High Environmental Costs Research Articles

AN ALTERNATIVE APPROACH TO BUILDING CONSTRUCTION: NATURAL BUILDING TECHNIQUES

Concerns about the environment around the world are increasing in recent years. As a countermeasure to these concerns, interest in natural building techniques has begun to increase because of the high environmental, social and economic costs of existing construction methods and the potential for natural structures to be a solution to the problem of sustainable living. With natural building techniques it is possible to construct buildings with materials and techniques that are ecologically sound, culturally sensitive, based on local resources and skills, and affordable to local residents. Adobe buildings, cob buildings, earthbags, rammed earth buildings, straw bale buildings, earthships are among the construction techniques utilized for this purpose. In this article, natural building techniques are introduced in a general framework. Increasing usage of natural construction techniques that have the potential to be a solution to the environmental problems in the world by the construction professionals and the construction sector, and supporting developments with research, supporting volunteers, who will take steps in this field, with government policies, and increasing the interest of the users and their awareness should be regarded as a necessity. Keywords: natural buildings, earth buildings, straw bale buildings, earthships

Microbial carbon dioxide fixation: new tricks for an old game.

The exploitation of petroleum as energy and material source opened unprecedented possibilities for the development of our human societies, but only now we realize that the use of fossil resources comes at devastatingly high environmental costs. Consequently, our efforts to tap other carbon sources are steadily increasing. Industrial microbiology has the potential to use carbon dioxide directly as carbon source, thereby converting a foe into a friend. This thematic issue of FEMS Microbiology Letters sheds some light on recent developments for the understanding of microbial pathways for carbon dioxide fixation and on strategies for their industrial exploitation.

The environmental cost of a reference withdrawal from surface waters: Definition and geography

Abstract World freshwater ecosystems are significantly deteriorating at a faster rate than other ecosystems. Water withdrawals are recognized as one of the main drivers of growing water stress in river basins worldwide. Over the years, much effort has been devoted to quantify water withdrawals at a global scale; however, comparisons are not simple because the uneven spatiotemporal distribution of surface water resources entails that the same amount of consumed water does not have the same environmental cost in different times or places. In order to account for this spatiotemporal heterogeneity, this work proposes a novel index to assess the environmental cost of a withdrawal from a generic river section. The index depends on (i) the environmental relevance of the impacted fluvial ecosystem (e.g., bed-load transport capacity, width of the riparian belt, biodiversity richness) and (ii) the downstream river network affected by the water withdrawal. The environmental cost has been estimated in each and every river section worldwide considering a reference withdrawal. Being referred to a unitary reference withdrawal that can occur in any river section worldwide, our results can be suitably arranged for describing any scenario of surface water consumption (i.e., as the superposition of the actual pattern of withdrawals). The index aims to support the interpretation of the volumetric measure of surface water withdrawal with a perspective that takes into account the fluvial system where the withdrawal actually occurs. The application of the index highlights the river regions where withdrawals can cause higher environmental costs, with the challenge of weighting each water withdrawal considering the responsibilities that it has on downstream freshwater ecosystems.

Exposure to genetically engineered olive fly (Bactrocera oleae) has no negative impact on three non-target organisms

Bactrocera oleae (Diptera: Tephritidae) remains a major pest of olive fruit production worldwide. Current pest management programs largely depend on chemical insecticides, resulting in high economic and environmental costs. Alternative pest control approaches are therefore highly desirable. We have created a conditional female-specific self-limiting strain of B. oleae (OX3097D-Bol) that could be applied for sustainable pest control. OX3097D-Bol olive fly carries a fluorescent marker (DsRed2) for identification and a self-limiting genetic trait that is repressed by tetracycline. In the absence of tetracycline, the tetracycline transactivator (tTAV) accumulates, resulting in female death at larvae and early pupal stages. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of genetically engineered OX3097D-Bol olive fly on three non-target organisms that either predate or parasitize olive flies, one from the guild of parasitoids (Psyttalia concolor) and two from the guild of predators (Pardosa spider species and the rove beetle Aleochara bilineata). No significant negative effect was observed on life history parameters, mortality and reproductive capacity of the non-target organisms studied. These results suggest that potential exposure to DsRed2 and tTAV gene products (e.g. mRNA and encoded proteins) would have a negligible impact on on-target organisms in the guilds or predators and parasitoids.

