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Topic Review
State-of-the-Art Recycling Processes for Lithium-Ion Batteries
In the quest for sustainable energy solutions and environmental protection, the management of end-of-life (EoL) batteries has emerged as a critical issue. Batteries, especially lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), power a wide range of devices and are central to modern life. As society’s reliance on batteries grows, there is an urgent need for sustainable battery recycling methods that can efficiently recover valuable materials, minimize environmental impact, and support the circular economy.
  • 925
  • 29 Jan 2024
Topic Review
The Metabolism of Islands
Islands are hotspots of biocultural diversity, and home to 600 million people that depend on one-sixth of the earth’s total area, including the surrounding oceans, for their subsistence. Today, they are on the frontlines of climate change and facean existential crisis. Islands are, however, potential “hubs of innovation” and are uniquely positioned to be leaders in sustainability and climate action. In this entry, we introduce key concepts of socio-metabolic research (SMR) and its relevance to island sustainability. SMR suggests that islands can build system resilience by reconfiguring resource-use patterns, and achieve a high quality of life at the lowest environmental costs.
  • 921
  • 01 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Geo-Environmental Characterization of High Contaminated Coastal Sites
Despite its remarkable geomorphological, ecological, and touristic value, the coastal sector of the Apulia region (Southern Italy) hosts three of the main contaminated Italian sites (Sites of National Interest, or SINs), for which urgent environmental remediation and reclamation actions are required. These sites are affected by intense coastal modification and diffuse environmental pollution due to the strong industrialization and urbanization processes that have been taking place since the second half of the XIX century. The Apulian coastal SINs, established by the National Law 426/1998 and delimited by the Ministerial Decree of 10 January 2000, include large coastal sectors and marine areas, which have been deeply investigated by the National Institution for the Environmental Research and Protection (ISPRA) and the Regional Agency for the Prevention and Protection of the Environment (ARPA) with the aim of obtaining a deep environmental characterization of the marine matrices (sediments, water, and biota). High-resolution and multidisciplinary investigations focused on the geo-environmental characterization of the coastal basins in the SIN Taranto site have been funded by the “Special Commissioner for the urgent measures of reclamation, environmental improvements, and redevelopment of Taranto”.
  • 921
  • 17 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Bacterial Plant Biostimulants
Plant biostimulants are an important tool for modern agriculture as part of an integrated crop management (ICM) system, helping make agriculture more sustainable and resilient. Plant biostimulants contain substance(s) and/or microorganisms whose function when applied to plants or the rhizosphere is to stimulate natural processes to enhance plant nutrient uptake, nutrient use efficiency, tolerance to abiotic stress, biocontrol, and crop quality.
  • 919
  • 09 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Air Quality, Pollution Perception, and Residents’ Health
Environmental and resident health issues associated with air pollution are an area of growing concern for both policy officials and the general public. China has been accelerating the construction of a Beautiful China and a Healthy China, with the aim of protecting and improving the environment and ensuring public health.
  • 919
  • 22 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Managing World Heritage
World Heritage is the pinnacle of the recognition of the natural, aesthetic, and cultural value of a place on the planet. Since its inception in 1972, over 1100 sites have received World Heritage status. Many of these places are being challenged by the effects of climate change. Urgent action is needed to build the resilience and adaptive capacity of World Heritage sites in the face of climate change threats to come. The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area (WTWHA) is one of the most effectively regulated and managed protected Areas in the world. This includes the scientific evidence upon which that regulation and management is based. However, there is growing evidence that climate change impacts are a clear and present threat to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) upon which the listing is based. This challenges the very concept of OUV and points to the business-as-usual regulation and management not being sufficient to deal with the threat. It also calls for quantum changes in the approaches to protecting natural and cultural heritage and the OUV in World Heritage Areas.
