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Modal shifts hold considerable potential to mitigate carbon emissions. Electric bikes (e-bikes) represent a promising energy- and carbon-efficient alternative to cars. However, as mobility behaviour is highly habitual, convincing people to switch from cars to e-bikes is challenging. One strategy to accomplish this is the disruption of existing habits - a key idea behind an annual e-bike promotion programme in Switzerland, in which car owners can try out an e-bike for free over a 2-week period in exchange for their car keys. By means of a longitudinal survey, we measured the long-term effects of this trial on mobility-related habitual associations. After one year, participants' habitual association with car use had weakened significantly. This finding was valid both for participants who bought an e-bike after the trial and those who did not. Our findings contrast the results of other studies who find that the effect of interventions to induce modal shifts wears off over time. We conclude that an e-bike trial has the potential to break mobility habits and motivate car owners to use more sustainable means of transport.

The 2022 World Cup organised by the International Association Football Federation (International Olympic Committee, 2021) and hosted by Qatar was billed to be the tournament that would completely revolutionise football, both on and off the field. It garnered acclaim in being the first World Cup held outside its customary months of June-July as well as in pioneering net zero carbon emissions in the sport - an assertion that ultimately proved largely unfounded(Ralston, 2022) with high reputational consequences for the country and the game. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs), like the Carbon Market Watch that works with the European Union amongst others, claimed that “carbon emissions created by the new stadiums could be as much as eight times higher than the figures contained in Qatar’s analysis” (MacInnes, 2022). Against the backdrop of mounting sustainability concerns expressed by policymakers and enthusiasts alike, this essay examines the environmental hazards associated with major sporting events, like the 2022 FIFA World Cup whilst delving into adaptations that organisers could make for future sporting bonanzas that would give their green aspirations wings that could fly without getting burned like the fabled Icarus whose own pride and arrogance led him to ignore the rising temperatures and ultimately cause his demise. Essex Student Journal Volume 14 Issue S1 2023

The built environment remains a strategic research and innovation domain in view of the goal of full decarbonization. The priority is the retrofitting of existing buildings as zero-emission to improve their energy efficiency with renewable energy technologies pulling the market with cost-effective strategies. From the first age of photovoltaics (PV) mainly integrated in solar roofs, we rapidly moved towards complete active building skins where all the architectural surfaces are photoactive (Building Integrated Photovoltaics - BIPV). This change of paradigm, where PV replaces a conventional building material, shifted the attention to relate construction choices with energy and cost effectiveness. However, systematic investigations which put into action a cross-disciplinary approach between construction, economic and energy related domains is still missing. This paper provides the detailed assessment of a real multifamily building, taking into account retrofit scenarios for making active the building skin, with the goal to identify the sensitive aspects of the energetic and economic effectiveness of BIPV design options. By assuming a real case study with monitored data, the analysis will consider a breakdown of the main individual parts composing the building envelope, by then combining alternative re-configurations in merged clusters with different energy and construction goals. Results will highlight the correlation between building skin construction strategies and the energy and cost parameters by identifying the cornerstones for enhancing efficiency. The outcomes, related to the total life cost, self-consumption/sufficiency, in combination with different building design options (façade, roof, balconies, surface orientations, etc.), provide a practical insight for researchers and professionals to identify renovation strategies by synergistically exploiting the solar active parts towards lower global costs and higher energy efficiency of the whole building system.

As presented in the first companion paper, distributed mixed-integer fuzzy hierarchical programming (DMIFHP) was developed for municipal solid waste management (MSWM) under complexities of heterogeneities, hierarchy, discreteness, and interactions. Beijing was selected as a representative case. This paper focuses on presenting the obtained schemes and the revealed mechanisms of the Beijing MSWM system. The optimal MSWM schemes for Beijing under various solid waste treatment policies and their differences are deliberated. The impacts of facility expansion, hierarchy, and spatial heterogeneities and potential extensions of DMIFHP are also discussed. A few of findings are revealed from the results and a series of comparisons and analyses. For instance, DMIFHP is capable of robustly reflecting these complexities in MSWM systems, especially for Beijing. The optimal MSWM schemes are of fragmented patterns due to the dominant role of the proximity principle in allocating solid waste treatment resources, and they are closely related to regulated ratios of landfilling, incineration, and composting. Communities without significant differences among distances to different types of treatment facilities are more sensitive to these ratios than others. The complexities of hierarchy and heterogeneities pose significant impacts on MSWM practices. Spatial dislocation of MSW generation rates and facility capacities caused by unreasonable planning in the past may result in insufficient utilization of treatment capacities under substantial influences of transportation costs. The problems of unreasonable MSWM planning, e.g., severe imbalance among different technologies and complete vacancy of ten facilities, should be gained deliberation of the public and the municipal or local governments in Beijing. These findings are helpful for gaining insights into MSWM systems under these complexities, mitigating key challenges in the planning of these systems, improving the related management practices, and eliminating potential socio-economic and eco-environmental issues resulting from unreasonable management.