Governing environmental conflicts: A comparative analysis of ten protests against industrial facilities in urban China

ABSTRACTWith the increasing numbers of environmental conflicts in recent years, Chinese local governments are deploying a variety of strategies to address them. Using the method of agreement and the method of difference, this article explores the question of why local governments adopt particular strategies during conflicts over the construction or operation of industrial facilities. The findings reveal that the position of higher-level governments, the costs involved in adapting projects and the threats posed by the form of protest to social stability are important conditions in explaining the differences in the patterns of government strategies. The authoritarian responsiveness that characterises Chinese government strategies results in high political, economic and environmental costs. The big challenge for Chinese governments is to develop policies, institutions and capacities to deal with environmental concerns in a more proactive and balanced way.

Photosynthetic carbon uptake induces autoflocculation of the marine microalga Nannochloropsis oculata

Microalgal biomass has been used to produce biofuels, aquaculture feed, high-value chemicals such as pigments and antioxidants, and even human food. This study addresses one of the key bottlenecks to the commercialisation of microalgal bioproducts: the high energy and environmental cost of harvesting microalgal cells out of suspension. An innovative and sustainable autoflocculation procedure was developed to pre-concentrate microalgal biomass for easier harvesting. Microalgal cell agglomeration by autoflocculation at high pH was induced for the first time, without the addition of a chemical flocculant, in the commercially-relevant microalga Nannochloropsis oculata. Photosynthetic inorganic carbon uptake, in the absence of carbon dioxide supply by mass transfer, was used to raise the culture pH. Autoflocculation started at pH9.5 and reached a maximum flocculation efficiency of 90% at pH10.4. Microalgal surface charge-neutralisation by calcium cations, and sweep flocculation by calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate precipitates were identified as the dominant flocculation mechanisms. This was also the first study to measure changes in bacterial community composition under autoflocculation. There was a clear shift from free-living bacteria in suspension to attached bacteria during autoflocculation, with Flavobacteriales becoming the dominant order of bacteria. This highlights the influential role of attached bacteria and bacteria-produced extracellular polymeric substances in microalgal flocculation. This study shows that regulating carbon dioxide supply is a promising green alternative to traditional microalgal flocculation processes as it alleviates the requirement for costly and harmful chemical flocculants and brings us closer to sustainable microalgal bioproducts.

WHAT DETERMINE SMALLHOLDERS’ FERTILIZATION PRACTICES DURING THE MATURE PERIOD OF RUBBER PLANTATIONS IN THAILAND?

SUMMARYFertilization of rubber plantations has been poorly documented despite the huge economic and ecological impact of this tropical perennial crop, especially in Southeast Asia. The main objective of this paper is to provide information on the fertilization practices of rubber smallholders in Thailand and to investigate the drivers of these practices. Data were sourced from individual interviews conducted with 414 rubber smallholders. The results showed that 99.4% of the mature rubber plantations were fertilized with either chemical or organic fertilizers, or both. The average dose of chemical fertilizers was 105/53/92 kg ha−1of N/P/K that is consistent with the national recommendations. We estimated that almost two-thirds of the plantations had intensive or very intensive fertilization practices. Geographical location, especially the distinction between historical and new rubber-producing areas, appeared as a major factor explaining differences in fertilization practices. Several drivers commonly found in the literature did not affect the fertilization practices of the rubber farmers, highlighting some specificity of perennial crops and a context where access to fertilizer was not an issue. The high economic and environmental costs of intensive fertilization practices, while their benefit to the yield of rubber plantations continues to be debated, show the need to conduct research on sustainable fertilization practices in rubber smallholdings.

Curbing enthusiasm for Brazilian agribusiness: The use of actor-specific assessments to transform sustainable development on the ground

Current enthusiasm for the potential of sustainable agricultural development must be based on a realistic assessment of the dynamics used by specific farming sectors. This study highlights the structural limitations that impede agricultural progress and explains why it is necessary to overcome these impediments in a case study of Brazil, one of the world's main agricultural exporters. In Brazil, the commodity-exporter large-farmers production chain is largely controlled by multinational corporations, with the investment of national capital a mere 12.4% in the technology-intensive sectors of the soy business (composed of seed production, fertilizers, pesticides, machinery, trading companies). The agricultural sector's future depends on increasing the share of national capital into domestic businesses and confronting the current and simplistic strategy of expansion into new agricultural frontiers, which often have high social and environmental costs. The future of family farmers depends on comprehensive development alternatives and challenging the current policies, since current development has been restricted to the 17.9% of family farmers who have access to rural credit, whom are mostly based in the Southern region of Brazil.

Trade-offs for food production, nature conservation and climate limit the terrestrial carbon dioxide removal potential.

