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Challenges
Number of Followers: 2  Open Access journalISSN (Print) 2078-1547 Published by MDPI  [258 journals]
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- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 39: Planet.Health: An Ecosystem Approach to
Imagine and Coordinate for Planetary Health Futures
Authors: Geordan Shannon, Alix Faddoul, Alexander Lai, Tony Lai, Jeremy Lauer, Srivatsan Rajagopalan, Rita Issa
First page: 39
Abstract: Planet.Health addresses imagination and coordination challenges for planetary health through innovative approaches to social organising. This report presents the findings from the inaugural Planet.Health event in 2022, including the Planet.Health unconference. An unconference is a participant-driven event format that provides flexibility for emergent ideas and connections. In this (un)conference report, we share the challenges, achievements, and lessons learned during the initial year of activities in the leadup to and following the Planet.Health unconference event. We also discuss how the intersection of web3 and planetary health—a major focus of the first year—provides an alternative lens for envisioning, innovating, and coordinating beyond conventional social and institutional frameworks. We explore the potential impact of web3 technologies and decentralised social, economic, and financial networks and highlight the implications of these approaches for addressing planetary crises and supporting a flourishing human–environment relationship. As a new contribution to the planetary health field, this work emphasises the importance of building decentralised systems to foster creative actions and inspire global engagement for planetary wellbeing. The report concludes with some practical insights on how we begin to build and sustain decentralised social networks, including a discussion of the benefits and limitations of these approaches.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-09-25
DOI: 10.3390/challe14040039
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 4 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 40: The Design and Testing of a Text Message
Authors: Michael F. Royer, Christopher Wharton
First page: 40
Abstract: Food insecurity is an ongoing problem in the U.S. with implications for health problems and social disadvantages. Past food insecurity intervention studies have targeted barriers to accessing healthy food. However, information barriers have not been adequately addressed by food insecurity interventions. This research included the first phase of a two-phase feasibility study that involved testing a text message as an informational nudge through interviews among a small, preliminary sample of adults in the southwest U.S. (n = 10). Interview questions focused on the message content, persuasiveness, relevancy, clarity, and details that participants liked and disliked. A qualitative content analysis of interview responses then highlighted any necessary modifications to the text message. Interview responses highlighted that the message conveyed details about how to access food assistance resources. The message was perceived as informative, clear, and friendly. Participants highlighted the need for better spacing in the message layout, more details about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and a better explanation for why SNAP is relevant. Text message readability, relevancy, and informativeness were common concerns raised during interviews. Participant-informed modifications to the text message were applied in preparation for using the message in a food insecurity intervention. This research is a novel contribution to the extant literature on nudges, as no known intervention study has used informational nudges to exclusively promote food security. Future food insecurity research efforts should similarly test novel interventions to ensure the intervention is acceptable and relevant for the target population.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-10-01
DOI: 10.3390/challe14040040
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 4 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 41: Gastronomy: An Overlooked Arena for the
Cultivation of Sustainable Meaning'
Authors: Daniel Östergren, Ute Walter, Bernt Gustavsson, Inger M. Jonsson
First page: 41
Abstract: This article explores sustainable development from a gastronomic perspective. Humanistic perspectives on food offered by gastronomy are explored as an asset in cultivating self-awareness capacities needed for sustainable transformations of society. The purpose is to explore how gastronomes can cultivate understandings and explanations of sustainability to be conveyed to individuals via meals. In semi-annually recurring dialogic interviews, four university-educated gastronomes cultivated their understandings and explanations of sustainability, and modeled how these could be communicated to other individuals. The dialogues gradually brought the ideas of the researcher and the participants toward a common explanation of the potential ways gastronomic competency could advance sustainable development. The results highlight two ways of understanding gastronomic sustainability: functionally as practical communication, and formally as a cultural issue. Based on H.G. Gadamer’s idea of bildung as hermeneutic interpretation, we argue that self-awareness is a process which is rooted in how knowledge is interpreted, understood, and explained by the individual. Practical participation in culturally influenced meals makes gastronomy a bridge between individual and societal issues, whereby gastronomic competencies can cultivate sustainable commitment, judgment, and community. In this way, gastronomic sustainability represents an approach to sustainable development that, significantly, also involves the cultivation of sustainable meaning.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-10-07
