scholarly journals Practice Matters: Pro-environmental Motivations and Diet-Related Impact Vary With Meditation Experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ute B. Thiermann ◽  
William R. Sheate ◽  
Ans Vercammen
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Animal Protein ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Dispositional Mindfulness ◽  
Land Occupation ◽  
Environmental Behaviors ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Protein Consumption ◽  
Meditation Experience

Mindfulness has emerged as a potential motivator for sustainable lifestyles, yet few studies provide insight into the relationship between mindfulness practice levels and individual engagement in pro-environmental behaviors. We also lack information about the significance of meditators’ behavioral differences in terms of their measurable environmental impact and the motivational processes underlying these differences in pro-environmental performance. We classified 300 individuals in three groups with varying meditation experience and compared their pro-environmental motivations and levels of animal protein consumption. Exceeding prior attempts to compare high-impact behaviors of mindfulness practitioners and non-practitioners, we created the most detailed classification of practice engagement by assessing frequency, experience and type of meditation practice. This nuanced view on mindfulness practice reveals that advanced meditators, who reported high levels of connectedness with nature (CWN), subjective happiness and dispositional mindfulness showed significantly more concern for the environment. They also demonstrated the lowest levels of greenhouse gas emissions, land occupation and water use related to their animal-protein consumption. This study is the first to follow a self-determination theory perspective to deepen our understanding of the motivational differences between meditator groups. We revealed that advanced meditators reported significantly more integrated motivation toward the environment than non-meditators. We also provided preliminary evidence for a new theoretical framework suggesting that experiential strategies such as mindfulness practices could strengthen the relational pathway of pro-environmental behaviors. Using sequential mediation analysis, we confirmed that the negative effect of mindful compassion practice on greenhouse gas emissions from animal-protein consumption is partially mediated by CWN and integrated motivation toward the environment. While our study does not support assumptions of causality, it shows that much can be learned by studying the motivations of advanced meditators for maintaining high levels of pro-environmental behavior.

Resource use and environmental impacts from beef production in eastern Australia investigated using life cycle assessment

2016 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 882 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Wiedemann ◽  
Eugene McGahan ◽  
Caoilinn Murphy ◽  
Mingjia Yan
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Fresh Water ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Beef Production ◽  
Land Occupation ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Eastern Australia

Resource use and environmental impacts are important factors relating to the sustainability of beef production in Australia. This study used life cycle assessment to investigate impacts from grass-finished beef production in eastern Australia to the farm gate, reporting impacts per kilogram of liveweight (LW) produced. Mean fossil fuel energy demand was found to vary from 5.6 to 8.4 MJ/kg LW, mean estimated fresh water consumption from 117.9 to 332.4 L/kg LW and crop land occupation from 0.3 to 6.4 m2/kg LW. Mean greenhouse gas emissions ranged from 10.6 to 12.4 kg CO2-e/kg LW (excluding land use and direct land-use change emissions) and were not significantly different (P > 0.05) for export or domestic market classes. Enteric methane was the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and multiple linear regression analysis revealed that weaning rate and average daily gain explained 80% of the variability in supply chain greenhouse gas emissions. Fresh water consumption was found to vary significantly among individual farms depending on climate, farm water supply efficiency and the use of irrigation. The impact of water use was measured using the stress-weighted water use indicator, and ranged from 8.4 to 104.2 L H2O-e/kg LW. The stress-weighted water use was influenced more by regional water stress than the volume of fresh water consumption. Land occupation was assessed with disaggregation of crop land, arable pasture land and non-arable land, which revealed that the majority of beef production utilised non-arable land that is unsuitable for most alternative food production systems.

Low-Carbon Russia: Prospects after the Crisis

2009 ◽  
pp. 107-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Bashmakov
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Potential Energy ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Modeling Tools ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Scenario Approach

On the eve of the worldwide negotiations of a new climate agreement in December 2009 in Copenhagen it is important to clearly understand what Russia can do to mitigate energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in the medium (until 2020) and in the long term (until 2050). The paper investigates this issue using modeling tools and scenario approach. It concludes that transition to the "Low-Carbon Russia" scenarios must be accomplished in 2020—2030 or sooner, not only to mitigate emissions, but to block potential energy shortages and its costliness which can hinder economic growth.

Ecological specificities of the interaction between animal breeding and climate changes, caused by greenhouse gas emissions

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 62-72
Author(s):  
O. Zhukorsky ◽  
O. Nykyforuk ◽  
N. Boltyk
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gases ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Animal Breeding ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Emissions Inventory ◽  
Theoretical Substantiation ◽  
Global Problems

Aim. Proper development of animal breeding in the conditions of current global problems and the decrease of anthropogenic burden on environment due to greenhouse gas emissions, caused by animal breeding activity, require the study of interaction processes between animal breeding and external climatic conditions. Methods. The theoretical substantiation of the problem was performed based on scientifi c literature, statistical informa- tion of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the data of the National greenhouse gas emissions inventory in Ukraine. Theoretically possible emissions of greenhouse gases into atmosphere due to animal breeding in Ukraine and specifi c farms are calculated by the international methods using the statistical infor- mation about animal breeding in Ukraine and the economic-technological information of the activity of the investigated farms. Results. The interaction between the animal breeding production and weather-and-climate conditions of environment was analyzed. Possible vectors of activity for the industry, which promote global warming and negative processes, related to it, were determined. The main factors, affecting the formation of greenhouse gases from the activity of enterprises, aimed at animal breeding production, were characterized. Literature data, statistical data and calculations were used to analyze the role of animal breeding in the green- house gas emissions in global and national framework as well as at the level of specifi c farms with the consid- eration of individual specifi cities of these farms. Conclusions. Current global problems require clear balance between constant development of sustainable animal breeding and the decrease of the carbon footprint due to the activity of animal breeding.

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