Large-scale biomass plantations (BPs) are a common factor in climate mitigation scenarios as they promise double benefits: extracting carbon from the atmosphere and providing a renewable energy source. However, their terrestrial carbon dioxide removal (tCDR) potentials depend on important factors such as land availability, efficiency of capturing biomass-derived carbon and the timing of operation. Land availability is restricted by the demands of future food production depending on yield increases and population growth, by requirements for nature conservation and, with respect to climate mitigation, avoiding unfavourable albedo changes. We integrate these factors in one spatially explicit biogeochemical simulation framework to explore the tCDR opportunity space on land available after these constraints are taken into account, starting either in 2020 or 2050, and lasting until 2100. We find that assumed future needs for nature protection and food production strongly limit tCDR potentials. BPs on abandoned crop and pasture areas (~1,300Mha in scenarios of either 8.0 billion people and yield gap reductions of 25% until 2020 or 9.5 billion people and yield gap reductions of 50% until 2050) could, theoretically, sequester ~100GtC in land carbon stocks and biomass harvest by 2100. However, this potential would be ~80% lower if only cropland was available or ~50% lower if albedo decreases were considered as a factor restricting land availability. Converting instead natural forest, shrubland or grassland into BPs could result in much larger tCDR potentials ̶ but at high environmental costs (e.g. biodiversity loss). The most promising avenue for effective tCDR seems to be improvement of efficient carbon utilization pathways, changes in dietary trends or the restoration of marginal lands for the implementation of tCDR.

How low can you go? An adaptive energetic framework for interpreting basal metabolic rate variation in endotherms.

Adaptive explanations for both high and low body mass-independent basal metabolic rate (BMR) in endotherms are pervasive in evolutionary physiology, but arguments implying a direct adaptive benefit of high BMR are troublesome from an energetic standpoint. Here, we argue that conclusions about the adaptive benefit of BMR need to be interpreted, first and foremost, in terms of energetics, with particular attention to physiological traits on which natural selection is directly acting. We further argue from an energetic perspective that selection should always act to reduce BMR (i.e., maintenance costs) to the lowest level possible under prevailing environmental or ecological demands, so that high BMR per se is not directly adaptive. We emphasize the argument that high BMR arises as a correlated response to direct selection on other physiological traits associated with high ecological or environmental costs, such as daily energy expenditure (DEE) or capacities for activity or thermogenesis. High BMR thus represents elevated maintenance costs required to support energetically demanding lifestyles, including living in harsh environments. BMR is generally low under conditions of relaxed selection on energy demands for high metabolic capacities (e.g., thermoregulation, activity) or conditions promoting energy conservation. Under these conditions, we argue that selection can act directly to reduce BMR. We contend that, as a general rule, BMR should always be as low as environmental or ecological conditions permit, allowing energy to be allocated for other functions. Studies addressing relative reaction norms and response times to fluctuating environmental or ecological demands for BMR, DEE, and metabolic capacities and the fitness consequences of variation in BMR and other metabolic traits are needed to better delineate organismal metabolic responses to environmental or ecological selective forces.

Environmental efficiency and its determinants in the development of China’s western regions in 2000–2014

ABSTRACTIn this study, we measure the environmental efficiency of western China in 2000–2014 by the super-efficiency slacks-based measure model which considers the undesirable outputs. The results show that the environmental efficiency of western China is low and rank behind in the national level. The environmental efficiency is lower than the traditional efficiency which reflects that the economic growth in 2000–2014 has paid high environmental costs. The difference between the traditional efficiency and environmental efficiency experienced “inverted U”-type trend change. The environmental efficiency of the western provinces presented differentiated developing trend and the differences between the western provinces were enlarging. The environmental efficiency of the western regions was not only lower than that in the eastern regions with a big gap but also lower than that in the central regions. Through the convergence test, we found that the environmental efficiency gap between the western and the easte...

Life cycle analysis of environmental impact vs. durability of stabilised rammed earth

Rammed earth (RE) has enjoyed a revival in recent decades due to the increasing awareness of environmental issues surrounding the building industry. Although RE in its traditional form is deemed a highly environmentally-friendly material, the same cannot be said for its modern stabilised counterpart. Comprehensive experimental procedures exist to estimate mechanical strength properties of stabilised RE (SRE). However, tests for material durability are far less common. Engineers and practitioners therefore assume that strength and durability are interchangeable properties, i.e. the stronger the material, the more durable. Inflated strengths are recommended to ensure adequate durability, leading to high environmental costs through excessive use of stabilisers.This paper rates the relevance of two acknowledged durability tests (accelerated erosion due to sprayed water and mass loss due to wire brushing) and relates outcomes to the strength and the environmental impact of several SRE mixes. The environmental impact of each mix was estimated using attributional and consequential life cycle assessment (LCA) approaches as well as an assessment of cumulative energy demand. Results demonstrated that it is possible to have durable SRE mixes without paying the cost of using environmentally-expensive stabilisers.

