Dyeing waters: Does indiscriminate dye use threaten aquatic ecosystems?

Aquatic ecosystem conservation is imperative to reaching global biodiversity and sustainability targets. However, the ecological status of waters has been continuously eroded through mismanagement in the face of existing and emerging anthropogenic stressors, such as pollutants. There has been an emerging trend towards the use of dyes to manage algae and plants as well as to alter aesthetics within various aquatic environments. This artificial colouring has potential ecological implications through reductions in light levels and disruptions to thermoclines (i.e., temperature regime changes with depth). Abiotic regime shifts could in turn drive ecological cascades by depowering primary production, hampering top-down trophic interactions, and affecting evolved animal behaviours. Despite commercial dyes being marketed as acutely non-toxic, very little is known about the chronic effects of these dyes across ecological scales and contexts. We thus call for greater research efforts to understand the ecological consequences of dye usage in aquatic environments, as well as the socio-cultural drivers for its application. This emerging research area could harness approaches such as biological assays, community module experiments, remote sensing, culturomics, and social surveys to elucidate dye effects, trends, and perspectives under a pollution framework. A greater understanding of the potential effects of dye in aquatic ecosystems under relevant contexts would help to inform management decisions and regulation options, while helping to mediate ecocentric and anthropocentric perspectives.

Origins of antimining resistance in the life of a grassroots American Indian leader: Prospects for Indigenizing psychobiography.

American Indian communities have long been subject to environmental degradation, but successful "grassroots" struggles to end such exploitation are exceedingly rare. How is it that Joseph William Azure-my father and an unsung hero of social change-came to "notice" in 1985 that "our entire [reservation] mountain range was at risk" from destructive gold mining and, in response, to form "a small grassroots traditional society" that created "a lot of local and national publicity for our cause to save" these mountains? To address this question, I adopted and adapted the approaches and methods of psychobiography to trace shifts in his sense of self in response to midlife socialization into Indigenous traditional spirituality. In developing this brief account of his development as a social change agent, I propose that psychobiography may require "Indigenization" if it is to better represent American Indian lives. Specifically, some Indigenous life stories will perhaps require tellings that center on collective endeavors rather than individual ones, reconstruction of life experiences based on comparably limited (material) archives, deeper preservation of the conventions of orality, and curation by close kin rather than by "distanced" analysts.

Caliata: An Indigenous Community in Ecuador Offers Lessons on Food Sovereignty and Sustainable Diets.

BACKGROUND: To achieve a healthy sustainable food system globally, it is imperative to understand how local food systems can provide healthy and sustainable conditions. OBJECTIVE: To explore, through the indigenous community of Caliata in the Ecuadorian highlands, the factors that support or hinder sustainable Andean food systems. METHODS: We designed a participatory mixed-methods study in Caliata (Chimborazo, Ecuador) and an inclusive and transdisciplinary research process with constant member checking. The study combined culturally validated qualitative methods (n = 49), agroecology-based site analysis, and household surveys (n = 57), including a modified 48-h recall. We used the NOVA food classification system to categorize the diet according to levels of processing and analyzed categorical and numeric data to understand the interplay of parcel size, agrodiversity, and diet diversity. RESULTS: First, the agroecological space is defined by the stewardship of Pachamama (Mother Nature), a central role in Andean cosmovision, leading to trophic interactions and cycles characterized by a diversity of heterarchical social organizations and agroecologically useful species. Second, consistency was found in dietary patterns; all respondents consume their produce, fruits being the most popular snack (in a 24-h period, 70% reported an average of 2.2 servings), and two-thirds of households' consumption represent unprocessed or minimally processed foods. Third, gendered agriculture and population aging represent demographic challenges, while chronic health problems remain relatively infrequent compared with the general population. Fourth, food sovereignty is an ecocentric concept based on production, exchanges of seeds and produce, consumption of produce, and knowledge of how agroecological space is treated. This system represents a nutrient loop tied to a system of knowledge about how to care for soil, land, and the ecological community. CONCLUSIONS: Caliata provides important perspectives on linkages between diet, biodiversity, use of agroecological space, and rural-urban dynamics. This small indigenous community offers lessons for achieving both healthy ecosystems and food security.

