Our well-being on planet Earth depends on three main essential drivers, i.e. Water, Energy and Natural Resources (fossil minerals and renewables including biosphere and its eco-systems) ‘WENR’. To achieve sustainability and resilience in our societies and to promote prosperity requires using and sharing our common 'WENR' capital with consideration to the complex and multi-layered NEXUS, i.e. the interactions and processes within and between these three drivers 'WENR’. Currently, Earth is facing existential threats caused by us collectively. Scaling-Up and Scaling-Out 'Science, Technology and Innovation' of the WENR-systems and coupling them to the 'Socio-Economic-Environment' pillars of our societies as defined by the UN-SDGs are one of the very few means to mitigate existing and future threats and bring full vitality in the functioning and metabolism of all life forms and processes on Earth. Sustain-earth.com is an open access online platform that allows active contributions and feeback.
Category: Education & Research
Higher education, research and technical development are quite essential not only for developed countries but also for the developing countries. These are basic instruments for raising the standard of life as expressed in terms of Gross Domestic Product GDP (PPP) per capita, the level unemployment and environmental quality. However, GDP (PPP) per capita doesn’t serve as a perfect indicator of the quality of life. Generation of knowledge, development of affordable and reliable products and services are driven by society and market needs, also the existing and emerging pressures on finding prompt solutions for the ever increasing environmental and climatic threats. These sectors – higher education – research – technical developments – are very resource demanding especially for the developing countries and hereby require high level of management in terms of policy-making, coordination, qualified human resources and solid infrastructures. The role of international organizations and donation institutes is vital for capacity building, financial and technical support including transfer-of-knowledge, training, instrumentation, education and research infrastructures.
There many examples of businesses in the public sector that went over to private owners, and visa-versa, with major political transformations/reforms. Such major shifts from private-to-public or public-to-private were not always performed on sustainable long-term policies with solid assessment analysis of the socio-economic consequences. Sustainable economic management requires taking in considerations how the lifecycle of companies may look like in a turbulent and dynamic world.
Go organic and green, even better go straight to the queen of greens “KALE”. Anti-inflammatiry, anti-oxidants, more iron than beef, more calcium than milk, low calories, no fats, very rich in vitamin A, C and K. To be organic means that you remove the threats of residual pesticides.
For those who are working in laboratories and/or in a way or another being exposed to indoor pollutants, there are guidelines for the exposure to such pollutants. In this document such guidelines for indoor air-quality are given for some selected indoor sources of pollutants (benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, naphthalene, nitrogen dioxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (especially benzo[a]pyrene), radon, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene). These pollutants are known in respect of their hazardousness to health and are often found indoors in concentrations of health concern. For these pollutants information is given for their indoor sources, pathways of exposure, indoor concentrations, indoor–outdoor relationship, kinetics and metabolism, health effects, and health risk evaluations as well as other relavant explanations.
Air pollution has become the world’s single biggest environmental health risk. According to WHO it is linked to around 7 million death or nearly one in eight death in 2012. The new figures are more double previous estimates and suggest that outdoor pollution from traffic fumes and coal-burning, and indoor pollution from wood and coal stoves, kill more people than smoking, road death and diabetes combines.
The document is WHO’s Air Quality Guidelines Global Update 2005. These Guidelines offer guidance to policy-makers on reducing the effects on health of air pollution for the four most common air pollutants – particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Also, issues affecting the use of the guidelines in risk assessment and policy development.
This document contains Part (1) Application of air quality guidelines for policy development and risk reduction; Part (2) Risk assessment of selected pollutants (Particulate matter, Ozone, Nitrogen dioxide, Sulfur dioxide).
Modern brain research has facilitated to understand the interaction between mind and brain, to turn brain anxiety into calmness, to reduce stress and anxiety, relieve pain, change lifestyle habits, and to live with more wellness. Brains can be wired in different ways, but they are also changeable “neuroplasticity” and thereby we can bring about a state of “worrying well”, i.e. to turn anxiety and stress into calmness and confidence. These all related to that our worries are in fact no more than thoughts, anxieties are feelings, and threats are responses. In this context, we have to take inconsideration that men and women are emotionally different.