A Unique Historical Case to Understand the Present Sustainable Development.

Every innovation seeks to become a profitable business, with this considered to be the engine for economic prosperity. When an innovation is revolutionary, its long-term consequences can be revolutionary too. The Haber-Bosh process for ammonia synthesis is arguably the twentieth century's most significant innovation, and its importance to global food production and its impact on the environment are not expected to diminish over the coming decades. The historical case of the ammonia synthesis process invented by Fritz Haber and the ensuing innovation provides an incomparable opportunity to illustrate the interactions across contemporary needs, prominent scientists, political concerns, moral dilemmas, ethics, governance and environmental implications at a time when the concept of sustainability was still in its infancy. Despite its high economic and environmental costs, no cleaner or more efficient sustainable alternative has so far been found, and so replacing this "old" innovation that still "feeds" a large part of the world's population does not appear to be on the cards in the near future.

Utilisation of loss and waste during the food-production cycle as livestock feed

Approximately one-third of the food produced is wasted, which has high environmental, economic and social costs. Besides, it adversely affects food security. A part of such losses and non-food parts of the agricultural products can be safely used as animal feed, without compromising animal product safety and animal and human welfare. FAO organised an e-conference to generate discussion and obtain inputs on definition of food loss in context to their use as animal feed and to identify roles of various stakeholders in the feed production and use chain for converting such waste to worth in the form of animal feed. This review presents a synthesis of the conference proceedings. Future areas of work and way forward have also been discussed.

The Concept of Resource Use Efficiency as a Theoretical Basis for Promising Coal Mining Technologies

The article is devoted to solving one of the most relevant problems of the coal mining industry - its high resource use efficiency, which results in high environmental and economic costs of operating enterprises. It is shown that it is the high resource use efficiency of traditional, historically developed coal production systems that generates a conflict between indicators of economic efficiency and indicators of resistance to uncertainty and variability of market environment parameters. The traditional technological paradigm of exploitation of coal deposits also predetermines high, technology-driven, economic risks. The solution is shown and a real example of the problem solution is considered.

Pipe Failure Prediction in Water Distribution Systems Considering Static and Dynamic Factors

Due to high economic, environmental and social costs resulting from pipe bursts in water distribution systems, development of a reliable and accurate prediction model to assess susceptibility of a pipe to failure is of paramount importance. This paper aims to consider the impact of both static and dynamic factors on pipe failure for long and mid-term predications. Length, diameter and age of pipes are the static and weather is the dynamic factors for the prediction model. To improve the performance of the pipe failure prediction models, the K-means clustering approach is considered. Evolutionary Polynomial Regression (EPR) is used as the pipe failure prediction model. To prepare the database for the prediction model, homogenous groups of pipes are created by aggregating individual pipes using their attributes of age, diameter and soil type. The created groups were divided into training and test datasets using the cross-validation technique. The K-means clustering approach is employed to partition the training data into a number of clusters with similar features based on diameter and age of the pipe groups. An EPR model is developed and calibrated for each data cluster. To predict pipe failures for new (unseen) data, the most suitable cluster is identified and the relevant EPR model is used to obtain the most accurate prediction. The proposed approach is demonstrated by application to a water distribution system in the UK. Comparison of the results shows that the cluster-based prediction model is able to significantly reduce the prediction error of pipe failures. Temperature-related factor is identified as the main dynamic factor influencing the t mid-term prediction of pipe failures. An EPR model is employed to predict the annual variation in the number of failures. Mid-term and long-term prediction models are developed to present the relationship between number of pipe failures and temperature-related factors for better operation and long term for capital investment respectively.

Industrial land price between China’s Pearl River Delta and Southeast Asian regions: Competition or Coopetition?

