Ecological Realities Research Articles

Emerging concerns in sustainability reporting: Disclosure of tertiary effects in the home appliance industry

Home appliances like refrigerators, washers, and dryers have grown rapidly worldwide, contributing to significant ecological impacts across their life cycle. Part of the corporate response to ecological concerns has been to better document and report impacts via Sustainability Reporting (SR), which follows various global standards but often lacks specificity, particularly in capturing beyond direct (tertiary) effects. Our review asks how well and to what extent sustainability reporting covers these emerging “tertiary effects”, in home appliance industry. We assess all 26 available SRs from 254 major home appliance brands (representing 50 conglomerate companies), to assess how well they cover tertiary effects including: measurement of Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, attention to the nine planetary boundaries, and estimation and discussion of potential rebound effects. Only 23% of reports mention rebound effects, often framed as beneficial due to increased product demand, without addressing the negative implications of expanded resource use. Just one report covers all nine planetary boundaries, and relevant Scope 3 emissions, such as emissions from product use, are mentioned in less than half of the reports. The findings point to many opportunities for companies to disclose tertiary impacts. We draw on existing SR literature and examples from the reviewed SR reports to suggest ways for corporate self-reporting to better reflect ecological realities further afield from direct production operations. To improve SR, companies should acknowledge potential rebound effects from efficiency gains and follow guidelines to address a wider range of planetary boundary impacts and Scope 3 emissions beyond climate and freshwater concerns.

Teks Taru Premana Sebagai Simbolisasi Ekuilibrium Manusia Hindu Dengan Alam Semesta Bali

A holistic understanding of the side effects of chemical drugs, stimulating this era's humans to engage in contemplative movements, using ancient literature to maintain sanitation, physical health and mental health. Taru Premana is the philanthropic mission of Mpu Kuturan to create Hindu people as well as a healthy Bali environment. So, to realize the human mission, humanistic practice begins, to find a variety of herbal medicines. The research aims to analyze the Lontar Taru Premana, by looking for a link between health practices and the stimulation of subjects in the preservation of the environment. The research uses a qualitative approach or specifically applies textual studies to undermine searches and reconstructive efforts in understanding the texts of the art of traditional medicine of Bali. The technique of collecting Taru Premana manuscripts as a source of research data is obtained from the process of accumulating ancient writings dealing with traditional medicine. Further, it is analyzed using literary studies as well as philological studies. The compendium on traditional health science taught in Taru Premana is explained specifically in the processing techniques of traditional ingredients, their manufacturing processes and their application, such as bearing, spraying, patching and fixing. The Taru Premana manuscript has an interpretation in other aspects, namely as a symbolization of the internalization of the values of social-religious life. This lontar is an argument for the harmonization of man with his environment, and gives the scheme that man is not a determining entity, but an individual and a cosmic entity forming a typology of dependency. Taru Premana as a means of balancing the existence of humans and the environment (praja dan kamadhuk). In other words, man without the presence of nature is meaningless, because the process of life becomes stopped because of the nullity of the supporting life. Lontar Taru Premana plays an important role in the spiritual, social and ecological reality of the Bali Hindu community, as it applies traditional techniques and ecologic balance.

Eco-Translation of The Dove’s Necklace

Objectives: This essay aims to examine how environments and places are portrayed in a literary work and their translation, drawing attention to how spaces and landscapes are reflected and recreated in this work. The emphasis is on the premise that language, environment, and landscape, which are at the heart of literature, should be translated into certain other linguistic and environmental mediums throughout the translation. Therefore, the main goal of this research is to reveal, through an ecocritical approach, Alem's translators' translational preferences to recreate the ecological and spatial setting she expresses in her novel, The Dove’s Necklace. Additionally, to investigate if these translational preferences aid in enhancing environmental awareness and space image amongst target readers. Methods: This is a descriptive study that employs qualitative approaches. A comprehensive reading of the work is necessary to verify the novel's translations of landscape and bioregion references following Toury's (2012) proposed translational norms. Results: The results show that the translators of the target text have generally benefited from the tendency towards literal translation. In other words, the translators' literal translation method aided in conveying the same environmental image. Consequently, the intended reader becomes aware of an ecological reality that exists outside of their own settings. Conclusions: Scholars do not widely accept literal translations, although they may effectively convey the text and its impact.

