Sensing in the Anthropocene

Secret Worlds ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 188-222
Author(s):  
Martin Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Production ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Noise Pollution ◽  
Sensory Systems ◽  
Chemical Pollution ◽  
Light Pollution ◽  
Electromagnetic Noise ◽  
Food Industries ◽  
Led Lights

This chapter examines how the growing understanding of the variety of sensory systems used by nature has inspired new technologies to benefit human lives and society. A growing area is biomimicry, which involves inventions inspired by nature, and this has included trying to copy the sensory systems of animals. Humans also use animals directly in many ways; tens of billions of birds are kept for food production, not to mention other animal groups. There is much potential for food industries and places such as zoos to adopt conditions that are tailored to the sensory worlds and wellbeing of the animals they keep. The chapter then addresses how humans are dramatically altering the sensory worlds of animals. It considers the impacts of chemical pollution, sound or noise pollution, light pollution, electromagnetic noise, and climate change on animal senses. Finally, the chapter looks at how knowledge of animal senses has been put to good use in seeking to solve one of the problems of humanity’s own creation, namely overfishing. The use of LED lights in fisheries as a way of preventing bycatch, especially of highly visual animals such as turtles, is very promising, and target species appear to be relatively unaffected.

Governing climate change for sustainable food production: A case study of emerging markets

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-75
Author(s):  
Robert Ddamulira
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
Future Success ◽  
Governance Challenges ◽  
Change Impact ◽  
Document Review

This article addresses three research questions: How does climate change impact food production? What are the governance challenges associated with managing such impacts? What are the conditions for future success in managing the impacts of climate change on food production? To answer these questions, the researcher undertook a document review and analysis to address these various aspects with a major focus on East Africa. The study finds that climate change affects food production largely through its physical impacts on precipitation and increased the frequency of extreme weather events. Within a context of weak governance; climate change further challenges governance institutional structures and mechanisms. The study concludes that specific aspects of the prevailing climate change governance regime require major reforms (particularly the role of the state, corporations and civil society) while other climate governance mechanisms need to be completely overhauled (for example through establishment of a new World Environment Organization).

Smart Cities and Smart Regulation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita Rønne
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Smart Regulation

Increasing focus on sustainable societies and ‘smart cities’ due to emphasis on mitigation of climate change is simultaneous with ‘smart regulation’ reaching the forefront of the political agenda. Consequently, the energy sector and its regulation are undergoing significant innovation and change. Energy innovations include transition from fossil fuels to more renewable energy sources and application of new computer technology, interactively matching production with consumer demand. Smart cities are growing and projects are being initiated for development of urban areas and energy systems. Analysis from ‘Smart Cities Accelerator’, developed under the EU Interreg funding programme that includes Climate-KIC,——provides background for the focus on a smart energy system. Analysis ensures the energy supply systems support the integration of renewables with the need for new technologies and investments. ‘Smart’ is trendy, but when becoming ‘smart’ leads to motivation that is an important step towards mitigating climate change.

scholarly journals Assessing the Sensitivity of Main Crop Yields to Climate Change Impacts in China

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 172
Author(s):  
Yuan Xu ◽  
Jieming Chou ◽  
Fan Yang ◽  
Mingyang Sun ◽  
Weixing Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Climatic Data ◽  
The South ◽  
The North ◽  
Output Elasticity ◽  
The Impact

