As it is a commentary we do not have a usual abstract Today’s energy systems are critically dependent on water for hydropower and thermoelectric power generation, which relies on a large amount of ...cooling water. However, even with increasing climatic pressures and growing concerns surrounding energy security, the availability of high-quality integrated water data sets remains poor (1, 2). This is surprising considering broad climate impacts on energy systems worldwide. Numerous regions experienced water-related power generation issues throughout the 2010 s, including coal generation during the 2015 Polish drought, repeated curtailment of French nuclear plants, and hydropower curtailment in the US, Romania, China, Ghana, and Brazil, among others (3). The 2022 heat waves saw broad water-energy issues across the EU, with France altering regulatory requirements to keep nuclear plants running (resulting in higher water temperatures) (4) and hydroelectric curtailment across several countries. There is clear evidence of impacts on energy security today (5) and how this issue is poised to become more acute into the 21st century (6, 7).
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, NUK, OILJ, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Here we investigate microplastics contamination on beaches of four islands of the Lesser Antilles (Anguilla, St. Barthélemy, St. Eustatius and St. Martin/Maarten). These islands are close to the ...North Atlantic subtropical gyre, which contains high levels of microplastics. On average 261 ± 6 microplastics/kg of dry sand were found, with a maximum of 620 ± 96 microplastics on Grandes Cayes, Saint Martin. The vast majority of these microplastics (>95%) were fibers. Levels of microplastics differed among islands, with significantly lower levels found in St. Eustatius compared to the other Islands. No difference in microplastic levels was found between windward and leeward beaches. Our research provides a detailed study on microplastics on beaches in the Lesser Antilles. These results are important in developing a deeper understanding of the extent of the microplastic challenge within the Caribbean region, a hotspot of biodiversity.
Display omitted
•Detailed study to quantify microplastics (MP) on Caribbean beaches•On average 261 MP were detected per kg of sand (dry weight).•A difference was found among islands, with a range of 130 to 239 MP/kg sand.•Over 95% of particles identified were fibers.•No difference was found between lee- and windward side of islands.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Understanding the water use of power production is an important step to both a sustainable energy transition and an improved understanding of water conservation measures. However, there are large ...differences across the literature that currently present barriers to decision making. Here, the compiled inventory of the blue water use of power production from existing studies allowed to uncover the characteristics of water use and to investigate current uncertainties. The results show that photovoltaics, wind power, and run-of-the-river hydropower consume relatively little water, whereas reservoir hydropower and woody and herbaceous biomass can have an extremely large water footprint. The water consumption of power production can differ greatly across countries due to different geographic conditions. Only a few studies provided the values for the influencing factors of water use, such as the capacity factor. Values that are reported came mainly from assumptions and other literature rather than direct measurement. Omitting a life cycle stage may lead to significant underestimations. Water scarcity is attracting more attention, but the few existing results are not useable for a regional comparison due to data gaps and inconsistent measurements. In the future, a clear and detailed definition of the water footprint and system boundary of power production is essential to improving comparisons and energy systems modelling.
•Renewables and carbon capture systems pose new challenges for the energy-water nexus.•The cooling type influences water use more than the thermal energy type.•The few country-specific estimates suggest that water use greatly varies regionally.•More transparent reporting of key characteristics of energy systems is advisable.•Water scarcity is mostly neglected, but important for mapping the energy transition.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Surgery is the primary curative treatment for oesophageal cancer, with considerable recent improvements in long-term survival. However, surgery has a long-lasting impact on patient's health-related ...quality of life (HRQOL). Through a multicentre European study, our research group was able to identify key symptoms that affect patient's HRQOL. These symptoms were combined to produce a tool to identify poor HRQOL following oesophagectomy (LAsting Symptoms after Oesophageal Resection (LASOR) tool). The objective of this multicentre study is to validate a six-symptom clinical tool to identify patients with poor HRQOL for use in everyday clinical practice.
Included patients will: (1) be aged 18 years or older, (2) have undergone an oesophagectomy for cancer between 2015 and 2019, and (3) be at least 12 months after the completion of adjuvant oncological treatments. Patients will be given the previously created LASOR questionnaire. Each symptom from the LASOR questionnaire will be graded according to impact on quality of life and frequency of the symptom, with a composite score from 0 to 5. The previously developed LASOR symptom tool will be validated against HRQOL as measured by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQC30 and OG25.
With a predicted prevalence of poor HRQOL of 45%, based on the previously generated LASOR clinical symptom tool, to validate this tool with a sensitivity and specificity of 80%, respectively, a minimum of 640 patients will need to be recruited to the study.
NHS Health Research Authority (North East-York Research Ethics Committee) approval was gained 8 November 2019 (REC reference 19/NE/0352). Multiple platforms will be used for the dissemination of the research data, including international clinical and patient group presentations and publication of research outputs in a high impact clinical journal.
