• Energy Research
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Significance Women in science face barriers to professional advancement. One of the most important forums for international climate science is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, where there has been a slow increase in the proportion of women authors since the first assessment in 1990. Our survey of more than 100 female Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change authors explores their experience and perceptions, the barriers to their full participation that they identify, and recommendations for improvements. While we find that some women reported a positive experience, others felt women were poorly represented and heard and encountered barriers beyond their gender including race, nationality, command of English, and discipline. The study contributes to the larger literature on gender and science and provides recommendations for greater inclusion.

This paper evaluates the evolution of environmental performance in the context of the European Union (EU), over the period 1993-2010. The context is particularly relevant, due to the traditionally high concerns of the EU about these issues, which has triggered off several initiatives and regulations on environmental protection. In this setting, we conduct a two-stage analysis which develops environmental performance indicators in the first stage for each pair country-year, and evaluates its evolution in the second. More specifically, in the first stage we estimate specific efficiencies for three air-pollutants (CO2e, SO2, NOx), along with an eco-efficiency indicator, for which we use the slack-free directional distance functions in the Data Envelopment Analysis framework (as opposed to the more extended intensity ratios), whereas in the second stage we propose to using a model of explicit distribution dynamics which takes into account how the entire distributions of these indicators evolve. Our results indicate that the dynamics underlying the evolution of the indicators analyzed are indeed remarkable. Although the eco-efficiency indicator has improved over the last two decades, it has been during the last decade when performance has shown a more convergent path. However, in the case of the more traditional indicators (CO2e, SO2, NOx) the abatement opportunities are still remarkable, especially in the case of SO2. HighlightsWe evaluate the evolution of environmental performance in the context of the EU.We estimate specific efficiencies for CO2e, SO2, NOx and an eco-efficiency indicator.We propose using a model of explicit distribution dynamics.Results indicate that the dynamics of the indicators are complex.Despite the recent progresses, the abatement opportunities are still remarkable.

We appreciate Ford’s documentation of the many ways in which climate change threatens the traditional lifestyles and health of indigenous and other populations.1 As Ford states, the impacts of climate change on indigenous peoples are primarily studied in Australia and the Arctic, leaving much unknown about their global scale and manifestations in other regions.1 We believe that small island communities such as the Caribbean are also vulnerable to climate change because of their coastal-dependent geographies and lifestyles. The Caribbean population was estimated at 37.5 million in 2000,2 and Caribbean nations constitute approximately half of the 39 members of the Association of Small Island States.3 Like much of the world,4 the Caribbean is already experiencing increased salinity of drinking water, sea level rise, decreased habitable and agricultural land area, disrupted fisheries, and diminished food security.5 Its limited infrastructure and socioeconomic resources leave it at least partly reliant on foreign aid for climate mitigation and preparedness efforts. In one of our qualitative studies, Caribbean islanders described their personal experiences and perceptions about climate change as increased average temperatures, severity of weather events, and changes in rainfall patterns. They had observed geographic changes including beach erosion, sea level rise, drying rivers, and reduced vegetation and ground cover. They discussed the growing regional attention to disaster preparedness since the devastation of Hurricane Ivan in 2004, including efforts to digitize and archive legal and historical documents to prevent losses like those caused by Hurricane Ivan. Participants identified subsequent regional business opportunities in conservation and alternative energy, government efforts to promote the use of drought resistant crops after the severe drought of 2010, and a policy on climate change education being considered for public schools. Participants noted that relatively high rates of interisland movement and population growth stretch Caribbean social services and encroach on diminishing areas of habitable land. The discussion itself seemed to galvanize participant recognition that climate change threatens natural resources, such as rushing rivers and sandy beaches, that they take for granted. Although preliminary, our data show that climate change is altering Caribbean life. Further research on the health impacts of climate change on indigenous peoples and in unique geographic, economic, and sociocultural contexts is needed. Governments, industries, and individuals are unlikely to respond to climate change until it threatens things they value in their own lives. Ford’s article, and findings like ours, may help them to appreciate the urgency of doing so.

