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With the global population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, there is an urgent need for advanced materials that can address existing and developing environmental issues. Many current synthesis processes are environmentally unfriendly and often lack control over size, shape, and phase of resulting materials. Based on knowledge from biological synthesis and assembly processes, as well as their resulting functions (e.g., photosynthesis, self‐healing, anti‐fouling, etc.), researchers are now beginning to leverage these biological blueprints to advance bio‐inspired pathways for functional materials for water treatment, air purification and sensing. The result has been the development of novel materials that demonstrate enhanced performance and address sustainability. Here, an overview of the progress and potential of bio‐inspired methods toward functional materials for environmental applications is provided. The challenges and opportunities for this rapidly expanding field and aim to provide a valuable resource for researchers and engineers interested in developing sustainable and efficient processes and technologies is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relation between vulnerability and environmental threats in islands depends on the geographical conditions of specific islands rather than general assumptions. It is assumed that different island communities may develop different socio-environmental dynamics depending on the ordinary everyday context, which would determine their resilience to real and perceived risks. This research provides data on communities' perception of their vulnerability to environmental issues, with the objective of understanding the sense of vulnerability of two neighbouring island communities in the Maldives: Maamigili and Fenfushi. The research is based on qualitative and quantitative methods which include semi-structured interviews with national and local entities, and questionnaires distributed among island inhabitants. The study shows that although the islands are located in very similar geographical settings, the socioenvironment dynamics within each of the islands determines the communities' sense of vulnerability. The communities of Maamigili and Fenfushi face different situations and, as such, general assumptions would not address the gaps and needs of communities of specific islands. Even if two islands are relatively close and similar to each other, they still require separate Disaster Risk Reduction strategies so as to address the real and perceived short- and long-term vulnerabilities of the locals as a means to build more resilient communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights the importance of environmental policies in a social and economic context characterized by multiple structural crises. The beginning of the XXI-st century proposes a new perspective, based on the transition from industrial to clean energy and green economies. In this context, environmental preservation should be seen as a main goal for decision-makers and the civic community. The paper aims to identify several relevant predictors that are involved in the further dynamics of the Environmental Performance Index. In order to argue the role played by economic factors in preserving the environment, the paper used quantitative and multivariate statistics, being based on linear, nonlinear, and multiple equations of regression. Using one-way ANOVA and nearest neighbourhood methods, the paper highlights the fact that environmental performance is strongly related to economic welfare, governmental coordination of climate policies, the level of sustainable development, and civic accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing of mining sector is generally accompanied by socio‐economic and environmental consequences. Most previous work has either analyzed economic, social, or environmental effects without considering all three dimensions of sustainable development at once. Similarly, the perceptions of the populations living near mining companies are not widely considered in these studies. The objective of this paper is to analyze the populations' perception of the effects of industrial gold mining on environment (noise, air pollution, and land degradation), social (prostitution, banditry, and alcoholism), and household income in Burkina Faso. A probit model is used on a sample of 251 households living near four industrial mining sites. The results show that mining activity has contributed to improve the per capita income of the households surrounding certain industrial mining sites. However, it has contributed to a decline in the quality of life of the households due to noise and air pollution and social problems such as banditry. The government must protect mining areas from banditry and support households with local economic infrastructure to avoid a drop in their income after the mines close. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative governance is increasingly being used as a solution to address climate change and deforestation in the tropics, but its stakeholders face numerous challenges in making it work. This study aims to understand stakeholders' perspectives on the challenges of collaborative governance, focusing on Sabah's jurisdictional approach. We applied the Q-methodology to derive the perspectives of the stakeholders involved. The results revealed three significant perspectives. The first perspective, "participant factors," highlighted that the representation of the 'right' stakeholders and the mandate to make decisions are inadequate. The second perspective, "non-progress in activities," suggests that the lack of accountability hampers the progress of the initiative. The third perspective, "shared understanding," reflects the stakeholders' inability to agree on a common goal. The consensus regarding the collaboration challenge is that the jurisdictional approach initiative is new, and nobody knows how to implement it, emphasizing the need for higher-level government commitment. This study reveals the challenges of collaborative governance in a jurisdictional approach by providing empirical evidence of the diverse perspectives of stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we report on a mixed-methods study which investigated teachers' attitudes towards and experiences with teaching environmental issues within their ELT classes. Given the rising importance of ecoliteracy and its inclusion as a transversal learning objective for all subjects in many national state curricula, it is critically important to understand how ELT educators can be best supported in addressing simultaneously both linguistic and environmentally related teaching goals. Data were collected via an online international survey (n = 91) and a series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews (n = 5). Analysis of the data reveals the specific strategies ELT teachers employ when integrating environmental issues alongside linguistic issues, what their motivations for doing so are, what resources and materials they use, and what challenges they face. The article offers valuable insights into the factors that facilitate the sustainable and effective teaching of both language and environmental issues in diverse ELT contexts across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using recycled materials can help solve the pollution caused by industrial development, which has severe and irreparable consequences on the environment, in addition to reducing the production costs of fiber reinforced concrete. Therefore, in the present study, the effects of using tire-recycled steel fibers on the mechanical properties of ultrahigh performance concrete and ordinary concrete, including compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength, residual flexural strength, toughness, and elastic modulus, have been investigated. In addition, the coefficient of environmental impact and cost in order to achieve sustainable and eco-friendly concrete has been calculated and compared with concretes without recycled fibers. The results show that using tire-recycled steel fibers in both types of concrete improves mechanical properties. In addition, environmental assessment and cost analysis showed that using recycled fibers has positive effects in reducing