Methane Mitigation:Methods to Reduce Emissions, on the Path to the Paris Agreement

The atmospheric methane burden is increasing rapidly, contrary to pathways compatible with the goals of the 2015 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Paris Agreement. Urgent action is required to bring methane back to a pathway more in line with the Paris goals. Emission reduction from “tractable” (easier to mitigate) anthropogenic sources such as the fossil fuel industries and landfills is being much facilitated by technical advances in the past decade, which have radically improved our ability to locate, identify, quantify, and reduce emissions. Measures to reduce emissions from “intractable” (harder to mitigate) anthropogenic sources such as agriculture and biomass burning have received less attention and are also becoming more feasible, including removal from elevated-methane ambient air near to sources. The wider effort to use microbiological and dietary intervention to reduce emissions from cattle (and humans) is not addressed in detail in this essentially geophysical review. Though they cannot replace the need to reach “net-zero” emissions of CO2, significant reductions in the methane burden will ease the timescales needed to reach required CO2 reduction targets for any particular future temperature limit. There is no single magic bullet, but implementation of a wide array of mitigation and emission reduction strategies could substantially cut the global methane burden, at a cost that is relatively low compared to the parallel and necessary measures to reduce CO2, and thereby reduce the atmospheric methane burden back toward pathways consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement

Simplified direct water footprint model to support urban water management

Water resources conservation corresponding to urban growth is an increasing challenge for European policy makers. Water footprint (WF) is one of the methods to address this challenge. The objective of this study was to develop a simplified model to assess the WF of direct domestic and non-domestic water use within an urban area and to demonstrate its effectiveness in supporting new urban water management strategies and solutions. The new model was tested on three Central European urban areas with different characteristics i.e., Wroclaw (Poland), Innsbruck (Austria), and Vicenza (Italy). Obtained WFs varied from 291 dm3/(day∙capita) in Wroclaw, 551 dm3/(day∙capita) in Vicezna to 714 dm3/(day∙capita) in Innsbruck. In addition, WF obtained with the proposed model for the city of Vicenza was compared with a more complex approach. The results proved the model to be robust in providing reasonable results using a small amount of data

Social impacts of climate change and occupational heat stress and adaptation strategies of mining workers in Ghana

Excessive heat exposure due to rising temperatures associated with climate change adversely affects workers’ health, safety, productivity, and psychosocial well-being in occupational settings. In the hot and tropical regions of developing countries, long hours of physically demanding work, coupled with inadequate adaptation policies to climate change, increases the occurrence of heat-related illnesses and injuries, and contributes to the loss of productive capacity, poor decision making, and other negative effects on the social well-being of workers. Based on the theories of social impact assessment, risk assessment, adaptation and resilience planning, this study assesses the social impacts of climate change and occupational heat stress and adaptation strategies of mining workers in Ghana, and thus fills a significant gap in the existing literature. Guided by the pragmatists’ research philosophical paradigm, this study adopted the convergent mixed methods approach by utilising data obtained from four temperature and humidity data loggers, 346 surveys of mining workers, two focus groups and three in-depth interviews. The quantitative data was processed with Microsoft Excel 2016, XLSTAT 2019, and analysed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 25 while the qualitative data was processed utilising NVivo version 11 and thematically analysed. The findings suggest that the use of convergent mixed methods showed adequate corroboration and complementarity between the qualitative and quantitative data and helped to obtain credible data relevant for policy decisions on heat stress management, workplace health and safety, and adaptation strategies. Supervisors’ climate change risks perception was adequate, workplace heat exposure risks concerns were moderate and their views of workers’ heat stress experiences were heat-related illness and minor injuries. The differences in supervisors’ climate change risk perceptions and occupational heat stress risk experiences across job experience and adaptation strategies across educational status were significant (p\u3c0.05). Workers’ concerns about climate change effects and workplace heat exposure risks; heat-related morbidities experienced by workers; and their use of heat stress prevention measures significantly differed between Small-Scale Mining (SSM) and Large-Scale Mining (LSM) (p\u3c0.001). The disparity in heat exposure risk factors across workers’ gender, education level, workload, work hours, physical work exertion, and proximity to heat sources was significant (p\u3c0.05). Thermal assessments demonstrated that workers were exposed to high ambient heat conditions that raise their heat stress risk. Workers’ adaptation strategies, social protection measures, and barriers to adaptation strategies differed significantly across the type of mining activity (p\u3c0.001). Based on the seven publications related to the social impacts of climate change and occupational heat stress and adaptation strategies of mining workers, this study recommends that there needs to be a concerted global effort at providing adequate and effective heat exposure and adaptation policies to promote workers’ health and safety, productive capacity and psychosocial well-being; to reduce their vulnerability to heat stress, improve their adaptive capacity and resilience; and enlighten policy decisions and enforcement in the mining industry

Future importance of healthy oceans: Ecosystem functions and biodiversity, marine pollution, carbon sequestration, ecosystem goods and services

The paper provides a review the current status of ecosystem and resource extraction to provide a series of thoughts related to the future challenges in maintaining the health of the Marine and coastal ecosystems at the Bay of Bengal. The chapter highlighted the challenges current efforts and future interventions necessary to keep the Bay of Bengal large marine ecosystem healthy. They are mainly linked to climate change, environmental pollution from different sources, biodiversity conservation, sediment movement. marine spatial planning and adoption of protected area concept to design marine reserve, fish sanctuary and ecological critical areas in the coastal zone were highlighted. The importance and means of monitoring of the marine and coastal ecosystem at the Bay of Bengal required local and international collaboration in order to ensure adoption and management of an objective monitoring syste

