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In this paper we suggest it is essential for development planners to utilize a social geology approach in making decisions on mining concessions. This is especially so in newly decentralizing democracies, such as Indonesia, where political decisions on natural resource extraction are often subject to accusations of corruption. We investigate several sites in different provinces in eastern Indonesia, where social consequences are constrained by geology and technology for mining minerals. On Flores Island, in the East Nusa Tenggara province, manganese is found as volcanic-hosted manganese layers, requiring heavy machinery from large mining companies, while in the same province, on Timor Island, sedimentary-hosted manganese, found in softer soils, can be mined by local communities. Political decentralization, fears of environmental destruction, and concerns over mining concessions resulted in resistance growing in the province, especially where companies mine without much benefit felt by local communities. We compare mining in East Nusa Tenggara province with mining in Sulawesi, long known for nickel and gold, where small-scale gold mining boomed in the past decade. We argue taking a social geology approach is the only way to fully understand mineral resources and to develop effective, efficient, and safe policies for the benefit of local and regional actors.

Previous research on the environmentally responsible behaviour (ERB) of tourists has primarily focused on the personal psychological factors of tourists. However, the studies overlook the effect of contextual factors of a tourist site. According to the broken window theory, a disorderly, unkempt environment might lead more people to be involved in environmental destruction, which would form a vicious cycle. Therefore, it can be deduced that the environmental background (EB) of a tourist site is an important contextual factor. In this paper, the effect of the EB of a tourist site on the ERB was examined by the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) adopting structural equation model (SEM) multi-group analysis (MGA). The results show the following: first, both the attitude toward environmental behaviour (ATT) of tourists and their subjective norm (SN) have a positive impact on the environmentally responsible behavioural intention (ERBI) of tourists. In addition, perceived behavioural control (PBC) exerts a remarkable influence on the ERB of tourists and their behavioural intention. Second, the relationship between the ERBI and ERB of tourists is positively regulated by the EB of a tourist site. Additionally, this paper presents policy proposals for the environmental management of tourist sites.

Throughout the twentieth and twenty first centuries, untenable economic development and excessive depletion of environmental resources have devastated the relationship that humans share with the natural world. As knowledge and concern regarding environmental destruction has become ever more widespread, the criminalisation of ‘ecocide’ has increasingly been debated by academics, activists, politicians and legal professionals. In 2020, the Stop Ecocide campaign convened a panel of experts, tasked with drafting a definition of ecocide capable of being incorporated into the International Criminal Court’s mandate. In this briefing, we explore 1) the history of ecocide as a proposed international crime; 3) the current gap in accountability for crimes against the environment; 4) the potential benefits of ecocide’s criminalisation; and 5) the prospects for a future crime of ecocide.

Noting the interconnections between environmental destruction and periods of conflict and mass violence, scholars have explored multiple ways in which international criminal law might be better equipped to respond to such harms. These have included introducing a new crime against the environment, creating specific international environmental courts, and adapting existing frameworks. While recognising the need for more substantive measures in the long term, this chapter considers how existing international criminal frameworks might be used to respond to environmental destruction in the short to medium term. Focusing on options for repair in particular, it considers the ways in which the International Criminal Court’s reparation framework and the Trust Fund for Victim’s assistance mandate might be used to facilitate reparative measures which respond to environmental destruction. It argues that there are three interlinked ways in which this might be done: first, by introducing the concept of ‘eco-sensitive’ reparations and assistance; second, by awarding reparations that explicitly respond to environmental destruction when related to the ICC’s core crimes; and third, by exploring the possibilities of environmentally ‘transformative’ reparations.

