{"title":"Coupled system approach to healthy earth environments and individual human resilience","authors":"Didier Sornette, Ke Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100050","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has stressed our social organizations, health care systems and economies at a level not experienced since WWII or the last “Spanish flu” pandemic of 1918. This shock provides a real-life test of the resilience of human societies and of individuals, challenging our understanding and level of preparation. While hurried coercive non-pharmaceutical measures and vaccinations were the main responses, for the future, we propose a coupled double-system approach linking efforts to improve both human well-being and Earth environmental health. Concretely, this means linking (i) the build-up of individual health resilience using holistic medical system perspectives applied to each person with (ii) efforts to depollute and achieve more healthy Earth environments that are intrinsic pillars of humans’ health and wealth. The push to fight Earth ecological damages towards environmental sustainability should be rethought as being motivated by recovering an ecosystem in which each own personal biological ecosystem (i.e., each person's homeostatic balance) can strive again. We propose to prioritize Human-Environment-Health initiatives for depolluting the environment and of our immune systems, as well as improving individual responsibility and resilience.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"5 ","pages":"Article 100050"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49749878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yujue Yang , Cui Li , Lili Yang , Minghui Zheng , Guorui Liu
{"title":"Application of non-target screening by high-resolution mass spectrometry to identification and control of new contaminants: Implications for sustainable industrial development","authors":"Yujue Yang , Cui Li , Lili Yang , Minghui Zheng , Guorui Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100049","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100049","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Industrial production is the foundation of national infrastructure and economic development, but also brings about environmental pollution as well as other related problems. Since the detection of dioxins in flue gases and fly ash emitted by waste incineration in 1977, research on dioxin emissions, environmental impact, and control technologies and principles—in industries such as incineration and metallurgy—has been ongoing for nearly 50 years. However, research on new pollutants released by industry remains lacking. Although there are case studies on new pollutants (such as hexachlorobutadiene and polychlorinated naphthalenes) from industrial processes such as incineration, comprehensive identification and understanding remains lacking. Non-target screening by high-resolution mass spectrometry has developed rapidly in recent years. The ultra-high resolution of mass spectrometry connected to chromatography could facilitate comprehensive identification of hundreds of thousands of pollutants unintentionally formed during industrial activities, which thus further advance the recognition of industrial emissions by stack gas or solid residues, such as fly ash. The breakthrough screening technique by high resolution mass spectrometry is expected to be used in identification, toxicity and risk assessment, as well as emissions control of new industrial pollutants. Such technology is promising in terms of supporting sustainable industrial development.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"5 ","pages":"Article 100049"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49750263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lingchao Kong , Qinyu Wang , Yi Wang , Qinlin Yan , Wenhui Qiu , Chunmiao Zheng
{"title":"Sustainable Cu2(OH)2CO3/g-C3N4/cellulose acetate-derived porous composite membrane for Congo red and tetracycline removal with photocatalytic self-cleaning properties under natural solar irradiation","authors":"Lingchao Kong , Qinyu Wang , Yi Wang , Qinlin Yan , Wenhui Qiu , Chunmiao Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100047","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A highly efficient and sustainable Cu/CN@CA composite membrane was synthesized for the removal of typical dyes and antibiotics by incorporating a Cu<sub>2</sub>(OH)<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>/g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> heterojunction (Cu/CN) onto a cellulose acetate (CA) membrane. The 0.2Cu/CN@CA membrane with optimized Cu/CN doping achieved superior Congo red (CR) and tetracycline (TC) adsorption capacities of 250.8 and 48.43 mg/g, respectively. Notably, the exhausted 0.2Cu/CN@CA after adsorption saturation could be effectively self-cleaned under natural solar irradiation. Consecutive adsorption-photocatalytic experiments revealed its fine stability and recyclability. Mechanistic exploration based on experimental analysis and DFT (Density Function Theory) calculations revealed that cellulose acetate accommodates the charge transfer interactions between g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> and Cu<sub>2</sub>(OH)<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>, wherein many photogenerated electrons were generated and migrated from g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> to Cu<sub>2</sub>(OH)<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>. This type II heterojunction transfer pathway induced the strong oxidizability of the 0.2Cu/CN@CA membrane with plenty of active species for the photocatalytic degradation of the adsorbed CR and TC contaminants under solar light irritation. This study provided a novel sustainable membrane-based adsorbent for the enhanced dye and antibiotic contaminant remediation of aquatic environments.