Climate Crisis Research Articles

The Relevancy of Religious Literacy in Social Studies Curricula: Quebec’s CCQ as a Case Study

This article explores Quebec’s recent transition from the “Ethics and Religious Culture” (ERC) program to the “Culture and Citizenship in Quebec” (CCQ) program, emphasizing the role of religious literacy in secular societies. We investigate the rationale behind the shift, and examine the ERC’s focus on fostering understanding of diverse religious and ethical perspectives as well as CCQ’s broader mandate to integrate cultural and civic education and its aim at the development of a shared and common public Quebecois culture. The case study highlights the pedagogical and societal implications of this change, discussing how the CCQ program aims to enhance civic engagement, cultural awareness, and social cohesion. Furthermore, the article identifies opportunities for educators to address pressing global challenges, such as polarization, reconciliation, and the climate crisis, within the new curriculum framework. By promoting critical thinking, inclusivity, and active citizenship, fostering religious literacy in such programs presents a unique opportunity for educators and youth to contribute to a more resilient and harmonious society.

Theorizing Sexuality Politics of Neoliberalism: A Queer Sociological Approach

ABSTRACTThis article provides a critical overview of neoliberalism scholarship from a queer sociological perspective. Despite mainstream neoliberalism scholarship neglecting sexuality as a system of intersecting power relations, sociologists of sexualities have explored how neoliberalism reshapes the state, market, society, and subjectivity concerning sex, intimacy, and sexual politics. Highlighting the intersection of the sociology of sexualities with transnational feminist and queer studies, as well as critical race studies, I advocate for a refined understanding of sexuality as integral to neoliberalism's operations with empire, colonialism, and racial capitalism. I suggest areas for future research to further develop this understanding, including the emphasis on the variegated nature of neoliberalism, its ambivalence and contradictions, and its promiscuous convergence with other political, social, and cultural formations. This article ultimately calls for a queer political economic analysis in the continued engagement with neoliberalism and its interactions with sexuality politics to understand new global challenges and social transformations, including shifting geopolitics, digital and platform economies, and climate and reproductive crises.

Staring out my window: Reflexivity and relationality in research in a Covid-19 world

In March 2020 I faced a research crisis. Like many PhD students, my project quickly fell apart and I was faced with writing a PhD on migration while stood still in London. In this article I explore the techniques I used to try to write about movement through conscious stasis and what this can tell us about the nature of fieldwork. I explore my attempts to answer these problems through experiments in autoethnography and communal storytelling. Both of these methods were attempts on my behalf to think through what it means to do ethical research in the face of a climate crisis and a pandemic. As such, I explore the ways in which using them changed my thinking not only about my project, but about the nature of research itself. I argue that moments of rupture such as COVID shine a light on the structuring of ‘normality’ in research. I write against a return to that normal. A normal that has justified extensive international travel in the face of a deepening ecological crisis, a normal that celebrated knowledge extraction and created material realities which governed ‘who’ the researcher could be.

Investigation on Cement-Stabilized Base with Recycled Aggregate and Desert Sand.

This paper mainly explores the feasibility of using desert sand (DS) and recycled aggregate in cement-stabilized bases. Recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) and DS serve as the substitutes of natural coarse and fine aggregates, respectively, in cement-stabilized bases. A four-factor and four-level orthogonal test is designed to analyze the unconfined compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and compressive resilient modulus. Furthermore, this paper investigates the effects of cement content, fly ash (FA) replacement rate, RCA replacement rate, and DS replacement rate on the road performance of cement-stabilized bases composed of RCA and DS. The test results reveal that the performance of cement-stabilized bases with partial RCA instead of natural coarse aggregate (NCA) and partial DS instead of natural fine aggregate satisfies the road use. The correlation and microscopic analyses of the test results imply the feasibility of applying DS and recycled aggregate to cement-stabilized bases. This paper calculates and evaluates the life cycle of carbon emissions of desert sand and recycled coarse aggregate cement-stabilized macadam (DRCSM) and finds that both DS and RCA can reduce the carbon emissions of CSM, which has a positive effect on improving the environment and solving the climate crisis. It is hoped that this paper can offer a solid theoretical foundation for promoting the application of DS and recycled aggregate in road engineering.

