Complex Environmental Issues Research Articles

Visual Stories as Educational Tools:

This study explores the efficacy of children's picture books in communicating complex environmental issues to young audiences, focusing on We Are Water Protectors and Autumn Peltier, Water Warrior. These books utilize the approach of Multimodal Discourse Analysis, to explore how pictures engage and educate about water protection. Through a detailed examination of interactions within these books and with readers, this article highlights how visual narratives can effectively evoke emotional responses and foster environmental awareness among young readers. The findings suggest that such visual narratives not only enhance understanding of sustainability challenges but also serve as powerful tools for social change, inspiring activism, and cultural engagement.

Empowering Students' Creative At The Utilization of Moodle-H5P with Flipped Classroom in Global Warming Learning to Enhance Students' Creative Attitudes

Fostering creative attitudes is essential in global warming learning, as it helps students think creatively and critically about complex environmental issues. This study aims to examine the impact of Moodle-based interactive media with H5P in flipped classroom settings on improving students' understanding of global warming in physics. The creative attitude indicators measured in this study include curiosity, imagination, collaboration, perseverance, risk-taking, openness to new experiences, independence and self-confidence in one's ideas, persistence, imagination and appreciation of fantasy, discipline and commitment to tasks, and collaboration and group trust. The research uses a pre-experimental design with a one-group pretest-posttest approach. Data were collected through tests, and analysis was conducted using ANOVA and N-Gain analysis. The findings reveal a significant improvement in students' creative attitude test scores after using Moodle H5P-based learning media, as shown by the ANOVA results. Additionally, the N-Gain analysis indicates that the improvement in students' creative attitudes falls into the moderate category. The use of Moodle H5P-based interactive media in a flipped classroom setting has a significant impact on enhancing students' creative attitudes, especially in understanding global warming. The use of Moodle H5P-based interactive media in a flipped classroom setting has a significant impact on enhancing students' creative attitudes towards understanding physics topics, particularly global warming.

On the need to better integrate the social environment in research on climate change and health: recommendations and thinking tools

Social inequality impacts health, is aggravated by the consequences of climate change, and may be influenced by inappropriate policy responses. These interdependent effects create a self-perpetuating loop exacerbating the impact of climate dysregulation on health in an uncontrolled and poorly understood way. Holistic approaches to public health such as One Health, EcoHealth or Planetary Health are well suited to tackling the considerable and complex environmental and social issues underlying climate dysregulation. However, the extent to which research using such frameworks investigates social determinants of health is not clear. In this paper we discuss the ways in which the social environment has so far been considered in the literature to problematize and analyze the relationship between climate dysregulation and health within holistic frameworks and provide tools and recommendations to facilitate their apprehension. Social factors are investigated empirically only in a minor fraction of studies addressing the relation between climate and health in holistic frameworks, and not systematically. Barriers to such approaches are discussed. This work also provides two analytical tools (a process diagram and a knowledge framework) and a set of recommendations to help include the social environment more meaningfully in such frameworks. They are meant to facilitate our understanding of the current status of this type of research and to encourage trans-disciplinary and trans-sectorial endeavors towards directions which need to be taken to ensure societal factors and inequalities are placed at the center of research on climate and health and the ensuing policy response.

Conspiratorial Storytelling and Environmental Crisis

ABSTRACT What happens when the narrative of conspiracy theory is used to represent the ecological crisis? Among climate scientists, conspiracy theories are often considered harmful, because they spread doubt about the global scientific consensus on climate change. In recent years, however, the rhetoric of conspiracy theory has become increasingly common among environmental filmmakers who use its narrative conventions to tell stories about complex environmental issues. This article explores this trend by analysing the Netflix documentary, Seaspiracy (2021), which portrays the oceanic crisis as the result of global corruption. The article demonstrates how the film’s high narrative velocity, its negotiation of individual agency, and its construction of ‘hierarchies of scale’ create an ambiguous depiction that is both overwhelming and reductive, yet also highly engaging and, potentially, empowering. Reflecting on this ambiguity, the article argues that this emergent subgenre provides insights into our shifting relations with the ecological crisis and its representational challenges.