Risk acceptability is an inevitable problem in human societies. In this case study of a debris-flow prone area in Zhouqu County of Gansu Province in northwestern China, on-site questionnaire surveys were administered and statistical analysis was conducted to evaluate public acceptance of debris-flow disasters and to identify the critical factors influencing their acceptability. The results indicate that local people's principal concern with regard to debris-flow-disaster consequences was disease occurrence, and their secondary concern was environmental destruction. Housing-related destruction represented the most common property-loss concern. The acceptability value of the distance between people's living or working place and debris-flow-disaster location (Distance) was 3.25 (moderate grade); the frequency of debris-flow occurrence in each community or village (Frequency) received an acceptability value of 1.43 (low grade); the warning time before debris-flow occurrence (Warning time) received an acceptability value of 3.18 (moderate grade); and people's willingness to pay for debris-flow-disaster insurance per year (Insurance premium) was reflected by an acceptability value of 3.33 (moderate grade). The significant factors affecting Distance acceptability were age, sex, and income; the significant factors affecting Frequency acceptability were sex, occupation, and income; the significant factors affecting Warning-time acceptability were educational level and income; and the significant factor influencing Insurance-premium acceptability was educational level. Income played the most influential role in respondents’ assessments of debris-flow-disaster acceptability. This study may provide insight into the reasons behind the courses of action people choose when faced with debris-flow disasters.

If you like meat, but don't want a side order of animal cruelty and environmental destruction, there's something new on the menu. Confirmed carnivore Niall Firth chows down

The overuse of resources and environmental destruction has led to the development of renewable research. Research on reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) has received widespread attention. In this study, reclaimed milling material from China’s Changyu Highway, which has been in operation for 15 years, was used to study the influence of aged asphalt content on the rheological properties, high-temperature performance, low-temperature performance and microscopic performance of blended asphalt and the impact of RAP content on the high-temperature stability, low-temperature crack resistance, water stability and resilience performance of recycled asphalt mixtures. The results show that the impact of aged asphalt content on the performance of base asphalt shares the same trend with the influence of RAP content on the performance of recycled asphalt mixture. With the admixing of aged asphalt, the blended asphalt is harder, increases in elasticity, and decreases in viscosity. The high-temperature performance improves, but the low-temperature performance worsens. With the addition of RAP, the water stability of the recycled asphalt mixtures improves, the high-temperature stability improves, and the low-temperature crack resistance worsens. This result is consistent with dynamic modulus test results. Overall, based on the micro and macro properties of blended asphalt and asphalt mixtures, a reasonable RAP content of 30% for road performance is given when the gradation is ATB-25.

The relationship between the distribution of GDP and sustainable economic development is considered. The main objective of the global economy harmonization is to ensure a balanced distribution of the world GDP. The growing economic inequality, financial and social crises as well as environmental destruction are the consequences of the GDP distribution imbalance. An important contribution to the solution of this problem would be an introduction of the dynamic added value taxation (DAVT), instead of a static VAT which is a destabilizing factor in the economy which could eventually become a universal tax. The distribution of free energy in biological systems is balanced due to stabilizing negative feedback – nutritional and metabolic feedback. The distribution of the global economy working potential (world GDP) is unbalanced, and this imbalance is the main cause of crises and social instability. Unbalanced GDP distribution leads to excessive income and tax inequality, which slows economic growth. The current static tax system is a destabilizing factor because it does not provide a balanced distribution of GDP. The solution to the problem is to replace the static VAT with a dynamic added value tax (DAVT). The DAVT theory is presented.

For the majority of human existence as hunter-gatherers people managed to co-exist with nature. Historically, the impact of human economy on the environment, compared to the impact of natural forces, was small. Progression of human economies towards agriculture and industrial, fossil fuel powered, and growth orientated economies saw humanity transitioning to a state of environmental destruction and multiple species on the brink of extinction. To avoid collapse and sustain life on Earth, a transformation of economies by agents instead of the reproduction of current structures is urgently required. A new vision of economy should be based on the principles of strong sustainability and post-growth. This paper identifies “radical” (pro-environmental, pro-social, and values driven) small firms as agents of change towards such new economy. It aims to (1) identify a set of practices informed by primary data from seven in-depth case studies of radical British small firms carried out in Spring-Autumn 2018 which may assist with operationalisation of sustainable change, and (2) outline a path for facilitation of these practices.