The planned economy system’s previous form of industrial land market control in China has led to current market failure because of a large amount of industrial land being sold at a very low price, causing extensive overuse of land and negative effects on land management. As the “World Factory”, the Pearl River Delta (PRD) is well known for its rapid urbanization largely driven by Foreign Direct Investment in labor-intensive industries. A low-land price strategy has been commonly adopted by the local government in order to attract industrial investment. In the past decade, the PRD has increasingly faced the increasing competition from its neighboring competition from its neighboring countries in Southeast Asia that have established preference policies to attract FDI and foreign enterprises. Despite a growing body of literature on the internal forces of industrial land in China, little is known of the external forces involved except for the importance of FDI and the intensity of interregional competition between China and other countries in attempting to attract foreign investment. This research fills the knowledge gap by modeling the situation in the form of an international cooperative game model aimed at revealing the industrial land price formation mechanism between the PRD region and Southeast Asian regions. The conditions of industrial land in the area and several Southeast Asian countries are first analyzed for their industrial land price movements in recent years. A game theoretic model is then built that exhibits similar characteristics. The result indicates that the governments’ low land price strategy and the competition between the PRD and its neighboring countries have created unnecessarily high social and environmental costs. Policy suggestions are made to encourage a more appropriate use of industrial land in China, and the most important being the need for a mindset shift from competition towards coopetition between the PRD and Southeast Asian regions.

Design and implementation of a governance system for the protection of the environment and public health in China: international models, best practices, and implications for contemporary China

China’s economic miracle has been achieved at high environmental costs, including substantial air and water pollution, which are detrimental to the health of China’s citizens. A lack of strong environmental governance is part of the explanation for this state of affairs. Courts and regulatory agencies have not adequately performed their duties. Although China’s administrative system, which historically tended to prefer economic growth over environmental quality and citizens’ rights, is at the root of its environmental problems, the Chinese government has begun to show more enthusiasm for environmental and health protection. In this article, a series of principles and practices for good environmental governance are discussed. Because these principles and practices contribute to establishing rational and effective environmental policies and governance, the Chinese government should consider them in rethinking its current system. The models and practices discussed in this article work best if they form a part of an integrated system. For environmental governance to be able to realize its full potential, however, China should also adopt political reforms and shift power from the various levels of government to ordinary citizens. Chinese society knows a number of strategies to collect and include people’s opinions into administrative decision making, these mechanisms could be strengthened.

Can social responsibility reduce operational risk: Empirical analysis of Chinese listed companies

After 30years of rapid development, China has made great strides in economic growth but at the expense of high environmental and social costs. Listed companies should fulfill their social responsibilities not only to meet the expectations of stakeholders but also to improve management effectiveness, cultivate competitive advantage, create a good image, and achieve sustainable development. Because the influence of corporate social responsibility is expanding gradually in China, the relationship among listed companies’ fulfillment of social responsibilities, information disclosure, and operational risk needs to be explored further. This study uses data on Chinese A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2009 and makes four main findings. First, listed companies improving their social responsibilities fulfillment face significantly lower operational risk. Second, listed companies publishing independent social responsibility reports face significantly increased operational risk. Third, high risk companies improving social responsibility fulfillment can significantly reduce their operational risk, while publishing independent social responsibility reports leads to significantly increased operational risk. Finally, low risk companies improving their social responsibilities fulfillment and publishing independent social responsibility reports experience changes in operational risk; however, the direction of the change varies by company. Companies with different operational risk have different effect because the company's majority shareholder is individual who lack of distinguishing news ability and CSR format is unified that is not enough to emphasize important disclosure issues.

Connecting the shifting currents of aquatic science and policy

Abstract The interface between science and policy is often contentious and characterized by mutual suspicion, yet is critical to both halves of the divide. The application of science to real‐world problems is ultimately one of the greatest markers of scientific achievement, while policy‐makers can reduce the risks of failure by drawing on good evidence. The disproportionately large resource value of inland waters and marine systems together make synergies between science and policy particularly pertinent. Aquatic science has shaped major policy or regulatory legislation, with examples such as the US Clean Water Act (1972) and EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) deeply rooted in evidence. Modern policy examples are also emerging that can respond to the need for resilience to global change, the protection of natural capital and the sustainable management of ecosystem services. However, practical applications so far remain rudimentary. There have been extensive uses of aquatic conservation science to evaluate the outcomes from past policy implementation. Examples are the role of the EU Large Combustion Plants Directive (88/609/EEC), EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) and the US Clean Water Act (1972) in restoring polluted, acidified, and urbanized fresh waters. However, larger‐scale and longer‐term data are required to reveal such policy effects more fully. Evaluations of policies to address recent problems in marine waters affected by climate change, acidification, or anoxia are far less complete. The authors suggest that aquatic scientists can play a pivotal role in identifying gaps or failings in policy or regulatory practice, and we urge our colleagues in aquatic conservation to recognize this role with conviction. A specific policy need is identified – to recognize more fully the importance of connectivity among land, inland waters, and seas to avoid high environmental costs, to capture conservation benefits, and to build resilience in aquatic ecosystems as, arguably, the world's most important environments. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.