(In)Conveniently Disposable: Waste Concern doesn‟t Affect Plastic Consumption

Mixed-methods analysis of >400 online social surveys conducted at an Australian organisation is presented to identify individuals most likely to consider the environmental impact of packaging when making purchase decisions, including bottled water, and/or take their own shopping bags/coffee cups to minimise plastic consumption. Findings are compared for two social groups, the minority (33%) who articulated ‘waste’ as a personal environmental concern, and the majority. With high disposable coffee cup consumption existing alongside ‘most’ product-choices based on their pro-environmental packaging, findings further green ‘attitude/behaviour’ gap explorations. Given legislated plastic reduction initiatives yielded greatest individual behavioural change (bringing/reusing grocery bags) regardless of respondents’ waste-production concern, continued promotion of consumer preference-based, non-punitive incentives promoted in research literature may come at high ecological cost.

REVIEW OF "THE ANTHROPOCENE PROJECT"

Here, we engage The Anthropocene Project: a 2019 art event that features photographic exhibits in art galleries and museums, both across Canada and internationally. The project also includes a feature length film, augmented reality, and a proposed curriculum. The Anthropocene Project thematically addresses one of the most pressing, yet controversial, matters of our age: the deleterious effects of human activity on the earth. As a proposed geopolitical epoch, the Anthropocene marks this specific time in history whereby human activity has more significant environmental impact than all other factors combined. The photography that depicts scenes of ecological cost and environmental devastation are deceptively, seductively appealing. We resist the lulling effect of the Anthropocene Project’s visually stunning images that engender a sense of awe at these demonstrations of human engineering achievements on such a large scale. We are left wondering at our species’ prospects of survival when we can become entranced by images portraying events so counterintuitive to our survival as omnivores, as mammals, as oxygen dependent creatures.

Large male proboscis monkeys have larger noses but smaller canines

The uniquely enlarged noses of male proboscis monkeys are prominent adornments, and a sexually selected male trait. A recent study showed significant correlations among nose, body, and testis sizes and clear associations between nose size and the number of females in a male’s harem. However, to date, the analyses of other common male traits, i.e., canines, are lacking. Whereas male nose size had a positive correlation with body size, we unexpectedly found a negative correlation between body and canine sizes. We explain this by an interaction between sexual and natural selection. Larger noses in males may interfere with the use of canines, thereby reducing their effectiveness as weapons. Additionally, longer canines are opposed by natural selection because the larger gape it imposes upon its bearer reduces foraging efficiency, particularly in folivores. This unique case of decoupling of body and canine size reveals that large canines carry an ecological cost.

The Role of Low-Load Diesel in Improved Renewable Hosting Capacity within Isolated Power Systems

Isolated communities are progressively integrating renewable generation to reduce the societal, economic and ecological cost of diesel generation. Unfortunately, as renewable penetration and load variability increase, systems require greater diesel generation reserves, constraining renewable utilisation. Improved diesel generator flexibility can reduce the requirement for diesel reserves, allowing increased renewable hosting. Regrettably, it is uncommon for utilities to modify diesel generator control during the integration of renewable source generation. Identifying diesel generator flexibility and co-ordination as an essential component to optimising system hosting capacity, this paper investigates improved diesel generator flexibility and coordination via low-load diesel application. Case study comparisons for both high- and low-penetration hybrid diesel power systems are presented in King Island, Australia, and Moloka`i, Hawai`i, respectively. For King Island, the approach details a 50% reduction in storage requirement, while for Moloka`i the application supports a 27% increase in renewable hosting capacity.

Efficiency and Eco-Costs of Air Purifiers in Terms of Improving Microbiological Indoor Air Quality in Dwellings—A Case Study

Air pollution, a by-product of economic growth, generates an enormous environmental cost in Poland. The issue of healthy living spaces and indoor air quality (IAQ) is a global concern because people spend approximately 90% of their time indoors. An increasingly popular method to improve IAQ is to use air purifiers (APs). Indoor air is often polluted by bioaerosols (e.g., viruses, bacteria, fungi), which are a major concern for public health. This work presents research on culturable bacterial aerosol (CBA) samples collected from dwellings with or without active APs during the 2019 summer season. The CBA samples were collected using a six-stage Andersen cascade impactor (ACI). The CBA concentrations were expressed as Colony Forming Units (CFU) per cubic metre of air. The average concentration of CBA in dwellings when the AP was active was 450–570 CFU/m3, whereas the average concentration when the AP was not active was 920–1000 CFU/m3. IAQ, when the APs were active, was on average almost 50% better than in cases where there were no procedures to decrease the concentration of air pollutants. Moreover, the obtained results of the particle size distribution (PSD) of CBA indicate that the use of APs reduced the proportion of the respirable fraction (the particles < 3.3 µm) by about 16%. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to assess the ecological cost of air purification. Our conceptual approach addresses the impact of indoor air pollution on human health and estimates the ecological cost of APs and air pollution prevention policies.

Large male proboscis monkeys have larger noses but smaller canines

The uniquely enlarged noses of male proboscis monkeys are prominent adornments, and a sexually selected male trait. A recent study showed significant correlations among nose, body, and testis sizes and clear associations between nose size and the number of females in a male’s harem. However, to date, the analyses of other common male traits, i.e., canines, are lacking. Whereas male nose size had a positive correlation with body size, we unexpectedly found a negative correlation between body and canine sizes. We explain this by an interaction between sexual and natural selection. Larger noses in males may interfere with the use of canines, thereby reducing their effectiveness as weapons. Additionally, longer canines are opposed by natural selection because the larger gape it imposes upon its bearer reduces foraging efficiency, particularly in folivores. This unique case of decoupling of body and canine size reveals that large canines carry an ecological cost.