Environment and Development: Basic Principles, Human Activities, and Environmental Implications focuses on the adverse impact that human activities, developments, and economic growth have on both natural and inhabited environments. The book presents the associated problems, along with solutions that can be used to achieve a harmonic, sustainable development that provides for the co-existence of man and natural life. Chapters provide detailed information on a range of environments including: atmospheric, aquatic, soil, natural, urban, energy, and extraterrestrial, as well as the relationship between the environment and development. In addition, this comprehensive book presents the latest research findings and trends in global environmental policy for each issue. Offers a discussion of the extraterrestrial environment and waste in earth orbit as one of the distinctive topics of the book Addresses global environmental policy issues and policies Presents tabulated data to support the analysis and explain the issues presented Includes case studies covering many topics of current interest Analyzes environmental issues and proposes solutions grounded in recent research findings Discusses the various interpretations of the development concept as well as alternative pathways to sustainable developmen � 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

This paper focuses on the synthesis of a new silver nanocomposite adsorbent derived from rice husk as raw material. The synthesis is based on triethoxysilane chemistry and the reduction of silver without the aid of reductant chemicals. The derived AgNPs@SiO2 nanocomposites are fully characterized and then used for the removal of mercury (II) from aqueous solutions. The results demonstrated that the affinity of the composite for mercury is high and the removal mechanism is adsorption accompanied by a redox reaction between mercury and silver followed by the formation of calomel and amalgams between silver and mercury. The silver-mercury reaction is complex, and its stoichiometry seems to scale with the silver content. Besides the importance of the surface reactions, the successful implementation of biosourced silica for mercury removal from water is useful for the development of strategies for the valorization of agricultural waste and boosts the concept of circular economy and bioeconomy. � 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.