Optimized Ridge–Furrow Ratio to Decrease Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Increase Winter Wheat Yield in Dry Semi-Humid Areas

The plastic-mulched ridge–furrow rainwater harvesting (RF) system has been widely adopted worldwide due to its visible economic benefits. However, few and inconclusive studies have focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In addition, it is still unknown whether different coverage ratios under RF have an impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Here, we evaluate the effects of various coverage ratios on the soil hydrothermal characteristics, global warming potential (GWP), greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI), and yield productivity in dry semi-humid areas. A control (FP, conventional flat planting without mulching) and three different ridge–furrow ratios (40:40 (RF40), 40:60 (RF60), and 40:80 (RF80)) were tested in 2017–2019. Compared with FP, RF increased the soil temperature and promoted soil moisture in the furrows during the vegetative growth period. However, the soil temperature of the furrows slightly increased with furrow width, whereas the soil moisture obviously decreased under the three RF practices. In a wet year (2017–2018), FP significantly increased the winter wheat yield (43.6%) compared with RF, while the opposite was the case in a normal year (2018–2019). Among the three RF treatments, RF40 and RF80 significantly increased the yield by 13.9% and 17.2%, respectively, compared with RF60. Compared with FP, all of the RF treatments increased the flux of N2O and CO2 emissions but reduced CH4 absorption. Compared with FP, RF with ridge–furrow ratios of 40:40 cm, 40:60 cm, and 40:80 cm increased the GWP by 99.6%, 53.4%, and 31.3%, respectively, and increased the GHGI by 55.8%, 45.3%, and 0.7%, respectively. Therefore, conventional flat planting in wet years and a ridge–furrow ratio of 40:71 cm in normal years can reduce GHG emissions, sustaining crop productivity, and promote the sustainable development of agriculture and the environment. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Agronomy is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Lithium production, electricity consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions: An imperious role of economic globalization

China has resorted to electric vehicles to tackle the Greenhouse gas emissions engendered through the transport sector. Despite the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, electric vehicle sales in China were 1.3 million, which accounts for an increment of 8% in comparison with 2019. It will attain a peak point in 2030, causing an incredible increase in electricity usage. Hence, this increase has sparked a new debate among energy management and environmental economics scholars, as China produces 65% of its electricity through coal. The on-hand investigation revealed the imperative impact of lithium production, electricity usage, and economic globalization on the carbon footprints calculated in China. Moreover, the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) is also tested in this framework. The study found the imperious role of electricity usage and economic globalization in Greenhouse gas emissions in China. However, lithium production reported weak and inconsequential findings. Detailed policy inferences and long-term policy implications are discussed in the discussion and conclusion section, respectively.

TELEHEALTH USER EXPERIENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT FOR TELEPHONE AND VIDEO VISITS FOR GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE

Introduction: Sars-CoV-2 virus pandemic of 2019 necessitated a transition to telehealth for many healthcare encounters. The telehealth user experience and any potential environmental impact of this transition to e-Visits for gastrointestinal diseases is hitherto unstudied. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent telehealth encounters (telephone visits and video visits) with the outpatient gastroenterology clinics at West Virginia University, Morgantown. Patients were reached by telephone and were asked to provide information to fill in pre-designed survey questionnaires that incorporated a validated telehealth usability questionnaire. The Telehealth usability questionnaire (TUQ) incorporated Likert scales (1-7) to rate usability questions. Variables were also collected with chart review by two study authors. Distance of patients’ residence from our clinic was calculated using demographic data on EPIC. Environmental protection agency (EPA) calculators were utilized to calculate greenhouse emissions that were prevented due to televisits in lieu of in person visits. Results: A total of 81 video visits and 89 telephone visits were performed for GERD in the study period of March 2020-March 2021. 111 patients were able to be enrolled in the study and filled in the questionnaires, revealing a response rate of 65.29%. Mean age was higher in the telephone visit cohort (43.45 +/- 14.32 vs 52.34 +/- 17.46, p: 0.04) and most participants were female (76.58%). Overall user satisfaction was high (mean scores for all usability variates >5). Comparative analysis of the telephone and video visits revealed significantly higher mean ratings for usefulness and user comfort questions in the patients who had video encounters compared to those with telephone encounters, as shown in Table 2. A total of 7.02 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions were prevented due to non-usage of the 391.5 gallons of gasoline needed to transport these patients to and from the facility from their residence. Conclusion Telehealth visits for GERD were rated highly in terms of usefulness, satisfaction, and user comfort/usability by patients. Video visits received higher mean ratings for usefulness and user comfort. Tele-visits for GERD are therefore well received by patients and in addition can contribute to notable reductions in unnecessary greenhouse emissions. (Table Presented)

