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As the unpredictable nature of the Earth's climate persists, the scholarly attention dedicated to climate research has undergone a notable transition, shifting its emphasis from the conventional notion of global warming to a greater disconcerting occurrence commonly referred to as "global boiling." The present article endeavors to elucidate the scientific evidence that posits a discernible alteration in climate patterns, specifically towards an exacerbation of extreme heat events. Furthermore, this study aims to delve into the various factors that are believed to be instrumental in precipitating this noteworthy phenomenon. Furthermore, we engage in a comprehensive examination of the potential ramifications on ecological systems, human communities, and the imperative necessity for proactive measures aimed at both mitigating and adapting to these challenges. This paper endeavors to elucidate the potential issues presented by the period of global boiling through a thorough examination of existing research and data. Furthermore, it seeks to underscore the significance of concerted efforts to effectively tackle this pressing matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation is the leading source of logistics, and people contribute the significant primary emissions for increasing global warming, so we should avoid such a situation and concentrate on zero emissions. The range of the vehicle is the major problem (range-anxiety) in electric vehicles. Nowadays, researchers focus on range extender optimization since range extenders significantly improve the range of the vehicle with an auxiliary power unit (APU), which can prove consumer satisfaction. However, range extenders can recover energy by proposing the various configurations and systems of extended-range electric vehicles (EREV). Many industries and researchers summarize these efforts to optimize and find the solution for range-extenders. This paper reviewed the most suitable technologies for energy recovery and state-of-the-art topological constructions. The analysis of the study primarily concentrated on optimizing the cost of the systems, fewer emissions, and more fuel economy. The research is based on the range-extenders evaluation and summary for electric vehicles to guide automakers and researchers to invent other state-of-the-art configurations and topologies to obtain optimized EV ranges, namely, enhanced functionality and fewer emissions. A survey on specific extend-range electric vehicles and classification of EREV technologies, the performance of APUs, different control strategies of energy management in EREVs, and various existing difficulties are discussed and further enhanced for the future researcher EREV forecast offered by advanced technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming has become the focus of attention of the international community, and the control of carbon dioxide emissions has become one of the necessary choices for the development strategies of countries around the world. Cities are places where carbon dioxide emissions are concentrated. The key to controlling carbon emissions is to control the carbon emissions of cities. My country is currently in the process of rapid urbanization. Quantitative studies of the carbon cycle at the city level will help to take stock of carbon dioxide emissions in cities. On the other hand, it is helpful to understand the status and role of the urban carbon cycle in the process of the regional carbon cycle. Through the analysis and prediction of the elements influencing the carbon cycle of smart cities, this paper first determines the factors affecting smart cities in the carbon cycle process as industrial carbon emission strength factors, industrial structure effects, economic development factors, and population elements. It is found that the major positive factors affecting the significant add of CO2 emissions in smart cities from 2010 to 2019 are economic development factors and demographic factors, including economic development factors GDP/per capita GDP. The per capita contribution to CO2 emissions is higher than the model established by adjusting the affecting elements of overall CO2 emissions, except that the proportion of economic development factors in total CO2 emissions from 2013 to 2015 was lower than the increase in total CO2 emissions. The comparison can better reflect the relation between CO2 emissions and influencing elements. The main determinants affecting CO2 emissions are the expansion of the financial condition, the increase in the average daily population, and the increase in construction work. The adaptation index is judged to be consistent, indicating that the model adjustment effect is good; finally, the green computing in the smart city predicts the carbon cycle process, and the actual value trend line and the predicted value trend line are not much different from the practical value, the forecast error is small, and the prediction results are credible. Global warming has become the focus of attention of the international community, and carbon emission control has become one of the necessary options in the development strategies of countries around the world. Cities are the places where carbon emissions are concentrated. The key to controlling carbon emissions is to control urban carbon emissions. At present, my country is in the process of rapid urbanization. Quantitative research on the carbon cycle at the city level will help to establish an inventory accounting of urban carbon emissions. On the other hand, it is convenient to deeply understand the status and role of the urban carbon cycle in the process of the regional carbon cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart technology has potential in