Compared with traditional remediation techniques used to remediate brownfield sites, supporters of phytoremediation argue that it is cheaper and more environmentally-friendly. A new analysis has reviewed its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and suggests it is well suited to cleaning up sites with low to medium levels of contamination.

A major environmental challenge for wastewater treatment is the disposal of excess sludge produced during the process. The LIFE Perbiof project has been developing and testing a technology that will help to overcome this challenge. Results demonstrate it can perform highly effective treatment of municipal wastewater (removing 80% of the organic content) while producing low levels of sludge.

Polarised light forms the basis of many technologies, such as computer monitors. However, current approaches for making polarised light are inefficient, as they produce more than is ultimately used or needed. Researchers may now have found a way to directly produce polarised light using tiny nanostructures, called quantum dots, opening the way for more energy-efficient technologies.

Storing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) has the potential to mitigate the impacts of changes in climate. Researchers have now developed a way to inject CO2 into volcanic rock, and tested it in Iceland. Over 95% of the injected CO2 was mineralised (converted into a solid) within two years, instead of taking centuries or millennia as previously anticipated. The technique demonstrates potential for the permanent and safe storage of CO2 within basaltic rocks.

A new screening tool to assess the potential seismic risks (earthquake activity) from deep geothermal energy projects has been outlined in a recent study. The tool provides categories of seismicity risk for projects, which are dependent on factors including geological aspects, as well as social concern and location in relation to urban areas.

Researchers use life-cycle assessment (LCA) as a tool to evaluate the environmental impact of products and technologies across their entire lifetime — from extraction of raw material to end-of-life (disposal or recycling). It is challenging to apply the conventional LCA method to new or emerging technologies, however, due to the sheer quantity of data needed for such studies. This study proposes a screening-to-LCA method that uses available data to systematically evaluate the performance of such technologies, and support the uptake of those that are most environmentally sustainable.

After Tropical Depression 19W moved ashore in central Vietnam NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite passed over the system and found some powerful thunderstorms over Thailand, Vietnam and Laos capable of dropping heavy rainfall.

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A new tool allows European businesses to see how, through informed decision-making, conserving the ecosystems they depend on is not only environmentally responsible, but can also increase profits, reduce risk and boost the value of their product or services.

Soils play a vital role in the Earth's life-support system, yet their importance and value to society is not always recognised. A recent study suggests that incorporating soils into a National Capital and Ecosystem Services framework will raise the profile of soils and enable soils to be more easily integrated into policy decisions.

A new study has developed a system to assess the potential of ecosystems to supply ecosystem services in the EU-25 plus Switzerland and Norway. It is one of the first to use historical and projected data on land use change at a continental scale to estimate the provision of ecosystem services and to assess possible trade-offs between them.

However, policies designed to improve ecosystem resilience have met with less success, potentially due to the longer timescales required to see progress in this area. The report concludes that Europe needs new policies and objectives that recognise the links between resource efficiency and ecosystem resilience if it is to move to a sustainable green economy.

Costs of installing, maintaining and disposing of some green wall systems may outweigh the value of some of their benefits for householders, a recent study suggests. While the researchers omitted some of the wider social benefits, they found that reductions in heating and air conditioning costs, longevity of green walls and increases in property values did not compensate for their costs. The researchers suggest that government incentives to lower set-up costs could significantly increase the walls' economic sustainability.

Ecosystems services — the benefits that nature provides to people — are inadequately accounted for in Environmental Impact Assessments, a new study suggests. The researchers used a case study in France to illustrate the substantial economic losses that are incurred as a result of infrastructure development that goes ahead without sufficient consideration of the impacts on ecosystem services.

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.

Mental health and supply problems, such as loss of electricity, were perceived by residents as the most serious impacts of 2013 flooding in Germany, according to new research. The most frequent effect of the flooding on companies was interruption to their business. The researchers say that focusing on impacts that can be measured in financial terms does not fully describe the effects of flooding, and make recommendations for improving flood data collection.

Agri-environmental measures (AEM) are designed to encourage farmers to protect and enhance the environment on their farmland by paying them for the provision of environmental services. This study suggests that AEM would be more effective if payments were targeted to areas under the greatest environmental pressures, such as intensive agricultural regions — to gain maximum environmental benefits.

The first study to investigate how dog brains process speech shows that our best friends in the animal kingdom care about both what we say and how we say it. Dogs, like people, use the left hemisphere to process words, a right hemisphere brain region to process intonation, and praising activates dog's reward center only when both words and intonation match, according to a study in Science.

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The expression dog is man's best friend might have more weight in the case of first-year university students suffering from homesickness, according to a new UBC study.

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In this brave new world, an IP that can help a business quickly adapt to remote working conditions, provide reliable and safe supply chain, and safeguard security, will become the game-changer for businesses to survive and even thrive.

