Global Environmental Crisis Research Articles

Educating civil engineers for the twenty-first century: the ‘new-model engineer

Civil engineering has transformed the health, wealth and well-being of societies over the past 200 years but is also driving the global climate and environmental crises. This paper proposes the educational requirements for a ‘new-model engineer’, whose threshold knowledge of engineering fundamentals, outstanding connective skills and holistic systems thinking will empower them to be a responsible part of a more stable socio-ecological system. The approach represents a sea change in civil engineering education, which the authors believe represents the most exciting opportunity for the profession in two centuries.

Human-environment feedback and the consistency of proenvironmental behavior.

Addressing global environmental crises such as anthropogenic climate change requires the consistent adoption of proenvironmental behavior by a large part of a population. Here, we develop a mathematical model of a simple behavior-environment feedback loop to ask how the individual assessment of the environmental state combines with social interactions to influence the consistent adoption of proenvironmental behavior, and how this feeds back to the perceived environmental state. In this stochastic individual-based model, individuals can switch between two behaviors, 'active' (or actively proenvironmental) and 'baseline', differing in their perceived cost (higher for the active behavior) and environmental impact (lower for the active behavior). We show that the deterministic dynamics and the stochastic fluctuations of the system can be approximated by ordinary differential equations and a Ornstein-Uhlenbeck type process. By definition, the proenvironmental behavior is adopted consistently when, at population stationary state, its frequency is high and random fluctuations in frequency are small. We find that the combination of social and environmental feedbacks can promote the spread of costly proenvironmental behavior when neither, operating in isolation, would. To be adopted consistently, strong social pressure for proenvironmental action is necessary but not sufficient-social interactions must occur on a faster timescale compared to individual assessment, and the difference in environmental impact must be small. This simple model suggests a scenario to achieve large reductions in environmental impact, which involves incrementally more active and potentially more costly behavior being consistently adopted under increasing social pressure for proenvironmentalism.

An IoT based forest fire detection system using integration of cat swarm with LSTM model

The destruction of millions of acres of forest each year by forest fires is a global environmental crisis that has real-world consequences for people's livelihoods and the health of our planet. The ability to foresee the onset of such a natural disaster is, thus, of paramount importance in reducing this risk. There have been numerous proposed technologies and novel approaches for detecting and preventing forest fires. Integrating AI to automate fire prediction and detection is becoming increasingly common. To provide effective forest fire detection, people make use of several technological expansions, with the IoT for data collecting and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the forecast process. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a key study technique that has been proven to be the best in enhancing the presentation of detecting fire threats in important locations by several researchers. Due to the importance of object detection in this investigation, EfficientDet was chosen for implementation. It is suggested that fire breakouts be detected using a Recurrent LSTM Neural Network (RLSTM-NN). Here, we propose a Cat Swarm Fractional Calculus Optimization (CSFCO) algorithm for deep learning that combines the best features of Cat Swarm Optimization (CSO) with fractional calculus for optimal training results (FC). Terms of the simulation results reveal that the suggested process outdoes the state-of-the-art approaches. The suggested typical can identify the onset of a fire with a precision of 98.6% and an error rate of only 0.14%.

Addressing the Global Environmental Crisis: Strategies for Sustainable Development

The global environmental crisis presents an urgent challenge that requires comprehensive strategies for sustainable development. This research employs a bibliometric analysis and VOSviewer visualization to examine the evolving landscape of literature on strategies to address the crisis. The study identifies clusters of research themes, influential authors, and key concepts. Results reveal prominent clusters discussing environmental governance, economic growth, ecological crises, and the role of education in sustainable development. Highly cited publications encompass the triple bottom line concept, sustainable business strategies, and knowledge systems. The analysis underscores the interdisciplinary nature of the field and the need for integrated approaches to achieve ecological, social, and economic sustainability. This research offers insights into current trends and informs future research and policy directions.