DOI: 10.3390/challe14040041
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 4 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 42: Reducing Environmental Impacts at a
Midwestern Academic Medical Center: Making Carbon Emissions Reduction a
Reality
Authors: Johannah Bjorgaard, Teddie Potter
First page: 42
Abstract: (1) Background: Human-generated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are the largest contributor to climate change worldwide. Climate change negatively impacts human and planetary health, threatening the existence of life on earth. The healthcare industry is responsible for approximately 8.5% of carbon emissions in the United States. Measuring baseline GHG emissions is the first step in emissions reduction. However, very few models of measurement exist for health care organizations. This project aimed to develop and implement a program to measure and track GHG emissions at a midwestern academic medical center (MAMC) and to educate staff on how to manage the process. (2) Methods: A Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle and Quality Improvement methodology were used to develop, implement, and assess a standardized GHG emission inventory process to measure Scope 1 and Scope 2 baseline emissions and provide virtual training and education to the accountable staff. A pre- and post-survey design was used to measure the knowledge and readiness of the staff after the implementation of the GHG inventory training. (3) Results: The GHG inventory process was validated through an external verification process, and the measurement of Scope 1 and Scope 2 baseline GHG emissions was completed and verified for accuracy through a data comparison review. The pre-post-training survey showed an increase in the knowledge and readiness of staff to maintain a GHG inventory. (4) Conclusions: This work shows the feasibility of obtaining baseline GHG emissions data at large medical centers. It represents the initial phase of the overarching goal to develop site-wide and system-wide carbon reduction strategies and a climate action plan within this health system.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-10-22
DOI: 10.3390/challe14040042
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 4 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 43: The FINDING-Food Intervention: A
Mixed-Methods Feasibility Study Addressing Food Insecurity
Authors: Michael F. Royer, Christopher Wharton
First page: 43
Abstract: Food insecurity is an economic and social condition involving limited or uncertain access to food. The problem of food insecurity in communities is influenced by economic conditions, food deserts, and barriers to accessing healthy food. Individuals experiencing food insecurity often endure concurrent problems of financial instability, hunger, and poor mental and physical health. Public and non-profit services in the U.S., such as the federally supported Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and community food banks, provide food-related assistance to individuals who are at a high risk of experiencing food insecurity. Unfortunately, many individuals who qualify for these services still experience food insecurity due to barriers preventing them from accessing food. Effective approaches for removing barriers that prevent individuals from accessing food are needed to mitigate the increased risk of chronic disease among vulnerable populations. This study tested a novel food insecurity intervention called FINDING-Food, which stands for Frequent Informational Nudges Directing Individuals to Needed Goods. Informational nudges were used to promote food security through the removal of information barriers to accessing food. The intervention used in this mixed-methods feasibility study consisted of informational nudges in the form of weekly text messages that were sent to food pantry clients experiencing food insecurity (n = 24). The study aims were to test the efficacy and acceptability of the intervention by examining whether the informational nudges could enhance food pantry utilization, increase SNAP registration, and promote food security. Quantitative study results showed a lower prevalence of food insecurity in the intervention group than the control group at the end of the study. Qualitative findings revealed how intervention group participants who completed the study (n = 9) found the text messages to be helpful and informative. These study findings can enhance future food insecurity interventions aiming to eliminate barriers that prevent individuals who are food insecure from accessing healthy food.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-10-28
DOI: 10.3390/challe14040043
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 4 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 44: Integrating “Top-Down” and
“Community-Centric” Approaches for Community-Based Flood Early
Warning Systems in Namibia
Authors: Deolfa Josè Moisès, Nnenesi Kgabi, Olivia Kunguma
First page: 44
