Analysis of environmental performance indicators for concrete block manufacturing: embodied energy, CO2 emissions, and water consumption.

Concrete block production significantly contributes to environmental degradation. A thorough understanding of its ecological implications is critical for sustainable development. This study investigates concrete block manufacturing's environmental impact by quantifying embodied energy, CO2 emissions, and water consumption via a comprehensive life cycle assessment. An extended life cycle assessment methodology is utilized to quantify the environmental indicators throughout the concrete block production lifecycle. Primary industry data and secondary research data ensure accuracy and reliability. Findings showed that concrete block manufacturing requires 2.5-4.1 times more embodied energy than equal clinker mass. Cement and aggregate production and transportation account for substantial energy needs. Limestone calcination during cement production causes significant CO2 emissions, 2.3-3.3 times higher than the minimum. Water consumption is concerning during curing and washing. Exploring alternative cementitious materials, optimized processes, and water recycling can reduce embodied energy by up to 75%, CO2 emissions by up to 67%, and water consumption by up to 80%. Concrete block manufacturing necessitates considerable energy and generates significant emissions. Implementing sustainable measures can minimize embodied energy, CO2 emissions, and water consumption, enabling environmentally responsible manufacturing. This research emphasizes adopting sustainability practices to mitigate environmental impact. Policymakers, industry professionals, and researchers can employ these insights to develop effective strategies promoting green manufacturing. The concrete block industry can contribute to a sustainable future through sustainable practices.

Segmentation of OECD countries on the basis of selected global environmental indicators using k-means non-hierarchical clustering.

In order to allocate resources and describe progress, frequently nations are grouped together by many international authorities. A variety of pertinent indicators can provide a more useful basis for classification for each specific area of interest. Based on commonalities between various variables connected to the global environmental sector, we developed a novel typology of country clusters. Four indicators were chosen after a review of the literature. In order to optimize data availability across as many OECD nations as feasible, indicators were chosen based on their relevance for all the OECD countries. Countries were arranged into a natural cluster using the hierarchical clustering method. Four groups, covering 31 countries, were the result of two stages of grouping. These four clusters were found to be more compact and clearly divided which gives policymakers a clear-cut idea as to how these environmental indicators are deteriorating day by day and year by year and what needs to be done to be more environmentally sustainable and responsible.

Sustainable hydrogen production via microalgae: Technological advancements, economic indicators, environmental aspects, challenges, and policy implications.

Hydrogen has emerged as an alternative energy source to meet the increasing global energy demand, depleting fossil fuels and environmental issues resulting from fossil fuel consumption. Microalgae-based biomass is gaining attention as a potential source of hydrogen production due to its green energy carrier properties, high energy content, and carbon-free combustion. This review examines the hydrogen production process from microalgae, including the microalgae cultivation technological process for biomass production, and the three main routes of biomass-to-hydrogen production: thermochemical conversion, photo biological conversion, and electrochemical conversion. The current progress of technological options in the three main routes is presented, with the various strains of microalgae and operating conditions of the processes. Furthermore, the economic and environmental perspectives of biomass-to-hydrogen from microalgae are evaluated, and critical operational parameters are used to assess the feasibility of scaling up biohydrogen production for commercial industrial-scale applications. The key finding is the thermochemical conversion process is the most feasible process for biohydrogen production, compared to the pyrolysis process. In the photobiological and electrochemical process, pure hydrogen can be achieved, but further process development is required to enhance the production yield. In addition, the high production cost is the main challenge in biohydrogen production. The cost of biohydrogen production for direct bio photolysis it cost around $7.24 kg-1; for indirect bio photolysis it costs around $7.54 kg-1 and for fermentation, it costs around $7.61 kg-1. Therefore, comprehensive studies and efforts are required to make biohydrogen production from microalgae applications more economical in the future.

Towards green economy and sustainable development in Bangladesh: assessing the role of social and environmental indicators.

