Environnement | EPFL Graph Search

thumb|upright=1.5|Vue de la Terre depuis la Lune, en 1968, une des premières visions de notre planète comme un ensemble fini et fragile. thumb|upright=1.5|La sauvegarde de la nature, enjeu de la protection de l'environnement. L'environnement est « l'ensemble des éléments (biotiques et abiotiques) qui entourent un individu ou une espèce et dont certains contribuent directement à subvenir à ses besoins », ou encore « l'ensemble des conditions naturelles (physiques, chimiques, biologiques) et culturelles (sociologiques) susceptibles d’agir sur les organismes vivants et les activités humaines ». La notion d'environnement naturel, souvent désignée par le seul mot « environnement », a beaucoup évolué au cours des derniers siècles et tout particulièrement des dernières décennies. L'environnement est compris comme l'ensemble des composants naturels de la planète Terre, comme l'air, l'eau, l'atmosphère, les roches, les végétaux, les animaux, et l'ensemble des phénomènes et interactions qui s'

A Third Way Alternative; Critical Assessments from the Model of the Yugoslav City

Jana Konstantinova

This dissertation aims to demonstrate the development, meaning and significance of cultural infrastructure in the cities of Skopje, Belgrade and Sarajevo (1945-1991). In the historic context, culture became the fundamental critical tool with which to yield a vivid cultural scene, and it coincides with the emergence of remarkable cultural artefacts - including 'the right architecture'. The thesis recognizes a common (Yugoslav) Creative Model behind this âmovementâ, which stimulated and anticipated the emergence of the elements that eventually form the cultural artefacts. For the purpose of studying the strengths and weaknesses of the model, the exercise investigates the extensive body of cultural creations which emerged through the model. As such, the thesis highlights the flow of creativity, and the particular understanding of creativity as a âlife qualityâ in support of the theoretical concept of balance which emerged in the local context - striving for equilibrium between the man-made, the human (civic) and the natural environment. The aims of the research are threefold. Firstly, to understand the objectives on which the model is created; secondly, to reposition the object â cultural artefact â as a departure point of analysis of the model; and thirdly, to analyze the evolution of the cultural infrastructure in the environments to trace the transformations of the model. To that end an analysis of the entire cultural creation of the epoch has been carried out in relation with the specific interest of the thesis. The exercises are conducted by drawing from the primary data sets (the press: both architectural and cultural magazines) and the secondary sets of data (original documents and testimonials with the protagonists: wider cultural milieu). Bridging the epistemological gap in the academic discourse, exemplifying the selected cities not as isolated case studies but in comparative synthesis, the thesis positions these rich cultural, spatial and social qualities (collected in the form of a critical archive) and their common Creative Model as the possibility to depart from the neo-liberal paradigm still affecting regions globally and to re-imagine our own current models for human settlements in ways more open to people, nature and culture.

EPFL2021

Mobile phone-induced honeybee worker piping

The worldwide maintenance of the honeybee has major ecological, economic, and political implications. In the present study, electromagnetic waves originating from mobile phones were tested for potential effects on honeybee behavior. Mobile phone handsets were placed in the close vicinity of honeybees. The sound made by the bees was recorded and analyzed. The audiograms and spectrograms revealed that active mobile phone handsets have a dramatic impact on the behavior of the bees, namely by inducing the worker piping signal. In natural conditions, worker piping either announces the swarming process of the bee colony or is a signal of a disturbed bee colony.

Springer-Verlag2011

Constructed wetland for the treatment of surface waters from combined sewer overflow (CSO) of La Chaux-de-Fonds

Blaise Adrien Devaud

The Doubs river is an ecosystem-rich river which is threatened by several anthropic activities. The three dams placed in the river as well as the discharge of pollutants contribute to the degradation of its natural habitats. The city of La Chaux-de-Fonds is directly concerned by this issue. The combined sewer overflow (CSO) waters generated by the city discharge in la Ronde, an affluent of the Doubs. These waters represent a potential threat to the Doubs water quality, this is why the authorities of La Chaux-de-Fonds need to take measures to limit the impacts of these waters in the natural environment. These measures have to be taken without causing excessive costs. Several solutions have been considered according to the objectives set during the development of the « plan d’évacuation des eaux (PGEE) » of the city. The implementation of a constructed wetland was the selected solution. This system is widely used in a number of European countries and especially in France, but is not yet much developed in Switzerland. Topographic and design constraints have lead the choice of a vertical flow constructed wetland. Its technical feasibility has been deeply studied. The design of the constructed wetland has been examined using the simulation tool Orage (which is currently in phase test in the IRSTEA research institute in Lyon). A second tool, the Rebeka software, allowed to determine the impact of the CSO water on the water quality of the Doubs. The STORM approach helped to integrate these impacts in the design of the system from the beginning of the the project. The costs of the project are detailed in investment costs for the building of the wetland and operation costs which represent essentially functioning and maintenance costs. The treatment system consists of three planted filters which operate in parallel. Simulation results demonstrate that the objectives of the project are fulfilled. The installation has a removal efficiency of 29% on ammonium, 44% on COD and 95% on TSS. The initial investment is 3.6 million Swiss francs. This system offers a solution to resolve pollution issues originating from the CSO waters of the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds with a reasonable initial investment.

2016