Sustainability Commons^™

Effectiveness And Challenges Of Aquatic Ecological Restoration Of Chishui River In Upper Yangtze River, Fei Liu, Huanzhang Liu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

“To set an example of green development and strength ecological environmental protection in the Chishui River basin” is an important proposal listed in the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021--2025) for National Economic and Social Development and Vision 2035 of the People’s Republic of China. Strengthening eco-environmental protection in the Chishui River will play an exemplary and leading role in maintaining fish diversity of the upper Yangtze River, promoting regional high-quality development, and creating a new situation of ecological civilization and Beautiful China. This study interprets the ecological functions of the Chishui River in the upper Yangtze River, expounds …

Progress And Prospects On Institutional System Construction Of Ecological Civilization In China, Linsheng Yang, Yanan Guo, Huiyi Zhu, Gaodi Xie, Xiaoyong Liao, Quansheng Ge

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the construction of Ecological Civilization (EC) in China has undergone historic, transitional, and comprehensive changes from theory to practice. The construction of system is the core content and the basic guarantee for the success of EC construction. Based on the government documents of EC construction and related research literatures, this study analyzes the formation and evolution characteristics of China’s EC construction system, parses the development process of representative innovation policies, and then predicts the trend of the further deepening reform of EC system. The results show that the relevant …

Research On Geographical Landscape Design Of Ecological Civilization Construction In China, Wenzhong Zhang, Jianhui Yu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

As the fundamental goal of ecological civilization construction in the new era of China, the building of a Beautiful China is an important measure to promote the study of Chinese man-land relationships to a higher level and a new stage of development. This study takes the construction of ecological civilization of Beautiful China as the orientation, and carries on the frame design to the geographical landscape. The geographical landscape takes the elements of geoscience as the research object and makes a series of reasonable outlook about man-land system according to the interaction mechanism of human-land relationship and the influence of …

Impacts, Contributing Factors And Countermeasures Of Extreme Droughts In Poyang Lake, Qi Zhang, Chenyang Xue, Jun Xia

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

In the past 20 years, the hydrological regime of Poyang Lake changed significantly. The lake water level has been continuously decreasing, resulting in severe droughts. In particular, an extreme drought occurred in 2022, when the lake area shrank to less than 300 km2. The 2022 extreme drought in Poyang Lake had great impacts on economy, society and ecological environment, which aroused great attentions and wide concerns. Based on long-term data series of meteorological and hydrological data and the existing research outcomes and with the aid of hydrological modeling, this study analyzed the impacts and contributing factors of the 2022 drought …

Spatial Agglomeration And Environmental Effects Of Heavy Polluting Industries In China: Characteristics And Enlightenment, Hongyang Chen, Jianhui Yu, Wenzhong Zhang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Heavy polluting industries are the important sources of industrial pollutant. Understanding the spatial agglomeration characteristics, influencing factors, agglomeration mechanism and environmental effects of China’s heavy polluting industries can help identify potential pollution risk areas to cope with increasingly severe environmental pollution problems. Based on the industrial economic data from 1999 to 2021, the spatial distribution and agglomeration characteristics of heavy polluting industries are characterized. It is found that: (1) Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong are the regions with high output value of the development of heavy polluting industries in the past 20 years, while Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, …

Evolution Of Urbanized Area’S Entities And Flow Space Towards High-Quality Development Path In China, Mingxing Chen, Liangkan Chen, Yue Xian, Jiafan Cheng, Longwu Liang, Jing Ma

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The eco-environmental conservation and Beautiful China have entered the critical phase. Urbanized areas serve as important spatial carriers in the Beautiful China initiative scenarios, but the most prominent challenges in human-environment relationship and difficult points in building Beautiful China. This study focuses on the physical urban area, and utilizing big data technology to reexamine the spatiotemporal distribution and grouped evolution characteristics of impervious surface in cities, as well as the structural features of urban flow networks from space of flows. Moreover, preliminary thoughts and policy recommendations are provided for promoting high-quality development in urbanized areas of the new era. More …

Five Issues And Countermeasures Of China Cropland Resource Use, Sijing Ye, Changqing Song, Changxiu Cheng, Peichao Gao, Shi Shen, Wangshu Mu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Understand the cropland use situation, analyze management countermeasures, and explore the regional suitable cropland use mode are important prerequisites for the implementation of the strictest protection of cultivated land strategy with Chinese characteristics. At present, the cropland resource utilization in China is facing the five issues of non-agricultural, non-grain, fragmentation, marginalization, and ecological degradation. This study estimates the spatial-temporal changes of these cropland use issues in China, analyzes the challenges of cropland use governance from the aspects of complex driving factors, phase characteristics, cognitive differences of responsible subjects, and dynamic changes of external factors. On this basis, the countermeasures of …

Editorial

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

No abstract provided.

