Energy transition towards economic and environmental sustainability: feasible paths and policy implications

This paper focuses on growth feasibility in an era of increasing scarcity of fossil fuels. A stylised dynamic model illustrates the implications of investing in smooth technological progress in the field of renewable energy. Positive rates of GDP growth sustained by fossil fuels entail, on the one hand, more income available for R&D in renewable energy sources, and on the other, an acceleration of the exhaustible resource depletion time. Our model explores such a trade-off and highlights the danger of high growth rates. Policies should target low growth rates, stimulate investment in alternative energy sources and discourage consumption growth.     

Living in a “stethoscope”: burrow-acoustics promote auditory specializations in subterranean rodents

Subterranean mammals rely to a great extent on audition for communication and to be alerted to danger. The only hitherto published report on burrow acoustics revealed that in tunnels of blind mole-rats (Spalax ehrenbergi), airborne sounds of 440 Hz propagated best whereas lower and higher frequencies were effectively attenuated. Morpho-functional analyses classify the ear of subterranean mammals as a low-sensitivity and low-frequency device. Concordantly, hearing is characterized by low sensitivity and a restricted frequency range tuned to low frequencies (0.5–4 kHz). Some authors considered the restricted hearing in subterranean mammals vestigial and degenerate due to under-stimulation. In contrast to this view stand a rich (mostly low-frequency) vocal repertoire and progressive structural specializations of the middle and inner ear. Thus, other authors considered these hearing characteristics adaptive. To test the hypothesis that acoustical environment in burrows of different species of subterranean mammals is similar, we measured sound attenuation in burrows of Fukomys mole-rats (formerly known as Cryptomys, cf. Kock et al. 2006) of two differently sized species at different locations in Zambia. We show that in these burrows, low-frequency sounds (200–800 Hz) are not only least attenuated but also their amplitude may be amplified like in a stethoscope (up to two times over 1 m). We suggest that hearing sensitivity has decreased during evolution of subterranean mammals to avoid over-stimulation of the ear in their natural environment. We dedicate this work to Mathias Kawalika, who died in March 2006.     

Smoking is a marker of risky behaviors independent of substance abuse in injured drivers

OBJECTIVE: Smoking has been linked to disease and injury. The purpose of this study is to investigate the smoking habits of motor vehicular driver trauma center patients and their association with previous injury history and risky behaviors. METHODS: The studied population included 323 motor vehicular driver injury patients (123 smokers and 200 non-smokers) interviewed as part of a larger study of psychoactive substance use disorders at an adult Level I trauma center. Patients with head injuries, hospital stays of less than two days, and diminished cognition were excluded. Interviews included demographics (age, gender, race, marital status), socioeconomic status (SES; income, education, employment), risky behaviors (seatbelt non-use, drinking and driving, riding with drunk driver, binge drinking), and trauma history information (vehicular, assault, and other injuries). Substance abuse (alcohol and drug dependence) was evaluated in depth using DSM III-R criteria. Smokers and non-smokers were compared in relation to control and dependent variables using student's t test and chi-square (alpha = 0.05). Outcome variables included previous trauma history and risky behaviors. Multiple logistic regression models using step-down selection methods (alpha = 0.05) were constructed with risky behaviors and trauma history as dependent variables including demographics, SES and substance as independent variables. RESULTS: Smokers represented 38 percent of the 323 patients studied. Smokers (n = 123) were younger (34 vs. 43 years), more likely to be male (72 percent vs. 50 percent), not married (72 percent vs. 56 percent), and had higher rates of alcohol (29 percent vs. 9 percent) and drug dependence (14 percent vs. 3 percent) than non-smokers (n = 200). Educational achievement (20 percent vs. 15 percent less than high school) and income level (24 percent vs. 23 percent with less than $15,000 of yearly income) were not different between smokers and non-smokers. Smokers were more likely than non-smokers to have a history of prior vehicular trauma (48 percent vs. 26 percent), assault (25 percent vs. 9 percent), or other injury (50 percent vs 37 percent). The following injury-prone behaviors were also more common among the smokers than non-smokers: seatbelt non-use (49 percent vs. 29 percent), drinking and driving (38 percent vs. 15 percent), riding with drunk driver (38 percent vs. 13 percent), and binge drinking (68 percent vs. 26 percent). In multiple logistic regression models adjusting for demographics, SES, and substance abuse, smoking revealed significantly higher odds ratios (OR) for the following dependent variables: seatbelt non-use (OR = 2.9), riding with drunk driver (OR = 2.2), binge drinking (OR = 2.4), previous vehicular (OR = 2.0), and assault injuries (OR = 2.5). Smoking did not reach significance for drinking and driving and other (non-vehicular and non-assault) injury. CONCLUSION: Smoking is independently associated with risky behaviors and repeated history of vehicular or assault injury within the vehicular trauma population.     

