Environmental Crisis Research Articles

Optimal location of electric vehicle charging stations using proximity diagrams

The concern over the planet environmental crisis is propelling administrations to promote anti-pollution regulations progressively restricting the use of fossil fuels. In this context, the integration of electric vehicles is increasingly being explored to reduce traffic emissions. To facilitate the transition from conventional vehicles to electrical ones, establishment of a robust charging infrastructure is essential. This article presents a numerical proposal for identifying potential optimal locations of additional electrical charging stations building upon the current infrastructure. For this purpose, Voronoi diagrams, constructed using the existing charging stations as point generators of the structure, will be stated as the primary framework. The extracted proximity data, delimited by geographical, legislative or user behavior-related factors, facilitates the identification of locations where companies in the sector are inclined to invest. This procedure holds significant relevance for industry in the sector seeking strategic investment locations that minimize competition while ensuring a high level of convenience for long-distance electrical vehicles users. The significance of this modeling lies in its simplicity and applicability to any region worldwide, making it a versatile tool for similar studies.

Environmental Protection In National Constitutions - Article 20a Of The German Grundgesetz (Constitution) As An Example

Since the so-called environmental crisis came to the attention of the general public and politicians at the beginning of the 1970s, there have been repeated calls for the protection of the environment to be „enshrined” in national constitutions. For a long time, the demand for a special environmental constitutional right was met with unanimous rejection. But proposals for a so-called national objective of „environmental protection” were also heavily criticised. Today, however, everyone agrees that environmental protection is an extremely important task of the state. With its Article 20a, the German Grundgesetz (GG) has raised this to constitutional level. Article 20a of the Grundgesetz can serve as an example for other national constitutions.

Attribute Agenda Building in An Environmental Crisis: News Coverage of MV X-Press Pearl Ship Incident in Sri Lanka

This study investigated the building of the attribute agenda of an environmental crisis, taking the MV X-Press Pearl shipwreck incident as a case study. English weekend newspapers for a year since the incident were used for a content analysis to identify the information subsidies and their respective attribute agendas. An analysis framework was developed based on information subsidies and their respective attribute agendas. Results indicated that the governmental bodies unrelated to the environment were the most frequently cited sources, followed by experts and local non-governmental organizations/ industries. Conversely, the public was the least cited information source. Environmental damage was the most frequently emphasized attribute, followed by law and agreements and prevention. However, policy was the least reported attribute. Considering the correlation between information sources and attributes, the Marine Environmental Protection Authority highlighted the mitigation agenda, while non environmental related governmental bodies emphasized prevention agenda. Policymakers focused on getting compensation, while governmental bodies emphasized law and agreements and Experts prioritized on environmental damage. The evidence for attribute agenda building was found further strengthening the agenda building hypothesis and information subsidies had their own attributes highlighted in media reports. The study delves into the practical implications of agenda building, which can influence media outlets. It suggests strategic communication planning, aligning coverage with objectives, and collaborating with environmental advocacy groups. This understanding informs decision-making, promotes balanced coverage, and enhances public engagement. It is important to additionally take into account the process used to establish the agenda in future research.

Outdoor adventure education as a platform for developing environmental leadership

