Information technologies in environmental engineering

More about the book

Potentially dangerous environmental changes are occurring in the atmosphere, oceans, and animal habitats, particularly in areas where hazardous materials have been improperly managed. These escalating issues, which also impact human health, necessitate interdisciplinary collaboration among engineers, natural scientists, economists, and computer scientists. Information technology plays a crucial role across all scientific disciplines involved in environmental engineering. Model-based systems have been developed to study and manage environmental changes, while new design paradigms facilitate the easy disassembly and recovery of components for reuse. Web-based information systems raise public awareness of environmental issues and encourage participation in decision-making processes. Advances in alternative energy sources are decreasing reliance on non-renewable resources. Numerical economy-environment models aid in the co-benefit analysis of environmental policies, and monitoring systems support market-based environmental regulation. Progress hinges on scientific teams having the necessary experience, methods, and tools to investigate environmental changes. Achieving success requires a high level of organization concerning technical, scientific, and human aspects of information management. This publication presents the outcomes of the ITEE 2007 conference, where these topics were discussed among experts in environmental engineeri