This Special Issue covers a wide range of areas—including building orientation, service life, use of photocatalytically active structures and PV facades, implications of transportation system, building types (i.e., high rise, multilevel, commercial, residential), life cycle assessment, and structural engineering—that need to be considered in the environmental impact assessment of buildings, and the chapters include case studies across the globe. Consideration of these strategies would help reduce energy and material consumption, environmental emissions, and waste generation associated with all phases of a building’s life cycle. Chapter 1 demonstrates that green star concrete exhibits the same structural properties as conventional concrete in Australia. Chapter 2 showed that the use of TiO2 as a photocatalyst on the surface of construction materials with a suitable stable binding agent, such as aggregates, would enable building walls to absorb NOx from air. This study found that TiO2 has the potential to reduce ambient concentrations of NOx from areas where this pollutant becomes concentrated under solar irradiation. Chapter 3 presents the life cycle assessment of architecturally integrated glass–glass photovoltaics in building facades to find the appropriate material composition for a multicolored PV façade offering improved environmental performance. Chapter 4 shows that urban office buildings lacking appropriate orientation experienced indoor overheating. Chapter 5 details four modeling approaches that were implemented to estimate buildings’ response towards load shedding. Chapter 6 covers the life cycle GHG emissions of high-rise residential housing block to discover opportunities for environmental improvement. Chapter 7 discusses an LCA framework that took into account variation in the service life of buildings associated with the use of different types of materials. Chapter 8 presents a useful data mining algorithm to conduct life cycle asset management in residential developments built on transport systems.

Seawater desalination is a coastal-based industry. The growing number of desalination plants worldwide and the increasing size of single facilities emphasises the need for greener desalination technologies and more sustainable desalination projects. A comprehensive evaluation of potential environmental impacts of desalination plants, this book emphasizes discusses strategies for impact mitigation. The author proposes a best-available technology concept for seawater desalination technologies in combination with a methodological approach for the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of desalination projects. It outlines the scope of EIA studies, including environmental monitoring and toxicity and hydrodynamic modeling studies. The book also explores the usefulness of multi-criteria analysis as a decision support tool for EIAs and then uses them to compare different intake and pretreatment options for seawater reverse osmosis plants.

2011 Updated Reprint. Updated Annually. United Arab Emirates Ecology & Nature Protection Laws and Regulation Handbook

This book provides an inventory of water resources, describes water challenges, and suggests methodologies and technologies for integrated water resources management in the UAE. It also summarizes efforts of water conservation and management, and modern approaches for improvement of water resources management and decision-making related to this valuable resource. The authors are specialized in geology and hydrogeology and have been teaching and conducting scientific research on water resources in the UAE for the last three decades. This book represents the main reference on water resources in the UAE for academia, researchers, professionals, students and the general public.

An authoritative and wide-ranging book uncovering the rich heritage of the United Arab Emirates, its political renaissance and its modern transformation into one of the most developed nations in the world.