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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.

In the context of climate change and rural revitalization, numerous solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are being installed on village roofs and lands, impacting the enjoyment of the new rural landscape characterized by PV panels. However, the visual acceptance of PV panels in rural areas of China is not yet fully understood. This study aims to identify and correlate three key influential factors that contribute to the acceptance and appreciation of PV panels in China’s rural settings. A quasi-experiment was conducted, incorporating diverse landscapes into six rural settings, each containing both the original landscape and PV panels. The findings demonstrated that the original rural landscape was significantly more scenic than PV panels, and factors contributing to the appreciation of traditional landscapes, such as nostalgia, played a vital role in rejecting PV panels. Conversely, renewable energy-related factors, such as economic stakes and moral desirability, were found to contribute to the acceptance of PV panels. This study contributes to the strategic planning and design of solar PV panels in rural landscapes, taking into consideration social acceptance and local contexts.

Abstract In this paper, the effects of hydrogen blending radio and EGR rate on combustion and emission characteristics of a PFI gasoline engine with hydrogen direct-injection have been investigated by numerical modeling methods using a new generation of CFD simulation software CONVERGE. Results showed that compared with original engine, hydrogen direct-injection PFI gasoline engine had a better performance on combustion characteristics, but it also had a disadvantage of increasing NOx emissions. With the increase of hydrogen blending radio, combustion duration shortened and CA50 advanced and was closer to TDC. And CO and THC emissions decreased, however NOx emission increased. The variations of the combustion and emission characteristics followed by the increase of the EGR rate were exactly the opposite to the change of hydrogen blending radio. Considering both the combustion and emission characteristics, using moderate EGR rate (15%~20%) under high hydrogen blending radio (15%~20%) condition can realize the simultaneous improvement of combustion and emission performance.

Abstract The development of high-performance shape-stable phase change materials composites (ss-PCMCs) with enhanced thermal conductivity and high phase change enthalpy is of great importance for thermal energy storage. Herein, we report the creation of novel ss-PCMCs by incorporation of organic PCMs (1-hexadecanamine (HDA) and palmitic acid (PA)) into the biomass carbon aerogels (BCAs refer to sunflower receptacle spongy carbon aerogel (r-CA) and sunflower stem carbon aerogel (s-CA)) through a simple vacuum infusion. Due to their abundant porosity, light weight and high specific surface area, organic PCMs can be spontaneously loaded into BCAs with an ultrahigh loading rate of up to 1988 wt%. The obtained of PCM/BCAs composites show high phase change enthalpy of ranging from 207.9 kJ kg−1 to 271 kJ kg−1, in addition to their excellent thermal stability and recyclability, e.g., their phase change enthalpy nearly remains unchanged even after 50 times of melting/freezing cycles. The PCM/BCAs composites also show an enhanced thermal conductivity. Furthermore, the light-to-thermal conversion efficiency was found to be promising candidates for light-to-thermal energy storage applications on basis of their 75.6% for HDA/r-CA and 67.8% for HDA/s-CA, respectively, making them abundant resource, cost-efficiency, simple and scalable fabrication process.

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.

AbstractClimate change amplifies dry and hot extremes, yet the mechanism, extent, scope, and temporal scale of causal linkages between dry and hot extremes remain underexplored. Here using the concept of system dynamics, we investigate cross-scale interactions within dry-to-hot and hot-to-dry extreme event networks and quantify the magnitude, temporal-scale, and physical drivers of cascading effects (CEs) of drying-on-heating and vice-versa, across the globe. We find that locations exhibiting exceptionally strong CE (hotspots) for dry-to-hot and hot-to-dry extremes generally coincide. However, the CEs differ strongly in their timescale of interaction, hydroclimatic drivers, and sensitivity to changes in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum and background aridity. The CE of drying-on-heating in the hotspot locations reaches its peak immediately driven by the compounding influence of vapor pressure deficit, potential evapotranspiration, and precipitation. In contrast, the CE of heating-on-drying peaks gradually dominated by concurrent changes in potential evapotranspiration, precipitation, and net-radiation with the effect of vapor pressure deficit being strongly controlled by ecosystem isohydricity and background aridity. Our results help improve our understanding of the causal linkages and the predictability of compound extremes and related impacts.

The current organization of water supply systems demands drinking standards for all the households’ usage of water. Few dual water systems, i.e., systems in which the quality of the water supplied is differentiated by types of use, exist but are mainly circumscribed to developing countries. Besides, bath and showers are so far considered as a potable use of water despite only drinking and cooking activities requiring the high-quality standards of potable water. The present work demonstrates how the principles of dual water systems can be incorporated into the sustainable concept of product-service system (PSS) using a dual water system of a municipal water supply treatment plant in France as a case study. The PSS is based on the water quality, and the bathing activity of households is considered with a dedicated standard for the first time. Two systems are considered, S1 and S2, supplied with the same raw water quality and treated with drinking (S1) bathing standards (S2). The quality parameters considered are total organic carbon (TOC) and turbidity (T) and the potential savings related to costs, material, and energy consumptions are assessed using EVALEAU as a process modeling tool. The treatment lines consisted of powdered activated carbon (PAC) addition, coagulation, flocculation, settling, and rapid sand filtration. Results show that material consumption can be reduced by 41% mainly through the decrease in chemical consumption associated with the change of requirement for the TOC parameter. On the opposite, energy consumption was found dependent on the water of volume treated rather than its quality leading to only marginal savings. The cost was decreased by 37% as a result of the reduction of the chemicals consumed.

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.