Abstract: The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) resolutely endorses the development of people-centred early warning systems. Moreover, several scientific studies have deprecated the vast technology-driven technocratic approaches to implementing these systems, contending the prioritisation of communities and their contextualised needs for systems that ensure effective risk protection and resilience building. However, both the UNDRR and the scientific literature have failed to define appropriate means of implementation (MoI) for community-based early warning system (CBEWS) development. Floods are a major hazard annually impacting several communities in rural sub-Saharan Africa, and though several opportunities for participatory systems have been identified, investment in developing countries is often lagging, and no defined mechanism for developing these systems exists. Adopting a modified Integrated Emergency Management Framework, this study demonstrates that an impact-based CBEWS can be established by leveraging existing resources, institutions and stakeholders, essentially merging last-mile and first-mile approaches. The study further reveals that directly linking technical capacities with community-based efforts allows communities to define system development parameters, strengthen risk knowledge and response, and build resilience for improved physical, economic and environmental protection, essentially bridging the gap between first and last-mile approaches. The study also highlights the need for governments to appropriately streamline DRR to improve coordination and communication.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-10-28
DOI: 10.3390/challe14040044
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 4 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 45: Global Disparities in COVID-19 Vaccine
Distribution: A Call for More Integrated Approaches to Address Inequities
in Emerging Health Challenges
Authors: Muhammad Asaduzzaman, Tual Sawn Khai, Vergil de Claro, Farzana Zaman
First page: 45
Abstract: The advent of the COVID-19 vaccine signified a historic milestone in the field of vaccinology, showcasing remarkable scientific collaboration and global solidarity. However, the most prominent hurdle in maximizing the global public health impact of vaccines remains the absence of comprehensive and inclusive health systems in both high- and low-resource settings. Our discussion centers around the major contributing factors that played a key role in formulating the rapid and efficacious COVID-19 vaccines. Simultaneously, we illuminate the disparities that have marred the vaccine delivery process throughout the pandemic. In particular, we highlight the case scenarios of two minority and vulnerable communities from the Global South and North—the undocumented migrants in Thailand and the Roma community in Europe—who continue to experience inequitable vaccine access regardless of their location. We note that a crucial programmatic solution that is rooted in inclusive and equitable global public health policy, characterized by empathy and trust and bolstered by digital innovation, is lacking. These examples underscore the significance of establishing a comprehensive and integrated health system at multiple levels across countries and the entire world. Furthermore, we highlight the need for both local and global actors to collaboratively engage in vaccine distribution efforts. By gaining a concise grasp of these intricacies, the global community will be better poised to effectively combat future pandemics and emerging health challenges.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-10-31
DOI: 10.3390/challe14040045
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 4 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 46: Planetary Health and Anthropocene
Discourse: The Role of Muslim Religious Leaders
Authors: Mona Said El-Sherbini, Yusuf Amuda Tajudeen, Habeebullah Jayeola Oladipo, Iyiola Olatunji Oladunjoye, Aminat Olaitan Adebayo, Jemilah Mahmood
First page: 46
Abstract: The Anthropocene epoch marks a critical phase in the history of humanity, where anthropogenic activities have profoundly impacted our planet. Alongside remarkable ecological crises, the Anthropocene worldview has raised existential questions, with a cultural and ethical discourse that recognizes the intrinsic value and calls for more responsible sustainable living. Addressing these collective challenges necessitates a broader perspective guided by a unified sense of purpose toward personal and planetary health. In this context, the role of religious leaders in shaping the social and environmental worldviews of their followers cannot be underestimated. Religious teachings provide a moral framework for promoting climate action, global ethics, the rights of Indigenous peoples, peace, and justice, and other aspects of planetary health. By examining the global ecological crises through the lens of Islam, the Religion of Nature, or Din al-Fitrah, and its environmental and spiritual teachings, we can gain valuable insights into humanity’s connection to the fabric of creation and its interaction with the world. These principles, rich in moral values, are intertwined with accountability and social cohesiveness. Therefore, the role of Muslim religious leaders considering the planetary-scale threats warrants further elucidation, recognizing that many other faiths and faith leaders can similarly contribute together for the common good.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-11-21
DOI: 10.3390/challe14040046
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 4 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 47: Bitcoin and Its Energy, Environmental, and
Social Impacts: An Assessment of Key Research Needs in the Mining Sector
Authors: Murray A. Rudd, Lee Bratcher, Simon Collins, David Branscum, Matthew Carson, Shaun Connell, Elliot David, Magdalena Gronowska, Sebastien Hess, Austin Mitchell, Matt Prusak, Kyle Schneps, Maxim Serezhin, Scott A. Wolfe, Dennis Porter
