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The notion of «the water world we want» is a spin-off of the United Nations campaign The World We Want. It is open to subjective interpretation, as people have different perceptions of a desired future. Each person or organization is likely to identify their own set of key concerns: food, clean (uncontaminated) water, sustained agricultural productivity, sustainable use of land and ocean resources, healthy lives and secure livelihoods. But whatever utopian world view one creates, it cannot be achieved without adequate sustained water supplies.In 2009, the then United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon noted: It is well known that water is life; what this Report shows is that water also means livelihoods. It is the route out of poverty for individuals and communities. Managing water is essential if the world is to achieve sustainable development.This challenge is even more pressing as the world confronts the triple threats of climate change, rising food and energy costs, and the global economic crisis. All three are exacerbating poverty, inequality and underdevelopment.It is apparent that climate, water and weather-related concerns are mounting. Societies are becoming increasingly aware that impacts of extreme hydrometeorological events expected to occur in, say, the 2050s are starting to appear decades earlier. These extreme events — related to climate change — are likely to increase in frequency, intensity and severity.

AbstractHydroelectric dams are one of the cleanest, cheapest, and most efficient sources of energy in the world. However, megadams (those greater than 2,000 megawatts in production capacity) can incite substantial sociopolitical and environmental opposition because they displace people, animals, trees, and sediments. Despite heated disagreements surrounding all megadam construction, what factors increase the likelihood for some to be constructed while others are canceled? The purpose of this analysis is to illuminate those factors that shape these different outcomes using a most‐similar case design. It compares three megadams in South America: the Madeira project in Brazil, which was built; and the Inambari project in Peru and the HydroAysén project in Chile, both of which were canceled. The study finds that the diversity of protesters, unification of the social movement, domestic media coverage, and the sitting president's popularity are all important factors that affect whether a megadam project is constructed. The findings from this article offer insights that both proponents and opponents of megadams need to closely consider.Related ArticlesRyan, Susannah. 2015. "White Gold and Troubled Waters in Southern Africa: Hydropolitical Policy's Effect on Peace in Lesotho and South Africa." Politics & Policy 43 (2): 239‐255. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12114Delshad, Ashlie B. 2013. "Telling Stories: Exogenous Influences on Media Presidential and Congressional Framing of Biofuels." Politics & Policy 41 (2): 213‐240. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12009Khodr, Hiba, and Isabella Ruble. 2013. "Energy Policies and Domestic Politics in the MENA Region in the Aftermath of the Arab Upheavals: The Cases of Lebanon Libya and KSA." Politics & Policy 41 (5): 656‐689. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12033Related MediaMurphy, Annie. 2011. "Chile Dam Project Sparks Protests." BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-13445300CentralInambari. 2011. "Proyecto Inambari: Plan De Reasentamiento Poblacional Concertado." [Inambari Project: Agreed Population Resettlement Plan]. Video. https://youtu.be/5LjEXTnArWIPaz y Miño, Paul. 2007. "Environmentalists Go to Court to Suspend the Auction of Rio Madeira Dam Project." Amazon Watch. https://amazonwatch.org/news/2007/1206-environmentalists-go-to-court-to-suspend-the-auction-of-rio-madeira-dam-project

A rational economic person desires to achieve happiness by acting for his or her own benefit. Therefore, the key of human happiness is in the sense of pleasure and satisfaction. The concept of happiness, which has been emphasized more over time, has also started to be discussed frequently in economic terms. The economics of happiness at the focus of these discussions was built on an economy model based on society and nature. It is possible to mention many socioeconomic factors that add value to life and create happiness. Factors such as a clean environment, a good income level, relationships based on trust, healthy and quality life can be described as the causes of happiness. Today, a new social process is mentioned and happiness takes attention as well as technological developments in this society. This study has aimed to investigate the factors associated with happiness in the context of Society 5.0, using the panel data analysis method for 8 OECD countries between the years 2007-2019. In the study, it has been found that there is a statistically significant and positive relationship between GDP per capita and happiness. In addition, it was found that there is a statistically significant and positive relationship between human capital and happiness. It has been determined that there is a significant and positive relationship between renewable energy consumption and happiness. The happiness index, which is the dependent variable in the study, is explained by all other independent variables at the rate of 89 %.

