Advances in Environmental Research. Volume 68

Chapter one of Advances in Environmental Research. Volume 68 contains a rudimentary inferential analysis concerning conditions in the US such as the variation of the atmospheric content of carbon dioxide over two hundred and seventy-two years up to 2016, and the contribution of major environmental sources to the atmospheric amount of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and methane along with emissions caused by hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulphurhexafluoride and nitrogentrifluoride. The following chapter aims to present an overview of environmentally exploitable properties, as well as present and potential prospects of bacterial extracellular polymeric substances in addressing real life environmental problems. The authors go on to review the heavy metal processes that occur in the soil and leafy vegetables, particularly in cabbage, and the relationships between the soil levels and metal contents in plants. An approach for the utilization of microorganisms from shallow hydrothermal vent sediments in environmental biotechnology is also presented. Next, it is shown that that SDG 13 and SDG 15 can be addressed simultaneously if policy makers and practitioners focus on reducing the costs of telecommunications and the internet, as this would reduce the costs for tablets and mobile phones, enabling improved access to information and practice on Ecosystem Based Adaptation and microforestry schemes. The authors discuss the responsibility of the Water Board of Nicosia to operate the water distribution network that covers more than 91 sq. km, water mains of 1,280 km length, and the management of the 13 water reservoirs. They also show how water management is governed and how it affects theiIsland of Cyprus. The subsequent study indicates that concentrations of trace elements in sediments and brackish wate,r and even interstitious waters, may not provide an accurate view of the levels of contamination and their potential ecotoxicity in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. The closing paper focuses on the land-use/cover dynamicity and its impact on the land surface temperature of Lodhama river basin in Darjeeling Hill area during the period of 2001 and 2016.