First page: 47
Abstract: In this study, we used a combination of AI-assisted analysis of social media discourse and collaboration with industry experts to delve into the key research needs associated with the Bitcoin mining industry. We identified primary threats, opportunities, and research questions related to the Bitcoin mining industry and its wider impacts, focusing on its energy use and environmental footprint. Our findings spotlight the industry’s move towards increasingly greater energy efficiency and an emerging commitment to renewable energy, highlighting its potential to contribute to the coming energy transition. We underscore the transformative potential of emerging applications in the Bitcoin mining sector, especially regarding demand response, grid flexibility, and methane mitigation. We suggest that targeted research on Bitcoin can serve policymakers, private sector decision-makers, research funding agencies, environmental scientists, and the Bitcoin industry itself. We propose that filling key information gaps could help clarify the risks and benefits of Bitcoin mining by encouraging collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders and conducting research that provides baseline peer-reviewed evidence surrounding Bitcoin’s production and impacts. A collaborative approach could help mitigate the risks and realize the benefits of Bitcoin mining, including potentially positive and substantive contributions in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-11-24
DOI: 10.3390/challe14040047
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 4 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 48: Tools for Urban Climate Adaptation Plans: A
Case Study on Bologna and Outcomes for Heat Wave Impact Reduction
Authors: Letizia Cremonini, Teodoro Georgiadis, Marianna Nardino, Federica Rossi, Alessandro Rossi, Giovanna Pinca, Massimiliano Fazzini
First page: 48
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of building a coherent frame for the identification of local environmental urban vulnerabilities, coping with heat waves’ increasing threats, and adopting specific adaptation policies in the Emilia-Romagna region. A microclimate model (ENVI-met) was used to simulate temperature regimes in five areas of Bologna, providing ex ante maps enabling us to locate the most vulnerable areas. Adaptation measures were suggested with the support of WMO Guidance 1234 and included recommendations about the introduction of high-albedo building materials and nature-based solutions. The step-by-step methodology developed, coupling local vulnerabilities with adaptation recommendation, integrates a scientific methodology into a political decision. The results, allowing us to widely represent this city’s vulnerability, are considered outstanding with respect to supporting the city’s adaptation ambitions and are now part of the running Bologna General Urban Plan (PUG), which regulates building interventions, introducing the obligation for enterprises to respect or ameliorate the microclimate in all the areas in which they intervene. This tool can be replicated and adapted to any municipal area, as it integrates authoritative WMO solutions with accurate microclimate assessment, thus providing locally tailored adaptation interventions. This paper aims to support the vision, shared by both science and policy makers, of transforming cities into widely resilient systems.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-11-29
DOI: 10.3390/challe14040048
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 4 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 30: Evaluation of Everyday Living Areas for
Deinstitutionalized Community-Living People with Mental Illness
Authors: Yuri Nakai, Hisao Nakai
First page: 30
Abstract: Deinstitutionalization of psychiatric care has been associated with increased homelessness, crime, and suicide, partly owing to insufficient, adequate, and accessible community resources. Therefore, appropriate resource placement is a key deinstitutionalization issue. The study’s aim was to identify residential group homes for people with mental illness in Kochi Prefecture, Japan, and the social resources necessary for social reintegration using a geographic information system (GIS). Everyday living areas (ELAs), as defined by the Japanese Community-Based Integrated Care System for People with Mental Illness (CICSM), were assessed using ELA location simulations. We used GIS to determine the spatial distribution of group homes, visiting nursing stations, psychiatric hospitals, daycare centers, and employment support offices. Following the CICSM definition of ELAs, we identified areas that people with mental illness could reach within 30 min on foot/by bicycle and counted the number of social resources in them. The ELA location simulation results suggest that policymakers should avoid uniform distribution of ELAs according to the CICSM definition. Establishing ELAs in suburban areas requires careful consideration of the available community resources, number of people with mental illness, existing support systems, and feasibility of the location.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-06-26
DOI: 10.3390/challe14030030
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 3 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 31: Lost Connections: Why the Growing Crisis of
Loneliness Matters for Planetary Health
Authors: Susan L. Prescott
First page: 31
Abstract: Healthy social connections—belongingness and relatedness to others—are considered to be basic human needs [...]