Quantitatively assessing the spatial divergence of the sensitivity of crop yield to climate change is of great significance for reducing the climate change risk to food production. We use socio-economic and climatic data from 1981 to 2015 to examine how climate variability led to variation in yield, as simulated by an economy–climate model (C-D-C). The sensitivity of crop yield to the impact of climate change refers to the change in yield caused by changing climatic factors under the condition of constant non-climatic factors. An ‘output elasticity of comprehensive climate factor (CCF)’ approach determines the sensitivity, using the yields per hectare for grain, rice, wheat and maize in China’s main grain-producing areas as a case study. The results show that the CCF has a negative trend at a rate of −0.84/(10a) in the North region, while a positive trend of 0.79/(10a) is observed for the South region. Climate change promotes the ensemble increase in yields, and the contribution of agricultural labor force and total mechanical power to yields are greater, indicating that the yield in major grain-producing areas mainly depends on labor resources and the level of mechanization. However, the sensitivities to climate change of different crop yields to climate change present obvious regional differences: the sensitivity to climate change of the yield per hectare for maize in the North region was stronger than that in the South region. Therefore, the increase in the yield per hectare for maize in the North region due to the positive impacts of climate change was greater than that in the South region. In contrast, the sensitivity to climate change of the yield per hectare for rice in the South region was stronger than that in the North region. Furthermore, the sensitivity to climate change of maize per hectare yield was stronger than that of rice and wheat in the North region, and that of rice was the highest of the three crop yields in the South region. Finally, the economy–climate sensitivity zones of different crops were determined by the output elasticity of the CCF to help adapt to climate change and prevent food production risks.

scholarly journals Salinity and food security in southwest coastal Bangladesh: impacts on household food production and strategies for adaptation

Food Security ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukyan Lam ◽  
Peter J. Winch ◽  
Fosiul Alam Nizame ◽  
Elena T. Broaddus-Shea ◽  
Md. Golam Dostogir Harun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
Floodplain Management ◽  
Ganges River ◽  
External Resources ◽  
Coastal Bangladesh ◽  
Household Food ◽  
Household Food Production

AbstractThe rising salinity of land and water is an important, but understudied, climate change-sensitive trend that can exert devastating impacts on food security. This mixed methods investigation combines salinity testing with qualitative research methods to explore these impacts in one of the most salinity-affected regions in the world—the Ganges River Delta. Data collection in 2015 and 2016 undertaken in Bangladesh’s southwest coastal region and Dhaka consisted of 83 in-depth household and stakeholder interviews, six community focus groups, and salinity testing of 27 soil and 45 surface and groundwater samples. Results show that household food production is a multifaceted cornerstone of rural livelihood in the southwest coastal region, and virtually every component of it—from rice plantation and homestead gardening to livestock cultivation and aquaculture—is being negatively affected by salinity. Although households have attempted multiple strategies for adapting food production, effective adaptation remains elusive. At the community level, improved irrigation and floodplain management, as well as restrictions on saltwater aquaculture to abate salinity, are viewed as promising interventions. However, the potential of such measures remains unrealized on a broad scale, as they require a level of external resources and regulation not yet provided by the NGO and government sectors. This study elucidates issues of accessibility, equity, and governance surrounding agricultural interventions for climate change-related salinity adaptation, and its findings can help inform the community of organizations that will increasingly need to grapple with salinity in order to guarantee food security in the context of environmental change.

Envisaged transfer projects: New technologies in the water sustainability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naseer Ahmed Abbasi ◽  
Xiangzhou Xu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
The World

<p><strong>Abstracts:</strong> Influenced by global climate change, water shortages and other extreme weather, water scarcity in the world is an alarming sign. This article provides evidences regarding the Tunnel and Tianhe project’s feasibility and their technical, financial, political, socioeconomic and environmental aspects. Such as how to utilize the water vapour in the air and to build a 1000 km long tunnel project to fulfill the goal of solving water shortage in China. The projects are promising to solve the problem of water, food and drought in the country. In addition, the telecoupling framework helps to effectively understand and manage ecosystem services, as well as the different challenges associated with them. Such efforts can help find the ways for proper utilization of water resources and means of regulation.</p><p><strong>Key words: </strong>Sustainability; water shortage; transfer project</p>

Neurobiology of phenotypic plasticity in the light of climate change

Neuroforum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda C. Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Sensory Systems ◽  
Chemical Information ◽  
Adaptive Potential ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Changing Environments ◽  
Neuronal Signalling ◽  
Physiological Adaptations ◽  
Signalling Cascade

