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Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are triggering changes in global climate and warming the ocean. This will affect many marine organisms, particularly those with high site fidelity and habitat temperature preferences, such as humpback whales on their breeding grounds. To study the impacts of a warming ocean on marine organisms, large-scale projections of climatic variables are crucial. Global models are of 0.25 - 1° (~25-100 km) resolution, and not ideal to predict localized changes. Here, we provide 0.05° resolution (~5 km) sea surface temperature (SST) projections, statistically downscaled using the delta method. We illustrate the shifting isotherms of the critical 21 and 28°C boundaries, which border the climatic envelope that humpback whales prefer for their breeding grounds, over the course of the 21st century on a decadal temporal resolution. Results show by the end of the 21st century, 35% of humpback whale breeding areas will experience SSTs above or within 1°C of current thresholds if present-day social, economic, and technological trends continue (‘middle of the road’ CMIP6 greenhouse gas trajectory SSP2-RCP4.5). This number rises to 67% under the scenario describing rapid economic growth in carbon-intensive industries (‘fossil-fueled development’ CMIP6 greenhouse gas trajectory SSP5-RCP8.5). These projections highlight the importance of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and minimizing further SST increases to preserve ecological integrity of humpback whale breeding areas. In this context, our results emphasize the need to focus on protection of critical ocean habitat and to provide high-resolution climate data for this purpose.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is using the total fuel cycle analysis (TFCA) methodology to evaluate energy choices. The National Energy Strategy (NES) identifies TFCA as a tool to describe and quantify the environmental, social, and economic costs and benefits associated with energy alternatives. A TFCA should quantify inputs and outputs, their impacts on society, and the value of those impacts that occur from each activity involved in producing and using fuels, cradle-to-grave. New fuels and energy technologies can be consistently evaluated and compared using TFCA, providing a sound basis for ranking policy options that expand the fuel choices available to consumers. This study is limited to creating an inventory of inputs and outputs for three transportation fuels: (1) reformulated gasoline (RFG) that meets the standards of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) using methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE); (2) gasohol (E10), a mixture of 10% ethanol made from municipal solid waste (MSW) and 90% gasoline; and (3) E95, a mixture of 5% gasoline and 95% ethanol made from energy crops such as grasses and trees. The ethanol referred to in this study is produced from lignocellulosic material-trees, grass, and organic wastes -- called biomass. The biomass is converted to ethanol using an experimental technology described in more detail later. Corn-ethanol is not discussed in this report. This study is limited to estimating an inventory of inputs and outputs for each fuel cycle, similar to a mass balance study, for several reasons: (1) to manage the size of the project; (2) to provide the data required for others to conduct site-specific impact analysis on a case-by-case basis; (3) to reduce data requirements associated with projecting future environmental baselines and other variables that require an internally consistent scenario.

Among the sufficiency, efficiency, and renewable frameworks for reducing energy use and energy-related carbon emissions, Building Energy Sufficiency (BES) is gaining attention from policy makers and engineers. Despite the significant role of the building sector in the success of national energy and climate plans, there is a lack of research on the drivers, technologies, and effective policy instruments required to achieve BES in the building operational phase. To fill this gap, this study presents a systematic review of the definition and paradigm of BES and concludes that BES should address both occupant demand and energy or emissions requirements simultaneously. The characteristics of occupant demand in building services are divided into four dimensions: time and space, quality and quantity, control and adjustment, and flexibility. Technical options regarding the building architecture, the envelope system, and the building energy system are reviewed. Finally, policy implications and recommendations are discussed. The multiple benefits and multidisciplinary nature of BES justify further research and accelerated policy implementation in developed and developing countries.

Abstract Power-to-gas (PtG), as a promising technology proposed to store surplus renewable energy (RE), can hardly be commercialized for its low profitability. In this paper, three approaches are proposed in this paper to enhance the profitability of the PtG. Firstly, a cooperative union containing PtG is proposed and its sustainability analysis is undertaken based on Shapley Value method. Secondly, the PtG reaction heat, as an essential by-product of PtG which is valuable and therefore requires further study, is fully exploited for district heating in the operation of regional integrated energy system, which is solved by an improved SOCP method. Thirdly, a symbiosis cooperation mode is designed for wind power and PtG to enhance the benefit of PtG through optimization-based trading strategy, which is a MINLP model and solved by Big-M method. The results show that the daily profit of PtG is significantly increased with the cooperative union as the symbiosis cooperation mode can produce a 15.1% profit lift, meanwhile, exploitation of reaction heat can produce an 8.6% profit lift. Finally, our study reveals the conflict of interest between wind power and the cogeneration. A sensitivity study on the proportion of reaction heat used for district heating is performed to verify the mutually beneficial relation between PtG and the cogeneration. The findings of this paper can guide the commercialization of PtG.