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-07-06
DOI: 10.3390/challe14030031
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 3 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 32: Legal Conditions for Refugees’ Mental
Health: Implications of Legislative Changes in Programs for Newly Arrived
Refugees in Sweden
Authors: David Gunnarsson, Sofia Larsson, Linda Vikdahl
First page: 32
Abstract: As the number of refugees in the world is increasing and it is known that social inequality negatively impacts mental health, it is important to study integration policies, such as labour market measures. In this article, the strategic interventions of the Swedish Public Employment Service are analysed to determine how the agency’s management handled and implemented the legal changes in the new support document for its case workers. The focus is on the effects of the changes in the legal text that transferred the responsibility for establishment initiatives for newly arrived migrants to the agency and, as a result, changed the conditions for newly arrived refugees’ mental health in the new establishment programme. Eight people representing different management functions at the agency were interviewed. The results show that the intention in the new programme to view newly arrived refugees in the same way as all other unemployed people, rather than as a special category, has meant that less attention is paid to the refugees’ mental health, and the opportunities for the agency’s street-level bureaucrats to help clients have decreased. In the face of predicted growing numbers of people having to abandon their homes due to conflicts and climate changes, governmental strategies such as these needs to be revisited in order for societies worldwide to be better prepared for that challenge.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-07-14
DOI: 10.3390/challe14030032
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 3 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 33: Outcomes from the First European Planetary
Health Hub Convening at ARTIS in Amsterdam
Authors: Remco Kort, Jeremy Pivor, Josep M. Antó, Annemarie Bergsma, Peter J. Blankestijn, Olette Bollen, Egid van Bree, Joyce L. Browne, Judith de Bruin, Jasper Buikx, Chiara Cadeddu, Jennifer Cole, Francesca Costabile, Aimée de Croon, Anneliese Depoux, Ian Fussell, Bernhard Goodwin, Arte Groenewegen, Milo Grootjen, Jaana I. Halonen, Riitta-Maija Hämäläinen, Pieter ten ten Have, Martin Herrmann, Pauline de Heer, Godelieve van Heteren, Jopke Janmaat, Marija Jevtic, Hans Mulder, Nathalie Lambrecht, Vincenzo Lionetti, Camilla Alay Llamas, Maarten Manten, Pim Martens, Ariadna Moreno, Francine Müller, Cristina O’Callaghan-Gordo, Sara Muller, Cecilia Manosa Nyblon, Juliette Mattijsen, Hans Ossebaard, Karlien Pijnenborg, Nynke Postma, Lisa Pörtner, Marju Prass, Lekha Rathod, Alexandre Robert, Andrée Rochfort, Alexis Roig, Anja Schoch, Eva-Maria Schwienhorst-Stich, Ralf Klemens Stappen, Ingrid Stegeman, Jorieke van der Stelt, Peter Stenvinkel, Rembrandt Sutorius, Valesca Venhof, Martine Veenman, Leonardo Villani, Maike Voss, Michiel de Vries, Laura van der Zande, Andreea Zotinca, Arnau Queralt-Bassa, Samuel S. Myers
First page: 33
Abstract: A new network of over 72 organizations from 12 countries was activated during a convening at ARTIS in Amsterdam on 26–27 September 2022. Representatives are aligned with the transdisciplinary field and social movement of Planetary Health, which analyzes and addresses the impacts of human disruptions to natural systems on human health and all life on Earth. The new European Planetary Health Hub consists of organizations from various sectors, including universities, healthcare, youth, business, and civil society. The Convening, co-organized by the Planetary Health Alliance (PHA), the European Environment and Sustainable Development Advisory Councils Network (EEAC), and Natura Artis Magistra (ARTIS), aimed to develop Planetary Health Working Groups for Education, Policy Engagement, Research, and Movement Building. The Convening resulted in an outline for each of the Working Group’s aims, visions, missions, priorities, and activities, and set the framework for sustaining their activities in the future through the establishment of the European Planetary Health Hub Secretariat in the Netherlands. The Hub members shared lessons learned, built relationships, and developed artwork-inspired perspectives on Planetary Health. In conclusion, the Convening led to the establishment of a strong European foundation to contribute to the transformations needed for sustainable, just, and equitable societies that flourish within the limits of our ecosystems.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-07-14