Air pollution is a worldwide problem especially in many big cities and industrial areas around the world. Emission of fine particulate matter (e.g. aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm; PM2.5) , chemicals (e.g. biogenic VOC) and pollutants (e.g. heavy metals), and associated photo-chemical reactions (e.g. production of tropospheric ozone) in the atmosphere as well as in-cloud interactions (e.g. acid rain) experienced dramatic changes since the industrial revolutions. Concentrations of hazardous pollutants in global atmospheric air masses, dry and wet precipitates have been subject to gradual increasing reaching harmful levels for air-quality what regards human health (e.g. lung cancer, mortality) and the environment (e.g. negative impacts for forests and vegetation and quality of life in aquatic eco-systems) in many places around the world.
Climate change influences air quality through several mechanisms, including changes in photochemical reaction rates, biogenic emissions, deposition/re-suspension, and atmospheric circulation. Several techniques/approaches were used in such studies including atmospheric chemistry, climate model inter-comparison, high-resolution satellite observations together with a global atmospheric models and extensive compilation of surface measurements to better represent global air pollution exposure.
Climate Change impacts are moving fast towards a global dangerously heat up of the planet over the next 5 decades. Major cities around the world could become uninhabitable because of irreversible man-made climate change within the coming few decades. The changing temperatures could render some nations uninhabitable with uncontrollable migration across borders. Camilo Mora and his team predict that in about a decade, Kingston, Jamaica, will probably be off-the-charts hot — permanently, Singapore in 2028, Mexico City in 2031, Cairo in 2036, Phoenix and Honolulu in 2043 as global warming takes hold.
The study from the University of Hawaii published online Wednesday in the journal Nature predicts that even if we utilized all resources to stop and halt our current carbon emissions, the changes are irrevocable and can only be postponed. Climate Departure maps show the cities that will suffer from irrevocable climate change. Ecosystems across the world would, also, regularly experience never-seen heat environments, such results are based on about 150 years of record-keeping.
Celebrations and social gathering are very much related to culture. How people live together and enjoy life is a matter of imagination, social context and environment. This can be very much different around the world and culture has also an evolution as it makes people grow with time. Apart from the ancient Egyptian Civilization, Africa had other cultural history and evolution with roots back to the stone ages. However, how much do we know about the cultural history of Africa Apart from colonization and slavery of the white man? Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher did an amazing and innovative journey in Africa to document, collect and compile facts about contemporary social anthropology and culture ceremonies that we know very little about. This is a part of human cultural evolution that can be traced back to stone ages. It is certainly, worth knowing about it as it is part of our cultural heritage.
The world is experiencing tectonic changes in terms of population, economy, production, services and technology. The world in the year 2050 will not any longer be as it used to be in the past decades.
The world population will grow from 6 billions in the year 2000 (one billion in the developed world and five billions in the developing world) to 9 billions in the 2050. One hundred million out of the three billions of the global increase in population will go to the developed world, while the developing countries will increase by 2.9 billions. This is a dramatic shift in world population in the coming five decades only, i.e. an increase from 6 to 9 billions.
The other consequential change is, by the year 2000, the developed world (one billion people) had 80% of the global economy while the developing world (five billion) had the remaining 20%. But, by the year 2050, the developed world will have only 35% of the world economy, while the developing countries will have 65% of the global economy. So, the 80% vs 20% of global economy of the year 2000 will be change to 35% vs 65% by the year 2050. This is just turning the world on its head in terms of the world that used to be in the past decades. This dramatic change in the structure of world economy is being driven by the development in global population and the fast transfer of modern technology to the developing countries.
You can imagine how such monumental economic shifts mean to the young generation world over. This is a change of enormous importance where India and China by the year 2050 will constitute 50% of the global GPD, this is a monumental switch in terms of economical power.
In the year 2000, one billion middle class people were in the rich countries and half billion people were in the developing countries. By the year 2030, 2 billion middle class people will be in Asia (one billion in China by 2050). Africa will grow from 850 millions people in 2000 to two billions people 2050. By the year 2050, the average income in Africa will be 2000-3000 dollar per capita, for China and India will be between 30 000 and 40 000 dollar per capita, and for the countries in the rich world (US and Europe) will be between 90 000 and 100 000 dollar per capita.
Africa is a continent that is not any longer isolated, it is not a place where people are not well informed as information is passing and moving very quickly. Much trade and business in China and India is geared towards Africa.
These tectonic changes have monumental impacts on the young generation and they have to think very carefully how to face the global transfer in economy, production, services and technology. Education figures for the year 2007, tell us that 110 000 Chinese and over 100 000 Indians were studying in the US, while only 11200 Americans were studying in China and 2800 Americans in India. But, these figures will experience dramatic changes in the future because the mentioned major shifts in economy, production, services and technology.
