Every year on April 22nd, stakeholders of all backgrounds come together to advance sustainability and climate action in commemoration of Earth Day. This year, the theme “Invest In Our Planet”, highlights the importance of dedicating time, resources, and energy to solving climate change and other environmental issues. Investing in our planet is necessary to protect it and the best way to pave a path towards a prosperous future. To learn more about Earth Day, visit https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2023/
To commemorate Earth Day 2023, the staff of the Engineering, Food, Agriculture, Science and Technology Divisions at the Alma Jordan Library mounted a special display of books on climate change, environmental issues, and renewable energy. The books provide an opportunity for some supplemental reading on this topical issue. Stop by and browse the books on display, and remember... all the books on display are available for check out.
Selected eBooks
Adapting the Built Environment for Climate Change by
ISBN: 9780323953368
Publication Date: 2023
Adapting the Built Environment for Climate Change: Design Principles for Climate Emergencies analyzes several scenarios and proposes various adaptation strategies for climate emergencies (heat waves, wildfires, floods, and storms). Divided into three themes, the book offers an organized vision of a complex and multi-factor challenge. It covers climatic resilience and building refurbishment, implications for service life prediction and maintainability, and climate adaptation in the maintenance and management of buildings. Sections cover infrastructure materials, climate emergency adaptation and building adaptation to heat waves, wildfires, floods and storms. The book will be an essential reference resource for civil and structural engineers, architects, planners, designers and other professionals who have an interest in the adaptation of the built environment against climate change.
Sustainable Solar Electricity by
ISBN: 9783030917715
Publication Date: 2022
This book provides a detailed life cycle assessment of photovoltaic technologies in order to analyse the environmental and socioeconomic impacts that a large deployment of solar photovoltaic systems will produce in the near future. Including both commercial and emerging technologies, the book presents the energy and materials requirements to manufacture solar electricity power systems at the order of the TeraWatt scale deployment as is envisaged by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) for the near future. It discusses current manufacturing practices and how these may be adapted in the future including: reuse and recycling of components and materials; raw material supply chains to the manufacturing factories; and end-of-life procedures including recycling and landfilling of modules. The environmental and socioeconomic impacts of solar energy are analysed in detail, providing recommendations for standardization and regulations in order to make photovoltaic technologies, both current and emerging, a really sustainable alternative for the supply of “greener” electricity.
Design, Analysis and Applications of Renewable Energy Systems by
ISBN: 9780128245552
Publication Date: 2021
Design, Analysis and Applications of Renewable Energy Systems covers recent advancements in the study of renewable energy control systems by bringing together diverse scientific breakthroughs on the modeling, control and optimization of renewable energy systems as conveyed by leading energy systems engineering researchers. The book focuses on present novel solutions for many problems in the field, covering modeling, control theorems and the optimization techniques that will help solve many scientific issues for researchers. Multidisciplinary applications are also discussed, along with their fundamentals, modeling, analysis, design, realization and experimental results. This book fills the gaps between different interdisciplinary applications, ranging from mathematical concepts, modeling, and analysis, up to the realization and experimental work.
Making Eden: How Plants Transformed a Barren Planet by
ISBN: 9780192519214
Publication Date: 2019
Over 7 billion people depend on plants for healthy, productive, secure lives, but few of us stop to consider the origin of the plant kingdom that turned the world green and made our lives possible. And as the human population continues to escalate, our survival depends on how we treat the plant kingdom and the soils that sustain it. Understanding the evolutionary history of our land floras, the story of how plant life emerged from water and conquered the continents to dominate the planet, is fundamental to our own existence. In Making Eden David Beerling reveals the hidden history of Earth's sun-shot greenery, and considers its future prospects as we farm the planet to feed the world. Describing the early plant pioneers and their close, symbiotic relationship with fungi, he examines the central role plants play in both ecosystems and the regulation of climate. As threats to plant biodiversity mount today, Beerling discusses the resultant implications for food security and climate change, and how these can be avoided. Drawing on the latest exciting scientific findings, including Beerling's own field work in the UK, North America, and New Zealand, and his experimental research programmes over the past decade, this is an exciting new take on how plants greened the continents.
