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1.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int ; 30(32): 79497-79511, 2023 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-20245334

ABSTRACT

The objective of this research is to explore the potential of financial inclusion and low-carbon architectural design strategies as solutions to improve the thermal comfort and energy efficiency of new buildings in different architectural climate conditions. The manufacture sector, which accounts for about 40% of all yearly greenhouse gas releases, has been stimulating with trying to reduce the amount of energy it consumes and the detrimental effects it has on the climate, in accordance with the standards outlined in the 2016 Paris Agreement. In this study, panel data analysis is used to examine the connection between green property financing and carbon dioxide emissions from the building sector in one hundred and five developed and developing countries. Although this analysis finds a negative correlation among the development of environmentally friendly real estate financing and firms' worldwide carbon dioxide emissions, it finds that this correlation is most robust in developing nations. A number of these countries are experiencing an unregulated and rapid population explosion, which has boosted their demand for oil, making this discovery essential for them. The difficulty in securing green funding during this crisis is slowing and even reversing gains made in past years, making it all the more important to keep this momentum going during the COVID-19 outbreak. It's critical to keep the momentum going by doing something.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Greenhouse Gases , Humans , Temperature , Carbon Dioxide/analysis , Climate , Economic Development
2.
Surg Endosc ; 37(7): 5696-5702, 2023 07.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-20242947

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Health care accounts for almost 10% of the United States' greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for a loss of 470,000 disability-adjusted life years based on the health effects of climate change. Telemedicine has the potential to decrease health care's carbon footprint by reducing patient travel and clinic-related emissions. At our institution, telemedicine visits for evaluation of benign foregut disease were implemented for patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to estimate the environmental impact of telemedicine usage for these clinic encounters. METHODS: We used life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for an in-person and a telemedicine visit. For in-person visits, travel distances to clinic were retrospectively assessed from 2020 visits as a representative sample, and prospective data were gathered on materials and processes related to in-person clinic visits. Prospective data on the length of telemedicine encounters were collected and environmental impact was calculated for equipment and internet usage. Upper and lower bounds scenarios for emissions were generated for each type of visit. RESULTS: For in-person visits, 145 patient travel distances were recorded with a median [IQR] distance travel distance of 29.5 [13.7, 85.1] miles resulting in 38.22-39.61 carbon dioxide equivalents (kgCO2-eq) emitted. For telemedicine visits, the mean (SD) visit time was 40.6 (17.1) min. Telemedicine GHG emissions ranged from 2.26 to 2.99 kgCO2-eq depending on the device used. An in-person visit resulted in 25 times more GHG emissions compared to a telemedicine visit (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Telemedicine has the potential to decrease health care's carbon footprint. Policy changes to facilitate telemedicine use are needed, as well as increased awareness of potential disparities of and barriers to telemedicine use. Moving toward telemedicine preoperative evaluations in appropriate surgical populations is a purposeful step toward actively addressing our role in health care's large carbon footprint.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Greenhouse Gases , Telemedicine , Humans , United States , Animals , Retrospective Studies , Pandemics , Prospective Studies , COVID-19/epidemiology , Telemedicine/methods , Carbon Footprint , Life Cycle Stages
3.
BMJ Open ; 13(4): e070200, 2023 04 24.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2302154

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: As set out in the Climate Change Act (2008), the UK National Health Service (NHS) has made a commitment to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 and reach net zero by 2050. Research forms a core part of NHS activity and reducing the carbon footprint of clinical trials is a core element of the National Institute for Health and Care Research Carbon Reduction Strategy (2019). KEY ARGUMENTS: However, support from funding organisations on how to achieve these targets is lacking. This brief communication article reports the reduction in the carbon footprint of the NightLife study, an ongoing multicentre randomised controlled trial assessing the impact of in-centre nocturnal haemodialysis on quality of life. CONCLUSION: By using remote conferencing software and innovative data collection methods, we demonstrated a total saving of 136 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over three workstreams during the first 18 months of the study, following grant activation on 1 January 2020. In addition to the environmental impact, there were additional benefits seen to cost as well as increased participant diversity and inclusion. This work highlights ways in which trials could be made less carbon intensive, more environmentally sustainable and better value for money.


