| Title: |
First, do no harm [sustainability]
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| Resource Type: |
document --> technical publication --> proceedings / conference paper(s)
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| Country: |
USA
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| Year of publication: |
2007 |
| Availability: |
Proceedings of the 2007 Georgia Water Resources Conference, held March 27–29, 2007, at the University of Georgia. WSRC-STI-2006-00352
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| Author 1/Producer: |
R. L. Nichols
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| Other Authors/Producers: |
B. B. Looney
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| Author / Producer Type: |
University research group / research institute
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| Format (e.g. PDF): |
PDF
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EUGRIS Keyword(s): |
Contaminated land-->Wider impacts / sustainability-->Environmental
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| Short description: |
Energy intensity is a simple metric that can be used to compare processes such as waste management processes, for example, kWh to treat a tonne of waste. Energy intensity may also be an indicator of wider environmental effects, such as greenhouse gas emissions and emissions of acidic gases. Similar metrics are water intensity and carbon intensity
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| Long description: |
EXTRACT: There is an emerging awareness of the importance
of sustainability and an integrated cross-cutting
approach to environmental policy development. These
trends along with technical and scientific developments
underpin a variety of new environmental clean-up paradigms.
Central to these new paradigms are new metrics for
evaluating remedial actions with respect to environmental
burden and collateral damage. For example, if we define
water intensity as the amount of water necessary to remove
one pound of contaminant we can then evaluate a
groundwater remediation system with regard to resource
conservation. Likewise we can evaluate the energy efficiency
of a groundwater remediation system by studying
the energy intensity or kWhr/pound of contaminant removed.
And finally, the carbon intensity (lb CO2/ lb contaminant)
can be determined from the energy intensity
using readily available data from the power industry.
This paper introduces this new type of thinking
through the analysis of a typical groundwater remedial
action and relates it to the various spatial and temporal
concentration regimes within a plume of contaminated
groundwater and its’ subsequent remediation. This new
paradigm is also extended to other environmental actions
and policies by considering the significance of risk transfer
from one media to another.
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Submitted By:
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Professor Paul Bardos WhoDoesWhat?
Last update: 16/08/2007
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