The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides access to information on a variety of topics related to the environment and strives to inform citizens of health risks. The EPA also has an extensive library network that consists of 26 libraries throughout the United States, which provide access to a plethora of information to EPA employees, scientists, and researchers. The EPA implemented a reorganization project to digitize their materials so they would be more accessible to a wider range of users, but this plan was drastically accelerated when the EPA was threatened with a budget cut. It chose to close and reduce the hours and services of some of their libraries. As a result, the agency was accused of denying users the “right to know” by making information unavailable, not providing an adequate strategic plan, and discarding vital materials. This case study explores the background of the digitization project, the practices implemented, and the critiques of the project.

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The Environmental Protection Agency

https://researchrepository.ucd.ie/bitstream/10197/8711/1/Manuscript_GI_Review_Accepted_Version.pdf

Air pollution abatement performances of green infrastructure in open road and built-up street canyon environments – A review

Large Eddy Simulation (LES) undeniably has the potential to provide more accurate and more reliable results than simulations based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach. However, LES entails a higher simulation complexity and a much higher computational cost. In spite of some claims made in the past decades that LES would render RANS obsolete, RANS remains widely used in both research and engineering practice. This paper attempts to answer the questions why this is the case and whether this is justified, from the viewpoint of building simulation, both for outdoor and indoor applications. First, the governing equations and a brief overview of the history of LES and RANS are presented. Next, relevant highlights from some previous position papers on LES versus RANS are provided. Given their importance, the availability or unavailability of best practice guidelines is outlined. Subsequently, why RANS is still frequently used and whether this is justified or not is illustrated by examples for five application areas in building simulation: pedestrian-level wind comfort, near-field pollutant dispersion, urban thermal environment, natural ventilation of buildings and indoor airflow. It is shown that the answers vary depending on the application area but also depending on other—less obvious—parameters such as the building configuration under study. Finally, a discussion and conclusions including perspectives on the future of LES and RANS in building simulation are provided.

/pdf/les-over-rans-in-building-simulation-for-outdoor-and-indoor-1zmy3qiwyr.pdf

LES over RANS in building simulation for outdoor and indoor applications: A foregone conclusion?

Introduction Natural environments and green spaces provide ecosystem services that enhance human health and well-being. They improve mental health, mitigate allergies and reduce all-cause, respiratory, cardiovascular and cancer mortality. The presence, accessibility, proximity and greenness of green spaces determine the magnitude of their positive health effects, but the role of biodiversity (including species and ecosystem diversity) within green spaces remains underexplored. This review describes mechanisms and evidence of effects of biodiversity in nature and green spaces on human health. Sources of data We identified studies listed in PubMed and Web of Science using combinations of keywords including 'biodiversity', 'diversity', 'species richness', 'human health', 'mental health' and 'well-being' with no restrictions on the year of publication. Papers were considered for detailed evaluation if they were written in English and reported data on levels of biodiversity and health outcomes. Areas of agreement There is evidence for positive associations between species diversity and well-being (psychological and physical) and between ecosystem diversity and immune system regulation. Areas of concern There is a very limited number of studies that relate measured biodiversity to human health. There is more evidence for self-reported psychological well-being than for well-defined clinical outcomes. High species diversity has been associated with both reduced and increased vector-borne disease risk. Growing points Biodiversity supports ecosystem services mitigating heat, noise and air pollution, which all mediate the positive health effects of green spaces, but direct and long-term health outcomes of species diversity have been insufficiently studied so far. Areas timely for research Additional research and newly developed methods are needed to quantify short- and long-term health effects of exposure to perceived and objectively measured species diversity, including health effects of nature-based solutions and exposure to microbiota.

Biodiversity and human health: mechanisms and evidence of the positive health effects of diversity in nature and green spaces.

Modelling the effectiveness of urban trees and grass on PM 2.5 reduction via dispersion and deposition at a city scale

Air quality affected by trees in real street canyons: The case of Marylebone neighbourhood in central London

A CFD study on the effectiveness of trees to disperse road traffic emissions at a city scale

The impact of trees on street ventilation, NOx and PM2.5 concentrations across heights in Marylebone Rd street canyon, central London

https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/files/18236247/2017_Ranking_current_and_prospective_NO2_pollution_mitigation_strategies.pdf

Antoine P. R. Jeanjean

Papers

Modelling the effectiveness of urban trees and grass on PM 2.5 reduction via dispersion and deposition at a city scale

Air quality affected by trees in real street canyons: The case of Marylebone neighbourhood in central London

A CFD study on the effectiveness of trees to disperse road traffic emissions at a city scale

The impact of trees on street ventilation, NOx and PM2.5 concentrations across heights in Marylebone Rd street canyon, central London

Ranking current and prospective NO2 pollution mitigation strategies: An environmental and economic modelling investigation in Oxford Street, London