Ecological Imperialism and Indigenous Resistance: A Postcolonial Ecocritical Analysis of Selected Indian English Novels

This paper examines the representation of environmental degradation and critique of postcolonial development paradigms in two contemporary Indian English novels: Amitav Ghosh's The Hungry Tide (2004) and Indra Sinha's Animal's People (2007). Employing a postcolonial ecocritical framework, the study analyzes how these works articulate the environmental consequences of development in India, challenge Western models of progress, and highlight indigenous environmental perspectives. The research reveals that both novels effectively portray multi-faceted environmental issues, from biodiversity loss in the Sundarbans to long-term impacts of industrial pollution in urban areas. They offer pointed critiques of anthropocentric development models while presenting indigenous knowledge as a valuable alternative for sustainable human-nature relationships. The study contributes to postcolonial ecocriticism by demonstrating how Indian English literature engages with and critiques the environmental costs of postcolonial development. It underscores the potential of literature to provide nuanced, culturally-specific insights into complex environmental issues, challenging dominant narratives and proposing alternative visions of progress.

Climate change stands as the new challenge for whale watching and North Pacific gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) in Bahia Magdalena, Mexico, after their recovery from overexploitation

IntroductionSocial-ecological systems (SES) recognize the intricate relationship between human activities and the environment and advocate for comprehensive approaches to address complex environmental issues. This study investigates the factors influencing whale watching, particularly the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) in northern Mexico, after significant recovery following overexploitation. Despite reaching a peak in 2015, the eastern North Pacific gray whales experienced unusual mortality events (UME), the most recent from 2019 to 2023, leading to a population decline and historically low calf production in 2022. This decline is evident in the reduced presence of whales and calves in winter breeding lagoons. Concurrently, whale watching has become a significant tourist attraction in these areas.MethodsOur objective was to develop a mental model of the SES of gray whale watching, integrating ecological and socioeconomic data to identify key variables and interactions that support system resilience. From an ecological perspective, we analyzed the long-term temporal trends of eight years of gray whale counts in the southernmost breeding and nursing lagoons within the Bahía Magdalena–Bahía Almejas Complex, Mexico. Additionally, we incorporated the current discussion in the literature about the potential impact of global climate change on gray whale populations. In the socioeconomic subsystem, we used participatory methods, including interviews, surveys, and workshops with government officials, tourism operators, and visitors. We also added on-site assessments of compliance with welfare regulations to understand tourism dynamics. ResultsOur findings identified as main external stressors the changes in ice levels in feeding areas and sea warming in breeding areas, and as internal stressors the compliance with official regulations and the number of vessels observing whales at the same time. The key socioeconomic factor of the system was tourist satisfaction, influenced by factors such as the quality of the information provided by operators. DiscussionUltimately, our mental model provides a framework for further exploration of relevant interactions and trajectories, offering insights for developing effective management strategies.

Detangling past and modern zinc anthropogenic source contributions in an urbanized coastal river by combining elemental, isotope and speciation approaches

The accumulation of trace metals in the environmental compartments of coastal rivers is a global and complex environmental issue, requiring multiple tools to constrain the various anthropogenic sources and biogeochemical processes affecting the water quality of these environments. The Valao fluvio-estuarine system (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) presents a challenging case of a coastal river contaminated by both modern and historical anthropogenic metal sources, located in the land and in the intra-estuary, continuously mixed by tidal cycles. This study employed a combination of spatial distribution analysis of trace metals including gadolinium (Gd), zinc (Zn) isotopic analyses, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to distinguish between these sources. The concentrations of metals in both dissolved (water samples) and surficial sediment compartments (Suspended Particulate Matter and sediment samples) display an overall enrichment trend from upstream to downstream. Multivariate statistical analysis allows to discriminate geogenic elements derived from watershed geology (Ti, K, and Mg) vs anthropogenic contaminants from urban runoff and domestic sewage discharges (Cu, Cr, Pb, Zn, and Gd); and legacy metal contaminants (Zn and Cd) remobilized from ancient metallurgical wastes and transported upstream in the estuary during tidal cycles. The anthropogenic Gd concentration in the dissolved compartment increases along the watercourse, highlighting continuous ongoing sewage discharge. Zinc solid speciation also indicates that Zn contribution from legacy metallurgy waste is primarily associated with sulfide-Zn and Zn-phyllosilicate in the outlet estuary, while in upstream sediments of fluvio-estuarine system, Zn is found bound to organic matter. Zinc isotope systematically reveals a progressive downstream shift to heavier isotope compositions. Upstream, the relatively pristine site and the urbanized section of the river exhibit a relatively uniform δ66/64Zn value (+0.20 ± 0.07 ‰) in suspended particulate matter (SPM) and surficial sediments. These results indicate that domestic sewage discharges contribute to Zn enrichment in sediments of the Valao fluvio-estuarine system but without modifying its isotope signature in sediments. The sediment of the downstream estuarine section shows a heavier δ66/64Zn value (+0.48 ± 0.08 ‰), indicating the strong influence of the intra-estuarine source identified as the historical metallurgic contamination. An integrated view of the geochemical tracers allows thus inferring that the untreated sewage and legacy metallurgical contamination are the primary sources of anthropogenic Zn contamination. It highlights the progressive mixing along the estuarine gradient under tidal dynamics. The influence of the former source continuously expands from the headland towards the estuary.