The western countries were able to stay ahead because of (1) manufacture and that was taken away and moved to Asia; (2) service industries that first moved into the western countries but is moving out again to Asia by their gradual dominance in the service sectors; (3) technology where the west were able to stay ahead, but now the technological advance is being shifted as well to Asia. The challenge is now what is left for the west to do??
Necessity is the mother of invention. Where energy lacks there is much concern about finding it and using it with the most sustainable manner possible. This is why Iceland is among very few countries in the world where Renewable Energy Resources are managed with the best possible sustainable solutions. It is, also, possible that the availability and affordability of renewable energy in Iceland attracted Scandinavians to settle in Iceland sometime around the second half of the 9th century as in ancient cultures people sought living there were good possibilities to secure “WE-resources”. i.e. water and energy resources. The necessity and needs for survival are essential drivers for inventions and advances in science and technology. It is interesting to mention that 100% of the electricity production in Iceland is produced from renewable energy resources, i.e. hydropower and geothermal heat. Furthermore, 85% of total primary energy supply in Iceland is derived from domestically produced renewable energy sources.
So, we have something to learn from this country that in addition of being in the icy part of the world has a very long dark winter season. However, Iceland is not as cold as Minnesota (USA), for example, and not as dark as Tromso (Norway). That doesn’t mean that Island is some tropical paradise though.
The dream of any nation is to provide its population with safety and security especially in most critical situations with severe disasters, tragedies and collective nightmare arising from fear, insecurity and uncertain future. The nuclear disaster and the national tragedy from Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan demonstrated how collective efforts, the neat national planning along with continuous and intensive hard-work brought about safety and security for almost all the population in Japan.
An amazing awareness and responsibility on all levels for the DE-COMTAMINATION of every single inch or centimeter of land, houses, school, hospitals, roads, trees and practically all environmental compartments. A national DE-COMTAMINATION strategy if followed by other nations much of pollutions and waste problems can be solved. Successful sustainable management is about providing future generations with secure and safe living conditions, it is a collective discipline, awareness and responsibility from all for all and by all including preparing and fostering future generation for how to handle national disasters and severe tragedies.
Geothermal energy is among potential “semi-global” natural energy resources, as it is only accessible and affordable in economic terms in hot and limited areas around the globe. It is also considered to be relatively user friendly, more energy-intensive in comparison to solar energy, has less threats in case of technical failure as compared to nuclear power, simple and more safe production-technology in terms of drift and above all more durable and lasing natural source. It is indeed a form of “fossil resource” as being a remainder from the Big Bang. However, unlike energy produced in stars such as in the sun (solar energy) through fusion-reactions, energy in planets such as the earth is being produced through decay processes of the primordial radio-activity. Actually, without the embedded sources of heat in the earth’s body, i.e. the energy emitted through the decay of natural radio-activity, e.g. the radio-active members of the U and Th series, and many other radio-active isotopes of other elements that can have half-lives much longer than the age of the universe itself, e.g. Te-128 of half-life of 2.2 exa millions (billion billion millions) of years.
The most interesting issue in energy production and use is that water in always involved in these processes with two main impacts what concerns WE-resources, i.e. Water and Energy. For energy we are consuming more energy resources and thereby less we are gradually facing less access to energy resources and as a consequence increasing prices of energy production. As energy production, use and consumption create more waste and pollution as well as bring water to more open systems and interactions there is continuous and gradual degradation in water quality and thereby increasing threats to all life forms on the earth.
So, production and use of geothermal energy can be, also, associated with negative impacts on water resources, environment and bio-diversity.
An important aspect for appropriate implementation of Sustainable Technologies is Sustainable Management. The fundamental question is How Sustainable is Sustainable? And what are the most appropriate solutions for Achieving the Best Socio-economic Sustainability? Among strategic long-term and large-scale policies for the MENA region, where arid and semi-arid conditions prevail, is Water Management because of its impacts on all involved sectors (energy, industry, agriculture and environment) in this region, life quality and bio-diversity. Unfortunately, existing literature still lack appropriate long-term and large-scale sustainability solutions as being based on “Business as Usual” without consideration to other possible and yet feasible alternatives.
Seawater desalination constitutes an important source for water supply for all sector activities and the population in the bordering the Arabian Gulf, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Red Sea. Desalination has advantages and disadvantages that may depend on the region, location, technology, impact and amount of fresh water production. Apart from the energy requirements for desalination, there are also other negative impacts in terms of waste management, fish production and quality of marine life in general. However, these impacts can be mitigated or even eliminated, by solutions other than those currently available.
