Increase In Environmental Concern Research Articles

The use of containers as a constructive method in buildings: a viable and sustainable alternative

With the increase in environmental concern, alternatives for the use of resources that are less harmful to the environment have been explored, including materials and construction methods. In this context, there is a growing search for new construction processes, especially container buildings, which have gained popularity and acceptance in society, being applied in both commercial and residential contexts. The main attractions for those interested in acquiring a container construction are the reduction of costs and the shortening of the execution time of the work. This is due to the minimization of waste generated during construction and the recycling of metal boxes, which would otherwise remain useless in ports. This advantage goes beyond the economic benefits, contributing to adding sustainable value to the project. This paper aims to discuss the feasibility analysis of the use of containers as a sustainable and financially advantageous proposal compared to conventional methods of structural construction for housing. Through a literature review, evidence of the feasibility and reuse of shipping containers for housing purposes is presented, exploring viable alternatives for the use of waste. The comparative study is based on the parameters established by the National System of Research on Costs and Indices of Civil Construction – SINAPI. The steps include the initial survey of all the improvements and adaptations necessary to provide housing conditions, considering standards of acoustic comfort, lighting, and ventilation. The results indicate that the reuse of the container results in savings of approximately 10% compared to masonry construction. Therefore, this approach has numerous advantages, being a financially viable, fast, and flexible solution for new architectural arrangements, in addition to incorporating architectural innovations aligned with environmental awareness.

Psychometric Validation and Environmental Psychological Correlates of the Light Triad Traits

Abstract: The Light Triad Scale (LTS) measures the concept of the Light Triad, which was conceptualized as personality traits that reflect a person’s loving and beneficent orientation toward others, consisting of Faith in Humanity, Humanism, and Kantianism. As a novel construct, the Light Triad has yet to establish its structural validity in non-Western countries and needs to demonstrate its association with environmental psychology constructs. This study aims to: (1) examine the structural and criterion validity of the LTS in the Philippines and (2) determine the influence of the Light Triad on environmental concerns and green purchase intentions. Data were collected through an online survey completed by 447 Filipino adolescents. Comparing three models (i.e., one-factor, two-factor, and intercorrelated three-factor models), the present findings corroborated the original model which proposed an intercorrelated three-factor model of the LTS. The LTS demonstrated criterion validity by establishing correlations with relevant measures of environmental psychological constructs. Additionally, path analysis showed that Humanism and Kantianism predicted green purchase intentions via an increase in environmental concern. Measurement and conceptual strengths, future directions, and limitations are discussed.

Compressive Strength of the 5cmx5cm Coconut Empty Fruit Bunch Fiber Reinforced Cement Cubes

As coconut cultivation expands, billions of tonnes of coconut waste, including empty fruit bunches (EFB) fibres are generated annually and mostly disposed in the landfills. The increase in environmental concern pertaining disposal of waste has leads to an interest to use empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibre from coconut waste as an alternative reinforcement in the construction materials, as presented in this research. The objectives of this research are to fabricate coconut EFB fibre reinforced cement cubes, investigate the effectiveness of the fibres in improving the compressive strength of the cement cubes, and also to analyse the fractured surface of the cubes after the compressive strength test. The cement cubes of 5cm x 5cm were prepared by mixing the cement, water, and coconut EFB fibres at several mixing designs. In comparison to the control-plain cement cubes, the compressive strength of the fibre reinforced cement cubes improved with the addition of the coconut EFB fibres by 1.6 times. The fractured surface analysis on the compressed cement cubes revealed that the control-plain cement cubes shatter into many pieces and completely parted. Meanwhile, in the EFB fibre reinforced cement cubes, the fractured pieces remain attached due to the bridging action by the coconut EFB fibre.

