BACKGROUND The growing health risks associated with greenhouse gas emissions highlight the need for new energy policies that emphasize efficiency and low-carbon energy intensity. OBJECTIVES We assessed the relationships among electricity use, coal consumption, and health outcomes. METHODS Using time-series data sets from 41 countries with varying development trajectories between 1965 and 20...

The REGFLUD-project, commissioned by Germany’s Federal Research Ministry (BMBF), addresses the problem of reducing diffuse pollution from agricultural production. The objective of the project is the development and application of multicriteria scientific methods, which are able to predict diffuse pollution in river basins subject to economic feasibility and social acceptability. The selected ri...

This study investigates the quality of stormwater runoff from a driveway in the southwest mountainous urban area of Chongqing, China, from 2010 to 2011. The results showed that the mean concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) were 4.1, 2.4, and 2.2 times the grade V levels of the national surface water standard of China. The pollutant conce...

The excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers during agricultural production causes water pollution, which is an important type non-point source pollution (NSP). Large amounts harmful substances, such as nitrogen phosphorus, flow into surface along with farmland runoff, leading to eutrophication other problems. However, the pollutant discharge capacity different types cultivated land varies g...

We have designed and implemented a system that analyzes images of air sensors taken on cell phones and extracts indoor air pollution information by comparing the sensor to a calibrated color chart. This system will be deployed with Project Surya, a pilot project of the UN Environmental Program that aims to replace traditional cooking methods with clean cooking technology in several rural Indian...

Benzene is a solvent strictly related to some industrial activities and to automotive emissions. After the reduction in lead content of fuel gasoline, and the consequent decrease in octane number, an increase in benzene and other aromatic hydrocarbons in gasoline occurred. Therefore, an increase in the concentration of these chemicals in the air as primary pollutants and as precursors of photoc...

This paper presents Airvlc, an application for producing real-time urban air pollution forecasts for the city of Valencia in Spain. Although many cities provide air quality data, in many cases, this information is presented with significant delays (three hours for the city of Valencia) and it is limited to the area where the measurement stations are located. The application employs regression m...

The REGFLUD-project, commissioned by Germany's Federal Research Ministry (BMBF), addresses the problem of reducing diffuse pollution from agricultural production. The objective of the project is the development and application of multi-criteria scientific methods, which are able to predict diffuse pollution in river basins subject to economic feasibility and social acceptability. The selected r...

We measured organic carbon input and content of soil in two wetland areas of Chongming Dongtan (Yangtze River Estuary) to evaluate variability in organic carbon accumulation capability in different wetland soils. Observed differences were investigated based on the microbial activity and environmental factors of the soil at the two sites. Results showed that the organic carbon content of wetland...