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"5 ","pages":"Article 100047"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49750297","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The carbon border adjustment mechanism: What does it mean for steel recycling?","authors":"Daniel Rossetto","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100048","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The European Union's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) is a landmark policy proposal. As this study finds, not only might it assist in providing signals to lower emissions in some of the most greenhouse gas-intensive sectors of the world economy; it also may also drive resource recovery.</p><p>This study focuses on CBAM's impact on scrap use for steel production. It investigates the nature and magnitude of the price signal by analysing costs of compliance for steelmakers using a variety of emissions intensities of different commercially operational steelmaking techniques, applied using the proposed CBAM liability model and emissions pricing data from the clearing prices observed in the EU's emissions trading system (EU ETS). In addition, it examines historical correlations in key commodities linked to steelmaking like EU carbon allowances, steel and ferrous scrap steel, validating the observation made by some analysts that free allocation in the EU ETS mutes the incentive to recycle steel. The study identifies factors that influence the magnitude and nature of the price signal, including uncertainty about the final CBAM design, the impact of market fundamentals and feedstock commodities, alternative green steel technologies and the relative importance of the longer-term outlook compared to nearer-term market signals.</p><p>The study finds that resource recovery and recycling will lead to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and vice versa, meaning well designed measures can advance both aims. This has implications for policy makers and business managers, who will be able to focus scarce resources to capture these co-benefits. This can reduce regulatory burden in an environment where overregulation is identified by previous studies as a barrier to better waste management practice.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"5 ","pages":"Article 100048"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49750516","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Food Security Threats and Policy Responses in EU and Africa","authors":"Fabio G. Santeramo , Munsu Kang","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2022.100044","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2022.100044","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The global dynamics we are observing during the past few years are severe, global and multifaced. The global warming, the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine have largely modified the geopolitics of our globe, with implications that are several in many sectors, included the agricultural and the food sectors. The state of food security has become (again) an emergency for several countries, and a concern for all. Governments and international organizations are reacting to limit the impacts of the global shocks. However, in comparison to previous events, such as the food crisis between 2008 and 2011, current food security issues are a result of disruptions in the global supply chain. Aside from this, the effects of the border closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the export restrictions imposed by Russia and Ukraine on food, pose a threat to both the EU and Africa, which rely heavily on Russian food imports. We compare the (contrasting) needs and the (national and international) interventions in Europe and Africa, stressing the necessity to act. While food security trend and severity caused by recent events are different in two regions, the tight links across the two continents call for joint policy responses, necessary to reconstruct a resilient and sustainable agri-food sector.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100044"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772737822000384/pdfft?md5=7a7540bf7173cb040390c8338002fc7b&pid=1-s2.0-S2772737822000384-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86980300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Benjamin D. Goffin , Rishudh Thakur , Sarah Da Conceição Carlos , Duncan Srsic , Caroline Williams , Kenton Ross , Fernando Neira-Román , Carlos Calvo Cortés-Monroy , Venkataraman Lakshmi
{"title":"Leveraging remotely-sensed vegetation indices to evaluate crop coefficients and actual irrigation requirements in the water-stressed Maipo River Basin of Central Chile","authors":"Benjamin D. Goffin , Rishudh Thakur , Sarah Da Conceição Carlos , Duncan Srsic , Caroline Williams , Kenton Ross , Fernando Neira-Román , Carlos Calvo Cortés-Monroy , Venkataraman Lakshmi","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2022.100039","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2022.100039","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Assessment of irrigation needs for agricultural production has commonly relied on reference crop coefficients derived using limited climatic conditions. This work focused on evaluating actual crop coefficients (Kc) by leveraging available satellite data from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). This method built on the linear relationship and variability between reference Kc from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and specific site response in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). A regional model was developed for the water-stressed Maipo River Basin of Central Chile during the growing seasons of maize from 2018 to 2022. Throughout model validation, NDVI-based Kc predictions of high quality were found with R-squared scores ranging from 0.77 to 0.97. Relying on Earth observations, this approach provided site-specific Kc values and estimates of actual evapotranspiration without requiring site instruments and/or particular knowledge of farming schedules. Overall, this study has the potential to assist individuals and organizations around the world in improving irrigation management approaches, and advance precision agriculture in the context of water scarcity.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100039"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772737822000335/pdfft?md5=a39590d42e70a67aa474c4338eb5fbbf&pid=1-s2.0-S2772737822000335-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79047217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaoxian Chen , Yi Zheng , Longfan Wang , Feng Han , Zhenzhong Zeng , Peng Xu , Guangtao Fu , Chi Zhang