The evolution towards a green economy integrating social, economic, and environmental concerns has opened a new window to pursue the sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially for emerging nations. Nonetheless, despite being a pressing concern on a global scale, empirical research into the potential for green economy development in the context of Bangladesh has remained notably inadequate. To fill this void, this study is an attempt to evaluate the connection among economic growth, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, education, life expectancy, and technology to conclude the ecological and socio-economic repercussions of a green economy in Bangladesh's framework of achieving SDGs. Considering the statistical features of the annual data from 1990 to 2019, the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method has been employed to analyze the connections between the chosen variables. The empirical outcomes show that an upsurge in CO2 is accompanied by a 3.66% increase in GDP over the long term, suggesting a positive and statistically significant relationship between the two variables. In addition, GDP increases by about 4.2% for every 1% increase in life expectancy. However, the relationship between technological innovation and education found an insignificant positive linkage with GDP. The most important takeaway from these findings is that the growth of Bangladesh's economy is occurring at the expense of the environment. Hence, this research recommends that, as a developing nation, Bangladesh should concentrate on environment-friendly alternatives, which can be done through the introduction of a green economy to achieve a sustainably developed economy.

Application of spatial environmental indicators in the assessment of degradation potential of water resources in water basins.

Changes in land use have been occurring in a continuous and disorderly way in recent decades due to rapid population growth and the growing demand for food. These constant changes result in a series of harmful effects to the environment, especially to water resources, significantly changing their availability and quality. This study aims to evaluate the degradation potential of watersheds through an evaluation of some environmental indicators using arithmetic means to construct an index called in this research "index of potential environmental degradation" (IPED). To form the IPED, the hydrographic sub-basins of the Sorocabuçu River, located in the central west of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, comprised the study area. The results showed that most hydrographic sub-basins, that is, eight units, present degradation values ranging from moderate to very high, resulting mainly from low conservation values of forests plus a use destined to the planting of temporary cultures depending on good physical conditions. On the other hand, only one sub-basin showed a low degradation value. The methodology used for the development of the IPED is easy to apply and an effective tool for environmental analyses. It may contribute to studies and forms of planning and land use management aiming the conservation of water resources and protected areas and reduction of degradation.

Remote sensing environmental indicators for monitoring spatial and temporal dynamics of weather and vegetation conditions: applications for Brazilian biomes.

The SAFER (Simple Algorithm for Evapotranspiration Retrieving) algorithm and the radiation use efficiency (RUE) model were coupled to test large-scale remote sensing environmental indicators in Brazilian biomes. MODIS MOD13Q1 reflectance product and gridded weather data for the year 2016 were used to demonstrate the suitability of the algorithm to monitor the dynamics of environmental remote sensing indicators along a year in the Brazilian biomes, Amazon, Caatinga, Cerrado, Pantanal, Atlantic Forest, and Pampa. Significant spatial and temporal variations in precipitation (P), actual evapotranspiration (ET), and biomass production (BIO) yielded differences on water balance (WB = P-ET) and water productivity (WP = ET/BIO). The highest WB and WP differences were detected in the wettest biomes, Amazon, Atlantic Forest, and Pampa, when compared with the driest biome, Caatinga. Rainfall distribution along the year affected the magnitude of the evaporative fraction (ETf), i.e., the ET to reference evapotranspiration (ET0) ratio. However, there was a gap between ETf and WB, which may be related to the time needed for recovering good soil moisture conditions after rainfalls. For some biomes, BIO related most to the levels of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (Amazon and Atlantic Forest), while for others, BIO followed most the soil moisture levels, depicted by ETf (Caatinga, Cerrado, Pantanal, and Pampa). The large-scale modeling showed suitability for monitoring the water and vegetation conditions, making way to detect anomalies for specific periods along the year by using historical images and weather data, with strong potential to support public policies for management and conservation of natural resources and with possibilities for replication of the methods in other countries.

Spatial and temporal dynamics of neglected tropical diseases in the Marajó Archipelago, Amazon-PA / Dinâmica espacial e temporal das doenças tropicais negligenciadas no Arquipélago do Marajó, Amazônia-PA / Dinámica espacial y temporal de enfermedades tropicales desatenidas en el Archipiélago de Marajó, Amazonia-PA

Background and objective: the self-styled population of Marajoara is vulnerable due to the neglect of basic services governed by the constitution, such as basic sanitation, health and education. Therefore, the search and mapping of epidemiological data are necessary in order to have a real dimension of how certain diseases behave in the region. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the space-time distribution of neglected tropical diseases and their relationship with socio-environmental indicators in the Marajó Archipelago, Pará, Amazon. Methods: this is a descriptive and ecological study, with a time series, with a quantitative approach, which assessed the incidence rate of neglected tropical diseases in the 16 municipalities that make up Marajó from 2007 to 2016. Analyzes of socioeconomic and population data were carried out, extracted from the Federation of the Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FIRJAN System) and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Results: according to the survey, American cutaneous leishmaniasis, dengue and tuberculosis were the most reported diseases in total. All municipalities had at least one disease in the period. The spatial distribution of the numbers of cases of tropical diseases in all the municipalities that make up the Archipelago between 2007 and 2016 was carried out. Conclusion: the anthropization of the environment has favored the proliferation of vector agents and, consequently, the incidence of diseases related to inadequate basic sanitation, whose configuration is the result of a disorganized urbanization process and historically exclusive development, with a lack of investment, making this damage even more dramatic for the population.(AU)

