnement, notamment à l'échelle de l'Europe. L'adoption en 1985 d'une directive sur l'évaluation des incidences environnementales des projets a ainsi été l'un des fondements de la politique environnementale de l'Union Européenne. Les approches de gestion de l'environnement évoluant, l'Union européenne a adopté en 2001 une directive portant sur l'Evaluation environnementale stratégique des plans et programmes (EES) et couvrant plusieurs secteurs dont le tourisme. L'EES a pour objectif de favoriser la prise en compte des considérations environnementales dans les processus de planification menés par les organismes publics. A l'échelle mondiale, malgré certaines limites reconnues, l'EES a fait ses preuves dans un grand nombre de contextes institutionnels et de secteurs différents et s'avère très complémentaire vis-à-vis de l'évaluation environnementale des projets. <p><p>Complétant un arsenal législatif environnemental déjà conséquent au niveau européen, l'EES suscite des questions quant à sa capacité à améliorer la prise en compte de l'environnement lors de la mise en œuvre des politiques de développement touristique et à contribuer à un tourisme plus durable. Partant de cette question qui s'inscrit dans la problématique générale de la régulation environnementale du tourisme, la présente thèse poursuit comme objectif d'évaluer les contributions et les limites de la mise en œuvre de l'EES dans le secteur du tourisme et dans le contexte particulier de la Région wallonne. <p><p>Dans un premier temps, la thèse analyse plusieurs approches de planification et de régulation environnementale opérant dans le cadre du développement touristique en Région wallonne. L’objectif est de mettre en évidence les facteurs sociopolitiques et instrumentaux pouvant influencer les résultats attendus de la mise en œuvre de l'EES dans le secteur du tourisme. Dans un second temps, la thèse examine plusieurs exemples d'application de l'EES à des processus de planification touristique afin d'identifier quels sont les facteurs opérationnels déterminant la capacité de l'EES à améliorer la prise en compte de l'environnement dans les décisions.<p><p>Ces deux niveaux d'investigation ont permis de mettre en évidence différents éléments intéressants. D’une part, il apparaît que la prise en compte de l'environnement dans les processus de planification touristique tient essentiellement à la mise en œuvre des législations environnementales et peu à l'affirmation d'une culture politique proactive en matière d'intégration de l'environnement. Face à ce constat, la valeur ajoutée de l'EES repose fortement sur son caractère obligatoire. D'autre part, les études de cas montrent que la valeur ajoutée de l'EES par rapport aux processus de planification touristique doit être interprétée en différenciant sa valeur ajoutée "absolue" et sa valeur ajoutée "relative". La valeur ajoutée "absolue" reflète la prégnance de différents facteurs organisationnels, méthodologiques et techniques qui sont sous-jacents à la mise en œuvre de tout processus d'EES. Quant à la valeur ajoutée "relative", elle dépend de la prise en compte effective des résultats des processus d'EES qui est conditionnée par l'équilibre réalisé par les acteurs politiques entre les enjeux économiques, sociaux et environnementaux du développement touristique. A travers le prisme des processus d'EES, la question de la durabilité du tourisme est donc clairement posée. <p> / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Avec la fonte des glaces, l’océan Arctique devient progressivement accessible. Ce fait entraine avec lui un regain d’intérêt pour une région ayant été longtemps oubliée par les États. Les nouvelles licences d’exploration et d’exploitation d’hydrocarbures octroyées au sein de la région témoignent du phénomène de la globalisation de l’Arctique. Cependant, avant d’accepter un projet économique, celui-ci doit être soumis à une évaluation d’impact environnemental (EIE). Cette procédure a pour but d’informer les autorités publiques des effets qu’un projet pourrait avoir sur l’environnement. L’EIE a pour objectif de tendre vers une décision consciencieuse et écologiquement raisonnable vis-à-vis de l’avenir d’un projet. Ainsi, la portée et le type d’informations recueillies lors d’une EIE revêtent une importance cruciale car ils peuvent influencer le choix des autorités décisionnaires. La globalisation de l’Arctique soulève donc la question de la pertinence d’une telle procédure dans le contexte du développement d’hydrocarbures. En effet, dans cette région, les projets d’extraction d’énergies fossiles sont généralement acceptés, et ce, même s’ils prennent place dans un environnement caractérisé par sa fragilité et son unicité. Il est donc légitime de se demander si les obligations internationales et nationales d’entreprendre une évaluation environnementale (EE) pour un projet d’extraction d’hydrocarbures sont adaptées à l’environnement spécifique de l’Arctique. / As the ice melts, the Arctic Ocean becomes progressively accessible. It brings a renewed interest for a region that has long been forgotten by states. The new licenses granted for the exploration and the exploitation of hydrocarbons evidence a globalization of the Arctic. However, before accepting an economic project, it must undergo an environmental impact assessment (EIA). This procedure is intended to inform the public authorities about the impacts that a project will have on the environment. The goal of an EIA is to move towards a conscientious and ecological decision. Thus, the scope and the type of information collected is of a crucial importance as it will influence the stakeholders’ choice. Therefore, the globalization of the Arctic raises the question of the relevance of such a procedure because new hydrocarbon development projects are generally accepted even if they take place in an environment characterized by its fragility and uniqueness. As a consequence, it is legitimate to ask whether the international and national obligations to undertake an environmental assessment (E.A) for hydrocarbon projects are adapted to the specific environment of the Arctic.

