The Role of Forestry in Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Production

2005 ◽  
pp. 135-154
Author(s):  
G. Cornelis Kooten ◽  
Emina Krcmar ◽  
Peter J. Graham
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Sustainable Energy

scholarly journals Sustainable Energy Development under Climate Change

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Chun Kung ◽  
Bruce McCarl
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sustainable Energy ◽  
Energy Development ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Energy Needs ◽  
Broad Array

The world faces unprecedented threats from climate change and increasing variability, which severely impacts human society and the natural environment. To reduce future climate change and ensure our economies can grow in a sustainable way, sustainable energy development is considered to be an effective approach. In this context, sustainable energy development involves augmenting our energy supplies and managing demands in a fashion that societal energy needs are met with a minimal effect on greenhouse gas emissions and a nominal resultant contribution to future climate change. In this Special Issue, research papers focus on the role of sustainable energy development (while addressing important dimensions of sustainability), which mandates an inter-disciplinary perspective in all articles. We collected 11 such papers that have analyzed a broad array of topics related to bioenergy, wind power, industrial innovation, and climate change mitigation. These papers show the varied application of renewable energy and climate change energy responses, while providing meaningful decision-making information and policy implications.

Renewable energy choices and their water requirements in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 80-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debbie Sparks ◽  
Amos Madhlopa ◽  
Samantha Keen ◽  
Mascha Moorlach ◽  
Anthony Dane ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Sustainable Energy ◽  
Water Withdrawal ◽  
Water Requirements

South Africa is an arid country, where water supply is often obtained from a distant source. There is increasing pressure on the limited water resources due to economic and population growth, with a concomitant increase in the energy requirement for water production. This problem will be exacerbated by the onset of climate change. Recently, there have been concerns about negative impacts arising from the exploitation of energy resources. In particular, the burning of fossil fuels is significantly contributing to climate change through the emission of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. In addition, fossil fuels are being depleted, and contributing to decreased energy security. As a result of this, the international community has initiated various interventions, including the transformation of policy and regulatory instruments, to promote sustainable energy. With this in mind, South Africa is making policy and regulatory shifts in line with international developments. Renewable energy is being promoted as one way of achieving sustainable energy provision in the country. However, some issues require scrutiny in order to understand the water footprint of renewable energy production. Due to the large gap that exists between water supply and demand, trade-offs in water allocation amongst different users are critical. In this vein, the main objective of this study was to investigate and review renewable energy choices and water requirements in South Africa. Data were acquired through a combination of a desktop study and expert interviews. Water withdrawal and consumption levels at a given stage of energy production were investigated. Most of the data was collected from secondary sources. Results show that there is limited data on all aspects of water usage in the production chain of energy, accounting in part for the significant variations in the values of water intensity that are reported in the literature. It is vital to take into account all aspects of the energy life cycle to enable isolation of stages where significant amounts of water are used. It is found that conventional fuels (nuclear and fossil fuels) withdraw significant quantities of water over the life-cycle of energy production, especially for thermoelectric power plants operated with a wet-cooling system. The quality of water is also adversely affected in some stages of energy production from these fuels. On the other hand, solar photovoltaic and wind energy exhibit the lowest demand for water, and could perhaps be considered the most viable renewable options in terms of water withdrawal and consumption.

scholarly journals Soil carbon research and global environmental challenges

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred E Hartemink ◽  
Rattan Lal ◽  
Martin H. Gerzabek ◽  
Bashir Jama ◽  
Alex McBratney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Environmental Challenges ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Production Water ◽  
Global Environmental

The role of soil organic carbon (SOC) in maintaining soil conditions and its resulting services is well established. Currently, over 1,000 articles per year are being published in peer-reviewed journals, and increasing at about 10% per year. It was not until the 1980s when the relation between soils and climate change was noted, and it was realized that soils play a key role as a sink and source of greenhouse gases (GHGs) ( Bouwman 1990, Scharpenseel, Ayoub and Schomaker 1990, Jenny 1980). A large number of research projects have been initiated globally in which soil C is a key component, and there have been some excellent reviews ( Lal 2004, Stockmann et al. 2013, Melillo et al. 2011). Yet, there is a lack of focus in soil C research in relation to current environmental challenges. Here we recommend research priorities to advance the knowledge base and use of soil C in relation to global human and environmental challenges: food and fiber production, water scarcity and purification, energy production, climate change, biodiversity, recycling waste, and environmental degradation. We have listed the priorities under three themes: (i) Soil C in space and time, (ii) Soil C properties and processes, and (ii) Soil C depletion and management.

scholarly journals Transition towards sustainable energy production: where does Bangladesh stand as the worst hit by climate change?

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 121-140
Author(s):  
Md Moynul Ahsan ◽  
Showrov Rahman ◽  
Md. Sakib Hossain ◽  
Soad Shajid
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Sustainable Energy

scholarly journals Soil carbon research and global environmental challenges

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfred E Hartemink ◽  
Rattan Lal ◽  
Martin H. Gerzabek ◽  
Bashir Jama ◽  
Alex McBratney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Soil Conditions ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Environmental Challenges ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Production Water ◽  
Global Environmental

