Using strong sustainability to optimize electricity generation fuel mixes

This work represents a contribution to the field of sustainable electricity system design by using an optimization tool to specify the final mix composition, subject to the constraints of: emissions that are within the biocapacity of the region; a diverse and robust electricity supply system; and supply that at least meets current demand. The 25-country European Union (EU-25) is used as a case study. All the goals, save diversity, can be met by re-structuring the current fuel mix, thus maintaining current consumption levels. The diversity target is only met when consumption is reduced by 10-15% and the constraint on maximum material throughput is relaxed. Re-structuring the mix and reducing consumption is insufficient to achieve a sustainable EU carbon footprint. However, the solution proposed singlehandedly allows the EU to meet its Kyoto emissions target as well as its 2007 policy of a reduction of 20% in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sustainable Solid Waste Management Through Ecological Footprint Analysis – A Solution To Kochi City, India

Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala, South India and second most important city next to Mumbai on the Western coast is a land having a wide variety of residential environments. Due to rapid population growth, changing lifestyles, food habits and living standards, institutional weaknesses, improper choice of technology and public apathy, the present pattern of the city can be classified as that of haphazard growth with typical problems characteristics of unplanned urban development especially in the case of solid waste management. To have a better living condition for us and our future generations, we must know where we are now and how far we need to go. We, each individual must calculate how much nature we use and compare it to how much nature we have available. This can be achieved by applying the concept of ecological footprint. Ecological footprint analysis (EFA) is a quantitative tool that represents the ecological load imposed on earth by humans in spatial terms. The aim of applying EFA to Kochi city is to quantify the consumption and waste generation of a population and to compare it with the existing biocapacity. By quantifying the ecological footprint we can formulate strategies to reduce the footprint and there by having a sustainable living. The paper discusses the various footprint components of Kochi city and in detail analyses the waste footprint of the residential areas using waste footprint analyzer. An attempt is also made to suggest some waste foot print reduction strategies thereby making the city sustainable as far as solid waste management is concerned.

Sustainable Development through the Environment Management Tool Ecological Footprint Analysis – A Study in Kochi City, India

In the past, natural resources were plentiful and people were scarce. But the situation is rapidly reversing. Our challenge is to find a way to balance human consumption and nature’s limited productivity in order to ensure that our communities are sustainable locally, regionally and globally. Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala, South India and the second most important city next to Mumbai on the Western coast is a land having a wide variety of residential environments. Due to rapid population growth, changing lifestyles, food habits and living standards, institutional weaknesses, improper choice of technology and public apathy, the present pattern of the city can be classified as that of haphazard growth with typical problems characteristics of unplanned urban development. Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) is physical accounting method, developed by William Rees and M. Wackernagel, focusing on land appropriation using land as its “currency”. It provides a means for measuring and communicating human induced environmental impacts upon the planet. The aim of applying EFA to Kochi city is to quantify the consumption and waste generation of a population and to compare it with the existing biocapacity. By quantifying the ecological footprint we can formulate strategies to reduce the footprint and there by having a sustainable living. In this paper, an attempt is made to explore the tool Ecological Footprint Analysis and calculate and analyse the ecological footprint of the residential areas of Kochi city. The paper also discusses and analyses the waste footprint of the city. An attempt is also made to suggest strategies to reduce the footprint thereby making the city sustainable

Ecological Footprint Analysis – An Overview

In the past, natural resources were plentiful and people were scarce. But the situation is rapidly reversing. According to the Living Planet Report 2006, during the last thirty years, consumption of natural resources has increased 40%, while Earth’s natural wealth in biodiversity has decreased 30%. Our challenge is to find a way to balance human consumption and nature’s limited productivity in order to ensure that our communities are sustainable locally, regionally and globally. Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) is physical accounting method, developed by William Rees and M. Wackernagel (1992), focusing on land appropriation using land as its “currency”. It provides a means for measuring and communicating human induced environmental impacts upon the planet. In this paper, an attempt is made to explore the tool Ecological Footprint Analysis. The paper also analyses the methods for calculating ecological footprint, scope of the tool as an impact assessment tool for India and measure for reducing the ecological footprint

Modifying the yield factor based on more efficient use of fertilizer — The environmental impacts of intensive and extensive agricultural practices

