Environmental Technology

This is a compilation of topics that are at the forefront of many technical advances and practices in air and water control. These include air pollution control, water pollution control, water treatment, wastewater treatment, industrial waste treatment and small scale wastewater treatment.

Water: fascinating in all its phases, forms and states of aggregation. Without it, life as we know it would not exist on Earth, for as Paracelsus stated in the 16th century: "water is the matrix of the world and of all its creatures". While it may appear to be a simple molecule, there is still much about it which is not fully understood. What is notably lacking is a microscopically-based understanding of the reasons for the many anomalous properties of water.This book presents lectures from the Enrico Fermi summer school 'Water: fundamentals as the basis for understanding the environment and promoting technology' held in Varenna, Italy, in July 2013.

It has been estimated that globally, 1.2 billion people live with acute shortage of water. Water scarcity, particularly in south and south-east Asian countries, is well known. However, the social dilemmas and insecurities related to water issues are often less discussed. In the case of south and south-east Asia, the distribution of available water amongst various casts and creeds has been determined through several social hierarchies. Hence, water forms a critical socio-political issue, with a multi-faced dimension. This book critically analyses the associated social issues of increasing water scarcity in countries such as India. It documents the social impacts and predicament of water scarcity. The book will be of prime interest to researchers, policy makers and practitioners in the fields of development and environment, as well as water planners.

One of the main challenges faced by humans today is finding a balance between economic development of respective countries and sustainable utilisation of Earths resources. With the increase in the human population, demand for water resources is increasing globally. One of the challenges for water conservation in the future is the sustainability of current and future water resource allocation. Finding a balance between what is needed by humans and what is needed in the environment is an important step in the sustainability of water resources. With this in mind, sustainable utilisation of water resources, and conservation and management of aquatic ecosystems on Earth is an essential step towards the sustainable management of global water resources. This book discusses the current status of water resources on Earth.

Water management is a key environmental issue in controlling of floods and reducing droughts. This book provides analysis of the main issues, offering solutions and describing good practice. Water Resources for the Built Environment: management issues and solutions develops an appreciation of the diverse, complex and current themes of the water resources debate across the built environment, urban development and management continuum.