tracking the key challenges based on population based on the sustainable future. In today's cultures, a smart approach enables for the integration of information needed to address crucial concerns. The critical challenge is to limit the effects of global warming while maintaining a balanced economic growth. The impact of global warming mitigates the fundamental problem while ensuring the balance economic development. Intense research efforts should be directed toward balanced resource utilization, renewable energy system integration, efficient energy conversion technologies, effective process integration, effective techniques to enable a circular economy framework, and other issues that are important to the population. This paper finds the latest technology in the field of smart grid technologies which focused on the effective enhancement and efficient utilization of resource. The issues and challenges in using sustainable future are discussed and bring new ideas towards the sustainable future base on the application of smart technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous growth of global warming and traffic volume, rutting deformation is common on road surfaces. A new type of pavement mixture, a semiflexible mixture, was proposed to solve the easy deformation and low riding quality of traditional pavement mixtures. It can be divided into pouring type and mixing type according to the construction method. However, there is little research on mixed semiflexible mixtures (i.e., multiplex organic hydraulicity (MOH) mixtures) in the current literature, so the deformation of pavement under driving loads was studied based on the MOH mixture in this paper. Four types of pavement composed of the traditional mixture and MOH mixture (i.e., AC13-AC20, AC13-MOH, MOH-MOH, and MOH-AC20) were selected to achieve the purpose of the research. Based on these four types of pavement, the deformation of the pavement was studied by simulations and experiments. The results show that the deformation of the upper layer is almost the same for these four types of pavement and that the deformation of the middle layer changes substantially for these four types of pavement. In regard to the deformation, the relationship is MOH-MOH < AC13-MOH < MOH-AC20 < AC13-AC20. In addition, the contribution rate of the deformation of the middle layer is much greater than that of the upper layer. The antideforming ability of the whole pavement can be improved by using the MOH mixture as the middle layer of the pavement, which means that the performance of the MOH mixture can achieve the best performance when it is applied to the middle layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, rainstorm disasters caused by global warming have frequently occurred in China. It has caused serious damage to artificial high embankments. In this paper, the influence of rainfall intensity, slope, and reinforced layers on the erosion and destruction of the artificial high embankment is deeply analyzed. Through the model test, the rainfall erosion prediction model is established. The results show that (1) the gully width, depth, and erosion amount increased with the increase in rainfall intensity and slope and decreased with the increase in reinforcement layers; (2) the final ditch shape of the embankment is influenced by steel bars; and (3) according to the model test data, the mathematical model of dike scouring is established. Rainfall intensity and the coupling between slope and reinforced layers are considered in the model. It can be used for predicting erosion during rainfall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, natural disasters and public health events caused by global warming have occurred frequently around the world. It has become a global consensus to actively respond to climate change. Firms are the main source of greenhouse gas emissions. The disclosure of carbon information is one of the most important ways for firms to respond to climate change. The effect of female directors on carbon information disclosure is still unclear. Considering that China is the largest country in greenhouse gas emissions and the social status of females in China is different from western countries, this paper explores the effect of female directors on carbon information disclosure by firms in China. Based on the sample of listed Chinese firms in high carbon industries during the period of 2012–2017, our empirical results show that female directors have a positive association with carbon information disclosure. In addition, we find that the power, educational level, and financial background of female directors have positive impacts on firms' carbon information disclosure. Our findings make a significant contribution to the ongoing debate on the role of female directors and provide new insights and policy implications for firms, regulators, and other stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming caused by carbon emissions has become increasingly prominent. As the world's second-largest economy, China is under enormous pressure to cut down its carbon dioxide emissions. It is urgent to seek effective methods to forecast carbon emissions and put forward the pointed and effective measures to reduce emissions. In this paper, we first use the software Eviews to make an analysis of randomness on data of carbon emissions in the four representative provinces and city, Beijing, Henan, Guangdong, and Zhejiang, in terms of their carbon emissions data from 1997 to 2017. Then, according to their distinct characteristics, the methods of stationary processing of the difference, moving average, and substituting strong impact points, respectively, are adopted to perform the data preprocessing. Then, model identification, parameter estimation, and model test are carried