Abstract Phenotypic plasticity describes the ability of an organism with a given genotype to respond to changing environmental conditions through the adaptation of the phenotype. Phenotypic plasticity is a widespread means of adaptation, allowing organisms to optimize fitness levels in changing environments. A core prerequisite for adaptive predictive plasticity is the existence of reliable cues, i.e. accurate environmental information about future selection on the expressed plastic phenotype. Furthermore, organisms need the capacity to detect and interpret such cues, relying on specific sensory signalling and neuronal cascades. Subsequent neurohormonal changes lead to the transformation of phenotype A into phenotype B. Each of these activities is critical for survival. Consequently, anything that could impair an animal’s ability to perceive important chemical information could have significant ecological ramifications. Climate change and other human stressors can act on individual or all of the components of this signalling cascade. In consequence, organisms could lose their adaptive potential, or in the worst case, even become maladapted. Therefore, it is key to understand the sensory systems, the neurobiology and the physiological adaptations that mediate organisms’ interactions with their environment. It is, thus, pivotal to predict the ecosystem-wide effects of global human forcing. This review summarizes current insights on how climate change affects phenotypic plasticity, focussing on how associated stressors change the signalling agents, the sensory systems, receptor responses and neuronal signalling cascades, thereby, impairing phenotypic adaptations.

scholarly journals A vital link: water and vegetation in the Anthropocene

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 3841-3852 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Gerten
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Vegetation Dynamics ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Ecosystem Dynamics ◽  
Active Management ◽  
World Population ◽  
Water Limitation ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
Co2 Effects ◽  
Water Vegetation

Abstract. This paper argues that the interplay of water, carbon and vegetation dynamics fundamentally links some global trends in the current and conceivable future Anthropocene, such as cropland expansion, freshwater use, and climate change and its impacts. Based on a review of recent literature including geographically explicit simulation studies with the process-based LPJmL global biosphere model, it demonstrates that the connectivity of water and vegetation dynamics is vital for water security, food security and (terrestrial) ecosystem dynamics alike. The water limitation of net primary production of both natural and agricultural plants – already pronounced in many regions – is shown to increase in many places under projected climate change, though this development is partially offset by water-saving direct CO2 effects. Natural vegetation can to some degree adapt dynamically to higher water limitation, but agricultural crops usually require some form of active management to overcome it – among them irrigation, soil conservation and eventually shifts of cropland to areas that are less water-limited due to more favourable climatic conditions. While crucial to secure food production for a growing world population, such human interventions in water–vegetation systems have, as also shown, repercussions on the water cycle. Indeed, land use changes are shown to be the second-most important influence on the terrestrial water balance in recent times. Furthermore, climate change (warming and precipitation changes) will in many regions increase irrigation demand and decrease water availability, impeding rainfed and irrigated food production (if not CO2 effects counterbalance this impact – which is unlikely at least in poorly managed systems). Drawing from these exemplary investigations, some research perspectives on how to further improve our knowledge of human–water–vegetation interactions in the Anthropocene are outlined.

scholarly journals BIOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF MICROBES IN AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY: A REVIEW

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
MARIA KALSOOM ◽  
FAZAL UR REHMAN ◽  
TALHA SHAFIQUE ◽  
SANWAL JUNAID ◽  
NIMRA KHALID ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
Sustainable Agriculture ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Review Article ◽  
The Other ◽  
Medicinal Products ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Food Industries ◽  
Effect Of Food ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industries

Biotechnology is the most prominent and rapidly growing segment of the biological sciences that is making its diversified application in sustainable agriculture. Biofertilizers, biopesticides, bioherbicides, bioinsecticides, and many of the other fungal based and viral based insecticides, obtained using microorganisms, are some of the outcomes of biotechnology playing a key role in sustainable agriculture. Many of other important food products are also obtained by microbial fermentation. Different microbes are added to get the desired effect of food at the specific stages of food production process. Pharmaceutical microbiology includes the manufacturing of different pharmaceutical and medicinal products. This review article has a wide overview of microbes mainly used in agriculture, food industries, and pharmaceutical industries.

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