Subject(s)
Carbon Footprint , Greenhouse Gases , Humans , State Medicine , Quality of Life , Carbon Dioxide , Cost-Benefit Analysis , Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic , Multicenter Studies as Topic
5.
Int J Environ Res Public Health ; 19(19)2022 Oct 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2266142

ABSTRACT

The world faces a once-in-a-century transformation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, adversely affecting farmers' employment, production practices, and livelihood resilience. Meanwhile, climate change (CC) is a crucial issue limiting agricultural production worldwide. Farmers' lives, severely affected by extreme weather conditions, are resulting in the reduced production of major economic crops. The CC has drastically influenced the major agricultural sectors of Pakistan, leading to a significant decline in farmers' living standards and the overall economy. Climate-smart and eco-friendly agricultural practices can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and ameliorate agricultural productivity under extreme environmental conditions. This paper highlights farmers' autonomous CC adaptation strategies and their influence on cash crop (maize for this study) yield under prevailing circumstances. The current study used a simultaneous equation model to examine the different adaptation impacts on adapters and non-adapters. The survey results of 498 maize farmers in rural Pakistan revealed that growers were aware of the recent CC and had taken adequate adaptive measures to acclimatize to CC. Farmers' arable land area, awareness level, and information accessibility to CC are the most crucial factors that impart a significant role in their adaptation judgments. However, most growers have inadequate adaptation strategies, including improved irrigation and the utilization of extensive fertilizers and pesticides. Using a simultaneous equation model of endogenous switching regression, the study found that farmers not adapted to CC were negatively affecting maize productivity. Therefore, this study suggests that policymakers pay attention to the countermeasures farmers have not taken to mitigate the impact of CC. In addition, policymakers should deliver appropriate adaptation strategies to assist growers in coping with climate-related natural hazards and ensure farmers' livelihood security, rural revitalization, and sustainable agricultural development.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Greenhouse Gases , Pesticides , Agriculture/methods , COVID-19/epidemiology , Climate Change , Cognition , Farmers , Fertilizers , Humans , Pandemics
6.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int ; 30(16): 46503-46526, 2023 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2220189

ABSTRACT

Since 2020, governments around the world have implemented many types of public policies in response to the outbreak of COVID-19. These dramatic public policies have substantially changed production and consumption activities, thereby temporarily lowering electricity use and greenhouse gas emissions. This study argues that pandemic-induced public policies have unintentionally slowed the transition to renewable energy use in the EU since the decline in greenhouse gas emissions due to the lockdowns helped countries temporarily reduce their total emissions. We employ a fixed-effect model to investigate the effects of different types of COVID-19 public policy responses on electricity production, consumption, and net imports in 12 OECD countries in the EU, and we mainly focus on the share of electricity production from renewable energy sources. Among several public policy responses, stringent lockdown policies, such as workplace closures, stay-at-home requirements, and restrictions on gathering size, have negative and statistically significant impacts on electricity generation and consumption. Furthermore, countries with stringent lockdown policies are more likely to import electricity from other countries to mitigate the electricity shortages in their domestic markets. Importantly, we find that lockdown events have negative and statistically significant effects on the share of renewables in electricity production while increasing the share of fossil fuels in electricity production. In contrast, economic support policies such as income support, debt relief, and economic stimulus programs help reduce the share of fossil fuels in electricity production and decrease the net import of electricity from other countries. Our results indicate that the public policies implemented in response to the outbreak of COVID-19 have mixed effects on the transition to renewable energy sources in the EU, suggesting that the current decline in greenhouse gas emissions comes from the reduction in electricity use due to lockdown events instead of the adoption of renewable energy use and discouraging the transition to renewable energy sources.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Greenhouse Gases , Humans , Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development , Communicable Disease Control , Renewable Energy , Fossil Fuels , Public Policy , Electricity , Carbon Dioxide/analysis , Economic Development
7.
J Med Internet Res ; 24(11): e42839, 2022 11 24.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2109581