Reading slowly together: climate literature book clubs and their potential for engaging young people with climate crisis

Engaging young people with the effects and potential future impacts of climate crisis is essential for facilitating the changes required. These topics and their consequences can be overwhelming, and the emotional responses equally diverse, from anxiety to disengagement, but emotional depth can mean deeper levels of engagement. This paper introduces an empirically tested innovative approach to this challenge. Over a three-month period, a cohort of young participants met three times and actively engaged in a structured and facilitated climate-focused book club where they read one book slowly. Their perspectives and experiences in relation to climate crisis within this context became the focal point of a semi-structured narrative focus group. Thematic analysis of this data, conducted by an interdisciplinary team of researchers, yielded key themes encompassing 1) personal reflections, 2) knowledge acquisition, skill development and behavioural changes, 3) connections to others, 4) enthusiasm, inclusion, and support. Subsequently, the discussion delves into the importance of providing opportunities for shared discussions when reading climate literature and the pivotal role and potential of climate literature as a mechanism for personal and collective meaningful engagement with climate crisis.

Climate crisis and psychiatry

The climate crisis is increasingly leading to negative consequences for mental health and is of growing importance for psychiatric and psychotherapeutic care. The effects of the climate crisis on mental health and its significance for psychiatric and psychotherapeutic care are presented. Recommendations for sustainability in psychiatric and psychotherapeutic practice are provided. Anarrative review of the literature was conducted for this article. The climate crisis has direct, indirect and intersectional negative effects on mental health. Sustainable and preventive recommendations for the practice include promoting health literacy, faster access to psychotherapy and online counselling, supporting social networks, promoting employment and reducing poverty, homelessness and social isolation. It is recommended to increase the proportion of outpatient care and to streamline administrative processes. The use of disposable products should be minimized and the application of instrumental diagnostics and materials should be optimized according to guidelines. Digital interventions should be considered more frequently in the clinical practice and sustainable facility management should be improved. Access to green spaces for the general population and patients should be facilitated. Due to the negative impact of the climate crisis on mental health, sustainability should be promoted in psychiatric and psychotherapeutic care.

Russia, Ukraine and the climate crisis: Transforming circuits of power

The paper addresses a history of the present, doing so in relation to UN Sustainable Development Goal #13, that of taking urgent action to combat climate change. It uses key concepts from the circuits of power framework (Clegg 1989; 2023) to do so; notably the idea of social and system integration, adapted from Lockwood (1964). The focus is on the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on European system integration that is dependent on trade in fossils fuels. The paper begins by a backwards glance at how the Soviet Union disintegrated to become Putin’s Russia, via Gorbachev’s attempts at reforming the basis for social integration (Brown, 1997). It contrasts the social integration of Russia with that of the Western democracies. All of this discussion is preparatory to a consideration of Putin’s paradoxes in invading Ukraine and how the unanticipated consequences of this strategic choice point to an undermining of the basis of Putin’s power. The cost inflation and limiting of gas supplies to Europe by supply chain disruption that have been a consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine provide a massive stimulus for the greening of the global economy’s energy sources, thus undermining the resource based power on which the Russian economy is founded.

Sustainable meaningful learning through the tree of knowledge: a teaching project for Nepal

Introduction: The climate crisis and social justice are at the focus of UNESCO's 2030 Agenda, which presents 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) as a roadmap for the preservation of the planet. From the educational field, its achievement can be promoted through the design of educational projects that promote sustainable meaningful learning (SML) hand in hand with learning for social justice (LSJ). In this context, an innovative teaching practice was developed in 2021-22 using biosphere reserves in Nepal, in which students from the International Primary Education Teacher Degree Program designed teaching materials to be offered to nearby primary schools in Nepal, close to the selected biosphere reserve. Methodology: The students built knowledge models based on conceptual maps about the selected biosphere reserve, creating teaching units with activities aimed at students in Nepal. A tree of knowledge was also designed that summarized the joint project as a metacognitive tool for sustainable meaningful learning. Results: For the evaluation, a double rubric was used that analysed both the oral defence of the project and the different sections of the UD, and personal reflections were analysed, as well as the learning results and motivation. Discussion: Sustainable meaningful learning together with learning for social justice and the didactic tools that were used are very valid methodologies to stimulate international cooperation and promote meaningful, autonomous, motivating and sustainable learning.