{"title":"Climate change may neutralize the sediment starvation in mega deltas caused by hydropower dams","authors":"Xiaoxian Chen , Yi Zheng , Longfan Wang , Feng Han , Zhenzhong Zeng , Peng Xu , Guangtao Fu , Chi Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2022.100041","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2022.100041","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Sediment trapping by hydropower dams is one major cause of sediment starvation in global river deltas, but how climate change would influence the damming-induced sediment starvation remains unexplored. The Mekong River is the most important international river in Asia with rich biodiversity and massive hydropower potential. Here, we model the combined effect of climate change and damming on the Mekong River's sediment budget. Our study shows that six mega-dams in China currently reduce the sediment load into the Mekong Delta by 12.1%, while major downstream dams quadruple (49.7%) this reduction. The projected warmer and wetter climate may fully neutralize the impact of China's dams (>60% likelihood) and partially offset the impact of downstream dams. The neutralization effect comes with a notable shift in the sediment regime. In a rapid-change scenario, the basin-wide soil erosion, reservoir sedimentation and river sediment settling have changes of +9%, +36%, -135%, respectively, which degrades regional sustainability, particularly in the lower basin. Novel solutions from the perspective of the water-food-energy-climate nexus are urgently needed to maintain healthy sediment budgets in global mega-rivers including the Mekong River.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100041"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772737822000359/pdfft?md5=70377b1c2191b2cdb2c0e5d14e67a9ba&pid=1-s2.0-S2772737822000359-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91201954","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhou Fang , Huimin Wang , Shi Xue , Fan Zhang , Yixin Wang , Shiliang Yang , Qin Zhou , Changgao Cheng , Yuchun Zhong , Yang Yang , Gang Liu , Junyu Chen , Lei Qiu , Yanling Zhi
{"title":"A comprehensive framework for detecting economic growth expenses under ecological economics principles in China","authors":"Zhou Fang , Huimin Wang , Shi Xue , Fan Zhang , Yixin Wang , Shiliang Yang , Qin Zhou , Changgao Cheng , Yuchun Zhong , Yang Yang , Gang Liu , Junyu Chen , Lei Qiu , Yanling Zhi","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2022.100035","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2022.100035","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Recent centuries have witnessed a considerable economic growth, but have also been accompanied by ecological deterioration which has led to the utility decline in every hard-won material wealth. Here we proposed a comprehensive framework for detecting these economic growth expenses, combining the ecosystem services chain with ecological economics principles. Remote sensing products, biophysical process modeling, and inferential geostatistics were comprehensively used in tracing the quantity and quality of natural capital, the total amount, and the fairness of human well-being in both ecological and economic aspects in the last two decades of China. We find that although the natural capital condition and ecosystem services in most parts of China are rising, they are declining in the most economically developed regions where the vast majority of the people lives. Furthermore, this decline is unequal, affecting different people due to the spatial mismatch between population and ecological services. Further promoting China's environment-friendly industrial system and the transaction of ecological products may help alleviate the decline and inequity of ecological well-being. This framework aims to provide an interdisciplinary dashboard to help identify and deal with risks on our way to prosperity for regions either within or beyond China.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100035"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772737822000293/pdfft?md5=488ffd8aacefb0fd6072f84a2ef37c0d&pid=1-s2.0-S2772737822000293-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73412374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bo Wang , Robin Bonné , Yifeng Zhang , Aijie Wang , Wenzong Liu
{"title":"Renewable energy driving microbial electrochemistry toward carbon neutral","authors":"Bo Wang , Robin Bonné , Yifeng Zhang , Aijie Wang , Wenzong Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2022.100031","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2022.100031","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Microbe-electrode interacted microbial electrochemical systems (MESs) encompassing (electro)microbiology, electrochemistry, and material science, play an ever-increasing role in waste(water) treatment and resource recovery, which are perceived as eco-friendly and bioderived carbon-neutral catalysis technologies. However, external electricity input to drive the microbial metabolism in MESs can be expensive or not environmentally friendly, hampering the broader development of MESs. This perspective summarizes present renewable electricity sources from microbial full cells, salinity gradients, and solar light that have been demonstrated to drive MESs, followed by underexploited renewable power supplies from waste heat, self-powered triboelectric nanogenerators (mechanical energy harvester), etc. Future directions emphasizing electromicrobiology for MESs toward carbon-neutral are remarked.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"4 ","pages":"Article 100031"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772737822000256/pdfft?md5=c611d7b0bb8a05b40c1f4a7328eaf887&pid=1-s2.0-S2772737822000256-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91342063","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}