RUFORUM is arranging a Conference during July 21- July 25, 2014 at Maputo, Mozambique
(The Joaquim Chissano International Conference Centre):
4th RUFORUM 2014 Biennial Conference – African Higher Education Week Celebrating the Contribution of Universities & Partners to Africa’s Agricultural Development. For more information visit the following site:
Special thanks to Dr. Charles Masembe of Kampala University, Uganda for information on this Conference. Dr. Charles Masembe is a regular research visitor to Scandinvian universities.
Increasing pressures on natural resources, in particular availability, accessibility and affordability of Water and Energy “WE”-resources, require Sustainable Management Policies that consider shaping and integrating Sustainable Technologies to meet the growing needs for large-scale and long-term transformation to New Sustainable Life-styles. Unlike, in ancient civilization where population settlements were created at/around fresh surface-water bodies, e.g. rivers, lakes and deltas, future settlements are likely to grow faster at coastal regions “Hydroponic Coastal Colonies” and non-traditional living areas with limited fresh-water resources. Agricultural production may not require land to the same extent as in traditional farm communities; modern technology will allow more Sustainable Cities to grow on coastal areas as well. However, climate change threats for increasing sea-water levels have to be taken in consideration, what we have learned from the past safety and protection measures are always part of any successful socio-economic developments. The future is bright by innovation and not by imitation.
The earth’s surface went through enormous large-scale and long-term shaping and re-shaping evolution history that resulted in todays earth’s “face”. In the last million years these shaping and re-shaping processes of the earth’s surface were continuously fueled by dominant erosion processes of natural origin that carved land-areas, holes and trajectories for coastal, surface and groundwater systems, e.g. rivers, lakes, coastal deltas and shores, fjords, water-falls, forests, natural parks, caves and other major geological formations. However, modern man-made interferences are becoming increasingly important, primarily because of increasing activities and processes on the earth’s surface in particular urbanization, mining and global warming. Recent climate changes, for example, are imposing extreme daily and seasonal variations in atmospheric temperature, gradual warming of oceans, seas and surface water systems with feedback impacts on atmospheric, oceanographic and hydrospheric erosion processes. These processes are brought about by the action of more dynamic air and water masses on different scales ranging from micro, local, regional and global scales, e.g. dynamic changes in speed and velocity of wind and water waves, also heating, freezing and de-freezing cycles “expansion and contraction” and geothermal processes.
Erosion is the main source of nutrients supporting the formation of vegetation cover, animal and evolution of bio-diversity and the very origin of natural agricultural production through photo-synthesis and associated biogeochemical, geophysical and geochemical machinery of the functioning and metabolism of global eco-systems. However, modern pollution and waste because of industry, agriculture and household have severe negative impacts of all life forms on the earth’s surface.
Whether we agree or not on the causes of global warming, facts still remain about the increasing impacts of climate change not only on weather but, also, life quality on earth. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has enormous evidence on increasing average global temperatures; rising sea levels; changing global precipitation patterns, including increasing amounts and variability; and increasing mid-continental summer drought. The combined effects of weather changes may have significant impacts on wildlife, domestic animal, and human health and diseases. Expanding human populations is already causing intensive pressures on the limited water resources with feedback impacts on habitat destruction, and more risks for infectious diseases to cross from one species to another.
Global warming is not only a matter of increasing temperature, ice melting, increasing sea water level and enhanced abnormalities in weather conditions. Changes in temperature, though might seem, as little as few degrees, will bring about major changes in the functioning and metabolism is global aquatic, ecological and land-water systems. Fish population in world oceans and seas will suffer major dynamic changes, in term of population, species and catch composition. Fish species will be forced to large-scale migration to adapt themselves for new living in suitable waters and some fish species are expected to disappear. Such major changes in fish species will also have other impacts on global ecology of other animal species.
It is an amazing journey to understand the evolution and existence of our cosmos, a universe formed from billions of galaxies and each one containing hundreds of billions of stars. It is a stunning fact, the enormous size of our universe and the multitude of stars and star-systems that can be found in our universe. The solar system with its only life on earth is just like a drop of water in world oceans.
Physics has contributed enormously to uncover and explain the fundamental forces governing our universe and all the matter composing it. The contribution of physics in astronomy was made possible through, when physics suddenly could say something about the fate of the universe. An amazing journey fueled by the scientific style of Albert Einstein in a dynamic community of elite researchers that had the ability to strip away all the complications and figure out the fundamental laws of physics in the world of complex unknown features.
