scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Protected Strawberry Productions in Central Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4879
Author(s):  
Alessio Ilari ◽  
Giuseppe Toscano ◽  
Kofi Armah Boakye-Yiadom ◽  
Daniele Duca ◽  
Ester Foppa Pedretti

Agricultural activities in Europe cover half of the total area of the continent and are simultaneously a cause of environmental impact and victims of the same impact. Horticultural or fruit crops are considered highly intensive and often employ many crop inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, and various materials. Strawberry falls into this group, and it has grown in acreage and production more than others globally. The aim of this study is to compare the environmental impact of two strawberry cultivation systems in central Italy, a mulched soil tunnel and a soilless tunnel system. The method used to assess the impact is LCA, widely applied in agriculture and supported by international standards. The data used are mainly primary, related to 2018, and representative of the cultivation systems of central Italy. For impact assessment, the method selected was the CML_IA baseline version. From the results obtained, the two systems show a similar impact per kg of strawberries produced (e.g., for global warming: 0.785 kg CO2 eq for soilless, 0.778 kg CO2 eq for mulched soil tunnel). Reduced differences can be observed for the use of crop inputs (greater for the tunnel) and the use of materials and technology (greater for soilless). The mitigation measures considered concern the replacement of the packaging (excluding plastic) and the growing medium of the soilless using perlite and compost from insect breeding.

Proceedings ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (20) ◽  
pp. 1306
Author(s):  
António Carvalho ◽  
Victor Cavaleiro ◽  
António Albuquerque ◽  
Flora Silva

Rendering at the European Directive 2002/49/EC, all EU members have to draw up a strategic noise map for all agglomerations with more than 250,000 inhabitants and for all major airports, roads and railways. A study of environmental impact assessment on motorway A23 in the stretch between Castelo Branco–Alcains (Portugal), based in the impact of the environmental noise, allowed the modeling the noise variation, which can be useful for establishing mitigation measures. The results show that noise model can be a useful tool for the monitoring noise impact in surrounding of motorways.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
MANORAMA SINGH

Environmental Impact Assessment is just an information gathering exercise carried out by the developer and other bodies which enables a Local Planning Authority to understand the environmental effects of a development. The really important thing about environmental assessments is the emphasis on using the best available sources of objective information and in carrying out a systematic and holistic process which should be bias free and allow the local authority and the whole community to properly understand the impact of the proposed development. Environmental assessment should lead to better standards of development and help to propose proper mitigation measures for the problem areas. Environmental impact assessment is meant to be a systematic process which leads to a final product, the Environmental Statement (ES).


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 87-95
Author(s):  
A Parvez ◽  
MT Islam ◽  
M Islam ◽  
MF Haque ◽  
MR Ahmed

The study has been conducted at USA Agro and Auto Bricks Ltd. at Lebukhali, Dumki Upazila under Patuakhali district. The purpose of this study is to find out the potential environmental impact during the construction operation and maintenance phase of the project and suggest effective mitigation measures to reduce negative impacts. Data necessary for the study has been collected through both primary and secondary data sources by literature review, Household Questionnaire Survey, Focus Group Discussion, and Key Informant Interview of surrounding people. Environmental Impact is analyzed through the calculation of Environmental Impact Value and Leopold matrix. Environmental Impact Value (+2) shows that the impact of the brickfield is low positive. Leopold matrix shows the pre, during and post construction value as 2.28, 1.56 and 1.82 where pre-impact is moderate, during and post-impact is low. Our estimated result shows that the negative impact of the project is minimum. J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 11(1-2): 87-95 2018


Author(s):  
Kateryna Sova ◽  
◽  
Natalia Yatsenko ◽  
Denys Zagirniak ◽  
◽  
...  