Background: Minimizing raw salt and increasing fruit consumption are important factors for controlling blood pressure. The study aimed to investigate the following associations: (i) the association between socio-demographic characteristics and awareness of, and attitudes towards, raw salt and fruit consumption and (ii) the association between salt and fruit consumption and blood pressure. Methods: In a cluster-RCT, 307 adults, aged 30 to 75 years, with hypertension were recruited in 2021. Blood pressure was the primary outcome, and knowledge, attitudes and intakes of raw salt and fruit were secondary outcomes. Results: Of the participants, 271 (78.5%) consumed raw salt. More than 80% of the participants knew that reduced raw salt was good for controlling blood pressure and almost everyone knew that fruits and vegetables were good for health. Despite this, 95% of the participants had a habit of eating fruit irregularly. A lower proportion (64%) of the participants having at least a secondary school certificate (SSC) consumed raw salt, compared with those having an education level SSC (82%), p = 0.002. Blood pressure was not significantly different for participants, irrespective of raw salt or fruit consumption. Conclusions: Raw salt consumption among rural people was high and regular fruit consumption was deficient. They intended to reduce raw salt consumption. Appropriate intervention programs should be implemented to reduce salt consumption and increase fruit consumption.

This study investigates the relationship between violent conflict, food price, and climate variability at the subnational level. Using disaggregated data on 113 African markets from January 1997 to April 2010, interrelationships between the three variables are analyzed in simultaneous equation models. We find that: (i) a positive feedback exists between food price and violence - higher food prices increase conflict rates within markets and conflict increases food prices; (ii) anomalously dry conditions are associated with increased frequencies of conflict; and (iii) decreased rainfall exerts an indirect effect on conflict through its impact on food prices. These findings suggest that the negative effects of climate variability on conflict can be mitigated by interventions and effective price management in local markets. Creating environments in which food prices are stable and reliable, and markets are accessible and safe, can lower the impacts of both climate change and conflict feedbacks.

Sustainable development goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015 are geared toward sustainable development through various pathways, one being reducing inequality as covered in SDG 10. Inequalities are a threat to health and wellbeing of populations and a planet Earth in which we live. This rapid review aims to identify key issues that are likely to exacerbate inequalities around the six SDGs directly related to One Health, which are SDG 3, 6, 11, 13, 14 and 15, and suggest some actions that may help to address them using inclusive governance taking into account the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Informed by the literature on SDGs and using the “inclusive development concept” by Gupta and Vegelin, literature search was done in Google Scholar, PubMed Central, as well as, searching of references in the relevant articles identified using search terms from the six SDGs that are directly related to One Health. In the context of the SDGs, in order to achieve One Health through inclusive governance, and tackle inequalities, the following needs to be considered and addressed: increasing number of armed conflicts; ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; ensuring availability of water and sanitation facilities; improving city and urban areas planning to cope with climate change; improving governance arrangements for addressing climate change factoring gender and human rights; multisectoral planning for conservation of oceans, seas, and marine resources; balancing trade regulation of wildlife trade with conservation efforts; need for a research collaborative involving experts from environmental sciences, wildlife, agriculture and human health to study and develop scientific evidence on contribution of changes in land use practices to occurrence of zoonotic diseases; and need of a legislation for promoting animal welfare to protect public health. Also, inclusion of people with disabilities in the use of digital technologies is critical.

Citric acid was produced with free and k-carrageenan-entrapped cells of the yeastYarrowia lipolyticain single and repeated batch-shake-flask fermentations on glycerol-based media. Simultaneous solubilization of hydroxyapatite of animal bone origin (HABO) was tested in all experiments. The highest citric acid production by free yeast cells of 20.4 g/L and 18.7 g/L was reached after 96 h of fermentation in the absence and presence of 3 g/L HABO, respectively. The maximum values for the same parameter achieved by gel-entrapped cells in conditions of single batch and repeated-batch fermentation processes were 18.7 g/L and 28.1 g/L registered after 96 h and the 3d batch cycle, respectively. The highest citric acid productivity of 0.58 g L−1h−1was obtained with immobilized cells in repeated batch mode of fermentation when the added hydroxyapatite of 3 g/L was solubilized to 399 mg/L whereas the maximum efficiency of 89.0% was obtained with 1 g/L of HABO.