Sustainable Memory Ecology, Entangled Environments, and Multimateriality in a Post-Digital Age: A Case Study of MemoryBytes

Abstract This article examines the interdisciplinary and epistemological possibilities in memory studies amidst the complex systems of sustainable memory ecology, entangled environments, and multimateriality prevalent in our post-digital age. This study situates the ontology and experience of memory through post-digital and posthumanist frameworks whereby the human/non-human and embedded/extended emerge as environmental entanglements that are part of everyday experiential and ecological realities which are often already augmented in quality. Likewise, we unpack the idea of materiality in the contemporary world and posit that a theory of multimateriality – asymmetric compounds of constructs, components, and affects – illustrates the modality of post-digital memory networks. Subsequently, the article attempts to offer a conceptual framework that draws on cognitive theory’s 4E model of cognition – embedded, embodied, extended, enactive – and a memory-ecology which is emergent as well as connective in quality. The key themes of this study are as follows: How can the concept of sustainable memory ecology correspond to interdisciplinary interpretative possibilities of preservation and reconstruction in a post-digital world? How can memory studies connect with cognitive theory to offer an original collaborative and epistemic apparatus using embodied, embedded, extended, and enactive engagements with environment and materiality in post-digital conditions? How do such collaborations anticipate the future of memory through a new order of post-digital memory ecology? Through its theoretical and conceptual convergences, and with a case study of the 2022 Augmented-Reality (ar) App and phygital exhibition MemoryBytes, our article offers an original framework for memory studies’ interdisciplinary engagements with the changing notions of ecology, sustainability, and materiality in today’s post-digital world.

Cadmium exposure induces changes in gut microbial composition and metabolic function in long-tailed dwarf hamsters, Cricetulus longicaudatus.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that exposure to cadmium disrupts the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota, resulting in damage to organ tissue. However, there remains a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the broader ecological reality associated with this phenomenon. In this study, we conducted a thorough evaluation of the effects of different concentrations of Cd (6, 12, 24, and 48 mg/L) over a period of 35 consecutive days on the organ viscera and the gut microbiota of long-tailed dwarf hamsters, Cricetulus longicaudatus (Rodentia: Cricetidae), using histopathological analysis, 16S rDNA, and metagenome sequencing. Our findings revealed that the results suggest that Cd exposure induced liver, spleen, and kidney damage, potentially leading to increased intestinal permeability and inflammation. These alterations were accompanied by significant perturbations in the gut microbiota composition, particularly affecting potentially pathogenic bacteria such as Prevotella and Treponema within the gut ecosystem. Consequently, host susceptibility to underlying diseases was heightened due to these changes. Notably though, Cd exposure did not significantly impact the overall structure of the gut microbiota itself. Additionally, Cd exposure induced significant changes in the metabolic functions, with the pathways related to disease and environmental information processing notably enhanced, possibly indicating stronger innate defense mechanisms against external injuries among wild mammals exposed to Cd. This study offers a novel approach to comprehensively evaluate the significant impact of Cd pollution on ecosystems by investigating both structural and functional alterations in the digestive system, as well as disruptions in intestinal flora among wild mammals.

Ecological risk assessment of commonly used antibiotics in aquatic ecosystems along the coast of China

The consistent input of antibiotics into aquatic environments may pose risks to various creatures and ecosystems. However, risk assessment of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in aquatic environments is frequently limited by the lack of toxicity data. To investigate the risk of commonly used antibiotics to various aquatic creatures, we focused on the distribution patterns and temporal dynamics of antibiotics in the coastal estuary area of China and performed a comprehensive ecological risk assessment for four antibiotics: erythromycin (ERY), tetracycline (TCN), norfloxacin (NOR) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX). An interspecies correlation estimation (ICE)-species sensitivity distribution (SSD) combined model was applied to predict the toxicity data of untested aquatic species, and an accurate ecological risk assessment procedure was developed to evaluate the risk level of PPCPs. The results of risk quotient assessments and probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs) suggested that four objective antibiotics in the Chinese coastal estuary area were at a low risk level. These antibiotics posed a high risk in antibiotic-related global hot spots, with probabilistic risk values for ERY, NOR, SMX, and TCN of 81.33 %, 27.08 %, 21.13 %, and 15.44 %, respectively. We applied an extrapolation method to overcome the lack of toxicity data in ecological risk assessment, enhanced the ecological reality of water quality criteria derivation and reduced the uncertainty of risk assessment for antibiotics.

Reconnecting with the social-political and ecological-economic reality

This article critically reflects on the research portfolio by the ecological economist Clive Spash who has helped pinpoint specific and systemic blindspots in a political-economic system that prioritises myopic development trajectories divorced from ecological reality. Drawing on his published work and collaborations it seeks to make sense of the slow, or absent, progress in averting global warming and ecological destruction. Three strands of key concern and influence are identified and discussed with reference to their orientation and explicit expression regarding Ontology, Epistemology and Axiology. Some complementary points about indeterminacy and holism are presented to further strengthen the arguments for a transition towards a social-ecological economic system that puts values and principles back into focus. While Clive Spash's work has made a strong case within the economic community and appealing to ecology professionals, the value-myopia or value-vacuum has to be tackled across all disciplines, politics and society for a meaningful and urgently required transformation in decision making. Hence, the article finishes with some suggestions for the (higher) education system, and highlights the importance of simplicity and sufficiency, as well as strong sustainability-driven citizen and community action as necessary catalysts of change in this social-ecological transformation.

The Madness of Mold: Ecogothic in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s description of a New England mansion in The House of the Seven Gables (1851) relies on well-established gothic tropes that ghost certain environmental incidents and characters’ reactions to them. In turn, natural encroachment on human structures seems an otherworldly and unlikely phenomenon. This rhetorical move eases tension in stories where buildings symbolize U.S. success at mastering the landscape but also reveals architecture’s constant vulnerability to outdoor elements. This article examines Hawthorne’s depictions of decay to argue that widespread and resilient fungi, most usually mold, underscore human anxieties about the environment lurking amid portrayals of gothic structures like the famed seven-gabled house. Conditions of rot suggest the impermanence of buildings and, by extension, the limits of conquering the natural world, exhibiting an ecological reality that appears less troubling when represented through ghastly but impossible incidents. In Hawthorne’s novel, the haunting presence of fungal forms in materials, both inside the house and in the surrounding area, suggests failed ambitions and a passing socioeconomic status, so that the story transforms decay into spectral manifestation. An ecogothic reading thus highlights how sometimes unseen biological realities, such as conditions for fungal growth, enhance supernatural and existential horrors while also distracting from concerns about nature’s long-term damaging of human structures like houses. Like the mold it studies, this essay treats the psychology of domestic spaces (a major Hawthornean theme) as permeable by showing that the novel’s gloomy atmosphere, ghostly hauntings, alleged curses, and other fantastical events are enhanced by the presence of a veiled ecological catalyst.

A Stylistic Study of Natural Philosophical Considerations in Selected Qur'ānic Verses

This study undertakes a comprehensive examination of selected Qur'ānic verses, employing stylistic and semiotic analysis to uncover and explore the natural philosophical considerations inherent within them. Simultaneously, the researcher develops a significant aspect of this stylistic and philosophical study aiming to substantiate Bruce MacLennan's philosophical theory, Modern Natural Philosophy, which focuses on our/human beings' sensitivity to our environments, bodies and interior states. The study comes up with stating that the selected Qur'ānic verses require our physical and mental abilities to contemplate and establish connections between verses related to human nature and the ecological reality of our environments. The study identifies the modernization of Qur'ānic truths that are connected to our physical and mental realities and the ecological reality of our natural and constructed environments, signifying that the Holy Qur'ān epitomizes essentially continuously the reason and wisdom of the existence of human nature. Key words: Natural Philosophy, Signs, Human Nature, Ecological, Physical, and Spiritual Considerations, Qur'ānic Verses, Wisdom, Semiotics, Stylistics