Spatial characteristics and optimization of urban living space carbon suitability index (ULS-CSI) in Tianjin, China

The global climate crisis is escalating, and urban living Space (ULS) is a significant contributor to carbon emissions. How to improve the carbon suitability of ULS while promoting social and economic development is a global issue. This study aims to develop an evaluation system for comparing and analyzing carbon suitability inequality and spatial differences in different areas. To achieve this goal, an urban living space carbon suitability index (ULS-CSI) based on spatial organizational index (SOI) has been proposed. The ULS-CSI was calculated at the area scale in Tianjin using information from the Tianjin Land Use Database in 2021. The carbon emissions coefficient method was used to calculate the urban living space carbon emissions (ULSCE). Moran’I and LISA analysis were used to quantify the spatial differences of ULS-CSI. The results showed that the residential living area (RLA) carbon emissions was the highest at the area scale, with carbon emissions of 1.14 × 1011 kg, accounting for 33.74%. The green space leisure area (GLA) carbon absorption was the highest at the area scale, with carbon absorption of 5.76 × 105 kg, accounting for 32.33%. SOI in different areas have spatial heterogeneity as the SOI such as building area, road network density and land use characteristics are significantly different in different areas. Areas with superior CSI were primarily situated in Heping, Hexi, Nankai, and Beichen, accounting for 83.90%. Conversely, areas under the basic CSI threshold included Xiqing, Jinnan, and Dongli, accounting for 16.10%. Spatial characteristics of ULS-CSI in Tianjin portrayed a significant spatial positive correlation, indicating the highest autocorrelation degree of CSI at 500 m, with a Moran ’I value of 0.1733. Although these findings reflect the spatial characteristics of ULS-CSI and the SOI affecting the ULS-CSI at area scale, more perfect data are needed to reflect the complexity of structural factors affecting ULS-CSI at area scale. This study is helpful for urban planning to develop differentiated carbon reduction strategies and promote low-carbon and healthy urban development.

Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction to Ethanol by ZnCo2O4/ZnO Janus Hollow Nanofibers.

Photocatalytic carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction for high-value hydrocarbon fuel production is a promising strategy to tackle global energy demand and climate change. However, this technology faces formidable challenges, primarily stemming from low yield and poor selectivity of C2 products of the desired hydrocarbon fuels. This study reported ZnO/ZnCo2O4 Janus hollow nanofibers (ZnO/ZCO JHNFs) prepared by electrospinning and atomic layer deposition. Photocatalytic tests revealed an ethanol yield of 4.99 μmol g-1 h-1 for ZnO/ZnCo2O4 JHNFs, surpassing mixed ZnO/ZnCo2O4 nanofibers (ZnO/ZCO NFs) by 4.35 times and pure ZnO by 12.7 times. The selectivity of 58.8% is 2.38 and 4.49 times higher than those of ZnO/ZnCo2O4 NFs and ZnO, respectively. These enhancements are attributed to efficient carrier separation facilitated by the ordered internal electric field of the Z-scheme heterojunction interface, validated by the energy band evaluations from experimentation and density functional theory (DFT) simulations and charge separation characterizations of photocurrent, impedance, and photoluminescence spectra. The Janus structure also effectively exposes the surface of ZnCo2O4 to CO2 molecules, increasing the active site availability, as confirmed by BET nitrogen adsorption/desorption, temperature-programmed desorption tests, and DFT adsorption energy calculations. This study proposes a novel approach for efficient photocatalytic hydrocarbon fuel production, with potential applications in energy and climate crisis mitigation.

