Sustaining our Environment for Better Future: Challenges and Opportunities

This book covers a variety of topics regarding environmental practices in our day-to-day lives, as well as topics concerning sustainable development as a broader concept embracing ecological, social, and economic aspects to improve the quality of life for people around the world. Starting with the traditional controversy between the neoclassical economy and sustainable economy, which may be overcome by scientific progress due to more intensive scientific studies of the sustainability paradigm, the book proceeds to discuss various problems and challenges regarding environmental protection and sustainable development in different countries and on different continents. 

This includes analyses of recent, sometimes fatal mining disasters in South and North America, challenges and opportunities for rural development in Africa and Australia, an exploration of the role of women for sustainable development in Palestine, water safety and water security issues in Asia and Australia, the environmental exploitation of popular tourism destinations like Acapulco, and deforestation in Malaysia, suggesting innovative approaches to turn challenges into opportunities to effectively tackle these problems. Other topics addressed involve sustainable energy creation for future generations, a research survey among Romanian students on sustainable consumption behavior, validity testing for a heat transfer model in a greenhouse, and a case study on sustainability risk management practices at Malaysia’s environmentally sensitive companies. The book closes with an examination of highly digitalized Smart Cities as a potentially valuable complement to conventional urban and rural lifestyles in connection with achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Dr. Abdelnaser Omran is currently working at the Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Bright Star University, Libya. An academic, researcher and consultant with a wide portfolio of experience, he has written extensively on environmental engineering and waste management issues in Africa, Asia and Europe and contributed many other publications in the fields of project and construction management, sustainable development related issues, and risk management. To date, he has published more than 250 articles in international journals and conference proceedings. He has authored seven books, and serves as a reviewer or Editorial Board member for various international journals. 

Dr. Odile Schwarz-Herion studied law in Freiburg i.Br. as well as industrial engineering and economic sciences in Stuttgart, Germany. Her university degrees include an MBA in Technology Management from SIMT (Stuttgart Institute of Management and Technology) and a PhD in Economic Sciences majoring in sustainable development from the University of Hohenheim, Germany. Schwarz-Herion worked first as sales engineer at international companies and afterwards as sustainable development consultant. Nowadays, she works as ZAD-certified private detective with comprehensive state security license, specialized in environmental crimes and white-collar crime. In 2011, Dr. Odile Schwarz-Herion founded Dres. Schwarz-Herion KG Detective Agency and joined the BID (Bund Internationaler Detektive). In 2015, she joined the W.A.D. (World Association of Detectives). Schwarz-Herion is author and co-editor of several books and articles on sustainable development, international politics, innovative technologies, and crime investigation.