Direct Environmental Benefits Research Articles

Management of mangroves in Brisbane Water, Gosford, New South Wales

The management of mangroves in Brisbane Water is currently being given high priority by Gosford City Council. Mangroves have often been regarded as wastelands fit only for reclamation, drainage and development. However, they are not being recognised as vital components of estuary and wetland ecology with both direct and indirect environmental benefits to humans. Mangroves are threatened by processes which can be controlled and regulated via informed and effective management. Currently two processes are being used to plan for the management of mangroves within Brisbane Water. One is an overall policy based approached using a Plan of Management for the total estuary. The second approach is specific management of mangroves and other coastal wetlands within Brisbane through the implementation of the Brisbane Water Wetland Management Study. Both of these planning and management approaches are supported by Council and are being undertaken by two committees with broad membership from Council, government departments and the local community.

DYNAMIC MEMBRANE TECHNOLOGY FOR PRINTING WASTEWATER REUSE

As environmental regulations become rigid and the cost of freshwater increases, wastewater is considered as a major resource in China. The paper presented a study on the implementation of the advanced treatment process using dynamic membrane (DM) in reusing of printing wastewater. The DM was well formed by circulating 1.5g/L of PAC in 20 minutes, the trans-membrane pressure of 200 kPa and the cross-flow velocity of 0.75m/s. The printing effluents were treated in effluent treatment plants comprising a physicochemical option followed by biological process. The treated effluent contained chemical oxygen demand (COD), color and turbidity in the range of 45-60 mg/L, 0.030-0.045 (absorbance at 420 nm) and 3-5 NTU. The results showed that the COD, color and turbidity removal efficiencies of the DM permeate were 84%, 85% and 80%, respectively. The wastewater treated by DM was reused as process water and the final concentrated retentate could be discharged directly into sewage treatment works with no additional treatments. Cleaning and regeneration of DM were very convenient if necessary. The proper process was that the polluted DM was cleaned with tap water at high cross-flow velocity. When irreversible pollutants accumulate, it would be rinsed with chemicals tested and the membrane flux would be restored up to 95%. The result showed that DM was considered as a promising method for purification aimed at reuse of printing wastewater, resulting in direct environmental and economic benefits.

Biogas from waste materials as transportation fuel–benefits from an environmental point of view

In this paper various biogas systems based on waste materials have been analysed from an environmental point of view. The analyses are based on Swedish conditions using a systems analysis approach from an energy and life cycle perspective. The biogas produced is used as a transportation fuel replacing petrol in light-duty vehicles. The overall aims are to quantify the potential environmental effects when current waste handling and transportation fuel systems are replaced. A general conclusion is that the indirect environmental benefits (e.g. reduced emissions of ammonia and methane, and nitrogen leaching) from altered handling of organic waste materials and land-use may often significantly exceed the direct environmental benefits achieved when biogas replaces petrol (e.g. reduced emissions of carbon dioxide and air pollutants). Such indirect benefits are seldom considered when biogas is evaluated from an environmental point of view. However, the environmental impact from different biogas systems can vary significantly due to factors such as the waste materials utilised, different reference systems being replaced, and local conditions.

Exploring the efficiencies of using competitive tenders over fixed price grants to protect biodiversity in Australian rangelands

In rangeland areas, improved biodiversity management can be achieved by changing the financial incentives facing land managers. Competitive tenders and fixed price grants can both be applied to achieve the same environmental outcomes. In the case study described in this paper, the efficiencies of the two methods are compared. Operationally, the two mechanisms are similar in both cost and process. Both mechanisms have very important indirect benefits of building skills and knowledge in both landholders and the implementing agency, and building trust between the two. However, the heterogeneity in landholders’ opportunity costs revealed in the competitive tender trial means a discriminatory price mechanism is more efficient at matching program costs with direct environmental benefits. In terms of transfer payments, the competitive tender was 30% more cost efficient than a fixed price grant scheme. While the initial design and development costs of a tender may be greater than a grant, there was no evidence of any difference in operating costs in this case study. There was also little evidence of any indirect costs associated with the tender process, but it may be too early to make a realistic assessment.