environmental impact and the cost of concrete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HVDC electrodes are usually implemented in HVDC links to avoid the installation of a metallic return. Submarine cables, especially those dealing with lengths of thousands of kilometers, are expensive, and high costs of laying are normally expected. Due to the high number of reversible HVDC links, the marine electrodes must be able to withstand both anodic and cathodic operations, which leads to careful considerations in terms of the material to be used. This paper shows the state of the art of the currently installed reversible sea return electrodes, focusing on the type of installation (sea, shore or pond electrodes) and on the material used, from the first plant installed in 1954 up to the more recent ones established during the XXI century. All reported data derive from publicly available sources. Moreover, since nowadays environmental issues are among the most important topics, for each material and for each type of installation, a guideline on the possible interferences caused by marine electrodes with the surrounding environment is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The known and expected consequences of climate change are dire and will hamper social and development. However, competing priorities, such as poverty, HIV and violence tend to be more visible on government agendas. In South Africa, growing inequalities result in the population being more concerned with socioeconomic problems. However, issues of poverty and unemployment, among others, are also the result of environmental degradation. This study examines the attitudes of South Africans toward environmental issues in relation to competing challenges. This cross-sectional study uses the nationally representative 2017 South African Social Attitudes Survey (SASAS) of approximately 3 173 (n) adults. Results show that environmental issues rank 17th among the most important challenges. Further, 20.08% of the population who cite economic, 28.66% with social and 15.96% who report health competing interests also cite environmental concerns. Those who cited social competing interests were also more likely to report environmental concerns (OR = 1.56; CI: 1.55152–1.55866). In conclusion, environmental issues are not highly ranked among the priorities of the population. However, commonalities between climate and economic, social and health challenges is an ideal place to start with information dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of waste and the concerns about their ecological and environmental damages are among the grand challenges societies have faced. Therefore, policymakers should highlight effective waste management as one of the pillars of sustainable development. However, the previous frameworks for managing the waste problem have been mainly unsystematic as they neglected the social aspects of the problem in analysing technology development and innovation. Therefore, in this article, the status-quo of Tehran’s waste problem (as a case study) was analysed with the new approach of ‘Problem-oriented Innovation System (PIS),’ and policy recommendations are presented accordingly. The research methodology is content analysis of related documents and reports based on a 5-step process. Findings indicate that the weak performance of Tehran’s solid waste management originates at the beginning of the waste management cycle and the weak functions of public awareness, standardisation, market formation, and system monitoring guidance. Accordingly, the unstable patterns of industrial production and social behaviour lead to the supply of a large amount of unnecessary and uneconomical waste, and the system’s actors are incapable of guiding the system and standardising to change the patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is evident from the volumes of recently published research articles that 'maritime sustainability' is getting much attention nowadays. However, there has been a bias when it comes to the selection of maritime ports. The majority of studies have been done for European and North American ports, but very few have been done for Asian ports, especially when it comes to South-Asian ports. This research evaluated South Asia's eleven major maritime ports to identify significant environmental sustainability issues they are currently facing through extensive literature review and then sorting these issues based on the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) technique. Later, these eleven Major South-Asian ports were ranked based on these sorted issues using the Segmented String Relative Ranking algorithm, thereby analysing environmental sustainable practises at the selected South-Asian ports on a long term basis. The top three ranked Ports are Port of Malé (Maldives), Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai (India) and Port of Colombo (Srilanka). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing public pollution and US President Nixon's environmental diplomacy strategy led to the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (also known as the Stockholm Conference), to which China was invited as one of the United Nations member states. Before the conference, the Chinese government clearly understood the purpose of its participation in international environmental issues and the way to demonstrate its political position. During the conference, the Chinese delegation promoted the establishment of a group to revise the declaration on the human environment by uniting with Third World countries. China quickly established an effective environmental management system and contributed to the improvement of international environmental issues by acquiring scientific and technical information through participation in international conferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify the effects of olive cultivation on sustainable rural development (SRD) in the city of Rijab, located in Dalahu County, Kermanshah Province, Iran. In respect of the research paradigm, this applied study was conducted using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods (qualitative-quantitative) design as well as descriptive-analytical data collection and analysis procedures. The study population in the qualitative part included the outstanding and leading farmers, the experts of the Agricultural Jihad Organization, and the specialists in the research subject in the city of Rijab. These study samples were thus selected purposively, via the snowball sampling technique. The statistical population of the study in the quantitative part was comprised of 370 olive farmers in the city of Rijab and seven affiliated villages (in 2021 year), that 209 of thom selected using proportional stratified random sampling (based on the size of each village). The data collection tool in the qualitative part was individual semi-structured interviews along with group discussions. In the quantitative part, a questionnaire was administered for data collection. Directed content analysis was further utilized to identify the effects and consequences of olive cultivation on SRD in the city of Rijab. Then, statistical methods and confirmatory factor analysis, based on the SPSS and PLS software packages, were employed to prioritize the given effects and consequences. The study findings identified the effects of olive cultivation on SRD in three main factors, viz. social, economic, and environmental. Moreover, a total of 17 strategies were established for developing olive cultivation in the rural areas of the city of Rijab. Other findings demonstrated that (1) increasing tendency to remain in the agricultural sector; (2) improving social welfare among farmers' households; and (3) augmenting the value and status of agribusinesses were among the most important social effects of olive cultivation on SRD. Besides, (1) achieving stable, permanent income; (2) boosting seasonal employment rates among indigenous people, and (3) improving the value of agricultural lands in the region, were the major economic effects of olive cultivation on SRD. Finally, the study results indicated that (1) preventing water and wind erosion in agricultural lands, (2) managing soil salinity, and (3) improving the climate in the region were the most significant environmental effects of olive cultivation on SRD. Based on the