Use of industrial waste burnt residue to develop sustainable brick

An increase in environmental concern has occurred from the accumulation of mismanaged industrial burned residue, particularly in developing countries. Recycling these wastes as a sustainable building material seems to be a potential solution not only to the pollution problem, but also to the cost of green building design. In order to develop sustainable construction materials, industrial and incinerated leftover materials are being used. The goal of this research is to find out more about the probability of replacing natural soil in brick production with burned industrial waste, such as Cupola Slag and fly ash. This study is based on various mix proportions for making bricks keeping constant cement by 10 %. Brick mixture was prepared with cupola slag and fly ash for various proportions. From the five distinct mixes with variable CS from 80% to 60%, the M1 mix with 80 % CS, 10% FA, 10% Cement had the highest compressive strength 4.5 N/mm2. Compressive strength for burnt clay bricks is 3.5 N/mm2 which is less than cupola slag bricks, while the brick mix M5 (60 CS: 30 FA: 10 cement) had the lowest water absorption and density 6.53 % and 1350.57 kg/m3. This study reveals that used of cupola slag and fly ah in combination gives satisfactory results to be used in making sustainable bricks. This study also reflects the use of burnt residue to developed sustainable building blocks.

Zig-zag technology adoption behavior among brick kiln owners in Pakistan.

This study uses the theory of planned behavior to examine the individual's intentions and zig-zag kiln technology adoption attitude in responding to carbon emissions in Pakistan. This study is based on cross-sectional data and a representative sample of 335 brick kilns owners from 11 districts of Punjab province of Pakistan is collected. Partial least squares structural equation modeling technique was used for the analysis. Results depicted that environmental concern and self-efficacy have a significant influence on attitude toward sustainable technology while subjective norms have a significant effect on intentions toward zig-zag kiln technology. A 1% increase in environmental concern and self-efficacy increases sustainable environmental technology by 24% and 58%, respectively. Furthermore, perceived behavioral control and intentions also significantly impact adoption attitude, and a 1% increase in perceived behavioral control and intentions increase the zig-zag kiln adoption attitude by 68% and 30%, respectively. Results depicted that adoption attitude is significantly determined by these explanatory variables. The study's findings provided new evidence for the government to place more emphasis on enhancing kiln owners' attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control, which would lead towards the adoption of this new technique.

Economic assessment of hydrogen and electricity cogeneration through steam reforming-SOFC system in the Brazilian biodiesel industry

The increase of environmental concern has led to an increase in biodiesel production, which also produces high amounts of glycerol. This growing production is causing glycerol prices to plummet while constant efforts are being made in order to find suitable applications for this compound. In this sense, this work aims to evaluate the economic potential for hydrogen production by the steam reforming of glycerol in the Brazilian biodiesel industry to be used as fuel in a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) afterwards. Mathematical and computer models were developed to evaluate the potential heat and power generated by this configuration and the project was economically assessed. Even though glycerol could produce much more electricity through the proposed assembly than is actually needed, the economic aspect makes the project unsuitable for practical uses. Hydrogen production costs (2.42–5.26 USD/kg) were higher than those reported for traditional reforming methods and similar to other alternative pathways, but remained below the range commonly found in the market, indicating a potential for selling H2 directly. The use of SOFCs for electricity production, however, was found to make the system unsuitable, mostly due to its high investment costs, which represents from 41.8% to 65.1% of the total costs depending on the financing scenario. Even in the best economic scenarios, the costs for producing energy from such system remained above 0.269 USD/kWh, far higher than the 0.116 USD/kWh normally found in the Brazilian market.

Editorial Catalysts: Special Issue on Catalytic Pyrolysis

The increase of environmental concern is currently promoting the development of sustainable and green chemistry [...]

Green purchase intention

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to focus on what factors and variables affect the consumers’ intention to purchase green products and lead them to prefer green ecologic products to other products and choose to buy them.Design/methodology/approachFor this purpose, a total of 450 students from the Islamic Azad University of Yazd took part in this survey. The research method was applied in terms of purpose and in terms of analysis, it was of the scaling type. The data collection tool and sampling for the questionnaire were done randomly and to determine the sample, the Cochran formula was used. This study used the SPSS software to analyze the descriptive statistics (demographical factors) and through the software LISREL, the connection between the variables was investigated by structural equation modeling.FindingsThe results indicated that environmental beliefs affect environmental concern and there must be a meaningful relationship between them. Also, the increase in environmental concern leads to an increase in the attitude to consuming green products, and finally, an increase in the consumers’ demand for purchasing green products. Furthermore, an increase in environmental concerns also increases positive emotions, which, in turn, increases the consumers’ will to purchase green products. Finally, there is a meaningful relationship between environmental concerns and negative emotion while there is no significant relation between was reported between negative emotions and the will to purchase.Research limitations/implicationsThe tested model now uses purchase intention as a result variable instead of real purchase, and in practice, it will be difficult to develop a research framework in controlled real behavior.Originality/valueInvestigating the role of positive and negative emotions on the intention of purchasing green products helps marketing managers up to by correct identifying consumers’ emotions can designing appropriate strategies for encouraging them to use green products.