As a result of the huge economic and environmental destruction from oil spills, studies have been directed at improving and deploying natural sorbents which are not only the least expensive but also the safest means of spill control. This research reviews the limitations and environmental impact of existing cleanup methods. It also justifies the need for concerted research effort on oil spill control using natural and sustainable technology concepts. The article proposes future guidelines for the development of a sustainable cleanup technology. Finally, guidelines for the development of a new technology for the Middle East are proposed, which is the use of an abundant resource--date palm fibers--for such techniques.

The storing and discharge of the variety of waste products created during the production of the new products demanded by society cause huge problems such as environmental pollution, the destruction of our natural heritage, the depletion of natural resources and an increase in the daily energy consumption needed for a developing and crowded world. However, waste could be used to produce new products or as additives for existing materials or products. Using waste materials decreases the need to use natural resources and hence prevents some irreparable environmental destruction while simultaneously decreasing the impact of waste storage problems on the environmental landscape. In this research the sludge resulting from the purification of water that has been used to clean granite during cutting and polishing, consisting primarily of quartz, was tested as a filler in bituminous hot mixtures. The granite sludge was dried, milled and sieved using a No. 200 sieve, then used in production of bituminous hot mixture specimens. The waste material was used as filler in ratios of 0%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% to find the optimum filler ratio in the mix. A design for the bituminous hot mixture was performed using the Marshall method for each of the filler ratios, and optimum bitumen ratios were determined. Mechanical Marshall immersion tests and indirect tensile tests were performed for each of the specimens with optimum bitumen ratios. The tests results show that using granite sludge with an optimum ratio of 7.3% as filler in bituminous hot mixtures could improve the engineering properties of the mixes in wearing courses, thereby requiring a smaller quantity of natural materials, such as aggregate and bitumen, and causing less damage to our environmental heritage.

Sustainable development, a concept which has been built with the sustainability of economic progression as a main thrust, has been a widely preferred model to traditional developmental models. However, the real meaning of what sustainable development is and should include has been an object of debate. On the one hand, differing from traditional economic developmental models, economic progress does not necessitate the practice of ‘sustainable development’. On the other hand, current levels of science and technology are still unable to solve several problems that arise with economic development. Sustainable development has transferred the responsibility of environmental destruction to that of developing countries. Lastly, instead of utilizing the best technology and leadership into formulating excellent environmental- protection policies, it is more important to create widespread awareness to the public on the need to protect the environment and thereby engage their participation in decision-making...

The research findings of 2 families, 23 species and 231 individuals represented meagrely 8% of the total in Mongolia. It can be attributed to the short research period and limited research sites of the Orkhon river basin. An insect is one of the natural resources that are exposed to the threats by global climate change and environmental destruction by human beings. An insect is an index species that is the most sensitive to the environmental changes. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify the systemic and comprehensive entomo fauna of Mongolia and provide basic data and information for future biological resources.

This Paper critically examines the role of social action and inaction in the use or abuse of natural resources as well as in the absence of corresponding action to restore some of the finite resources such as the water of Lake Alemaya in Eastern Ethiopia. The Paper outlined the key socionatural determinants of environmental deterioration. Its unique contribution to our understanding of the interrelationship between social and natural resources lies in its emphasis on the concept of inaction which is often neglected in the analysis of environmental degradation and the incalculable damages caused by human action. The study employed primary data derived from many years of focused observation, experiential learning and frequent interaction with members of the community and officials in the Lake region. This is complemented by data from the literature about changes that have taken place in and around the Lake. The study concluded that in order to prevent environmental destruction and rehabilitate depleted resources, it is imperative to pay particular attention to both action and inaction of social entities. It also underlines that restorative policies and programs should always maintain a balance between these two aspects human life.

