Human existence and welfare depend on functional ecosystems. Ecosystems are critical to sustain life-support services for human well-being. One method that visualizes that humanity requires ecosystem services for resource consumption and assimilation of produced waste is ecological footprints. This study focuses on the ecosystem service carbon sequestering. A quantification of this ecosystem service showed the potential for accumulation of carbon in different ecosystems in Stockholm and Norrbotten County for the years of 1995 and 2004.

In this report a study is carried out with the aim to identify added values of EPC projects implemented in schools in order to increase the interest of EPC projects on the market. The report examines how the planned maintenance, supervision, maintenance and corrective maintenance is affected, how insurance premiums and terms are affected, the indoor environment and how the tasks of the operating staff is changing. A literature study of energy savings, energy use in schools, maintenance and insurance as well as how energy efficiency improvements are related to the Swedish environmental objectives has been made. Visits were carried out in Ludvika, interviews were also carried out with operation technicians and local strategists in Ludvika as well as employees of insurance companies.Schools often have neglected maintenance and problems with ventilation and indoor environment. Schools also have a large energy saving potential due to their low utilization, mainly because they are empty parts of the year.

Today we are living in a time were impulses from other places and cultures constantly grow and the contact over the boundary is getting bigger. We se satellites pictures over the world, we hear about worldwide ecological problems, we learn about other different lifestyles, we cock food that are inspired from the worlds many kitchens, we shop more and we can travel to different parts of the world. My problem was to find out how cultural phenomenon spreads to a greater extent global and how this transference take place, but also be able to se what factors that has a part in the cultural spread.What I found with help from my literature study was that trough improved communication and transports has gained mobility in the world and people can take part off others culture.The world is shrinking and this means that human beings identity is changing and this create a so-called hybrid mixture. Culture is what we human beings create. Culture can be seen as a community phenomenon for the most parts.

SammanfattningSyfte och frågeställningar. Syftet med denna studie var att på äldre personer studera olika fysiologiska parametrar före och efter en period på åtta veckor med styrketräning som utförs tre gånger i veckan. Frågeställningarna var: Hur påverkas statisk och dynamisk maximal styrka i främre lårmuskulaturen av styrketräning? Är det någon skillnad i resultat mellan koncentrisk och excentrisk styrka i lårmuskulaturen före och efter styrketräningsperioden? Är det någon skillnad i förändring mellan benstyrka uppmätt med isokinetisk teknik jämfört med uthållighetsstyrka och ett kort funktionellt benstyrketest? Hur påverkas maximal syreupptagningsförmåga registrerad via submaximalt cykeltest respektive vid pyramidtestet av träningsperioden?Metod. I studien deltog 20 generellt ej påtagligt aktiva män och kvinnor i åldrarna 66-79 år.

In this report a study is carried out with the aim to identify added values of EPC projects implemented in schools in order to increase the interest of EPC projects on the market. The report examines how the planned maintenance, supervision, maintenance and corrective maintenance is affected, how insurance premiums and terms are affected, the indoor environment and how the tasks of the operating staff is changing. A literature study of energy savings, energy use in schools, maintenance and insurance as well as how energy efficiency improvements are related to the Swedish environmental objectives has been made. Visits were carried out in Ludvika, interviews were also carried out with operation technicians and local strategists in Ludvika as well as employees of insurance companies.Schools often have neglected maintenance and problems with ventilation and indoor environment. Schools also have a large energy saving potential due to their low utilization, mainly because they are empty parts of the year.

Water is our most important provision and its quality is above all dependent on the geological conditions in the area from where it is extracted. Due to geological properties there are certain areas with an elevated risk of high uranium levels in the ground water, which in turn constitutes a risk for human health. Consumption of water that contains a high concentration of uranium implies a health risk due to the chemical characteristics of uranium. Livsmedelsverket (The National Food Administration) and Socialstyrelsen (The National Board of Health and Welfare) therefore recommend that precautionary measures should be taken when the uranium concentration in ground water exceeds 15 micrograms per litre. In particular, drinking water collected from wells in areas with uranium-rich bedrock may have a harmfully high level of uranium. One of the wells of the Ärla water purification plant, located near Eskilstuna, Sweden, contains water that exceeds the guideline of 15 micrograms per litre. One interesting technique for removing uranium from drinking water is adsorption to reactive filter materials.

This paper aims to examine how and to what extent, a transition of Sweden according to the principles of Omställning Sverige (Transition towns Sweden), have the potential to contribute to a society with increased happiness.The paper is based on a qualitative textual analysis of the key texts in the Swedish Transition towns movement, Omställning Sverige. In the first part of the study the most important transition principles of Omställning Sverige were identified. Four key principles emerged: An altered view of economics, a spiritual change, a stronger local community and increased awareness. These transition principles were then analyzed through the lens of the scientific fields position on happiness, followed by a summarizing conclusion.The altered view of economics which Omställning Sverige advocates, where sustainability and quality of life are priorities over economic growth, is even necessary to secure our basic physiological needs. Such an economy has also improved conditions for economic stability, high employment and higher efficiency in the sense of happiness promoted in relationship to how many natural resources are used.