Hacia una fundamentación de la bioética ambiental desde la visión de Fritz Jahr, Aldo Leopold y Van Rensselaer Potter / Towards the Foundations of Environmental Bioethics from the View of Fritz Jahr, Aldo Leopold, and Van Rensselaer Potter / Em direção a uma fundamentação da bioética ambiental a partir da visão de Fritz Jahr, Aldo Leopold e Van Rensselaer Potter

Propósito/Contexto. Este artículo hace una reflexión acerca de los planteamientos ecológicos inherentes al cuerpo teórico de la bioética, en la búsqueda de una delimitación de la bioética ambiental, a partir de los planteamientos de Fritz Jahr, Aldo Leopold, Van Rensselaer Potter y de autores latinoamericanos que promueven un cambio de paradigma en la relación del ser humano con los ecosistemas. Metodología/Enfoque. Se hace una investigación cualitativa, apoyada en un análisis hermenéutico de los estudios bioéticos consultados, correspondientes al periodo de 1970 a 2018. Se usan programas especializados para establecer relaciones de coocurrencia y la visualización de las comunidades semánticas. Resultados/Hallazgos. La dimensión ambiental de la bioética se estructuró a partir de las ideas fundantes de Jahr, Leopold y Potter, que marcan una línea conceptual que establece un abandono de la ética antropocéntrica, para avanzar hacia un modelo ecocéntrico. Por tanto, la bioética ambiental asume un rol integrativo entre el ser humano y las comunidades ecosistémicas. Discusión/Conclusiones/Contribuciones. Se consolidan, como ejes estructurantes de la bioética ambiental, la defensa de la vida, la creación de relaciones armónicas entre las personas y los seres no humanos. También se amplían los límites de la moral humana para incluir a los animales, las plantas y el territorio en nuevos escenarios de convivencia; así mismo, se establece la naturaleza como sujeto de derechos.

Purpose/Context. This article reflects on the ecological approaches to the body of bioethics theories to delimit environmental bioethics based on Fritz Jahr, Aldo Leopold, Van Rensselaer Potter, and Latin American authors who promote a paradigm shift in the human being-ecosystem relationship. Method/Approach. This qualitative research is supported by a hermeneutical analysis of bioethical studies between 1970 and 2018. It uses specialized programs to establish cooccurrence relationships and view semantic communities. Results/Findings. The environmental dimension of bioethics was structured from the founding ideas of Jahr, Leopold, and Potter, who established a conceptual line that abandons anthropocentric ethics to move towards an ecocentric model. Therefore, environmental bioethics assumes an integrating role between humans and ecosystem communities. Discussion/Conclusions/Contributions. The defense of life and the creation of harmonious relationships between people and non-human beings are con-solidated as structuring lines of environmental bioethics. The limits of human morality are also expanded to include animals, plants, and territory in new coexistence settings, and nature is established as a subject of rights.

Objetivo/Contexto. Este artigo faz uma reflexão ao respeito das abordagens ecológicas inerentes ao corpo teórico da bioética, na procura de uma delimitação da bioética ambiental, a partir das abordagens de Fritz Jahr, Aldo Leopold, Van Rensselaer Potter e autores latino-americanos que a promovem. uma mudança de paradigma na relação dos ser humano com os ecossistemas. Metodologia/Abordagem. Foi feita uma pesquisa qualitativa, apoiada na análise hermenêutica dos estudos bioéticos consultados, correspondentes ao período de 1970 a 2018. Foram utilizados programas especializados para estabelecer relações de coocorrência e a visualização das comunidades semânticas. Resultados/Descobertas. A dimensão ambiental da bioética estruturouse a partir das ideias fundadoras de Jahr, Leopold e Potter, que marcam uma linha conceitual que estabelece um abandono da ética antropocêntrica, para caminhar em direção a um modelo ecocêntrico. Por isso mesmo, a bioética ambiental assume uma função integrador entre o ser humano e as comunidades ecossistêmicas. Discussão/Conclusões/Contribuições. Consolidam-se como eixos estruturantes da bioética ambiental, a defesa da vida, a criação de relações harmoniosas entre as pessoas e os seres não humanos. Também são expandidos os limites da moralidade humana para incluir aos animais, as plantas e o território em novos cenários de coexistência; assim mesmo, estabelecese a natureza como sujeito de direitos.