The lifeways of small-scale gold miners: Addressing sustainability transformations

Small-scale gold mining sustains millions of people’s lives and yet it stimulates environmental harms and social conflicts. Global environmental crises drive calls for fundamental change to how people live on the planet. For small-scale gold mining, this raises questions about whether current dynamics can provide a basis for sustainability transformations. Proposing the notion of gold lifeways to focus on the lived experience of mining and gold resources as relational phenomena, we ask what sustainability looks like from different miners’ perspectives and probe the practice dynamics of current transformation. Our methodology is social science-led and transdisciplinary. From multi-sited and trans-regional research between South America and Africa, we draw cases from Suriname, Guinea Conakry, and Uganda. Our study finds that gold lifeways give expression to different strands of sustainability: sustaining everyday life in mining; discourses framing mining practices; and government repression of mining. Hence, as our empirical data demonstrates, miner perspectives on sustainability gain content not in isolation, but as part of gold lifeways embedded within different contexts and shaped by societal dynamics. Ultimately, the transformative potency of small-scale gold mining is located in personal lives and precarious dynamics rather than glittering promises of a sustainable future.

Development of enzyme immobilization systems for CO2 bioconversion: advances and challenges

Enzyme-catalyzed CO2 reduction to value-added commodities is important for alleviating the global environmental issues and energy crises due to high selectivity and mild conditions. Owing to high energy density, formic acid or methanol produced from CO2 using formate dehydrogenase (FDH) or multi-enzyme cascades are promising target chemicals for CO2 utilization. However, the low activity, poor stability and low reusability of key enzymes involved in such process hampered its large-scale application. Enzyme immobilization provides an effective solution to these problems and significant progress have been made in immobilization carriers. Moreover, integration of enzyme immobilization with other catalysis techniques have been explored extensively. This review summarized the recent advances in the immobilization of enzymes using membranes, inorganic materials, metal-organic frameworks, covalent organic frameworks and other carriers, and illustrated the characteristics and advantages of different immobilization materials and immobilization methods. The synergistic effects and applications of immobilized enzymes and electrocatalytic or photocatalytic coupling reaction systems for CO2 reduction were further summarized. Finally, the current challenges of enzyme immobilization technology and coupling reaction systems were pointed out and their development prospects were presented.

Investigating formate tolerance mechanisms in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and its application

Current global energy and environmental crisis have spurred efforts towards developing sustainable biotechnological solutions, such as utilizing CO2 and its derivatives as raw materials. Formate is an attractive one-carbon source due to its high solubility and low reduction potential. However, the regulatory mechanism of formate metabolism in yeast remains largely unexplored. This study employed adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) to improve formate tolerance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and characterized the underlying molecular mechanisms. The evolved strain was applied to produce free fatty acids (FFAs) under high concentration of formate with glucose addition. The results showed that the evolved strain achieved a FFAs titer of 250 mg/L. Overall, this study sheds light on the regulatory mechanism of formate tolerance and provides a platform for future studies under high concentrations of formate.

The Impact of Executive Green Incentives and Top Management Team Characteristics on Corporate Value in China: The Mediating Role of Environment, Social and Government Performance

The pursuit of economic growth remains a consistent focal point in the development of nations. However, this heightened emphasis on economic expansion has precipitated a global environmental crisis (e.g., climate change, air pollution, etc.). Numerous countries have announced targets and commitments aimed at mitigating carbon emissions. Enterprises are the mainstay of economic development. In the context of low-carbon development, the current challenge faced by enterprises lies in transforming their business philosophy and value orientation to achieve a harmonious integration of economic growth and carbon emission reduction. Consequently, within the framework of sustainable development, the stability and developmental trajectory of enterprise value have emerged as prominent research subjects in recent years. As the concept of sustainable development gradually permeates society, there has been widespread attention from various sectors toward evaluating corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. This study focuses on listed companies in China’s manufacturing industry as the research subject. Drawing upon the principal–agent theory, stakeholder theory, upper echelon theory and tournament incentive theory, we aim to validate the feasibility of selecting a top management team that aligns with the characteristics of sustainable development during enterprise transition. By constructing a structural equation model and conducting hypothesis testing under the premise of limited rationality among top management, we explore how green incentives provided to top management impact both enterprise transition toward sustainability and enhancement of corporate value. Additionally, we investigate how demographic characteristics of top management contribute to amplifying the role of green incentives on corporate value. The results show that executive green incentives and top management team characteristics positively impact the corporate environment, social and government (ESG) performance and that implementing environment, social and government aspects can improve corporate value. Upon further analysis, it is found that there is a moderate degree of coupling between top management team characteristics and executive green incentives in promoting better ESG performance and enhancing corporate value. This study provides empirical evidence of the favorable economic outcomes associated with environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, which offers valuable insights for companies to consider when selecting and incentivizing executives, as well as for government departments aiming to enhance environmental, social and governance (ESG) incentive policies.