Developing Characteristic Resource Plants To Build A Beautiful China, Lei Shi, Zheng'an Liu, Lijun Wang, Qingyan Shu, Meiyu Sun, Wei Duan, Hui Li

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

It is an important way to solve the contradiction among ecology, production and life in natural protected areas and ecologically fragile region by constructing the three-production integration mode of characteristic resource plants. In order to fully tap and make use of the outstanding characteristics of oil tree peony, wine grape and aromatic plants, this study carried out technology integration of variety screening, planting, harvesting, processing, product research and development, and industrialization demonstration in and around natural protected areas and ecologically fragile region. Through the economic benefits generated, the life of the people in the natural protected areas and ecologically fragile …

The Influence Of Invasive Species On Fishers’ Satisfactions, Caroline M. Laplante

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Invasives species are prevalent and widespread in North America. Outdoor recreational activities, such as fishing, introduce a point in which humans may interact with invasive species and have to adapt their own behaviors. Bigheaded carp in the Missouri River below Gavin’s Point Dam are a group of invasive fish species that were thought to be negatively relating to recreational fishers’ satisfactions. Using a content analysis and an importance-grid, we conclude that invasive species do not strongly relate to recreational paddlefish fishers’ satisfactions. Paddlefish fishers represent a small sub-set of recreational fishers in Nebraska and South Dakota. The content analysis revealed …

Costs Of Wind Erosion In The Northern Agricultural Region, Anne Bennett

Natural resources published reports

Summary

• To date, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s (DPIRD) estimated opportunity cost of wind erosion for Western Australia’s (WA) agricultural region has only included the costs of forgone production income and therefore underestimates the broader costs of wind erosion events.
• This underestimation of costs was the impetus to create a case study to give an indication of the magnitude of the costs of wind erosion from agricultural land.
• Farmers in the Northern Agricultural Region (NAR) were contacted to seek information about the on-farm costs of wind erosion events that occurred in 2020. Seventeen farmers responded to the …

Agricultural Groundcover Update November 2023, Justin Laycock

Natural resources published reports

Summary

• About 98% of the grainbelt had adequate (more than 50%) vegetative groundcover to prevent wind erosion in November 2023. This amount of groundcover is normal for the middle of harvest.
• In the northern half of the grainbelt, a larger-than-average area had 51–60% groundcover, which is expected to decrease to below 50% over summer.
• Just over 2% of the grainbelt (324,000 ha) had less than 50% groundcover, which is inadequate to prevent wind erosion. Mullewa to Morawa Ag Soil Zone had the highest risk of wind erosion and 9.7% of this farmland had inadequate groundcover.
• Less than 0.5% of the …

Bitcoin's Technical Foundation And Its Potential For A Decentralized And Environmentally Friendly Future, Iqtiar Md Siddique

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This research examines a systematic analysis of Bitcoin, employing a Coefficient of Variation (CV) approach to gauge its degree of decentralization. Bitcoin, an innovative decentralized digital currency, has received much attention for its potential to revolutionize traditional financial systems. This study employs the Coefficient of Variation (CV) to acquire insights into the wealth distribution and concentration among Bitcoin users. This research demonstrates how decentralized the network of Bitcoin is. The methodology uses real data on Bitcoin addresses and their holdings to compute the Coefficient of Variation (CV). This approach provides valuable insights into the ongoing discourse surrounding Bitcoin's decentralization, offering …

Beyond Corporate Greenwashing: Discourse Of A 'Just' Electric Energy Transition Materialized At The Thacker Pass Lithium Mine, Laekyn Kelley

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Thacker Pass in Northern Nevada is a rich desert ecosystem with spiritual significance to local Indigenous peoples, and it is also the site for what will be, for now, the United States’ largest open-pit lithium mine. Lithium is one mineral constituent of electric batteries which are essential to current U.S. electric energy transition policy, a transition which policymakers and other public groups have called on to be done in a way which is just. However, what exactly a just electric energy transition looks like in places like Thacker Pass is under continued negotiation in theoretical and practical senses. Existing research …