China has recently become the world's largest emitter of carbon and is already facing many harmful effects domestically from climate change. Chinese leaders have therefore made a high-level commitment to curb emissions, as evident in the 2007 National Climate Change Program. However, the government has missed many of its targets, in particular its goal of reducing energy intensity. This essay argues that China is missing its targets because of a number of factors which stem from the fragmented nature of China's authoritarian system. First, environmental policies are too broad and complicated, making it difficult for regulators to enforce the laws. Second, the current incentive structures of promotion and salary cause local officials to give higher priority to economic development than to environmental issues. Third, environmental regulators, such as the judiciary and environmental agencies, remain weak and impeded by enforcement obstacles. While positive changes have occurred, such as the emergence of NGOs and the media as environmental watchdogs and a burgeoning clean technology sector, much remains to be done to improve the long-term viability of climate change policies in China. Based on the preceding analysis, this essay recommends ways by which the government could improve the process of enacting and implementing climate change policies. It also urges the international community to sympathize with the Chinese government and, by leading the way, help the government gain greater compliance with climate change policies. (J Contemp China/GIGA)

Makes the case that carbon trading slows the social & technological change needed to cope with global warming by unnecessarily prolonging the world's dependence on oil, coal & gas. It is argued that the dominant neoliberal approach to the crisis, promoted by the US & enshrined in the Kyoto Protocol & the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, is failing. The book starts out by tracing the current climate crisis to the mining of coal, oil & gas, describing the growing political conflict over how to divide up the world's capacity to clean its atmosphere. It goes through the history of carbon trading & how tradable rights are being handed out to the biggest polluters, who can also buy additional pollution credits from projects in the South that claim to be emitting less greenhouse gas than they would have without the investment. The report states that carbon trading is ineffective in dealing with the climate crisis, that it features an unequal system of pollution rights that encourages rent-seeking, inaction & conflicts over property; cannot measure either emissions or carbon 'offsets' adequately; impedes social & Technological innovation & structural change; concentrates pollution in poor communities; licenses pollution using projects that harm communities they are sited in; is unenforceable on a global scale; & impedes public education & discussion. The report includes examples from eleven countries in the South. The last chapter suggests alternative ways for ward citing conventional regulation, public works, legal action, green taxes, popular movements against fossil fuel use, & the shifting of subsidies away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy. Adapted from the source document.

Over the past two decades, the emergence of multiple carbon market segments has led to fragmentation of governance of international carbon markets. International baseline-and-credit systems for greenhouse gas mitigation have been repeatedly expected to wither away, but show significant resilience. Still, Parties to the Paris Agreement have struggled to finalize rules for market-based cooperation under Article 6, which are still being negotiated. Generally, there is tension between international top-down and bottom-up governance. The former was pioneered through the Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol and is likely to be utilized for the Article 6.4 mechanism, while the latter was used for the first track of Joint Implementation and will be applied for Article 6.2. Voluntary carbon markets governed bottom-up and outside the Kyoto Protocol by private institutions have recently gained importance by offering complementary project types and methodological approaches. The clear intention of some Parties to use market-based cooperation in order to reach their nationally determined contributions to the Paris Agreement have led to an ongoing process of navigating the alignment of these fragmented carbon market instruments with the implementation of nationally determined contributions and Paris Agreement's governance architecture. We discuss emerging features of international carbon market governance in the public and private domain, including political and technical issues. Fragmented governance is characterized by different degrees of transparency, centralization, and scales. We assess the crunch issues in the Article 6 negotiations through the lens of these governance features and their effectiveness, focusing on governance principles and their operationalization to ensure environmental integrity and avoid double counting.

AbstractFossil fuel divestment movements have gained momentum since 2011, aimed at ending fossil fuel use and a move toward a cleaner, affordable, and sustainable energy system, for business and society. The present study investigates the direct impact of fossil fuel divestment announcements on stock prices of firms listed on the United States' stock exchanges. Using an event study and guided by the United Nation's sustainable development goals (SDGs), we test the effects of 116 divestments announcements between 2014 and 2019 on 51 publicly traded fossil fuel companies. Our results suggest that there is a negative effect of these announcements on fossil fuel firm stock prices. Also, we find that the type of fossil fuel firm (coal or oil and gas), the type of divestment (partial, coal only, or full), the timing of the announcement, and the size of the divesting investor have some explanatory power in relation to the (cumulative) abnormal returns following the divestment announcements. While the negative impact on stock prices is not surprising, the reaction from the divested firms after such large divestitures is not consistent with what may be expected, given past reactions to divestitures seeking to achieve different social goals. Given the SDGs, it seems clear why investors are divesting themselves from fossil fuel firms, but why has the reaction to the 116 divestments led to very little change in the way these publicly traded fossil fuel firms do business given their direct and growing impacts on society? We conclude the study with some suggestions for future research.

