This book addresses energy footprints in the food and textile sectors. Each footprint case study presents essential background information and discusses the scientific consensus, methodological framework, assessment checklist, calculation tools and techniques, applications, challenges and limitations. More importantly, the book explores the application of each indicator/framework in various industrial sectors and the associated challenges, as well as outlooks for the future – essential considerations, given that energy consumption and conservation are the primary elements in any industry’s sustainability strategy.
This book examines the energy footprints of various industrial sectors, including the bio- and hydrogen energy systems, and explores the scope for improvement, particularly in India. It focuses on the consumption and conservation of energy, which are the key elements of any industry’s sustainability strategy.
Environmental Carbon Footprints: Industrial Case Studies provides a wide range of industrial case-studies, beginning with textiles, energy systems and bio-fuels. Each footprint is associated with background information, scientific consensus and the reason behind its invention, methodological framework, assessment checklist, calculation tool/technique, applications, challenges and limitations. More importantly, applications of each indicator/framework in various industrial sectors and their associated challenges are presented. As case studies are the most flexible of all research designs, this book allows researchers to retain the holistic characteristics of real-life events while investigating empirical events. - Includes case studies from various industries, such as textiles, energy systems and conventional and bio-fuels - Provides the calculation tool/technique, applications, challenges and limitations for determining carbon footprints on an industry by industry basis - Presents the background information, scientific consensus and reason behind each case study
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to evaluate the environmental impacts of textile products, from raw material extraction, through fibre processing, textile manufacture, distribution and use, to disposal or recycling. LCA is an important tool for the research and development process, product and process design, and labelling of textiles and clothing. Handbook of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Textiles and Clothing systematically covers the LCA process with comprehensive examples and case studies. Part one of the book covers key indicators and processes in LCA, from carbon and ecological footprints to disposal, re-use and recycling. Part two then discusses a broad range of LCA applications in the textiles and clothing industry. - Covers the LCA process and its key indicators, including carbon and ecological footprints, disposal, re-use and recycling - Examines the key developments of LCA in the textile and clothing industries - Provides a wide range of case studies and examples of LCA applications in the textile and clothing industries
"While the energy sector is a primary target of efforts to arrest and reverse the growth of greenhouse gas emissions and lower the carbon footprint of development, it is also expected to be increasingly affected by unavoidable climate consequences from the damage already induced in the biosphere. Energy services and resources, as well as seasonal demand, will be increasingly affected by changing trends, increasing variability, greater extremes and large inter-annual variations in climate parameters in some regions. All evidence suggests that adaptation is not an optional add-on but an essential reckoning on par with other business risks. Existing energy infrastructure, new infrastructure and future planning need to consider emerging climate conditions and impacts on design, construction, operation, and maintenance. Integrated risk-based planning processes will be critical to address the climate change impacts and harmonize actions within and across sectors. Also, awareness, knowledge, and capacity impede mainstreaming of climate adaptation into the energy sector. However, the formal knowledge base is still nascent?information needs are complex and to a certain extent regionally and sector specific. This report provides an up-to-date compendium of what is known about weather variability and projected climate trends and their impacts on energy service provision and demand. It discusses emerging practices and tools for managing these impacts and integrating climate considerations into planning processes and operational practices in an environment of uncertainty. It focuses on energy sector adaptation, rather than mitigation which is not discussed in this report. This report draws largely on available scientific and peer-reviewed literature in the public domain and takes the perspective of the developing world to the extent possible."
This Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report (IPCC-SRREN) assesses the potential role of renewable energy in the mitigation of climate change. It covers the six most important renewable energy sources - bioenergy, solar, geothermal, hydropower, ocean and wind energy - as well as their integration into present and future energy systems. It considers the environmental and social consequences associated with the deployment of these technologies, and presents strategies to overcome technical as well as non-technical obstacles to their application and diffusion. SRREN brings a broad spectrum of technology-specific experts together with scientists studying energy systems as a whole. Prepared following strict IPCC procedures, it presents an impartial assessment of the current state of knowledge: it is policy relevant but not policy prescriptive. SRREN is an invaluable assessment of the potential role of renewable energy for the mitigation of climate change for policymakers, the private sector, and academic researchers.
Assessing the Environmental Impact of Textiles and the Clothing Supply Chain, Second Edition, is a fully updated, practical guide on how to identify and respond to environmental challenges across the supply chain. This new edition features updates to important data on environmental impacts and their measurements, the sustainable use of water and electricity, and new legislation, standards and schemes. Chapters provide an introduction to the textile supply chain and an overview of the methods used to measure environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, water and energy footprints, and a lifecycle assessment (LCA) on environmental impacts. This book will be a standard reference for R&D managers in the textile industry and academic researchers in textile science. - Provides a holistic view of the sustainability issues that affect the textile value chain - Explains ways to calculate the textile industry's use of resources, its impact on global warming, and the pollution and waste it generates - Reviews key methods for the reduction of the environmental impact of textile products and how they are implemented in practice - Includes methods for calculating product carbon footprints (PCFs), ecological footprints (EFs) and lifecycle assessments (LCA)
A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years. —Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.
As the electric power industry faces the challenges of climate change, technological disruption, new market imperatives, and changing policies, a renowned energy expert offers a roadmap to the future of this essential sector. As the damaging and costly impacts of climate change increase, the rapid development of sustainable energy has taken on great urgency. The electricity industry has responded with necessary but wrenching shifts toward renewables, even as it faces unprecedented challenges and disruption brought on by new technologies, new competitors, and policy changes. The result is a collision course between a grid that must provide abundant, secure, flexible, and affordable power, and an industry facing enormous demands for power and rapid, systemic change. The fashionable solution is to think small: smart buildings, small-scale renewables, and locally distributed green energy. But Peter Fox-Penner makes clear that these will not be enough to meet our increasing needs for electricity. He points instead to the indispensability of large power systems, battery storage, and scalable carbon-free power technologies, along with the grids and markets that will integrate them. The electric power industry and its regulators will have to provide all of these, even as they grapple with changing business models for local electric utilities, political instability, and technological change. Power after Carbon makes sense of all the moving parts, providing actionable recommendations for anyone involved with or relying on the electric power system.
This book deals with the energy footprints of biorefineries and the hotel and buildings sector. It presents footprint case studies, which include background information, methodological frameworks, assessment checklists, calculation tools and techniques, applications, challenges and limitations. It also discusses the application of each indicator/framework in various industrial sectors and the associated challenges, along with outlooks for the future. Consumption and conservation of energy are key elements in any industry’s sustainability strategy.
