It can take six to seven years before the financial benefits of brownfield regeneration projects are realised, according to a new study which focused on redevelopment in Michigan, USA. The study examines liability issues, regulatory concerns, clean-up standards and funding mechanisms, and introduces a new model that informs debate on brownfield redevelopment policies and funding mechanisms.

‘Product-service systems’ are innovative business models designed to satisfy societal needs in an environmentally sustainable manner. This study explores how government policies could increase the uptake of these systems, outlining five key recommendations to achieve this, including schemes to raise awareness and involve local authorities.

Under water restrictions, farmers will achieve the optimal balance of income and efficient water use if they combine the planting of crops that require little water with the planting of more profitable crops that need more water, according to research.

In the face of substantial evidence that modern land use management practices have increased runoff at the local scale, a new study reveals changes in local land use management practices can reduce the risk of local flooding. However, there is little evidence so far that these local increases in runoff culminate in large-scale flooding effects. To address this lack of evidence, the researchers present a model that maps the downstream rate of flow back to its source areas.

Domestic water saving is important — not only to address water scarcity and drought, but also to save energy and tackle climate change. Water-management strategies are needed to prevent these shortages, and include incentives to change consumers’ behaviour concerning water use. This study examines the design of a behaviour-change system and a linked incentive model to stimulate a sustainable change in water-consumption behaviour.

The Silicon Valley tech giants have asked employees and contractors to work from home if possible, to slow the fast-spreading respiratory disease

Researchers have developed a new model to estimate the impact of harvesting wild species and land use change on biodiversity. Unlike previous models, it considers the indirect effect of harvesting or pest control on landscape structure through reducing the variety of species.

A new model, named OUTOPIE could help design more effective agri-environmental schemes. The model links the farm, field and landscape levels to allow a more accurate assessment of the costs of enrolling specific fields in conservation schemes. Using the model, the researchers were able to assess the cost-effectiveness of different policies for the conservation of the Little Bustard bird (Tetrax tetrax) in France.

Policies to manage marine ecological quality can be improved by combining economic and ecological concerns, finds a new study. Using this integrated perspective, researchers developed a model which identified the most cost-effective options for reducing nutrient pollution in the Baltic Sea within a 40-year time-span. The total cost of meeting the commonly agreed targets is estimated to be €1,487 million annually.

The effects of climate change on the distribution of species can be predicted more accurately by considering the genetic differences between different groups of the same species, a new study suggests. The researchers found that a computer model which incorporated genetic information on different groups of a US tree species was up to 12 times more accurate in predicting tree locations than a non-genetically informed model.

New research has examined three different categories of Ecological Risk Assessment (ERA), each with different goals. The researchers find that overlaps between the three assessments could be combined to create a more comprehensive form of ERA, usable by regulators and environmental decision makers. There is an inherent trade-off between increasing agricultural production and protection of biodiversity. This study models the effects of biodiversity conservation agri-environment schemes (AESs) and ecosystem service provider schemes, and shows that determining the aim of an agri-environment scheme is key to improving its efficiency. Such an optimisation could allow AES to be rolled out more generally to provide the backbone for both high yields and enhanced farmland biodiversity, say the researchers.

In line with EU legislative requirements, new research has developed models to assess the toxicity of chemicals in terms of their effects on human development. One of the models has been made freely accessible online, so that it is easy to use for industry and regulators.

Computer models can be powerful tools when developing policies to address nitrogen pollution from agriculture. In a new study, researchers have made recommendations regarding the best design and use of these models to aid the effective implementation of European legislation on nitrogen.

The emissions of two perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) into the Danube River Basin have been estimated in a test of four different hypotheses regarding the factors affecting those emissions. The results were used to simulate water concentrations for comparison with measured data. The researchers found that incorporating wastewater treatment information and wealth distribution alongside population data can improve the accuracy of emissions estimates.

To assess the risk posed by metals in the aquatic environment, Biotic Ligand Models (BLMs) were developed, and are now considered suitable for use in regulatory risk assessments. This study reviews the advantages of BLMs and BLM-based software tools, providing examples from across the EU, and offers recommendations for their widespread implementation.

Chemicals that persist in the environment can harm humans and wildlife. This study describes a computer modelling-based approach to predict which chemical compounds are likely to be persistent. The models were correctly able to predict persistence for 11 of 12 chemicals tested and could provide a cost-effective alternative to laboratory testing.

EU-supported research has established a new model to calculate air pollution emissions from ships. Its calculations could create a database that lists emissions per ship type and size as well as by country.

A new tool used to investigate exhaust emissions of marine vessels has been developed and applied to shipping in the Baltic Sea.

Assessing the impact of large urban areas on air quality and climate change needs an integrated approach with a range of spatial and temporal scales, according to researchers. The EU-funded MEGAPOLI project considers time scales from seconds to decades and spatial scales from local to global.