out to establish the model of ARIMA(p , d, q) for the prediction of the carbon emissions of the four regions, respectively. Finally, the model is used to forecast the data and analyze their tendency for their carbon emissions in the next three years. The results can provide guidance for decision-makers to set reasonable carbon emission reduction targets and take appropriate energy conservation and emission reduction measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is accelerating the sea level to rise, which increases the risk of major coastal areas being submerged. Then, the residents may become environmentally displaced persons (EDP). A method of prediction and allocation of EDP is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the gray model is used to predict sea level and the amount of EDP. Then, the evaluation criterion for the responsibility ability of the EDP migration target countries is given based on the entropy and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. In addition, a two-way selection mechanism for EDP is constructed. Finally, the amounts of EDP for the next 10 years are predicted, and the allocation plan in 2030 is made by applying the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing world population is challenging the animal products supply system, particularly in developing countries, where demand for meat and milk in 2050 is estimated to increase to 109% and 116%, respectively, amidst deteriorating livestock feed sources. Globally, adequate production and availability of animal feed products to subsistence farmers has been declining due to factors such as global warming, growth in population, and low economic growth. This paper seeks to examine the existing scientific literature on the utilization of some unconventional feed resources, to abate the challenge of feed deficit and thus improve animal nutrition. The use of fruit waste and agricultural farm residues affords alternative, nutritive livestock dietary supplements; it has been proven they contain a spectrum of vital bioactive phytochemicals essential for sustainable growth and development of animals. The biochemical composition of the plant wastes and residues include carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, and fatty acids, while the common bioactive phytochemicals are polyphenols, alkaloids, carotenoids, and flavonoids, along with tannins, terpenes, and saponins, which play vital roles in reducing disease-causing agents, such as bacteria, viruses, and free radical-associated diseases. The phytochemicals exhibit antioxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory, as well as anti-parasitic and antiprotozoal properties. However, it is important to guard against antinutritive and toxicity levels in animal feed products. The paper concludes that agroresidues'/wastes' nutritive and therapeutic potential could serve as alternative livestock feed resource, while also acting as additional job and income generator for communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the increasing awareness of global warming and environmental protection, many practitioners and researchers have paid much attention to the low-carbon supply chain management in recent years. Green supplier selection is one of the most critical activities in the low-carbon supply chain management, so it is important to establish the comprehensive criteria and develop a method for green supplier selection in low-carbon supply chain. The paper proposes a fuzz-grey multicriteria decision making approach to deal with these problems. First, the paper establishes 4 main criteria and 22 subcriteria for green supplier selection. Then, a method integrating fuzzy set theory and grey relational analysis is proposed. It uses the membership function of normal distribution to compare each supplier and uses grey relation analysis to calculate the weight of each criterion and improves fuzzy comprehensive evaluation. The proposed method can make the localization of individual green supplier more objectively and more accurately in the same trade. Finally, a case study in the steel industry is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is a vital issue addressed to every sector worldwide, including the construction industry. To achieve the concept of green technology, many attempts have been carried out to develop low-carbon footprint products. In the construction sector, Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) has become more popular and been manufactured to meet the construction demand. However, errors from manufacturing process accounted for approximately 3 to 5% of the AAC production. The development of AAC waste as lightweight aggregate in concrete is one of the potential approaches which was extendedly studied in this paper. The results showed that the compressive strength of AAC-LWA concrete was decreased with an increase in volume and coarse size. The optimum mix proportion was the AAC aggregate size of 1/2′′ to 3/8′′ with 20 to 40% replacement to normal weight aggregate. Internal curing by AAC-LWA was also observed and found to provide sufficient water inside the specimens, leading to an achievement in higher compressive strength. The main goal of this study is not only utilising unwanted wastes from industry (recycling of waste materials) but also building up a new knowledge of using AAC-LWA as an internal curing agent as well as the production of value-added lightweight concrete products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of global warming, renewable energy technologies have become more essential currently, with solar energy technology advancing worldwide. Therefore, interdisciplinary integration is an important trend, and building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) is an emerging