Getting Down to Business: Governing the Hybridization of UK Charities

AbstractCharity organizations are important to solving complex social and environmental issues that are beyond the reach of government and commercial organizations. However, these organizations are under increasing pressure for survival due to a sharp decrease in their traditional sources of funding. This study examines how leaders of charity organizations can improve the financial security and impact of their organization by adopting commercial structures into their organization, and therefore undergoing a process of hybridization. We conducted a multiple comparative case study of 18 UK charities comparing how they engaged with emerging social finance funding opportunities that required them to adopt commercial structures which lay outside their dominant logic of action. We identified several aspects that influenced the likelihood of a charity organization to engage with this opportunity and, therefore, strategically hybridize. These included whether a charity executive had sufficient socialization in both the social and commercial logics to view social finance as a strategic opportunity and whether the organization could alter the role expectations of trustees with a commercial background to enable them to actively use both logics rather than compartmentalizing them in their decision‐making. Our findings have important implications for research streams on hybridization and hybrid governance.

Constructing a One Health governance architecture: a systematic review and analysis of governance mechanisms for One Health.

The integration of human, animal, and environmental health in the One Health framework is crucial for tackling complex health and environmental issues. Governance structures in One Health initiatives are essential for coordinating efforts, fostering partnerships, and establishing effective policy frameworks. This systematic review, registered with PROSPERO, aims to evaluate governance architectures in One Health initiatives. Searches in PubMed, Scopus, WoS, and Cochrane from 2000 to 2023 were conducted. Key terms focused on peer-reviewed articles, systematic reviews, and relevant grey literature. Nine eligible studies were selected based on inclusion criteria. Data synthesis aimed to assess governance mechanisms' functionality and effectiveness. Among 1277 sources screened, nine studies across diverse regions were eligible. An adapted framework assessed implementation mechanisms of international agreements, categorizing them into Engagement, Coordination, Policies, and Financial domains. The findings highlight the importance of effective governance, stakeholder engagement, and collaborative approaches in addressing One Health's challenges. Identified challenges include deficient intersectoral collaboration, funding constraints, and stakeholder conflicts. Robust governance frameworks are pivotal in One Health paradigms, emphasizing stakeholder engagement and collaboration. These insights guide policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in refining governance structures to enhance human-animal health and environmental sustainability. Acknowledging study limitations, such as methodological variations and limited geographical scope, underscores the importance of further research in this area.

Exploring the evolution of ecocriticism: A bibliometric study and literature review

