The QuASPEr project studied the Canche river basin in northern France to better understand the phenomenon of soil erosion and its related consequences. This knowledge aims to develop effective land management methods for municipalities without negatively affecting farmers’ work.   Heavy rain, dry land, sloping ground that has been tilled… and the soil erodes. This phenomenon of abrasion, in particular …

To implement a robust and durable circular economy strategy, it is important to assess its environmental impacts. Valérie Laforest and Natacha Gondran, both researchers at Mines Saint-Étienne, explain the reasons for incorporating an absolute environmental sustainability assessment method and the underlying concept of “environmental budgeting“.   The lifestyles of our contemporary societies are exerting constant and unsustainable pressure on the …

To help reduce or stabilize soil and water pollution, plants provide a rather effective yet inexpensive solution. They must be implemented on a case-by-case basis and could be used in a wide variety of sites.   According to the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe), 300,000 to 400,000 industrial or mining sites in France are potentially polluted, which represents …

Humans are big consumers of sand, to the extent that this now valuable resource is becoming increasingly scarce. Being in such high demand, it is extracted in conditions that aren’t always respectful of the environment. With the increasing scarcity of sand and the sometimes devastating consequences of mining at beaches, it is becoming crucial to find alternatives. Isabelle Cojan and …

Nuclear power stations are not the only sources of radioactivity in France. Other sources undeniably include hospitals and the construction industry, for example. Given the potential dangers to health and the environment, such sites have to be permanently tested. SMART, a team of experts in radioactivity from SUBATECH is a necessary third-party actor in this domain. The team brings objectivity …

In the race towards renewable resources, biomass could well have an important role to play. Biomass includes organic matter derived from living organisms, particularly plants, which have more to offer than you might think. Patrick Navard is a researcher in materials at Mines ParisTech. Following his presentation at the “Materials: realities and new frontiers” symposium, organized on March 30-31, 2016 …

How can we meet the needs for construction materials in an environmentally responsible manner? Recycling could be the solution, but it is not yet easy to create high-performance and eco-friendly materials using waste. At the conference on Natural Resources and Environment, which took place on November 5-6 2014 at Institut Mines-Télécom, Vincent Thiéry, a researcher at Mines Douai, presented two …