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Following the Riyadh Declaration, digital health technologies were prioritized in many countries to address the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital health apps for telemedicine and video consultations help reduce potential disease spread in routine health care, including follow-up care in orthopedic and trauma surgery. In addition to the satisfaction, efficiency, and safety of telemedicine, its economic and environmental effects are highly relevant to decision makers, particularly for the goal of reaching carbon neutrality of health care systems. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to provide the first comprehensive health economic and environmental analysis of video consultations in follow-up care after knee and shoulder interventions in an orthopedic and trauma surgery department of a German university hospital. The analysis is conducted from a societal perspective. We analyze both economic and environmental impacts of video consultations, taking into account the goal of carbon neutrality for the German health care system by 2030. METHODS: We conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial comparing follow-up care with digital health app video consultations (intervention group) to conventional face-to-face consultations in the clinic (control group). Economic impact included the analysis of travel and time costs and production losses. Examination of the environmental impact comprised the emissions of greenhouse gases, carbon monoxide, volatile hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and particulates, and the calculation of environmental costs. Sensitivity analysis included calculations with a higher cost per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent, which gives equal weight to the welfare of present and future generations. RESULTS: Data from 52 patients indicated that, from the patients' point of view, telemedicine helped reduce travel costs, time costs, and production losses, resulting in mean cost savings of €76.52 per video consultation. In addition, emissions of 11.248 kg of greenhouse gases, 0.070 kg of carbon monoxide, 0.011 kg of volatile hydrocarbons, 0.028 kg of nitrogen oxides, and 0.0004 kg of particulates could be saved per patient through avoided travel. This resulted in savings of environmental costs between €3.73 and €9.53 per patient. CONCLUSIONS: We presented the first comprehensive analysis of economic and environmental effects of telemedicine in the follow-up care of patients in orthopedic and trauma surgery in Germany. Video consultations were found to reduce the environmental footprint of follow-up care; saved travel costs, travel time, and time costs for patients; and helped to lower production losses. Our findings can support the decision-making on the use of digital health during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, providing decision makers with data for both economic and environmental effects. Thanks to the pragmatic design of our study, our findings can be applied to a wide range of clinical contexts and potential digital health applications that substitute outpatient hospital visits with video consultations. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00023445; https://tinyurl.com/4pcvhz4n.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Greenhouse Gases , Mobile Applications , Telemedicine , Humans , Aftercare , COVID-19/prevention & control , Carbon Monoxide , Pandemics/prevention & control , Prospective Studies , Referral and Consultation , Telemedicine/methods , Germany , Environment
8.
Biomed Res Int ; 2022: 6166276, 2022.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2053422

ABSTRACT

The period 2020/2021 was an unprecedented and historic time for industrial, economic, and societal activities all over the world with great challenges to human health, the ecosystems, and other aspects of human endeavors owing to the COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 (CV-19) pandemic which is now a topical aspect of research interest. Despite the negative impacts of the CV-19 pandemic, there are also positive reports during the CV-19 pandemic such as the reduction of gas flare, reduction in the burning of fossil fuels from automobile exhaust and a reduction in the other ensuing factors of greenhouse gases emissions (which is one of the major drives for global warming and climate change as well as other environmental effluences). Hence, this brief perspective review study is centered on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. The study employs a methodical approach to analyze some already available research studies from existing publications and databases on GHG emission using the perception during the CV-19 pandemic. The specific findings from this review show that, from the meteorological perspective, the global response to the catastrophe ensuing from the CV-19 pandemic has a great influence on the reduction of GHGs, the reduction in the burning of fossil fuels from automobiles and industrial devices, and the reduction in the other ensuing factors of GHG emission. Hence, it will not be far from the truth to conclude that there is a possible positive connection between the CV-19 pandemic and GHG emissions. The study has a direct impact on the environment owing to the negative and positive environmental consequences of the CV-19 pandemic. Suggestions and recommendations in the form of future prospects of GHG emission vis-à-vis global warming and climate change are also discussed. Furthermore, suggestions on how to improve food security and agriculture during a pandemic such as the CV-19 outbreak period are highlighted.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Greenhouse Gases , COVID-19/epidemiology , Ecosystem , Fossil Fuels , Greenhouse Effect , Humans , Pandemics , Perception , SARS-CoV-2 , Vehicle Emissions
9.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ; 119(41): e2206885119, 2022 10 11.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2050727