Current issues in tourism: Mitigating climate change in sustainable tourism research

This paper adopts a problematising review approach to examine the extent of mitigating climate change research in the sustainable tourism literature. As climate change has developed into an existential global environmental crisis and while tourism's emissions are still increasing, one would expect it to be at the heart of sustainable tourism research. However, from a corpus of 2573 journal articles featuring ‘sustainable tourism’ in their title, abstract, or keywords, only 6.5% covered climate change mitigation. Our critical content analysis of 35 of the most influential papers found that the current methods, scope and traditions of tourism research hamper effective and in-depth research into climate change. Transport, the greatest contributor to tourism's emissions, was mostly overlooked, and weak definitions of sustainability were common. Tight system boundaries, lack of common definitions and incomplete data within tourism studies appear to hamper assessing ways to mitigate tourism's contribution to climate change.

“From Gamers into Environmental Citizens”: A Systematic Literature Review of Empirical Research on Behavior Change Games for Environmental Citizenship

As the global environmental crisis intensifies, there has been a significant interest in behavior change games (BCGs), as a viable venue to empower players’ pro-environmentalism. This pro-environmental empowerment is well-aligned with the notion of environmental citizenship (EC), which aims at transforming citizens into “environmental agents of change”, seeking to achieve more sustainable lifestyles. Despite these arguments, studies in this area are thinly spread and fragmented across various research domains. This article is grounded on a systematic review of empirical articles on BCGs for EC covering a time span of fifteen years and published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, in order to provide an understanding of the scope of empirical research in the field. In total, 44 articles were reviewed to shed light on their methodological underpinnings, the gaming elements and the persuasive strategies of the deployed BCGs, the EC actions facilitated by the BCGs, and the impact of BCGs on players’ EC competences. Our findings indicate that while BCGs seem to promote pro-environmental knowledge and attitudes, such an assertion is not fully warranted for pro-environmental behaviors. We reflect on our findings and provide future research directions to push forward the field of BCGs for EC.

Editorial: Special Issue on “Photocatalysts for Pollutants Disposals, CO2 Reduction, Hydrogen Evolution Reaction”

The global energy and environmental crisis are some of the most pressing challenges facing mankind [...]

The Evolution, Assembly, and Dynamics of Marine Holobionts.

The holobiont concept (i.e., multiple living beings in close symbiosis with one another and functioning as a unit) is revolutionizing our understanding of biology, especially in marine systems. The earliest marine holobiont was likely a syntrophic partnership of at least two prokaryotic members. Since then, symbiosis has enabled marine organisms to conquer all ocean habitats through the formation of holobionts with a wide spectrum of complexities. However, most scientific inquiries have focused on isolated organisms and their adaptations to specific environments. In this review, we attempt to illustrate why a holobiont perspective-specifically, the study of how numerous organisms form a discrete ecological unit through symbiosis-will be a more impactful strategy to advance our understanding of the ecology and evolution of marine life. We argue that this approach is instrumental in addressing the threats to marine biodiversity posed by the current global environmental crisis.

Consumption Patterns and Underutilized Fruits as Resilience Strategies in the Face of the Global Environmental Crisis

Consumption Patterns and Underutilized Fruits as Resilience Strategies in the Face of the Global Environmental Crisis

A Breakthrough in Photocatalytic Wastewater Treatment: The Incredible Potential of g-C3N4/Titanate Perovskite-Based Nanocomposites.

