The Social Acceptance Factors for Insulation Boards Produced With CO2-Derived Foam

The negative consequence of increased greenhouse gas emissions have incited research to focus on developing sustainable technologies to reduce the use of fossil raw material. Carbon Capture and Utilization is such a technology. It reuses captured CO2 as raw material for the production of salable products. Beyond their technical and economic feasibility, the acceptance of these products is vital for the successful roll-out of the technology. The two-step empirical study—a qualitative preliminary study (n = 8 experts, n = 16 laypeople) and a quantitative survey study (N = 643)—described in the present paper focused on the acceptance of insulation boards produced by means of CCU by its potential Dutch and German consumers. The study aimed to quantify the level of public acceptance of the product, to identify perceived (dis)advantages, and to pinpoint the drivers behind the acceptance. In the survey, respondents evaluated cognitive and affective acceptance factors, as well as the acceptance of the use of plastic in the product. The results showed that the respondents had little knowledge on CCU, but that CCU insulation boards were nevertheless accepted rather than rejected, with the benefit perception being the common predictor for the three acceptance measures. Public communication and policy should address the product’s (environmental) benefits and foster an increase in the public awareness of the technology.

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Should drill or shouldn’t drill? Urban and rural dwellers’ acceptance of geothermal power plant in Mount Slamet protection forest, Indonesia

Forest and Society ◽

10.24259/fs.v5i2.13400 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 575-590

Author(s):

Dhifa Qorizki ◽

Dwiko B. Permadi ◽

Teguh Yuwono ◽

Rohman Rohman

Keyword(s):

Power Plant ◽

Power Plants ◽

Social Acceptance ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Environmentally Friendly ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

Geothermal Power Plant ◽

Protection Forest ◽

The Social ◽

Geothermal Power

Geothermal is one of the new renewable energy, which is more environmentally friendly than the existing fossil energy and has great potential to become an alternative source of energy in the future. However, the level of social acceptance of geothermal power plants operating in forest areas has not been widely studied. This study aims to reveal the social acceptance of affected residents toward the exploration of Baturaden geothermal power plant, operating in the protection forest area of Mount Slamet. The survey was conducted online to indirectly affected residents living mostly in Banyumas urban areas, while the offline face-to-face survey was administered to the directly affected residents in Sambirata and Karang Tengah villages. A total of 286 samples were analyzed. It was found that the majority of respondents preferred not to continue the establishment of the geothermal power plant, but both rural and urban dwellers have distinctive responses and reasonings. The rural tended to have stronger rejection compared to the urban residents. The acceptance of the project in both groups combined was motivated mainly by the prospect of electricity from more environmentally friendly energy sources and compliance to government policy. Those who refused tend to see from the negative impacts on the disruptions of the daily livelihood in rural areas and environmental damages. Three attitude factors significantly affect the continuation of drilling operation of GPP, namely: economic prospects of geothermal utilization in protection forests, technological optimism to migate the engative impacts, and perceived environmental concerns. To increase the social acceptance, it is suggested that policy makers and energy industry players should integrate the mitigation measures by using more proper technology within the project budget and act harmoniously to increase public awareness of the use of renewable and cleaner energy as well as pay attention to the health, welfare and culture of the local community

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Forest Products Utilization Within a Circular Bioeconomy

Forest Products Journal ◽

10.13073/0015-7473.70.1.4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 70 (1) ◽

pp. 4-9

Author(s):

Richard F. Baldwin

Keyword(s):

Public Awareness ◽

Construction Material ◽

Construction Materials ◽

Forest Products ◽

Environmental Benefits ◽

Raw Material ◽

Wood Structures ◽

Processing Technologies ◽

Diverse Species ◽

Wood Construction

Abstract The advent of tall wood structures in North America is heightening a public awareness that forest products, designed for higher and better uses, will lead to enhanced environmental benefits within the Circular Bioeconomy. The application of these newer wood-based processing technologies and their resulting products, in place of completive products such as concrete, steel and other non-wood construction materials, will redefine and expand the advantages that wood has as a construction material. Further, the growing capability to use small logs, and diverse species, as raw material for the newer generation of forest products will magnify the carbon sequestration benefits from the working forest. A recipe of getting more benefits and improved utilization from the working forest is identified and described, while focusing on the means and methods of obtaining these benefits.