results, it is suggested to hold educational-promotional programs, pay low-interest facilities, identify and introduce successful models in the field of olive cultivation, and create and strengthen the business cluster of olive growers in order to develop olive cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indoor device-free localization systems utilizing received signal strength indicator (RSSI) have become mainstream because of their low pricing, low complexity, low effort, low energy, and the framework can be reusable. However, it is reviewed from the existing literature that for paying extra attention to positioning errors mitigation, researchers fail to meet the optimum characteristics requirement for measurements. To overcome such limitations and focus on current challenges in measurements, this article proposes an RSSI fingerprinting positioning algorithm using the K-nearest neighborhood and regression analysis technique such that the localization precisions can be improved. Meanwhile, to get higher location accuracy, some special RSSI values are compared to obtain a suitable one. In the proposed positioning scheme, the indoor site is divided into two parts. Moreover, in each part, the positions of a smartphone at different reference points are localized with at most two access points (APs). This strategy not only reduces the neighboring noises significantly caused by the surrounding wireless signals coming from other electronic devices but also reduces the system management overhead due to the use of a minimum number of APs, which increases the system's ability. The performance shows that the proposed scheme is highly capable of increasing the users' experience and could be a research direction for future positioning systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the discords around solar photovoltaic power plants in Portugal, in order to add knowledge to the scholarly literature regarding environmental issues in the country. Based on multiple sources of information, the article shows that despite the high public support for solar-generated electricity, the proposals for the construction of such energy infrastructures have been evoking increasing opposition from local actors and environmental organizations. The main reasons pinpointed relate to environmental, landscape and economic damages caused by prospective land use changes, as well as to procedural injustices in the planning and consultation phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generally, there is much to praise about the rise in acknowledging the need for young citizens to exercise their rights and duties, but the belief remains that this is not yet entrenched in young citizens' overall democratic involvement. A lack of citizenship and engagement in community issues was revealed by a recent study conducted by the authors in a secondary school from the outskirts of Aveiro, Portugal, during the 2019/2020 school year. Under the umbrella of a Design-Based Research methodological framework, citizen science strategies were implemented in the context of teaching, learning, and assessment, and at the service of the educational project of the target school, in a STEAM approach, and under Domains of Curricular Autonomy activities. The study's findings suggest that to build the bridge for participatory citizenship, teachers should engage students in collecting and analyzing data regarding communal environmental issues in a Citizen Science approach supported by the Internet of Things. The new pedagogies addressing the lack of citizenship and engagement in community issues promoted students' involvement at school and in the community, contributed to inform municipal education policies, and promoted dialogue and communication between local actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social innovation, the process of developing and implementing new, effective solutions to solve social or environmental issues came from national policies, governmental or non-governmental entities settle the social issues to meet the social current needs better than it has been done before. As social innovation have to meet the long term impact at large scale through non-profit endeavors and the business community, it also open to address the society's challenges too. Considering the need for social innovation for a developing country like India, the topic "Social Innovation and Youth in India" analysis the how social innovation can serve the society through youths (one of the most important assets for India). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (P) is the most important substance in inorganic fertilizers used in the agriculture industry. In this study, a multi-product and multi-objective model is presented considering economic and environmental concerns to design a renewable and sustainable P-fertilizer supply chain management (PFSCM) strategy. To handle the complexities of the model, an ensemble heuristic–metaheuristic algorithm utilizing the heuristic information available in the model, the whale optimization algorithm, and a variable neighborhood search (named H-WOA-VNS) is proposed. First, a problem-dependent heuristic is designed to generate a set of near-optimal feasible solutions. These solutions are fed into a population-based whale optimization algorithm which benefits from exploration and exploitation strategies. Finally, the single-solution variable neighborhood search is applied to further improve the quality of the solution using local search operators. The objective function of the algorithm is formulated as a weighted average function to minimize total economic cost while increasing crop yield and P use efficiency. The experimental results for a real case study of the P-fertilizer supply chain confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method in improving the crop yield and P use efficiency by 33% and 27.8%, respectively. The results demonstrate that the proposed H-WOA-VNS algorithm outperforms the Heuristic, WOA, and VNS models in reducing the total objective function value of the PFSCM model by 9.8%, 2.9%, and 4%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Casa de Piedra Tourist Villa is the youngest town in the country and its foundation is associated to the proximity of a dam inaugurated in 1996 in the middle course of the Colorado River. In this way, the development of an artificial lake led to productive projects dependent on irrigation and a residential and commercial area with tourist purposes. However, it was not possible to materialize all the proposals promoted by the provincial government. Consequently, as part of a research project of the POIRE of the UNLPam, an interdisciplinary study was carried out in order to determine if the environmental issues generated, especially from 2019, have had local consequences. To this end, official statistics analysis, comparisons with sanitary parameters, field surveys, impact identification studies, and interviews with key informants were carried out. As a conclusion, it was confirmed that the modification of the multipurpose plans drawn up by the provincial government in 2006 is based on the historical downspout of the river and other factors of a regional or local nature, including salinization and pollution. They worsen the water problem and affect living conditions. Therefore, some political decisions should be reconsidered in terms of territorial planning and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results of a bibliographical research, which aimed tocarry out a critical reflection on the relationship between the environmental issue and the international discussion on sustainability, highlighting, from multilateral agreements on economic globalization, the international geopolitics of contradictory interests defended within the scope of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the intellectual property agreement (TRIPS) established by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Among the main results, it is pointed out that the principles of protecting nature and the knowledge of traditional populations established in the CBD are in conflict with the interests of the international intellectual property system, through the dispute for access to natural resources and knowledge of traditional populations by the global biotechnology industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to