Water pollution has emerged as a major global environmental crisis due to the massive contamination of water resources by the textile dyeing industry, organic waste, and agricultural residue. Since water is fundamental to life, this grave disregard puts lives at risk, making the protection of water resources a serious issue today. Recent research has shown great interest in improving the photocatalytic performance of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) for wastewater treatment. However, the photocatalytic removal activity of pure g-C3N4 is poor, owing to its minimal surface area, fast recombination of photo-generated electron-hole pairs, and poor light absorption. Recently, titanate perovskites (TNPs) have attracted significant attention in both environmental remediation and energy conversion due to their exceptional structural, optical, physiochemical, electrical, and thermal properties. Accordingly, TNPs can initiate a variety of surface catalytic reactions and are regarded as an emerging category of photocatalysts for sustainability and energy-related industries when exposed to illumination. Therefore, in this review article, we critically discuss the recent developments of extensively developed g-C3N4/TNPs that demonstrate photocatalytic applications for wastewater treatment. The different synthetic approaches and the chemical composition of g-C3N4/TNP composites are presented. Additionally, this review highlights the global research trends related to these materials. Furthermore, this review provides insight into the various photocatalytic mechanisms, including their potential impact and significance. Also, the challenges faced by such materials and their future scope are discussed.

Integration degree of China’s the new development pattern of dual circulation and industrial green development

The long-standing development pattern dominated by international circulation makes China face the risk of "low-end lock-in" and "being decoupling". In addition, the current global climate change and environmental crisis are becoming increasingly severe, coupled with the COVID-19 impact. Chinese enterprises must actively build a green development system for domestic industries in a mutually reinforcing manner in the context of the domestic general circulation, in order to adapt to the new dual circulation environment as soon as possible. This paper analyzes the specific coupling and coordination relationship between the two systems based on the relevant data of China’s three major industries from 2008–2014 using Index DEA, entropy value method, gray correlation analysis and coupling coordination model. The results of the study show that: the two systems of dual circulation pattern and industrial green development have a strong correlation and basically present a coupling relationship, but within the industry, there is a problem of the collapse of the tertiary industry. In terms of the type of coupling, the domestic and international circulation in general gradually present the green development leading state, except for the primary industrial segment of the international circulation. On the whole, the coupling quality of the two systems needs to be further improved. Based on this, this paper puts forward the following suggestions: (1) coordinate the internal and external development of the industry; (2) take innovation as the driving force to promote the green transformation of industries; (3) take green sharing as the goal to strengthen the policy orientation of green development; (4) take the opportunity of mutual promotion of dual circulation to stabilize the steady state of green development coupling.

Political Fallout: Nuclear Weapons Testing and the Making of a Global Environmental Crisis by Toshihiro Higuchi (review)

Political Fallout: Nuclear Weapons Testing and the Making of a Global Environmental Crisis by Toshihiro Higuchi (review)

Green Bond Financing for New Energy Power Cell Companies

Purpose – As the global environmental pollution and energy crisis become increasingly serious, green finance has emerged as a crucial instrument for achieving sustainable development. The combination of the new energy industry and green bonds provides low-cost, long-term financial support for green and low-carbon projects, helping new energy companies develop and achieve China’s dual carbon goals. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study analyzes the issuance, financing drivers, and effects of the green bonds of Chinese new energy power battery companies using the event study method and financial analysis method, taking the issuance of green bonds by Findings – The main motivation for CATL to issue green bonds is to attract stakeholders, optimize the financing structure, and achieve sustainable development goals. The company has shown good market, financial, and environmental effects after issuing green bonds. Research Implications – This study combines green bonds with new energy industry financing, further enriching the concept of green finance and environmental governance theory. Further, it proposes four insights from information disclosure, investment group, regulatory mechanism, and enterprise level. The results of this study provide reference for new energy battery enterprises to carry out green bond financing, which is of certain significance to promote the healthy development of China’s green bond market.

