Sustainable development is a global policy that requires the collective effort of the actors present in each territory. In this sense, an energy renewal intervention model is presented at the Juan XXIII Educational Institution in the city of Monteria, Córdoba, Colombia, which results from alliances between international, national, and regional actors, becoming a reference that could serve as a basis. To be replicated in other institutions with characteristics similar to those described in this case. The model generally describes the entire process carried out in the intervention and focuses on the benefits generated for the educational community. Among the main results, the increase in thermal, lighting, and acoustic comfort of the educational community stands out, according to a survey and semi-structured interviews carried out. A fact that could be attributed to the perception of increased comfort in the community is the increase in the student population in 2022, going from 1,478 in 2019 to 1,909 in 2022, with a growth of approximately 29%. Energy renovation also resulted in the improvement of the indoor climate of the classrooms (from 35°C to 27°C), the improvement in the physical infrastructure of the institution, the integration of photovoltaic solar energy, and the subsequent reduction of energy cost.

This detailed study assessed heavy metal contamination of sediments/soil near central India’s largest copper mining area using 38 sampling sites within 10 km of the mine using atomic absorption spectroscopy. This study utilized multivariate pattern recognition methods, namely hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA), for source identification. Twelve parameters, i.e., copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), organic matter (OM), cation exchange capacity (CEC), soil pH, distance (D), and elevation (E) were analyzed. The hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was used to analyze the sample sites with similar metal contamination and principal component analysis (PCA) was used to analyze the relationship between the parameters as well as to identify sources of heavy metal pollution. Three major pollution hotspots were detected by AHC and were classified as unpolluted/low pollution sites (UPS: mean concentration factor of 1.35 for Cu), highly polluted sites (HPS: mean concentration factor of 22 for Cu), and extremely polluted sites (EPS: mean concentration factor of 74 for Cu). PCA revealed three hidden factors/components, namely PC1 (explaining 38% of the variability), PC2 (18% of the variability), and PC3 (14% of the variability). Metals showed strong positive loading in PC1, explaining the highest variability. The mean content of Cu in soil/sediment samples was 502.526 mg/kg. The mean copper content was 10 times higher than the natural crustal value of 45mg/kg, indicating severe pollution in several sites around the study area. Mapping of copper contamination was conducted to reveal the spatial distribution of copper contamination using QGIS. This study exposes the heavy metal contamination level in surface sediments/soil and the effectiveness of pattern recognition techniques for the assessment of multivariate datasets in discerning spatial disparities and identifying the contamination causes.

Undernutrition is a confront to the health and output of the populace. It is viewed as one of the five leading contrary health impacts of climate variability and is defined as different measures of nutritional status. We aimed to assess the scientific evidence base for the impact of climate variability on childhood undernutrition (particularly wasting and underweight) in low- and middle-income countries. A systematic review was conducted to identify the peer-reviewed and gray full-text studies in English with no limits for the year of publication and study design. This review covers only published studies from four databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct). The risk of bias was assessed using the ROVBIS tool in individual studies. The PRISMA Statement checklist for systematic reviews was referred for this review process. A significant correlation between climate variables, temperature, rainfall, and drought, and at least one undernutrition parameter in 19 out of 22 studies was observed in this systematic review. In addition, we note that crop yield, maternal education, nutritional status of mothers, wealth status at the household level, and individual levels also play substantial roles in mediating the nutritional impacts. The findings of our analysis imply that exposure to climate variables may be linked to an increased risk of undernutrition both during and for several years following climate events. This may imply that undernutrition is never caused by temperature, precipitation, drought, or other weather-related factors alone but rather that undernutrition is triggered in children who are already at risk.

In the face of the rapid rise in global waste production and the pressing need to shift towards sustainable energy options, advanced Waste-to-Energy (WtE) technologies have emerged as a highly promising solution. These innovative technologies effectively utilize waste as a valuable resource, presenting a viable pathway for sustainable energy recovery and making a substantial contribution to the principles of the circular economy paradigm. This review provides a comprehensive overview of advanced WtE technologies, including thermal, biological, and chemical methods, such as gasification, pyrolysis, plasma arc gasification, anaerobic digestion, fermentation, transesterification, and hydrothermal carbonization. The efficiency of these technologies is evaluated based on their energy recovery potential, environmental impact, and economic feasibility. Case studies on successful implementations of advanced WtE technologies are analyzed to highlight their practicality and effectiveness. Finally, the paper addresses technical, regulatory, and policy challenges in this field and provides future perspectives. The objective is to underscore the role of advanced WtE technologies in achieving a sustainable and resource-efficient circular economy.

The rapid consumption of fossil fuels has led to calls to switch from non-renewable to renewable energy sources. Microbial fuel cells are a promising technology that simultaneously treats wastewater and produces power. This study used the Taguchi Experimental method to optimize anode thickness and pH to obtain the maximum power density of an air-cathode microbial fuel cell (ACMFC). The graphene-sponge (G-S) anode thickness and chamber pH were selected as operating parameters, with their corresponding levels. The L9 orthogonal array was chosen for the experimental design. According to the Taguchi Method, the optimum G-S anode thickness and chamber pH were determined to be 1.0 cm and 8.0, respectively. A confirmatory run was performed under these optimum conditions, and the maximum power density observed was 707.75 mW·m−3. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to identify the percentage contributions of the operating parameters to the process, which were found to be 30.66% for pH and 69.34% for anode thickness.

