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\"Fossil fuels propelled industries and nations into the modern age and continue to powerfully influence economies and politics today. As Energy Capitals demonstrates, the discovery and exploitation of fossil fuels has proven to be a mixed blessing in many of the cities and regions where it has occurred. With case studies from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Norway, Africa, and Australia, this volume views a range of older and more recent energy capitals, contrasts their evolutions, and explores why some capitals were able to influence global trends in energy production and distribution while others failed to control even their own destinies. Chapters show how local and national politics, social structures, technological advantages, education systems, capital, infrastructure, labor force, supply and demand, and other factors have affected the ability of a region to develop and control its own fossil fuel reserves. The contributors also view the environmental impact of energy industries and demonstrate how, in the depletion of reserves or a shift to new energy sources, regions have or have not been able to recover economically. The cities of Tampico, Mexico, and Port Gentil, Gabon, have seen their oil deposits exploited by international companies with little or nothing to show in return and at a high cost environmentally. At the opposite extreme, Houston, Texas, has witnessed great economic gain from its oil, natural gas, and petrochemical industries. Its growth, however, has been tempered by the immense strain on infrastructure and the human transformation of the natural environment. In another scenario, Perth, Australia, Calgary, Alberta, and Stavanger, Norway have benefitted as the closest established cities with administrative and financial assets for energy production that was developed hundreds of miles away. Whether coal, oil, or natural gas, the essays offer important lessons learned over time and future considerations for the best ways to capture the benefits of energy development while limiting the cost to local populations and environments. \"-- Provided by publisher.

Over the course of nearly thirty years, the environmental justice movement has changed the politics of environmental activism and influenced environmental policy. In the process, it has turned the attention of environmental activists and regulatory agencies to issues of pollution, toxics, and human health as they affect ordinary people, especially people of color. This book argues that the environmental justice movement has also begun to transform science and engineering. The chapters present case studies of technical experts' encounters with environmental justice activists and issues, exploring the transformative potential of these interactions. Technoscience and Environmental Justice first examines the scientific practices and identities of technical experts who work with environmental justice organizations, whether by becoming activists themselves or by sharing scientific information with communities. It then explore scientists' and engineers' activities in such mainstream scientific institutions as regulatory agencies and universities, where environmental justice concerns have been (partially) institutionalized as a response to environmental justice activism. All of the chapters grapple with the difficulty of transformation that experts face, but the studies also show how environmental justice activism has created opportunities for changing technical practices and, in a few cases, has even accomplished significant transformations.The hardcover edition does not include a dust jacket.

Coastal risks are increasing from both development and climate change. Interest is growing in the protective role that coastal nature-based measures (or green infrastructure), such as reefs and wetlands, can play in adapting to these risks. However, a lack of quantitative information on their relative costs and benefits is one principal factor limiting their use more broadly. Here, we apply a quantitative risk assessment framework to assess coastal flood risk (from climate change and economic exposure growth) across the United States Gulf of Mexico coast to compare the cost effectiveness of different adaptation measures. These include nature-based (e.g. oyster reef restoration), structural or grey (e.g., seawalls) and policy measures (e.g. home elevation). We first find that coastal development will be a critical driver of risk, particularly for major disasters, but climate change will cause more recurrent losses through changes in storms and relative sea level rise. By 2030, flooding will cost $134-176.6 billion (for different economic growth scenarios), but as the effects of climate change, land subsidence and concentration of assets in the coastal zone increase, annualized risk will more than double by 2050 with respect to 2030. However, from the portfolio we studied, the set of cost-effective adaptation measures (with benefit to cost ratios above 1) could prevent up to $57-101 billion in losses, which represents 42.8-57.2% of the total risk. Nature-based adaptation options could avert more than $50 billion of these costs, and do so cost effectively with average benefit to cost ratios above 3.5. Wetland and oyster reef restoration are found to be particularly cost-effective. This study demonstrates that the cost effectiveness of nature-based, grey and policy measures can be compared quantitatively with one another, and that the cost effectiveness of adaptation becomes more attractive as climate change and coastal development intensifies in the future. It also shows that investments in nature-based adaptation could meet multiple objectives for environmental restoration, adaptation and flood risk reduction.