Product Characteristics and Emotions to Bridge the Intention-Behavior Gap in Green Food Purchasing

Promoting environmentally friendly behaviors is a pivotal strategy in addressing the climate crisis. The food industry’s impact on pollution and resource consumption underscores the importance of fostering eco-sustainable food consumption, which can significantly benefit the environment. However, despite the global surge in green purchase intentions, a noticeable discrepancy persists between these intentions and actual purchasing behavior. This study aimed to investigate the influence of various factors on the likelihood of purchasing green food. An online survey was administered to Italian adult consumers (n = 832, 66% female, aged 18–84 years), collecting sociodemographic data and assessing emotions related to green purchases, perceptions of green food characteristics, intention to buy green food, and frequency of green food purchases. Through cluster analysis, three distinct consumer categories emerged: Coherent Buyers (individuals willing to buy green food and actively doing so), Coherent Non-Buyers (individuals who have no intention to buy green food and do not buy it), and Non-Buyers with Favorable Intentions (individuals expressing willingness to buy green food but not following through with purchases). Results from multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that several factors influenced the likelihood of being categorized in the other two categories, as opposed to the Coherent Buyers one. These factors included younger age, a lower sense of pride associated with purchasing green products, and considering healthiness, natural content, and eco-sustainability of food less important and familiarity of green food more important. These findings provide valuable insights for marketers and policymakers, facilitating efforts to bridge the gap between green food intentions and behaviors and promote a shift toward a more eco-sustainable dietary pattern.

Response of Some Pepper Genotypes to Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) and Discrimination of Kilis Isolates Using High-Resolution Melting (HRM) Method

The escalating global population, diminishing agricultural lands, and the overarching global climate crisis are significantly impacting pepper cultivation. These challenges exacerbate the vulnerability of pepper plants to various biotic and abiotic factors, particularly viral diseases, resulting in diminished yield and quality. Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), a notable concern for peppers in the Solanaceae family, is causing substantial quality and yield losses, with no effective chemical control methods currently available. This study focuses on exploring the genetic structure of CMV isolates obtained from pepper production areas in Kilis province and comparing these regions through the High-Resolution Melting (HRM) method. CMV isolates, cultivated in tobacco plants, have their partial coat protein sequences compared with those of other CMV isolates registered in the gene bank. The nucleotide sequences of identified CMV isolates are phylogenetically grouped and compared using an HRM graph. The HRM graph effectively distinguishes Kilis 3 and Kilis 4 isolates, clustered similarly to sequence patterns, from other isolates. The study highlights the utility of HRM analyses in identifying differences between isolates before determining sequence patterns. In the gene bank comparison, Kilis CMV isolates distinguished from others. Similarities were observed with isolates from Iran's Balsam (Impatiens balsamina - LC066478), Türkiye's Radish (Raphanus sativus - LC0665051), and Wild Turnip (Rapistrum rugosum - LC066514, LC066511, LC066517). The study found that Kilis 7 CMV isolate, transferred mechanically to 24 different pepper genotypes (C. annuum) from the local population, revealed susceptibility to CMV in the 24 lines developed from the Elbeyli population in Kilis province.

The moderating effect of religiosity between climate change anxiety and death anxiety among a sample of Lebanese adults

BackgroundAcknowledging the increasing worry over climate change and its psychological effects, the aim of this research is to clarify the dynamics between religiosity, climate anxiety and death anxiety, seeking to figure out the way religiosity mitigates the psychological effects of existential anxieties and climate related anxiety.MethodsUsing Google Forms, a questionnaire was developed and disseminated through a variety of messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger. Through a snowball sampling technique, 763 participants were recruited in this cross-sectional during September 2023.ResultsThe subsequent variables were adjusted in the moderation analysis: age, gender, and place of living. The results suggested that religiosity levels moderated the association between climate anxiety and death anxiety (Beta = 0.02, t = 1.97, p = .05, 95% CI 0.001, 0.035). At low, moderate, and high levels of religiosity, higher climate anxiety was significantly associated with more death anxiety. In addition, at low levels of climate anxiety, individuals with higher levels of religiosity (22.66) had more decreased levels of death anxiety compared to those with lower levels of religiosity (11.99). As climate anxiety levels increase, inverted patterns can be observed, with highly religious individuals showing higher levels of death anxiety than those with lower levels of religiosity. Overall, the relationship between climate anxiety and death anxiety was found to be weakest at low levels of religiosity and strongest at high levels of religiosity.ConclusionOur findings suggest a possible beneficial effect of high religiosity at low levels of climate anxiety. This effect is reversed as climate anxiety starts to increase. Therefore, clinicians and policy-makers should bear in mind these complex interactions when designing strategies to mitigate mental health problems in the context of climate crisis.