understand the role of the nonprofit sector within the climate change discourse in Russian news media. It explores the news media coverage of climate change and nonprofit sector through the quantitative review of Russian news articles published within the five-year period of 2016–2021. We find that the nonprofit sector generally gains positive media coverage, and the climate change is presented as mostly a national and political issue, while the scientific discussions are very rare. Government and nongovernment news media sources diverge in their coverage on the topic. The state-owned media views the climate change as a national issue relying predominantly on Russian official sources, and praising assistance that the Russian government provides to the nonprofit sector. On the other hand, the nongovernment media highlights the political aspects of the climate change, includes government critique, and often draw on business and foreign sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vital tool in the fight against threats to biodiversity is education, particularly increasing knowledge on biodiversity. In this context, it is important to discover the effect of environmental education on the biodiversity literacy levels of the incoming 20th century work force. This study aimed to investigate graduating public administration students' biodiversity literacy levels. The descriptive survey method, one of the quantitative research methods was used in the research. A total of 119 graduating Bachelor of Public Administration students studying at a higher education institution during the 2021-2022 academic year participated in the research. "Biodiversity Literacy Assessment Instrument" was used as a data collection tool in the study. Independent t-test was used to compare gender scores while one-way ANOVA was used to compare student understanding problems related to biodiversity. Tukey HSD test was used to determine the direction of significance in multiple comparisons. The findings revealed that the participants have a high level of understanding and knowledge about biodiversity. Also, there is no dominant gender that has the higher mean scores in all the dimensions. As biodiversity literacy level in biodiversity knowledge increases, the mean score in conservation and importance of species also increases. The study has implications for teaching biodiversity that include activities to help students take responsibility for the protection of biodiversity and the place of biodiversity in the national curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this study is to identify the rural women’s attitudes towards some environmental issues in Duhok Governorate, Kurdistan region of Iraq. Area random sampling was used to select the research sample which is (507) rural women. A questionnaire was designed to collect the research data, which is consisted of two parts, the independent variables and attitudes scale which is consisted of (54) items distributed on four domains (Rural tourism, Home waste management, Sustainable agriculture, and Sustainable methods of using and conservation of forest). Experts and content validity were used to achieve the validity of the attitudes scale, and Cronbach alpha formula was used to measure the reliability of it, its value was (0.945). The data was analyzed with SPSS program. The results showed that attitude of the respondents towards all the studied environmental domains is positive. The results also showed that there is significant correlation between the attitude of respondents and each of the following variables (Level of education, Satisfaction with services in the village, Agricultural information sources, and Cultural openness). While there is no significant correlation with: (Age, Material status, Current work, and Participation in family decision – making). The research included some conclusions and recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decades, quite a few investigations have been carried out to utilize slags as a cementing agent in landfills, road construction, concrete, and mortars. However, a limited number of research studies investigated the use of magnesium slag as a soil stabilizer in geotechnical engineering projects. The manufacturing process of metallic magnesium produces a large volume of magnesium slag which is occasionally dumped in open areas. In this research, the potential use of magnesium slag as an additive agent to improve the properties of lime-stabilized soil was experimentally investigated. For this purpose, a number of different tests such as pH, Standard Proctor Compaction, Unconfined Compressive Strength, Indirect Tensile Strength, Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure, X-ray diffraction, and Scanning Electron Microscopy were performed on the clayey sand containing 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% magnesium slag with 4% and 8% lime (by dry weight of the used soil). Samples were cured for 7, 28, and 56 days. The results of the study indicated that the addition of the maximum amount of magnesium slag (50%) at all curing days improved the geotechnical characteristics of soil samples containing 8% Lime. Generally, it was found that magnesium slag can be effectively applied in soil stabilization projects to improve the geotechnical properties and alleviate environmental repercussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the history of the Amazon, there have been different forms of intervention in the development of the region and, consequently, in the model of agriculture. Such interventions occurred mainly through development strategies for the Amazon, according to the dynamics of the national scenario. This work aims to understand the conservation strategies used by farmers in Novo Remanso. From the methodological point of view, it is presented in a qualitative and quantitative way with an exploratory and descriptive purpose, of a basic nature. Therefore, in order to provide good development, a vast bibliographical, documental and field survey was carried out and the Migration Map was used as a methodological tool. In addition, forms with objective semi-structured questions were applied to 60 farmers residing in the study area. The results indicate that family farming in the community of Novo Remanso follows the traditional patterns of land use in the region, exploring the available resources to guarantee its self-sufficiency through diversified agricultural production and maintaining the diversity of species in the plantations. It is feasible in the speech of some of the interviewed farmers to nature as an element of concern, the results elucidate for an environmental perception of the family farmer close to the concept of a naturalistic perception of the environment. In this context, the study of conservation strategies in family farming should not be an isolated factor, but linked to several other factors that determine, in an integrated way, actions that lead to improvements in the living conditions of farmers, product quality and natural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, seepage control in tailings dams has become an important problem due to the increased production in mining sites. Although very techniques have been developed to solve this problem, research in this field continues. The reason for this is that there is an ongoing search for a one hundred percent successful method to prevent seepage. In this study, the geochemical and geomechanical properties of paste material stored by the surface paste disposal (SPD) method were investigated by pilot field tests. To determine the effects of cement and pozzolanic materials on the geochemical and geomechanical properties of the paste, 2 different pilot-scale storage designs were observed for about 1 year, with no additives (reference) and binder added to some layers (cement and fly ash). Based on the data derived from the former laboratory investigations and with no additives and with a few layers of cement and fly ash, the two different designs were applied on a pilot scale near the existing tailings dam of a currently active mining enterprise. These designs were observed in inland conditions for about 1 year to determine the effects of seasonal changes on the material. The seepage analysis, surface crack densities, microstructural properties, consolidation, and