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Growing concerns about climate change and energy security have fueled a rapid increase in the development of marine renewable energy installations (MREIs). The potential ecological consequences of increased use of these devices emphasizes the need for high quality environmental impact assessment (EIA). We demonstrate that these processes are hampered severely, primarily because ambiguities in the legislation and lack of clear implementation guidance are such that they do not ensure robust assessment of the significance of impacts and cumulative effects. We highlight why the regulatory framework leads to conceptual ambiguities and propose changes which, for the most part, do not require major adjustments to standard practice. We emphasize the importance of determining the degree of confidence in impacts to permit the likelihood as well as magnitude of impacts to be quantified and propose ways in which assessment of population-level impacts could be incorporated into the EIA process. Overall, however, we argue that, instead of trying to ascertain which particular developments are responsible for tipping an already heavily degraded marine environment into an undesirable state, emphasis should be placed on better strategic assessment. ; Publisher PDF ; Peer reviewed

About the author; Title page; Copyright; Table of contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction: The Problem of Energy; Energy; Oil; Summarizing the argument; The problem of oil is 42; PART I Oil Dregs; Chapter 1: Oil and the Crash of 2007-08; Oil and money; Neoliberalism; Sprawltown; Conclusion; Chapter 2: The Century of Oil; Humans and nature; The origins of oil civilization; Figure 2.1 Sources of global carbon emissions, 1800-2010; Conclusion; Chapter 3: Consuming Miles; Consuming from afar; Dubai; From neighbourhood lives; Places for consuming; More consumers; Conclusion.

Abstract Purpose of the study: The objective of this research was aiming at understanding the effect of hybrid cars on the environment. The research was also aimed at proposing a government policy that must be implemented to regulate the usage of hybrid vehicles. Design/Methodology: An analysis of the hybrid cars was carried out along with evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of said vehicles from the perspective of customers, support and maintenance. The study was based on a product substitute, introduced to replace vehicles that run on gasoline, with a hybrid of electric and gasoline vehicles. Findings: The result after testing the vehicles and its components is that Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) does is indeed less harmful to the environment due to it consuming less gasoline. With increasing production of hybrid variants, batteries are being planned and designed in way that extends its life as well as provides the ability of recycling. This turns to be safer, healthier and also a money saver package, saving a fine amount spent on fuel. Research Implications: The researchers hope to achieve a clear understanding of the influence of hybrid cars on the environment and individuals, the way hybrid cars operate, its advantages and disadvantages and the proposed government policy that will regulate the impact of hybrid cars on the environment. Originality: The study is of its first kind and no one has carried out such study ever before in Oman Purpose of study

Environmental and Social Impact Assessments or ESIA's are one of the main project decision-making tools in use to address environmental and social externalities related to project development. They have evolved in response to the ever-growing need to better acknowledge and mitigate negative environmental and social impacts of human development that began with the so-called environmental awakening in the 1960s. This movement led to the first impact assessment tool being developed and implemented in the USA under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and is known as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The ESIA today is found in numerous national legislations, international agreements, lending institution requirements and is viewed as key to addressing the problem of sustainable development. This study will try and understand how ESIA has evolved by using hydropower development as a case study. This is particularly relevant as hydropower faces a paradox in that they are viewed as bought merely a renewable source of energy and a source of negative local or regional environmental and social impacts. Through a literature review and interviews with relevant experts in the field, this study will look at the evolution of the ESIA in hydropower to better understand what has made the ESIA what they are today, how they fit into the changing agendas and how they address the issue of sustainability in hydropower. The findings were that the evolution of the ESIA was driven by changing environmental agendas due to growing awareness of the scope of environmental and social issues. Furthermore, the interaction between different actors such as legislators/regulators, developers/investors, practitioners, academics, and civil society is what has shaped the ESIA into what it is today. Despite this long evolution, however, in practice ESIA's have encountered some limitations due to scoping, cumulative impacts, timing of their intervention and putting them properly into practice in hydropower development projects. This has led to questions in the role of ESIAs regarding the future of sustainable hydropower development. The hydropower industry is evolving into a more integrative approach where Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Basin Management Plans (MBP's) are being strongly advocated by key international and regional actors in hydropower such as the International Hydropower Association (IHA) and the Mekong River Commission (MRC). ESIA's are still an integral part of hydropower development and are developing new methods of valuation to better address some limitations and to address sustainability for better cost-benefit analysis. These two organizations cited above, along with international lenders (World Bank, International Finance Corporation, EIB etc.) have over the past two decades advocated, integrating project-related ESIA's into a larger-scale assessment that allows for better sustainability assessment of hydropower development on a national or regional scale and thus satisfy their safeguard policies that allows them to confirm or not whether they will lend money to developers or not. This is in line with the growing understanding and acknowledgment that the scope of environmental and social issues is usually beyond what a single project assessment can address. ; M-IES

This annual yearbook presents essays in environmental history based on lectures given at the Göttingen study group "Environmental History" by external authors. As previous yearbooks it is dedicated to the plurality of approaches in environmental history and serves as a valuable source for information about current research in that realm.

This annual yearbook presents essays in environmental history based on lectures given at the Göttingen study group "Environmental History" by external authors. As previous yearbooks it is dedicated to the plurality of approaches in environmental history and serves as a valuable source for information about current research in that realm. - Seit seiner Gründung vor annähernd 25 Jahren hat sich das Göttinger Umwelthistorische Kolloquium zu einer Einrichtung entwickelt, welche die vielfältigen, thematisch einschlägigen Aktivitäten des Standortes wie auch des deutschsprachigen Raumes durch Austausch von Forschungsergebnissen und Sichtweisen bündelt. Von hier haben auch einige Unternehmungen ihren Ausgang genommen, welche zum heutigen Profil der Umweltgeschichte spürbar beitrugen. Der Band vereinigt Beiträge zum Kolloquium des Sommersemesters 2007 und des Wintersemesters 2008.