Diminished/decreased ovarian reserve (DOR) is a disorder of ovarian function, which severely affects women's reproductive health. Accumulating evidence has found that adverse environmental factors can affect ovarian function. However, whether synthetic phenolic antioxidants (SPAs) exposure is associated with DOR is still unknown. We explored whether concentrations of SPAs and their metabolites are associated with DOR. A case-control study was conducted from January 2019 to January 2020 in China. One hundred eighty-one women 20-44 years of age, with (case group, ) and without DOR (control group, ) were included in our study. The follicular fluid concentrations of typical SPAs and their metabolites were measured, including butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), -butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), and five BHT metabolites [3,5-di- -butyl-4-hydroxy-benzylalcohol (BHT-OH), 3,5-di- -butyl-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (BHT-CHO), 3,5-di- -butyl-4-hydroxybenzoic acid (BHT-COOH), 2,6-di- -butyl-1,4-benzoquinone (BHT-Q), and 2,6-di- -butyl-4-hydroxy-4-methylcyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-one (BHT-quinol)]. Information about serum basal concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) and the basal antral follicle count (AFC) was collected. The measured frequencies of BHA, TBHQ, BHT, BHT-OH, BHT-CHO, BHT-COOH, BHT-Q, and BHT-quinol in follicular fluid were 1.7%, 2.2%, 40.3%, 46.4%, 57.5%, 100%, 64.6%, and 49.2%, respectively. The concentrations of BHT-CHO ( vs. , ), BHT-COOH ( vs. , ), BHT-Q ( vs. , ), and the sum of five BHT metabolites ( ; vs. , ) in the case group were significantly higher than those in the control group. The risk of DOR was further analyzed according to the tertiles of chemical concentration. Compared with the low levels of BHT metabolites, the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for DOR were significantly increased in the high levels of BHT-CHO [ , 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.22, 8.31, ], BHT-COOH [ (95% CI: 1.63, 13.71), ], and BHT-Q [ (95% CI: 1.69, 11.86), ] after adjusting for age, body mass index, education, infertility type, triglycerides, and total cholesterol. Moreover, compared with the low level of , increased adjusted ORs for DOR were found both in the middle level [ (95% CI: 1.44, 11.75), ] and high level [ (95% CI: 1.81, 16.77), ], showing an obvious dose-response relationship ( ). In this study, we report the measured frequency and concentrations of BHA, TBHQ, BHT, and their metabolites in follicular fluid. Moreover, we found the concentrations of BHT metabolites, especially BHT-CHO, BHT-COOH, and BHT-Q, are positively associated with the increased risk of DOR. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11309.

Background: Environmental health risks are disproportionately colocated with communities in poverty and communities of color. In some cases, participatory research projects have effectively addressed structural causes of health risk in environmental justice (EJ) communities. However, many such projects fail to catalyze change at a structural level. Objectives: This review employs Critical Interpretive Synthesis (CIS) to theorize specific elements of participatory research for environmental health that effectively prompt structural change in EJ communities. Methods: Academic database search was used to identify peer-reviewed literature describing participatory research with EJ communities to address environmental health. Synthetic constructs were developed iteratively related to study characteristics, design elements, and outcomes; and data were extracted for included records. Statistical analyses were performed to assess correlations between study design elements and structural change outcomes. Through critical, comparative, and contextual analyses of the \"structural change\" case study group and \"non-structural change\" group, informed by relevant theoretical literature, a synthesizing argument was generated. Results: From 505 total records identified, eligibility screening produced 232 case study articles, representing 154 case studies, and 55 theoretical articles for synthesis. Twenty-six case studies resulted in a structural change outcome. The synthesizing argument states that participatory research with EJ communities may be more likely to result in structural change when a) community members hold formal leadership roles; b) project design includes decision-makers and policy goals; and c) long term partnerships are sustained through multiple funding mechanisms. The assumption of EJ community benefit through research participation is critically examined. Discussion: Recommended future directions include establishing structural change as a goal of participatory research, employing participatory assessment of community benefit, and increased hiring of faculty of color at research institutions. The power, privilege, and political influence that academic institutions are able to leverage in partnership with EJ communities may be as valuable as the research itself.