The article is devoted to the study of the impact of the introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on changes in the investment climate in Ukraine. The relevance of the topic is that improving the practice of applying IFRS as a tool for exchanging financial information is one of the key conditions for improving the investment climate in Ukraine. The authors have created the generalized scheme that illustrates the chronological list of enterprises that are required by law to prepare financial statements in accordance with IFRS. It was noted that in 2018, in accordance with Part 2 of Article 12 of the law on accounting and financial reporting in Ukraine and resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 547 from 11.07.2018, the criteria of enterprises that are required to prepare financial statements in accordance with IFRS were updated. This step significantly increased the level of application of international standards due to the adoption of such a decision at the legislative level. The dynamics of the number of IFRS enterprises in Ukraine was analyzed. The analysis showed that over the past three years, the number of almost all enterprises that must apply international standards has been growing. The advantages of using IFRS for different users of financial statements were determined. It was determined that the priority users of IFRS financial statements are investors. At the same time, it was noted that the main advantage for other users of financial statements prepared in accordance with international standards is the improvement of the investment climate. The dynamics of the Investment Attractiveness Index of Ukraine based on the Likert scale in the period from 2016 to 2020 was analyzed. The direct investment receipts to Ukraine from the European Union countries were studied. The dynamics of direct investment in the Ukrainian economy was analyzed for two types of economic activities that should form financial statements in accordance with IFRS, namely, the extractive industry and quarrying, as well as financial and insurance activities.


Author(s):  
Gabriel Guízar Sahagún

Besides the well-known loss of motor and sensory capabilities, people with spinal cord injury (SCI) experience a broad range of systemic and metabolic abnormalities including, among others, dysfunction of cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, urinary, and endocrine systems. These alterations are a significant challenge for patients with SCI because such disorders severely interfere with their daily living and can be potentially life-threatening. Most of these disorders are associated with impairment of regulation of the autonomic nervous system, arising from disruption of connections between higher brain centers and the spinal cord caudal to the injured zone. Thus, the higher and more complete the lesion, the greater the autonomic dysfunction and the severity of complications.This article summarizes the medical scientific literature on key systemic and metabolic alterations derived of SCI. It provides information primarily focused on the pathophysiology and clinical presentation of these disorders, as well as some guides to prevent and alleviate such complications. Due to the impact of these alterations, this topic must be a priority and diffuse to those involved with the care of people with SCI, including the patient himself/herself. We consider that any collaborative effort should be supported, like the development of international standards, to evaluate autonomic function after SCI, as well as the development of novel therapeutic approaches.


1995 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 73-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Iversen

The main environmental problems associated with fish farming in Denmark are attributable to the dam, the “dead reach” and nutrient and organic matter discharge. The environmental regulation of fish farming in Denmark started with the Environmental Protection Act of 1974, the Statutory Order of 1985 forbidding wet feed, and the Action Plan on the Aquatic Environment of 1987. In the case of freshwater fish farms, the latter was implemented through the measures stipulated in the 1989 Statutory Order on Fish Farms. The impact of Danish legislative measures to reduce and regulate the environmental effects of freshwater fish farms can be summarized as follows: - the number of fish farms has been reduced from about 800 in 1974 to about 500 at present; - production has tripled since 1974 and has been stable since 1989; - a change from wet to dry feed has reduced the environmental impact of the farms; - the national goals of the Action Plan on the Aquatic Environment of 1987 for reducing fish farm discharges of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus have been fulfilled. The main remaining problems are that: - the local impact of fish farms on downstream stream quality is still much too high in about 15% of cases; - the problem of the passage of migrating invertebrates and fish is still unsolved at some farms; - the problems posed by “dead reaches” are still unsolved. It is concluded that sustainable fish farming is possible in Denmark, but with the present technology production will have to be significantly reduced.