In the United States, today’s ranches are engaging in small-scale nature-based endeavors to diversify their income base. But the geographic boundary of the land they own creates a relatively small area within which to operate, and fragmented ownership diminishes the ability of any single landowner to produce nature-based income. Collective action among nearby landowners can produce a set of resources from which all members of the group can profit. Such action can enhance the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of grasslands and the populations that use them. This article shows that common-interest communities can be used to provide and allocate wildlife and other resources on ranchlands, enabling individual landowners to generate more income from selling nature-based experiences to customers. Common-interest communities are familiar in urban settings but they have not yet been used in this setting. Thus, the article proposes a new approach to ranchland management based upon a familiar set of largely private legal arrangements. More broadly, the article illustrates the relevance of private law and private property to sustainable development by explaining how property owners can use private law to engage in environmentally beneficial and economically profitable enterprises on the vast privately owned landscape of the U.S. Great Plains.

Phosphogypsum (PG) is the solid waste product of phosphate fertilizer production and is characterized by high concentrations of salts, heavy metals, and certain natural radionuclides. The work reported in this paper examined the influence of PG amendment on soil physicochemical proprieties, along with its potential impact on several physiological traits of sunflower seedlings grown under controlled conditions. Sunflower seedlings were grown on agricultural soil substrates amended with PG at rates of 0, 2.5, and 5 %. The pH of the soil decreased but electrical conductivity and organic matter, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and heavy metal contents increased in proportion to PG concentration. In contrast, no variations were observed in magnesium content and small increases were recorded in potassium content. The effects of PG on sunflower growth, leaf chlorophyll content, nutritional status, osmotic regulator content, heavy metal accumulation, and antioxidative enzymes were investigated. Concentrations of trace elements in sunflower seedlings grown in PG-amended soil were considerably lower than ranges considered phytotoxic for vascular plants. The 5 % PG dose inhibited shoot extension and accumulation of biomass and caused a decline in total protein content. However, chlorophyll, lipid peroxidation, proline and sugar contents, and activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase and catalase increased. Collectively, these results strongly support the hypothesis that enzymatic antioxidation capacity is an important mechanism in tolerance of PG salinity in sunflower seedlings.

Abstract Food waste (FW), primary sludge (PS) and waste activated sludge (WAS) were characterized and found to be complementary in the concentrations of carbohydrates, total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), PO4–P and some metal for biological hydrogen production. Moreover, FW was found to have low pH buffering capacity while the values for PS and WAS were relatively higher. An anaerobic toxicity analysis (ATA) derived from a methanogenic ATA protocol showed that these waste materials had no toxicity to hydrogen production. Adding phosphate buffer to the FW significantly improved hydrogen production while initial pH was 7.0. Co-digestion of FW and sewage sludge was studied using a batch respirometric cultivation system. All combinations of the feedstocks (FW+PS, FW+WAS and FW+PS+WAS) showed enhanced hydrogen production potential as compared with the individual wastes. A mixing ratio of 1:1 was found to be the best among the ratios tested for all three co-digestion groups. A hydrogen yield of 112 mL/g volatile solid (VS) added was obtained from a combination of FW, PS and WAS. This yield was equivalent to 250 mL/g VS added if only FW contributed to hydrogen production. The reason for the enhancement of hydrogen production was postulated to be multifold in which the increase in buffer capacity in the co-digestion mixture was verified.