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Making a mine invisible: the coming challenge for geoscientists for sourcing critical raw materials

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-6606 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Vitor Correia ◽

Julian Hilton ◽

Hari Tulsidas ◽

Michael Neumann ◽

Balazs Bodo

Keyword(s):

United Nations ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Business Models ◽

Social Acceptance ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Resource Recovery ◽

Economic Feasibility ◽

Research And Innovation ◽

The Social ◽

Holistic Understanding

<p>Converging technologies in robotics, miniaturisation, and cost-efficient drilling are already being used by European researchers to create a robot-miner prototype[1] for small and difficult to access mineral deposits. This will certainly trigger more research and innovation in scalability, resilience, reconfigurability, collective behaviour and operation of the robot(s) in harsh environments, alongside ore metallurgy and processing close-loop systems. The combination of these technologies and the robotisation of underground mining enables the creation of <strong>invisible mines. Invisible mines </strong>have the potential to reduce the environmental impacts of mines and their footprint while increasing the social acceptance of mining.</p><p>A recent United Nations[2] paper emphasises the need of innovation as a critical pathway to achieving the objectives in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and makes an urgent call for new business models in the mining industry. One of the principles it advocates is &#8216;comprehensive extraction&#8217;, also called &#8216;comprehensive and integrated resource recovery&#8217;. This new paradigm rests on the key assumption that a mine site should be disturbed only once, in the process recovering useful materials in an optimised integrated flowsheet and future-proofing any resources that are not of immediate interest rather than discarding them as wastes. The implementation of &#8216;comprehensive and integrated resource recovery&#8217; can be pulled by the combination of current progress in three areas: a)&#160;research and innovation; b) investment activities; and c) skills, education and knowledge. All three, alone or in combination, have a role to play in developing invisible mines.&#160;</p><p>Despite efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of mines and their footprint, and to increase the social acceptance of the activity, a conventional economic rationale underpins economic feasibility studies. Under that logic, many minerals are either not extracted or are considered &#8216;waste&#8217; an end-up being discarded. Advances in mining and ore processing methods designed to maximise robotic mining will create a fundamental shift in traditional business models since the extraction and maximisation of the value of all extracted materials increases the number of interactions in downstream industries. This will change traditional feasibility assessments, calling for the development of <strong>intelligent business models</strong>, capable of delivering sophisticated, comprehensive analysis, integrating a range of different value streams.</p><p>The unfolding of invisible mines combined with intelligent business models will shift skills and competencies of the mining workforce towards more complex cognitive categories with increased requirements in digital literacy, alongside a holistic understanding of the value chains that are using mining outputs and enhanced expertise on communication and stakeholder engagement. This entails the urgent alignment of <strong>education and training contents</strong> and the continuous review and update of the international sectoral qualifications framework for the raw materials sector[3].</p><div><br><div> <p>[1] Robominers H2020 project. See https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/223247/factsheet/en</p> </div> <div> <p>[2] Hilton et al. (2018). Transforming our world&#8217;s natural resources: A step change for the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources? https://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/energy/se/pp/unfc_egrm/egrc9_apr2018/ece.energy.ge.3.2018.7_e.pdf</p> </div> <div> <p>[3] Intermin H2020 project. See https://interminproject.org/</p> </div> </div>

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MODELOS DE EXPANSÃO FLORESTAL NO SEGUNDO PLANALTO PARANAENSE: UMA ANÁLISE A PARTIR DO PERFIL SOCIOECONÔMICO DOS PROPRIETÁRIOS RURAIS

FLORESTA ◽

10.5380/rf.v40i1.17107 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Roberto Rochadelli ◽

João Carlos Garzel Leodoro da Silva ◽

Alessandro Vinicios Schneider ◽

Marina Sinicio de Barros

Keyword(s):