Justificativa e objetivo: a população autodenominada de marajoara encontra-se em vulnerabilidade devido às negligências de serviços básicos regidos na constituição, como saneamento básico, saúde e educação. Logo, a busca e o mapeamento de dados epidemiológicos são necessários para que se tenha uma dimensão real de como se comportam determinados agravos na região. Diante disso, o estudo objetivou analisar a distribuição espaço-temporal das doenças tropicais negligenciadas e sua relação com indicadores socioambientais no Arquipélago do Marajó, Pará, Amazônia. Métodos: este estudo é do tipo descritivo e ecológico, de série temporal, com abordagem quantitativa, que avaliou a taxa de incidência das doenças tropicais negligenciadas nos 16 municípios que compõem o Marajó no período de 2007 a 2016. Foram realizadas análises de dados socioeconômicos e populacionais extraídos da Federação das Indústrias do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Sistema FIRJAN) e do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Resultados: de acordo com o levantamento, a leishmaniose tegumentar americana, a dengue e a tuberculose foram os agravos de maior notificação no total. Todos os municípios apresentaram, ao menos, uma doença no período. Realizou-se a distribuição espacial dos números de casos de doenças tropicais em todos os municípios que compõem o Arquipélago entre 2007 e 2016. Conclusão: a antropização do ambiente vem favorecendo a proliferação de agentes vetoriais e, consequentemente, a incidência de doenças relacionadas ao saneamento básico inadequado, cuja configuração é fruto de um processo de urbanização desordenado e desenvolvimento historicamente excludente, com ausência de investimentos, tornando esse prejuízo ainda mais dramático para a população.(AU)

Justificación y objetivo: la población autodenominada marajoara es vulnerable debido a la desatención de los servicios básicos regulados en la constitución, como saneamiento básico, salud y educación. Por lo tanto, la búsqueda y el mapeo de datos epidemiológicos son necesarios para tener una dimensión real de cómo se comportan ciertas enfermedades en la región. Por lo tanto, el estudio tuvo como objetivo analizar la distribución espacio-temporal de las enfermedades tropicales desatendidas y su relación con los indicadores socioambientales en el Archipiélago de Marajó, en el estado de Pará, Amazonas. Métodos: se trata de un estudio descriptivo y ecológico, con serie temporal, con enfoque cuantitativo, que evaluó la tasa de incidencia de las enfermedades tropicales desatendidas en los 16 municipios que componen el Marajó de 2007 a 2016. Se realizaron análisis de datos socioeconómicos y poblacionales extraídos de la Federación de Industrias del Estado de Rio de Janeiro (Sistema FIRJAN) y del Instituto Brasileño de Geografía y Estadística. Resultados: según la encuesta, la leishmaniasis cutánea americana, el dengue y la tuberculosis fueron las enfermedades más notificadas en total. Todos los municipios presentaron al menos una enfermedad en el período. La distribución espacial de las cifras de casos de enfermedades tropicales en todos los municipios que conforman el Archipiélago se realizó entre 2007 y 2016. Conclusión: la antropización del medio ambiente viene favoreciendo la proliferación de agentes vectores y, consecuentemente, la incidencia de enfermedades relacionadas con saneamiento básico inadecuado, cuya configuración es fruto de un proceso de urbanización desordenado y desarrollo históricamente excluyente, con ausencia de inversiones, lo que hace aún más dramática esta pérdida para la población.(AU)

Assessing trade-offs among productive, economic, and environmental indicators of forage systems in southern Tibetan crop-livestock integration.