Demand response within the energy-for-water-nexus - A review. ESRI WP637, October 2019

A promising tool to achieve more flexibility within power systems is demand re-sponse (DR). End-users in many strands of industry have been subject to research up to now regarding the opportunities for implementing DR programmes. One sector that has received little attention from the literature so far, is wastewater treatment. However, case studies indicate that the potential for wastewater treatment plants to provide DR services might be significant. This review presents and categorises recent modelling approaches for industrial demand response as well as for the wastewater treatment plant operation. Furthermore, the main sources of flexibility from wastewater treatment plants are presented: a potential for variable electricity use in aeration, the time-shifting operation of pumps, the exploitation of built-in redundan-cy in the system and flexibility in the sludge processing. Although case studies con-note the potential for DR from individual WWTPs, no study acknowledges the en-dogeneity of energy prices which arises from a large-scale utilisation of DR. There-fore, an integrated energy systems approach is required to quantify system and market effects effectively

Climate change and water-related infectious diseases

Background: Water-related, including waterborne, diseases remain important sources of morbidity and mortality worldwide, but particularly in developing countries. The potential for changes in disease associated with predicted anthropogenic climate changes make water-related diseases a target for prevention. Methods: We provide an overview of evidence on potential future changes in water-related disease associated with climate change. Results: A number of pathogens are likely to present risks to public health, including cholera, typhoid, dysentery, leptospirosis, diarrhoeal diseases and harmful algal blooms (HABS). The risks are greatest where the climate effects drive population movements, conflict and disruption, and where drinking water supply infrastructure is poor. The quality of evidence for water-related disease has been documented. Conclusions: We highlight the need to maintain and develop timely surveillance and rapid epidemiological responses to outbreaks and emergence of new waterborne pathogens in all countries. While the main burden of waterborne diseases is in developing countries, there needs to be both technical and financial mechanisms to ensure adequate quantities of good quality water, sewage disposal and hygiene for all. This will be essential in preventing excess morbidity and mortality in areas that will suffer from substantial changes in climate in the future

Designing a Water Filtration Device to Remove Chemical and Biological Contamination in Mandi District

Government reports over multiple years in Mandi District have revealed high levels of water contamination in many villages that may put residents at risk of negative health effects. This contamination can result from poor sanitation, an expanding industrial sector, and agricultural practices. Our goal was to create a small-scale filtration technology to address the drinking water needs of residents living in affected communities. To realize the goal, we assessed drinking water perceptions, behaviors, and water quality in the Sundernagar area of Mandi District. We designed a filtration device to address two concerns: iron and biological contamination. We designed and tested a filter prototype that can be further tested, refined, and potentially implemented in this region

Investing in America\u27s Surface Transportation Infrastructure: The Need for a Multi-Year Reauthorization Bill: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on Env\u27t & Pub. Works, 116th Cong., July 10, 2019

The Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in November 2018, described the serious impacts of climate change already being felt throughout the U.S., and made clear that the risks to communities all across the country are growing rapidly. These findings, along with those in the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report should serve as an immediate call to action. Even if we manage to limit planetary warming to just 2 degrees Celsius, the world will still face increased chances of economic and social upheaval from more severe flooding, droughts, heatwaves, and other climate impacts as well as devastating environmental consequences, the IPCC report warns. The consensus from leading scientific research academies within the United States and internationally is clear: multiple lines of evidence indicate, and have indicated for years, that our atmosphere is warming, sea levels are rising, the magnitude and frequency of certain extreme weather events is increasing, and that human activity is the primary driver of climate change. As described in the IPCC Special Report, the consensus is that countries around the world must rapidly decarbonize their economies, cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and to near zero by 2050. The U.S. Department of Defense, and leaders within the defense and national security communities, have also recognized climate change as a “national security issue” that requires adapting military operations and planning to ensure readiness. Despite our understanding of the consequences we will face and the urgency to act, U.S. GHG emissions from fossil fuel combustion increased by 2.7 percent in 2018, according the Rhodium Group. Clearly more action is needed. While we all recognize the importance of transportation in our daily lives and for our economy, it is also important to recognize that the transportation sector is the largest contributor of GHG emissions in the United States, and is already facing significant impacts from climate change. There is an urgent need, therefore, to transition to a low-carbon and more resilient transportation system. Such a transition would not only reduce emissions and fight climate change, it also would bring additional important benefits, including protecting public health by reducing conventional air pollution, providing more mobility options, and driving innovation and economic growth through policy action and through public and private investment

An overview of the electrification of residential and commercial heating and cooling and prospects for decarbonisation

Heating and cooling are responsible for over 50% of the world’s final energy consumption, and over 40% of global CO2 emissions. With an increasingly decarbonised electricity grid, the electrification of heating offers one potential alternative to the incumbent, heavily fossil-fuel dominated heating system. However, the high penetration of renewables, the high seasonality and hourly variability of heat demand, and an increasing domestic demand for energy services, including cooling, pose significant balancing challenges for both hourly system operation and the long-term investment decision planning of electricity systems. The combination of both demand-response measures and the integration of flexible systems will be required to deliver low carbon heating and cooling, while integrating an increasing share of renewable electricity, and managing peak load. We provide a global overview of the technical, economic and policy challenges and opportunities to decarbonise heating demand through electrification, in the context of rising demand for cooling services