Abstract Notwithstanding actions taken to date through policy, programmes and practices, the planet remains on an unsustainable pathway. System level and individual actions are needed to address the challenges that confront us. Finding approaches to encourage individual pro‐environmental behaviours are important for shifting an individual's actions, and these changes can have systemic implications. Outdoor adventure education programmes represent an ideal context to research the development of pro‐environmental behaviours. For outdoor adventure education to effect both individual and system‐level change, it is necessary for participants to connect learning from programmes to wider contexts where they can leverage influence. One of the prominent transferable outcomes of outdoor adventure education is the ability to serve in a leadership role. This article addresses the following primary research question: What aspects of outdoor adventure education programmes promote pro‐environmental behaviour intentions among participants? It explores this by examining various learning mechanisms and design features of NOLS, a global expeditionary outdoor adventure education programme formerly known as the National Outdoor Leadership School. Data were collected and analysed from 202 NOLS programme participants from around the world through open‐ended responses completed as part of a questionnaire at the end of the programme. Results showed that the most prominent aspects of the outdoor adventure education programme that helped to promote pro‐environmental behaviour intentions were the building of conservation and environmental issue awareness, the practice of minimum impact techniques, and engagement in waste and food management. These programme aspects were produced through the learning mechanism domains of structure‐oriented learning, instructor‐oriented learning, environment‐oriented learning, instructor‐and‐student oriented learning and independent student‐oriented learning to varying degrees. Our results illuminate design features of outdoor adventure education that have potential to generate and support environmental commitment and show how pro‐environmental learning is mediated through broad exposure to an array of activities and learning mechanism domains. In combination with the leadership development components, our results suggest that outdoor adventure education programmes show promise for developing and supporting environmental commitment in individuals necessary for solving global environmental crises now and in the future. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Salvage the Bones and The Not Yet: Environmental Crisis Writing of Post-Katrina Literature

Salvage the Bones and The Not Yet: Environmental Crisis Writing of Post-Katrina Literature

Enhancing the Biodegradability, Water Solubility, and Thermal Properties of Polyvinyl Alcohol through Natural Polymer Blending: An Approach toward Sustainable Polymer Applications.

The escalating environmental crisis posed by single-use plastics underscores the urgent need for sustainable alternatives. This study provides an approach to introduce biodegradable polymer blends by blending synthetic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with natural polymers-corn starch (CS) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC)-to address this challenge. Through a comprehensive analysis, including of the structure, mechanical strength, water solubility, biodegradability, and thermal properties, we investigated the enhanced performance of PVA-CS and PVA-HPMC blends over conventional polymers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) findings of pure PVA and its blends were studied, and we found a complete homogeneity between the PVA and both types of natural polymers in the case of a high concentration of PVA, whereas at lower concentration of PVA, some granules of CS and HMPC appear in the SEM. Blending corn starch (CS) with PVA significantly boosts its biodegradability in soil environments, since adding starch of 50 w/w duplicates the rate of PVA biodegradation. Incorporating hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) with PVA not only improves water solubility but also enhances biodegradation rates, as the addition of HPMC increases the biodegradation of pure PVA from 10 to 100% and raises the water solubility from 80 to 100%, highlighting the significant acceleration of the biodegradation process and water solubility caused by HPMC addition, making these blends suitable for a wide range of applications, from packaging and agricultural films to biomedical engineering. The thermal properties of pure PVA and its blends with natural were studied using diffraction scanning calorimetry (DSC). It is found that the glass transition temperature (Tg) increases after adding natural polymers to PVA, referring to an improvement in the molecular weight and intermolecular interactions between blend molecules. Moreover, the amorphous structure of natural polymers makes the melting temperature ™ lessen after adding natural polymer, so the blends require lower temperature to remelt and be recycled again. For the mechanical properties, both types of natural polymer decrease the tensile strength and elongation at break, which overall weakens the mechanical properties of PVA. Our findings offer a promising pathway for the development of environmentally friendly polymers that do not compromise on performance, marking a significant step forward in polymer science's contribution to sustainability. This work presents detailed experimental and theoretical insights into novel polymerization methods and the utilization of biological strategies for advanced material design.

Regression dependence of the number growth dynamics of the biogas plants in Ukraine