Fostering crop-livestock integration via crop-forage rotation provides opportunities to cope with land degradation, feed deficit, and agropastoral sustainability. Farmers' preferences for forage options are influenced by economic benefit, environmental preference, and productive performance. However, there is little information available on evaluating multiple trade-offs of forage systems for the design of crop-forage rotations. Here, we performed a comprehensive evaluation to compare the economic, environmental, and productive indicators of five typical forage systems in terms of habitat conditions, soil ecosystem services, economic profit, and forage yield and nutritive value on the southern Tibetan Plateau. Alfalfa pasture and silage corn were mostly cultivated in lower altitudes, with more abundant precipitation, and higher growing degree days. Soil carbon and nitrogen accumulation were significantly higher in perennial alfalfa than in the other forage systems. The relative feed value of alfalfa pasture was also evidently greater than the other forage systems, whereas the yield of silage corn was among the highest. Alfalfa pasture presented superior economic benefits compared to the others. But the alfalfa pasture over six years showed a significant decrease in soil carbon and nitrogen storage, net present value, and yield. Forage systems generally have more soil carbon accumulation, but only forage legumes are more likely to positively affect soil nitrogen retention compared to cereal croplands. The trade-offs among economic, environmental, and productive indicators demonstrated that annual forage systems (silage corn, forage oat, and ryegrass) met productive target rather than environmental and economic objectives, while perennial alfalfa showed synergies among the three goals. These findings indicate that integrating crop-forage rotation, particularly introducing legume forages into farming systems is an adaptive option for crop-livestock integration on the southern Tibetan Plateau. Given the large topographic variation, suitable crop-forage systems should be designed for the heterogeneous Yarlung Zangbo River valleys. Among them, alfalfa-silage corn intercropping is recommended as a promising system to meet both productivity and profitability.

Using circular economy principles in the optimisation of sludge-based activated carbon production for the removal of perfluoroalkyl substances.

Massive sewage sludge (SS) production from municipal wastewater treatment plants and the presence of numerous pollutant types render the process of SS treatment and disposal costly and complex. Here, resource recovery from SS was maximised via the optimisation of sludge-based activated carbon (SBAC) production for the removal of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), while considering economic factors and minimising environmental impacts. SBAC production optimisation was realised under different operating conditions (different ZnCl2 impregnation ratios and different pyrolysis activation temperatures and durations). The sorption capacity of the optimised SBAC with respect to the removal of nine commonly detected PFASs, with environmentally relevant concentrations (∽50 µg/L), from simulated wastewater was evaluated. Economic analysis and life-cycle assessment (LCA) were also performed to determine the feasibility of the process and its potential role in the circular economy. Batch adsorption tests confirmed the high efficiency of the optimised SBACs for PFAS removal (93-100 %), highlighting the possibility of converting SS to SBAC. Economically speaking, the optimised SBAC at 1.5 M ZnCl2, 500 °C, and 0.75 h reduced total production cost by 49 %. Further, the cost could be reduced to as little as 1087 US $/metric-ton compared with that corresponding to the original conditions (2.5 M ZnCl2, 500 °C, 2 h; 2144 US $/metric-ton). LCA results also showed that freshwater ecotoxicity, marine ecotoxicity, and human non-carcinogenic toxicity were the most affected environmental impact indicators, showing a 49 % decrease when ZnCl2 impregnation ratio was reduced from 2.5 to 1.5 M. These findings highlighted the optimal conditions for the production of SBAC with high sorption capacity at a reduced cost and with reduced environmental impacts. Thus, they can serve as valuable tools for decision making regarding the selection of the most sustainable and economically feasible process for PFAS removal.

Spatial and temporal variation of multiple eco-environmental indicators in Erhai Lake Basin of China under land use transitions.

Environmental degradation is a global ecological concern, and land use transitions play a critical role in a region's ecological well-being and long-term sustainability. In this paper, indicators related to land use transitions, including the regional eco-environmental quality index (EV), the remote sensing ecological index (RSEI), and soil erosion, are selected to analyze the eco-environmental quality of Erhai Lake Basin from 2000 to 2020. The results showed that (1) from 2000 to 2020, forestland, grassland, and cultivated land were the major land use types in the study region, and also the land use types where land use transition was notable; (2) over the 20 years of study, the EV value of Erhai Lake Basin increased by 0.003, its average RSEI increased by 0.14, and the average soil erosion modulus there decreased by 15.48 t/(km2·a), indicating that the eco-environment of the Erhai Lake Basin was improving. Evaluation based on multiple ecological indicators was superior to assessment relying on single indicators; (3) all three ecological indicators showed that the ecological environment of the basin was improving, but with significant regional differences. Forestland had the best ecological quality, while unused land and built-up land had the worst. RSEI was more regionally adaptable than the other two indices. (4) The transition of cultivated land into other land use types was the main reason for the improved ecological quality in the basin, while tourism had accelerated land use transformation. Compared with assessment based on single ecological indicators, evaluation based on a combination of multiple ecological indicators can more accurately reflect the ecological condition of the study area and provide a basis for eco-environmental protection in Erhai Lake Basin.