Kollaborativ konsumtion a?r en slags ekonomi som handlar om att ma?nniskor konsumerar genom att hyra, dela, byta eller la?na saker av varandra. Den ha?r rapporten handlar om hur en sa?dan typ av konsumtion skulle kunna implementeras och utvecklas i stadsbebyggelse. Fo?r att underso?ka detta gjordes en fallstudie o?ver stadsdelen Norra Djurga?rdsstaden som a?r ett stadsutvecklingsprojekt i Stockholm med fokus pa? miljo? och ha?llbarhet.

In this report a study is carried out with the aim to identify added values of EPC projects implemented in schools in order to increase the interest of EPC projects on the market. The report examines how the planned maintenance, supervision, maintenance and corrective maintenance is affected, how insurance premiums and terms are affected, the indoor environment and how the tasks of the operating staff is changing. A literature study of energy savings, energy use in schools, maintenance and insurance as well as how energy efficiency improvements are related to the Swedish environmental objectives has been made. Visits were carried out in Ludvika, interviews were also carried out with operation technicians and local strategists in Ludvika as well as employees of insurance companies.Schools often have neglected maintenance and problems with ventilation and indoor environment. Schools also have a large energy saving potential due to their low utilization, mainly because they are empty parts of the year.

Aquaponics is a food production system consisting of a consecutive cultivation of plants and aquatic animals, fish or shellfish, in recirculating water. The plants feed on the nutritious effluents from the fish tank and bacteria converts ammonia from the fish tank into nitrate that is absorbed by the plants. The plants receive nutrition and the fish gain purified water. The environmental impact of the production of fish meal and fish oil used in conventional fish feed includes a large consumption of fossil fuels with subsequent carbon dioxide emission. The aquaponic system can be made environmentally sustainable and self-supporting if supplemented with a vermicompost/vermiculture for the production of worm protein as a fish feed. Vegetable waste from the hydroponic part of the system can be reused as worm feed in the compost and the protein rich worms can be harvested, dried and grinded and brought back to the aquaculture as fish feed. As a first step in this direction, I have investigated the effect of recycling of vegetable waste in vermicomposts on the growth and number of earthworms (this was evaluated after harvesting). The hypotheses were that earthworms can be cultivated in the vegetable waste and that by adding manure to the vermicompost it is possible to obtain a nutrient content adequate to support a continuous worm harvest, in other words create a vermiculture. Eisenia fetida and Dendrobaena veneta were grown in 20 L bins containing peat mixed with either poultry or cattle manure. The proportions were 70% peat and 30 % manure. Discarded plant parts from lettuce cultivation was added to the vermicomposts (35 g per week) and water was supplied with 0.8 L per week.

The Swedish commercial real estate market is in the current situation globally affected and is actively interacting with the rental and capital markets through international tenants and investors who are setting new demands on the property owners. The European Union has set new requirements as well in purpose of reducing humanity?s negative effect on the climate and therefore the international real estate market has introduced Green Building-certificates in order to decrease the real estate industry?s environmental impact.Certificated buildings with low energy consumption are a more common sight in Sweden these days. The development, however, could go even faster if there was not certain difficulties between property owners and tenants. Previous research has revealed that tenants do not always have knowledge about, or may have access to the economic benefits that a green building can provide.

Miljö och energianvändning blir ett mer aktuellt ämne. 40 % av landets totala energianvändning går idag till bostäder.[1] Om elpriserna stiger under den närmsta tiden kommer det med stor säkerhet leda till att människor blir mer kostnadsmedvetna och gärna hittar sätt för att minska sina energikostnader. Som ett led i detta har hustillverkare tagit fram ett energisnålt alternativ till det vanliga huset. Det benämns lågenergihus och använder mindre energi än de hus som är vanliga på marknaden idag. Det här är möjligt genom att lågenergihus byggs på ett annorlunda vis jämfört med ett ordinärt hus.

Pets like dogs and cats have a considerable importance for humans and research demonstrate a variety of positive economic and social effects in society due to our pet companions. The presences of pets are increasing on a global scale with correlation to economic development in low- and middle income countries. For example dogs have doubled in India over a five year period. The feed industry for dogs and cats is also the fastest growing sector in the food industry and certain pets have a significant animal protein intake which, depending on the choice of resources may provide a high ecological footprint. Examples of environmental effects with distribution and manufacturing of pet food are increased greenhouse gas emissions, waste, use of water and energy.

A reward cycle for investigating the emotional status in animals has been developed and it requires that animals go through three main phases, i.e. anticipation, consumption and relaxation. The reward cycle has not been tested previously for access to play in pigs. Therefore, the aim of this Master thesis was to investigate if growing pigs showed more behaviours indicative of excitement than pigs that were not allowed to play, performed play in a play arena and showed more behaviours indicative of relaxation after play when they were back to their home pen than pigs that were in their home pen the whole time. Forty undocked piglets (10 litters of Specific Pathogen Free half pure-bred Yorkshire and half hybrids of Yorkshire x Landrace balanced for breed between two treatments were used.

More and more preschools are choosing to reduce the sugar consumption. The reason is, inter alia, the increase of weight in the community, but there is also research showing that sugar is harmful to children. The discussions on sugar and children are also a hot media topic.I have chosen to use a qualitative method, interviews, to gather material for the essay. I have interviewed a teacher and a cook in three different preschools, in different municipalities. I have also looked at their various nutrition policies to see how the guidelines for their work on diet and health look like.