Selected Papers from the Fourth International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology Held in Houston, Texas, July 28–31, 2008

Abstract

The International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology is an annual conference meeting of engineering and science professionals from academia, government, and industry from around the globe. The fourth conference was held in Houston, Texas, on July 28–31, 2008. The objective of the International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology is to provide a major interdisciplinary forum for presenting new approaches from relevant areas of environmental science and engineering, to foster integration of the latest developments in scientific research into engineering applications, and to facilitate technology transfer from well-tested ideas into practical products, waste management, remedial processes, and ecosystem restoration. Environmental humanity and sociality such as environmental ethics, environmental law, environmental economy, and environmental management were also included in the scope of the conference. Researchers, engineers, site managers, regulatory agents, decision-making officials, consultants, and vendors benefited from the opportunity to exchange information on recent research trends, to examine ongoing research programs, and to investigate worldwide public and regulatory acceptance of environmental protection and remediation technologies. Environmental disturbance and pollution are complex problems worldwide. The current development of modern science and technology combined with management on social and economic activities are contributing more and more to solution of the problems. Although considerable environmental protection work has been and is presently being conducted, a multidisciplinary platform for environmental scientists, engineers, management professionals, and governmental officials to discuss the latest developments in environmental research and applications is very helpful for protecting our global village. During the Fourth International conference, presentations from the following countries were presented: Americas: Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and USA; Europe: France, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Italy, Russia, and Switzerland; Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameron, Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa; Asia: China, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, Korea, Israel, Turkey, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. We also had attendees from Australia and New Zealand. The conference started by four plenary presentations given by well-known professors in selected areas of research and then parallel sessions were conducted to accommodate the various accepted Water Air Soil Pollut: Focus (2009) 9:159–161 DOI 10.1007/s11267-009-9207-0