The aim of this article is to draw attention to calculations on the environmental effects of agriculture and to the definition of marginal agricultural yield. When calculating the environmental impacts of agricultural activities, the real environmental load generated by agriculture is not revealed properly through ecological footprint indicators, as the type of agricultural farming (thus the nature of the pollution it creates) is not incorporated in the calculation. It is commonly known that extensive farming uses relatively small amounts of labor and capital. It produces a lower yield per unit of land and thus requires more land than intensive farming practices to produce similar yields, so it has a larger crop and grazing footprint. However, intensive farms, to achieve higher yields, apply fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, etc., and cultivation and harvesting are often mechanized. In this study, the focus is on highlighting the differences in the environmental impacts of extensive and intensive farming practices through a statistical analysis of the factors determining agricultural yield. A marginal function is constructed for the relation between chemical fertilizer use and yield per unit fertilizer input. Furthermore, a proposal is presented for how calculation of the yield factor could possibly be improved. The yield factor used in the calculation of biocapacity is not the marginal yield for a given area, but is calculated from the real and actual yields, and this way biocapacity and the ecological footprint for cropland are equivalent. Calculations for cropland biocapacity do not show the area needed for sustainable production, but rather the actual land area used for agricultural production. The proposal the authors present is a modification of the yield factor and also the changed biocapacity is calculated. The results of statistical analyses reveal the need for a clarification of the methodology for calculating marginal yield, which could clearly contribute to assessing the real environmental impacts of agriculture.

Modifying the yield factor based on more efficient use of fertilizer — The environmental impacts of intensive and extensive agricultural practices

The aim of this article is to draw attention to calculations on the environmental effects of agriculture and to the definition of marginal agricultural yield. When calculating the environmental impacts of agricultural activities, the real environmental load generated by agriculture is not revealed properly through ecological footprint indicators, as the type of agricultural farming (thus the nature of the pollution it creates) is not incorporated in the calculation. It is commonly known that extensive farming uses relatively small amounts of labor and capital. It produces a lower yield per unit of land and thus requires more land than intensive farming practices to produce similar yields, so it has a larger crop and grazing footprint. However, intensive farms, to achieve higher yields, apply fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, etc., and cultivation and harvesting are often mechanized. In this study, the focus is on highlighting the differences in the environmental impacts of extensive and intensive farming practices through a statistical analysis of the factors determining agricultural yield. A marginal function is constructed for the relation between chemical fertilizer use and yield per unit fertilizer input. Furthermore, a proposal is presented for how calculation of the yield factor could possibly be improved. The yield factor used in the calculation of biocapacity is not the marginal yield for a given area, but is calculated from the real and actual yields, and this way biocapacity and the ecological footprint for cropland are equivalent. Calculations for cropland biocapacity do not show the area needed for sustainable production, but rather the actual land area used for agricultural production. The proposal the authors present is a modification of the yield factor and also the changed biocapacity is calculated. The results of statistical analyses reveal the need for a clarification of the methodology for calculating marginal yield, which could clearly contribute to assessing the real environmental impacts of agriculture.

Is the Netherlands sustainable as a global-scale inner-city? Intenscoping spatial sustainability

Is the Netherlands sustainable or not? The answer inherently involves addressing the issues of system boundaries, statistical units and a vision of sustainability. As an analytical answer we offer the Intenscope (IS), a two-dimensional graphical tool based on dimensionless percentages of triple rate ratios which overcomes several limitations of sustainability analyses. First, it is not sensitive to the size of statistical units so an area with twice the amount of resources of another, with double the population (and double the total consumption) would have the same triple ratio of population:biocapacity:consumption. Second, the IS is sensitive to anomalies which may originate either from the use of arbitrary statistical units (e.g. the boundaries of a city) or those which may indicate truly unsustainable practices. To judge spatial sustainability we use ecological footprint data from which we construct a plausible country plot based on the IS. Despite the relative nature of IS-analyses, the employed consumption:biocapacity ratio inherently refers to the absolute limit of sustainability: we cannot continually use more resources on a global scale than nature provides us with. The analysis introduces some associations of human preferences and attributions of settlement types which may help to elaborate sustainability policies based on voluntary action.