Nature Conservation ◽

Technology Diffusion ◽

Social Issues ◽

Technical Support ◽

Environmental Benefits ◽

Raw Material ◽

Forest Expansion ◽

Material Supply ◽

Forest Production ◽

The Social

Investidores têm buscado alternativas, tais como o arrendamento, o fomento, a venda de mudas, a difusão de tecnologia e suporte técnico, o que aumenta a área florestal e, consequentemente, a oferta de matéria-prima. No que se refere ao fomento, o termo é utilizado para caracterizar atividades centradas na promoção do desenvolvimento rural, tanto na área florestal como na agropecuária. A região estudada compreendeu a área de abrangência dos programas de parceria efetivados na região do Segundo Planalto Paranaense, através das modalidades “doação de mudas”, “venda de mudas”, “empreendimento”, “pronaf” e “propflora”. A tomada de dados se deu na forma de aplicação de questionários, com uma intensidade amostral de 249 entrevistados, distribuídos ao longo da área de estudo. Os parceiros das categorias “doação de mudas” e “pronaf” se caracterizam pelo uso dos recursos de produção voltado para a agricultura e pecuária de subsistência. As demais categorias, “venda de mudas”, “empreendimento” e “propflora”, utilizam seus fatores de produção em nível empresarial e com tecnologia mais intensiva. A quase totalidade das propriedades amostradas apresenta área destinada à Reserva Legal (RL) com valores acima daquele previsto por lei (20%). Para a grande maioria dos parceiros amostrados, a parceria traz benefícios sociais (emprego), econômicos (renda) e ambientais (conservação da natureza). Palavras-chave: Produção florestal; fomento florestal; expansão florestal. Abstract Models of forest expansion on second paranaense plateau: an analysis trough the social and economical profile of the landowners. Investors have searched alternatives to increase the forest raw material supply. Some alternatives are: lease, foment, selling of seedlings, forest technology diffusion and technical support. The studied region comprises the range area of the accomplished partnership programs in the region of “Paraná Second Plateau”, containing the modalities: “donation of seedlings”, “selling of seedlings”, “enterprise”, “PRONAF” and “PROPFLORA”. The data were obtained through questionnaires, applied in a sampling intensity of 249 interviews. The categories “donation of seedlings” and “PRONAF” are characterized by productions related to agriculture and cattlerasing. The others categories, “selling of seedlings”, “enterprise” and “PROPFLORA” use intensive technology and invest in bigger enterprises. Most of sampled properties have area destinated to Legal Reserve. Most of sampled partners bring social issues (job), economics issues (income) and environmental benefits (nature conservation). Keywords: Forest production; forest promotion; forest expansion.

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Environmental benefits of magnesium hydroxide-based peroxide bleaching of mechanical pulp – mill results

TAPPI Journal ◽

10.32964/tj12.6.9 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 9-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

TOMI HIETANEN ◽

JUHA TAMPER ◽

KAJ BACKFOLK

Keyword(s):

Sodium Hydroxide ◽

Magnesium Hydroxide ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Pulp Mill ◽

Transition Metal Ions ◽

Environmental Benefits ◽

Raw Material ◽

Paper Machine ◽

High Brightness ◽

Peroxide Bleaching

The use of a new, technical, high-purity magnesium hydroxide-based peroxide bleaching additive was evaluated in full mill-scale trial runs on two target brightness levels. Trial runs were conducted at a Finnish paper mill using Norwegian spruce (Picea abies) as the raw material in a conventional pressurized groundwood process, which includes a high-consistency peroxide bleaching stage. On high brightness grades, the use of sodium-based additives cause high environmental load from the peroxide bleaching stage. One proposed solution to this is to replace all or part of the sodium hydroxide with a weaker alkali, such as magnesium hydroxide. The replacement of traditional bleaching additives was carried out stepwise, ranging from 0% to 100%. Sodium silicate was dosed in proportion to sodium hydroxide, but with a minimum dose of 0.5% by weight on dry pulp. The environmental effluent load from bleaching of both low and high brightness pulps was significantly reduced. We observed a 35% to 48% reduction in total organic carbon (TOC), 37% to 40% reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD), and 34% to 60% reduction in biological oxygen demand (BOD7) in the bleaching effluent. At the same time, the target brightness was attained with all replacement ratios. No interference from transition metal ions in the process was observed. The paper quality and paper machine runnability remained good during the trial. These benefits, in addition to the possibility of increasing production capacity, encourage the implementation of the magnesium hydroxide-based bleaching concept.