"The Impact of the Industrial Cultural Landscape's Conversion through Tourism on the Environmental Elements of Ocna Mureș. The fulminant technological advance, corroborated with the increasing demand of products have favored, in the recent period, the accentuation of the various processes of environmental pollution, with particularly serious consequences on the living organisms. Thus, the European Green Pact is the instrument through which the European Union wants to establish the necessary steps to reduce air, water and soil pollution (by 2050), as the main elements of the environment affected by pollution. It is therefore recommended that the quality standards provided by the international forums be respected and that the specific legislation of all member states be aligned for a unified approach. In this regard, the implementation of the clean industrial technologies, recycling, the use of green energy in the production process, the use of natural resources in a sustainable manner or the conversion of industrial elements into tourism elements, can be viable means to achieve the goals proposed in the pact. In the context of those presented, this study seeks to argue the conversion of the industrial cultural landscape related to the exploitation and processing of local salt resources and the specific hazards, found at Ocna Mureș (Alba County), in the cultural and tourist-validated landscapes. The change of the function of the mentioned elements can favour the socio-economic revival of the area, with the observance of the new European environmental norms, in the medium and long term. Keywords: Ocna Mureș, salt resources, hazard, tourism, sustainable development, Industrial Cultural Landscape, conversion. "

AbstractThe 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) underpinned by 169 targets presents national governments with huge challenges for implementation. We developed a proposal for a National Blueprint Framework (NBF) with 24 water-related indicators, centered on SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation for all), each with a specific target. We applied the NBF to 28 EU Member States (EU-28) and conclude that:



The current SDG 6 indicators are useful for monitoring progress toward water-related targets but their usefulness can be improved by focusing more on their practical implementation.





The extension of SDG 6 with complementary indicators (e.g. for the circular economy of water) and quantitative policy targets is urgently needed. This will benefit the communication process and progress at the science-policy interface.





SDG indicators can be improved in a SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) manner and by setting clear policy targets for each indicator, allowing for measuring distance-to-targets. This allows country-to-country comparison and learning, and accelerates the SDG implementation process.





We propose 24 water-related indicators centered on SDG 6, with complementary indicators including quantitative policy targets. The approach is doable, easily scalable, and flexibly deployable by collecting information for the EU-28.





Main gaps in the EU-28 are observed for water quality, wastewater treatment, nutrient, and energy recovery, as well as climate adaptation to extreme weather events (heat, droughts, and floods).





The framework was less successful for non-OECD countries due to lack of data and EU-centric targets for each indicator. This needs further research.

Bangladesh has recently pledged at the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) to reduce its carbon dioxide emission figures by 22% at the end of 2030. However, since this South Asian country has always turned to fossil fuels for electricity generation purposes, achieving this emission reduction goal is a challenging task for the Bangladesh government. Nevertheless, considering the negative environmental implications associated with the generation and consumption of unclean energy, particularly electricity, it is critically important for Bangladesh to expedite the process of clean transformation of its traditional pollution-intensive power system. Hence, the objective of this study is to dissect the repercussions of hydroelectricity use on Bangladesh's fossil fuel consumption-related carbon dioxide As opposed to the traditional method of quantifying environmental quality using total carbon dioxide emissions, this study considers Bangladesh's annual carbon dioxide emissions generated from the combustion of gas, oil, and coal. Besides, novel Fourier-based econometric methods that effectively handle structural break problems in data are utilized in this study. Based on the results, it is found that up-scaling hydroelectricity consumption levels exert emission-inhibiting effects while greater economic globalization activities are witnessed to boost the emissions. More importantly, hydroelectricity consumption and economic globalization are observed to jointly curb fossil fuel consumption-based emissions of carbon dioxide. Additionally, the results verify the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for Bangladesh. Furthermore, financial sector development is found to be effective in reducing the natural gas consumption-related carbon dioxide emissions while urbanization is held responsible for amplifying emissions generated from all three types of fossil fuels. Therefore, considering these findings, the Bangladesh government needs to particularly emphasize scaling up production and consumption of hydroelectricity to decarbonize its economy.