Psychosemantic analysis of environmental consciousness as a factor of sustainable society development

The study of psychosemantic aspects of the environmental consciousness of students is an extremely relevant topic in modern realities. This research provides understanding the ways the environmental consciousness of the young generation is formed and developing effective strategies for the education of responsible citizens with a high level of environmental culture, scientific knowledge of the natural environment, methods of environmental safety, capable of ensuring the sustainable development of our society. The purpose of this scientific work is to study the everyday ecological consciousness of students of Stavropol State Agrarian University. The method of experimental psychosemantics, semantic differential method, and the method of multivariate statistics factor analysis were used for the research. The basic constructs determining the students’ perception of the modern ecological reality in the natural environment were identified in the students’ everyday consciousness. The analysis of the results of the research of ecological consciousness of first- and fourth-year students is presented. It is shown that the first-year students perceive the ecological reality through the constructs “responsibility - irresponsibility” and “ecological centrality - anthropocentrism”, and the fourth-year students - through the constructs “ecological literacy”, “rational - irrational use of nature”. First year students perceive the image of an ecologically literate person, a carrier of eco-culture and a nature protector, a person leading an ecologically sustainable lifestyle and a modern student as ecologically responsible and ecologically centered. The novelty of this research lies in the application of psychosemantic method for studying the environmental consciousness of students of agrarian university.

Edward James Ted Hughes and his Animal Kingdom

This study explores the focus on the animal world in Ted Hughes' poetry. It argues that Hughes uses animals as vivid symbols of pure instinct and strength in addition to using them as symbolic figures. In analyzing poems such as "Hawk Roosting," "Pike," and "The Thought Fox," the article shows how these animals serve as mirrors, reflecting the darkness and violence that are part of human nature. Hughes' depiction of the natural environment also emphasizes the severe ecological realities and the continuous struggle for survival. As the speaker in poems like "The Thought Fox" longs to get back in touch with nature, the poet's sorrow over humanity's estrangement from nature is highlighted in the study's last section. Ultimately, Hughes's animal kingdom offers an effective frame through which we can examine the natural world ourselves, and the complex relationships among the three.

Ecologization of tourist activities as a factor of sustainable development of the regions of Ukraine

The article is devoted to the problem of sustainable development of Ukraine's regions, since competitive regions are a source of balanced and sustainable development of the entire country. It was emphasized that the development of the development management strategy of any region of Ukraine should be based on the environmental safety policy, the current norms and requirements of which must be adapted in accordance with European standards. The subject of the study is the greening of tourist activity as a factor in the sustainable development of the regions of Ukraine. The purpose of the study is to build a model of sustainable development of regional tourism based on the ecosystem restoration of security of the tourist and recreational potential of Ukraine in the post-war period. Tasks that were set to achieve the goal: to investigate the management mechanism of sustainable development of regional tourism; to analyze the impact of military actions on the ecological state of the regions of Ukraine; to propose a program model for the sustainable development of tourism in Ukraine. In accordance with this direction of research, the author chose and applied the following methodological approaches: systemic and institutional when considering the interrelationships of actors at both the national and regional levels. Within the framework of the system approach, the functioning of the tourism industry of Ukraine was investigated within the framework of new ecological realities. Thanks to the institutional approach, the necessary legal framework for the sustainable development of tourism was considered. The following results were obtained. The authors proposed the formation of a model of sustainable development of tourism, which emphasizes the sustainability of ecological, economic, cultural and social spheres, taking into account the ranking of factors of sustainable development depending on the level of sustainability. The proposed model takes into account an important aspect - after the war, it will be necessary to ensure different levels of sustainability for individual regions of Ukraine.