  • 917
  • 15 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Pesticides Risks in Africa
On the African continent, ongoing agriculture intensification is accompanied by the increasing use of pesticides, associated with environmental and public health concerns. Agriculture production systems are at the same time under pressure due to climate change, the need to produce about double the amount of food by 2050, and to achieve some of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
  • 915
  • 16 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Earth Strike
Earth Strike is an international grassroots movement that called for a global general strike for climate action. Their aim was a global general strike lasting from 20 until 27 September 2019. The movement has had public support from organizations including Extinction Rebellion and Fridays for Future, as well as public figures including Noam Chomsky. The Earth Strikes were part of the worldwide September 2019 climate strikes, which gathered millions of protesters. An estimated 6 million people participated in strikes worldwide from 20–27 September. Youth environmental activist Greta Thunberg spoke in New York on the 20 September strike and Montreal on the 27 September strike.
  • 912
  • 25 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Impacts of Exotic Pests on Forest Ecosystems
Pests (e.g., insects, pathogens) affect forest communities through complex interactions with plants, other animals, and the environment. While the effects of exotic (non-native) pests on trees received broad attention and were extensively studied, fewer studies addressed the ecosystem-level consequences of these effects. Related studies so far mostly only targeted a very few dominant pests (e.g., hemlock woolly adelgid—HWA, beech bark disease—BBD, and spongy moth—SM) and were limited to aspects of the complex situation such as (1) pests’ direct physical disturbance to forest ecosystems, (2) altered geochemical elements of soils, water, and air (e.g., excretion), and (3) feedback effects from the alteration of ecosystems on plants, native insects, and present and future pest invasions. New studies also show that, in general, planted forests appear to be more prone to exotic pest invasions and thus suffer greater impacts than natural forests. Integrated studies are critically needed in the future to address (1) direct/indirect interactions of pests with ecosystem elements, (2) both short- and long-term effects, and (3) feedback effects. The implications of the new findings and corresponding management strategies are discussed.
  • 912
  • 11 May 2023
Topic Review
Ecological Land in Arid Hilly
Cities in hilly arid areas of northwest China have generally experienced a low level of economic development; they also have unique natural characteristics such as climate, soil, terrain, environment, and surface cover. High quality ecological lands are those that provide humans and the environment with relatively high levels of ecological services including soil, water, and air purification, adsorbing pollutants, or providing water or nutrients needed by plants. This paper uses an improved model to evaluate the importance of ecological land in the core urban area of Lanzhou with specific attention to natural ecology and human needs. The purpose of this research is mainly twofold: (1) to construct a significant evaluation system for ecological land in the northwest arid hilly area, via the study’s methodology; (2) to explore the structure and spatial distribution characteristics of ecological land in the core area of Lanzhou in a practical sense, to reveal the development characteristics of ur-ban ecological land in the arid hilly region of northwest China, and to provide some guidance for the long-term development of Lanzhou.
  • 911
  • 17 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Past and Future of Permafrost Monitoring
Changes in the thermal state of permafrost under the influence of climatic variations have occurred over the years, but have not reached their maximum. This circumstance significantly increases the risks in fuel and energy complex stability. Everywhere in the Russian Arctic, there is a loss of the bearing capacity in the bases of buildings and structures. The vast majority of the permafrost data are outdated and need to be actualized in the formation of a unified monitoring system. The development of the fuel and energy complex in the Russian Arctic complements the impact of background climate change. As a result of the joint effect of climate warming and large-scale man-made impacts on permafrost, a cumulative effect arises. Its consequences critically accelerate the loss of the stability of frozen foundations, which leads to major accidents of natural–technical systems.
  • 910
  • 26 May 2022
Topic Review
Groundwater Pollution by Nitrates
Groundwater pollution by nitrates from agricultural sources is a common environmental issue. Surpluses from nitrogen fertilization are leached and they reach groundwater.