DOI: 10.3390/challe14030033
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 3 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 34: Investigating the Mental Health Impacts of
Climate Change in Youth: Design and Implementation of the International
Changing Worlds Study
Authors: Ans Vercammen, Sandhya Kanaka Yatirajula, Mercian Daniel, Sandeep Maharaj, Michael H. Campbell, Natalie Greaves, Renzo Guinto, John Jamir Benzon Aruta, Criselle Angeline Peñamante, Britt Wray, Emma L. Lawrance
First page: 34
Abstract: As climate change continues unabated, research is increasingly focused on capturing and quantifying the lesser-known psychological responses and mental health implications of this humanitarian and environmental crisis. There has been a particular interest in the experiences of young people, who are more vulnerable for a range of reasons, including their developmental stage, the high rates of mental health conditions among this population, and their relative lack of agency to address climate threats. The different geographic and sociocultural settings in which people are coming of age afford certain opportunities and present distinct challenges and exposures to climate hazards. Understanding the diversity of lived experiences is vitally important for informing evidence-based, locally led psychosocial support and social and climate policies. In this Project Report we describe the design and implementation of the “Changing Worlds” study, focusing on our experiences and personal reflections as a transdisciplinary collaboration representing the UK, India, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados, the Philippines, and the USA. The project was conceived within the planetary health paradigm, aimed at characterizing and quantifying the impacts of human-mediated environmental systems changes on youth mental health and wellbeing. With input from local youth representatives, we designed and delivered a series of locally adapted surveys asking young people about their mental health and wellbeing, as well as their thoughts, emotions, and perceived agency in relation to the climate crisis and the global COVID-19 pandemic. This project report outlines the principles that guided the study design and describes the conceptual and practical hurdles we navigated as a distributed and interdisciplinary research collaboration working in different institutional, social, and research governance settings. Finally, we highlight lessons learned, specify our recommendations for other collaborative research projects in this space, and touch upon the next steps for our work. This project explicitly balances context sensitivity and the need for quantitative, globally comparable data on how youth are responding to and coping with environmental change, inspiring a new vision for a global community of practice on mental health in climate change.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-08-05
DOI: 10.3390/challe14030034
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 3 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 35: Bitcoin’s Carbon Footprint Revisited:
Proof of Work Mining for Renewable Energy Expansion
Authors: Juan Ignacio Ibañez, Alexander Freier
First page: 35
Abstract: While blockchain and distributed ledger technology offer immense potential for applications in transparency, security, efficiency, censorship resistance, and more, they have been criticized due to the energy-intensive nature of the proof of work consensus algorithm, particularly in the context of Bitcoin mining. We systematically explore the state-of-the-art regarding the relationship between Bitcoin mining and grid decarbonization. We specifically focus on the role of flexible load response through proof of work mining as a potential contributor to renewable energy penetration and net decarbonization of the energy grid. The existing literature has not comprehensively examined this area, leading to conflicting views. We address the gap, analyzing the capabilities and limitations of Bitcoin mining in providing flexible load response services. Our findings show that renewable-based mining could potentially drive a net-decarbonizing effect on energy grids, although key adaptations in mining practices are needed to fully realize this potential. Overall, the paper suggests a re-evaluation of the environmental impact of Bitcoin mining, highlighting its potential role as a facilitator for renewable energy expansion, and decarbonization more broadly.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-08-08
DOI: 10.3390/challe14030035
