Towards demand-side solutions for mitigating climate change

Research on climate change mitigation tends to focus on supply-side technology solutions. A better understanding of demand-side solutions is missing. We propose a transdisciplinary approach to identify demand-side climate solutions, investigate their mitigation potential, detail policy measures and assess their implications for well-being

Scientific concepts and methods for moving persistence assessments into the 21st century

34 páginas.- 2 figuras.- 3 tablas.- 225 referenciasThe evaluation of a chemical substance's persistence is key to understanding its environmental fate, exposure concentration, and, ultimately, environmental risk. Traditional biodegradation test methods were developed many years ago for soluble, nonvolatile, single-constituent test substances, which do not represent the wide range of manufactured chemical substances. In addition, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) screening and simulation test methods do not fully reflect the environmental conditions into which substances are released and, therefore, estimates of chemical degradation half-lives can be very uncertain and may misrepresent real environmental processes. In this paper, we address the challenges and limitations facing current test methods and the scientific advances that are helping to both understand and provide solutions to them. Some of these advancements include the following: (1) robust methods that provide a deeper understanding of microbial composition, diversity, and abundance to ensure consistency and/or interpret variability between tests; (2) benchmarking tools and reference substances that aid in persistence evaluations through comparison against substances with well-quantified degradation profiles; (3) analytical methods that allow quantification for parent and metabolites at environmentally relevant concentrations, and inform on test substance bioavailability, biochemical pathways, rates of primary versus overall degradation, and rates of metabolite formation and decay; (4) modeling tools that predict the likelihood of microbial biotransformation, as well as biochemical pathways; and (5) modeling approaches that allow for derivation of more generally applicable biotransformation rate constants, by accounting for physical and/or chemical processes and test system design when evaluating test data. We also identify that, while such advancements could improve the certainty and accuracy of persistence assessments, the mechanisms and processes by which they are translated into regulatory practice and development of new OECD test guidelines need improving and accelerating. Where uncertainty remains, holistic weight of evidence approaches may be required to accurately assess the persistence of chemicals. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2022;1–34. © 2022 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).Peer reviewe

Fate and Uptake of Pharmaceuticals in Soil–Plant Systems

Pharmaceuticals have been detected in the soil environment where there is the potential for uptake into crops. This study explored the fate and uptake of pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, diclofenac, fluoxetine, propranolol, sulfamethazine) and a personal care product (triclosan) in soil–plant systems using radish (Raphanus sativus) and ryegrass (Lolium perenne). Five of the six chemicals were detected in plant tissue. Carbamazepine was taken up to the greatest extent in both the radish (52 μg/g) and ryegrass (33 μg/g), whereas sulfamethazine uptake was below the limit of quantitation (LOQ) (<0.01 μg/g). In the soil, concentrations of diclofenac and sulfamethazine dropped below the LOQ after 7 days. However, all pharmaceuticals were still detectable in the pore water at the end of the experiment. The results demonstrate the ability of plant species to accumulate pharmaceuticals from soils with uptake apparently specific to both plant species and chemical. Results can be partly explained by the hydrophobicity and extent of ionization of each chemical in the soil

POSSIBILITIES OF RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT IN LITHUANIA: THE ANALYSIS OF REGULATIONS FOR RAILWAY DESIGN IN THE ASPECT OF REDUCTION OF ACOUSTIC NOISE / GELEŽINKELIŲ PLĖTROS GALIMYBĖS LIETUVOJE: GELEŽINKELIŲ KELIAMS PROJEKTUOTI SKIRTŲ NORMINIŲ TECHNINIŲ DOKUMENTŲ

All over the world railways are of the least-polluting vehicles, and they became increasingly popular. However, the noise emission from railway infrastructure is the most problematic issue, especially at the development planning stage. This article presents analysis of Lithuanian regulations for railway design in the aspect of reduction of acoustic noise. It analyses regulations, which are mandatory for Lithuanian railway designers and builders. In addition, the overview of regulations’provisions, which are related to noise mitigation measures, are presented. Santrauka  Pasaulyje vis labiau populiarėja kelionės geležinkeliais, kurie yra viena iš mažiausiai taršių transporto priemonių. Nuo geležinkelio infrastruktūros sklindantis triukšmas yra viena didžiausių problemų, ypač planuojant jų plėtrą. Straipsnyje pristatyta Lietuvos norminių techninių dokumentų, skirtų geležinkeliams projektuoti, analizė akustinio triukšmo mažinimo aspektu. Buvo išanalizuoti norminiai techniniai dokumentai, kurie privalomi naudoti Lietuvoje geležinkelių projektuotojams ir geležinkelių tiesėjams, bei apžvelgta, kokios yra juose nuostatos, susijusios su triukšmą mažinančiomis priemonėmis. Raktiniai žodžiai: geležinkelis, akustinis triukšmas, triukšmo valdymas, teisės aktai, ribiniai dydžiai, triukšmą mažinančios priemonės

Can electric vehicles be good for Sub-Saharan Africa?

Transport is an integral component of the energy system, and in Sub-Saharan Africa the demand for transport has been increasing due in part to population growth and economic development. To demonstrate the extent of this increased demand, emissions from transport in Africa grew by 84% over 6 years last decade [1] until, in 2018 in Sub-Saharan Africa, 15% of final energy consumption was demanded by the transport sector [2]. However, a global system change is underway for road passenger transport: a transition from polluting internal combustion engine vehicles to low-emission electric vehicles. Sub-Saharan Africa will not be immune to this transition, especially as a region which currently depends heavily on the import of second-hand vehicles [3]; not to mention the emission and air quality benefits electric vehicles can offer. Yet, by 2019 only 500 electric vehicles were on the roads in South Africa [4]. In this Viewpoint, we aim to dispel concerns that electric vehicles are always unaffordable and will cripple the already overloaded power systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Instead, we propose that with innovative thinking and context-specific approaches and technologies, different from those in High-Income Countries, electric vehicles could in fact offer benefits to governments, the power systems, and vehicle owner-operators in Sub-Saharan Africa. We lay out how the historically siloed transport and electricity sectors could evolve to support each other in the future