Global Environmental Problems

Ours is an age of unprecedented levels of environmental alteration and biodiversity loss. Beyond the exposure to environmental hazards, conditions such as environmental degradation, biotic impoverishment, climate change, and the loss of ecosystem services create important health threats by changing the ecology of many pathogens and increasing the incidence and/or severity of certain noncommunicable conditions. They also threaten health in the future by weakening the Earth's life support systems.Although physicians remain one of the most often accessed and most trusted sources of information about the environment, there is currently little emphasis on educating medical professionals about these environmental issues. This lack of training reduces the ability of most physicians to be efficient science-public interfaces and makes them ineffective at contributing to address the fundamental causes of environmental problems or participate in substantive environmental policy discussions. This is an important challenge facing medical education today.To turn medical students into effective physician-citizens, an already-overwhelmed medical school curriculum must make way for a thoughtful exploration of environmental stressors and their impacts on human health. The overarching question before medical educators is how to develop the competencies, standards, and curricula for this educational endeavor. To this end, the authors highlight some of the critical linkages between health and the environment and suggest a subset of key practical issues that need to be addressed in order to create environmental education standards for the physician of the future.

The pressure on natural resources including water, energy and land is continuously growing through changes in climate and land use. Representatives of academia, industry, governments and society need to join forces in order to develop new pathways towards sustainable natural resource use and management. Such pathways start from the basic idea that natural resources are finite and interlinked and that human activities can affect these resources and links, with partly irreversible effects. We combine the water−energy−land nexus and the climate services concept and present a cross-sectoral approach of knowledge co-creation to inform natural resource use and management. The approach is tested in three case studies across Europe that face different challenges resulting from climate and socio-economic change. We present the process, applied methods and major results of knowledge co-creation for sustainable natural resource use and management, and we reflect on the challenges and opportunities from engaging multiple stakeholders. Even if a comprehensive, cross-sectoral approach encourages embedding the water−energy−land nexus into climate services and allows the development of pathways towards sustainable natural resource use and management, maintaining these achievements and partnerships beyond the lifetime of a research project remains challenging.

The production process requires massive amounts of minerals, fossil fuels, and energy. The efficient use of energy and natural resources appears to be crucial to the state of affairs. It should be noted that the post-consumer management of solar power plant elements results in a certain amount of power and matter, as well as harmful effects on the natural world. The major goal of this study was to examine the environmental effect of the solar power plant throughout its life cycle, taking into consideration the depletion of natural materials and mineral resources, using the ReCiPe 2016 model. A life cycle study was performed on an actual 2 MW solar power facility located in northern Poland. This study was conducted using the ReCiPe 2016 model and the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The analyzed renewable energy system’s impact was assessed utilizing 22 impact categories, focusing mostly on the depletion of natural resources. A Life Cycle Assessment was conducted for two post-consumer development scenarios (landfill and recycling). This research focuses on the full solar power plant, not just the photovoltaic panels. Recycling, as a kind of post-consumer development, can provide major environmental benefits and minimize negative environmental consequences throughout the solar power plant’s life cycle. The exceedingly harmful effects can be evident in losses related to water and the aquatic environment. The obtained study findings enabled the development of sustainable-friendly recommendations towards the continuous advancement of the life cycle of solar power plants, thereby reducing the use of rare earth minerals.

Land use and land cover (LULC) change analyses are critical for the sustainable planning and management of natural resources in the face of rapid population growth across the globe. It is believed that LULC changes cause severe environmental challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, alteration to the physical and chemical properties of the soil as well as the destruction of the ozone layer. The main objective of the study was to assess the LULC changes at Hova Farm from 1992 to 2011 using geospatial technologies. Three Landsat images for 1992, 2001, and EMT+ for 2011 were used. The Landsat images had a resolution of 30m by 30m. Five LULC classes of woodland, wooded grassland, cultivated land, bushland and water body were created using the supervised classification maximum likelihood in ENVI 5.0. Field observation and measurements were also used to validate remotely sensed data. The accuracy assessment for the classified maps for 1992, 2001 and 2011 was 88.74%, 86, 67% and 87% respectively. The results indicated that the greatest LULC changes occurred between 1992 and 2001 and was attributed to the fast-track land reform programme and illegal mining activities on the farm. The study recommends the creation of a LULC database for the periodic monitoring and sustainable management of natural resources at both local and national levels in Zimbabwean.

