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The Mediterranean Sea is considered as a hotspot for climate change because of its location in the temperate region and because it is a semi-enclosed basin surrounded by highly populated and developed countries. Some expected changes include an increase in air temperature and changes in the periodicity and spatial distribution of rainfall. Alongside, demographic and politics changes will alter freshwater quantity and quality. All these changes will have an impact on the ecological status of marine ecosystems in the basin. We use a 3D hydrodynamic-biogeochemical coupled model of the entire Mediterranean Sea to explore potential changes in primary productivity (mean values and spatial distribution) under two emission scenarios (rcp4.5 and rcp8.5).To isolate the effects of changes in atmospheric conditions alone, in this ensemble of simulations rivers conditions (water flow and nutrient concentrations) are kept unchanged and equal to its climatological values for the last 10 years. Despite the significant warming trend, the mean integrated primary production rate in the entire basin remains almost unchanged. However characteristic spatial differences are consistently found in the different simulations. The western basin becomes more oligotrophic associated to a surface density decrease (increase stratification) because of the influence of the Atlantic waters which prevents surface salinity to increase. In the eastern basin, on the contrary, all model runs simulates an increase in surface production linked to a density increase (less stratification) because of the increasing evaporation rate. The simulations presented here demonstrate the basic response patterns of the Mediterranean Sea ecosystem to changing climatological conditions. Although unlikely, they could be considered as a ‘baseline’ of expected consequences of climatic changes on marine conditions in the Mediterranean.

David Bergman,1 Hannes Hagström,2– 4 Andrea Johansson Capusan,5,6 Karl Mårild,7,8 Fredrik Nyberg,9 Kristina Sundquist,10 Jonas F Ludvigsson1,11– 13 1Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; 2Division of Hepatology, Department of Upper GI Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; 3Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medicine, Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; 4Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; 5Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden; 6Department of Psychiatry in Linköping, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden; 7Department of Pediatrics, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg, Sweden; 8Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Queen Silvia Children’s Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden; 9School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden; 10Center for Primary Health Care Research, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden; 11Department of Pediatrics, Orebro University Hospital, Orebro, Sweden; 12Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; 13Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USACorrespondence: Jonas F LudvigssonDepartment of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, SwedenEmail jonasludvigsson@yahoo.comAim: To improve consistency between register studies in Sweden and ensure valid comparisons of possible changes in alcohol-related disorders and diseases (ARDDs) over time, we propose a definition of ARDDs. Based on this definition, we examined Sweden’s incidence rates of ARDDs from 1970 to 2018 in non-primary healthcare settings (inpatient and outpatient).Methods: Swedish Society of Epidemiology members were invited to give feedback on the International Classification of Disease (ICD) codes with a potential link to alcohol use. We then calculated age-standardised and age-specific incidence of ARDDs over time according to the National Patient Register, and the lifetime prevalence of ARDDs diagnosed in adults alive in Sweden on Dec 31, 2018.Results: Sweden’s estimated incidence of ARDDs increased substantially after introducing the new ICD-9 codes in 1987. In the past 10 years (2009– 2018), the incidence of ARDDs has been stable (males: 110/100,000 person-years, females: 49/100,000 person-years). Requiring at least two ICD records for diagnosed ARDDs led to a somewhat lower incidence of ARDDs (males: 71 per 100,000 person-years, females: 29 per 100,000 person-years). In Sweden, the lifetime prevalence of diagnosed ARDDs in adults on Dec 31, 2018, was 1.9% (95% CI=1.9– 1.9).Conclusion: In this nationwide study, we found an incidence of ARDDs of 50– 100/100,000 person-years. In 2018, 1 in 52 adults in Sweden had been diagnosed with ARDDs in the National Patient Register.Keywords: alcohol, alcohol use disorder, alcohol-related disease, alcohol drinking, drug use, ethanol

In 1971, Garrett Hardin published an editorial entitled _Nobody Ever Dies of Overpopulation based on the cyclone that struck East Bengal and killed an estimated 500,000 people. Overcrowding forced people to live in a dangerous place like the Gangetic Delta which is barely above sea level. Now, 37 years later, a similar situation is unfolding in the Ganges River Delta in Bangladesh. This delta is also barely above sea level, and the water keeps rising due to global warming. If a large storm were to create hurricanes in this area housing and agricultural areas would be destroyed as well as power lines and water supply which would interfere with food deliveries and medical assistance. In a worst case scenario environmental refugees could reach 25 million and the death toll could be in the millions. If global climate change was one of the antecedent causes to this worst case scenario, would seal level rise and sever weather truly be the cause of deaths?