Sustainability is currently one of the most important topics in higher education and curriculum development. As a connected and interdependent global community, we are facing increasingly complex and multidimensional socio-political, economic, and environmental challenges. It is clear that trans-disciplinary efforts are necessary to tackle sustainability. Integrating sustainability in educational curricula involves cultivating a way of thinking that is holistic and collaborative so that we can adequately prepare students to work across disciplines, sectors, institutions, and geographies. Problem-based learning, a student-centered learning approach that focuses on real-life problems and where students typically work in groups (Servant-Miklos et al., (2023)), was shown to be a good method for teaching students to engage with complex topics such as sustainability. Defining sustainability is a double act of communication across disciplines and planning for and imagining the future, which requires creativity and, at times, speculation. This act is made more difficult by the fact that there is a lack of consensus surrounding sustainability and through what means and metrics sustainability should be assessed (Horsbøl, 2023; Smith, 2019). How can we use often conflicting conceptions to imagine and design sustainable futures? How can transdisciplinarity inform education and equip future students with a sustainability mindset to face the challenges of their time? These are the core research questions that inform this special issue on Weaving Hybrid Futures: Sustainability in Higher Education with PBL Through Art, Science, and Robotics.

Abstract Risks posed by composting of municipal solid waste (MSW) depend on the assessment approach used. Occupational risks at present are not overtly serious— only nausea, eye irritation, etc. are reported from inhalation, the chief exposure pathway—but details are lacking on outcomes of pathogenic, chemical and physical threats, including potential secondary problems with organisms developed in compost, their endotoxins, and metabolic products such as aflatoxin. Potential risk pathways of public exposure to MSW compost are dominated by children's lead ingestion, but “dioxins” and other persistent organic carcinogens are also of dietary concern. Risks to the “most exposed individual” (MET) may differ substantially from those based on the Alternative Pollutant Limit (APL) approach. Neither deals adequately with uncertainty or multiple pathway/chemical threats to public and environmental health. Additional issues include (a) incremental vs. total risk, (b) required nutrient intake vs. proscribed toxicant exposure (for the same element) and (c) long-term matters of “no net degradation,” and composting in recycling.

Recently, insects have received increased attention as an important source of sustainable raw materials for animal feed, especially in fish, poultry, and swine. In particular, the most promising species are represented by the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens, HI), the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor, TM), and the common house fly (Musca domestica, MD). Although rapid development is expected, insects remain underutilized in the animal feed industry mainly due to technical, financial, and regulatory barriers. In addition, few works have analyzed consumer and stakeholder points of view towards the use of insects as animal feed. In this article, we summarize the main findings of this body of research and provide a discussion of consumer studies regarding the consumption of animals fed with insects. Our review suggests that consumer acceptance will not be a barrier towards the development of this novel protein industry. Furthermore, we conclude that it will be of interest to understand whether the use of this more sustainable feed source might increase consumer willingness to pay for animal products fed with insects and whether the overall acceptability, from a sensory point of view, will be perceived better than conventional products. Finally, the main challenges of the feed farming industry are addressed.

Unless humanity achieves United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and restores the relatively stable climate of pre-industrial CO2 levels (as early as 2140), species extinctions, starvation, drought/floods, and violence will exacerbate mass migrations. This paper presents conceptual designs and techno-economic analyses to calculate sustainable limits for growing high-protein seafood and macroalgae-for-biofuel. We review the availability of wet solid waste and outline the mass balance of carbon and plant nutrients passing through a hydrothermal liquefaction process. The paper reviews the availability of dry solid waste and dry biomass for bioenergy with CO2 capture and storage (BECCS) while generating Allam Cycle electricity. Sufficient wet-waste biomass supports quickly building hydrothermal liquefaction facilities. Macroalgae-for-biofuel technology can be developed and straightforwardly implemented on SDG-achieving high protein seafood infrastructure. The analyses indicate a potential for (1) 0.5 billion tonnes/yr of seafood; (2) 20 million barrels/day of biofuel from solid waste; (3) more biocrude oil from macroalgae than current fossil oil; and (4) sequestration of 28 to 38 billion tonnes/yr of bio-CO2. Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) costs are between 25–33% of those for BECCS with pre-2019 technology or the projected cost of air-capture CDR.