Alterations in Daphnia magna exposed to enniatin B and beauvericin provide additional value as environmental indicators.

Mycotoxins beauvericin (BEA) and enniatin B (ENN B) affect negatively several systems and demand more studies as the mechanisms are still unclear. The simultaneous presence of contaminants in the environment manifests consequences of exposure for both animals and flora. Daphnia magna is considered an ideal invertebrate to detect effects of toxic compounds and environmental alterations. In this study, the potential toxicity and the basic mechanism of BEA and ENN B individually and combined were studied in D. magna. Acute and delayed toxicity were evaluated, and transcript levels of genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism (mox, gst, abcb1, and abcc5), reproduction, and oxidative stress (vtg-SOD) were analyzed by qPCR. Though no acute toxicity was found, results revealed a spinning around and circular profile of swimming, a strong decrease of survival after 72 h for BEA and ENN B at 16 µM and 6.25 µM, respectively, while for BEA + ENN B [8 + 1.6] µM after 96 h. The amount of mycotoxin remaining in the media revealed that the higher the concentration assayed the higher the amount remaining in the media. Differential regulation of genes suggests that xenobiotic metabolism is affected denoting different effects on transcription for tested mycotoxins. The results provide new insights into the underlying risk assessment of BEA and ENN B not only through food for consumers but also for the environment.

Early Season Environmental Indicators of Wheat Stripe Rust Epidemics in Kansas and the Central Great Plains Region of the United States.

During the past two decades, the wheat-producing areas of the Great Plains region in North America experienced frequent, severe yield losses to stripe rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici). In general, outbreaks of rust diseases in the Southern Great Plains region often precede disease problems in the Central and Northern Great Plains. However, these generalizations provide little information, and our objective for this study was to identify weather variables, geographical areas, and time periods that influence the early stages of stripe rust epidemics in the Great Plains. Data used in this analysis consisted of monthly summaries of temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture from 10 climate districts in Texas of the United States. These environmental variables were paired with estimates of wheat yield losses to stripe rust in Kansas from 2000 to 2019, with yield loss coded as a binary variable (1 = >4% statewide yield loss). An ensemble of simple models representing weather variables, time periods, and geographical locations were hypothesized to be influential in the development of stripe rust epidemics. Model performance was verified with observations not used in model development. Results of this study indicated that soil moisture within two to three climate districts in Texas were particularly influential in regional disease development. These areas of Texas were 700 to 1,000 km away from locations in Kansas where the disease-related yield losses were observed, and they often preceded disease losses by 3 to 6 months. In the future, these models could help establish priority locations and time periods for disease scouting and inform regional estimates of disease risk.

Praktilised õppetunnid: juhtumiuuringud tervise arvessevõtmise kohta keskkonnamõju strateegilises hindamises ja keskkonnamõju hindamises kogu Maailma Terviseorganisatsiooni (WHO) Euroopa piirkonnas. Kokkuvõte

Aruanne on mõeldud kõigi valitsustasandite keskkonna-, tervise- ja planeerimisvaldkonna töötajatele. Seda saab kasutada ka asjakohaste konventsioonide ja protokollidega seotud valitsustevahelistes protsessides. Aruandes ei käsitleta mõju hindamise põhiterminoloogiat.

Temporal and spatial analysis of municipal dengue cases in Paraná and social and environmental indicators, 2012 to 2021: ecological study.