cohesion values of these designs, which are directly exposed to atmospheric effects, were determined during the study period. According to the results obtained, the use of cement improved the volume compressibility coefficient of the material by approximately 25% compared to the reference design. However, the use of fly ash alongside cement improved the volume compressibility coefficient by about 75%. In conclusion, the use of cement made the material more resistant to external factors, and the usability of fly ash, which was used at a 50% replacement ratio with cement to bring down the cost, for long-time storage in the industry was demonstrated within the scope of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The implications of sociography for thinking with global environmental problems are foregrounded by Bruno Latour in Down to Earth. In order to deal with the metamorphosis of the world and take into account multiplying viewpoints, Latour argues sociologists must shift the focus of enquiry from theoretical analyses of environmental problems to descriptions of the existence of environmental issues in experimental settings, local shared spaces and common practices. Taking up Latour's challenge of description from the bottom up, this article examines London's #OneLess refill water fountain pilot project initiated in 2018 to reduce plastic water bottle consumption, as an example of how scientists are at the forefront of assembling the public existence of environmental problems in local settings. Addressing my participant observation in the refill experiment, the article highlights the methodological challenges the #OneLess pilot poses for generating descriptions of what it means to engage with environmental issues sociographically. By engaging description as a methodological problem, the article examines the strengths and limitations of existing descriptive approaches and develops a different way of deploying a sociographical imagination that attempts to make sense of hesitation as a transformative practice of environmental knowledge production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to find the most important aspects of introducing zero-emission and low-carbon solutions in urban bus transport, as well as their availability. Beyond the economic aspects related to energy sources and consumption, the paper focuses on their impact on people and the environment. There is also an attempt to estimate the scale of the impact of changes in the structure of the energy sources of buses in urban transport compared with all the means of transport operating in a given area, as well as a justification for these changes. We also conducted a survey of bus passengers to check their awareness of the changes taking place and their attitude towards them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key variables when analyzing advertising effectiveness is message recall. An advertisement is not only effective because it captures the public's attention, but it must also manage to remain in the public's memory. And of the many existing methodologies, neuroscience is the one that can help the most in the study of this effect based on the analysis of memory. On the other hand, environmental issues are becoming more and more socially relevant, so this research will try to understand the role of the focus of the advertisement and the awareness of the environment, by analyzing the memory provoked by the advertisements and determining which brain areas are activated. To do this, an fMRI experiment was implemented using scanners and supported by questionnaires on the attitude of 50 people towards the messages they had viewed. Our analyses indicate that subjects who have a higher level of concern for the environment remember negative advertisements to a greater extent. More specifically, the combination of selfreport and neuroimaging techniques has confirmed the link between the memory of negative messages in environmentally concerned subjects and activity in regions that anticipate greater recall during message encodings, such as the amygdala and CMPF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alejandro Cartagena, a contemporary Mexican photographer (born in the Dominican Republic), created two interconnected photographic projects. The first, Suburbia Mexicana (2006-2009), investigates issues that arose related to the unforeseen effects of low-income housing developments established in the urban periphery of Monterrey, Mexico, on the working class. The second project, Carpoolers (2011-2012), focuses on the appearance of a distinctive type of carpooling employed by worker-owners due to the lack of public transportation to these isolated tract-home subdivisions. Through the two projects, Cartagena examines how government-subsidized suburban growth impacted the day-to-day lives of workers. In illustrating various stages of housing construction, portraying worker-owners and their families, and documenting a method of ride-sharing, the artist shows not only his concerns about issues related to the environment, construction, and remote locations, but also the strength and character of the new suburban residents and their resourcefulness in finding practical methods for personalizing their homes and managing their daily commute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows that environmental protection, a primary aim of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) set forth by the United Nations in 2015, is embedded in Islam and was practiced by Prophet Muhammad centuries ago. In this study, we examined Islam's perspective on sustainability and its relevance to these SDGs, with a particular focus on community and individual development. In this research, we address how the emphasis on the Islamic view of the contemporary environmental problems (such as depletion of natural resources, pollution, and poverty) can help improve the ethical and practical conduct toward the environment. We also elaborate on the role of education in the Islamic tradition and its connection to environmental efforts. Finally, we discuss the examples and models of environmental sustainability arising from Islamic tradition. Therefore, this paper aims to encourage consideration of Islam's perspective in solving environmental problems, activating the role of religious and scientific institutions in preserving the environment, and providing appropriate solutions. We conclude our investigation with some findings and recommendations in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bolsonaro was elected in 2018 with a very conservative political agenda, promising neoliberal economic measures, and opposing to minority's rights. Bolsonaro has been well-known as a right-wing and authoritarian politician and his government is recognised as extreme right, conservative, and/or neo-fascist, with important setbacks in public policies. The "bolsonarismo" shall be defeated, but the electoral process will not be easy, with fake news and political violence. The open threats to democracy are leading to alliances of democratic and popular political forces, including agrarian and urban social movements. This article reflects critically about Bolsonaro administration, particularly the dismantling of public policies and programmes to the countryside, reflecting about the political actions of the agrarian movements in the 2022 electoral process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research unveils the effect of economic policy uncertainty on renewable energy in G7 while technological innovation is used as a control variable by employing a quantile on quantile approach. The outcome explores the negative effect of economic policy uncertainty on renewable energy across all quantiles. Moreover, the relationship is detected mostly in upper quantiles and the coefficients reveal varying effects. Furthermore, the negative impact of economic policy uncertainty on renewable energy and vice versa is recorded in Canada, France, Germany, the UK, and the U.S. On the other hand, Italy and Japan record negative effects of economic policy uncertainty on renewable energy in the medium to upper quantiles, and a positive impact is observed from renewable energy to economic policy uncertainty in higher to lower quantiles. The positive impact of technological innovation on renewable energy is detected in