17 research outputs found
Chapter 9 Review: Research That Inspires Creativity
In Chapter 9 âResearch that inspires creativityâ, Cathy N. Davidson and Christina Katopodis present their exhaustive, well-researched ideas, thoughts and recommendations on research design and methodology
Animal sentience in Indian culture: Colonial and post-colonial changes
The Indian tradition has respected animal sentience and non-injury toward all life. It is repeated consistently in Sanskrit literature and the later literature of the Jains and the Buddhists. Change came with the advent of Islamic rule followed by the British, who built slaughterhouses. The hunting of wildlife increased and several wild predator species were wiped out. The result was the series of legislations for animals which were initially proposed by the SPCAs and later by NGOs. In 1976, the Constitution of India was amended to make the protection of wildlife and compassion for living creatures a fundamental duty. However, in spite of the importance of the non-killing of animals, the meat industry for both domestic consumption and export has been growing. It is an ongoing struggle between activists, governments and the business class
Animal sentience in Indian culture: Colonial and post-colonial changes
The Indian tradition has respected animal sentience and non-injury toward all life. It is repeated consistently in Sanskrit literature and the later literature of the Jains and the Buddhists. Change came with the advent of Islamic rule followed by the British, who built slaughterhouses. The hunting of wildlife increased and several wild predator species were wiped out. The result was the series of legislations for animals which were initially proposed by the SPCAs and later by NGOs. In 1976, the Constitution of India was amended to make the protection of wildlife and compassion for living creatures a fundamental duty. However, in spite of the importance of the non-killing of animals, the meat industry for both domestic consumption and export has been growing. It is an ongoing struggle between activists, governments and the business class
Using large ensemble modelling to derive future changes in mountain specific climate indicators in a 2 and 3°C warmer world in High Mountain Asia
Natural disasters in High Mountain Asia (HMA) are largely induced by precipitation and temperatures extremes. Precipitation extremes will change due to global warming, but these low frequency events are difficult to analyse using (short) observed time series. In this study, we analysed large 2000âyear ensembles of present day climate and of a 2 and 3°C warmer world produced with the ECâEarth model. We performed a regional assessment of climate indicators related to temperature and precipitation (positive degree days, accumulated precipitation, [preâ and postâ] monsoon precipitation), their sensitivity to temperature change and the change in return periods of extreme temperature and precipitation in a 2 and 3°C warmer climate. In general, the 2°C warmer world shows a homogeneous response of changes in climate indicators and return periods, while distinct differences between regions are present in a 3°C warmer world and changes no longer follow a general trend. This nonâlinear effect can indicate the presence of a tipping point in the climate system. The most affected regions are located in monsoonâdominated regions, where precipitation amounts, positive degree days, extreme temperature, extreme precipitation and compound events are projected to increase the most. Largest changes in climate indicators are found in East Himalaya, followed by the Hindu Kush and West and Central Himalaya regions. Western regions will experience drier summers and wetter winters, while monsoon dominated regions drier winters and wetter summers and northern regions a wetter climate year round. We also found that precipitation increases in HMA in a 3°C warmer world are substantially larger (13%) compared to the global average (5.9%). Additionally, the increase in weather extremes will exacerbate natural hazards with large possible impacts for mountain communities. The results of this study could provide important guidance for formulating climate change adaptation strategies in HMA
Promote flexitarian diets worldwide: Supplementary information to: Governments should unite to curb meat consumption
Marco Springmann and colleagues warn that we must shift to more plant-based âflexitarianâ diets if we are to reduce the food systemâs projected greenhouse-gas emissions and meet the targets of the 2015 Paris Agreement (Nature 562, 519â525; 2018). We urge countries to work with the United Nations towards a global agreement on food and agriculture that promotes the adoption of such diets, which are more sustainable than meat-based diets and are backed by evidence on healthy eating. Such an agreement would be in line with findings by focus groups in the United States, China, Brazil and the United Kingdom, which indicate that governments should urgently address unsustainable meat consumption (see go.nature.com/2asd1ag). In industrial agriculture, cereals that are edible to humans are fed to animals for conversion into meat and milk. This undermines our food security: rearing livestock is efficient only if the animals convert materials we cannot consume into food we can eat. That means raising them on extensive grasslands, rotating integrated crop-livestock systems and using by-products, unavoidable food waste and crop residues as feed. Feeding animals exclusively on such materials would greatly reduce the availability and hence the consumption of meat and dairy products, as well as the use of water, energy and pesticides â thereby cutting greenhouse-gas emissions