The study conducts a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to delve into the evolution of ecocriticism, a critical approach that examines the intricate relationship between literature and the environment. Utilizing the extensive databases of Scopus and Web of Science, the research identifies key themes, influential authors, and the developmental trajectory of ecocriticism over a significant 29-year period, spanning from 1994 to 2023. This in-depth analysis reveals the field's inherently interdisciplinary nature, its progressive expansion into various cultural expressions, and its increasingly pivotal role in understanding the multifaceted impact of human activity on the environment. By highlighting the substantial potential of ecocriticism, the study not only enhances our understanding of complex environmental issues but also advocates for and promotes ecological responsibility. The bibliometric synthesis encompassed a substantial corpus of 1,615 documents. These documents were meticulously analyzed using R Studio software, which enabled the researcher to employ a range of analytical techniques, including descriptive statistics, thematic analysis, and sophisticated visualization methods. These techniques were instrumental in uncovering the underlying trends and patterns in ecocriticism research, providing valuable insights into the field's development and its current state.This study's findings serve as a roadmap for future research in this dynamic and ever-evolving field. They highlight potential avenues for exploration and emphasize the critical questions that remain to be addressed. The insights provided by this comprehensive analysis underscore the importance of ecocriticism in fostering a deeper understanding of environmental issues through literature and promoting a more ecologically responsible world. As ecocriticism continues to evolve, this study sets the stage for ongoing scholarly exploration and interdisciplinary engagement with environmental themes in literature.

Research Progress on the Physiological Mechanism by Which Selenium Alleviates Heavy Metal Stress in Plants: A Review

Human activities, such as mining, industrialization, industrial waste emissions, and agricultural practices, have caused heavy metals to become widespread and excessively accumulated in soil. The high concentrations of heavy metals in soil can be toxic to plants, severely affecting crop yield and quality. Moreover, these heavy metals can also enter the food chain, affecting animals and humans and leading to various serious illnesses. Selenium (Se) is not only an essential element for animals and humans but is also beneficial for plants, as it promotes their ability to respond actively to biotic and abiotic stresses. The global issue of Se deficiency in diets has made plants the primary source for human Se supplementation. This paper comprehensively reviews the effects of heavy metal stress on plant growth and development, physiological responses of plants to such stress, and the intracellular transport processes of heavy metals within plants. It particularly focuses on the mechanisms by which Se alleviates heavy metal stress in plants. Additionally, the study delves into how Se significantly enhances plant tolerance mechanisms against typical heavy metals, such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg). This integrative research not only expands the boundaries of research in the field of plant heavy metal stress and Se application but also provides new perspectives and solutions for understanding and addressing complex environmental heavy metal pollution issues. By integrating these aspects, this paper not only fills existing gaps in the literature but also offers comprehensive scientific basis and strategic recommendations for environmental protection and sustainable agriculture development.

The Network for Emergent Socio-Scientific Thinking (NESST): collaboration for a shared transformative future through STEM Education

Impact networks are formed to address complex social or environmental issues and are often needed to maximize human and financial resources, impact, and scale of individual organizations, including those serving students in Kindergarten through college (K-16). However, contrary to existing network models described by the literature, networks designed to address complex emergent socio-scientific issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss should themselves be emergent. This paper uses a critical analysis to outline our theory of change for one type of impact network—the emergent network—whose structure, function, and purpose are based on the emerging needs of its members and the needs of a changing world; and, whose members work across borders, disciplines, and generations to educate for a shared transformative future. We apply our theory to a case study called the Network for Emergent Socio-Scientific Thinking (NESST), which brings together people with a commitment to think differently about educating youth for the future outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Together, through the lens of complexity theory and emergence, we reimagine the future of K-16 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education for Sustainable Development (STEM4SD) and demonstrate what collaborative STEM education within the context of SDG 17 and SDG 4.7 can look like.

Soil chemical quality indicators for agricultural life cycle assessment: a case of study in Brazil

AbstractModern agriculture has had to face complex environmental issues, many of which result from land use, which includes the degradation of its fertility properties. Soil quality is fundamental to the sustainability of the planet, as it also affects other natural resources. Therefore, it must be seen as a fundamental action for the sustainability of the planet and be evaluated using methodologies capable of holistically relating the environmental impacts of production systems, as does the Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. However, due to the lack of suitable models, LCA is still ineffective in assessing soil quality. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate the use of chemical soil quality indicators in the context of LCA, contributing new information to the debate. To this end, a set of soil quality indicators from the APOIA-NovoRural method were applied in some agricultural production systems in southern Brazil. Thus, the LCA results confirmed soil quality maintenance activities as those that most contribute to impacts, particularly in the categories of climate change, (eco)toxicities and land use. However, the indicators efficiently contributed direct information about the agricultural environment, relating them to the impacts estimated by the LCA. Therefore, the use of indicators makes it possible to improve soil management by adjusting chemical parameters, accurately contextualizing activities, and use of inputs to the real conditions of the area assessed. Thus, we demonstrate that indicators can be useful in providing information for agricultural environmental management in interrelation with LCA, whose application alone is not yet capable of achieving such results.