Land-tenure issues have been prominent forces driving deforestation and the spread of extensive ranching as the dominant land use in Brazilian Amazonia. Southern Para is the part of Amazonia where these issues are most explosive, and an examination of this region in terms of its land-tenure issues, their environmental consequences and measures needed provides potentially valuable information for formulating policies that promote more socially and environmentally sound development. The problems of southern Para are likely to spread to increasingly broader sections of Amazonia. The present paper reviews the current land-tenure situation in southern Para and attempts to identify policy changes that would reduce its environmental impact.

The environmental justice movement in the U.S. is the product of the civil rights movement which gained headway in the 1960s and the environmental movement of the 1970s, which fought against environmental destruction, pollution, depletion of resources, and the extinction of species. Parallel movements internationally have brought attention to the need to protect unempowered communities worldwide from both environmental hazards and degradation. Environmental epidemiologists are shown to have an important role to play in the global struggle for environmental justice.

Consumption is, and has long been, synonymous with destruction. Hence, destruction is the dubious legacy of consumption. However, throughout the history of many counterstream cultures consumption was a distinctly constructive concept. We propose the EP3 Model of Cultural Evolution to explain why mainstream cultures took the low road toward conceiving of consumption as synonymous with environmental destruction, while counterstream cultures took the road less traveled toward conceiving of consumption as synonymous with environmental conservation. We also discuss important lessons to be learned about the constructive consequences of consumption from cultures far off the beaten path.

Militarism contributes to intergenerational injustice. It destroys the environment, depletes our natural resources and destroys human kind. Militarism, through environmental destruction, contributes to the violation of some basic rights including the right to healthcare. This paper goes from the assumption that whenever human health is affected, women suffer more. This is because they are biologically more vulnerable than men and also because of their household and child bearing responsibilities.

We have not clearly acknowledged the abstraction from unpriceable “social goods” (derived from communities) which, different from private and public goods, simply disappear if it is attempted to market them. Separability from markets and economics has not been argued, much less established. Acknowledging communities would reinforce rather than undermine them, and thus facilitate the production of social goods. But it would also help economics by facilitating our understanding of – and response to – financial crises as well as environmental destruction and many social problems, and by reducing the alienation from economics often felt by students and the public.

Artisanal mining in Indonesia has been accused as one of the most disastrous cause of environmental destruction. The recently enacted Indonesian Mining Act No. 4 Year 2009 has provided some clauses that obliged the ASMs to follows some procedures on reclamation. Also, the draft of the relevant implementing regulation has specifically determined some articles regarding of that post-mining activities. Although the government had conducted some actions to discipline the artisanal mining long before 2009, some of these actions were not favorable for the miners’ sustainability itself. This paper shall upbring the problems caused and suffered by the ASM based on their account and their dillematic positions. Nevertheless, its importance to regulated reclamation on artisanal mining to support sustainability development on the artisanal mining itself. The implementing laws and its subordinate rulings on this issue has not yet being issued until the paper is submitted. Statutes approach and literature reviews are conducted as the methodology of the research.

Environmental destruction is often the result of price policies for primary commodities that determine how individuals will use—and abuse—natural resources. In this paper, we analyze how domestic policies under colonial and independent governments in Sudan contributed to Acacia senegal deforestation and the demise of the international gum arabic trade. When primary commodities are produced from environmentally beneficial species, such as Acacia senegal trees, the impact of a declining market for the primary commodity will have economic and ecological repercussions on other sectors in the economy. Poverty and risk are central to this process.

This paper addresses some of the fundamental issues of the contemporary human dilemma and planetary crisis, arguing that the interrelated problems of environmental destruction, militarism, and poverty can not be resolved without an ecospiritual revolution. Women as a group and women of color in particular have leading roles to play in the process of the psychosocial transformation required to create a new world order.

