A preliminary epistemological ″human ecology″ framework for understanding the limits of bioethics.

This article tries to set up the epistemological bases of the science of ″human ecology″. This term has started to be used as a synonymous of morality, especially in the Catholic moral social doctrine that used for the first time to justify its marriage prospectives. We look at both terms together (human plus ecology) and we propose that human ecology should be a discipline that in the first time study human behavior and population (objective) using the postulates of the science of ecology (method) and then, once a conceptual framework for social sciences disciplines such as bioethics can be settle, could be used as a way to support or not moral postulates in the name of ecology. We conclude by defining which should be the methods of knowledge acquisition, the limits and the validity of what should be considered ″Human ecology″, that is to say, the ecology of the humans.

How the ecosystem extent is changing: A national-level accounting approach and application.

Assessing the spatial and temporal changes in ecosystems is essential to account for natural capital contribution to human well-being. However, various methods to quantify these changes challenge the development of reliable values which can be integrated into national statistical accounts. Following the international system of environmental-economic accounting framework, which recently adopts an ecosystem accounting standard. We present a novel approach to develop an ecosystem extent account from existing ecosystem classifications. This study shows the spatial and statistical extent account of 26 ecosystems (i.e. forests, grasslands, croplands, and urban, among others) between 1970 and 2015 at the national scale. Extent accounts were developed at a resolution of 25 m and provided reliable information on how ecosystem types have changed over time in Spain. Our results reflect three main patterns in the extension account: (i) an increase in forest ecosystems, (ii) a considerable decrease in agroecosystems (especially annual croplands), and (iii) substantial development of urban areas. To the best of our knowledge, this method is the first attempt to develop a robust methodology to measure the extent of ecosystems at the national level. The proposed approach is crucial for a strong knowledge of ecosystem dynamics and their implications for ecosystem conditions and services at a national level. This has potential applications in urban planning, green infrastructure development, and multiple uses for territory management and policies, integrating natural capital into official statistics and mainstreaming ecosystems into national-level planning and monitoring processes.

Optical analysis of CH3NH3Sn x Pb1-x I3 absorbers: a roadmap for perovskite-on-perovskite tandem solar cells.

Organic-inorganic perovskite structures in which lead is substituted by tin are exceptional candidates for broadband light absorption. Herein we present a thorough analysis of the optical properties of CH3NH3Sn x Pb1-x I3 films, providing the field with definitive insights about the possibilities of these materials for perovskite solar cells of superior efficiency. We report a user's guide based on the first set of optical constants obtained for a series of tin/lead perovskite films, which was only possible to measure due to the preparation of optical quality thin layers. According to the Shockley-Queisser theory, CH3NH3Sn x Pb1-x I3 compounds promise a substantial enhancement of both short circuit photocurrent and power conversion efficiency in single junction solar cells. Moreover, we propose a novel tandem architecture design in which both top and bottom cells are made of perovskite absorbers. Our calculations indicate that such perovskite-on-perovskite tandem devices could reach efficiencies over 35%. Our analysis serves to establish the first roadmap for this type of cells based on actual optical characterization data. We foresee that this study will encourage the research on novel near-infrared perovskite materials for photovoltaic applications, which may have implications in the rapidly emerging field of tandem devices.

Environmental economic, political and ethical integration in a common decision-making framework.

This article develops a decision-making framework for environmental management that integrates technical, economic, political and legal, and ethical decision levels. It attempts to show how these decision levels can be ordained, integrated and interconnected and postulates a hierarchic concentric sphere system that proposes an environmental management model for long-term solutions. This model can be used as a check list for environmental management decision-making and also as a guide for environmental conflict resolution where environmental problems necessitate several levels of decision making. It integrates various environmental ethical positions and evaluates political decisions into a comprehensive, broadly applicable multidisciplinary approach. The objective of this decision-making model is to interconnect into a simplified sequence different levels of environmental management processes in order to account for sustainability, efficacy, efficiency and the acceptability of environmental management processes in the long term. This is done by observing when an environmental problem needs to be solved within a certain sphere of solutions and when it requires wider frameworks, how these can be established and how this process proves that solidarity is the widest and most reasonable sphere.