Didactic experiences in the public realm: AI, interactivity, and playfulness for empowering eco-change

ABSTRACT Artificial Intelligence (AI) rapidly adapts to diverse audience engagement modes in Digital Arts, either interactive or non-interactive forms. These engagements create potential alliances for intelligent eco-didactic environments in the public realm. Studies show that interactivity positively affects the learning experience; hence, the coalition between AI and Digital Art has the potential to result in enhanced eco-art experiences. This collaboration could augment the eco-message and lead to behavior shift. This paper explores the interactive engagement modes in different art mediums to identify their eco-didactic potential. The study adopts a mixed methods approach, engaging with causal-comparative qualitative content analysis research. We collected secondary data from various mediums to define the characteristics of the engagement modes in eco-art, digital art, and AI artworks. Finally, we interviewed mixed-media artists to explore the technologies used in these art mediums, the different engagement modes they adopt, and eco-didactic possibilities. As a result, we found that incorporating aspects such as interactivity, coherence, aesthetics, playfulness, and meaning, can increase the impact of eco-didactic experiences. In addition, AI creates new possibilities for these experiences with its popularity and features such as real-time data utilization, personalization, and generative reciprocal dialogues which facilitate the understanding of complex environmental issues.

ARTISTIC WAVES: HOW EFFECTIVE IS ART AS A MEDIUM FOR CREATING AWARENESS ABOUT OCEAN POLLUTION?

This study delves into the effectiveness of using art as a medium for promoting awareness about ocean pollution. Through a comprehensive review of existing literature and original survey data collected in New Delhi, the research highlights the critical gap in public knowledge regarding artists and artworks focused on addressing ocean pollution. Despite widespread concern about the harmful impacts of ocean pollution, the survey findings reveal a striking lack of awareness among respondents regarding the role of art in conveying this message. This underscores the need to explore and amplify the potential of artistic interventions in environmental advocacy. Furthermore, by examining case studies such as "Bristol Whales" and "Bridge," which employ recycled materials sourced from the ocean to create compelling narratives, the study illuminates the transformative power of art in building emotional connections and deepening the understanding of complex environmental issues, in this case, ocean pollution. In advocating for increased collaboration between artists, scientists, and policymakers, the research underscores the urgency of leveraging art's communicative prowess to inspire collective action and preserve the fragile ecosystems of our oceans. This study serves as a call to action for harnessing art as a tool for environmental awareness and advocacy in the ongoing fight against ocean pollution.

Enhancing teacher competence through collaborative worksheet development: an empirical investigation

This study examined the efficacy of collaborative teaching using a projectbased learning (PjBL) worksheet on plastic waste and climate change. The research design followed a type-II development approach, with two distinct phases: exploration and development, and collaborative teaching. The study involved five science teachers, two lecturers, and 45 seventh-grade students in three limited field trials. The study found that collaborative teaching through worksheet development could increase science teachers’ professionalism, particularly in the collegial phase. Furthermore, the study developed a valid PjBL-based worksheet on plastic waste and climate change, aligning with the 2013 curriculum for science instruction in junior high school, involving three core competencies. The research design employed a lesson study framework, which allowed for a thorough exploration of the research topic, leading to the development of effective instructional material. The findings of this study have significant implications for science education in junior high school, particularly in promoting active learning and fostering a deeper understanding of complex environmental issues. Overall, the study highlights the importance of collaborative teaching and the potential of PjBL-based worksheets in enhancing teacher competence and developing relevant instructional materials that align with the curriculum.