Analysis of Main Factors on Evaluation and Selection of Wet Waste Disposal Modes: A Case Study of Universities in Shanghai, China

This paper explores greenhouse gas emission intensity and economy of centralized and on-site wet waste disposal mode, while comprehensively evaluating the two modes for decision-making. Based on the fieldwork in Shanghai’s 20 campuses of 15 universities, multiple scenarios that can reflect the different levels of technology and management in reality, were set for the following studies. The greenhouse gas emissions generated from centralized and on-site disposal modes of wet waste were calculated in two emission scenarios using Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Inventory, and the IPCC 2006 method. Additionally, the continuous cost input from the universities for the two disposal modes was analyzed in three cost-input scenarios using the Net Present Value method. Furthermore, a comprehensive evaluation of the two modes was also conducted by using Analytic Hierarchy Process and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation under the five main factors of greenhouse gas emission—control, economy, stability, education and innovation, and bargaining power for municipal sanitation departments. The results revealed that the centralized disposal mode is superior to the on-site disposal mode in terms of greenhouse gas emission control and economy. The centralized disposal mode is a more rational choice due to the better comprehensive evaluation performance. It was also emphasized that the construction of the wet waste disposal system is so complicated that the academic community and the policymakers may have to pay more attention to the integration of system design, industrial development, and other aspects of wet waste disposal.

Did Covid-19 Precautions and Lockdowns Cause Better Air Quality? Empirical Findings from Turkish Provinces

The Covid-19 pandemic have dramatically affected the socio-economic structure in the world since governments put into action considerable precautions including lockdowns to reduce the speed of the contagion. Focusing on this point, we empirically investigate the environmental outcomes of the Covid-19 precautions and lockdowns in Turkey. The empirical analysis through the data obtained from different measurement stations indicate that the air pollution in the selected Turkish cities decreased due to the implemented precautions. The findings suggest that the Covid-19 might be an opportunity to rethink some economic and behavioral practices, as demonstrated by the reduction in the emission of air pollutants.

A VaR-Based Methodology for Assessing Carbon Price Risk across European Union Economic Sectors

The latest European Union measures for combating climate adopted in the “Fit for 55 package” envisage the extension of the Emissions Trading System, the first “cap-and-trade” system in the world created for achieving climate targets, which limits the amount of greenhouse gas emissions by imposing a price on carbon. In this context, our study provides an integrated assessment of carbon price risk exposure of all economic sectors in the European Union Member States, thus supporting decision making in determining the energy transition risk. We propose a novel approach in assessing carbon risk exposure using the Value at Risk methodology to compute the carbon price under the EU ETS, based on historical price simulation for January–August 2021 and ARMA-GARCH models for the October 2012–August 2021 period. We further built a value erosion metric, which allowed us to establish each sector’s exposure to risk and to identify differences between Eastern and Western EU countries. We find that the refining sector appears to be highly vulnerable, whereas there is higher potential for large losses in the energy supply and chemical sectors in Eastern EU Member States, given a different pace of industry restructuring.

Impact of COVID-19 on greenhouse gases emissions: A critical review.

The global outburst of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has posed severe challenges to human health, environment, energy and economy all over the world. The stringent measures to control the spread of COVID-19 results a significant slowdown in economic activities which in turn affected the environment by reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, specifically lower atmospheric CO2 levels. Considering that, the present study intends to highlight the substantial impact of COVID-19 pandemic on GHG emissions, by systematically reviewing the available scientific literatures. The study further outlined the variation in GHG emissions by comparing the data focused on pre-pandemic, during pandemic, and post-pandemic (predictions) scenarios. Further, the assessment on elevating CO2 levels, global economic, and energy impacts of COVID-19 has also been reviewed. Also, the possible recovery plan for the framework of sustainable environmental and energy development is presented. Finally, the review concludes with an insightful summary involving the challenges and future outlook towards sustainable development goals in a hope that the present study can help the researchers to assess the global environmental and energy related consequences.