This thesis is concerned with the evaluation of sustainable construction. It is a multi-criteria evaluation focused on building environmental, socio-cultural sphere, economics and management. The reviews I chose passive apartment house in two of designs. The purpose of this study is to compare the standard insulated brick buildings and in our non-traditional wood construction. At the beginning there will explain the basic concepts associated with the topic. After that, the problems of the sustainable construction and environmental impact assessment, which will describe the basic concepts, methodologies, criteria, description of evaluation. The last part will be made an example of evaluation SBToolCZ brick and wooden buildings passive residential Duma. Comparison of both results achieved certification and think about the advantages or disadvantages of both options. The aim of this thesis is dedicated readers and explain to them the issues of this topic.

<p dir="ltr">To examine how forest management affects terrestrial salamanders, this dissertation: (1) examines the effects of timber harvesting strategies on salamanders; (2) examines the effects of prescribed fire for oak regeneration on salamander populations; and (3) explores the influence of artificial cover object (ACO) wood type, size and shape, and placement on salamander monitoring results. These projects were conducted at the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE) and Martell Experimental Forest in Indiana. Long-term salamander monitoring data from the HEE were used to examine the effects of clearcuts, shelterwoods, and patch cuts on salamander captures collected up to eleven years post-harvest and were analyzed with a before-after-control-impact (BACI) design. Clearcuts and patch cuts had negative effects on salamanders 4-6 years post-harvest, which coincided with a drought; however, preparatory and establishment shelterwood harvests showed no effects on salamander captures, suggesting that retaining canopy cover may protect salamanders from compound disturbances such as drought. Also at the HEE, capture-recapture techniques were used to examine salamander population estimates before and after fire. Only two of three fires affected salamander populations. In the short term, prescribed fire effects on salamanders may be weak and intermittent and microclimate may have a greater effect on populations, although the longer-term effects of fire remain unknown. At Martell Experimental Forest, salamander numbers were compared beneath ACOs of different wood types, sizes and shapes, and grid arrays of different spacings. Pine ACOs were preferred over ash, while several small ACOs yielded equal salamander numbers to one large ACO of equal total area. High ACO density may increase capture probability but reduce the area sampled by each ACO, while lower density ACO grids may cover a larger area with the same sampling effort and produce more comparable results, but with less precision; choice of ACO experimental design will therefore require careful consideration of management goals. This dissertation also suggests strategies to support salamander populations as guidelines for managers to consider in management planning.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Non-native biological invasions are one of the leading concerns for global biodiversity. The establishment of invasive species reduces local biodiversity, shifts species composition, changes successional trajectories, and alters ecosystem functions. This thesis examines two aspects of invasive plants: (1) the distribution and the most important climatic and anthropogenic drivers of invasive trees across the eastern United States, and (2) an evaluation of invasive plant removal and herbaceous recovery from a government cost-share program that provides financial support for invasive plant management by private landowners.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">Our first study focused on identifying the distribution of invasive trees, and the factors associated with their distribution. This is essential to predicting spread and planning subsequent management. Using USDA Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) data and random forest modeling, we examined the distribution, and variables associated with the distribution, of invasive tree species. Invasive trees were found in 10,511 out of 299,387 FIA plots. Invasive species basal area and density (trees per ha; TPH) were highest within the central and southern Appalachian Mountains, Michigan, the Northeast, and the southern Coastal Plain of the United States. A random forest model of invasive species basal area (R²= 0.47, RMSE = 0.47) and density (R²=0.46, RMSE=0.50) vs. environmental variables found that both invasive basal area and density were most strongly associated with human footprint, followed by various climatic variables. An equivalent model of native tree basal (R²=0.53, RMSE=9.25) and TPH (R²=0.47, RMSE=8.64) found that native tree basal area and density were most strongly associated with aridity followed by various climatic variables. As human footprint increased, invasive tree basal area and density increased. These results suggest that the distribution of invasive trees is reliant on human alterations to forests.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">Our second study focused on Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), a federal cost-share program that has provided $25 billion of financial assistance to farmers and non-industrial private forest owners. Few studies have examined whether this program facilitates the recovery of the herbaceous layer while decreasing the dominance of invasive plant species. We surveyed the herbaceous layer of EQIP-treated and untreated (reference) forests across three physiographic regions of Indiana. Using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination and linear mixed effects models, we evaluated the species composition, richness, diversity, evenness, floristic quality index, and herbaceous-layer cover of EQIP and reference sites. We also used linear mixed models to evaluate how EQIP site treatment affected the diversity of native plant species. Sites treated with EQIP contracts typically had significantly higher native species richness, Shannon’s diversity, and floristic quality than reference sites. There were significant separations in species composition between EQIP treated and reference forests state-wide and in the southern non-glaciated region of Indiana, although composition overlapped between EQIP and reference forests. Our study suggests that EQIP-funded treatments promote increased species richness and diversity. However, the persistent overlap in species composition we observed may signify biotic homogenization due to a long-shared history of anthropogenic disturbances between EQIP and reference sites. Therefore, active restoration of the herbaceous layer might be needed to allow a full recovery after invasive removal.</p>