On the need to better integrate the social environment in research on climate change and health: recommendations and thinking tools

Social inequality impacts health, is aggravated by the consequences of climate change, and may be influenced by inappropriate policy responses. These interdependent effects create a self-perpetuating loop exacerbating the impact of climate dysregulation on health in an uncontrolled and poorly understood way. Holistic approaches to public health such as One Health, EcoHealth or Planetary Health are well suited to tackling the considerable and complex environmental and social issues underlying climate dysregulation. However, the extent to which research using such frameworks investigates social determinants of health is not clear. In this paper we discuss the ways in which the social environment has so far been considered in the literature to problematize and analyze the relationship between climate dysregulation and health within holistic frameworks and provide tools and recommendations to facilitate their apprehension. Social factors are investigated empirically only in a minor fraction of studies addressing the relation between climate and health in holistic frameworks, and not systematically. Barriers to such approaches are discussed. This work also provides two analytical tools (a process diagram and a knowledge framework) and a set of recommendations to help include the social environment more meaningfully in such frameworks. They are meant to facilitate our understanding of the current status of this type of research and to encourage trans-disciplinary and trans-sectorial endeavors towards directions which need to be taken to ensure societal factors and inequalities are placed at the center of research on climate and health and the ensuing policy response.

Boboiboy Animation Episode, Care of the Earth: Managing Solid Waste with the 3R Method

The increasing volume of domestic solid waste needs a sustainable solution to avoid complex environmental issues. The 3R practice of reuse, reduce, and recycle is said to be one of the efforts taken to educate the community on how to manage residential solid waste. A practice that wants to be cultured in the community must begin as early as childhood. As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot. The application of environmental care practices to the younger generation can be implemented in the form of entertainment by inserting animation which attracts children’s attention. This study analyses solid waste management with the 3R method featured in Boboiboy animation. There are three episodes of Boboiboy’s animation of “Jagalah Bumi” used as the main study text (episodes 21, 22, and 23). Based on this analysis, it was found that this animation have successfully highlighted the 3R concept in three episodes of "Jagalah Bumi" including showing how the does solid waste management process is carried out at the landfill. The explanation of this method was successfully presented clearly and easily understood by the audience. This is able to influence and leave an impression on the audience indirectly.

Addressing the asymmetry between central and local air protection policies: Insights from Poland

Purpose: This paper examines the asymmetry between the air protection policies of the central government and local authorities in Poland, using the city of Kraków as a case study. Methodology: The study employs a comparative method to contrast the Polish state's coal policy with the air protection efforts of the Kraków local government. A systems analysis approach is used to identify the causes and effects of the divergent policies. Results: The analysis reveals a lack of alignment between the central government's focus on maintaining coal extraction and the local government's efforts to reduce air pollution. Kraków authorities have taken significant measures to improve air quality, but face challenges due to insufficient support from the central government and neighboring municipalities. Theoretical contribution: The paper highlights the importance of policy symmetry and coordination between different levels of government in addressing complex environmental issues like air pollution. It contributes to understanding multi-level governance dynamics in the context of air protection. Practical implications: The findings underscore the need for a collaborative model of air protection policy that engages central authorities, local governments, private sector entities, and civil society. Establishing air protection councils at the voivodship, county and municipal levels is proposed as a mechanism to facilitate this coordination. Integrating air quality considerations into local governments' management control systems is also recommended.

How do sensemaking and climate change education affect climate engagement at the grassroots level? A study of five communities in Southeastern Ghana

This study aims to explore how climate change education and sensemaking can lead to climate engagement and adaptive behavior at the grassroots level. The research focuses on five rural communities in Ghana and seeks to answer three key questions related to how people understand and respond to climate change issues. One strength of the study is the use of sensemaking as an organizing framework, which allows for a nuanced understanding of how people at the grassroots level make sense of complex environmental issues like climate change. The study findings suggest that sensemaking was a critical factor in how people noticed and made meaning of the climate crisis, and that deliberative tools like storytelling, conversation, and listening were important tools for facilitating this process. We also found that climate educators needed to address existing misconceptions before framing climate change issues in terms of science and impact on livelihoods. Linking climate change to rural livelihoods resonated more with people than science, and a strategy of guiding communities to recognize the need for adaptive behavior through individual and collective sensemaking was important. The emphasis on linking climate change to rural livelihoods rather than science is an important finding, as it suggests that approaches that emphasize the impact of climate change on local communities and their ability to adapt may be more effective than purely scientific arguments.