ABSTRACT

Global shipping accounts for 13% of global emissions of SO2, which, once oxidized to sulfate aerosol, acts to cool the planet both directly by scattering sunlight and indirectly by increasing the albedo of clouds. This cooling due to sulfate aerosol offsets some of the warming effect of greenhouse gasses and is the largest uncertainty in determining the change in the Earth's radiative balance by human activity. Ship tracks-the visible manifestation of the indirect of effect of ship emissions on clouds as quasi-linear features-have long provided an opportunity to quantify these effects. However, they have been arduous to catalog and typically studied only in particular regions for short periods of time. Using a machine-learning algorithm to automate their detection we catalog more than 1 million ship tracks to provide a global climatology. We use this to investigate the effect of stringent fuel regulations introduced by the International Maritime Organization in 2020 on their global prevalence since then, while accounting for the disruption in global commerce caused by COVID-19. We find a marked, but clearly nonlinear, decline in ship tracks globally: An 80% reduction in SO[Formula: see text] emissions causes only a 25% reduction in the number of tracks detected.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Greenhouse Gases , COVID-19/epidemiology , Humans , Respiratory Aerosols and Droplets , Ships , Sulfates/analysis
10.
Acad Psychiatry ; 46(5): 569-573, 2022 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2000164

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Academic and organizational leaders in psychiatry and all other medical fields are negatively impacted by climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a rapid shift to the use of more telehealth by behavioral health clinicians. The purpose of this study was to estimate the reduction of patients' greenhouse gas emissions during this rapid shift at one academic psychiatry institution. METHODS: The authors extracted data associated with all outpatient visits to all 26 psychiatry clinics from March 16, 2020, to December 31, 2020. Once the patients' travel miles saved by confirmed virtual visits were calculated, the authors used the standard ratio from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to calculate the total quantity of CO2 that would be emitted if the visits had occurred in person. RESULTS: During the study period, a total of 47,582 outpatient behavioral health visits with 3975 unique patients were completed. The majority of these departmental visits were telehealth (85%), with most of the telehealth visits conducted using real-time audio-video platforms (75.7%). Subtracting emissions from patient technology during telehealth visits from the estimated patient transport values produced a net savings of greenhouse gas emissions of 867,011 kg CO2. This amount is equal to the greenhouse gas emissions from 189 passenger vehicles driven for 1 year according to the EPA. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that converting in person, face-to-face behavioral health visits to telehealth has the potential to increase both energy efficiency and conservation through a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions due to reduced patient travel. If these values were extrapolated to the total adult US population who have visits for behavioral health reasons, we estimate that conversion to virtual visits could save approximately 830,000 metric tons of CO2 annually. Organizational leaders should consider these societal benefits when making decisions regarding development and support of telehealth.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Greenhouse Gases , Psychiatry , Telemedicine , Adult , Carbon Dioxide , Humans , Pandemics/prevention & control
11.
Environ Sci Technol ; 56(16): 11798-11806, 2022 08 16.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1984348