Envisioning the Ecological Future: Three Perspectives off the Beaten Track

With few truly hopeful visions currently emerging from mainstream academia or from established science concerning humanity’s collective environmental outlook, it might be necessary to go off the beaten track in order to see how we can maintain a sense of hope while realistically preparing for the gradual erosion of the world as we know it, therefore also leaving some psychological and emotional room for a sense of the tragic. This essay considers three lesser-known but, in our eyes, important contemporary perspectives on the ecological future: Ernest Callenbach’s “ecotopia,” John Michael Greer’s “catabolic descent” and William deBuys’s “hospice for Earth”—all three of which aim to challenge the currently still dominant focus on the binary of “progress or apocalypse” that flows from modern thought. We critically examine these visions and argue that, when combined, they offer an approach to the ecological future that is both more realistic and more inspiring. In essence, Callenbach’s ecotopian vision still has significant traction—and an almost “erotic” appeal—today, but needs to be adapted to contemporary ecological realities through Greer’s and deBuys’s insights into decline, grief and the tragic.

“This is the Psychology we Need”: Maya immigrant views on mental health treatment

displaced Maya communities. To pursue knowledge about the communities’ visions for thriving in the United States, I worked with Maya leaders in Ohio to coordinate a series of dialogues utilizing a Participatory Action Research paradigm. Participants exposed ways in which Western institutions (including hospitals, mental health providers, and schools) reenact elements of colonialism and fail to offer culturally sensitive care. The participants emphasized a key missing element in their well-being: renewing the relationship with the Earth that they lost through colonization and forced migration. To separate physical/mental health from these elements would deny the current ecological realities at the heart of the migrants’ existence. It would also recreate Eurocentric false division among mind, body, soul, and spirit. Maya focus group participants claimed that a decolonial approach to healing could be initiated by returning land to the communities, which they could use for cultivation, community gathering, food sovereignty, and sacred practices. Praxis participants offered critical guidance in re-imagining health and healing in community with each other and with the Earth, which they identified as the sources of flourishing, identity, cultural history, belonging, and spiritual connection.

Touching the Earth: Buddhist (and Kierkegaardian) Reflections on and of the ‘Negative’ Emotions

This article develops the philosophical work of Joanna Macy. It argues that ecological grief is a fitting response to our ecological predicament and that much of the ‘mental ill health’ that we are now seeing is, in fact, a perfectly sane response to our ecological reality. This paper claims that all ecological emotions are grounded in love/compassion. Acceptance of these emotions reveals that everything is fine in the world as it is, providing that we accept our ecological emotions as part of what is ‘in the world’. This is non-dualistic acceptance or ‘fierce’ acceptance. This paper focuses primarily on the revolutionary qualities of ecological grief: a paradoxical revolution, coming as it does from a profound process of acceptance.

Modeling Of Plant Population Community and Biodiversity Based On Differential Equation Model

Understanding the adaptive mechanisms of plant communities under drought conditions is crucial in the context of global climate changes. Drought resilience is intricately linked to the biodiversity within these communities, specifically, the number of species present. This research delves into how the diversity within plant communities influences their adaptation mechanisms when confronted with recurrent drought cycles over consecutive generations. To fathom the long-term dynamic interplay between plant communities and their environment, we devised a model. This model harnesses the power of genetic algorithms to optimize parameters, ensuring a comprehensive representation of ecological realities. Notably, it accounts for species migration, inter-species competition, and a myriad of other ecological factors. Consequently, our model can predict with commendable accuracy the evolutionary trajectory of plant communities when subjected to diverse and irregular weather patterns. Our findings not only shed light on the importance of biodiversity in ensuring ecological resilience but also provide invaluable insights for conservation strategies in the face of changing climate scenarios.

How to pay for saving the world: Modern Monetary Theory for a degrowth transition

Degrowth lacks a theory of how the state can finance ambitious social-ecological policies and public provisioning systems while maintaining macroeconomic stability during a reduction of economic activity. Addressing this question, we present a synthesis of degrowth scholarship and Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) rooted in their shared understanding of money as a public good and their common opposition to artificial scarcity. We present two arguments. First, we draw on MMT to argue that states with sufficient monetary sovereignty face no obstacle to funding the policies necessary for a just and sustainable degrowth transition. Increased public spending neither requires nor implies GDP growth. Second, we draw on degrowth research to bring MMT in line with ecological reality. MMT posits that fiscal spending is limited only by inflation, and thus the productive capacity of the economy. We argue that efforts to deal with this constraint must also pay attention to social and ecological limits. Based on this synthesis we propose a set of monetary and fiscal policies suitable for a stable degrowth transition, including a stronger regulation of private finance, tax reforms, price controls, public provisioning systems and an emancipatory job guarantee. This approach can support broad democratic mobilization for a degrowth transition.