OBJECTIVE: Analyze the temporal trend and spatial distribution of the incidence rate of dengue cases in Paraná and its regions between 2012 to 2021 and investigate associated sociodemographic and environmental variables. METHODS: Ecological study with temporal and spatial analysis of the dengue incidence rate reported in the Disease and Notification Information System (SINAN) in the period 2012 to 2021 and investigation of sociodemographic and environmental variables. To identify differences between municipal incidence rates the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn's test for multiple comparisons were used. Prais-Winsten regression was used for temporal trend analysis and for spatial analysis the univariate and bivariate Local Moran analysis were applied. RESULTS: 548,683 cases of dengue were confirmed in the period, the highest state incidence rate was observed in 2020, with 15 health regions presenting more than 500 cases/100,000 inhabitants. Higher incidences were observed among women, age group of 20-59 years and white color/race. Despite annual variations, a stationary trend was observed for incidence rates according to sex, age group, color/race and macro-region. More than half of the municipalities in Paraná formed spatial clusters (Moran's I=0.679), where 73 (18.3%) municipalities with high incidence rate formed clusters. High-High clusters of dengue incidence rate with urbanization and High-Low clusters of incidence rate with vegetation cover were observed. CONCLUSION: Sociodemographic and environmental determinants were related to the high incidence rates of dengue and heterogeneous spatial distribution in the state of Paraná, indicating the need to strengthen health surveillance actions.

Nurse-sensitive environmental indicators: A qualitative study.

AIM: This study aims to explore the proposed concept of "nurse-sensitive environmental indicators" among nursing and non-nursing leaders of environmental stewardship who work with nurses. BACKGROUND: Aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, nurses are obligated to "practice in a manner that advances environmental safety and health." Little is known about environmental impacts in acute-care nursing. METHODS: Nursing and non-nursing leaders of environmental stewardship across the United States (N = 9) were interviewed to explore the concept of acute-care nurse-sensitive environmental indicators. Transcripts were examined using qualitative descriptive analysis. RESULTS: Thematic analysis revealed that nurses are in key positions to influence environmental change, need more education and awareness to be effective, and need leadership support and role-modelling. Issues related to waste were highly nurse sensitive; issues related to food, chemicals, and transportation were moderately nurse sensitive; issues related to energy and water were minimally nurse sensitive. CONCLUSION: Preliminary consensus on nurse-sensitive environmental indicators was confirmed by leader participants in this study. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: To help meet environmentally focused Sustainable Development Goals, nursing leaders can use the concept of nurse-sensitive environmental indicators in planning, education, resource allocation, and leadership to improve environmental stewardship in acute care nursing.

Promoción de la Salud ambiental: variables e indicadores del método instruccional / Environmental Health Promotion: variables and indicators of the instructional method

La salud ambiental es relaciona entre factores físicos, químicos y biológicos externos y el ser humano, inmerso en el ecosistema; ésta puede incidir en la salud, por eso, se basa en la prevención de las enfermedades y en la creación de ambientes propicios. Bajo un estudio inicial longitudinal para identificar las variables e indicadores ambientales para el método instruccional de la promoción de la salud ambiental, para ello, se consideró los propuestos por la OMS, en el 2009, y estadales como el Ministerio del Ambiente, Agua y Transición Ecológica del Ecuador, en el 2014, y en el 1990 la UNESCO. Con un índice de 0,30; de 19 variables y 124 indicadores de tres bases de datos oficiales, se recuperaron por experticia un total de 37 a incluir, 6 de OMS Europa, 7 de OMS Perfil ambiental Ecuador y 24 del Estado; de este últimoel 29% corresponden a indicadores de presión, el 42% de estado, y otro 29% de respuesta. En el Ecuador, es conceptualizado como un proceso dinámico cambiante y participativo en la realidad temporo-espacial, sin embargo, la educación para el desarrollo sostenible sólo se hará realidad si los problemas básicos se abordan desde el punto de vista de las múltiples partes interesadas. Las pautas, variables e indicadores son adaptadas a la realidad local, regional o nacional, e incluso internacional; por la definición de prioridades y patrones epidemiológicos(AU)

Environmental health is a relationship between external physical, chemical and biological factors and the human being, immersed in the ecosystem; this can affect health, therefore, it is based on the prevention of diseases and the creation of favorable environments. Under an initial longitudinal study to identify the environmental variables and indicators for the instructional method of promoting environmental health, for this, those proposed by the WHO, in 2009, and state ones such as the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Transition were considered. Ecological Institute of Ecuador, in 2014, and in 1990 UNESCO. With an index of 0.30; of 19 variables and 124 indicators from three official databases, a total of 37 were retrieved by expertise to include, 6 from WHO Europe, 7 from WHO Ecuador Environmental Profile and 24 from the State; Of the latter, 29% correspond to pressure indicators, 42% to status, and another 29% to response. In Ecuador, it is conceptualized as a dynamic changing and participatory process in the temporal-spatial reality, however, education for sustainable development will only become a reality if the basic problems are addressed from the point of view of the multiple stakeholders. The guidelines, variables and indicators are adapted to the local, regional or national, and even international reality; for the definition of priorities and epidemiological patterns(AU)

Ageing Well in Small Villages: What Keeps Older Adults Happy? Environmental Indicators of Residential Satisfaction in Four Dutch Villages.