Sawdust, a major waste product of the forestry industry, is accumulating along the Lagos Lagoon in Lagos, Nigeria, without it being effectively managed. Besides its use in The saccharification of sawdust could contribute to the development of renewable energy sources and feedstock for bioproduct development. The process is, however, not that straightforward as variables such as the type of cellulase enzyme, pretreatment of the cellulose substrate, and optimizing of cellulase to cellulose ratio are a few that need to be optimized for the process to be effective in terms of glucose production.manufacturing sound-absorbing boards to reinforce concrete beams and for energy purposes, its potential as a renewable energy source and feedstock for bio-product development has not yet been realized. Cellulose, a glucose biopolymer and structural component of cellulose can be hydrolyzed by a hydrolytic enzyme known as cellulase. During the process, the enzyme breaks the B-1,4-glucosidic bond, which keeps the glucose units together, and by acting on this bond, numerous glucose units are released. As part of sawdust, the cellulose molecule is not freely available for the degradation action of the cellulase enzyme as it is strongly associated with lignin, which acts as bio-glue, keeping cellulose and hemicellulose together. Delignification is an effective technique that was used to make the sawdust from ten different trees along the Lagos Lagoon in Nigeria more susceptible to saccharification by cellulase isolated from the fungus Aspergillus niger. Delignified and non-delignified sawdust masses between 2 mg and 10 mg were incubated with the A. niger cellulase solution (2 mg.mL-1), whereafter, the amount of sugar produced by the cellulase action was determined. The percentage saccharification of each sawdust material was also linked with the amount of sugar produced during cellulase action. From these investigations was concluded that delignification increased sugar production when almost all the masses of different sawdust materials were degraded. It was also observed that the ratio of sawdust mass to enzyme concentration is an important variable that influences the effectiveness of the saccharification process. The percentage saccharification of the various sawdust materials was also determined, and it indicated that the highest percentage of saccharification was not obtained when the highest amount of sawdust was degraded, producing the highest amount of sugar.

In this study, the Senegal River, being the main source of water, plays a crucial role in the area’s agricultural development. Irrigation on the M’Pourie plain using water from the Senegal River is carried out without any prior sanitation control. An evaluation of the quality of irrigation water and its impact on soil salinization in different agricultural plots soil salinity is crucial for the effective utilization of traditional irrigation water over extended periods. Comprehensive physico-chemical analyses were conducted across nine locations on the M’Pourie plain in Rosso during the dynamic seasons of 2021-2023. Nevertheless, a relatively small number of studies have employed soil salinity indexing methods to examine the consequences of river irrigation on soil salinity. The analysis and interpretation of the results obtained were based both on classic methods (average and correlations) and more advanced techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) and the Piper diagram which allow characterization and a spatial typology of water. Analysis of the Piper diagram highlights the distinction between two groups of water, weakly and moderately mineralized, ranging from 52.22 μS.cm-1 in the dry season to 72.22 μS.cm-1 in the rainy season, presenting a sodium-potassium bicarbonate facies The variability of irrigation water supplies, proves to be important in the functioning of an agro-systems. Two modes of operation have become individualized: the dry phase mode, characterized by very strong mineralization of the water linked to a significant load of dissolved elements, and the wet phase mode, whose water quality is poorly mineralized but shows the impact that its irrigation water can represent in the loading of organic and mineral pollution and the need for strict control of these waters upstream before their agricultural use. The results of this study show the absence of risks of soil salinization in relation to the chemical nature of irrigation water and the impact of agriculture on the M’Pourie plain.

Padang as the capital of the province, is a strategic area and also the center of the economy. Annual population growth affects changes in land use from vegetated land to built-up areas. An increase in barren land will trigger an increase in temperature. SUHI is a temperature phenomenon that occurs on the surface resulting from the increase in temperature. SUHI can be observed through surface temperature data or Land Surface Temperature. This study aims to identify changes in land surface temperature that are affected by changes in land use in the form of building density conditions. In analyzing this using Landsat 7 ETM+ imagery in 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, and 2020. The building density measurement method LST transformations to measure surface temperature and helps the Surface Urban Heat Island phenomenon. The results of the analysis showed that there was an increase in the building density of the city of Padang over a period of 20 years. This phenomenon affects the surface temperature, indicating that the surface temperature has increased by around 0.47°C. The highest temperature from 2001-2020 occurred in 2016, with the highest temperature of 36°C.

With rising public awareness and concern for environmental sustainability, calls for nature-friendly marine and beach litter management have grown louder. This study, employing logistic and ordinary least square regressions, explores tourists’ knowledge, perceptions, and willingness to pay (WTP) using data (n = 400) collected from Kuakata Sea Beach, Bangladesh. Results showed that approximately 99% of the respondents recognize the urgency for further development in the waste management system, while 53% are aware of it. Gender is identified as a statistically significant factor impacting beachgoers’ WTP – males are willing to pay more. Besides, visitors with higher incomes demonstrate the willingness to pay more. Additionally, 37% of the respondents think that appropriate information dissemination and raising awareness are critical to confronting this problem, and another 38% recommended proper placement of dustbins on the beach. These outcomes can be very useful in designing any relevant policies for promoting sustainable beach waste management.

Heavy metals (iron, copper, and zinc) were quantified in purple crab (Platyxanthus orbignyi) tissues collected in winter (September 2021), spring (November 2021), and summer (March 2022) at three beaches (Tres Hermanas, Fundición, and El Diablo) in Ilo Harbour (Moquegua), South Peru. The rank order of heavy metal concentrations in purple crab tissues and sediments was similar; iron (Fe) was followed by Copper (Cu), and this last one was followed by Zinc (Zn). The heavy metal concentrations in tissue crabs from the three beaches differed from each other spatially and seasonally. In addition, Fundición Beach was the zone with the highest concentration of those three metals during the summer.