The construction industry is responsible for environmental impacts that include air emissions, waste generation, and the use of land, water, and energy. However, most prior construction research attention has focused on these impacts only for material selection and building operation. The focus here is the environmental and energy implications of the construction process, specifically on-site energy consumption. Existing estimates of energy use and environmental emissions for the industry are tied to large construction vehicles, but other equipment consumes energy in various forms. This research creates a broader boundary for considering the energy use and environmental impacts of engines and vehicles used for construction activities by estimating these effects and comparing them to other national-level impacts. Results indicate that fuel use estimates for construction equipment are almost double the levels suggested by government reports; accordingly, air emission impacts are 30% larger for particulate matter and almost double levels of oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds. Quantitative and qualitative analysis regarding how U.S. diesel engine and fuel regulations could significantly reduce air emissions from construction sites is also provided. If fully implemented, these regulations could initiate the manufacture and use of portable generators that make on-site electricity generation comparable to the electricity grid in terms of air emissions.

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Landscape quality has become a fundamental issue in the development of renewable energy (henceforth abbreviated RE) projects. Rapid technological advances in RE production and distribution, coupled with changing policy frameworks, bring specific challenges during planning in order to avoid degradation of landscape quality. The current work provides a comprehensive review on RE landscapes and the impacts of RE systems on landscape for most European countries. It is based on a review by an interdisciplinary international team of experts of empirical research findings on landscape impacts of RE from thirty-seven countries that have participated in the COST Action TU1401 Renewable Energy and Landscape Quality (RELY).

Policies and strategies to develop renewable energy and the rates of successful deployment vary from country to country. Academic literature is rife with examples of recurring problems and malpractice in the implementation of renewable energy projects. We could see each national and sectoral effort as an 'experiment' in the early phase of our attempted transition to a low carbon energy system. What lessons can we learn from a comparative analysis of these experiments? This paper seeks to draw generic lessons not from what has gone wrong but from national case studies that stand out in a best way. Through a European academic network, we have selected and analysed 51 'smart practice' case studies of renewable energy development from 20 countries. We present the outcomes of both qualitative and quantitative analysis of these case studies (smart practice criteria) and discuss a set of generic findings concerning specific types of smart practices and problems of potential transferability of projects to other regions. With regards to policy relevance, the findings can be used for evaluating portfolios of renewable energy projects developed to date and for setting guiding principles for project design, spatial planning and consent by means of cross-national learning and fertilization.

Wooded grasslands have always played an important role in rural life with changing issues: They are of high importance for questions of biodiversity, soil, and water resources and in preserving agricultural heritage, but their maintenance is labor intensive. Abandoned wooded grasslands undergo succession, and food production alone does not support their survival. They require special attention and at the beginning a well-established subsidy system can help to contribute to their survival. Their sustainable use in the present-day landscapes can only be conceivable in complexity where food production, reintroduction of their cultural values, biodiversity and landscape protection, and ecotourism are playing an important role. This chapter gives an overview on the recent situation of wooded grasslands and their historical development, based on the work done by the Institute for Research on European Agricultural Landscapes (www.​eucalandnetwork.​eu). National pictures, definitions, history (including local names), threats, potentials, cultural values, spatial distributions, subtypes, and available databases have been collected, described, and analyzed. The main results of this survey are as follows: (1) Wooded grasslands are known to the public but mainly to local communities where they occur; (2) Many subtypes of wooded grasslands exist in various European countries; (3) Wooded grasslands underwent tremendous changes during the past centuries and lost their importance for various reasons; (4) There are many local and regional projects focusing on wooded grasslands, often as “lighthouse” projects to valorise cultural achievements