Traffic fumes can cause serious health problems, but their distribution and spread in complex urban environments can be hard to predict. Now, researchers have created the ‘STEMS-Air dispersion model’, which can be used by planners and health authorities to give accurate daily and annual estimates of exposure to traffic fumes and other forms of air pollution in cities.

Increased insulation in homes could reduce ventilation and lead to greater exposure to indoor air pollution, a new study suggests. This, in turn, could affect health. The researchers modelled exposure to fine particles, which indicated that insulating half the homes in Greece by 2020 could lead to a 6% increase in adverse health effects. Sources of indoor air pollution should be reduced as far as possible and, failing that, sufficient airing is key, they recommend.

Models that predict how nitrogen from the air is deposited in the sea could be useful in predicting algal blooms. Based on the knowledge that excess nitrogen increases algal growth rates, researchers simulated nitrogen deposition in the North Sea and suggested that, using predicted weather data, it might be possible to adapt this approach to predict algal blooms.

A recent study develops a framework for implementing IAMs using the Lombardy region of Italy as a case study. Researchers have run an uncertainty and sensitivity analysis with an environmental model, specifically with an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) for air quality, demonstrating how model components are sources of uncertainty in the output of an integrated assessment. Policy responses should therefore consider uncertainty and sensitivity when developing measures to improve air quality.

A new study aimed at increasing knowledge of indoor air quality (IAQ) in recently built or refurbished office buildings has found that levels of pollutants are mostly within World Health Organization (WHO) air-quality guidelines, however they vary between seasons. In addition, some levels of particulate matter were found to exceed WHO guideline values. The OFFICAIR project was funded by the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme.

Researchers have developed a new computer model to help decision-makers quickly assess proposed strategies to cut air pollution, by generating an array of useful data and maps in under half a minute. The model uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to quickly make sense of the complex problem of urban air quality, and innovatively considers the influence of public opinion in its assessment of emission reduction strategies — given that some are deemed more socially acceptable than others.

Although nanomaterials are already in widespread use, their risk to the environment is not completely understood. Researchers in the US have developed a next-generation risk-assessment model to better understand nanomaterials’ environmental impact. Applied to the San Francisco Bay area, the model predicted that even soluble nanomaterials could accumulate at toxic levels.

SUFFOLK – VDOT Hampton Roads employees celebrated a major address change today with a ribbon-cutting at their new north Suffolk headquarters. The...

Acoustic Data has developed a remote downhole monitoring deployment model that overcomes travel restrictions tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eco-sportswear company Icebreaker got a strange surprise when Sarah Palin graced Newsweek's cover wearing an Icebreaker top.

This isn't your mother's hospital suitcase. Here's what you really need for the big day.

Apartments are expensive and hard to find. Is co-living a solution or is it just an upscale rooming house?

Modern-day Lebanese are descendants of the Canaanites, proving that they weren't wiped out by the Israelites after all.

This diverse magazine covers it all. When discussing goats, topics covered included recipes, raising them, their manure and more.

Canadian photographer's riveting imagery explores the multitude of ways that industry is transforming our planet's natural landscapes.

The new electric crossover is a slam-dunk because it's built on an existing platform; and because it takes all the sting out of owning an electric car -- or an

Alison and her husband Doug are upgrading from the Tesla Roadster to the Model S sedan to accommodate their growing family.

The rubber is meeting the road, as the keys to the first Tesla sedans are handed to real, live customers. So far, the reaction is ecstatic, but will the company

Located down the road from the 2012 HGTV Green Home in the South's preeminent New Urbanist eco-community, the Bosch Zero Energy Home blends country charm with a

Blu Homes arrives on the L.A. market with a Breezehouse model home boasting SoCal specific features including bigger walk-in closets and more windows.

Blue Homes' view-ready Balance prefab finds a most appropriate home on the ancestral stomping grounds of Frank Lloyd Wright in Wisconsin.

Mountaintop removal mining has destroyed hundreds of mountain peaks and at least 1,200 miles of streams in the Appalachians, and remains a hotly contested issue

As the Senate votes to give the FDA more power, read what those in the know are saying about it.

Buried deep in your cellphone, laptop, and flat-screen television are a bevy of obscure elements that make our modern lives possible.

Attention eco-fashionistas in New York City, Canopy Verde is searching for handbag models as part of a grassroots advertising campaign.

A Product Impact Dashboard tells you exactly how much rubbish was used to create Pentatonic's cushions, tables and serving bowls.

Buck the summertime tropical/nautical pillow trend and indulge your inner science dork by opting for Gus*Modern's new organic cotton graphic pillow line featuri

The World1 computer program at MIT considered a range of factors and predicted the world might collapse in 2040. So far, it has been right.

In observation of one of the original New Urbanist-style planned communities' 75th anniversary, Norris, Tenn. gets a self-sufficient prefab demo home.