The global environmental crisis forces the countries of the world to introduce and use new alternative means of energy production, in particular methods of extraction and processing of biogas to provide energy to the population. Therefore, the determination of the regression dependence, which describes the dynamics of the increase in the number of biogas plants and can be used when forecasting the number of such plants, is an urgent scientific and technical task. The purpose of the research is to determine the regression dependence, which describes the dynamics of the increase in the number of biogas plants and can be used when forecasting the number of such plants, with the aim of increasing the prevalence of the use of renewable energy sources, saving fossil energy sources and simultaneously reducing the intensity of environmental pollution. During the research, the method of regression analysis of the results of one-factor experiments and other paired dependencies was used with the selection of a rational type of function from the sixteen most common options according to the criterion of the maximum value of the correlation coefficient. Regression was carried out on the basis of linearizing transformations, which allow reducing the non-linear dependence to a linear one. The coefficients of the regression equations were determined by the method of least squares using the developed computer program "RegAnalyz", which is protected by a certificate of copyright registration for the work. An adequate regression relationship was obtained, which describes the dynamics of the increase in the number of biogas plants and can be used when forecasting the number of such plants. A graphical dependence was built that describes the dynamics of the increase in the number of biogas plants and allows to visually illustrate this dynamic and show sufficient convergence of theoretical results with actual data. It was established that the increase in the number of biogas plants in Ukraine during 2012-2019 grew according to a hyperbolic dependence.

Dry Spells, Drought, and Environmental Crisis: The Drought Feature in Australian Women’s Weekly Magazine, 1939–2019

ABSTRACT Drought in Australia is expected but with climate change will worsen. Popular magazines can draw attention to and depict drought in distinctive as well as conventional ways, as shown by an analysis of content on drought in Australian Women’s Weekly from 1939 to 2019. That content, and in particular feature articles on drought, has established drought as a phenomenon experienced primarily by those who live and work on the land, promoted certain views of the experience of drought – and its significance for women – and advocated action of some kind. The features in later years also have placed drought in the context of climate change, including through prominent verbal and visual elements that draw attention to the plight of the environment. In these ways, the features illustrate the efforts made by the popular women’s magazine to contribute purposefully to environmental communication in the public sphere.

Oxygen deficient BaTiO3 loading sub-nm PtOx for photocatalytic biological wastewater splitting to green hydrogen production

Efficient photocatalytic production of H2 from wastewater rather than pure water is a dual solution to address environmental and energy crises. However, the rapid recombination of photo induced charges in photocatalysts and the inevitable electron consumption caused by organic pollutants pose significant challenges to bifunctional photocatalysis. In this study, we designed an amorphous PtOx supported BaTiO3 single catalyst (named BTPOv-0.09) characterized by oxygen vacancies. This catalyst provides Pt-O-Ti3+ charge separation sites and can effectively generate H2 (1891 μmol · g−1 · h−1), while oxidizing pefloxacin (rate constant k = 0.0485 min−1). It is worth noting that the catalytic performance of BTPOv-0.09 significantly exceeds that of the original BaTiO3, exhibiting 49 and 39 times higher H2 production activity and rate constants (BaTiO3, k = 0.00119 min−1). BTPOv-0.09 exhibits significant H2 production activity in various types of wastewater, highlighting its versatility and promising role in wastewater treatment and renewable energy production.

‘There was a star riding through clouds one night, and I said to the star, “Consume me”’: Post-human extinction in Virginia Woolf’s The Waves

Abstract Human beings are now in a period of the Earth’s history during which their extinction seems ever more probable due to extreme climate change, global pandemics, international conflicts, and lack of long-term intergovernmental or transnational cooperation to tackle these threats to life. Concern for the future of humanity is not, however, a uniquely contemporary phenomenon. Several of Virginia Woolf’s late novels suggest an awareness of the potential for human extinction. Where this concern can be found in The Waves (1931), the text does not express nihilism or panic at the prospect. Instead, the idea of a world without humans is seized as the provocation to continue an experiment which runs throughout Woolf’s writing: to reimagine the relationship between the human and the non-human. By exploring this writerly concern in The Waves, this essay argues that Woolf also redefines human death by reconceptualizing the natural world in ways which undo anthropocentric understandings of the potential extinction of the human species. By re-reading Woolf’s seventh novel through ecocritical practices and alongside ideas from contemporary post-humanist critical theory, the analyses proposed herein suggest that The Waves encourages a reassessment of our position in and response to a human-made environmental crisis which threatens the future of existence, human and non-human, in the twenty-first century.