Global development is characterized by inequities within and across countries, non-sustainable dependence on resources (such as water, forests and fossil fuels), and the degradation of local and global environments. National and global attention on environmental issues although increasing, remains inadequate, particularly with regard to environmental conservation. According to UNEP (2000), firstly, environmental issues need to be integrated into mainstream decision-making about agriculture, energy, trade, investment, infrastructure, finance, research and development. Secondly, environmental policies need to move away from a strictly sectoral approach to include broader social (equity), economic and environmental considerations in planning. Thirdly, international action to manage global environmental problems such as climate change, deforestation, loss of biodiversity and prevention of desertification (land degradation) need to be pursued with the full participation of all countries.

Combined acid rain and lanthanum pollution and its potential ecological risk for nitrogen assimilation in soybean seedling roots

Growing fashion trends and the problems of massive waste generation, pollution, and the depletion of natural resources has led to an intense search for alternative ways to obtain raw materials for the production of textiles and other related products. In recent times sustainability have become the focus of attention due to the desire to reduce the use of natural resources and guarantee a healthier environment. Circular economy has appeared as a sustainable solution to this global economic, environmental, and social problem. Globally, the public and business sectors, as well as academia, are becoming more conscious of the circular economy. The circular economy presents a novel strategy aimed at altering our perspective on the creation and consumption of products and services. Nigerians haven't, however, fully benefited from the circular economy. The traditional textile industries operate in a linear fashion, extracting raw materials and using them to make cloth that is then discarded after a short period of time. This method is unsustainable since it produces a lot of garbage. Adoption of the circular economy offers a new model for keeping textile resources in use for as long as possible, resulting in a reduction of the quantity of textile waste generated. This is in response to resource depletion and the environmental pollution that arises from improper disposal of textile waste. The study used a mixed research strategy that included both exploratory and qualitative research. As a useful tool for moving towards a circular economy, the study aims to explore and encourage Nigerians to adopt reuse, repair, recycling and upcycling of textiles strategies. The aim was accomplished by reviewing existing practices on adoption of reuse, repair, upcycling and recycling of textile. Financial and environmental advantages of reusing, repairing, recycling and upcycling of textile were also examined. Waste fabric that was turned into a rope band used to conduct a hands-on investigation of upcycling and worn fabric was recycled into insulated pot holder. Visits was made to churches providing free worn fabric for reuse. Highlighted were the steps involved in weaving a table mat out of leftover fabric and the finished result, a tablemat. The study found that these tactics can be used by both individuals and cooperative organizations to address the issue of environmental pollution, save resources and money, particularly in current difficult economic climate, and provide income for young people without jobs.

The present study aimed to address some of the environmental justice issues associated with pollution and depletion of resources and correct the relationship between human and the environment and support the values, dimensions and principles of environmental justice in the target audience and achieve the objectives of environmental media. Through a suggested model, interviews were conducted with a number of readers as well as attending conferences and workshops at the Ministry of Environment. Some observations were drawn, the most important of which was the lack of clear criteria followed by the newspaper's policy to spread environmental justice issues and the lack of awareness of readers adequately and not addressed Given the importance of environmental justice issues related to pollution of air, water, noise, food and soil, as well as the depletion of renewable and non-renewable natural resources, a program was developed to inform readers of these important issues. The study used the descriptive analytical method, and the tools of the study was a knowledge test and the selection of the sample of the study is the members of the Zahraa Maadi Youth Center in Cairo and the number of (60) readers during 2019. The research tools were applied to the members of the research group (experimental and control), before and after the implementation of the program, where the results of the research on the effectiveness of the proposed program to address some of the issues of environmental justice associated with pollution and depletion of resources in the Egyptian newspapers, so I recommend the need to pay attention to issues of environmental justice.