Museums and climate change discourse: the selected case studies analysis

ABSTRACT The objective of the article is to analyse how museums become involved in the climate discourse. To analyse the empirical material, a critical discourse analysis was used to examine the discourse practices implemented by museums in their strategic documents on environmental and climate issues. Results: Despite the museums' take on the challenges of the climate crisis in their strategy documents, the tacit assumption of human/cultural dominion over nature prevails. The analyses reveal the facade nature of the content found in the strategic documents of the selected museums. Despite addressing content related to the climate crisis, there is a lack of proposals for unconventional solutions or groundbreaking projects. Bringing together a range of different types of institutions around the theme of sustainability in the broadest sense puts museums at the centre of a network of civil society institutions with an important leadership role in the face of the challenges of the future. It will be up to the museums themselves to mobilise the other actors towards a viable solution to the problem. A limitation of the research is that it was conducted in large museums that are participating in the aforementioned discourse and on the other hand, there is a lack of the local perspective on environmental issues.

How Is SDG 11 Linked with Other SDGs? Evidence from the United Nations Good Practices

The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities” (SDG 11) is linked with the 16 other SDGs to varying extents. Studying these relationships can provide insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the current SDG framework and set the stage for improvements to the next version. We analyze data from the UN database of 221 “good practices” for SDG 11 submitted between 2018 and 2021 to determine the most and least frequent linkages between SDG 11 and other SDGs as well as differences in such linkages between developed and developing countries. We find SDG 11 most closely associated with SDG 17 “Partnership for the Goals” and SDG 13 “Climate Action”. This shows actors’ perceptions of the centrality of international partnerships and climate action in addressing urban sustainability challenges. Connections with SDG 7 “Affordable and Clean Energy”, SDG 2 “Zero Hunger”, and SDG 16 “Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions” were surprisingly weak, given the role of clean energy in addressing the climate crisis, the prevalence of poverty and hunger within cities, and the importance of institutions. Developing countries more frequently linked SDG 11 with SDG 5 “Gender Equality” and SDG 6 “Clear Water and Sanitation”, showing a focus on basic infrastructure and gender equity dimensions of sustainability. Developed countries associated SDG 11 more strongly with natural resources, environmental sustainability, and economic production. These findings suggest that more specific targets, indicators, and international support related to energy, poverty, hunger, and institutions may be needed within post-2030 iterations of SDG 11.

Analysis of Conflict of Interest Discourse on Online Fundraising Platforms Protect the Forest

Ecology has become one of the main global issues today due to the worsening climate crisis around the world. LindungiHutan as the largest fundraising platform focusing on forest and environmental conservation in Indonesia can commercialise ecological issues through its digital means. This research aims to find out the conflict-of-interest discourse on LindungiHutan's online fundraising platform. The research was conducted qualitatively using the methods of text discourse analysis, social cognition, and social context. The results showed that LindungiHutan has commodified ecology through the nature campaign programme, collaboratree, corporatree, corporate social responsibility. LindungiHutan has collaborated with several companies that have contributed to the destruction of forests and the environment: MayBank, Mondelez International, DBS Bank, BCA Bank, PT Santos Jaya Abadi. LindungiHutan provides tree purchase packages divided into basic and additional services. LindungiHutan keeps the cost budget details and accountability report of each nature campaign confidential. The commodification of forests and the environment can also be seen from the establishment of a 5% administration fee policy for every fundraising campaign conducted by LindungiHutan.