To tackle the Covid-19 situation, Kotak General Insurance is trying to prepare rapidly, test critical paths and scale up

A new report indicates that some progress has been made towards meeting key sustainable transport targets, but challenges remain. Improvements in passenger vehicle efficiency has led to reductions in emissions, however, reductions in oil consumption are not sufficient to meet targets, with more policy initiatives and continued monitoring needed to ensure that sustainability goals are achieved.

A new method of assessing the sustainability of noise reduction devices (NRDs) used in transport infrastructure, such as noise barriers or absorptive claddings, is presented in a recent study. The new set of specially designed sustainability criteria allows NRDs to be easily and accurately evaluated, its developers suggest.

A ‘feebate’ can be an effective policy option to aid the transition to a more environmentally-friendly transport system, a UK study suggests. This combination of fees and rebates can increase the take-up of low-carbon cars, the researchers argue, which leads to reduced life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

A recent study has considered 21st century changes in shipping access through the Arctic Ocean along three potential new routes linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As the sea ice melts, it is possible that high-strength vessels will be able to sail directly through the North Pole by the end of the century, its results indicate.

Bike share programmes appear to have successfully reduced private car use in Brisbane, Melbourne, Washington DC, Minnesota and London, suggests recent research. In London, however, high demand for vans to transport bicycles between docking stations may have increased overall motor vehicle use in the city.

The measures available to reduce the noise and vibration produced by trains have been outlined in a recent study. The researchers say the most appropriate mitigation should be determined on a case-by-case basis and life-cycle assessments can help analyse the economic costs and carbon footprint of different methods.

The move towards smart mobility systems in cities across Italy, specifically in relation to public transport systems (including cycle infrastructure, and cycle and car-sharing schemes) has been assessed in a new study. The researchers say significant progress has been made in light of new guidelines imposed by the European Union, which is often linked to financial investment, as well as the capacity of city planners to implement changes.

Electric vehicles (EVs) could play a role in future power supply, but face issues surrounding the longevity of their batteries. This study reconciles two recent contradictory results on the effects of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology on battery life-time, and shows that V2G — a process via which EVs would exchange energy with the power grid to provide ancillary services, such as supplying power during peak periods, and helping to regulate grid frequency — could actually extend the lifespan of commercial lithium-ion batteries.

In the automobile industry, the development and manufacture of increasingly complex technological components — catalytic converters, LEDs, electric motors, batteries — requires increasingly complex and diverse raw materials with specific qualities. The technological and economic importance of these materials, combined with their vulnerability to supply shortages and likelihood of supply interruptions, indicates their ‘criticality’. This study uses a new methodology to explore the criticality of 27 key metals used in the automotive industry and other sectors, and highlights six that are especially vulnerable: rhodium, dysprosium, neodymium, terbium, europium and praseodymium. The researchers found there was limited recycling and substitution of these metals and a high possibility of restrictions to their supply.

Researchers have identified a possible way of reducing the survival rate of the pine processionary moth, a destructive pine forest pest. Including patches of broadleaf trees in pine woodland could trick the caterpillars into pupating in soil that is unsuitable for their survival.

I did not bad mouth my predecessor. However, I never attempted to defend him or any of his actions. I fixed them!

It is crucial for CIOs to break free from set behaviors and relationships in order to establish IT as a full business partner. If CIOs complain that they feel ignored by the business, they are themselves to blame.

Research has investigated whether the strictness of environmental legislation in different countries influences where industries choose to be located in Europe. Some evidence of the 'pollution haven' effect was found, but other factors determining industry location were often more influential.

Researchers have developed a method to assess the sustainability of regeneration projects that could potentially be administered by a computer. The method tailors the universal goals of sustainability to specific local conditions.

Firms that voluntarily adopt environmental policies appear to develop more innovative and proactive measures than firms where policies are imposed, according to new research. A study of 1151 Spanish firms indicated that those that self-regulate, especially in co-operation with other firms, seem to perform better environmentally.

Researchers have developed a new framework to assess the impact of land use policies on sustainable development in developing countries. The framework integrates environmental, economic, social and institutional impacts through the use of multiple influences and indicators identified by a range of stakeholders.

Cooperative management can deliver successful and sustainable fisheries, according to a recent global study. The role of strong leadership was essential to this success. Other necessary conditions included the allocation of individual or community fishing quotas, strong community cohesion and having community-based protected areas.

The exact impact of environmental law on investment by EU industry is relatively unknown. A new study has explored the effects of regulation on four types of industry investment and the results indicate that, in general, regulation tends to encourage more investment, but if restrictions are too tight investment levels can start to fall.

Rural areas are changing, with tourism playing an ever greater part in a multifunctional countryside. A recent study has looked at the role that sustainable rural tourism can play in rural development in Europe and some of the challenges to be overcome if a truly integrated approach to rural development is to be realised.

A new tool has been developed to predict the effectiveness of a policy on the basis of its compatibility with the institutional context in place. It is the first of its kind and a recent study has evaluated its ability to identify factors that might affect the successful implementation of policies.