Fats and Oils as Renewable Feedstock for the Chemical Industry

The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of secondary school students’ knowledge about three Global Environmental Problems: Global Warming, Acid Rain, and Ozone Layer Depletion. 638 7th grade (N=316) and 8th grade (N=322) students enrolled in five different secondary schools participated in this study. The survey method was used to determine the levels of students’ knowledge of three global environmental problems. In this study, drawings (separate for each topic) and open-ended questions specific to all three topics were used as data collection tools. The data obtained from drawings and open-ended questions were analyzed together and assessed based on three knowledge categories (informed view, transitional view, and naïve view). The results indicated that the levels of secondary school students’ knowledge about three global environmental problems were low. It was also found that they held various misconceptions and their knowledge levels on each topic were close to each other. The results of the Pearson Correlation indicated that there was a significant relationship between the levels of secondary school students’ knowledge about only GW and OLD, but a weak correlation. The results of MANOVA indicated that there was a significant difference in the mean scores of students’ knowledge of GW from 8th to 7th-grade students, while there was a significant difference in favor of 8th-grade students with respect to the topics of AR and OLD.

Abstract. Land degradation is a global barrier to ecological, economic and sustainable developments. Climate change, natural disasters, human activities may result changes in soil organic carbon content, land productivity and land use/cover. Climate change is accelerating and expanding these degraded areas. If land destruction is not minimized, cause increasing population, inappropriate land use, climate change and rapid depletion of natural resources etc. in the coming years. It is estimated that land degradation and desertification will be the most important environmental problems. Mapping of land degradation using remote sensing techniques; determining sensitive areas for land degradation and taking protection measures; sustainable management of natural resources, ensuring sustainable agricultural production, etc. are the key factors. This study was conducted in the Seyhan basin, which is suffer from soil loss processes, changes in land cover and land use. These indicators are; trends in land productivity dynamics, land cover change and change of soil organic carbon stocks. The data set utilized to reveal the land degradation was including; 1 km resolution Land Productivity from JRC GLOBAL (1999–2013) and 250 m resolution NDVI from MOD13Q1 (2000–2015), Land Cover ESA CCI's with 300 m resolution LC (2000–2015), SOC stock from LUCAS (JRC) with 250 m resolution, 2000–2018 data from CORINE. The land degradation of the Seyhan basin was mapped using the specified land degradation indicators together with the One Out All Out (1OAO) rule.

In recent years, environmental issues have became a very hot topic again. The focus of this article is on the acid rain issue. This article will introduce how acid rain is formed, the harm caused by acid rain and how humans deal with acid rain to the public. A large number of research results show that although humans recognize the harm of acid rain and reduce the emissions of nitrates, sulfides and other things related to acid rain, the problem of acid rain still exists. The main reason for this phenomenon is the huge demand for fossil fuels. Fossil fuels play an important role in human production and life and are still used in all forms of transportation. Although there are many electric vehicles now, the main way for humans to obtain electricity is still to burn fossil fuels. Acid rain not only has a great impact on human physical and mental health, but also has an indelible impact on animals and plants. Acid rain has a neutralizing effect on alkaline soil, at the same time, it causes more to reduce the nutritional value and mineral content of the soil. This article hopes to find a better solution by sorting out with the summary of almost aspects of acid rain.

This article explores the transformative potential of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) with environmental science to address pressing challenges and foster sustainable solutions. The interdisciplinary synergy between AI technologies and environmental science is examined across key domains, including environmental monitoring, predictive modeling for climate change, conservation and biodiversity, and sustainable resource management. The article highlights the role of AI in real-time data analysis, predictive modeling, and optimization, offering innovative approaches to tackle issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion. Emphasizing the significance of collaborative efforts, the abstract underscores the need for interdisciplinary insights to harness the full potential of AI in promoting environmental sustainability.

FTT:Power : A global model of the power sector with induced technological change and natural resource depletion

This study aims to identify the knowledge level of eight grade students about global problems like greenhouse effect, the deformation of the ozone layer, acid rains and the destruction of biological diversity to analyze the gender and location factor of the students’ knowledge level about global environmental problems. 201 randomly selected eight grade students from central schools of Ankara and Burdur attended to this study. 20 item-scale is used as data collection tool in the research. The percentage and frequency values of the students’ answers are analyzed. The sum of points is tested for analyzing the variation of gender and location of education factor of students. The conclusive data obtained from this research points out that students have very low knowledge level about reasons and the negative effects of some global environmental problems. In the conclusion of this research; the total points which students get from the global environmental problems survey noticeably vary by the location where they are educated but not changed by the gender factor.