Global issues such as environmental problems and food security are currently of concern to all of us. Circular bioeconomy is a promising approach towards resolving these global issues. The production of bioenergy and biomaterials can sustain the energy–environment nexus as well as substitute the devoid of petroleum as the production feedstock, thereby contributing to a cleaner and low carbon environment. In addition, assimilation of waste into bioprocesses for the production of useful products and metabolites lead towards a sustainable circular bioeconomy. This review aims to highlight the waste biorefinery as a sustainable bio-based circular economy, and, therefore, promoting a greener environment. Several case studies on the bioprocesses utilising waste for biopolymers and bio-lipids production as well as bioprocesses incorporated with wastewater treatment are well discussed. The strategy of waste biorefinery integrated with circular bioeconomy in the perspectives of unravelling the global issues can help to tackle carbon management and greenhouse gas emissions. A waste biorefinery–circular bioeconomy strategy represents a low carbon economy by reducing greenhouse gases footprint, and holds great prospects for a sustainable and greener world.

Although a clear definition of energy poverty has not been reported in the scientific literature or in general energy directives, this condition affects about 10% of European people. During the last three years, the COVID-19 pandemic combined with the increase in energy bill costs due to energy conflicts has determined the increment of energy poverty. The Renewable Energy Directive, that defines a new legal entity named Renewable Energy Community as a new end-users’ organization, recognizes the chance for low-income households to benefit from being able to access affordable energy tariffs and energy efficiency measures thanks to these new entities. Thus, this paper analyses the energy, economic, and environmental performances of a renewable energy community composed of three residential users distributed in two buildings located in the south of Italy, and one of these buildings is equipped by a rooftop photovoltaic plant. The plants were modelled and simulated through HOMERPRO simulation software while the building energy loads are real and were imported from an energy distributor dataset and were processed in the MATLAB simulation interface. The analysis concerned the comparison of the energy performance achieved by one case in which no renewable plants were installed, and by another case in which the end-users took part in the renewable energy community by sharing the photovoltaic “produced” electricity. The investigation was conducted in terms of the quantity of electricity imported from the power grid and consumed on-site, the avoided emissions, and the operating costs. The business plan has been devoted to defining the advantages of the energy community for vulnerable end-users in a popular neighborhood council estate by evaluating the social energy poverty indexes. The results showed that through the renewable energy community, a mitigation of energy poverty is obtained within a range of 12–16%.

This paper investigates adopting metaverse in academic institutions based on a conceptual model. The proposed conceptual model was created to empower future perspectives of the metaverse system. Even though the metaverses system was just recently launched, few attempts have been made to evaluate its impact on the educational sector. This paper attempted to determine the impact of metaverse system by providing a conceptual model that encompasses innovativeness, context awareness, perceived enjoyment, ubiquity, complexity, and value. The information was gathered using an online questionnaire completed by 953 people. The findings indicate that an innovative academic environment can influence teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward new technology. Understanding how the metaverse system functions as an innovative educational tool can influence students’ views regarding the use of new technology, assisting higher education institutions in developing regulations that enhance the learning process. As a result, the study discovered that the moderating impact of’ innovativeness is critical since it contributes to the pervasiveness of users’ perceptions of adopting new technology. The findings show that inventiveness is important in determining the metaverse system’s effectiveness. However, apparent ubiquity appears to have a less effective function in promoting the use of the metaverse system. The factors of context-awareness, perceived complexity and perceived enjoyment possess a substantial impact on the metaverse system’s adoption. Researchers have gained some insight into how university leaders can use current findings to spread awareness about the metaverse system in the educational environment by organizing seminars and workshops, offering incentives for teachers to use it, and allowing experts to assist teachers in better understanding the system’s benefits.

In this paper, we take the Yangtze River Economic Belt as the study area and analyze three types of environmental regulation tools, namely, command-and-control (CAC), market-incentivized (MI) and public-type (PT). We apply the threshold effect to test the impact of each of these tools on regional economic growth and analyze the relationships between the tools and environmental regulation. The entropy method is used to calculate the comprehensive environmental pollution index of each province and city in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Using Stata 14.0 measurement software and based on provincial data with respect to the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2014 to 2021, a panel threshold model is used to test the impact of the three types of environmental regulation tools on regional economic growth and analyze the relationship between environmental regulation and regional economic growth. It is found that the relationship between environmental regulation and economic growth is non-linear. There is no significant relationship between CAC environmental regulation and regional economic growth; there is a single threshold effect between market-incentive environmental regulation and public participation environmental regulation on the economic growth of the Yangtze River economic belt.