the medium quantiles for all the G7 countries. Our results are in line with the general equilibrium model (GEM) that explains the negative influence of economic policy uncertainty on renewable energy development and vice versa. The government policy and regulatory framework consistency are paramount in renewable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central issue of this article is to characterize the conditions of a scientific education which allows to take in charge the double political and scientific dimension of environmental questions (EQ). Our reflection is based on an analysis of the curricula, carried by the new programs and the textbooks of life and earth sciences and Scientific Education, specifically on the environmental themes. Our analyses show that the way in which the EQ are carried out focuses on technology as a source of solutions to human problems, participates in a positivist conception of science, and relies on an anthropocentric approach. The programs and textbooks implicitly transmit a relationship to the world that is very much rooted in the paradigm of modernity. We discuss the possible levers for re-politicizing these questions in the classroom, by means of their (re)problematization in a context of instability of knowledge, of fuzzy problems, in order to contribute to a citizen's education able to respond to the challenges of the anthropocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political learning related to environmental issues is diffused among the so-called 'educations for'. It is also at the crossroads of different informal, formal and non-formal educational logics. The consequence is the combined epistemological and pedagogical fragility of such learning. This article addresses the need for epistemological and pedagogical anchors to support the construction of appropriate curricula for political education through environmental issues. In the first part, political learning is formalised according to an epistemological perspective that considers it as a process of production of political knowledge. Then, in a second part, pedagogical anchors are explored in terms of possible productive relationships between political learning and the learning objectives of education for sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentrating and non-concentrating hybrid solar collectors have drawn increasing interest thanks to their multiple advantages compared to the conventional counterparts, including the higher efficiency and dual production of thermal and electrical energies, alleviating energy security and environmental concerns. Consequently, their utilization has been explored for various applications. However, there is a scarcity of reviewed literature addressing the performance of concentrating and non-concentrating hybrid collectors-based systems from energy, exergy, economic, and environmental (4E) prospects. Therefore, a critical review of concentrating and non-concentrating hybrid solar collectors is conducted for revealing their potential in different applications, namely heating, cooling, desalination, drying, and poly-generation systems. The paper aims to highlight the energetic and exergetic performance, cost-effectiveness, and environmental impact of hybrid solar collectors' implementation through the main indicators of the 4E analysis. This review revealed that hybrid solar collectors possess an undeniable potential to cover a wide range of applications and alleviate the global warming impact linked mainly to the fossil energy systems' utilization. However, their energetic performance has to be further improved to achieve the competitiveness with fossil fuel-based systems. From exergetic perspective, the systems are still inefficient due to the high exergy destruction rate, especially for heating applications. Poly-generation systems appeared to be a cost-effective application of hybrid collectors' technology with a cost as low as $0.03/kWh. Accordingly, this work could serve as a guideline for research community and investors to get insights into hybrid collectors' technologies and identify the research trend and challenges for improving the maturity level of these systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article seeks to contribute to the recent debates about the new dynamics of rurality and about the direction of these transformations based on the recent phenomenon of migration from cities to rural zones of individuals belonging to the socalled middle class. This task begins by discussing the middle class in theories of class analysis, discussing the adequacy and possibilities of the analytical instruments offered by these theories to analyze this social group. Having made this theoretical construction, we seek, based on semi-structured interviews, to reflect on the complexity of the phenomenon of migration from cities to the countryside and the option for agroecology by individuals from the urban middle class: here called the agroecological life project. This movement, motivated by a critique of the urban way of life, the capitalist logic of production and reproduction of material life, disregard for the environment, and the concern with the aggravation of the environmental issue, at the same time as it represents a great change, is also permeated by a culture and some class privileges from the social origin of these individuals, whose combination reflects beliefs of transformation from the individual sphere. After presenting the results of the interviews, the article seeks to reflect on how this migratory process and the proposal for change embedded in its present potentialities and limitations, as well as their connection with the fact that their actors originate from the middle class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing energy demand has led to a substantial growth in the use of wind energy across the world, which can be attributed to the low initial and running costs and rapid and easy deployment of this technology. The development of hydrogen from wind energy is an excellent way to store the excess wind power produced, as the produced hydrogen can be used not only as clean fuel but also as input for various industries. Considering the good wind potentials of Yazd province, the variety of industries that are active in this area, and the central location of this province in Iran, which gives it ample access to major transport routes and other industrial hubs, hydrogen production from wind power in this province could benefit not only this region but the entire country. Given these considerations, we conducted a technical, economic, and environmental assessment of the potential for wind power generation and hydrogen production in Yazd province. Overall, the assessments showed that the best locations for harvesting wind energy in this province are Bahabad and Halvan stations. For these two stations, it is recommended to use EWT DW 52-900 turbine to take advantage of its higher nominal capacity to achieve higher electricity and hydrogen output and emission reduction. For Abarkoh and Kerit stations, which have a low wind energy potential, it is recommended to use small turbines such as Eovent EVA120 H-Darrieus. Also, economic and technical assessments showed that it is not economically justified to harvest wind energy in Ardakan station. The results of ranking the stations with the Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and Evaluation based on Distance from Average Solution (EDAS) techniques showed that Bahabad station was introduced as the best place to produce hydrogen from wind energy. • Hydrogen development projects is studied for Yazd City of Iran. • Development of hydrogen from wind energy is analyzed. • A technical, economic, and environmental assessment is conducted. • Best locations for harnessing wind energy found to be Bahabad and Halvan stations. • Halvan and Bahabad can produce 19.844 and 19.429 tons/year of hydrogen respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Shanghai Museum, which was established by the primarily British and American expatriate-led North-China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1874 and continued to operate until 1952, had a major influence on the popularization of natural history knowledge in China. It contributed to training the first generation of Chinese taxidermists, many descendants of whom continue