The Factor Structure of the Environmental Attitude Scale in a Community-Based Study in Lagos, Nigeria.

Environmental Attitude (EA) has been understood to be a complex multidimensional construct with minimal empirical evidence in developing countries. In the present study, psychometric properties of an EA scale was empirically assessed using data from a community based study conducted in Nigeria. Different measures of EA were aggregated into a single EA scale and administered to 1,858 individuals. Mean (Standard deviation) and proportions were used to describe the distribution of continuous and discrete data respectively. Reliability of the scale was assessed using Cronbach alpha. Varying hypothetical models of the EA were assessed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 20 and AMOS version 21 at 5% significant level. Overall mean score and alpha coefficient for the combined EA measure was 381.7 (49.0) and 0.928 respectively. A 3-factor structure accounting for 36% cumulative variance in the scale item was extracted in an EFA. A non-orthogonal 3-factor model was a significant improvement over the original none-correlated 5-factor model [χ2(1344)=29216.33, P<0.001; CAIC=9816.870]. The conceptualization of the EA as a non-orthogonal 3-factor structure provides a better fit to the present data. The 3-factor structure is advised in Nigeria and similar settings.

L'attitude environnementale (AE) a été connu d'etre construit multidimensionnel et complexe avec des preuves empiriques minimales dans les pays en voie de développement. Dans l'etude actuelle, les propriétés psychométriques d'une échelle d'évaluation environnementale ont été évaluées de manière empirique à l'aide de données provenant d'une étude menée au niveau communautaire au Nigeria. Différentes mesures d'évaluation environnementale ont été regroupées dans une seule échelle d'évaluation et administrées à 1 858 personnes. La moyenne (type écart) et les proportions ont été utilisées pour décrire la distribution des données continues et discrètes, respectivement. La fiabilité de l'échelle a été évaluée à l'aide du coefficient alpha de Cronbach. Différents modèles hypothétiques de l'AE ont été évalués à l'aide d'une analyse factorielle exploratoire (AFE) et d'une analyse factorielle confirmatoire (AFC). Les données ont été analysées avec IBM SPSS version 20 et AMOS version 21 à un niveau significatif de 5%. Le score moyen global et le coefficient alpha de la mesure de l'EA combinée étaient respectivement de 381,7 (49,0) et 0,928. Une structure à 3 facteurs représentant une variance cumulée de 36% de l'élément d'échelle a été extraite dans un EFA. Un modèle à 3 facteurs non orthogonal constituait une amélioration significative par rapport au modèle original à 5 facteurs sans corrélation [χ2 (1344) = 29216,33, p <0,001; CAIC = 9816.870]. La conceptualisation de l'AE en tant que structure à 3 facteurs non orthogonale offre un meilleur ajustement aux données actuelles. La structure à 3 facteurs est conseillée au Nigeria et dans des contextes similaires.

Ethical foundations of environmental radiological protection.

Assessing the potential ecological impact of ionising radiation raises a number of ethical questions. These include fundamental questions such as what exactly constitutes harming the environment, and how the environment should be valued, as well as links to political protection principles such as sustainability and biodiversity. Starting from developments within ecological risk assessment, this paper summarises some of the ethical issues concerning the protection of the environment from radiation. Chapter 2 gives a brief overview of different philosophical and cultural world views on valuing the environment in a context of radiation risk. Chapter 3 addresses some recent challenges to proposed environmental protection frameworks, including practical applications following the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents, and some scientific developments such as the ecosystem approach. Finally, Chapter 4 offers some recommendations on how ethical evaluation can help produce a more robust and transparent approach to the protection of the environment. In conclusion, there is a need for a holistic evaluation of the environmental impacts of ionising radiation that not only considers the direct consequences on the health of humans and non-human species, but also the more complex social, ethical, and economic consequences of both human and non-human exposures.