Early Warning System Design for WEEE Reverse Logistic Network

The increase of environmental concern as a result of corporate citizenship spreads the applications for collecting end-of-life products to a broader extent. This trend raises the issue of reverse logistics (RL), one of the major challenges in sustainability. One of the greatest barriers for successful RL is the difficulty of developing an accurate system to forecast the amount of product returns. Advanced techniques such as learning systems are proven very helpful for increasing the performance of forecasting methods. This article proposes an “early warning system” for waste collection operations in the electrical and electronic equipment industry. The main goal is to develop a supportive system for manufacturers and authorized organizations that provides foresight about their potential to reach the target values proposed by environmental regulations. The proposed forecasting system is based on an artificial neural network (ANN) model with five basic factors affecting the amount of product return: sales amount, number of houses, electricity consumption, the GINI coefficient (coefficient showing income distribution inequality) and population density. An application of the system is shown for Marmara Region, Turkey, and the compliances of all the big cities in the Marmara Region are checked for target values. The researchers' findings show that only five of eleven cities will be successful at fulfilling the required target e-waste values addressed by WEEE regulations.

Processing high-performance woody materials by means of vacuum-assisted resin infusion technology

High-performance materials derived from natural wood have been vigorously developed, however, their commercialized products are very limited owing to the lack of industrial production efficiency and increase of environmental concern. This study is aimed at developing a clean process for large-scale production of high-performance woody materials without involving any chemical methods. The industrialized vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) process was initially applied to solid wood for manufacturing woody materials with excellent flexural performances. VARI process can provide better control over harmful volatiles generated by resins than that of the traditional open mold techniques, making them compliant with “clean production”. The porosity was reduced from 66.0% to 33.8% after infusing epoxy into wood through the VARI process, and further reduced to 22.6% after being compressed. The flexural modulus and strength were significantly increased by 142.2% and 142.8%, respectively. The flexural strength (304.9 MPa) reached the range of alloy, between Alloy 2024-T3 (345 MPa) and Steel alloy 1040 (260 MPa). Due to its relatively low density, the specific flexural strength was only slightly lower than diamond. The dramatic reduction of porosity was deemed to be the major contribution to those improvements. The fabrication of high-performance woody materials does not use chemical treatment; therefore, it could be considered as a clean production. Additionally, the contribution to clean production of this study was further confirmed by life-cycle assessment (LCA). The comparisons of environmental impacts of the woody material, steel alloy and aluminum alloy were carried out using LCA, revealing that the global warming, acidification, human health (HH) cancer, HH noncancer, HH criteria air pollutants, eutrophication, ecotoxicity, smog, natural resource depletion, habitat alteration, and ozone depletion, were reduced by 1.72–667.06 times when the woody material was used to replace steel alloy, while were reduced by 7.34–636.21 times when the woody material was utilized to replace aluminum alloy, respectively.

Absolute income, relative income and environmental concern: Evidence from different regions in China

Abstract This present study argues that compared to absolute income, relative income is more likely to explain environmental concern. In theory, relative income influences environmental concern by the social comparison effect and the information effect, and the influential direction relies on the strength of both effects. Based on CGSS 2010 data about different regions in China, this study firstly analyzes the relationship between relative income and environmental concern and explore whether there are regional, urban-rural and gender differences in this relationship or not. Our regression result based on the whole sample reveals that without considering relative income, a 1% increase in absolute income is associated with a 0.86 increase in environmental concern. But incorporating relative income in regression models, we find that absolute income does not exert an influence on environmental concern, and a 1% increase in the percentile rank of income implies a 3.65 increase in environmental concern.

Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: An Experimental Test of Pro-Environmental Spillover From Reducing Meat Consumption to Monetary Donations

Psychological studies testing behavioral spillover—the notion that behavior change resulting from an intervention affects subsequent similar behaviors—has resulted in conflicting findings in the environmental domain. This study sought to further demarcate the spillover process by asking participants to engage in a difficult first pro-environmental behavior, reducing red meat consumption, for either health or environmental reasons. Evidence of spillover was tested via a subsequent monetary donation to an environmental organization. While there was no evidence of spillover for those in the green behavior condition, those in the health behavior condition were less likely to donate relative to controls. There was evidence that pro-environmental behavior led to an increase in environmental concern. In turn, environmental concern was associated with an increased likelihood of donating. Environmental concern may, thus, be one route to positive spillover in some subsets of the population.

환경지식과 환경관심이 친환경 와인 구매의도에 미치는 영향

Environmental problems are caused directly and indirectly by the patterns of production by industries, patterns of consumer consumption and consumer behavior. The same patterns apply to the production and consumption of wine. An increase in environmental concern is a necessary requirement for future generations as is knowledge about the effects and consequences of ongoing environmental deterioration. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of environmental knowledge and environmental concern on the purchase intention of eco-friendly wine. It was also proposed that involvement moderated the relationship between antecedents (i.e., environmental knowledge and environmental concern) purchase intention. This study was conducted using a survey of 197 customer-respondents who were selected using convenience sampling from January to March 2016. The collected data were analyzed using both SPSS 21.0 and Amos 18.0 statistical analysis programs. The results demonstrate that environmental knowledge had a positive effect on attitude and this attitude subsequently had a positive effect on purchase intention. On the contrary, eco-friendly concern had no positive effect on attitude. Moreover, it was found that customer involvement did not play a moderating role in the relationship between environmental knowledge, eco-friendly concern and attitude. The results of this study will provide useful information for both eco-friendly consumer management and wine marketing strategies. Finally, practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

SISTEMA DE GESTÃO AMBIENTAL: UM ESTUDO DE CASO DA IMPLANTAÇÃO DO CONTROLE OPERACIONAL NO BENEFICIAMENTO DE AREIA EM UMA INDÚSTRIA DE FUNDIÇÕES

Currently, the industries need to follow some environmental standard. It is due the marketing needs, requisites of the law or by its own ini- tiative. More than satisfying the requirements of any specific standard, the implementation of an environmental management policy, based on standardized procedures, can lead companies to be in accordance with the valid environmental requirements, or to obtain favorable ope- rating results. One of the bases for environmental management is its operational control, because from it all the actions and environmental observations’ values appear for the specific routine administration. Therefore, this paper presents a deployment operational control model of an environmental management in foundry industries. A case study was applied in a foundry industry with sand processing, because the fact of using sand in their production process raises environmental responsibility, due to the specific extraction and manipulation of the product. As a result it was found improvement in the efficiency of the operational activities; this is due, mainly, to tighter control operational, beyond the increase in environmental concern.

Assessing the Mechanical Performance Cannabis Sativa Composites – Reinforced with Long Time Dried Fibre

An increase in environmental concern invites the development new eco friendly materials having light weight and superior mechanical performance. In this connection an attempt is made to manufacture composites reinforced with long time exposed dora hemp fibre at ambient conditions into the unsaturated polyester resin. The fabricated composite specimens are processed at P1, P2 and P3 conditions to assess their mechanical performance as per ASTM procedures. Out of all the composites investigated in the present work the dora hemp composites at P2 have shown good tensile and flexural properties, whereas the highest impact strength is achieved for the composites at P1. Hence this class of natural fibre composites is suitable for making automobile components after thorough investigation of necessary parameters.