even today to hold positions in academic institutions related to natural history in the country. Moreover, the Museum's habitat dioramas, in particular, played a significant role in raising public awareness about environmental issues among local and foreign residents of Shanghai. This paper traces the salient aspects of the Museum's history, focusing on the key individuals involved in its development and the contributions that it made to the production, dissemination and popularization of natural history knowledge and techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines young children's understanding of environmental issues in Malta. Informed by a socio-cultural perspective and adopting a qualitative methodology, this case study was conducted with 10 children (ages 3–7). The data were obtained through children's interpretation of photographs depicting environmental issues. The results showed that young children possess some understanding of environmental issues and they could talk about them, indicating that environmental understanding starts in early childhood. Some children also held misconceptions about environmental issues. In light of these findings, it can be argued that starting environmental learning in early childhood is important for the achievement of a sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An exact and precise literature review about implementation of V2G system is analyzed. • The influences of V2G system and its integration with RESs on the environment, society and economy are evaluated. • A general classification of recent studies on V2G is gathered for discovering the possible gaps. • A survey of the last two decades of scholarly literature on V2G from 2004 to 2019 is presented. • At end, the clear direction for future studies is offered to the researchers. Without any doubt, the environmental issues are the top worries between all the nations in the current century. According to the recent studies, the researchers have shown that the transportation fleet is one of the biggest sources of emission. The penetrating the renewable energy sources (RESs) and electric vehicles (EVs) are the green solutions to decrease the current environmental issues. Due to intermittent nature of RESs and high investment costs of developing EVs' infrastructure, tendency for using them is under the predicted estimations. In this paper, by analyzing a precise and comprehensive literature review, we consider all aspects of implementing the EVs especially their supporting roles for the grid in vehicle to grid system (V2G). Moreover, we study the integration of the electrified fleet with RESs in smart grid and evaluate their possible impacts on the power network. In addition, we count the advantages and disadvantages of implementing the V2G system on the power network. The main purpose of this paper is analyzing the influences of the V2G system on the power grid in four main subjects and classifying them based on their proposed methodology for the future studies. However there are some review papers related to this topic, this field of study suffers a lack of clear direction for future studies and researchers and also a comprehensive analysis about the V2G-related articles is still missing. Finally, an analysis and survey of the last two decades of scholarly literature and projects in this field of study from 2004 to March 2019 is presented. The results show that a limited number of articles have conducted to investigate the social aspects of implementation of V2G system. In addition, however, there are many researches about integration of the V2G system with RESs and smart grid; a few of them use the real data for estimating the availability of RESs in each hour of day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article performs a posthumanist reading of Outer Wilds (Mobius Digital, 2019) focusing on how the game represents posthuman subjectivity. Outer Wilds uses two alien species to represent two conceptions of subjectivity: a transhumanism focused on technological augmentation of the human, and a posthumanism focused on decentring the human subject from philosophy and culture. This article argues that Outer Wilds leads the player through several Braidottian processes of posthuman "becoming." Outer Wilds represents becoming-machine in the two species' different approaches to technology, becoming-earth in embracing a geo-centred perspective on ecosystems beyond the subject, and becoming-imperceptible in the two species' different approaches to death and the idea of the self. Through these becomings, Outer Wilds represents what it means to be a posthuman ethical subject in a world on the verge of collapse and emphasises the importance of acting in the face of an ongoing environmental disaster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental issues have become global challenges, so seeking an economic model to reach environmental sustainability is essential. As an emerging economic model, green finance is considered the most effective tool in promoting low-carbon economic transition. China, the largest economy among developing countries, faces environmental inferiority and increasing energy demand. This paper aims to discuss the effects of green finance on the low-carbon economic transition. This paper makes the policy of green financial reform and innovation pilot zones a quasi-natural experiment. It employs difference-in-differences (DID) model to analyze the impact of green finance on the low-carbon economic transition. This paper found that the low-carbon economic transition achieved good results within experimental zones after establishing a pilot zone for green finance reform and innovation. Furthermore, the parallel trend test results, complicatedly disturbing facts mitigating provincial differences, and placebo tests are still valid. Finally, we found that low-carbon economic transition solely takes effect significantly in eastern and central areas but is not significant in western areas. The paper suggests that green finance has played an apparent role in promoting low-carbon economic transition and provides essential reference and experimental evidence for future economic transition after analyzing the pilot zone for green finance reform and innovation policy. • Green finance is a crucial tool for achieving low-carbon economic transition. • Eastern and middle regions experienced significant effects. • The study provides valuable experimental evidence for future economic transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigation of the properties of particleboard panels bonded with a phenol-lignin-glyoxal (PLG) resin as a new type of wood adhesive was the aim of this research work. Thus, various contents of soda bagasse lignin (20, 30 and 40 wt%) as a substitute of part of the phenol were used to synthesize PLG resins, coupled with glyoxal as a nontoxic aldehyde. The resins prepared were then used to bond particleboard panels. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized resins and physical and mechanical properties of the particleboard panels bonded with the PLG resins were measured. The thermal properties of the resins were also analyzed by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Finally, the properties of the resins and of the panels bonded with them were compared with those of a control PF resin and the relevant EN standards. The results showed that PLG resins, especially at the higher percentages of lignin, had slower gel time and lower viscosity compared to the control PF resin. DSC analysis also indicated that curing of a PLG resin with 30 wt% lignin substitution needs a higher temperature than for a PF resin. Although the panels bonded with PLG resins presented weaker mechanical properties and lower dimensional stability compared to those bonded with PF resins their properties still satisfy the requirements of the relevant standards specifications. The results of this work indicated that panels bending and internal bond strengths, as well as their dimensional stability, decrease with an increasing percentage of the lignin content from 20% to 40% by weight, while the flexural modulus increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glyoxal as a nonvolatile and nontoxic aldehyde, which can be used as a substitution of formaldehyde in wood industry to prepare novel melamine-glyoxal (MG) resins. However, for the reason of the lower reactivity of the glyoxal compared with formaldehyde, the performances of the MG resin is not as good as expected. 