technology involving the photovoltaic and building fields. The purpose of this study is to understand the technology evolution of BIPV and to determine the R&D planning direction. This paper proposes a hybrid approach to explore the life cycle of BIPV technology and develop the R&D strategy of related industries. The proposed approach comprises the following submodules. First, patent analysis is employed to transform patent documents into structured data. Second, the logistic growth model is used to explore the life cycle of BIPV technology. Third, a patent matrix map analysis is used to develop the R&D strategy of the BIPV industry. Through the analysis by the logistic model, the BIPV technology is transformed from the emerging stage to the growth stage of a long-term life cycle. The other important result is created by the three-dimensional matrix for R&D strategies in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the analysis of the feature of Asian continent becoming cold in the early 21st century winter under the background of global warming, the Asian Warming Hole (AWH) index is proposed in this paper to measure the intensity during the cold events process. Result shows that the Asian continent is indeed experiencing a cold stage in the early 21st century winter, but it is just in a cold phase and will become warmer in the future. In recent years the activity of the winter cold events has an obvious quasi-four-year cycle, which can be reflected by atmospheric circulation, and AO (Arctic Oscillation) may play a very important role. It is credible that Asian surface temperature will be higher in the coming 3-4 years compared with 2011 winter, signifying that the precipitation may increase correspondingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both the “urban minus rural” (UMR) and the “observation minus reanalysis” (OMR) methods were used to quantify the potential impacts of urbanization on regional temperature changes in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan area in China. DMSP/OLS nighttime light imagery and population census data were used to classify stations into four classes: rural, small city, medium city, and large city groups. The regional average annual mean temperature was estimated to increase by 0.12°C decade−1 derived from urban warming, accounting for 40% of total climate warming from 1960 to 2009 using the UMR method. The OMR method also indicates that rapid urbanization has a significant influence on surface warming trend although the urban warming intensity is dependent on reanalysis dataset. The seasonal cycle patterns from all three datasets are consistent with each other, which is contrary to the UMR result owing to the cooling effect of agriculture activity in the rural stations confusing the UMR result. So in this paper we found a deficiency of the UMR method where it would underestimate the effects of urbanization in summer. In this regard, the results from the OMR method are relatively more convincing although we admit it still has many other problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In January 2008, extreme freezing rain struck South China. At the same time, the Tibetan Plateau (TP) was experiencing pronounced surface heating. The characteristics of this extreme weather and its linkage to the TP surface heating anomaly were analyzed in this paper. The results show that (1) anomalous heating of the TP helps to form and sustain the Siberian blocking high, which is important for persistent southward flow of dry and cold Siberian air; (2) TP heating helps the moisture flux move more north and strengthens the southerly wind above 850 hPa; (3) there are two Rossby wave trains at 500 hPa and the layers above it (at about 20∘N–40∘N). Correlation analysis reveals that TP heating anomalies are closely associated with these Rossby wave trains; (4) the Rossby wave propagates downstream from the TP to South China in the mid and high layers of the atmosphere when the TP changes swiftly from a heat sink to a heat source. This implies that anomalous heating of the TP may stimulate the Rossby wave train to propagate downward in midlatitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY As the main cause of the global warming, CO2 emissions are a relevant externality in the transport sector. However, feasibility assessments do not always take these effects into adequate account, because a number of scientific and economic uncertainties make it difficult to determine a reliable estimate for a unitary CO2 cost. This paper first analyses the methods generally used to determine the cost of CO2 emissions, showing that market-based prices are not always suitable for this aim. Avoidance and damage cost methods are then thoroughly discussed, evaluating their pros and cons, including an extensive review of previous studies of methods for comparing costs. To determine the most reliable values, a method based on both avoidance and damage costs is proposed here. This method is then applied to the case study of the Brenner Base Tunnel, comparing the outcomes of three different scenarios: 'minimum' suggests the maintenance of the 'do-nothing' option (no tunnel realisation), whereas 'trend' and 'consensus' both imply the construction of the tunnel with different political choices, namely, a complete market liberalisation in trend and sustainable interventions in consensus. Results up to 2035 reveal that, in comparison with the do-nothing option, the enlightened transport policy shown in consensus could bring about a CO2 economic saving of up to around €331m for the community, whereas a simple liberalisation (trend) increases the costs derived from global warming by about €228m. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global warming will lead to rising temperature in Tibetan plateau which will cause some trouble to the long-term stability of frozen soil roadbed. Of course, the temperature is the most important to stability analysis and study of frozen soil roadbed. In this paper, taking the frozen soil roadbed in Tibetan plateau as an example, the numerical simulation model is established. Firstly, the characteristics of temperature fields of frozen soil roadbed in the future 50 years are analyzed, and then the vertical and horizontal displacements without load and under dynamic load are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, evidences for influences of future urban expansion on regional climate in the Northeast megalopolis, USA, are presented. The model-based analysis shows that future urban expansion will significantly result in regional climate change. An average annual temperature increase ranging from 2°C to 5°C in new urban area and an average annual temperature decrease ranging from 0.40°C to 1.20°C in the south of the megalopolis will be caused by future urban expansion. The average annual precipitation of the simulation area will decrease due to future urban expansion by 5.75 mm, 7.10 mm, and 8.35 mm in the periods of 2010-2020, 2040-2050, and 2090-2100, respectively. The warming effect of future urban expansion in original and new urban area and drought effects in nonurban area will be more serious in summer than in winter. A cooling effect will turn up in original urban area in winter. This research further shows that a study at the scale of megalopolis helps to understand the integrated effect of combination and interaction of multiple cities and their surrounding areas which may crucially determine regional climate pattern and should be highly valued in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing concern of climate change and global warming has in turn given rise to a thriving research field dedicated to finding solutions. One particular area which has received considerable attention is the lowering of carbon dioxide emissions from large-scale sources, that is, fossil fuel power. This paper focuses on ionic liquids being used as novel media for CO2 capture. In particular, solubility data and experimental techniques are used at a laboratory scale. Cited CO2 absorption data for imidazolium-, pyrrolidinium-, pyridinium-, quaternary-ammonium-, and tetra-alkyl-phosphonium-based ionic liquids is reviewed, expressed as mole fractions (χ) of CO2 to ionic liquid. The following experimental techniques are featured: gravimetric analysis, the pressure drop method, and the view-cell method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass is increasingly used for energy generation since it represents a useful alternative to fossil fuel in order to face the pollutions and the global warming problem. It can be exploited for heating purposes and for supplying domestic hot water. The most common applications encompass wood and pellet boilers. The economic aspect is becoming an important issue in order to achieve the ambitious targets set by the European Directives on Renewable Sources. Thus, the present paper deals with the economic feasibility of biomass boiler plants with specific regard to an existing residential building. An Italian case study is further investigated, focusing the attention on European and national regulations on energy efficiency and considering the recent public incentives and supporting measures. The main thermoclimatic parameters--that is, heating degree days (HDDs), building thermal insulation and thermal needs--are taken into account. Moreover, the following economic indicators are calculated: cumulative cash flow, discounted cumulative cash flow, payback period (PP), net present value (NPV), Internal rate of return (IRR), discounted payback period (DPP), and profit index (PI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today developed and developing countries have to admit the fact that global warming is affecting the earth, but the fundamental problem of how to divide up necessary greenhouse gas reductions between developed and developing countries remains. In this paper, we propose cooperative and noncooperative stochastic differential game models to describe greenhouse gas emissions decisionmakings of developed and developing countries, calculate their feedbackNash equilibriumand the Pareto optimal solution, characterize parameter spaces that developed and developing countries can cooperate, design cooperative conditions under which participants buy the cooperative payoff, and distribute the cooperative payoff with Nash bargaining solution. Lastly, numerical simulations are employed to illustrate the above results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The surface ozone levels in some Indian cities have increased significantly in the recent years. Ozone being toxic to the living system and an important contributor to anthropogenic global warming, enhanced surface ozone may have adverse effects on the air quality and climate. Transport of ozone from the stratosphere to the troposphere causes stratospheric ozone to decrease and tropospheric ozone to increase, which can in turn have serious consequences for life on earth. Since stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) is an important factor influencing the ozone concentration in the troposphere, this paper investigates probably for the first time the possible contribution of STE events to the observed enhanced surface ozone levels for cities covering from north to south of India. It is concluded that apart from transport processes and in situ photochemical production, STE also influences the observed high-surface ozone levels in Indian cities to a small extent (8%-16%). STE events producing high-surface ozone levels are found to be higher at high latitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is recognised as a significant public health issue that will impact on food security. One of the major contributors to global warming is the livestock industry, and, relative to plant-based agriculture, meat production has a much higher environmental impact in relation to freshwater use, amount of land required, and waste products generated. Promoting increased consumption of plant-based foods is a recommended strategy to reduce human impact on the environment and is also now recognised as a potential strategy to reduce the high rates of some chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Currently there is a scant evidence base for policies and programs aiming to increase consumption of plant-based diets and little research on the necessary conditions for that change to occur and the processes involved in such a change. This paper reviews some of the environmental and health consequences of current dietary practices, reviews literature on the determinants of consuming a plant-based diet, and provides recommendations for further research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is a major concern nowadays. Weather conditions are changing, and it seems that human activity is one of the main causes. In fact, since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the burning of fossil fuels has increased the nonnatural emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that absorbs the infrared radiation produced by the reflection of the sunlight on the Earth's surface, trapping the heat in the atmosphere. Global warming and the associated climate changes are being the subject of intensive research due to their major impact on social, economic, and health aspects of human life. This paper studies the global warming trend in the perspective of dynamical systems and fractional calculus, which is a new standpoint in this context. Worldwide distributed meteorological stations and temperature records for the last 100 years are analysed. It is shown that the application of Fourier transforms and power law trend lines leads to an assertive representation of the global warming dynamics and a simpler analysis of its characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a set of high-resolution global atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) simulations focusing on the model's ability to represent tropical storms and their statistics. We find that the model produces storms of hurricane strength with realistic dynamical features. We also find that tropical storm statistics are reasonable, both globally and in the north Atlantic, when compared to recent observations. The sensitivity of simulated tropical storm statistics to increases in sea surface temperature (SST) is also investigated, revealing that a credible late 21st century SST increase produced increases in simulated tropical storm numbers and intensities in all ocean basins. While this paper supports previous high-resolution model and theoretical findings that the frequency of very intense storms will increase in a warmer climate, it differs notably from previous medium and high-resolution model studies that show a global reduction in total tropical storm frequency. However, we are quick to point out that this particular model finding remains speculative due to a lack of radiative forcing changes in our time-slice experiments as well as a focus on the Northern hemisphere tropical storm seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and the wish to reduce the dependence on oil are the incentives for the development of alternative energy sources. The use of lignocellulosic biomass together with cellulosic processing technology provides opportunities to produce fuel ethanol with less competition with food and nature. Many studies on energy analysis and life cycle assessment of second-generation bioethanol have been conducted. However, due to the different methodology used and different system boundary definition, it is difficult to compare their results. To permit a direct comparison of fuel ethanol from different lignocelluloses in terms of energy use and environmental impact, seven studies conducted in our group were summarized in this paper, where the same technologies were used to convert biomass to ethanol, the same system boundaries were defined, and the same allocation procedures were followed. A complete set of environmental impacts ranging from global warming potential to toxicity aspects is used. The results provide an overview on the energy efficiency and environmental performance of using fuel ethanol derived from different feedstocks in comparison with gasoline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first Chempor Conference held in Lisbon in 1975 under the auspices of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, heralded a regular wide-ranging review of research and development in Portugal and the UK Progressively in later years the Conferences have attracted contributions from other European countries and indeed further afield. There is an increasing awareness of the problems for the environment, notably global warming, brought about by human activities. Recent predictions about the future are dire, particularly regarding food and water for a rapidly growing world population. They represent a substantial challenge to the scientific and technical fraternity. In response to that challenge it is important to keep up to date with technical developments, to meet and keep in touch with coworkers in associated fields, and to cooperate wherever possible. The papers presented at the Chempor and other conferences have made and continue to make a significant contribution to that objective of meeting the challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]