Urban conflict management, human‐wild animal interactions, local environmental governance and political participation

AbstractLocal authorities today cope with environmental changes. As urbanization advances, the overlap between nature and the world of human beings increases. The resulting new interactions between humans and wild animals have many consequences. The perspectives of public administration and politics regarding this issue remain unexplored. There is limited research on local environmental crises and local environmental governance regarding the interactions between people and animals in the management of urban spaces. Therefore, we conducted a study using the presence of wild boars in Haifa, Israel. It tests the impact of support for the incumbent mayor through the mediated relationship of the harm caused by wild animals and the moderating effect of local governance on local political participation. Our findings may advance current theory to local administration and local environmental governance. On a practical level, policymakers can design effective local environmental governance, and promote behaviors on the part of politicians and residents.

Vergangenheit und Zukunft des Holzbau. Interview mit Hermann Kaufmann

Starting with theoretical reflections, the issue delves into design experiences across the past, present, and future, illustrating the significant role of timber technology in the Alpine region. In an interview with Hermann Kaufmann, a leading figure in timber construction both locally in Vorarlberg and internationally, we gain insights into the future of timber construction technology from a historical and biographical standpoint. Kaufmann, with his extensive background in the timber construction industry, having been actively involved in workshops and worksites since childhood due to his family’s background in carpentry, provides a valuable perspective on exploring the potential and challenges of timber construction technology. One crucial consideration is the urgent need to decarbonise the built environment in response to the ongoing climate and environmental crisis. Drawing from Kaufmann’s expertise, the discussion also addresses the interplay between timber as a natural material and the increasingly stringent regulations shaping the field of architecture.

Towards an eco-practical theology: An eschatological horizon of true hope

The ecological crisis in the world necessitates the reconfiguration of the hegemony of modern science, theology, politics, economics and technology – the root cause of a pending ecological catastrophe. The aim is to redress a growing culture of apathy in the context of devastating weather conditions, social and political discord, and unrelenting violent wars. Public theology serves as a conceptual framework with transversal rationality as an interlocutor between the different theological (systematic, ethics, pastoral care and eco-theology), religious and philosophical perspectives. The theological ontology of care is presented followed by the role of communities of critical prophetic discourse. The notion of earth as a community leads to the prospect of a new eco-theology. Finally, the pending ecological catastrophe is reconceptualised in and through Christian eschatology. This is an inter- and intra-disciplinary discussion on the disastrous consequences of modernity and anthropocentric behaviour in terms of the current environmental crisis. Various scholars offer valuable insights into what the problem is, who responsible is for the environmental crisis, and how Christian communities should forge an accountability of care for the earth and vulnerable human beings. The eschatological reality of God’s preferred future remains a constant of hopeful and sustainable life in the Anthropocene age. It is recommended that we change the way we exist by transforming modernity as developed and sustained through theology, socio-political, economic and technological ‘advances’.Contribution: This article focussed on the ecological crisis because of anthropocentrism and distorted theological, political and socio-economic paradigms to serve human interests despite the consequences for the earth. We need to reconfigure interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary scientific approaches to embrace earth as a key scientific interlocutor. The ecological crisis should be conceptualised within the reality of Christian eschatology – Jesus Christ is ultimately, the eschaton.

Looking beyond the East-West divide? Re-appraising the willingness to pay for environmental quality in 19 European countries

ABSTRACT This article explores the diversity in willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental quality, highlighting distinctions not only between Eastern and Western Europe but also within former communist countries (FCCs). We obtain mixed results, with little evidence of a generational shift in WTP across birth cohorts, more rapid societal shifts in non-FCCs, and higher levels of baseline WTP in Southeast European FCCs. Drawing on our findings, we advocate for approaches to environmentalism that move beyond the East-West dichotomy, instead examining alternative environmental practices that emerged in diverse cultural contexts, which can aid in addressing the global environmental crisis.