This paper summarizes a number of studies in two disciplines of particular interest to environmental scientists and managers: academic ecology and academic economics. These studies suggest that too often in the past we have been extremely cavalier in our acceptance and use of some theoretical mathematical models purporting great importance and generality. Of particular concern is that on a number of occasions, data have been presented as substantiation of certain theoretical models while in fact, on closer examination, they are not. In many cases, the use of these formulations have led to unnecessary environmental destruction and illogical economic decisions. I conclude that, although there are many good reasons to continue to formalize our knowledge about systems through explicit model development, we must not continue to confuse mathematical rigor with scientific rigor, and we must subject our theoretical formulations to more rigid tests vis-a-vis nature than we have in the past.

This paper considers enhancement of fisheries and the environment in the presence of international externalities. By enhancement we refer to investments which affect the costs and benefits of controlling fish harvest rates or pollution emission levels. In a two-country, two-period model, it is shown that enhancement may be used strategically to influence the behavior of rival governments, and that the strategic effect may either offset or reinforce the standard free rider problem associated with such investment. In some cases, countries may have an incentive to invest in environmental destruction (i.e., negative enhancement) if policies are not coordinated internationally.

The role of Cu2+ in enhancing 5-chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one (IT) activity was investigated. This study was carried out in two directions. Firstly, the level of enhanced activity from a Cu2+ and IT mixture where environmental destruction of IT is minimal was examined. Secondly, the level of protection from Cu2+ in environments known to irreversibly reduce IT activity was studied. The bactericidal activities were determined in tryptic soy broth medium, mineral salt base-glucose medium and 0·9 NaCl solution. Under certain conditions, Cu2+ also stabilizes and/or protects the sensitive chlorinated IT molecule. Both synergistic activity and stabilization or protection by Cu2+ enhance the antimicrobial activity of IT under test conditions. Alternative sequential treatment with IT and Cu2+ was used to further characterize enhanced activity. The results suggest synergism. The utility of all the findings was investigated in metalworking fluid.

Of all known surviving animal species or subspecies, Lonesome George is the rarest, being the sole surviving Pinta island giant tortoise (‘Geochelone’ nigra abingdoni). As such, he symbolises the environmental destruction wrought by human activities, the process of extinction and the tenuous hope of recovery, and can justly be regarded as a conservation icon.

Economics is the driving force of today's widespread environmental destruction. Markets undervalue the earth's resources and compound their overuse. Since World War II the world has used resources voraciously. The situation can be described as the industrial countries overconsuming resources, which are overextracted and exported by developing countries and traded at prices that are lower than the social costs. Resource-intensive patterns of growth and trade are Inefficient for the world economy, and lead to tragic maldistribution of the Earth's riches. They should be replaced by knowledge-intensive patterns of growth. Information technology and the environmental agenda are two of the most important trends in the world economy. Together they can lead to growth that is Intrinsically compatible with the environment.

The fall of communism and the subsequent opening of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have revealed a regional ecosystem under serious strain after over forty years of communist stewardship. Although the entire region suffers from an exploited ecosystem, particular destruction has occurred in the border regions of the CEE states. The substantial environmental destruction and continuing degradation in these border regions give rise to a number of transboundary environmental disputes, which must be resolved if the situation is to be alleviated.'

The environmental crisis is somber evidence of an insidious fraud hidden in the vaunted productivity and wealth of modern, technoloy-based society. This wealth has gained by rapid short-term exploitation of the environmental system, but it has blindly accumulated a debt to nature (in the form of environmental destruction in the developed countries and of population pressure in developing ones)—a debt so large and so pervasive that in the next generation it may, if unpaid, wipe out most of the wealth it has gained us [9, p. 295].

This paper relates the current state of environmental public policy in Bulgaria. Combining the rapid development of the national economy with the protection and enhancement of natural resources is the fundamental principal guiding Bulgaria's policies. Policy thinking has advanced beyond notions that the producers of pollution should pay clean up costs. Instead, the current goal for policy is avoiding environmental disruption from the start. Progress toward this goal is being made particularly through the adoption of low waste technologies. Increasingly, pollution is being viewed not simply as environmental destruction, but as a symptom of inefficient production.