This is the first book in the petroleum sector that sheds light on the real obstacles to sustainable development and provides solutions to each problem encountered. Each solution is complete with an economic analysis that clarifies why petroleum operations can continue with even greater profit than before while ensuring that the negative environmental impact is diminished. The new screening tools and models proposed in this book will provide one with proper guidelines to achieve true susta...

How much further should the affluent world push its material consumption? Does relative dematerialization lead to absolute decline in demand for materials? These and many other questions are discussed and answered in Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization.Over the course of time, the modern world has become dependent on unprecedented flows of materials. Now even the most efficient production processes and the highest practical rates of recycling m...

In Powering the Future, Nobel laureate Robert B. Laughlin transports us two centuries into the future, when we've ceased to use carbon from the ground -- either because humans have banned carbon burning or because fuel has simply run out. Boldly, Laughlin predicts no earth-shattering transformations will have taken place. Six generations from now, there will still be soccer moms, shopping malls, and business trips. Firesides will still be snug and warm.How will we do it? N...

How does life on our planet respond to--and shape--climate? This question has never been more urgent than it is today, when humans are faced with the daunting task of guiding adaptation to an inexorably changing climate. This concise, accessible, and authoritative book provides an unmatched introduction to the most reliable current knowledge about the complex relationship between living things and climate.Using an Earth System framework, David Schimel describes how organisms, commu...

Fundamentals of Ecosystem Science provides a compact and comprehensive introduction to modern ecosystem science. This book covers major concepts of ecosystem science, biogeochemistry, and energetics. It addresses, contrasts, and compares both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. It combines general lessons, concepts, frameworks, and challenges in highly accessible synthesis chapters. It presents firsthand case studies, written by leaders in the field, offering personal insights into how ado...

Wills' Mineral Processing Technology: An Introduction to the Practical Aspects of Ore Treatment and Mineral Recovery has been the definitive reference for the mineral processing industry for over thirty years. This industry standard reference provides practicing engineers and students of mineral processing, metallurgy, and mining with practical information on all the common techniques used in modern processing installations. Each chapter is dedicated to a major processing procedure—from un...

Howard T. Odum possessed one of the most innovative minds of the twentieth century. He pioneered the fields of ecological engineering, ecological economics, and environmental accounting, working throughout his life to better understand the interrelationships of energy, environment, and society and their importance to the well-being of humanity and the planet.This volume is a major modernization of Odum's classic work on the significance of power and its role in society, bringing hi...

Humanity’s ever-increasing hunger for mineral raw materials, caused by a growing global population and ever increasing standards of living, has resulted in economic geology becoming a subject of urgent importance.This book provides a broad panorama of mineral deposits, covering their origin and geological characteristics, the principles of the search for ores and minerals, and the investigation of newly found deposits. Practical and environmental issues that arise during the life c...

Waste: A Handbook for Management gives the broadest, most complete coverage of waste in our society. The book examines a wide range of waste streams, including: - Household waste (compostable material, paper, glass, textiles, household chemicals, plastic, water, and e-waste) - Industrial waste (metals, building materials, tires, medical, batteries, hazardous mining, and nuclear) - Societal waste (ocean, military, and space) - The future of landfills and incinerators Covering all the issues...

A-Z guide to hazardous waste clean-upOffering the time-saving guidance of leading specialists in the field, Handbook of Complex Environmental Remediation Problems introduces you to today's best methods of cleaning up hazardous waste. This comprehensive tool from Jay Lehr, Marve Hyman, Tyler Gass and William Seevers gives you a comprehensive review of every current engineering solution, and provides expert help with waste minimization and pollution preventi...

This book is part of a series on sustainability. Specifically, it deals with the issue of sustainable water use. Fresh sources of potable water are being depleted across the world. Pure water is the goal of water utilities as well as several industries. Well past the experimental stage, membrane processes are now a proven and reliable method of providing high-quality, cost-effective water. Membrane technologies have immediate applications to treatment of fresh, brackish and sea waters, as ...

Minerals, Metals and Sustainability examines the exploitation of minerals and mineral products and the implications for sustainability of the consumption of finite mineral resources and the wastes associated with their production and use. It provides a multi-disciplinary approach that integrates the physical and earth sciences with the social sciences, ecology and economics. Increasingly, graduates in the minerals industry and related sectors will not only require a deep technical and scienti...