Sustainable Energy Distribution Methods At The Azraq And Za’Atari Refugee Camps In Jordan: A Refugee Perspective, Lucie Lagodich

Capstone Collection

The looming climate change crisis requires research and development of mitigation strategies to protect those most vulnerable. This study uses semi-structured interviews to capture the refugee perspective of the successes and shortcomings of large-scale solar farm projects installed at the Azraq and Za’atari Syrian refugee camps in the west and north of Jordan, respectively. These perspectives may be utilized to improve each camp's current renewable energy distribution system. Results suggest that at both camps the current renewable energy systems are deeply flawed with limited hours with rampant distrust among camp residents in the management of the solar farms. Most refugees …

Breaking The Loop: Strategies For Fighting Climate Change On U.S. Farms, Ashley Barry

Honors Capstones

Climate change is an increasingly urgent area of research due to the hardships it causes for lands and communities across the globe. Specifically in regard to the United States (U.S.), climate change has many concerning implications on our agricultural system. Increased weather hazards, decreased crop production, and drought are just a few of the hardships American farmers are facing in their fight to keep their farms alive and feed their communities, despite a rapidly changing climate. This study investigates how farmers can fight and prevent climate change through the use of specific mitigation and adaptation strategies on their farms. Semi- …

“This Is A Book About Relations”: Pollution Is Colonialism By Max Liboiron, Thomas Letcher-Nicholls

The Goose

Book Review of Pollution is Colonialism (2021) by Max Liboiron.

Reimagining Sustainable Urban Communities In Hong Kong, Jeroen Van Ameijde, Sifan Cheng, Junwei Li

Asian Management Insights

Using environmental and social urban design principles to create future new towns. Hong Kong began building New Towns in the 1970s in response to a post-war period of rapid population growth.

Agricultural Groundcover Update October 2023, Justin Laycock

Natural resources published reports

Summary

• About 98% of the grainbelt had adequate vegetative groundcover (more than 50%) to prevent wind erosion in October 2023. This amount of groundcover is normal at the end of spring and pre-harvest in most areas.
• There was a larger than average area with 51–60% groundcover, and groundcover in these areas is expected to reduce over summer to below 50%.
• About 2% of the grainbelt (293,000 ha) had less than 50% groundcover, which is inadequate to prevent wind erosion. Mullewa to Morawa Ag Soil Zone had the highest risk of wind erosion and 8% of this farmland had inadequate groundcover. …

Balancing Energy Consumption, Economic Growth, And Emission Reduction In Asean Nations: Insights Into The Green Energy Transition, King Harold A. Recto, Romano Q. Neyra, Rex Paolo C. Gamara

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

As the global pandemic recedes, economic activities around the world are resuming. However, this action has also impacted various facets of the society, particularly energy use, economic expansion, and pollution control. While numerous studies have investigated this issue, they have predominantly focused on the global level, with an emphasis on industrialized nations. Naturally, this backdrop is much different from Southeast Asia. In this study, the mathematical relationships between energy consumption, economic growth, and emission reduction were determined using regression modelling of the World Energy Council (WEC) trilemma scores of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, as well as …

Water Efficiency & Sustainability In The Mountain West, 2022, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet analyzes the effectiveness of state-level policies related to water usage, conservation, and sustainability for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah in 2022. The original data are published in the “2022 State Policy Scorecard for Water Efficiency and Sustainability” report written by the Alliance for Water Efficiency.

Designing Depaul

DePaul Magazine

DePaul’s comprehensive, collaborative plan creates a road map that positions the university for monumental impact.

Are We There Yet?, Marion S. Freistadt

LSU Master's Theses

To solve the Climate Crisis, a global Energy Transition is required. The primary contemporary tool for tackling these two massive problems is modeling, both biophysical climate models and IAMS (Integrated Assessment Models) which combine socioeconomic and technological progress with Climate Change. However, the proliferation and complexity of modeling systems make it difficult for most people to contribute substantively to solutions. In particular, stakeholders, policymakers, nonspecialists and activists require sufficient understanding of modeling to impact outcomes.