A new hybrid fixed and adaptive gains control algorithm to reduce power losses on LLCL filter-based renewable energy conversion systems with systematic parametrization using Grey Wolf optimizer

Currently, there is a transition in the energy matrix around the world, where traditional sources of energy generation are continually being replaced by energy generation systems based on renewable sources to mitigate the climate crisis. In this bias, this work presents the mathematical modeling of an LLCL filter, used to connect power generation systems based on renewable energy sources to the electrical grid, and presents a novel hybrid fixed-and adaptive gains control strategy for current injection into the grid using this system. The developed hybrid controller is composed of a proportional–integral controller and a direct robust adaptive controller. The first term of the controller guarantees the reference current, while the second term of the controller is used for disturbance rejection. Furthermore, a systematic procedure for the controller’s parametrization based on Grey Wolf Optimizer is also provided. The control of the current injected into the grid is carried out considering the LLCL filter without passive damping resistors in the filter structure to avoid power losses due to the passive filter elements. Additionally, the LLCL filter model considers minimal parasitic resistances to evaluate the controller’s performance and optimize it for the application of interest, aiming to maximize the system performance by ensuring a short transient regime due to the fast closed-loop system response. Simulation results indicate high performance of this optimized control strategy with small tracking error even considering grid impedance variations.

How Well Do German A-Level Students Understand the Scientific Underpinnings of Climate Change?

Understanding the scientific underpinnings of climate change is crucial for informed citizenship and future decision-making. This study investigates the understanding of the scientific underpinnings of climate change among German A-level students, focusing on key content areas such as the atmosphere, the greenhouse effect, the carbon cycle, and the distinction between weather and climate. Using a validated climate change concept inventory (CCCI-422), we assessed 501 students from five urban secondary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. Results indicate that students correctly answered on average 39% of the questions correctly, revealing significant knowledge gaps, particularly in areas like the greenhouse effect and atmospheric composition. We also identified several overarching ideas that many students demonstrate. This study underscores the importance of integrating comprehensive climate science education into national curricula and classroom instruction to foster scientifically literate future generations capable of addressing the global climate crisis.

Forum: At the crossroads – Critical perspectives on the study of climate security

This discussion forum brings together some of the leading voices in the debate on climate change and security to reflect on the possibilities and limits of critical research in the face of global ecological crises. If we – as critical geography, IR, and security scholars – take the ongoing ecological crisis seriously, how must our questions, concepts, and methodologies change? How, if at all, can security be provided in a climate-changed world, for and by whom? How to come to terms with the unequal landscape of climate insecurity? What is left of security, and what comes instead: mere survival, resilience, or navigating through disasters?Seeking answers to these questions, the authors of these short forum pieces discuss and rethink core concepts and themes of human geography and neighboring disciplines. The reflection pieces trouble the racist imaginaries that often underpin existing policy debates on climate change, scarcity, and insecurity. They discuss the implications of climate security for the liberal international order, North-South relations as well as the relationship between humans and the non-human world. They reflect on the complicity of our research – both critical and problem-solving – in the violent transformation of the planet and the repression of the racialized “others” of colonial modernity. And they explore the emancipatory potential of alternative security discourses that center on the complex web of beings, practices, and relations endangered by the unfolding climate crisis.

Food for thought: Valuable bioproduction pathways emerge in a circular food production model

Ensuring the production and supply of food, fuel and other resources meets growing demands is among the world's most important and difficult challenges. The climate crisis, loss of biodiversity, limited resources and immense wastage have resulted in a lack of food availability, accessibility, and affordability. Transitioning to a circular production model provides one of the most straightforward strategies to address these problems and improve food systems’ efficiency, inclusiveness, resilience, and sustainability. A circular production model is one in which waste streams, a renewable bio-resource, are kept in the system and recycled into matter or energy. Industrial-scale insect rearing offers a marketable solution to convert large quantities of organic waste biomass into food and high-value bioproducts with lower resource dependency and environmental impacts than current systems. This paper presents a review of the literature on the feasibility of using insect biotechnology to implement circularity in food production systems by critically analyzing a circular model in its entirety, including all emerging production pathways. Using black soldier fly mass-rearing as a model system, we outline the environmental and socio economic benefits from bio-converting waste streams for food production and a range of novel raw material pathways; including chitin, agricultural fertilisers and bio-fuels, which emerge within the model. This review addresses challenges in achieving scalability, reducing food safety risks, and establishing regulatory frameworks and legislation if we are to see a global transition. A circular production model is a practical and applicable method to develop sustainable and resilient food systems and address the global challenges of food security and climate change across multiple disciplines and industries.