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Empathy not quarantined: Association between people’s empathy to others and the COVID-19 pandemic situations based on a national survey study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.26834 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Zhibin Jiang ◽

Fan Yang ◽

Bu Zhong ◽

Xuebing Qin

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Social Media ◽

National Survey ◽

Low Income ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Critical Role ◽

Affective Response ◽

Survey Study ◽

Income Levels ◽

The Social

BACKGROUND The Covid-19 pandemic had turned the world upside down, but not much is known about how people’s empathy might be affected by the pandemic. OBJECTIVE This study examined 1) how empathy towards others might be influenced by the social support people obtained by using social media; and 2) how the individual demographics (e.g., age, income) may affect empathy. METHODS A national survey (N = 943) was conducted in China in February 2020, in which the participants read three real scenarios about low-income urban workers (Scenario I), small business owners in cities (Scenario II), and farmers in rural areas (Scenario III) who underwent hardship due to COVID-19. After exposure to others’ difficulties in the scenarios, the participants’ empathy and anxiety levels were measured. We also measured the social support they had by using social media. RESULTS Results show that social support not only positively impacted empathy, β = .30, P < .001 for Scenario I, β = .30, P < .001 for Scenario II, and β = .29, P < .001 for Scenario III, but also interacted with anxiety in influencing the degree to which participants could maintain empathy towards others, β = .08, P = .010 for Scenario I, and β = .07, P = .033 for scenario II. Age negatively predicted empathy for Scenario I, β = -.08, P = .018 and Scenario III, β = -.08, P = .009, but not for Scenario II, β = -.03, P = .40. Income levels – low, medium, high – positively predicted empathy for Scenario III, F (2, 940) = 8.10, P < .001, but not for Scenario I, F (2, 940) = 2.14, P = .12, or Scenario II, F (2, 940) = 2.93, P = .06. Participants living in big cities expressed greater empathy towards others for Scenario III, F (2, 940) = 4.03, P =.018, but not for Scenario I, F (2, 940) = .81, P = .45, or Scenario II, F (2, 940) = 1.46, P =.23. CONCLUSIONS This study contributes to the literature by discovering the critical role empathy plays in people’s affective response to others during the pandemic. Anxiety did not decrease empathy. However, those gaining more social support on social media showed more empathy for others. Those who resided in cities with higher income levels were more empathetic during the COVID-19 outbreak. This study reveals that the social support people obtained helped maintain empathy to others, making them resilient in challenging times.

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De-Sexualizing Partner Notification: A Qualitative Study on Chinese Young Adults with Chlamydia

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18084032 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (8) ◽

pp. 4032

Author(s):

Bobo H. P. Lau ◽

Lucia Liu ◽

Celia H. Y. Chan ◽

Cecilia L. W. Chan ◽

Jason J. Ong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Sexual Partner ◽

Social Acceptance ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Partner Notification ◽

Well Being ◽

Transmitted Infection ◽

Sexually Transmitted ◽

Active Population ◽

Chinese Young Adults

Background: Chlamydia is common amongst the sexually active population in Hong Kong. As most cases are asymptomatic, partner notification may be helpful in controlling chlamydia. This study examined attitudes towards partner notification for chlamydia among Hong Kong Chinese youths in order to inform a culturally appropriate, patient-empowering sexual health service. Methods: Sixteen individuals (aged 20 to 31) who received a confirmed diagnosis of chlamydia within the previous twelve months of data collection were recruited from two community-based organizations between June and December 2017. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted by a health psychologist. Results: Nine participants notified a total of eleven current and ex-partners. Seven participants did not notify their sexual partner(s). Our findings revealed how participants struggled with the discrediting sexual aspect of their infection, and how de-sexualizing the infection and selected disclosure facilitated partner notification and social acceptance. Perceived stigma regarding chlamydia however did not dissipate with their disclosure. Participants did not perceive lasting impact of chlamydia on their well-being as they thought they have much control over whether and how to disclose to their (future) partners. All participants agreed there was a pressing need to raise public awareness on this silent but highly prevalent sexually transmitted infection. Conclusions: Our findings illustrate the complex struggle behind communicating about chlamydia to one’s sexual partner and how strategizing the disclosure process served to circumvent embarrassment and foster testing of sexual partners.