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the growth of e-commerce and automated warehouses, vehicles, and robots and has created new options for grocery supply chains. We report and compare the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for a 36-item grocery basket transported along 72 unique paths from a centralized warehouse to the customer, including impacts of micro-fulfillment centers, refrigeration, vehicle automation, and last-mile transportation. Our base case is in-store shopping with last-mile transportation using an internal combustion engine (ICE) SUV (6.0 kg CO2e). The results indicate that emissions reductions could be achieved by e-commerce with micro-fulfillment centers (16-54%), customer vehicle electrification (18-42%), or grocery delivery (22-65%) compared to the base case. In-store shopping with an ICE pick-up truck has the highest emissions of all paths investigated (6.9 kg CO2e) while delivery using a sidewalk automated robot has the least (1.0 kg CO2e). Shopping frequency is an important factor for households to consider, e.g. halving shopping frequency can reduce GHG emissions by 44%. Trip chaining also offers an opportunity to reduce emissions with approximately 50% savings compared to the base case. Opportunities for grocers and households to reduce grocery supply chain carbon footprints are identified and discussed.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Greenhouse Gases , Carbon Footprint , Greenhouse Effect , Humans , Pandemics , Transportation
12.
J Environ Manage ; 318: 115609, 2022 Sep 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1914592

ABSTRACT

The regional management on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is essential to the success of global carbon reduction. However, previous studies mostly focused on the city or country levels, while the management of GHG emissions on the township level has not been fully studied. This study proposed a framework of carbon management on the township level and developed a calculation tool for accounting GHG emissions. The case study of Lingshan Island, located in eastern China, was conducted through a site visit and interviews. A questionnaire survey was performed to collect data for carbon accounting. It is found that the island had a negative carbon emission of -1336 t CO2e in 2020, which is mostly contributed from energy and electricity consumption. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of tourists decreased in 2020 and the carbon emission was 224 t CO2e lower than in 2019. The proposed framework consists of five steps and requires the collaboration of the government, the locals, researchers and other stakeholders. The framework was validated through a focus group meeting and the suggestions on carbon management at township level were provided. This study paves a way of carbon accounting and management for the less urbanized regions.


Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Greenhouse Gases , COVID-19/epidemiology , Carbon/analysis , China , Greenhouse Effect , Humans , Pandemics
13.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int ; 29(54): 81703-81712, 2022 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1899267

ABSTRACT

Civil aviation is an important source of air pollutants, but this field has received insufficient attention in China. Based on the standard emissions model of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and actual flight information from 241 airports, this study estimated a comprehensive emissions inventory for 2010-2020 by considering the impacts of mixing layer height. The results showed that annual pollutant emissions rapidly trended upward along with population and economic growth; however, the emissions decreased owing to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOX), particulate matter (PM), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and water vapor (H2O) were 34.34, 65.73, 0.10, 0.34, 0.40, 14,706.26, and 5733.11 Gg, respectively. The emissions of total volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from China's civil airports in 2020 were estimated at 17.20 Gg; the major components were formic acid (1.70 Gg), acetic acid (1.62 Gg), 1-butylene (1.03 Gg), acetone (0.96 Gg), and acetaldehyde (0.93 Gg). The distribution of pollutant emissions was consistent with the level of economic development, mainly in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai. In addition, we estimated future pollution trends for the aviation industry under four scenarios. Under the comprehensive scenario, which considered the impacts of economic growth, passenger turnover, cargo turnover, COVID-19, and technological efficiency, the levels of typical pollutants were expected to increase by nearly 1.51-fold from 2010 to 2035.


Subject(s)
Air Pollutants , Air Pollution , COVID-19 , Greenhouse Gases , Volatile Organic Compounds , Humans , Air Pollutants/analysis , Airports , Air Pollution/analysis , Carbon Dioxide/analysis , Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis , Carbon Monoxide/analysis , Nitrous Oxide , Acetone , Steam , Pandemics , Environmental Monitoring/methods , China , Particulate Matter/analysis , Methane/analysis , Acetaldehyde
14.
Int J Environ Res Public Health ; 19(10)2022 05 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1875627

ABSTRACT

Healthcare in England generates 24.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e), equating to approximately 4% of the total national output of greenhouse gases (GHG), and of this, 10% is from the manufacturing of medical equipment. Operating theatres are a major contributor of biomedical waste, especially consumables, and are three-to-six times more energy intensive than the rest of the hospital. This study seeks to quantify and evaluate the carbon cost, or footprint, of neurosurgery at a single institution in England. A single neurosurgical operation generates, on average, 8.91 kg of waste per case, equivalent to 24.5 CO2e kg per case, mostly from single-use equipment. Per annum, 1300 neurosurgical operative cases are performed with total waste generation of 11,584.4 kg/year and a carbon footprint of 31,859 (kg) CO2e. The challenge of achieving net zero GHG presents an opportunity to catalyse innovation and sustainability in neurosurgery, from how care is delivered, through to equipment use and surgical methodologies. This should improve the quality of healthcare provision to patients and yield potential cost savings.