Long-term forecast of thermal mortality with climate warming in riverine amphipods.

Forecasting long-term consequences of global warming requires knowledge on thermal mortality and how heat stress interacts with other environmental stressors on different timescales. Here, we describe a flexible analytical framework to forecast mortality risks by combining laboratory measurements on tolerance and field temperature records. Our framework incorporates physiological acclimation effects, temporal scale differences and the ecological reality of fluctuations in temperature, and other factors such as oxygen. As a proof of concept, we investigated the heat tolerance of amphipods Dikerogammarus villosus and Echinogammarus trichiatus in the river Waal, the Netherlands. These organisms were acclimated to different temperatures and oxygen levels. By integrating experimental data with high-resolution field data, we derived the daily heat mortality probabilities for each species under different oxygen levels, considering current temperatures as well as 1 and 2°C warming scenarios. By expressing heat stress as a mortality probability rather than a upper critical temperature, these can be used to calculate cumulative annual mortality, allowing the scaling up from individuals to populations. Our findings indicate a substantial increase in annual mortality over the coming decades, driven by projected increases in summer temperatures. Thermal acclimation and adequate oxygenation improved heat tolerance and their effects were magnified on longer timescales. Consequently, acclimation effects appear to be more effective than previously recognized and crucial for persistence under current temperatures. However, even in the best-case scenario, mortality of D. villosus is expected to approach 100% by 2100, while E. trichiatus appears to be less vulnerable with mortality increasing to 60%. Similarly, mortality risks vary spatially: In southern, warmer rivers, riverine animals will need to shift from the main channel toward the cooler head waters to avoid thermal mortality. Overall, this framework generates high-resolution forecasts on how rising temperatures, in combination with other environmental stressors such as hypoxia, impact ecological communities.

An Invited Reply to: A Comment on: The exploitation of sexual signals by predators: a meta-analysis (2022) White et al.

An Invited Reply to: A Comment on: The exploitation of sexual signals by predators: a meta-analysis (2022) White et al.

A canal, urban sprawl and wetland loss: The case of Kozhikode, India, from colonialism to climate change era

AbstractWetlands have historically been considered hindrances to development, with ‘reclamation’ considered the appropriate management practice. This is no different in India, where most cities are built on wetlands. This study examines the case of fast urbanising Kozhikode City on the south‐west coast of India by overlaying political and developmental interventions of the city with its ecological realities. While pre‐colonial settlements in the region were predominantly along the coast leaving the marshy inland areas, the need for resource mobilisation by colonial forces led to the development of Conolly Canal through the wetlands. The spoil bank of the canal spawned the development of roads cutting across the wetlands, a process continuing to this day, with consequent ribbon development. Wetland loss due to reduction in depth, core area loss, fragmentation and salinity intrusion have gone hand in hand with the city's rapid urbanisation. While the looming threat of climate change is forcing Kozhikode's planners to revive the canal, wetlands that sustain the canal (and the city) are buried too far beneath the piecemeal undertakings that have shaped the city. This paper reconstructs the environmental history of the city, the canal and the wetlands from the establishment of the city to the present, spanning a period of 500 years. Determinants of urban growth including canal construction, transport network development in line with the spoil banks and rapid urbanisation processes are chronicled to understand the interconnectedness between ecology, urban sprawl and the rationality of disaster preparedness. In this context, the future development proposals for the region are examined especially with the wetlands as the backdrop. We employ mixed methodologies to track this history including satellite imagery, geographic information systems (GIS), archives and interviews with senior citizens. This framework can be applied to other cities to understand the metabolic relationship of urban growth with ecology and its changing history.