scholarly journals potential environmental impacts of EU immigration policy: future population numbers, greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity preservation

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Cafaro ◽  
Frank Götmark
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Sustainable Societies ◽  
Environmental Goals ◽  
Future Population ◽  
Population Numbers

This article clarifies the potential environmental impacts of more or less expansive EU immigration policies. First, we project the demographic impacts of different immigration policy scenarios on future population numbers, finding that relatively small annual differences in immigration levels lead to large differences in future population numbers, both nationally and region-wide. Second, we analyze the potential impacts of future population numbers on two key environmental goals: reducing the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions and preserving its biodiversity. We find that in both cases, smaller populations make success in these endeavors more likely – though only in conjunction with comprehensive policy changes which lock in the environmental benefits of smaller populations. Reducing immigration in order to stabilize or reduce populations thus can help EU nations create ecologically sustainable societies, while increasing immigration will tend to move them further away from this goal.

scholarly journals Consumer Readiness to Reduce Meat Consumption for the Purpose of Environmental Sustainability: Insights from Norway

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marthe Austgulen ◽  
Silje Skuland ◽  
Alexander Schjøll ◽  
Frode Alfnes
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Consumption Practices ◽  
Group Interviews

Food production is associated with various environmental impacts and the production of meat is highlighted as a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. A transition toward plant-based and low-meat diets has thus been emphasised as an important contribution to reducing climate change. By combining results from a consumer survey, focus group interviews and an in-store field experiment, this article investigates whether Norwegian consumers are ready to make food choices based on what is environmentally sustainable. We ask how consumers perceive the environmental impacts of food consumption, whether they are willing and able to change their food consumption in a more climate-friendly direction, and what influences their perceptions and positions. The results show that there is uncertainty among consumers regarding what constitutes climate- or environmentally friendly food choices and that few consumers are motivated to change their food consumption patterns for climate- or environmental reasons. Consumers’ support to initiatives, such as eating less meat and increasing the prices of meat, are partly determined by the consumers’ existing value orientation and their existing consumption practices. Finally, we find that although providing information about the climate benefits of eating less meat has an effect on vegetable purchases, this does not seem to mobilise consumer action any more than the provision of information about the health benefits of eating less meat does. The article concludes that environmental policies aiming to transfer part of the responsibility for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to food consumers is being challenged by the fact that most consumers are still not ready to make food choices based on what is best for the climate or environment.

Our Energy Inheritance: Nuclear Power

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hewitt Crane ◽  
Edwin Kinderman ◽  
Ripudaman Malhotra
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Nuclear Technology ◽  
Value Judgments ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
The World

Of the various alternatives to fossil energy, nuclear power is the most advanced and the best positioned to become a major source of energy. It is also essentially free of CO2 emissions, and if reducing greenhouse gas emissions is truly the highest concern, then we will have to develop nuclear power. Yet developing nuclear power would also pose challenges in terms of waste disposal, and proliferation of nuclear weapons including the risk of a terrorist organization acquiring such weapons. To some environmentalists nuclear power presents a serious, dilemma. Support or opposition to nuclear power is strongly affected by value judgments as well as lack of disseminated information on questions: What happens if there is leakage of nuclear waste someday? To what extent would people and the world be affected? Would we be trading international security for energy security—does nuclear power increase our vulnerability to terrorist attacks? The mixture of clear benefits with outstanding questions currently allows some nations to embrace nuclear power, some to accept it grudgingly, and still others choose to ignore it. Given its availability and environmental benefits, nuclear is an option that cannot be ignored if we are to tackle the energy problem in a serious way. To assume that we can store and safeguard the waste for thousands of years may be hubris, but we come out in favor of developing nuclear technology in part because we already have to store the legacy nuclear waste that has been generated over the last 50 years. Another 60 or so years of waste will represent a marginal addition to that enormous task, but it would buy us badly needed time to carefully develop other energy sources that do not entail net greenhouse gas emissions. Also, we find that many of the concerns raised against the development of nuclear power are vastly exaggerated. For example, as we describe in this chapter, safe storage of the waste does not require 10,000 years: if we use reprocessing technologies, the remaining waste could be rendered benign in a couple of centuries.

scholarly journals Two Novel Energy Crops: Sida hermaphrodita (L.) Rusby and Silphium perfoliatum L.—State of Knowledge

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 928
Author(s):  
Laura Cumplido-Marin ◽  
Anil R. Graves ◽  
Paul J. Burgess ◽  
Christopher Morhart ◽  
Pierluigi Paris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Biogas Production ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Bioenergy Crops ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Gas Emissions

Current global temperature increases resulting from human activity threaten many ecosystems and societies, and have led to international and national policy commitments that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Bioenergy crops provide one means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy production and two novel crops that could be used for this purpose are Sida hermaphrodita (L.) Rusby and Silphium perfoliatum L. This research examined the existing scientific literature available on both crops through a systematic review. The data were collated according to the agronomy, uses, and environmental benefits of each crop. Possible challenges were associated with high initial planting costs, low yields in low rainfall areas, and for Sida hermaphrodita, vulnerability to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. However, under appropriate environmental conditions, both crops were found to provide large yields over sustained periods of time with relatively low levels of management and could be used to produce large energy surpluses, either through direct combustion or biogas production. Other potential uses included fodder, fibre, and pharmaceutical uses. Environmental benefits included the potential for phytoremediation, and improvements to soil health, biodiversity, and pollination. The review also demonstrated that environmental benefits, such as pollination, soil health, and water quality benefits could be obtained from the use of Sida hermaphrodita and Silphium perfoliatum relative to existing bioenergy crops such as maize, whilst at the same time reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy production. Future research should examine the long-term implications of using Sida hermaphrodita and Silphium perfoliatum as well as improve knowledge on how to integrate them successfully within existing farming systems and supply chains.

Food, Agriculture & the Environment: Can We Feed the World & Save the Earth?

Daedalus ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 8-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Tilman ◽  
Michael Clark
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Nutritious Food

Secure and nutritious food supplies are the foundation of human health and development, and of stable societies. Yet food production also poses significant threats to the environment through greenhouse gas emissions, pollution from fertilizers and pesticides, and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services from the conversion of vast amounts of natural ecosystems into croplands and pastures. Global agricultural production is on a trajectory to double by 2050 because of both increases in the global population and the dietary changes associated with growing incomes. Here we examine the environmental problems that would result from these dietary shifts toward greater meat and calorie consumption and from the increase in agricultural production needed to provide this food. Several solutions, all of which are possible with current knowledge and technology, could substantially reduce agriculture's environmental impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, land clearing, and threats to biodiversity. In particular, the adoption of healthier diets and investment in increasing crop yields in developing nations would greatly reduce the environmental impacts of agriculture, lead to greater global health, and provide a path toward a secure and nutritious food supply for developing nations.

Automobile Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grady Killeen ◽  
Arik Levinson
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Electric Vehicles ◽  
Fuel Economy ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Automotive Fuel ◽  
History Of

In March 2017, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt reopened an evaluation of the automotive fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards that the EPA had finalized in January. This case provides a history of the rules, along with assessments of their costs and benefits. It addresses numerous debates, including the environmental benefits of the rules, the role of electric vehicles, whether the standards should be less strict for larger cars, and tradeoffs between fuel economy and safety.

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