This article aims to contribute to the existing literature about liveability in rural areas by explicitly focusing on the level of residential satisfaction of older adults (55+) in four small Dutch villages. We strive not only to identify the key indicators of residential satisfaction among older villagers but also to better understand how these indicators affect their (daily) life. Moreover, in line with the person-environment fit tradition, we differentiate according to the capabilities and vulnerabilities of older villagers. To this end, we use a mixed-method approach, in which we combine survey data with qualitative data collected with photovoice in the four villages. The findings indicate that older adults' perceptions of spatial, social and functional aspects of the living environment are related to the degree of residential satisfaction overall. However, these perceptions appear to be strongly intertwined, especially perceptions about spatial characteristics, local identity and connectedness. Older adults who are hindered by health problems in undertaking daily activities experience a lower level of person-environment fit, which is reflected in a lower level of residential satisfaction. However, this relationship between subjective health and residential satisfaction can only be partially explained by different perceptions of the spatial, social and functional environment.

Global fine-scale changes in ambient NO2 during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is an important contributor to air pollution and can adversely affect human health1-9. A decrease in NO2 concentrations has been reported as a result of lockdown measures to reduce the spread of COVID-1910-20. Questions remain, however, regarding the relationship of satellite-derived atmospheric column NO2 data with health-relevant ambient ground-level concentrations, and the representativeness of limited ground-based monitoring data for global assessment. Here we derive spatially resolved, global ground-level NO2 concentrations from NO2 column densities observed by the TROPOMI satellite instrument at sufficiently fine resolution (approximately one kilometre) to allow assessment of individual cities during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 compared to 2019. We apply these estimates to quantify NO2 changes in more than 200 cities, including 65 cities without available ground monitoring, largely in lower-income regions. Mean country-level population-weighted NO2 concentrations are 29% ± 3% lower in countries with strict lockdown conditions than in those without. Relative to long-term trends, NO2 decreases during COVID-19 lockdowns exceed recent Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)-derived year-to-year decreases from emission controls, comparable to 15 ± 4 years of reductions globally. Our case studies indicate that the sensitivity of NO2 to lockdowns varies by country and emissions sector, demonstrating the critical need for spatially resolved observational information provided by these satellite-derived surface concentration estimates.

An impact of climate change and groundwater salinity on shadow price of water, farmers' revenue, and socioeconomic and environmental indicators in district Kohat-Pakistan.

Globally, agricultural productivity is adversely impacted due to climatic changes as the temperatures rises and precipitation decreases, and especially in Pakistan, which ultimately enhanced groundwater salinity and harmed water quality in the country. However, the impacts of groundwater salinity and climate change on farmers' revenue have not been fully understood in Pakistan. Therefore, the focus of current research is the assessment of shadow price of water, farmers' revenue, and socioeconomic and environmental indicators affected by variations in groundwater salinity, precipitation, and temperature. The estimation of crop yield sensitivity to groundwater salinity, precipitation, and temperature and their prediction for 2030, 2040, and 2050 time periods was accomplished through the technique of General Maximum Entropy and Response-Yield function. Moreover, the assessment of groundwater quality and climate variable impacts on socioeconomic and environmental indicators was obtained through Target Motad-PMP model. In the end, the most suitable climate change scenario in the study area was established by applying a multi-criteria decision-making method. The results revealed that groundwater salinity and temperature expressed a significantly increasing trend with the Z values of 5.82 and 2.15, respectively. While the precipitation depicted a significantly decreasing trend (Z value = -3.37). The negative impact of climatic changes and groundwater salinity was revealed for revenue risk and shadow prices of water. The most negative impact on income risk and shadow prices is during 2050 horizon with a decrease by 11.4 and 19.4% respectively. The environmental index is the most important with a priority of 43.4% compared to the socio-economic indicators. The sub-index water use is also significant in the study area with a priority of 28.1%. A2 is the most appropriate climate scenario conferring to the TOPSIS ranking method. Therefore, the A2 scenario should be taken into account for the policy of adaptation to the climate change wonder in district Kohat.