What Can I Do to Help Heal the Environmental Crisis? by
ISBN: 9780367342524
Publication Date: 2019
The culmination of over three decades of writing by environmental scientist and writer Haydn Washington, this book examines the global environmental crisis and its solutions. Many of us know that something is wrong with our world, that it is wounded. At the same time, we often don't know why things have gone wrong - or what can be done. Framing the discussion around three central predicaments - the ecological, the social, and the economic - Washington provides background as to why each of these are in crisis and presents steps that individuals can personally take to heal the world. Urging the reader to accept the reality of our problems, he explores practical solutions for change such as the transition to renewable energy, rejection of climate denial and the championing of appropriate technology, as well as a readjustment in ethical approaches. The book also contains 19 'solution boxes' by distinguished environmental scholars. With a focus on positive, personal solutions, this book is an essential read for students and scholars of environmental science and environmental philosophy, and for all those keen to heal the world and contribute towards a sustainable future.
Green Energy Materials Handbook by
ISBN: 9780429466281
Publication Date: 2019
Green Energy Materials Handbook gives a systematic review of the development of reliable, low-cost, and high-performance green energy materials, covering mainstream computational and experimental studies as well as comprehensive literature on green energy materials, computational methods, experimental fabrication and characterization techniques, and recent progress in the field. This work presents complete experimental measurements and computational results as well as potential applications. Among green technologies, electrochemical and energy storage technologies are considered as the most practicable, environmentally friendly, and workable to make full use of renewable energy sources. This text includes 11 chapters on the field, devoted to 4 important topical areas: computational material design, energy conversion, ion transport, and electrode materials. This handbook is aimed at engineers, researchers, and those who work in the fields of materials science, chemistry, and physics. The systematic studies proposed in this book can greatly promote the basic and applied sciences.
2018 CARICOM Regional Energy Efficiency Building Code by
ISBN: 9781952468759
Publication Date: 2019
The CARICOM Regional Energy Efficiency Building Code (CREEBC) is designed specifically to meet the needs of the Caribbean and other countries in a tropical environment. It establishes minimum energy efficiency requirements for buildings using prescriptive and performance-related provisions inclusive of building envelope, cooling system, ventilation, pumping, lighting and the service water-heating systems in buildings.
Plastics and the Environment by
ISBN: 9781788013314
Publication Date: 2018
Plastic has become a ubiquitous part of modern life. A cheap, lightweight material, it is used in everything from food packaging to consumer electronics and microbeads in cosmetic products. However, we are becoming increasingly aware of the problems our reliance on plastic is causing in the environment. For example, recent campaigns have highlighted the build-up of microbeads in the marine environment and the damage this is doing to wildlife, and the problem of marine litter, often in very remote locations. There are also concerns over exposure to plasticisers and their possible consequences for health. The plastics industry is under increasing pressure, not only from the government and environmental groups, but also from consumers, to improve the environmental impact of their products. This book presents an introduction to the uses of plastics and an overview of how they interact with the environment. It is a valuable resource for students studying environmental science as well as researchers working in the plastics industry, and policy makers and regulators concerned with waste disposal and environmental planning and conservation.
Meditation can be a useful tool for students to reduce stress and improve focus during exams. The practice of meditation involves training the mind to be more present and aware in the moment, which can help students to stay calm and focused during exams.
Research has shown that regular meditation practice can reduce anxiety and improve attention and memory, which can be particularly helpful for students preparing for exams. By taking time to meditate regularly, students can learn to manage their stress levels and maintain a sense of calm and clarity even in high-pressure situations.
Try this short meditation by Deepak Chopra, M.D. to calm your anxieties and benefit from learning how to achieve optimal performance through being in the now.
Meditation can be a valuable tool for students to reduce stress and improve focus during exams, and with regular practice, it can have lasting benefits for overall well-being and academic performance.
Want to learn more about the benefits of meditation to reduce high levels of stress, or anxiety? Then check out this course from the UWI COCR 1046: Meditation for Holistic Health.
Further readings on the impact of meditation on university students' performance: