Erosion Behaviour of Bio-Stabilised Earthen Materials

Development of earthen building materials is one of the answers that the construction sector can provide to tackle the accelerated climate change issue. However, these materials present a wide variability, even at the local scale, and their water durability can be difficult to ensure. In order to improve their durability regarding water and avoid its prejudicial effect on earthen material’s properties, the stabilisation with bio-polymers is an increasingly studied solution. In this paper a ten-minute erosion drip test is developed and performed for various combinations of Breton earths and bio-based additions or surface treatments (linseed oil, xanthan gum, casein, alginate, vegetal varnish and tannins). The final pitting depths and eroded volumes are compared and the evolution of erosion during the test is monitored. These results are also linked to previously obtained water capillary absorption coefficients. The obtained results enable to highlight the impact of bio-based additions on erodibility of earthen materials: linseed oil and xanthan gum help to protect the earth-based samples from erosion. Other original parameters characterizing the erosion of the samples during the drip test are suggested. Limitations of this type of erosion tests are also brought out.

Characterization of Drought Evolution using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) in Three Agro-Climatic Zones of Settat Province, Morocco

Morocco has been experiencing significant climatic disturbances in recent decades. The climate change issue arises mainly in terms of water deficits induced by the decrease in rainfall received and the increase in temperature. The objective of this study is to characterize the drought temporal and spatial distribution and severity within local agro-climatic zones of Settat Province. The study area extends over a distance of 85 km from North to South and concerns three agro-climatic zones. The Standardized Precipitation Index was used for drought analysis and characterization in the three zones for 107 years of rainfall data. Results show that numbers of normal average years are declining, dry years are increasing and humid years are declining in three zones. However, the SPI changes over time are not similar for the three zones, that is, the rainfall deficit is taking place more in the “Favorable Rain-fed” zone and to a low degree in the “Intermediate Rain-fed” but not in the ‘Less Favorable” zone.

Gypsum Supplies Calcium to Ultisol Soil and Its Effect on Pineapple Growth, Yield and Fruit Quality in Lower Single Bed under Climate Change Issue

A lower bed single row for pineapple cultivation could protect pineapple from soil erosion in rainy season and during drought, however, disease problem could arise due to water logging. Two experiments using a lower bed single row was done to understand the ability of gypsum providing soil calcium (Ca) available to pineapple plant, resistance to heart rot disease, and give better effect on crop growth and fruit quality of the pineapple in Ultisol soil. In the first trial, four level dosis of gypsum (0, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 Mg ha-1) and dolomite 2 Mg ha-1 were applied by spreading and incorporated into the soil which have saturated with inoculums of Phytophthora nicotianae. In the second trial, gypsum treatments (0, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 Mg ha-1) were applied in the row between the single row beds as a basic fertilizer. The result showed that P. nicotianae attacked the pineapple plants in all treatments at 6 weeks after planting (WAP), and at 10 WAP, the mortality of dolomite treatment reached 63.8%, significantly different than that for gypsum treatments (3.3-14.3%). In the second experiment, gypsum increased plant weight significantly at 3 until 9 months after planting especially when it was applied 1.5-2.5 Mg ha-1. Fruit texture, total soluble solid (TSS), titratable acidity (TA) were not significant different among the treatment but all meet the standards for grades of canned pineapple. Result showed that soil applied gypsum before planting provides soil calcium and met the plant Ca requirement during a period of early and fast growth step and safe for heart rot disease.

Neoliberalism, political action on climate change and the youth of Aotearoa New Zealand: a space for radical activism

<p>Climate change exists both as a symptom and as a cause of many social ills. It is as urgent as it is complex. Climate change is being addressed internationally through mechanisms heavily influenced by neoliberal globalisation and based around market mechanisms for the trading of carbon dioxide as a commodity, such as the Kyoto Protocol. This has contributed to increasing de-politicisation of the climate change issue. Contestation of neoliberal solutions to climate change has resulted in the birth of climate justice principles which unite action against the systemic causes of climate change. At the heart of action on climate change are young people- historically active citizens and advocates for radical change. In the context of de-politicisation and a post-political carbon consensus, young activists have been influenced by dominant neoliberal discourse. This research will explore the repercussions of a post-political carbon consensus in producing youth-led spaces of contestation in Aotearoa New Zealand. The case study for this research, youth-driven organisation Generation Zero, advocates for post-political carbon consensus by running campaigns on changes to the national Emissions Trading Scheme and other policy-based work. In this thesis, I will describe the extent to which young people within Generation Zero are influenced by the neoliberal discourse and the implications this has for the role of climate justice and radical activism. This research will contribute to the literature around the de-politicisation of climate change as it describes the impact that this has on youth activism and thus the opportunity for future spaces of dissent.</p>

Neoliberalism, political action on climate change and the youth of Aotearoa New Zealand: a space for radical activism