Subject(s)
Greenhouse Gases , Neurosurgery , Carbon Dioxide/analysis , Carbon Footprint , England , Humans
15.
Int J Environ Res Public Health ; 19(6)2022 03 08.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1760573

ABSTRACT

Climate change and environmental issues caused by carbon emissions have attracted the attention of governments around the world. Drawing on the experience of the EU, China is actively developing a national carbon emissions trading market, trying to encourage emission entities to incorporate carbon emissions reduction into production and consumption decisions through carbon pricing. Is this scheme an effective market-incentivized environmental regulatory policy? Since China successively launched ETS pilots in 2013, the effectiveness of reducing carbon emissions has become one of the current focus issues. This study uses the difference-in-differences (DID) method to evaluate the impact of ETS implementation on emissions reduction and employs the Super-SBM model in data envelopment analysis (DEA) to evaluate the emission-reduction efficiency of eight ETS pilots in China. We find that the carbon trading policy has achieved emission-reduction effects in the implementation stage, and the greenness of economic growth has a significant positive impact on regional GDP. The establishment of China's unified carbon market should be coordinated with regional development. Some supporting measures for regional ecological compensation and the mitigation of regional development are yet to be adopted.


Subject(s)
Greenhouse Gases , Pilots , Carbon/analysis , China , Environmental Policy , Humans
16.
Public Health Nutr ; 25(3): 578-590, 2022 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1740385

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Diets high in red and processed meat (RPM) contribute substantially to environmental degradation, greenhouse gas emissions and the global burden of chronic disease. High-profile reports have called for significant global RPM reduction, especially in high-income settings. Despite this, policy attention and political priority for the issue are low. DESIGN: The study used a theoretically guided framing analysis to identify frames used by various interest groups in relation to reducing RPM in online news media articles published in the months around the release of four high-profile reports by authoritative organisations that included a focus on the impacts of high RPM production and/or consumption. SETTING: Four major RPM producing and consuming countries - USA, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. PARTICIPANTS: None. RESULTS: Hundred and fifty news media articles were included. Articles reported the views of academics, policymakers, industry representatives and the article authors themselves. RPM reduction was remarkably polarising. Industry frequently framed RPM reduction as part of a 'Vegan Agenda' or as advocated by an elite minority. Reducing RPM was also depicted as an infringement on personal choice and traditional values. Many interest groups attempted to discredit the reports by citing a lack of consensus on the evidence, or that only certain forms of farming and processing were harmful. Academics and nutrition experts were more likely to be cited in articles that were aligned with the findings of the reports. CONCLUSIONS: The polarisation of RPM reduction has led to a binary conflict between pro- and anti-meat reduction actors. This division may diminish the extent to which political leaders will prioritise this in policy agendas. Using nuanced and context-dependent messaging could ensure the narratives around meat are less conflicting and more effective in addressing health and environmental harms associated with RPM.


Subject(s)
Greenhouse Gases , Red Meat , Animals , Cattle , Diet , Humans , Mass Media , Meat
17.
Nat Commun ; 13(1): 959, 2022 02 18.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1699459

ABSTRACT

Record rainfall and severe flooding struck eastern China in the summer of 2020. The extreme summer rainfall occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, which started in China in early 2020 and spread rapidly across the globe. By disrupting human activities, substantial reductions in anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols might have affected regional precipitation in many ways. Here, we investigate such connections and show that the abrupt emissions reductions during the pandemic strengthened the summer atmospheric convection over eastern China, resulting in a positive sea level pressure anomaly over northwestern Pacific Ocean. The latter enhanced moisture convergence to eastern China and further intensified rainfall in that region. Modeling experiments show that the reduction in aerosols had a stronger impact on precipitation than the decrease of greenhouse gases did. We conclude that through abrupt emissions reductions, the COVID-19 pandemic contributed importantly to the 2020 extreme summer rainfall in eastern China.