5-Hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF) was used as a modifier to improve the properties of melamine-glyoxal (MG) resins to prepare a hydroxymethyl furfural modified melamine-glyoxal (HMFMG) resin. This was tried as a plywood adhesive. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF), Cross Polarisation-Magic Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (CP-MAS 13C NMR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and thermomechanical analysis (TMA) were used to analyze the structure of the oligomers formed and the thermomechanical properties of the resins. The curing activation energy of HMFMG resin was found to be lower than MG resin, and it also significantly with a better plywood bonding performance and water resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Furfuryl alcohol, a biosourced material, is widely used in the foundry industry, and also as additive or modifier in the adhesives field. However, furanic resins have not been reported as being used alone as wood panel adhesives. In the present work furfuryl alcohol-aldehyde resins were prepared by reacting furfuryl alcohol with three different aldehydes, namely formaldehyde, glyoxal and glutaraldehyde. p-Toluene sulfonic acid and an acid self-neutralizing system were used as resin hardeners to prepare plywood and evaluate their bonding performances. Matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR) and thermomechanical analysis (TMA) were used to analyze the thermomechanical properties of the resins and the structure of the oligomers formed. The results showed that formaldehyde and glyoxal can react with furfurly alcohol to obtain resins of excellent performance. However, the reaction of glutaraldehyde with furfuryl alcohol appeared to be difficult, the self-condensation of furfuryl alcohol instead predominating. The acidity of the curing agent has a great influence on the bonding performance of the resin. The furfurly alcohol-glyoxal (FAG) resin showed also a good bonding strength and water resistance, higher than the standard requirements (≥ 0.7MPa), even when using an acid self-neutralizing system as hardener. The FAG resin was particularly good considering that no formaldehyde was used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Yangtze River Economic Belt is a major regional development strategy of China, to form the backbone axis of the national “one body and two wings” development and opening-up pattern. This paper systematically analyzed ecological background and status of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, such as ecosystem service value of Yangtze River, ecological location, ecological types, ecological geographic pattern, natural conditions and natural ecological disasters. Then the major ecological and environmental issues were summarized, including serious water and air pollution, dramatic degradation of main tributaries of the Yangtze River and lakes, the increasing cumulative ecological and environmental impacts of major projects, and the unharmonious relationship between rivers and lakes. Finally, four protection strategies were proposed to ensure successful implementation of the well-coordinated environmental conservation and avoiding excessive development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, including: implementing water quality goals management by stressing water eco-environmental protection of the Yangtze River with the top priority; forming a land and space development pattern dominated by intensive, concentrated spatial development and natural and open ecological space; continuing to implement the green ecological protection project of the Yangtze River Economic Belt; and breaking the division of departments and localities, and implementing comprehensive watershed management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a context of progressive expansion of the Italian forest area, we present the results of a national survey exploring public perception of forests across different geographical scales in Italy. Perceptions of forests are assessed in relation to popular beliefs on relevant environmental issues such as countering climate change, protecting biodiversity, and promoting social cohesion and environmental education. Participants (N = 1059) living in five different regions of Northern (Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Piemonte), Central (Lazio, Molise) and Southern Italy (Puglia), were recruited in the survey and completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire. Survey questions regarded the estimated percentage of forest cover, the perceived importance of different environmental issues and of different material and non-material forest products, as well as participants' perceptions regarding connectedness to nature. Results revealed a generalized tendency to overestimate the extension of forest surface area in the participants' region, in Italy, and in the European Union. Results also showed high scores for participants' perceived importance of environmental issues, such as climate change and biodiversity protection, and in their belief that forests could play a positive role in addressing these issues and providing important outcomes and benefits for the quality of human life, such as health and well-being or social cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In practice, lubricants are used to minimize the friction and wear of frictional surfaces. The disposal of mineral-based lubricating oil possesses environmental issues and forced the development of bio-degradable lubricating agents. The simultaneous mono-dispersion of metallic and metal oxides nanomaterials into lubricating agents may concurrently reveal superior thermo-physical and rheological characteristics. This paper proposes an experimental and theoretical investigation on the dynamic viscosity enhancement of flat platelets textured Graphene/NiO-coconut oil hybrid nanofluids. The results reveal that the dynamic viscosity enhancement of hybrid nanofluids increases with nanomaterial concentration and decreases with temperature. The squat hybrid nanomaterial concentration has less collusion probability and dynamic contact between the mono-dispersed hybrid nanomaterials as it has enough interfacing gaps to conquer superficial surface energy. The high nanomaterial concentration revamps the formation of lamellar-composite agglomerated particles and enhances the dynamic viscosity of base fluid. Further, a theoretical correlation is recommended to estimate the dynamic viscosity of hybrid nanofluid with minimum margin of deviation using artificial neural network (ANN). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was to improve the bonding of bagasse fiber panels with urea formaldehyde (UF) resins by incorporating oxidized polyethylene (OPE) as a new coupling agent. To reduce the panels formaldehyde emission and to improve their water resistance was an additional aim of this work. Thus, different proportions of OPE (5, 10 and 15%) were added during the UF resin preparation instead to the second urea. The resins were then used in the production of UF-bonded bagasse fiber panels. The physicochemical, structural and thermal properties of the resins as well as water absorption, flexural properties, internal bond strength (IB) and formaldehyde emission of the panels bonded with them were measured according to standard methods. According to the FTIR spectra, the absorbance related to C = C and C = O bonds increased due to the addition of OPE to the UF resin. DSC analysis indicated that in comparison to UF resin, the curing process of UF resin containing OPE occurred at a lower temperature. The gel time shortened and the viscosity increased by the addition of OPE to the UF resin. The panels containing OPE yielded higher IB, flexural modulus and strength compared to those made from pure UF resins. The panels bonded with modified UF resins also showed lower formaldehyde emission and water absorption. Based on finding of this work, the panels containing 15% OPE emitted less formaldehyde, had higher mechanical strength and better dimensional stability than other percentages OPE-modified UF adhesives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]