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No Way, That’s Gross! How Public Exposure Therapy Can Overcome Disgust Preventing Consumer Adoption of Sustainable Food Alternatives

Foods ◽

10.3390/foods10061380 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. 1380

Author(s):

Jan Andre Koch ◽

Jan Willem Bolderdijk ◽

Koert van Ittersum

Keyword(s):

Environmental Benefits ◽

Alternative Strategy ◽

Consumer Acceptance ◽

Edible Insects ◽

Consumer Adoption ◽

Sustainable Food ◽

The Social ◽

Public Exposure ◽

Main Barrier ◽

Promising Avenue

Two prominently discussed sustainable food alternatives—lab-meat and edible insects—elicit disgust among consumers, thereby preventing acceptance. While providing prospective consumers with more information on, for instance, the environmental benefits of lab-meat has shown some success in increasing consumer acceptance, we argue that the disgust response—the main barrier to the societal acceptance of these foods—is not addressed. This is, we argue, because disgust is not the result of misperceptions (e.g., edible insects carry diseases) and thus unlikely to be overcome by information alone. Building on the latest insights into the social origins of disgust, this manuscript reviews an alternative strategy to foster the broader acceptance of sustainable food alternatives that currently elicit disgust. Specifically, we explain why and how public exposure could be a promising avenue for marketers to reduce consumers’ disgust response and thus increase the acceptance of sustainable food alternatives.

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Risks and benefits of vegan and vegetarian diets in children

Proceedings of The Nutrition Society ◽

10.1017/s002966512100001x ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Mairead E. Kiely

Keyword(s):

Public Awareness ◽

Essential Fatty Acids ◽

Environmental Benefits ◽

Vegan Diet ◽

Vitamin B ◽

Life Stages ◽

Case Histories ◽

Neurological Damage ◽

Risks And Benefits ◽

Vegetarian Diets

In parallel with increased public awareness of the health and environmental benefits of consuming a plant-based diet, the numbers of people who identify as vegan has increased sharply. The question of whether vegetarian and vegan diets are appropriate for children is a longstanding and unresolved controversy. The more restrictive the diet and the younger the child, the greater the risk of nutritional deficiency. Nutrients of potential concern are protein quantity and quality, iron, zinc, selenium, calcium, riboflavin, vitamins A, D, B12 and essential fatty acids. Although intakes and status of some nutrients (e.g. vitamin D and iron) are low in many children, vegan children are particularly susceptible due to inadequate supply and/or excess dietary fibre as well as other components that limit bioavailability. Although position papers from North America state that well-planned vegetarian and vegan diets, supplemented appropriately, are suitable for all life stages, European statements include strong recommendations to parents that vegan diets should not be adopted by children without medical and dietetic supervision. Case histories of malnutrition and serious harm persist, including irreversible neurological damage due to vitamin B12 deficiency among un-supplemented children. The evidence available to evaluate the nutritional appropriateness of vegetarian diets for children is inadequate and dated. Although nutritionally adequate vegetarian diets are more easily achieved, successful provision of a complete vegan diet for a young child requires substantial commitment, expert guidance, planning, resources and supplementation.

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Transition to Circular Economy in the Fertilizer Sector—Analysis of Recommended Directions and End-Users’ Perception of Waste-Based Products in Poland

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14144312 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (14) ◽

pp. 4312

Author(s):

Marzena Smol

Keyword(s):

Circular Economy ◽

Economic Model ◽

Social Acceptance ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Raw Materials ◽

End Users ◽

Survey Analysis ◽

The Social ◽

Sector Analysis ◽

Art Analysis

Circular economy (CE) is an economic model, in which raw materials remain in circulation as long as possible and the generation of waste is minimized. In the fertilizer sector, waste rich in nutrients should be directed to agriculture purposes. This paper presents an analysis of recommended directions for the use of nutrient-rich waste in fertilizer sector and an evaluation of possible interest in this kind of fertilizer by a selected group of end-users (nurseries). The scope of research includes the state-of-the-art analysis on circular aspects and recommended directions in the CE implementation in the fertilizer sector (with focus on sewage-based waste), and survey analysis on the potential interest of nurseries in the use of waste-based fertilizers in Poland. There are more and more recommendations for the use of waste for agriculture purposes at European and national levels. The waste-based products have to meet certain requirements in order to put such products on the marker. Nurserymen are interested in contributing to the process of transformation towards the CE model in Poland; however, they are not fully convinced due to a lack of experience in the use of waste-based products and a lack of social acceptance and health risk in this regard. Further actions to build the social acceptance of waste-based fertilizers, and the education of end-users themselves in their application is required.

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