Recycling hazardous jarosite waste using coal combustion residues

Increase in environmental concern due to improper management of both hazardous and non hazardous wastes released from different industrial process prioritized the necessity for the innovation research. In this context, this paper deals with the immobilization of jarosite waste released from the zinc industry and converting it into a value added product using coal combustion residues (CCRs) through solidification/stabilization (s/s) and sintering process. Experiments were conducted using different ratio of jarosite waste and clay soil with varying concentration of CCRs. The optimized experimental results (using jarosite waste and clay soil ratio of one with 15% CCRs) showed that it is possible to make a composite having desirable mechanical properties such as compressive strength (50–81 kg/cm 2); water absorption (13–17%); shrinkage (11–32%); and density (1.6–1.8 gm cm −3) to use as a construction material. Under solid state sintering process, with the application of CCRs, the mineral phases such as X Fe 3 (SO 4) 2(OH) 6 [where X = K and NH 4], 2Fe 2O 3SO 3 . 5H 2O, PbSO 4, CaSO 4 in jarosite waste were transformed into a silicate matrices. The leachate studies confirmed that the toxic elements such as Cd, Pb, etc. were immobilized in the jarosite waste composite and meeting the USEPA TCLP toxicity norms for safe utility. The composite product thus developed has showed potential for recycling jarosite waste in construction sector leading to cross sector waste recycling.

Environmental Attitudes in International Comparison: An Analysis of the ISSP Surveys 1993 and 2000*

Objective. The goal of this article is to compare the concern for the natural environment between the citizens of 26 countries that participated in the 2000 International Social Survey Program (ISSP) and to explain the differences. Prior studies (e.g., Dunlap, Gallup, and Gallup, 1993; Brechin, 1999) suggest that the increase of environmental concern is a global phenomenon. However, Inglehart (1995), as well as Diekmann and Franzen (1999), argue that the level of environmental concern and knowledge is highly correlated with GNP per capita. Method. The article analyzes new evidence obtained from the ISSP 2000 and compares it to the prior findings based on the ISSP 1993. Results. It is shown that citizens in wealthier nations express greater concern for the global condition of the environment than those in poorer countries. Conclusion. The new analysis of the ISSP 2000 confirms our original notion that support for global environmental protection is strongly correlated with wealth. However, the increase in real GDP between 1993 and 2000 did not lead to a further increase in environmental concern.

International Capital and the Environment in Latin America

Summary This century's end has been witnessing an increase in environmental concern. While initially a subject of developed countries, developing countries began to realize that the trade off between developing and conserving the environment has to be equated to give present and future generations a chance of success in their development efforts. Thus far, the approach taken by both developed and developing countries towards correcting environmental problems has been primarily dominated by command and control type of regulations, whose success is clearly a function of the regulator's enforcement capacity. Yet, there are signs that this approach is changing towards a more participatory mixed environmental policy model. This change has further stimulated the growing “environmental industry,” in which international capital plays a major role. This paper discusses these recent trends in the context of the conservation of the Latin America and the Caribbean environment.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN: CONCEPTUAL DEFINITIONS, MEASUREMENT METHODS, AND RESEARCH FINDINGS

A serious threat to human beings and their environment is the continuous and accelerating overuse and destruction of natural resources. Bearing this in mind, it is unfortunate that efforts to permanently change people's environmentally destructive behaviour through interventions has typically not been met with success. A necessary condition may be an increase in environmental concern and knowledge about the effects and consequences of the ongoing environmental deterioration for future generations. Studies are reviewed that have attempted to show (1) correlations between determinants, such as socio-demographic and/or psychological factors, and environmental concern, and (2) an impact of environmental concern on environmentally responsible behaviour. In general, correlations with background factors are weak. Factors affecting behaviour appear to be knowledge, internal locus of control (positive control beliefs), personal responsibility, and perceived threats to personal health. The need for further research that attempts to specify the process leading to environmentally responsible behaviour is highlighted. A new framework is presented which integrates some of the previous research.

Environmental Education, Ethics and Citizenship Conference, Held at the Royal Geographical Society (with The Institute of British Geographers), 20 May 1998

The search for a worldwide environmental ethic is linked to the increase in environmental concern since (particularly) the 1960s, and the recognition that environmental problems can have a global impact. Numerous people and organizations have put forward their understanding of the necessary components of such an ethic and these have converged in a series of international statements (Stockholm Declaration on the Human Environment, 1972; World Charter for Nature, 1982; Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, 1992; International Covenant on Environment and Development, 1995). A small number of common elements have emerged. These can be expressed in 10 ‘premises’, which may form the basis for developing into an acceptable worldwide ethic, along the lines called for in the revised World Conservation Strategy, Caring for the Earth, 1991.