Les développements des systèmes de transport, les changements dans les tendances de consommation et des conditions telles que la COVID-19 ont augmenté à la fois la demande et la charge du transport de marchandises. Étant donné que diverses entreprises transportent des marchandises dans le monde entier pour évaluer la durabilité, la vitesse et la résilience des systèmes de transport de marchandises, des systèmes de mesure de la fluidité des données et du fret sont nécessaires. Dans cette étude, un modèle de prise de décision intégré est proposé pour donner la priorité aux alternatives de mesure de la fluidité du fret. Le modèle proposé est composé de deux étapes principales. Dans la première étape, la méthodologie logarithmique des poids additifs (LMAW) basée sur les normes de Dombi est utilisée pour trouver les poids des critères. Dans la deuxième phase, une évaluation étendue basée sur la méthode de la distance de la solution moyenne (EDAS) avec Dombi onction pour l'agrégation est présentée pour déterminer les résultats finaux de classement des alternatives. Trois alternatives de mesure de la fluidité du fret sont proposées, à savoir ne rien faire, intégrer les activités de fret dans Metaverse pour mesurer la fluidité et former une gouvernance mondiale des activités de fret pour mesurer la fluidité à partir des données disponibles. Treize critères, qui sont regroupés sous quatre aspects principaux à savoir la technologie, la gouvernance, l'efficacité et la durabilité environnementale, et une étude de cas au cours de laquelle un cadre de base est formé pour que les experts évaluent les alternatives compte tenu des critères utilisés dans le processus décisionnel multicritères. Les résultats de l'étude indiquent que l'intégration des activités de fret dans Metaverse pour mesurer la fluidité est l'alternative la plus avantageuse, alors que ne rien faire est la moins avantageuse. Los desarrollos en los sistemas de transporte, los cambios en las tendencias de consumismo y condiciones como el COVID-19 han aumentado tanto la demanda como la carga en el transporte de mercancías. Dado que varias empresas transportan mercancías en todo el mundo para evaluar la sostenibilidad, la velocidad y la resistencia de los sistemas de transporte de mercancías, se necesitan sistemas de medición de datos y fluidez de la carga. En este estudio, se propone un modelo integrado de toma de decisiones para priorizar las alternativas de medición de la fluidez de la carga. El modelo propuesto se compone de dos etapas principales. En la primera etapa, se utiliza la Metodología Logarítmica de Pesos Aditivos (LMAW) basada en normas Dombi para encontrar los pesos de los criterios. En la segunda fase, se presenta una Evaluación extendida basada en el método de Distancia de la Solución Media (EDAS) con Dombi unción para la agregación para determinar los resultados finales de clasificación de las alternativas. Se proponen tres alternativas de medición de la fluidez de la carga, a saber, no hacer nada, integrar las actividades de carga en Metaverse para medir la fluidez y formar una gobernanza global de las actividades de carga para medir la fluidez a través de los datos disponibles. Trece criterios, que se agrupan en cuatro aspectos principales: tecnología, gobernanza, eficiencia y sostenibilidad ambiental, y un estudio de caso en el que se forma un marco básico para que los expertos evalúen las alternativas considerando que los criterios se utilizan en el proceso de toma de decisiones multicriterio. Los resultados del estudio indican que integrar las actividades de carga en Metaverso para medir la fluidez es la alternativa más ventajosa, mientras que no hacer nada es la menos ventajosa. Developments in transportation systems, changes in consumerism trends, and conditions such as COVID-19 have increased both the demand and the load on freight transportation. Since various companies are transporting goods all over the world to evaluate the sustainability, speed, and resiliency of freight transportation systems, data and freight fluidity measurement systems are needed. In this study, an integrated decision-making model is proposed to advantage prioritize the freight fluidity measurement alternatives. The proposed model is composed of two main stages. In the first stage, the Dombi norms based Logarithmic Methodology of Additive Weights (LMAW) is used to find the weights of criteria. In the second phase, an extended Evaluation based on the Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) method with Dombi unction for aggregation is presented to determine the final ranking results of alternatives. Three freight fluidity measurement alternatives are proposed, namely doing nothing, integrating freight activities into Metaverse for measuring fluidity, and forming global governance of freight activities for measuring fluidity through available data. Thirteen criteria, which are grouped under four main aspects namely technology, governance, efficiency, and environmental sustainability, and a case study at which a ground framework is formed for the experts to evaluate the alternatives considering the criteria are used in the multi-criteria decision-making process. The results of the study indicate that integrating freight activities into Metaverse for measuring fluidity is the most advantageous alternative, whereas doing nothing is the least advantageous one. أدت التطورات في أنظمة النقل، والتغيرات في اتجاهات النزعة الاستهلاكية، وظروف مثل COVID -19 إلى زيادة الطلب والحمل على نقل البضائع. نظرًا لأن العديد من الشركات تنقل البضائع في جميع أنحاء العالم لتقييم استدامة وسرعة ومرونة أنظمة نقل البضائع، فهناك حاجة إلى أنظمة قياس سيولة البيانات والشحن. في هذه الدراسة، يُقترح نموذج متكامل لصنع القرار للاستفادة من إعطاء الأولوية لبدائل قياس سيولة الشحن. يتكون النموذج المقترح من مرحلتين رئيسيتين. في المرحلة الأولى، يتم استخدام منهجية لوغاريتمية الأوزان المضافة (LMAW) القائمة على معايير دومبي لإيجاد أوزان المعايير. في المرحلة الثانية، يتم تقديم تقييم موسع يعتمد على طريقة المسافة من الحل المتوسط (EDAS) مع Dombi unction للتجميع لتحديد نتائج الترتيب النهائي للبدائل. يتم اقتراح ثلاثة بدائل لقياس سيولة الشحن، وهي عدم القيام بأي شيء، ودمج أنشطة الشحن في ميتافيرس لقياس السيولة، وتشكيل حوكمة عالمية لأنشطة الشحن لقياس السيولة من خلال البيانات المتاحة. ثلاثة عشر معيارًا، تم تجميعها تحت أربعة جوانب رئيسية وهي التكنولوجيا والحوكمة والكفاءة والاستدامة البيئية، ودراسة حالة يتم فيها تشكيل إطار أرضي للخبراء لتقييم البدائل مع مراعاة استخدام المعايير في عملية صنع القرار متعددة المعايير. تشير نتائج الدراسة إلى أن دمج أنشطة الشحن في ميتافيرس لقياس السيولة هو البديل الأكثر فائدة، في حين أن عدم القيام بأي شيء هو البديل الأقل فائدة.