Garcinia kola otherwise known as bitter kola has been used in traditional African medicine for centuries, and is considered to have many beneficial properties. The study was aimed at assessing the nutritional and bioactive components of bitter kola chips. Freshly harvested seeds of Garcinia kola were purchased from local markets in Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. The seeds were thoroughly washed with clean water, de-husked, sliced and fast-dried at room temperature under high air current, to obtain bitter kola chips. The dried bitter kola chips were ground into fine powder using an electric blender. The fine powder was then analysed for its proximate, minerals, vitamins, phytochemicals and essential oil content. The results showed low moisture content (8.47 %), moderate levels of protein (12.7 %), fat (6.27 %), ash (7.47 %) and crude fibre (6.27 %), as well as very high levels of carbohydrate (58.77 %) and metabolizable energy (3000 Kcal/Kg). The micronutrients present in bitter kola consists of Fe2+, Zn2+, Mg2+, Ca2+, K+, PO3-, ascorbic acid, thiamine, niacin, and riboflavin at concentrations of 9.37, 0.23, 23.33, 238.33, 26.67, 323.33, 18.23, 0.27, 0.13 and 0.60 mg/100g respectively. The bitter kola chips contained high levels of alkaloids (628.33±10.41 mg/100g), saponins (161.67±7.64 mg/100g), and tannins (233.33±7.64 mg/100g); moderate levels of flavonoids (58.33±5.41 mg/100g), phytates (63.33±2.89), oxalates (90.00±5.00) and oxygen radical absorption capacity (13.23±0.25); while the anti-protease activity and cyanogenic glycosides levels were very low. GCMS analysis of the oil components of G. kola chips showed the presence of molecules such as Trichloroacetic acid, Ar-tumerone, Tumerone, which are of significant importance to human health. Sensory evaluation showed high preference for the bitter kola chips than the fresh seeds.

Abstract

Website of Interest


Recruitment Technique


Ideas For Utilizing Volunteers


Could You Benefit From a 'Quick Response' Team?


Impact of Energy Costs on Volunteer Programs


Learn How to 'Drive on Empty'


Sell Your Board On Volunteers' Importance


Occasionally Visit Your Facility During 'Off Hours'


Look to Clubs For Help


Involve Your Community's Classic Car Club


Professional Development


Always Want to Play the 'Good Guy?' Think Again


Trends That Impact Volunteers


How Much Time Do Youth Spend Volunteering in Your State?


How to Define 'Indirect' Service


E‐mail Signatures Generate Visibility


Don't Forget About Your Local Volunteer Center


Seek Out Trade Shows


Spread Kindness With 'Secret Pals'


Volunteer Retention Ideas


Could Your Volunteers Benefit From a Wellness Program?


Awareness‐building Measures


Get Your Story Aired On PBS


Volunteer Screening Procedures


Volunteer Select Allows Nonprofits to Screen Volunteers Quickly and Economically


Show Them You Care


'Little Things' Mean a Lot


Meetings Management


Whenever Possible, Allow a Volunteer to Run the Meeting


The 'Touchy‐Feely' Volunteer


Recognition Idea


Tips for Dealing with Cocky People


Conduct a Crisis Management Audit


Community Improvement Projects


City‐wide Clean Up Attracts 200 Enthusiastic Volunteers


Graffiti Competition


Team‐building Exercises


Getting Personal Helps Bond Volunteers


Working With Stay‐at‐home Moms


Build Confidence Among Stay‐at‐home Moms


Honing Your Professional Skills


No One Can Improve Your Image But You


Recognizing Board Members


Don't Avoid the Board Member Who Chooses to Resign


Volunteer Profile


Styles Makes Volunteering Stylish


How to Keep New Board Members from Leaving


Responding to Criticism


Become the Best You Can Be


Keep a List of Questions That Need Answers


Goal‐setting Procedures


Why Having a Goal Isn't Enough

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