Subnational governments and non-state actors in environmental governance: Japan, Russia, and the Northern fur seal

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 put to test the North Pacific regional governance structure, with environmental cooperation overshadowed by security concerns. In this paper, the central government, subnational and non-state actors' potential in finding ways out of environmental governance crises is explored. The authors turn for possible clues to the Northern fur seal conservation and management regimes, which existed in 1911–40 and 1957–84 and laid the groundwork for marine wildlife conservation and management in the North Pacific, in the century replete with military conflicts and international tension. The focus is on Japan and Russia's subnational and non-state actors (private companies, experts, NGOs and indigenous communities), who have received much less attention than their US and Canadian counterparts. Their roles in negotiation, operation and dismantlement of these regimes, are analyzed in domestic and international contexts by applying Putnam's “two-level game” metaphor. Their motives and tactics, interconnections and clout are examined in the light of both states' domestic and foreign policy goals and constraints, and regional and global trends in environmental governance. The recent multi-actor undertakings for marine mammal conservation and management in Japan and Russia are also explored from the multilevel governance perspective. It is hoped that the current diplomatic deadlock may be overcome by utilizing sub-state and supra-state frameworks and channels for communication.

Photochemical Aerobic Upcycling of Polystyrene Plastics via Synergistic Indirect HAT Catalysis.

Plastic pollution constitutes an evergrowing urgent environmental problem, since overaccumulation of plastic waste, arising from the immense increase of the production of disposable plastic products, overcame planet's capacity to properly handle them. Chemical upcycling of polystyrene constitutes a convenient method for the conversion of plastic waste into high-added value chemicals, suggesting an attractive perspective in dealing with the environmental crisis. We demonstrate herein a novel, easy-to-perform organocatalytic photoinduced aerobic protocol, which proceeds via synergistic indirect hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) catalysis under LED 390 nm Kessil lamps as the irradiation source. The developed method employs a BrCH2CN-thioxanthone photocatalytic system and was successfully applied to a variety of everyday-life plastic products, leading to the isolation of benzoic acid after simple base-acid work up in yields varying from 23-49 %, while a large-scale experiment was successfully performed, suggesting that the photocatalytic step is susceptible to industrial application.

Challenges in the Amazon Forest: an Integrative Analysis of the Social, Environmental and Economic Aspects of the Environmental Crisis

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the challenges of the Amazon forest in a three-dimensional way, evaluating the social, environmental and economic aspects in the face of the environmental crisis and aiming at commitment to future generations. Theoretical Framework: The conceptualization of the environmental crisis and the study of the economic, social and environmental dimensions stand out as the basis of the research, providing an interesting foundation for understanding the context of the investigation. Method: Integrative, descriptive study with a qualitative approach anchored in a narrative review that allowed us to converge on interpretative understanding and results regarding the social, environmental and economic aspects of the environmental crisis that is plaguing the Amazon Forest. Results and Discussion: The need to implement effective public policies, sustainable practices and dialogue between public authorities, civil society, the private sector and the community in order to preserve and develop in a sustainable way. The community of Sarayaku stands out, an example of resilience amid deforestation in the Amazon. Research Implications: Reflections involving the adverse effects arising from the contrast between deforestation and economic development in the Amazon forest. Originality/Value: The importance of a collaborative and comprehensive approach is defended, to recognize and value the complexities and interconnections of the challenges faced by the Amazon region in order to achieve better levels of environmental preservation and sustainable development as paths to protect future generations.

Comparison of Climate Impact, Clinical Outcome, and Cost-Efficiency of Pediatric Transumbilical Laparoscopic Assisted Appendectomy vs Standard 3-Port Laparoscopic Appendectomy.

