Search results for "Environmental Protection."

Microplastics in the global aquatic environment: Analysis, effects, remediation and policy solutions

2019

This opinion paper reports on Microplastics (MPs) pollution in the aquatic environment. MPs are a global problem being detected everywhere: marine environment, wastewaters, surface waters, soils, sediments, food and air. MPs can also absorb organic contaminants, and can be ingested by organisms and introduced into the food web. MPs can be a vector as well of pathogens whereas airborne fibrous MPs may enter our respiratory system with risk to the environment and humans. Main issues and gaps related to MPs on-going and future research are highlighted: chemical analysis, fate in wastewater and drinking water treatment plants, environmental and human health effects as well as remediation strate…

The Impact of the Changing Climate on the Supply and Recycling of Nitrate

2009

A high proportion of the nitrogen found in lakes and rivers is present in the form of nitrate. The concentration of nitrate in many surface waters has increased over the last forty years (OECD, 1982; Roberts and Marsh, 1987; Johnes and Burt, 1993). The main source of nitrate is diffuse drainage from agricultural land (Vinten and Smith, 1993) but point sources can be important in populated areas (Jarvey et al., 1998). In 1991, the European Union introduced the Nitrates Directive (91.676) to protect waters from pollution by nitrate leached from agricultural land.

The German Water Chemical Society: Actual Trends and Fields of Research in the Principle Committee “Basic Research”Representing the principle committ…

2001

Navigating Stormy Waters: The Triangular Relationship between the United States, Vietnam and China and the South China Sea Disputes

2016

The growing triangular relationship between the U.S., Vietnam and China represents an interesting case study as to how the smaller powers around the South China Sea try to balance China’s increasing assertiveness in the region by engaging the United States. Analyzing the respective sets of bilateral relationships (U.S.-Vietnam and China-Vietnam) hence seems to be promising in order to understand the conflict dynamics in the South China Sea against the background of an often assumed, to a lesser degree examined regional (and eventually global) power transition dynamic. Vietnam has a checkered history with both the U.S. and China, all the while these countries are its most important economic …

Towards (dis)continuity of agricultural wetlands: Latvia’s polder landscapes after Soviet productivism

2017

The concepts of agricultural regimes in advanced economies, such as productivism or non/neo/post-productivism, have been critically debated over the last decades to understand the transition and diversity of modern agriculture. We explore these concepts to understand the environmentally vulnerable landscape of agricultural wetlands in Latvia that, during the era of Soviet high modernism (productivist agricultural regime), have been converted into polders as part of a mass drainage movement. Today, these post-Soviet agro-polders can be characterised as antipodes in relation to integrity of heritage, ecology and the socio-economics of agricultural concerns. Building on case studies, wider pol…

Sequential Cross-Sectional Surveys in Orange Farm, a Township of South Africa, Revealed a Constant Low Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Uptake amo…

2016

Background WHO recommends a male circumcision (MC) prevalence rate higher than 80% to have a substantial impact on the HIV-AIDS epidemic in Eastern and Southern Africa. Orange Farm, a township in South Africa, has a free-for-service voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) clinic in operation since 2008. Following an intense campaign from 2008 to 2010, MC prevalence rate increased to 55.4% (ANRS-12126). Ongoing and past VMMC campaigns focused on youths, through school talks, and adults at a community level. The main objective of the study was to assess the change in MC prevalence rate among adults aged 18–19 and 18–49 years in the past 5 years. Methods A cross-sectional survey (ANRS-12285…

Percepción social sobre la gestión de residuos urbanos: el caso del municipio de Puçol (Valencia)

2011

El presente estudio analiza la situación de la gestión de los residuos y la problemática medioambiental del municipio de Puçol (Valencia) a partir del análisis estadístico multivariante de datos de una encuesta sociológica. Se ponen de manifiesto los siguientes aspectos: a) El porcentaje de población que recicla correctamente todo tipo de residuos es únicamente del 8,93% y el porcentaje de personas que reciclan algún tipo de residuo es del 60,97%; b) tener un alto nivel de estudios y el hecho de disponer de contenedores cercanos conlleva que, de forma significativa, se recicle más y mejor; c) el contenedor de plásticos, bricks y latas no es utilizado apropiadamente, dado que más del 70% de …

Eutrophication control by lime addition: A preliminary approach in Sicilian reservoirs

2003

Sicilian reservoirs, a vital resource for this densely populated island, are undergoing increased eutrophication processes, due to the lack of urban waste treatment plants and to intense agriculture. Massive blooms of toxic cyanobacteria represent one of the most obvious consequences, and can be dangerous for population health. The possibility of a fast, even if only short term, recovery of water quality through application of lime, was tested through analysis of ion dynamics in two reservoirs, to develop an `emergency plan', to counteract cyanobacterial blooms and to decrease the risk for human health. The results indicate that these water bodies are suitable for lime treatments, even thou…

A global network for the control of snail-borne disease using satellite surveillance and geographic information systems

2001

Abstract At a team residency sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation in Bellagio, Italy, 10-14 April 2000 an organizational plan was conceived to create a global network of collaborating health workers and earth scientists dedicated to the development of computer-based models that can be used for improved control programs for schistosomiasis and other snail-borne diseases of medical and veterinary importance. The models will be assembled using GIS methods, global climate model data, sensor data from earth observing satellites, disease prevalence data, the distribution and abundance of snail hosts, and digital maps of key environmental factors that affect development and propagation of snail…

Valorization of Marine Waste: Use of Industrial By-Products and Beach Wrack Towards the Production of High Added-Value Products

2021

Biomass is defined as organic matter from living organisms represented in all kingdoms. It is recognized to be an excellent source of proteins, polysaccharides and lipids and, as such, embodies a tailored feedstock for new products and processes to apply in green industries. The industrial processes focused on the valorization of terrestrial biomass are well established, but marine sources still represent an untapped resource. Oceans and seas occupy over 70% of the Earth’s surface and are used intensively in worldwide economies through the fishery industry, as logistical routes, for mining ores and exploitation of fossil fuels, among others. All these activities produce waste. The other sou…