The cubic-plus-association (CPA) equation of state is applied in this work to mixtures containing acetic acid and water. A previously developed modification of the model, the so-called ...CPA-Huron−Vidal (CPA-HV), is used. New CPA parameters have been estimated based on the vapor pressure, liquid density, enthalpy of vaporization, and vapor-phase compressibility factor data. The CPA-HV parameters have been fitted to, among others, experimental vapor compressibility factor data and experimental relative volatility data at different temperature ranges. The purpose of the work was to investigate whether the CPA-HV model can describe the vapor−liquid equilibrium for acetic acid−water over a temperature range of 200 K and at the same time represent the behavior of pure acetic acid and acetic acid−water mixtures with respect to enthalpies of vaporization and compressibility factors. It is shown that satisfactory results are overall obtained, but if an excellent match is needed over the whole temperature range, then different interaction parameters need to be used at the various temperature ranges.
Full text
Available for:
IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
•A micro-PV-PH system is proposed in rural China.•The technical feasibility of a PV-PH installation in rural areas is evaluated.•Techno-economic indicators are used to investigate the potential of ...the PV-PH system.•This research provides a theoretical foundation for the promotion of the PV-PH system.
Homes in rural China often have access to water wells for domestic and agricultural use. Given the significant difference in height between the well water and the roof of the house, such an arrangement could be used as a solar-powered pumped-hydro energy generation system. These systems could both limit increases in carbon emissions from coal-powered electricity while alleviating energy insecurity, while providing significant savings to households. The potential for these systems in rural regions across Shaanxi province is investigated by assessing eight key environmental and socioeconomic indicators. The find is that positive impacts across almost all indicators with generally rapid investment payback periods of 6.4–8.1 years, annual net income increases of 314.2 CNY −541.6 CNY per year per household. This research laid a theoretical foundation for the promotion of PV-PH system in Shaanxi Province.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Environmentally Extended Input–Output Databases (EEIOs) provide an effective tool for assessing environmental impacts around the world. These databases have yielded many scientific and policy ...relevant insights, especially through the national accounting of impacts embodied in trade. However, most approaches average out the spatial variation in different factors, usually at the level of the nation, but sometimes at the subnational level. It is a natural next step to connect trade with local environmental impacts and local consumption. Due to investments in earth observation many new data sets are now available, offering a huge potential for coupling environmental data sets with economic models such as Multi-Region Input–Output (MRIO) models. A key tool for linking these scales are Spatially Explicit Input–Output (SIO) models, which provide both demand and supply perspectives by linking producers and consumers. Here we define an SIO model as a model having a resolution greater than the underlying input–output transaction matrix. Given the increasing interest in this approach, we present a timely review of the methods used, insights gained, and limitations of various approaches for integrating spatial data in input–output modeling. We highlight the evolution of these approaches, and review the methodological approaches used in SIO models so far. We investigate the temporal and spatial resolution of such approaches and analyze the general advantages and limitations of the modeling framework. Finally, we make suggestions for the future development of SIO models.
Full text
Available for:
IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
•Pursuing social goals is often associated with higher environmental impacts.•Interactions differ greatly among countries and depend on the specific goals.•The rich have a greater leverage to reduce ...humanity’s footprints.
The UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to improve the lives of people, increase prosperity, and protect the planet. Given the large number of goals, interactions are inevitable. We analyse the interaction between two social goals (related to SDG1 Poverty and SDG10 Inequality) and three environmental goals (related to SDG13 Carbon, SDG15 Land, and SDG6 Water). We use a trade-linked, consumption-based approach to assess interactions in 166 nations, each subdivided into four income groups. We find that pursuing social goals is, generally, associated with higher environmental impacts. However, interactions differ greatly among countries and depend on the specific goals. In both interactions, carbon experiences smaller changes than land and water. Although efforts by high- and low-income groups are needed, the rich have a greater leverage to reduce humanity’s footprints. Given the importance of both social and environmental sustainability, it is crucial that quantitative interactions between SDGs be well understood so that, where needed, integrative policies can be developed.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Human land use is the main driver of terrestrial biodiversity loss. It has been argued that producers and consumers have a shared responsibility for biodiversity loss because this land use is ...directly and indirectly driven by the local and global demand for products. Such responsibility sharing would be an important step for global biodiversity cooperation and conservation. Here, we use a global multiregional input-output framework to estimate consumption-based biodiversity loss, integrating with both the physical Food and Agriculture Biomass Input-Output (FABIO) dataset and a global monetary input-output table (EXIOBASE). We use an environmental justice framework for assigning biodiversity loss responsibility between producers and consumers. In this framework, we employ the Human Development Index (HDI) as a proxy of the weighting parameter for both producers and consumers. An environmental justice perspective may provide a fairer distribution of responsibility in a world where different nations have very different capabilities and see varying benefits from international trade. Environmentally just accounting increases the footprint of the Global North compared to other common approaches for sharing responsibility across all producers and consumers along international supply chains. We describe how environmental justice may inform cooperation in biodiversity protection between stakeholders along global supply chains.
•Trade-driven land use causes severe global biodiversity loss.•Environmental justice (EJ) can provide policy-relevant trade perspectives.•We compare responsibility sharing with consumption and production approaches.•EJ reconciles some issues regarding responsibility sharing along supply chains.•An EJ perspective increases the biodiversity loss footprint of the Global North.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
PDF