Subject(s)
Aerosols/analysis , COVID-19/epidemiology , Greenhouse Gases/analysis , Rain , Vehicle Emissions/analysis , China/epidemiology , Floods , Human Activities/statistics & numerical data , Humans , Pandemics/statistics & numerical data , SARS-CoV-2 , Seasons
19.
Sci Total Environ ; 811: 152357, 2022 Mar 10.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1569040

ABSTRACT

Majority of industries, in order to meet the technological development and consumer demands generate waste. The untreated waste spreads out toxic and harmful substances in the environment which serves as a breeding ground for pathogenic microorganisms thus causing severe health hazards. The three industrial sectors namely food, agriculture, and oil industry are among the primary organic waste producers that affect urban health and economic growth. Conventional treatment generates a significant amount of greenhouse gases which further contributes to global warming. Thus, the use of microbes for utilization of this waste, liberating CO2 offers an indispensable tool. The simultaneous production of value-added products such as bioplastics, biofuels, and biosurfactants increases the economics of the process and contributes to environmental sustainability. This review comprehensively summarized the composition of organic waste generated from the food, agriculture, and oil industry. The linkages between global health hazards of industrial waste and environmental implications have been uncovered. Stare-of-the-art information on their subsequent utilization as a substrate to produce value-added products through bio-routes has been elaborated. The research gaps, economical perspective(s), and future research directions have been identified and discussed to strengthen environmental sustainability.


Subject(s)
Greenhouse Gases , Industrial Waste , Agriculture , Biofuels , Global Health , Industrial Waste/analysis
20.
Prog Urol ; 31(16): 1133-1138, 2021 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1540915

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are a serious environmental issue. The healthcare sector is an important emitter of GHGs. Our aim was to assess the environmental cost of teleconsultations in urology compared to face-to-face consultations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospective study of all patients who had a remote teleconsultation over a 2-week period during COVID-19 pandemic. Main outcome was the reduction in CO2e emissions related to teleconsultation compared to face-to-face consultation and was calculated as: total teleconsultation CO2e emissions-total face-to-face consultation CO2e emissions. Secondary outcome measures were the reduction in travel distance and travel time related to teleconsultation. RESULTS: Eighty patients were included. Face-to-face consultations would have resulted in 6699km (4162 miles) of travel (83.7km (52 miles) per patient). Cars were the usual means of transport. CO2e avoided due to lack of travel was calculated at 1.1 tonnes. Teleconsultation was responsible for 1.1kg CO2e while face-to-face consultation emitted 0.5kg of CO2e. Overall, the total reduction in GHGs with teleconsultation was 1141kg CO2e, representing a 99% decrease in emissions. Total savings on transport were 974 € and savings on travel time were 112h (1.4h/patient). CONCLUSIONS: Teleconsultation reduces the environmental impact of face-to-face consultations. The use of teleconsultation in our urology departments resulted in the avoidance of more than 6000km of travel, equivalent to a reduction of 1.1 tonnes of CO2e. Teleconsultation should be considered for specific indications as the healthcare system attempts to become greener. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3.


Subject(s)
COVID-19/epidemiology , Environment , Remote Consultation , Urology/organization & administration , Aged , Air Pollutants/analysis , Automobiles , Carbon Footprint/statistics & numerical data , Costs and Cost Analysis , Delivery of Health Care/economics , Delivery of Health Care/methods , Delivery of Health Care/organization & administration , Female , France/epidemiology , Greenhouse Gases/analysis , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pandemics , Population Density , Remote Consultation/economics , Remote Consultation/statistics & numerical data , Residence Characteristics , SARS-CoV-2/physiology , Urology/economics , Urology/methods
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