The role of soil organic carbon (SOC) in maintaining soil conditions and its resulting services is well established. Currently, over 1,000 articles per year are being published in peer-reviewed journals, and increasing at about 10% per year. It was not until the 1980s when the relation between soils and climate change was noted, and it was realized that soils play a key role as a sink and source of greenhouse gases (GHGs) ( Bouwman 1990, Scharpenseel, Ayoub and Schomaker 1990, Jenny 1980). A large number of research projects have been initiated globally in which soil C is a key component, and there have been some excellent reviews ( Lal 2004, Stockmann et al. 2013, Melillo et al. 2011). Yet, there is a lack of focus in soil C research in relation to current environmental challenges. Here we recommend research priorities to advance the knowledge base and use of soil C in relation to global human and environmental challenges: food and fiber production, water scarcity and purification, energy production, climate change, biodiversity, recycling waste, and environmental degradation. We have listed the priorities under three themes: (i) Soil C in space and time, (ii) Soil C properties and processes, and (ii) Soil C depletion and management.

scholarly journals ECO-CONSUMERISM AS THE WORLDVIEW POSITION

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Sustainable Energy ◽  
Product Price ◽  
Sustainable Resources ◽  
Organic Products

Problems which humanity encountered with due to the unethical scientific and technological progress, irrational energy consumption, merciless resource pumping and inefficient management were at the level of passive debates for quite a long time. However, the destruction of the Earth’s ecosystem and noticeable modification of its climate background require radical changes in the political, economic and cultural courses, humanity transition to the usage of sustainable energy resources and environmentalisation of the individual consciousness. On April 22nd 2016 was signed the Paris Agreement within United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which deals with the decrease of level of greenhouse gases emissions into the atmosphere starting in 2020. The meeting was intended to demonstrate that although the amount of energy and financial expenditures of the states today is high, but it cannot be compared to those the governments will face in the case of irreversible climate change and necessity of adaptation. The imposition of these issues at the level of interstate discussions, global concerns about the planet ecology, individual initiative and voluntary steps in order to save life on the planet, without a doubt, deserve respect and must be supported. Nevertheless, at the present stage, for the effective implementation of announced decisions strict accountability and sanctions for evading the stated arrangement should be provided. In addition, actions of the states at the global level need to be supplemented by human individual contribution to the process of environment preservation. Among the effective methods for achieving environmentalisation of the mass consciousness there are social advertising, transformation of eco-consumerism in the fashion trend, and cinematography (an advantage of the one in comparison to the cumbrous scientific researches is that its products are understandable for the mass consumers). In terms of environmentalisation of human consciousness the encouraging of young people to create innovative projects in waste recycling sphere is quite promising. Actually, there are many examples that recycling can be not just useful but interesting as well: bins that “thanking” to the passersby for the rubbish (theUnited Arab Emirates) and broadcast the latest news and weather forecasts (theUK), containers in the form of bottles and newspapers (Singapore), machines that feed stray animals (Turkey) etc. Thus, installation of the smart garbage recycling systems in public places and educational institutions will help to form individual sense of responsibility for the environment and other living species on the planet, encourage thoughtful consumption and recycling, and eliminate the policy of mindless consumerism. Among the countries that have already achieved noticeable results in the economy transition to the sustainable energy consumption there are China, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, particularly, the Utrecht city, and the Canary island El Hierro. Even though these implementations of effective energy saving technologies in everyday life of ordinary people are local and territorially limited, it appears that with the increase in the number of citizens who are aware of the benefits of eco-friendly energy consumption, stronger will be their demands to rethink public policy in this area. Meanwhile, it is important to promote among masses the principles of green consumerism that base on the consumption of organic products, energy production from the renewable resources, environmentally friendly activities etc. This type of food and energy production also has potential to stabilize the world market: the price will not vary depending on the richness of fossil fuels deposits or their availability as such. Thus, if the consumers are supplied with energy from the sustainable resources, it will decrease the final product price and allow redirecting of saved funds to the other areas. Furthermore, expanding the boundaries of human knowledge, technological development, moral and physical perfection of the person, cleansing and supporting of ecosystems, production of high-quality organic products instead of distribution of cheap counterfeits, improving of the healthcare industry are able to ensure the formation of the modern ethics of responsibility and humanity transition to the next stage of its development. Finally, attention should be paid to the designing projects of future ecopolis – city, which produces and consumes energy in the most effective and harmless to humans and the environment ways.

Mitochondrial matrix calcium ions regulate energy production in myocardium: A cytochemical study

1990 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-167
Author(s):  
W.A. Jacob ◽  
R. Hertsens ◽  
A. Van Bogaert ◽  
M. De Smet
Keyword(s):  
Energy Metabolism ◽  
Calcium Ions ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Regulation Of Respiration ◽  
Free Calcium ◽  
Mitochondrial Matrix ◽  
Cytochemical Study ◽  
Nmr Techniques

In the past most studies of the control of energy metabolism focus on the role of the phosphorylation potential ATP/ADP.Pi on the regulation of respiration. Studies using NMR techniques have demonstrated that the concentrations of these compounds for oxidation phosphorylation do not change appreciably throughout the cardiac cycle and during increases in cardiac work. Hence regulation of energy production by calcium ions, present in the mitochondrial matrix, has been the object of a number of recent studies.Three exclusively intramitochondnal dehydrogenases are key enzymes for the regulation of oxidative metabolism. They are activated by calcium ions in the low micromolar range. Since, however, earlier estimates of the intramitochondnal calcium, based on equilibrium thermodynamic considerations, were in the millimolar range, a physiological correlation was not evident. The introduction of calcium-sensitive probes fura-2 and indo-1 made monitoring of free calcium during changing energy metabolism possible. These studies were performed on isolated mitochondria and extrapolation to the in vivo situation is more or less speculative.

Exploring the Role of Heuristics and Constructed Beliefs in Climate-Change Perception

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Keenan ◽  
Lisa Zaval ◽  
Ye Li ◽  
Eric J. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Change Perception ◽  
Climate Change Perception
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