In this thesis, after summarizing the Climate Crisis and potential Energy Transition solutions, I review current modeling approaches. Models can be considered in terms of …

Comprehensive Atmospheric And Environmental Observations In The Himalayan Region Advances Development Of Earth System Science On The Tibetan Plateau, Weiqiang Ma, Yaoming Ma, Zhipeng Xie, Xuelong Chen, Binbin Wang, Cunbo Han, Maoshan Li, Lei Zhong, Fanglin Sun, Zhongyan Wang, Zhenhua Xi, Lian Liu, Bin Ma, Wei Hu

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

The Himalayan region, represented by Mount Qomolangma, is not only a typical area where special atmospheric processes on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are concentrated, but also an important research area for climate, ecology, and environmental changes. The Qomolangma Station for Atmospheric and Environmental Observation and Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences (abbreviated as QOMS) is located in the core area of Mount Qomolangma National Nature Reserve. It is dedicated to studying the complex terrain mountain atmospheric processes and environmental changes of the Third Pole of the Earth, focusing on the land-atmosphere interaction process on the TP under the background of climate …

The Qomolangma Station For Atmospheric And Environmental Observation And Research, Chinese Academy Of Sciences, Institute Of Tibetan Plateau Research Chinese Academy Of Sciences

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

No abstract provided.

Impacts Of Forest Fire Carbon Emission And Mitigation Strategies, Zhihua Liu, Hongshi He, Wenru Xu, Yu Liang, Jiaojun Zhu, Geoff G. Wang, Wei Wei, Zifa Wang, Yongming Han

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Between 2000 and 2020, global wildfires contributed to approximately 7.32 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, accounting for about 18.5% of CO2 emissions released from fossil fuels. Forest fires alone contributed to around 20% of these wildfire emissions, approximately 1.5 billion metric tons of CO2. Due to climate change and human activities, carbon emissions from forest fires are on the rise. For example, the 2023 Canadian fires have emitted 1.268 billion metric tons of CO2 up to August 29th. Despite the simultaneous increase in forest area and volume, the frequency and extent of forest fires have significantly decreased …

Land Education And Young People Working Toward Salamander: Collective Well-Being In Response To Bioindicators Of Socioenvironmental Justice, Rachael Arens, Ricardo Martinez

Democracy & Education

Our planet is facing many environmental challenges, including climate change, loss of biodiversity and habitat, and pollution, while many of our populations are also experiencing marginalization due to poverty, race, gender, language, ability, and environmental injustices. Environmental hazards and policies often impact those in society who are most at-risk, creating a need for an environmental education (EE) movement that encourages students to challenge and regain control of a system that impacts them. Teachers can implement a reflection tool known as the SALAMANDER Collective Well-Being in Response to Bioindicators of Socioenvironmental Justice Framework to prompt students and other educators to place …

Complex Impacts Of Wars On Global Sustainable Development In A Metacoupled World, Qutu Jiang, Zhenci Xu, Yuanzheng Cui, Jianguo Liu

I-GUIDE Forum

Wars and armed conflicts have had profound impacts on local and global sustainable development in an interconnected world. However, evidence on the impacts of wars is fragmented and little attention has been paid to the impacts on the 17 UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a unifying framework for achieving global sustainable development. This perspective synthesizes the scattered information to provide a holistic analysis and highlight the applications of remote sensing in assessing the impacts of wars on global sustainable development in a metacoupling world. Wars have complex impacts on all 17 SDGs, which cascade beyond conflict zones and spillover to …

The Experience Of Awe In Nature And Its Implications For Sustainability, Ella Shriner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Awe is a complex emotion and a relatively new field of psychological study. Previous studies have looked at the benefits of spending time in nature including spurring environmental action, and how awe is felt in nature. In this study, I investigate the connection between these two ideas by addressing the questions of how Awe is experienced in the Northern Rivers region of Australia, and whether small and big moments of awe motivate people to take environmental action and connect them to their community and the natural world. For this study, I conducted 15 interviews, collected 51 surveys, and personally explored …

Portugal To New Mexico: Investigating The Applicability Of Syntropic Agriculture To A Semi-Arid Continental Climate, Arielle Nathan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Conventional industrial agriculture has numerous detrimental effects on the environment including high carbon emissions, pollution and overconsumption of water, soil degradation, and reduction of biodiversity (FAO, 2018). Large-scale alternatives are needed to combat these negative consequences and provide climate solutions. Syntropic Agriculture is a promising farming alternative especially in arid systems subject to degraded soils and desertification. New Mexico is a semi-arid continental climate in a prolonged period of drought and predicted to experience worsening agricultural conditions due to desertification, wildfire intensification, and exacerbated water scarcity. In an area with similar agricultural challenges, a project in Mértola, Portugal (Terra Sintrópica) …