Free trade causes damage to the environment substantially as it puts pressure on natural resources in its venture to expand economic activities. On the other hand, there is also an argument that free trade has the potential to improve environmental quality by contributing to growth. Such growth enhancement may help individuals, organizations, or governments raise funds and spend more on environmental protection. This paper highlights the links between trade and the environment. Besides, it also shows how international trade and environmental protection are both essential to the well-being of humanity and, conversely, how they are mutually supportive. This paper also scrutinizes how the WTO plays a role in balancing trade and the environment, as many WTO agreements have environmental exceptions.

In this paper, boron nitride materials were prepared by a two-step synthesis method, and this material’s adsorption property for neodymium ions was explored. The experimental results show that the adsorption capacity of boron nitride is closely related to pH. When the pH is 6.0, the adsorption performance of the material is the best; the kinetic data show that the adsorption equilibrium can be reached in about 150 min, and the adsorption capacity at equilibrium is 207.3 mg.g-1. In addition, the Freundlich and Langmuir models were used to fitting the thermodynamic results. It was found that the adsorption process of boron nitride on Nd(III) involved both monolayer adsorption and multi-layer adsorption. These data indicate that boron nitride has a good adsorption effect on Nd(III) in water and is a promising material for environmental remediation.

Laguna de Bay is the largest lake in the Philippines. It is surrounded by developing cities that pollute the lake with plastics from different industrial and domestic activities. In the study, microplastics were collected from the lake’s surface water through three (3) collection points within the lake. The collection of microplastics was conducted from August 2018 to October 2018. About eight-hundred ninety (890) microplastics were collected and cataloged. Among the collection sites, ‘Brgy. Sampiruhan’ has the most microplastics, with a median of 15 ranging from 11-24 microplastics per 1000 L of lake water. On the other hand, ‘Brgy. Napindan’ has a median of 4 which ranges from 2-6 microplastics per 1000 L, and ‘Brgy. San Isidro’ has a median of 6 which ranges from 4-24 microplastics per 1000 L. Image analysis revealed that microplastics from this site were larger and angular. The color analysis shows signs of whitening and yellowing of the plastic materials, which suggests that the microplastics undergo photodegradation. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) found that most of the microplastics in the lake are made of polyethylene and its derivatives. Microplastics in Laguna de Bay show the continuous plastic pollution in the Philippines’ largest lake.

Insect pest control is one of the major issues facing the agriculture sector because of the need for new agrochemicals and biocontrol agents that are environmentally friendly, economically affordable, and safe for human health. Spodoptera frugiperda (fall armyworm) is one of the insect pests that causes huge damage to various crops around the globe due to its generalist nature. In the present study, three selected Embelia ribes Burm F (Myrsinaceae) constituents, which include embelin, 5-O-methylembelin, and vilangin; one semi-synthetic compound (potassium embelate); three synthetic compounds, namely coenzyme Q10, dopaquinone, and idebenone; and two reference compounds (azadirachtin and amitraz) were assessed on the docking behavior of S. frugiperda (beta glycosidase and caspase-1. The docking studies showed that coenzyme Q10 exhibited the highest binding energies (-130.61 and -434.56 kcal.mol-1) for the target enzymes S. frugiperda (beta glycosidase and caspase-1, respectively). Thus, the present investigation provides new knowledge in understanding Embelia ribes Burm F (Myrsinaceae) constituents as possible inhibitors against S. frugiperda (beta glycosidase and caspase-1) enzyme activities. Furthermore, the present work can help to develop new insecticides and pesticides against S. frugiperda and other related insect pests.

Construction activities produce considerable environmental effects and have resulted in a growing demand to implement favorable environmental practices. In this sense, this research aimed to evaluate the effect of the level of compliance with environmental regulations in public civil works in the San Ignacio, Cajamarca, Peru district. Data were obtained through direct observation and structured interviews in 7 selected construction sites. The deductive and analytical method was used. As a result, the level of compliance was obtained. Work 4 had the highest rank, and works 2 and 5 had the lowest. Currently, all the works are in a similar range of compliance. The degree of association between the level of compliance with environmental regulations and the current state of the civil works indicates a probability of 0.0190, which shows that the low level of compliance with environmental regulations in the construction of public civil works in the district of San Ignacio generates a deterioration in the quality of the environment and increases the possibility of administrative sanctions.

Water pollution caused by oil spills at sea and industrial and daily wastewater discharges are causing serious damage to the ecological environment, not only in terms of economic losses but also in terms of human health and survival, a problem that needs to be addressed urgently. Oil/water separation is a global challenge, and while these problems are frequent, various oil/water separation strategies have been extensively investigated in recent years. The efficiency of the materials prepared is a key factor, as are the environmental friendliness and low cost of the methods and raw materials used in the experiments. This work reviews methods and materials applied in oil/water separation in recent years, including natural textile materials, metal meshes, synthetic membranes, particulate adsorbent materials, foams, sponges, aerogels, smart controllable special wettable separation materials.