<p>Climate change exists both as a symptom and as a cause of many social ills. It is as urgent as it is complex. Climate change is being addressed internationally through mechanisms heavily influenced by neoliberal globalisation and based around market mechanisms for the trading of carbon dioxide as a commodity, such as the Kyoto Protocol. This has contributed to increasing de-politicisation of the climate change issue. Contestation of neoliberal solutions to climate change has resulted in the birth of climate justice principles which unite action against the systemic causes of climate change. At the heart of action on climate change are young people- historically active citizens and advocates for radical change. In the context of de-politicisation and a post-political carbon consensus, young activists have been influenced by dominant neoliberal discourse. This research will explore the repercussions of a post-political carbon consensus in producing youth-led spaces of contestation in Aotearoa New Zealand. The case study for this research, youth-driven organisation Generation Zero, advocates for post-political carbon consensus by running campaigns on changes to the national Emissions Trading Scheme and other policy-based work. In this thesis, I will describe the extent to which young people within Generation Zero are influenced by the neoliberal discourse and the implications this has for the role of climate justice and radical activism. This research will contribute to the literature around the de-politicisation of climate change as it describes the impact that this has on youth activism and thus the opportunity for future spaces of dissent.</p>

A Blockchain-Supported Framework for Charging Management of Electric Vehicles

Profound changes driven by decarbonization, decentralization, and digitalization are disrupting the energy industry, bringing new challenges to its key stakeholders. In the attempt to address the climate change issue, increasing penetration of renewables and mobility electrification augment the complexity of the electric grid, thus calling for new management approaches to govern energy exchanges while ensuring reliable and secure operations. The emerging blockchain technology is regarded as one of the most promising solutions to respond to the matter in a decentralized, efficient, fast, and secure way. In this work, we propose an Ethereum-based charging management framework for electric vehicles (EVs), tightly interlinked with physical and software infrastructure and implemented in a real-world demonstration site. With a specifically designed solidity-based smart contract governing the charging process, the proposed framework enables secure and reliable accounting of energy exchanges in a network of trustless peers, thus facilitating the EVs’ deployment and encouraging the adoption of blockchain technology for everyday tasks such as EV charging through private and semi-private charging infrastructure. The results of a multi-actor implementation case study in Switzerland demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed blockchain framework and highlight its potential to reduce costs in a typical EV charging business model. Moreover, the study shows that the suggested framework can speed up the charging and billing processes for EV users, simplify the access to energy markets for charging station owners, and facilitate the interaction between the two through specifically designed mobile and web applications. The implementation presented in this paper can be used as a guideline for future blockchain applications for EV charging and other smart grid projects.

Social media interconnection between people: Greta Thunberg’s influence on the climate movement

The increasing rate of climate change has been staggering over the past couple of years. It causes a lot of changes in the earth’s biosphere. The earth’s temperature has been increasing in an unprecedented phase, causing the seawater to expand and ice over land to melt, both of which can cause a rise in sea level. Given this problematic issue, the world leaders somehow do not put enough action to tackle this. When world leaders are failing our future by not taking the climate change issue seriously, a young girl from Sweden named Greta Thunberg is about to set a global spark of global movement concerning global warming. Since she began to strike outside the Swedish parliament, she gained the public’s attention, especially youth. This study aims to analyze how Greta Thunberg influences youth worldwide to take action against climate change using social media. This article uses social activism theory and Collaborative Internet Utilities to analyze the global phenomenon. This Journal uses qualitative research methodology. The data and relevant information are being analyzed to explain Greta’s influence on global youth regarding climate change and its effects on global politics.

Empirical Research of Public Acceptance on Environmental Tax: A Systematic Literature Review

Several international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations (UN), and World Bank recommend that policymakers implement an environmental tax to reduce climate change, protect the environment and gain more income for governments. Effectiveness of the policy depends on a carefully designed framework, which essentially adopts the social and economic contextual of a country and public support. Researchers have been focusing on examining the factors that influence public acceptance of an environmental tax. This paper aims to systematically review the empirical studies using the RepOrting Standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses (ROSES) protocol. The information is relevant for policy makers in designing a feasible and acceptable carbon tax policy. Furthermore, the paper provides suggestions for future research. Related articles were selected using two leading databases, namely Scopus and Science Direct, and one supporting database, namely Google Scholar. Thematic analysis was conducted on 60 articles and four main themes were derived with 32 subthemes. The analysis indicates that people are more supportive when they (i) are well informed about a policy’s effectiveness and the policy content, particularly the use of revenue, (ii) have high trust in the government, (iii) have a positive attitude toward protecting the environment, (iv) perceive the policy is fair in terms of costs distribution and social sharing, and (v) are concerned about the climate change issue.

The Scope of Climate Assemblies: Lessons from the Climate Assembly UK

In recent times we have seen a spate of climate assemblies across Europe as the climate emergency gains increasing prominence in the political agenda and as the citizens’ assembly approach to public engagement gains popularity. However, there has been little empirical research on how the scope of citizens’ assemblies affects the internal logic of the assembly process and its impacts on external policy actors. This is a significant oversight given the power of agenda setting. It is also of particular importance for climate assemblies given the exceptional scale and complexity of climate change, as well as the need for co-ordination across all policy areas and types of governance to address it. In this paper, we start to address this gap through an in-depth case analysis of the Climate Assembly UK. We adopt a mixed methods approach, combining surveys of the assembly members and witnesses, interviews with the assembly members, organisers, MPs, parliamentary staff, and government civil servants, and non-participant observation of the process. We find that attempts to adapt the assembly’s scope to the scale of the climate change issue compromised assembly member learning, the co-ordination of the resulting recommendations, assembly member endorsement of the recommendations, and the extent of their impact on parliament and government. We argue that more democratization in setting the agenda could help combat these issues.