Environmental Geochemistry and Health - Effective supply of environmental public services (EPS) is important to guarantee the mitigation of residential pollution exposure risk. This study analyzes... 相似文献
Microplastic pollution is occurring in most ecosystem, yet their presence in high altitude clouds and their influence on cloud formation and climate change are poorly known. Here we analyzed microplastics in cloud water sampled at the summits of Japan mountains at 1300–3776 m altitude by attenuated total reflection imaging and micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. We observed nine microplastics including polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polymethyl methacrylate, polyamide 6, polycarbonate, ethylene–propylene copolymer or polyethylene–polypropylene alloy, polyurethane, and epoxy resin. Microplastic were fragmented, with mean concentrations ranging from 6.7 to 13.9 pieces per liter, and with Feret diameters ranging from 7.1 to 94.6 μm. Microplastics bearing hydrophilic groups such as carbonyl and/or hydroxyl groups were abundant, suggesting that they might have acted as condensation nuclei of cloud ice and water. Overall, our finding suggest that high-altitude microplastics cloud influence cloud formation and, in turn, might modify the climate.
Biodiversity offsets aim to counterbalance the residual impacts of development on species and ecosystems. Guidance documents explicitly recommend that biodiversity offset actions be located close to the location of impact because of higher potential for similar ecological conditions, but allowing greater spatial flexibility has been proposed. We examined the circumstances under which offsets distant from the impact location could be more likely to achieve no net loss or provide better ecological outcomes than offsets close to the impact area. We applied a graphical model for migratory shorebirds in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway as a case study to explore the problems that arise when incorporating spatial flexibility into offset planning. Spatially flexible offsets may alleviate impacts more effectively than local offsets; however, the risks involved can be substantial. For our case study, there were inadequate data to make robust conclusions about the effectiveness and equivalence of distant habitat-based offsets for migratory shorebirds. Decisions around offset placement should be driven by the potential to achieve equivalent ecological outcomes; however, when considering more distant offsets, there is a need to evaluate the likely increased risks alongside the potential benefits. Although spatially flexible offsets have the potential to provide more cost-effective biodiversity outcomes and more cobenefits, our case study showed the difficulty of demonstrating these benefits in practice and the potential risks that need to be considered to ensure effective offset placement. 相似文献
Food loss and waste is a major issue affecting food security, environmental pollution, producer profitability, consumer prices, and climate change. About 1.3 billion tons of food products are yearly lost globally, with China producing approximately 20 million tons of soybean dregs annually. Here, we review food and agricultural byproducts with emphasis on the strategies to convert this waste into valuable materials. Byproducts can be used for animal and plant nutrition, biogas production, food, extraction of oils and bioactive substances, and production of vinegar, wine, edible coatings and organic fertilizers. For instance, bioactive compounds represent approximately 8–20% of apple pomace, 5–17% of orange peel, 10–25% of grape seeds, 3–15% of pomegranate peel, and 2–13% of date palm seeds. Similarly, the pharmaceutical industry uses approximately 6.5% of the total output of gelatin derived from fish bones and animal skin. Animals fed with pomegranate peel and olive pomace improved the concentration of deoxyribonucleic acid and protein, the litter size, the milk yield, and nest characteristics. Biogas production amounts to 57.1% using soybean residue, 53.7% using papaya peel, and 49.1% using sugarcane bagasse.
Environmental Chemistry Letters - Huge amounts of unwanted sewage sludge are generated in the process of wastewater treatment, calling for methods to recycle sewage sludges into value-added... 相似文献
The sharing of environmental cost by residents in various residential areas in the developing world is perceived to be unfair. This study therefore assessed residents’ experiences of environmental justice in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Three residential areas were identified in the study area and samples were selected using systematic sampling. Using availability and condition of urban infrastructure, severity of environmental problems and residents’ involvement in environmental issues, the study examined environmental justice in the study area. The study established a variation in environmental issues across identified residential areas. The severity of environmental problem measured through an index tagged Severity of Environmental Problem (SEPI) revealed that environmental problems was most severe in the core (SEPI = 4.00), followed by the peripheral area (SEPI = 3.71) and least in the transition area (SEPI = 3.56). On the condition of available environmental infrastructure, the study revealed that the conditions of infrastructure were most improved in the peripheral area (ICI = 3.07), followed by the core (ICI = 2.67) and the least in the transition area (ICI = 2.42). The study concluded that residents’ experiences of environmental justice differ significantly across the different residential zones as reflected by residents’ socio-economic characteristics. Furthermore, it established that age, gender, educational status, and number of years spent in the area can be used to explain the differences in residents’ experience of environmental justice in the study area. To enhance the liveability, the study recommends adequate provision of environmental amenities needed by each category of people in the city. 相似文献
Environmental Chemistry Letters - Nanoplastics are emerging contaminants of concern for living organisms and ecosystems, yet nanoplastics are difficult to extract and analyse. Once released into... 相似文献
Environmental Chemistry Letters - Nanoplastics are probably much more dangerous for living organisms than microplastics because they are more abundant and reactive. They can potentially... 相似文献