Modeling population effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a long-lived species

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill exposed common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Barataria Bay, Louisiana to heavy oiling that caused increased mortality and chronic disease and impaired reproduction in surviving dolphins. We conducted photographic surveys and veterinary assessments in the decade following the spill. We assigned a prognostic score (good, fair, guarded, poor, or grave) for each dolphin to provide a single integrated indicator of overall health, and we examined temporal trends in prognostic scores. We used expert elicitation to quantify the implications of trends for the proportion of the dolphins that would recover within their lifetime. We integrated expert elicitation, along with other new information, in a population dynamics model to predict the effects of observed health trends on demography. We compared the resulting population trajectory with that predicted under baseline (no spill) conditions. Disease conditions persisted and have recently worsened in dolphins that were presumably exposed to DWH oil: 78% of those assessed in 2018 had a guarded, poor, or grave prognosis. Dolphins born after the spill were in better health. We estimated that the population declined by 45% (95% CI 14–74) relative to baseline and will take 35 years (95% CI 18–67) to recover to 95% of baseline numbers. The sum of annual differences between baseline and injured population sizes (i.e., the lost cetacean years) was 30,993 (95% CI 6607–94,148). The population is currently at a minimum point in its recovery trajectory and is vulnerable to emerging threats, including planned ecosystem restoration efforts that are likely to be detrimental to the dolphins’ survival. Our modeling framework demonstrates an approach for integrating different sources and types of data, highlights the utility of expert elicitation for indeterminable input parameters, and emphasizes the importance of considering and monitoring long-term health of long-lived species subject to environmental disasters. Article impact statement: Oil spills can have long-term consequences for the health of long-lived species; thus, effective restoration and monitoring are needed.     

Prevalence of sustainable and unsustainable use of wild species inferred from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Unsustainable exploitation of wild species represents a serious threat to biodiversity and to the livelihoods of local communities and Indigenous peoples. However, managed, sustainable use has the potential to forestall extinctions, aid recovery, and meet human needs. We analyzed species-level data for 30,923 species from 13 taxonomic groups on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species to investigate patterns of intentional biological resource use. Forty percent of species (10,098 of 25,009 species from 10 data-sufficient taxonomic groups) were used. The main purposes of use were pets, display animals, horticulture, and human consumption. Intentional use is currently contributing to elevated extinction risk for 28–29% of threatened or near threatened (NT) species (2752–2848 of 9753 species). Intentional use also affected 16% of all species used (1597–1631 of 10,098). However, 72% of used species (7291 of 10,098) were least concern, of which nearly half (3469) also had stable or improving population trends. The remainder were not documented as threatened by biological resource use, including at least 172 threatened or NT species with stable or improving populations. About one-third of species that had use documented as a threat had no targeted species management actions to directly address this threat. To improve use-related red-list data, we suggest small amendments to the relevant classification schemes and required supporting documentation. Our findings on the prevalence of sustainable and unsustainable use, and variation across taxa, can inform international policy making, including the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.     

Correction to: Management of food waste in restaurants by way of circular practices

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Food waste is a serious problem worldwide. There is a lot of waste in the food sector, while we still have a significant percentage of people who...     

Transboundary Pollution Control and Competitiveness Concerns in a Two-Country Differential Game

Environmental Modeling & Assessment - We analyze a transboundary pollution control problem in a heterogeneous two-country differential game setting in which regulators care for the implications...     

Factors associated with medical waste under pandemic situation: a case study of the Kingdom of Bahrain

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Exploring the factors influencing medical waste generation is vital for proper management due to its hazardous nature. Improper treatment would...     

Chronic exposure to lead acetate promotes changes in the alveolar bone of rats: microstructural and physical–chemical characterization

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - There are a few data relating to the effects of lead (Pb) exposure on the alveolar bone, which has very distinct morphophysiological characteristics...