The recent rise to prominence of renewable energy and energy efficiency has been driven by their potential to lower the environmental impacts of energy use. As these technologies mature they must demonstrate not only their environmental benefits, but also their economic competitiveness. The relative costs and benefits of each potential project, whether large or small, must be systematically modelled and assessed before they can be financed and implemented.Renewable Energy and E...

In most cases of civil engineering development, a range of alternative schemes meeting project goals are feasible, so some form of evaluation must be carried out to select the most appropriate to take forward. Evaluation criteria usually include the economic, environmental and social contexts of a project as well as the engineering challenges, so engineers must be familiar with the processes and tools used.The second edition of Engineering Project Appraisal equips students...

This New York Times best seller remains the most informative and objective account of the Taliban availableThis modern classic brings the shadowy world of the Taliban and its impact on Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Central Asia into sharp focus. Ahmed Rashid offers an authoritative account of the Taliban’s rise to power, the effects of changing American attitudes toward it, and the new faces of Islamic fundamentalism, and explains why Afghanistan has b...

The definitive, fully up-to-date guide to continuous improvement in the workplace"An updated version of a classic book that shares a wealth of new healthcare examples and case studies from around the world. The methods in this book will help you improve quality and safety, reduce waiting times, and improve the long-term financial position of your organization. Highly recommended!" --Mark Graban, author of Lean Hospitals and coauthor of Healthcare Kaizen"...

Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was an English mechanical and civil engineer who built dockyards, the Great Western Railway, a series of steamships including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship and many important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering.Though Brunel's projects were not always successful, they often contained innovative solutions to long-standing engineering problems. During his short career, Brunel achieved ma...

THE MOST PRACTICAL, COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE PLANNING, DESIGN, AND MANAGEMENT OF AIRPORTS--UPDATED BY LEADING PROFESSIONALS"With the accelerated rate of change occurring throughout the aviation industry, this edition is a timely and very effective resource for ensuring both airport professionals and those interested in airports acquire a comprehensive understanding of the changes taking place, and how they impact airports and the communities they serve. A must read." -...

The arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the head of the Yukos oil company, on 25 October 2003, was a key turning point in modern Russian history. At that time Khodorkovsky was one of the world's richest and most powerful men, while Yukos had been transformed into a vast and lucrative oil company that was set to go global. On all counts, this looked like a success story, but it was precisely at this moment that the Russian authorities struck. After two controversial trials, attracting widesprea...

This book outlines the underlying principles on which modern road lighting is based, and provides the reader with knowledge of how these principles should be applied in practice.This book offers a completely fresh approach to the subject, reflecting how the technology of road lighting has progressed to keep up with the changes in lamp technology, especially in solid state light sources, and the increasing awareness of energy use and environmental issues. The book is divided into th...

This book draws on the author’s considerable expertise in land development processes and planning, and planning education. It takes a learning-by-doing studio approach and shows how to undertake a development feasibility study in three main stages: the preliminary proposal, a design and finally, a full report with a financially appraised proposal.Understanding Land Development shows how to tackle a real life project where there are situations of uncertainty and where there...

Developing the Global Bioeconomy: Technical, Market, and Environmental Lessons from Bioenergy brings together expertise from three IEA-Bioenergy subtasks on pyrolysis, international trade, and biorefineries to review the bioenergy sector and draw useful lessons for the full deployment of the bioeconomy. Despite the vast amount of politically driven strategies, there is little understanding on how current markets will transition towards a global bioeconomy. The question is not only how the ...

Every consumer in a modern economy is indirectly exposed to the work of a price reporting agency (PRA) each time they fill up their car, take a flight or switch on a light, and yet the general public is completely unaware of the existence of PRAs. Firms like Platts, Argus and ICIS, which are referenced every day by commodity traders and which influence billions of dollars of trade, are totally unfamiliar to consumers.The Price Reporters: A Guide to PRAs and Commodity Benchmarks bri...

To solve the climate crisis, the world must make a wholesale shift to renewable energy technologies. With surging growth in emerging markets, this transformation takes on even greater urgency. The challenges - and opportunities - are immense.Selling Solar considers how such a shift might happen. Focusing on the case of solar photovoltaics, it shows how, at the start of the 21st century, this promising technology began to diffuse rapidly in select emerging markets, after years of st...