Sustainable consumption: towards action and impact. : International scientific conference November 6th-8th 2011, Hamburg - European Green Capital 2011, Germany: abstract volume

This volume contains the abstracts of all oral and poster presentations of the international scientific conference „Sustainable Consumption – Towards Action and Impact“ held in Hamburg (Germany) on November 6th-8th 2011. This unique conference aims to promote a comprehensive academic discourse on issues concerning sustainable consumption and brings together scholars from a wide range of academic disciplines. In modern societies, private consumption is a multifaceted and ambivalent phenomenon: it is a ubiquitous social practice and an economic driving force, yet at the same time, its consequences are in conflict with important social and environmental sustainability goals. Finding paths towards “sustainable consumption” has therefore become a major political issue. In order to properly understand the challenge of “sustainable consumption”, identify unsustainable patterns of consumption and bring forward the necessary innovations, a collaborative effort of researchers from different disciplines is needed

Enabling university educators to equip students with inter- and transdisciplinary competencies

Purpose – Inter- and transdisciplinarity are core concepts in almost all education for sustainable development (ESD) competence frameworks and curricula. To equip students with inter- and transdisciplinary competencies is highly demanding for educators. Educators must not only know how to teach students such competencies, but need to be experienced in inter- and transdisciplinary research and must have some technical knowledge about inter- and transdisciplinarity. This paper aims to show how university educators can be supported in their teaching. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is a case study based on research and on experiences in interdisciplinary teaching and in supporting educators in their interdisciplinary teaching. Findings – The paper presents a competence framework of interdisciplinary competencies to guide university teachers that has been developed, implemented and refined in interdisciplinary study programmes belonging to the field of ESD. It shows how the professional development of educators could be addressed referring to the experiences in these programmes. The measures presented consist for one thing of interdisciplinary processes among the educators and of measures directly supporting educators in their teaching for another thing. Originality/value – The case study the paper refers to is of special value, first, because the experiences are based on long-standing research and on two decades of experiences. Second, because considerable efforts were made to deliver coherent and consistent interdisciplinary teaching in which interdisciplinarity was not only a teaching subject for the students but showed by the educators as well so that the educators involved did not only talk about competencies for inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations but also set an example in their own doings

A tough egg to crack: recreational boats as vectors for invasive goby eggs and transdisciplinary management approaches

Non-native invasive species are a major threat to biodiversity, especially in freshwater ecosystems. Freshwater ecosystems are naturally rather isolated from one another. Nonetheless, invasive species often spread rapidly across water sheds. This spread is to a large extent realized by human activities that provide vectors. For example, recreational boats can carry invasive species propagules as ‘aquatic hitch-hikers’ within and across water sheds. We used invasive gobies in Switzerland as a case study to test the plausibility that recreational boats can serve as vectors for invasive fish and that fish eggs can serve as propagules. We found that the peak season of boat movements across Switzerland and the goby spawning season overlap temporally. It is thus plausible that goby eggs attached to boats, anchors or gear may be transported across watersheds. In experimental trials we found that goby eggs show resistance to physical removal (90mN attachment strength of individual eggs) and stay attached if exposed to rapid water flow (2.8m s-138 for 1h). When exposing the eggs to air, we found that hatching success remained high (>95%) even after eggs had been out of water for up to 24h. It is thus plausible that eggs survive during pick up, within water and overland transport by boats. We complemented the experimental plausibility tests with a survey on how decision makers from inside and outside academia rate the feasibility of managing recreational boats as vectors. We found consensus that an installation of a preventive boat vector management is considered an effective and urgent measure. This study advances our understanding of the potential of recreational boats to serve as vectors for invasive vertebrate species, and demonstrates that preventive management of recreational boats is considered feasible by relevant decision makers in- and outside academia

Characterisation of archaeological waterlogged wood by pyrolytic and mass spectrometric techniques

1) Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, via Risorgimento 35. 56126 Pisa, Italy ; 2) IRNAS-CSIC, Seville, Spain; E-mail address: [email protected] combination of two techniques based on analytical pyrolysis and mass spectrometry, including direct exposure-MS (DE-MS) and pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS), was used to study the chemical composition of waterlogged archaeological wood. In particular, the two techniques were used to chemically characterise samples of archaeological wood from the excavation of the Site of the Ancient Ships of Pisa San Rossore in Pisa (Italy). The data were compared to those of native sound wood of the same species. The results highlight that DE-MS is a valuable technique for the characterisation of archaeological wood. DE-MS allows us to use a minimal sample size and to perform the analysis in a few minutes, thus avoiding the long wet-chemical procedures that are commonly used to characterise wood. The results also confirm the importance of Py-GC/MS as a tool for shedding light on the chemical modifications of wood in archaeological objects. The analyses demonstrated that waterlogged wood from the site of Pisa San Rossore have undergone an extensive loss of polysaccharides together with partial demethylation of lignin units, both guaiacyl and syringyl monomers. In fact, catechols and methoxy catechols were identified among the pyrolysis products of the waterlogged wood samples.The authors wish to thank Dott.ssa G. Giachi (Restoration Laboratories of the Archaeological Superintendence of Tuscany, Florence, Italy) for providing archaeological wood samples and for her valuable support and collaboration. Funding was provided by the Archaeological Superintendence of Tuscany and by the Italian MIUR (PRIN Cofin05).Peer reviewe

Inter-comparison of satellite sensor land surface phenology and ground phenology in Europe

Land surface phenology (LSP) and ground phenology (GP) are both important sources of information for monitoring terrestrial ecosystem responses to climate changes. Each measures different vegetation phenological stages and has different sources of uncertainties, which make comparison in absolute terms challenging, and therefore, there has been limited attempts to evaluate the complementary nature of both measures. However, both LSP and GP are climate driven and therefore should exhibit similar interannual variation. LSP obtained from the whole time series of Medium-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer data was compared to thousands of deciduous tree ground phenology records of the Pan European Phenology network (PEP725). Correlations observed between the interannual time series of the satellite sensor estimates of phenology and PEP725 records revealed a close agreement (especially for Betula Pendula and Fagus Sylvatica species). In particular, 90% of the statistically significant correlations between LSP and GP were positive (mean R2 = 0.77). A large spatiotemporal correlation was observed between the dates of the start of season (end of season) from space and leaf unfolding (autumn coloring) at the ground (pseudo R2 of 0.70 (0.71)) through the application of nonlinear multivariate models, providing, for the first time, the ability to predict accurately the date of leaf unfolding (autumn coloring) across Europe (root-mean-square error of 5.97 days (6.75 days) over 365 days)

SAPALDIA: Methods and participation in the cross-sectional part of the Swiss Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults

Summary: SAPALDIA-the Swiss Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults-focuses on the long term health effects of low to moderate levels of air pollutants as typically seen in different parts of Switzerland. The aim of the SAPALDIA cross-sectional study carried out in 1991 was to determine the prevalence of bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis and allergic conditions in the adult population of Switzerland and to identify and to determine the respective importance of potentially influencing factors. These could be both personal (smoking habits, allergy status, family history, occupation) and environmental (outdoor and indoor pollution, aeroallergens, climate). A further aim of the cross-sectional study consisted in the identification of individuals susceptible to present symptoms during a two year observation period and to be included in the SAPALDIA follow-up study. This technical report represents the methodological documentation for the cross-sectional study of SAPALDIA. The instruments and the methods of standardisation are presented and discussed. The medical examination consisted of a computerised interview using a standardised questionnaire, the taking of a blood sample for serological tests, allergy skin testing, the measurement of endexpiratory CO and body height, and pulmonary function testing followed by methacholine challenge testing or bronchodilatation testing. The pattern of participation and the 9651 participants of the study, representing 59.3% of the sample, are described. Based on information on non-participants gained by telephone interviews and mailed short questionnaires, possible selection biases are quantified and discusse

Charakterisierung eines kompakten, transdisziplinären und transformationsorientierten Dialogformats für die Bearbeitung von Nachhaltigkeitsthemen, Studie für die Wissenschaftsplattform Nachhaltigkeit 2030

Für die wirksame Umsetzung der Deutschen Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie sind insbesondere auch innovative und transformative Impulse und Lösungsansätze gefragt. Wie transdisziplinäre, kurzzeitige Labs den Weg zu diesen Impulsen und Lösungsansätzen unterstützen und beschleunigen können und wie sie dafür im Idealfall gestaltet sein sollten - das hat die Wissenschaftsplattform Nachhaltigkeit 2030 mit der vorliegenden Studie untersuchen lassen. Die Studie "Charakterisierung eines kompakten, transdisziplinären und transformationsorientierten Dialogformats für die Bearbeitung von Nachhaltigkeitsthemen" knüpft an vorhandene Lab-Ansätze in der Wissenschaftslandschaft an. Aufbauend auf dieser Studie entwickelt die wpn2030 ein spezifisches Lab-Format zur Bearbeitung von Nachhaltigkeitsthemen im Rahmen der Deutschen Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie

Die Bedeutung von Narrativen für Umwelt und Nachhaltigkeit

Die Studie präsentiert Ergebnisse des Projekts "Arbeiten an und mit Narrativen für eine Nachhaltige Entwicklung - Den Boden bereiten für eine gesellschaftliche Transformation", das im Auftrag des Bundesamts für Umwelt (BAFU) durchgeführt wurde (2020-2021). Thema des Projekts waren Narrative, verstanden als grundlegende Denk-, Erklärungs- und Interpretationsmuster, die in Form von Geschichten erzählt werden können. Im Zentrum stand die Frage, welche Rolle gesellschaftliche Narrative mit Blick auf eine gesellschaftliche Nachhaltigkeitstransformation spielen. Weiter interessierte, welche Rolle gesellschaftliche Narrative für das Handeln staatlicher Akteure spielen (können). Ziel des Projekts war es, Wissen zur Entstehung und Wirkung gesellschaftlicher Narrative aus verschiedenen Disziplinen zusammenzuführen sowie nachhaltigkeitsrelevante gesellschaftliche Narrative zu identifizieren, und dieses Wissen für das BAFU als staatlichen Akteur fruchtbar zu machen. Im Projekt wurde ein Methoden-Mix aus Literaturanalyse, Dokumentenanalyse und Dialogischen Methoden (im Rahmen eines Workshops mit dem BAFU) angewendet (eine Projektbeschreibung findet sich in Teil A der Studie). Zentraler Teil der Studie sind die Ergebnisse der interdisziplinären Literaturanalyse (Teil B). Darin findet sich zuerst eine Umschreibung dessen, was Narrative sind (generell und bezogen auf gesellschaftspolitische Probleme), was Narrative bewirken, und wie gesellschaftliche Narrative entstehen bzw. was deren Erfolg beeinflusst. Dies schliesst ab mit einer Darstellung der Befunde zur Frage, weshalb die Kommunikation von Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeitsthemen nicht die Wirkung entfaltet, die erfolgreiche gesellschaftliche Narrative haben. Im nächsten Kapitel werden fünf Gruppen von gesellschaftlichen Narrativen vorgestellt, die mit Blick auf eine gesellschaftliche Nachhaltigkeitstransformation besonders bedeutsam erscheinen: (1) zehn Narrative, die thematisieren, wie der Wandel in Richtung Nachhaltigkeit erreicht wird ("narratives of change"), (2) drei Narrative, die zwar nicht den Wandel zum Thema haben, aber eine Identität zur Verfügung stellen, die im Einklang steht mit Zielen einer Nachhaltigen Entwicklung, (3) drei Narrative, die den Wandel in Richtung Nachhaltigkeit behindern, weil sie deren Fundament in Frage stellen, (4) neun "themenspezifische Narrative" zu Ernährung (als Beispiel für Narrative, in denen relevante Dimensionen von Nachhaltigkeit bzw. von Nachhaltigkeitspolitiken thematisiert werden) sowie fünf zugehörige Identitätsstiftende narrative Elemente, (5) sieben Narrative die die nationale Identität der Schweiz prägen. Ein weiteres Kapitel ist der Frage gewidmet, ob und wie gezielt an und mit gesellschaftlichen Narrativen gearbeitet werden kann und was das für staatliche Akteure bedeutet. Teil B der Studie schliesst ab mit Überlegungen dazu, was aus der Covid-19-Pandemie gelernt werden kann für das Arbeiten an und mit Narrativen für eine gesellschaftliche Nachhaltigkeitstransformation. Teil C ist Ergebnissen aus der Dokumentenanalyse gewidmet. In dieser Analyse wurde Material aus Kommunikations-Produkten des BAFU aus der Perspektive des Arbeitens an und mit gesellschaftlichen Narrativen analysiert. In der Studie sind Ziel und Vorgehen beschrieben, und es wird eine Einschätzung vorgenommen von Relevanz und Nutzen, die für ein breiteres Zielpublikum nützlich sein könnten. Empfehlungen für staatliche Akteure und zwei Fragelisten, die bei der Umsetzung dieser Empfehlungen eingesetzt werden können, runden die Studie ab (Teil D)