1999 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 47-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. R. Marmoush

The impact of coastal development in Kuwait is to be assessed as per the following environmental conditions: water circulation, sediment behavior, water quality, and marine ecology and fisheries. The objectives of this assessment are to identify and predict the environmental impact associated with coastal development and the various activities involved in any coastal project. These activities and their associated impact can be grouped into two categories: those that occur during construction (short-term effect), and those that occur after construction (long-term effect). This paper attempts to present the fundamental issues related to the environmental measures and the practical experience required to evaluate the potential environmental impact of coastal development in Kuwait. The conclusions and general considerations regarding the environmental feasibility of coastal development are given, and measures to minimize the adverse impact on the environment are recommended.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lukman Olagoke ◽  
Ahmet E. Topcu

BACKGROUND COVID-19 represents a serious threat to both national health and economic systems. To curb this pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a series of COVID-19 public safety guidelines. Different countries around the world initiated different measures in line with the WHO guidelines to mitigate and investigate the spread of COVID-19 in their territories. OBJECTIVE The aim of this paper is to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of these control measures using a data-centric approach. METHODS We begin with a simple text analysis of coronavirus-related articles and show that reports on similar outbreaks in the past strongly proposed similar control measures. This reaffirms the fact that these control measures are in order. Subsequently, we propose a simple performance statistic that quantifies general performance and performance under the different measures that were initiated. A density based clustering of based on performance statistic was carried out to group countries based on performance. RESULTS The performance statistic helps evaluate quantitatively the impact of COVID-19 control measures. Countries tend show variability in performance under different control measures. The performance statistic has negative correlation with cases of death which is a useful characteristics for COVID-19 control measure performance analysis. A web-based time-line visualization that enables comparison of performances and cases across continents and subregions is presented. CONCLUSIONS The performance metric is relevant for the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 control measures. This can help caregivers and policymakers identify effective control measures and reduce cases of death due to COVID-19. The interactive web visualizer provides easily digested and quick feedback to augment decision-making processes in the COVID-19 response measures evaluation. CLINICALTRIAL Not Applicable


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e034702
Author(s):  
Wilco Zijlmans ◽  
Jeffrey Wickliffe ◽  
Ashna Hindori-Mohangoo ◽  
Sigrid MacDonald-Ottevanger ◽  
Paul Ouboter ◽  
...  

PurposeThe Caribbean Consortium for Research in Environmental and Occupational Health prospective environmental epidemiologic cohort study addresses the impact of chemical and non-chemical environmental exposures on mother/child dyads in Suriname. The study determines associations between levels of environmental elements and toxicants in pregnant women, and birth outcomes and neurodevelopment in their children.ParticipantsPregnant women (N=1143) were enrolled from December 2016 to July 2019 from three regions of Suriname: Paramaribo (N=738), Nickerie (N=204) and the tropical rainforest interior (N=201). Infants (N=992) were enrolled at birth. Follow-up will take place until children are 48 months old.Findings to dateBiospecimens and questionnaire data on physiological and psychosocial health in pregnant women have been analysed. 39.1% had hair mercury (Hg) levels exceeding values considered safe by international standards. Median hair Hg concentrations in women from Paramaribo (N=522) were 0.64 µg/g hair (IQRs 0.36–1.09; range 0.00–7.12), from Nickerie (N=176) 0.73 µg/g (IQR 0.45–1.05; range 0.00–5.79) and the interior (N=178) 3.48 µg/g (IQR 1.92–7.39; range 0.38–18.20). 96.1% of women ate fish, respective consumption of the three most consumed carnivorous species, Hoplias aimara, Serrasalmus rhombeus and Cichla ocellaris, known to have high Hg levels, was 44.4%, 19.3% and 26.3%, respectively, and was greater among the interior subcohort. 89% frequently consumed the vegetable tannia, samples of which showed presence of worldwide banned pesticides. 24.9% of pregnant women had Edinburgh Depression Scale scores indicative of probable depression.Future plansFish consumption advisories are in development, especially relevant to interior women for whom fish consumption is likely to be the primary source of Hg exposure. Effects of potentially beneficial neuroprotective factors in fish that may counter neurotoxic effects of Hg are being examined. A pesticide literacy assessment in pregnant women is in progress. Neurodevelopmental assessments and telomere length measurements of the children to evaluate long-term effects of prenatal exposures to toxicant mixtures are ongoing.


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