Progress toward resilient and sustainable water management in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

AbstractSinking and shrinking, the Vietnamese Mekong Delta is a materialization of dynamic river flows, sediment flows, and coastline processes. Past policy aspirations and extensive water infrastructures have shaped the delta into one the most significant food producing landscapes in Southeast Asia. Yet, these changes have also created new environmental risks by transforming the hydrological system. Research has produced a growing and increasingly diverse empirical literature on the delta's environmental context, without necessarily providing water resource managers, policymakers and practitioners with the information needed to galvanize more resilient development. This focus review presents a detailed overview of the recent scientific findings, exploring how the management of water resources is changing, as well as their inter‐relationship with land use, policy, socio‐economic transitions, and global environmental crises. Compound and systemic risks to the delta include climate change, hydrometeorological hazards, upstream developments and an unsustainable development trajectory. We outline scientific knowledge gaps, as well as the pressing need for sharable analysis‐ready data and innovations. Finally, we provide recommended future research avenues for multiscale actions toward a sustainable and resilient delta future.This article is categorized under: Human Water > Water Governance Science of Water > Water Extremes Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change

RETRACTED: A primer of community ecology using the R language

AbstractCommunity ecology beginners often struggle to understand theories expressed in complex mathematical formulas and to master computer programming. To remedy this situation, this article provides a practical, R‐based introduction to community ecology by illustrating core concepts (vital rates, carrying capacity, and density dependence) and models that can be used to explore the patterns of species abundance and diversity. The structure of this article consists of three modeling exercises, each asking a general question that can be answered by a combination of theory and R programming: (1) what determines the abundance of species, and what makes a population persist and go extinct?; (2) what determines the distribution of species and species diversity?; (3) what determines the relative abundance of species and what allows species to coexist? Through the exercises, I discuss the following five concepts and ideas that provide valuable insights into the questions: (i) the tragedy of the commons, (ii) the theory of island biogeography, (iii) competitive exclusion, (iv) the neutral theory of biodiversity, and (v) frequency dependence. These materials are thus designed to guide the reader in developing an intuition for ecological thinking that will help capture the essence of the global environmental and biodiversity crisis. Although this article does not delineate the scope and depth of the vast field of community ecology, I hope that it will motivate the reader to step up to a more formal introduction to community ecology.

The modern interpretation of happiness and its applicability to Ukraine

The article is dedicated to the analysis of modern approaches to the definition, conceptualization, and interpretation of happiness to outline the conditions of a happy life for Ukrainians (Ukrainian happiness). This is important for the development of a vision of a post-war future, the definition of the integral goal of post-war development, and the role of the policy of happiness in it. The article considers subjective and objective, internal and external conditions of happiness, including the dependence of happiness on both economic and environmental conditions in their interconnectedness. The relevance of such an analysis is conditioned by the global situation (the global environmental crisis, growth of the environmental threats and challenges, diminishing of the total natural capital, etc.) and the national reality (environmental damage as a result of Russian aggression and the challenges of post-war restoration). Special attention is paid to the non-linear influence of material well-being and its effect on happiness, as well as the dependence of happiness on the quality of the environment. The analysis of this issue is based on the consideration of: 1) Easterlin paradox; 2) Layard’s “The Big Seven factors affecting happiness” (family relationships, financial situation, work, involvement in the community and friendship, physical and mental health, personal freedom and personal values); 3) the methodology of “conversion” of natural capital into a long, comfortable, and happy life for people (Happy Planet Index); 4) hypothesis of biophilia as the evolutionarily determined psycho-emotional connection of man with nature and as a precondition of well-being and happiness (E. Wilson, S. Kellert). It is concluded that for Ukraine it is important not only to estimate the economic and environmental losses caused by Russian aggression but also the economic and environmental cost of post-war reconstruction. A strategy for harmonizing economic, social, and environmental policies as components of an integral policy of happiness should be worked out. Nature should be considered not only as a source of economic growth but also as a basis for satisfying non-material human needs and feelings of biophilia.