  • 908
  • 10 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Radon Risk Perception, Awareness and Knowledge
Radon is a natural radioactive gas that is present in buildings and is the second cause of lung cancer after smoking. Risk perception has been studied from multiple perspectives, including social studies, anthropology, and medical disciplines, with psychology playing a primary role. Two main dimensions are involved in risk perception: a cognitive dimension, related to knowledge and understanding of risk, and an emotional dimension, which includes feelings; both are components of the reaction to risks, representations of immediate and/or future consequences and their implications, and how people decide how to behave accordingly. Perceived risk is therefore quantifiable and predictable: the psychometric paradigm has helped to clarify how certain elements and characteristics are specifically influential in people’s perception of the dangerousness of an activity, such as controllability, voluntariness, threat to future generations, and responsibility. The research for the implementation of evidence-based radon communication programs is progressing rapidly. Many countries have issued regulations or recommendations to ensure that radon concentration levels do not exceed certain threshold values. Following the results of numerous epidemiological studies conducted two decades earlier, in 2009 the World Health Organization proposed a reference level of 100 Bq m−3 to minimize health risks from indoor radon, adding that if this level could not be achieved due to country-specific conditions, the chosen reference level should not exceed 300 Bq m−3. According to the 2013 Euratom Directive, radon is an indoor pollutant monitored in workplaces and homes, with established limits and exposure control obligations but exposure continues to be very high in some situations.
  • 905
  • 31 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Dualistic Nature of NOx Impact on Greenhouse Effect
Nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) emitted from a stationary combustion chamber (including waste to energy plants) or engines cause numerous undesirable environmental effects. These include negative influences on human and animal health, detrimental effects on plants and vegetation, acid rain, and smog. These negative influences are commonly accepted by the scientific community. However, the impact of NOx on the greenhouse effect (GHE) is not generally accepted by the scientific community.
  • 905
  • 03 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Water Footprint of Forest and Orchard Trees
The measurement of water consumption by trees is fundamental for detecting potential opportunities to mitigate water resource depletion. The water footprint (WF) is a tool to address the environmental effects related to water use, identifying ways to reduce overall water consumption.
  • 904
  • 19 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Sampling System for Measurement of Vehicles Exhaust Particles
A sampling system that measures volatile particles needs appropriate design, dilution conditions and counting devices in order to capture the nucleation mode formation potential of the source (vehicle).
  • 903
  • 29 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Geodiversity and Geotourism
Geodiversity has recently emerged as a key idea for recognizing the value of abiotic nature. The concept has vital implications for informing tourism sustainability research; however, to date, tourism scholarship has not shown adequate engagement with this concept. The issue also assumes further significance in the Anthropocene, where our species has become a geological force. It is argued that, in the Anthropocene, it is no longer enough for tourism sustainability research to remain preoccupied with the human predicament in the Anthropocene or the decline of biotic nature at some prominent tourism destinations, and it is imperative that tourism scholars embrace the concern for abiotic diversity and dynamic earth processes that provide vital resources and services for tourism planetwide.
  • 903
  • 17 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Smart Cities and Natural Disasters
Smart Cities are cities that use technology and data to improve the quality of life for their citizens, enhance sustainability, and increase efficiency in urban services. Natural disasters refer to events that occur in nature and cause significant damage or loss of life. Smart Cities have the potential to play a significant role in preparing for and responding to natural disasters. By using technology and data to monitor and manage urban infrastructure, cities can improve their resilience and ability to respond to disasters quickly and effectively. This research explores the potential benefits of Smart Cities in enhancing resilience during natural disasters, the challenges in implementing Smart City technologies, and the solutions to overcome these challenges.
  • 902
  • 22 May 2023
Topic Review
ENM/NPs and Marine Safety
The application of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in marine environmental remediation gained increasing attention. Due to their large surface area and high reactivity, ENMs offer the potential for the efficient removal of pollutants from environmental matrices with better performances compared to conventional techniques.
  • 901
  • 29 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Exploring the Road toward Environmental Sustainability
Despite the fact that China’s economy has grown swiftly since the reform and opening up, the problem of environmental degradation in China has become increasingly significant. Specifically, renewable energy consumption and oil rent contribute to environmental sustainability because of their negative effects on greenhouse gas emissions. On the contrary, economic growth and natural resources hinder environmental sustainability due to their positive effects on greenhouse gas emissions.
  • 901
  • 08 Feb 2022
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