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Developing countries have depleted their natural resources in economic interest to achieve high economic growth. Current urbanization patterns and energy consumption and natural resource extraction are largely unsustainable. In this background, this paper investigates the impact of natural resources rent, energy resources consumption, and tax revenue on carbon emissions for developing countries. The study employed data for 48 developing countries from 1990 to 2020. We used second-generation methods for empirical analysis that control heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence in the data. The advanced panel data estimates of CS-ARDL provide reliable outcomes by addressing these panel data econometric issues. The study results revealed that natural resources or natural resources rent in their exploitation accelerates carbon emission. Similarly, energy resources excessive consumption and economic growth are highly carbon-intensive for these countries and lead to environmental degradation. In contrast, tax revenue and education stabilized the environmental quality of the study interest. Besides this, to analyze the directional association among variables, the study applied DH causality test, which indicates a bidirectional link between tax revenues and emissions, energy resources and emissions, and income and CO 2 emissions. Based on the finding, the study suggests some policy implications to limit the extraction of natural resources and abate carbon emissions by establishing appropriate strategies and imposing environmental charges.

John Wargo explains how society suffers from a profound misunderstanding of everyday chemical hazards & proposes practical steps towards the development of a 'green intelligence'.

The indoor built environment plays a critical role in our overall well-being because of both the amount of time we spend indoors (~90%) and the ability of buildings to positively or negatively influence our health. The advent of sustainable design or green building strategies reinvigorated questions regarding the specific factors in buildings that lead to optimized conditions for health and productivity. We simulated indoor environmental quality (IEQ) conditions in \"Green\" and \"Conventional\" buildings and evaluated the impacts on an objective measure of human performance: higher-order cognitive function. Twenty-four participants spent 6 full work days (0900-1700 hours) in an environmentally controlled office space, blinded to test conditions. On different days, they were exposed to IEQ conditions representative of Conventional [high concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)] and Green (low concentrations of VOCs) office buildings in the United States. Additional conditions simulated a Green building with a high outdoor air ventilation rate (labeled Green+) and artificially elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels independent of ventilation. On average, cognitive scores were 61% higher on the Green building day and 101% higher on the two Green+ building days than on the Conventional building day (p < 0.0001). VOCs and CO2 were independently associated with cognitive scores. Cognitive function scores were significantly better under Green+ building conditions than in the Conventional building conditions for all nine functional domains. These findings have wide-ranging implications because this study was designed to reflect conditions that are commonly encountered every day in many indoor environments. Allen JG, MacNaughton P, Satish U, Santanam S, Vallarino J, Spengler JD. 2016. Associations of cognitive function scores with carbon dioxide, ventilation, and volatile organic compound exposures in office workers: a controlled exposure study of green and conventional office environments. Environ Health Perspect 124:805-812; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1510037.

The role of government size and digitization in the process of environmental quality is a matter of considerable debate in the field of environmental economics. BRICS economies have suffered from environmental pollution. This paper scrutinizes that how CO 2 emissions respond to government size and digitization in BRICS economies. Empirical estimates of the ARDL approach show that government size has a positive impact on CO 2 in Brazil, India, and China, while negative impact on CO 2 in Russia in the long run. The long-run estimates reveal a negative and significant effect of digitization on CO 2 in Brazil, India, and China. Education and e-learning activities have a favorable and crucial role played in environmental quality in Brazil, India, and China. Based on these findings, BRICS authorities should improve the efficiency of government expenditures and invest more in digitization to improve the quality of the environment.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a new zoonotic agent that emerged in December 2019, causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This infection can be spread by asymptomatic, presymptomatic, and symptomatic carriers. SARS-CoV-2 spreads primarily via respiratory droplets during close person-to-person contact in a closed space, especially a building. This article summarizes the environmental factors involved in SARS-CoV-2 transmission, including a strategy to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a building environment. SARS-CoV-2 can persist on surfaces of fomites for at least 3 days depending on the conditions. If SARS-CoV-2 is aerosolized intentionally, it is stable for at least several hours. SARS-CoV-2 is inactivated rapidly on surfaces with sunlight. Close-contact aerosol transmission through smaller aerosolized particles is likely to be combined with respiratory droplets and contact transmission in a confined, crowded, and poorly ventilated indoor environment, as suggested by some cluster cases. Although evidence of the effect of aerosol transmission is limited and uncertainty remains, adequate preventive measures to control indoor environmental quality are required, based on a precautionary approach, because COVID-19 has caused serious global damages to public health, community, and the social economy. The expert panel for COVID-19 in Japan has focused on the “3 Cs,” namely, “closed spaces with poor ventilation,” “crowded spaces with many people,” and “close contact.” In addition, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan has been recommending adequate ventilation in all closed spaces in accordance with the existing standards of the Law for Maintenance of Sanitation in Buildings as one of the initial political actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, specific standards for indoor environmental quality control have not been recommended and many scientific uncertainties remain regarding the infection dynamics and mode of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in closed indoor spaces. Further research and evaluation are required regarding the effect and role of indoor environmental quality control, especially ventilation.

As the Earth's Third Pole and the Asian water tower, the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP) plays a key role in global climate regulation and biodiversity maintenance. Living in harmony with nature is vital for local and global sustainable development. Current research on the conflicted or coordinated relationship between humans and nature on the QTP at a fine spatial scale remains limited. To fill the gap, we developed the human activity intensity index (HAI) and eco‐environmental quality index (EQI) at 1‐km resolution and proposed a four‐quadrant diagram approach to explore the dynamics between them. The results show a coordinated development on the QTP as the HAI and EQI both increased from 2000 to 2020, and the ratio of coordinated areas to conflicted areas was 5:1. High HAI areas were mainly in big cities such as Xining, Lhasa, Haidong, Xigaze, and along traffic lines. The significant conflicted areas were mainly outside the Lhasa metropolitan, south of the Hengduan Mountains, and along some new roads, and reduced by 8% between 2000–2010 and 2010–2020. The area of high HAI but low EQI was the smallest proportion, mainly in southern Qinghai Lake, southern Brahlung Zangbo River, Gobi oases, and western transport lines, but it implies the highest risk of ecosystem degradation. This research expands the fundamental methodology to address complex human‐natural relationships and provides implications for the sustainable development of fragile ecosystems. Plain Language Summary The Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP), with an average altitude of over 4,000 m and 13 million residents, is the source of the nine rivers in Asia, providing fresh water, food, and other ecosystem services to more than 1.5 billion people, and is known as the Earth's Third Pole and Asian water tower. However, research on the relationship between humans and nature in that region is limited, especially at a fine spatial scale. To fill the gap, we developed the human activity intensity index (HAI) and eco‐environmental quality index (EQI) at 1‐km resolution and proposed a four‐quadrant diagram approach to explore the dynamics between them, addressing potential risks and sustainability pathways. We find that the relationship between humans and nature on the QTP tends to be harmonious from 2000 to 2020. The significant conflicted areas were mainly outside the Lhasa metropolitan, south of the Hengduan Mountains, and along new roads, and reduced by 8% between 2000–2010 and 2010–2020. However, the plateau's fragile ecosystem still faces great challenges with population growth, urbanization, infrastructure construction, and the threat of global climate change. This work expands the fundamental methodology and may support fine ecological restoration and environmental management for local governments. Key Points Human activity intensity and eco‐environmental quality were measured at the grid scale of 1‐km resolution on the Earth's Third Pole We proposed a four‐quadrant diagram approach to identify dynamic relationships between humans and nature Socioeconomic development and eco‐environment on the QTP tend to be coordinated during 2000–2020