The current paradigm of global economics with exponential and continuous economic growth is unsustainable as far as Earth system ecology is concerned. To support the Earth system and boost sustainable development, a functional and operational linkage between global ecology and economics should be established – which we term ‘carbonomics’. The simple basis of ‘carbonomics’ is that the more fossil and non-fossil carbon one has as stocks, and not flows, of carbon, the richer one is. This opinion piece makes some suggestions about how we might establish such a balanced relationship. Consilience, No 17 (2017): Issue Seventeen: 2017

Contract-based nature protection schemes are a voluntary mechanism, with a limited contract duration, that aim to raise the acceptance of biodiversity conservation practices in agriculture among farmers and other land users. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the institutional settings of contract-based nature protection based on the��� ���Institutions of Sustainability��� (IoS) framework in the German Rhine-Sieg district, and to outline the way in which policy measures should be designed to encourage farmers to participate in contract-based nature protection programmes. This was achieved by answering research questions to identify the challenges, potentials and obstacles of a contract-based nature protection scheme in different ���sub-arenas��� as defined in the IoS framework. Qualitative research methods were used as the methodology. The analysis shows that main constraints for sufficient implementation of contract-based nature protection schemes are the limited consideration of the impact of climate change during the contract period, the limited consideration of regional conditions as regards the measures taken on the ground and an inflexible contract duration. International Journal on Food System Dynamics, Vol 13, No 1 (2022)

This paper explores the feasibility of adopting ecological based planning in low-income residential development. It explicates that in developing countries efforts by housing authorities have been on housing provision irrespective of the environmental threats to sustainability. As these houses are built, future of urban ecology is under threat. The questions regarding this phenomenon are several: how do low-income populations perceive environmental issues of urban settlements? How capable and willing are the local authorities to embrace and apply ecological based planning in residential development? What are the facilitating instruments of ecological-based planning? What are the prospects of integrating ecological based planning to low-income residential development? What are the restraining factors towards embracement of ecological based planning and how best can they be harnessed towards future ecological cities? The case study of Hatcliffe residential area in Harare shows that there are many challenges to overcome uncoordinated planning approaches, ineffective policies and legislative frameworks, weak institutional settings, financial constraints, outdated planning standards and regulations, poverty, lack of environmental stewardship and lack of political will among others. The study findings call for robust environmental conservation strategies, strong environmental stewardship, responsive institutional and funding mechanism backed by realistic legislative frameworks and robust policy rectification. Tema. Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment, Vol 7, N° 1 (2014): Smart Cities Challenges: Smart Environment for Sustainable Resource Management

OBJETIVO: Ainda que as características clássicas da síndrome fetal alcoólica tenham sido descritas desde 1968, a pesquisa sobre a teratogênese do álcool apenas recentemente demonstrou que o cérebro é o órgão do corpo mais vulnerável aos efeitos da exposição pré-natal ao álcool. No presente artigo, fazemos uma revisão da literatura focalizando principalmente os distúrbios comportamentais relacionados à exposição pré-natal ao álcool. FONTES DOS DADOS: Foi realizada uma pesquisa com base no PubMed sobre a literatura publicada entre 1968 e 2006, com as palavras-chave etanol, gestação e comportamento. Foram estabelecidos limites a estudos em humanos. SÍNTESE DOS DADOS: Os dados apresentados nesta revisão sugerem que jovens com efeitos do espectro do álcool fetal estão sob risco maior de terem comportamento social disruptivo, entre outros problemas neurocomportamentais. CONCLUSÕES: Ainda que seja impossível separar completamente a teratogênese sobre o cérebro decorrente da exposição ao álcool de influências ambientais pós-natais como a causa definitiva desses resultados, o pediatra deve ser estimulado ao diagnóstico precoce de crianças afetadas pela síndrome fetal alcoólica e efeitos do espectro do álcool fetal. Isso permite iniciar o manejo e cuidados apropriados para evitar as conseqüências em longo prazo no comportamento e assegurar uma adaptação social e escolar melhor e mais produtiva.OBJECTIVE: Although the classic features of fetal alcohol syndrome have been recognized since 1968, research on alcohol teratogenesis has only recently demonstrated that the brain is the organ in the body most vulnerable to the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure. In this present article, we reviewed the literature focusing mainly on behavioral disturbances related to prenatal ethanol exposure. SOURCES: We performed a PubMed search on the literature published between 1968 and 2006 using the terms ethanol, pregnancy and behavior. We limited our search to studies on humans. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: The data presented in this review suggested that youths with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder are at risk of disruptive social behavior, among other neurobehavioral abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS: Although it is still impossible to completely separate brain teratogenesis secondary to alcohol exposure from environmental postnatal influences as the definite cause for these outcomes, the pediatrician should be encouraged to early diagnose children affected by fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. This provides proper management and care and avoids long-term consequences on their behavior, besides ensuring better and productive school and social adaptation.

Sustainability communication is a more and more widespread necessity for marketers because of the increased sensitivity to this topic. The objective of this research is to investigate the way the largest companies in the world communicate their social and environmental commitment: sixteen companies’ websites have been analyzed in order to explore what kind of sustainability communication tools they use. Findings show that the selected companies pay attention to communicate their commitment, also in the case of those suspected to be irresponsible. Risks deriving from greenwashing are also discussed: it can be a danger for long term survival of companies.

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