Arsenic, aluminum, iron, lead, chromium, copper, zinc, manganese, and cadmium are some of the heavy metal pollutants in the air that cause severe impacts on the biotic and abiotic environment. This study intended to find the accumulation capacity of the heavy metals on the leaves of tree species such as Terminalia catappa, Syzygium cumini, Saraca asoca, Pongamia glabra, and Ficus religiosa and predict their accuracy by comparing different machine learning (ML) models. The samples were collected at six different locations (likely Vellagate, Cancer Institute, CSI hospital area, Moongilmandapam, Collectorate, and Pallavarmedu) and distributed in a manner within Kanchipuram town, Tamil Nadu, in February and March of 2018 and 2019, respectively. Six ML methods were selected, such as KStar (K*), Lazy IKB, Logistic Regression Algorithm (LR), LogitBoost Classifier (LB), Meta Randomizable Filtered Classifier (MRFC), and Random Tree (RT), for prediction and to compare the efficiency of their predictions. Out of six models, Logistic functions perform well in terms of TP rate when compared to other classifiers (93.21%-99.81% TPR– 0.93–0.99) and Logitboost attained a low TP rate that ranged from 0.76 to 0.82. This study indicates the feasibility of different ML methods in the prediction of species capabilities toward the accumulation of heavy metals.

Environmental sustainability encompasses various problems, including clean air, renewable energy, climate change, safe environments, and the capacity to live in a healthy community. One possible strategy for addressing these global problems is the circular bio-economy. Cleaner and lower-carbon environments may be fostered via the production of bioenergy and biomaterials, which can also help to maintain the energy-environment connection. To improve sustainability and the state of the planet, scientists are looking at renewable energy sources like ethanol. Compared to gasoline, ethanol has a reduced carbon footprint and a greater energy density, making it a viable alternative fuel. This study gives an overview of ethanol as a possible alternative fuel for flex-powered power generators in India to meet the goals of the circular bio-economy. This paper details the results of flex-fuel testing conducted on a light-duty power generator using an ethanol-gasoline mix. The findings reveal improved thermal efficiency and lower fuel consumption rates than basic fuel. The emissions of both carbon monoxide and unburned hydrocarbons were shown to be reduced.

Microscopic examination was used to begin investigating the changes in geosynthetic clay liner (GCL) specimens that had been hydrated with two separate solutions: pure water and a 50 percent concentration NaCl solution. After already being hydrated with NaCl aqueous solution, the GCL samples were examined under an electron microscope. Even though the treated GCL samples’ surfaces mirrored those of the untreated GCL, a crystal deposit was found there. It was found that the bentonite particles in the GCL sample appeared more solid after being hydrated with distilled water as opposed to the NaCl solution using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). It seems that wetting the salt solution decreases the bentonite particles’ tendency to swell. Additionally, it was demonstrated by the energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) data that distilled water hydration had no impact on the distribution of the elements identified in the GCL samples. On the other hand, the presence of bound chlorine demonstrated that the bentonite particles had absorbed the NaCl solution. The hydrated GCL sample’s hydraulic conductivity showed some variation as well.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed in the Ganga River water samples collected from three cities. Jajmau (Kanpur), Dala Khera (Fatehpur), and Kara Kachar (Kaushambi) of Uttar Pradesh, India. At Jajmau (Kanpur), out of sixteen PAHs, eight were found in the Ganga river water in concentration (μg.L-1) order: acenaphthylene (3.8356) > pyrene (0.5878) > fluorene (0.5752) > anthracene (0.2806) > benzo(b)fluoranthene (0.1960) > phenanthrene (0.0526) > benzo(a)pyrene (0.0234) > naphthalene (0.006). In contrast, in Dala Khera (Fatehpur), two PAHs: anthracene (0.2806) and fluorene (0.07894), were observed. In Kara Kachar (Kaushambi), only single phenanthrene (0.04507) was detected. It was noticed that the three-ring types of PAHs occur commonly in all three sites. It is concerning because the river water sampled had PAH concentrations, namely Acy, Flu, Phe, and Pyr, that were relatively higher than those recommended (0.05 μg.L-1) by WHO (1998) in surface water. In contrast, the amounts of Nap, Ant, BbF, and Bap were recorded within the safe levels in Kanpur, while in the other two cities (Fatehpur and Kaushambi), Phe and Ant were detected lower than their permissible limit. Flu was measured as higher than its recommended value by WHO (1998). Similarly, the concentration of Acy, Ant, Pyr, BbF and BaP in river water samples at Jajmau, Kanpur were higher than their safe limits suggested by RIVM report 607711007/2012 for inland surface water while Nap, Flu, and Phe were lower than their recommended values. However, at, Dala Khera and Kara Kachar (Fatehpur and Kaushambi respectively), the concentrations of Ant, Flu and Phe were lower than their prescribed limits given by RIVM 607711007/2012.