Healthcare is responsible for 8.5% of US greenhouse gas emissions. These impacts must be mitigated while maintaining clinical excellence. This study compares clinical outcomes, cost-efficiency, and climate impact of trans-umbilical laparoscopic assisted appendectomy (TULAA) versus 3-port laparoscopic appendectomy (LA). Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. Appendectomies performed between Jan 1, 2020 and December 31, 2022 at a tertiary children's hospital were reviewed. Data abstracted included clinical characteristics, operative approach and findings, supplies and equipment utilized, and complications. For analysis TULAA was combined with cases converted to LA (TULAA+C). To determine a surgical site infection (SSI) increase of ≤ 2.5%, a minimum sample size of 479 patients per group was needed to achieve a power of 80%. A composite supply list for each approach was determined by averaging supplies from cases reviewed. The composite was used to calculate cost-efficiency and climate impact. Life cycle assessment was used to determine the carbon footprint (according to ISO 14067) of supplies and equipment. Analysis was performed on 1,611 appendectomies: 497 LA and 1,114 TULAA+C (932 TULAA, 182 converted). Except for BMI, there were no clinically significant differences between groups. SSI did not increase with TULAA+C (n=15, 1.3%) versus LA (n=6, 1.2%), p=0.81. TULAA+C ($369.21/case) was more cost efficient than LA ($879.30/case) and TULAA+C (24.8 kg CO2e) produced fewer emissions than LA (27.4 kg CO2e). While patient safety and excellent clinical outcomes must remain the top priority in healthcare, the current environmental crisis demands consideration of climate impacts. When clinical non-inferiority can be demonstrated, treatment options with a fewer greenhouse gas emissions should be chosen.

Fabrication of Fe-Zr, Co-Zr, and Ni-Zr Catalysts to Boost CNTs Synthesis from Plastic Wastes and the Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

The efficient conversion of plastic wastes to high-value carbon materials like carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is one important issue about the rational recycling, reduction, and reuse of solid wastes. Herein, Fe-, Co-, and Ni-Zr catalysts were prepared and used for CNTs synthesis from polyethylene (PE) waste via a two-stage reaction system. At the same time, the effects of the PE/catalyst ratio and reaction temperature on CNTs synthesis have been studied. Compared with Co-Zr and Ni-Zr, Fe-Zr exhibited the best activity in CNTs synthesis from PE, and it achieved the highest CNTs yield of 806.3 mg/g (per gram of Fe-Zr) at 800 °C with a PE/catalyst ratio of 4. Furthermore, the obtained Fe-Zr/CNTs composite exhibited a low overpotential of 267 mV for the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at 20 mA/cm2 in 1 M KOH electrolyte solution, which was 21 mV lower than commercial RuO2 (288 mV) and 50 mV lower than Fe-Zr (317 mV). It was deduced that the in situ growth of CNTs reduced the charge transfer resistance and improved the electron transport efficiency of the Fe-Zr/CNTs composite, leading to superior activity in the electrocatalytic OER. This work provided detailed information for the preparation of the metal/CNTs composite from plastic wastes, which contributed positively to alleviate the environment and energy crisis.

Synergistic effects of heterogeneous interfaces and induced oxygen vacancies enhance the CuO/In2O3 performance in catalytic urea synthesis

The industrial synthesis of urea suffers from the disadvantages of environmental pollution, high energy consumption, complicated process and unstable quality, etc. The preparation of urea by co-reduction of NO3− and CO2 using a suitable electrocatalyst at room temperature is a more environmentally friendly and energy-saving production method, which is of great significance for alleviating environmental pollution and energy crisis. In this work, CuO/In2O3 heterojunction was designed and synthesized, and the interface formation induced the generation of abundant oxygen vacancies. It is found that the oxygen vacancies enhance the activity of the material in NO3− reduction, while the heterogeneous interfaces prompt the material to show extraordinary ability in CO2 adsorption and activation, as well as promote the C−N coupling reaction. The synergistic effect between oxygen vacancies and heterogeneous interfaces enables CuO/In2O3 to exhibit excellent performance in the electrocatalytic synthesis of urea, with urea formation rate and Faraday efficiency of 794.72 µg mg−1h−1 and 9.11 %, respectively. The coupling mechanism of *NH2 + *CO2 is also proposed based on theoretical calculations, and the coupling energy barrier is only 0.27 eV. This work lays a foundation for the rational design of electrocatalysts for the efficient synthesis of urea.