Environmental systems analysis of biogas systems—Part II: The environmental impact of replacing various reference systems

This paper analyses the overall environmental impact when biogas systems are introduced and replace various reference systems for energy generation, waste management and agricultural production. The analyses are based on Swedish conditions using a life-cycle perspective. The biogas systems included are based on different combinations of raw materials and final use of the biogas produced (heat, power and transportation fuel). A general conclusion is that biogas systems normally lead to environmental improvements, which in some cases are considerable. This is often due to indirect environmental benefits of changed land use and handling of organic waste products (e.g. reduced nitrogen leaching, emissions of ammonia and methane), which often exceed the direct environmental benefits achieved when fossil fuels are replaced by biogas (e.g. reduced emissions of carbon dioxide and air pollutants). Such indirect benefits are seldom considered when biogas is evaluated from an environmental point of view. The environmental impact from different biogas systems can, however, vary significantly due to factors such as the raw materials utilised, energy service provided and reference system replaced.

Energy conservation in electric utilities: an opportunity for restorative economics at SaskPower

Utilities can profit through direct financial and environmental benefits, and increased shareholder and customer value. Where demand side management (DSM) programs cost less per kilowatt-hour than it would cost to generate the same amount of electricity, energy conservation offers a viable supply option, reducing the need for large capital expenditures in generating capacity. It may also improve the efficiency of transmission and distribution assets and reduce operating and maintenance costs. To deliver DSM, utilities can employ awareness/information programs, energy management and technical and training services, financial incentives and tax measures, which may be implemented through voluntary programs, regulation and government expenditures, financial incentives or new business ventures. The lower discount rate in electric utilities, when compared to most customer businesses, makes utility DSM more cost effect than alternative business models. Using SaskPower, a vertically integrated electric utility in Saskatchewan, Canada as an example, this paper demonstrates how selling efficiency rather than power offers utilities both a supply option and a business opportunity. SaskPower can accrue financial and environmental benefit, while meeting and exceeding customer and stakeholder expectations. This paper discusses the challenges and opportunities energy conservation represents for electric utilities.

EcoMetrics: Integrating direct and indirect environmental costs and benefits into management information systems

AbstractThis article suggests a set of metrics that may impact both profitability and environmental quality, capture and quantify eco‐efficiency costs and benefits, and help managers understand and focus on tangible, yet difficult‐to‐quantify benefits (such as improved morale, innovation, etc.). In order to do this, it will frame the issues pertinent to developing eco‐efficiency metrics; identify criteria for effective metrics to enable companies/consultants/etc. to discuss, evaluate, and select program metrics; outline the universe of possible metrics; suggest key metrics for a typical company; identify data quality, availability and other constraints; and suggest a methodology for incorporating environmental metrics into operating metrics.[Note: This article is not intended to provide a definitive overview of environmental metrics; rather, it proposes an operational framework for considering, selecting, and implementing metrics that are meaningful in both environmental and business terms. For an overview, see for example, Environmental Policy Performance Indicators;1 Company Environmental Reporting;2 The Greening of Industrial Ecosystems;3 Measuring Corporate Environmental Performance4].The flow and embodiment of materials and energy in production and consumption activities of the economy underlie both economic growth and environmental perturbations… [Yet] existing accounting systems can prevent modern firms from internalizing environmental costs and considerations, and can compound difficulties encountered in effecting environmentally preferable changes5.

The potential of rail as an environmental solution: Setting the agenda

Rail is often advanced as an environmentally superior alternative to road transportation. A market segmentation analysis shows rail has a relative advantage in regular long distance trips to high density nodes. Yet, such trips are a limited and shrinking share of the total transport market. Rail's direct environmental benefits as a substitute for the car may thus be limited in time and space. Rail may have some indirect environmental benefits through its effects on metropolitan structure within comprehensive transport and land use programs. An analysis of these issues raises several unanswered questions, which are suggested as a research agenda to evaluate rail's long term potential as an environmental solution.