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 3 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 36: Planetary Health—Global Environmental
Change and Emerging Infectious Disease: A New Undergraduate Online
Asynchronous Course
Authors: Kristina Monteiro, Ciciely Davy, Jesse Maurier, Katherine F. Smith
First page: 36
Abstract: Will a warmer world be a sicker world' What is it about the New England landscape that supports the proliferation of Lyme disease' How are local wildlife trade and global species invasions contributors to emerging diseases such as the 2003 outbreak of monkey pox virus in the midwestern United States' Undergraduate students explore these and related questions in BIOL 1455 Planetary Health: global environmental change and emerging infectious disease—a new online asynchronous course at Brown University. Planetary health is gaining traction in the curricula of institutions of higher learning and online asynchronous courses offer the promise of scaling up to make grand challenges education accessible to many. In our new course, we assessed student learning outcomes (LOs) and sentiment towards the health of humans and the planet using a mixed-methods approach. Students demonstrated competency in each of the LOs after course completion as measured in a pre–post assessment scored with a standardized rubric. Student sentiment was analyzed with an immersion–crystallization qualitative analysis to elucidate themes in responses to the assessments. Many themes on the pre-assessment focused on barriers and problems associated with the health of humans and the planet, while themes on the post-assessment centered on more solutions-based thinking. Collectively, these findings indicate that this online asynchronous course successfully educated students about the myriad challenges facing human and planetary health, broadened knowledge of environmental changes (beyond climate change) that impact health, formalized understanding of now common terms such as “emerging infectious diseases”, and bolstered hope by offering solutions and peer community (even when virtual). Future efforts to integrate planetary health into higher education should focus on broadly accessible and scalable courses, full programs of study (i.e., majors/scholarly concentrations), and extension into institutional programs focused on ensuring equity and wellness for all.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-08-09
DOI: 10.3390/challe14030036
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 3 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 37: Nutrition, Behavior, and the Criminal
Justice System: What Took so Long' An Interview with Dr. Stephen J.
Schoenthaler
Authors: Alan C. Logan, Stephen J. Schoenthaler
First page: 37
Abstract: In the ongoing series of interviews, Challenges Advisory Board member and Nova Institute for Health Fellow Alan C. Logan meets with thought leaders, scientists, scholars, healthcare professionals, artisans, and visionaries concerned about health at the scales of persons, places, and the planet. Here, Dr Stephen J. Schoenthaler of California State University, Stanislaus, responds to a set of questions posed by Challenges. For over forty years, Dr. Schoenthaler has been at the forefront of the research connecting nutrition to behavior and mental health. In particular, Dr. Schoenthaler’s work has examined relationships between dietary patterns, nutritional support, and behaviors that might otherwise be associated with criminality and aggression. Although the idea that nutrition is a factor in juvenile delinquency was popularized in the 1950s, the area received little scientific attention. In the 1970s, the idea that nutrition could influence behavior gained national attention in the US but was largely dismissed as “fringe”, especially by those connected to the ultra-processed food industries. Today, relationships between diet and behavior are part of the robust field called “nutritional psychiatry”; emerging studies demonstrate clear societal implications, including those within the criminal justice system. Here, Dr. Schoenthaler discusses how we got here and updates Challenges on where the field has moved, with an eye toward future possibilities. Dr. Schoenthaler reflects on the early influences that shaped his interest in the field and discusses the ways in which this research, especially in the context of criminal justice, is related to the many interconnected challenges of our time.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-09-03
DOI: 10.3390/challe14030037
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 3 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 38: The Escalation of Informal Settlement and
the High Levels of Illegal Dumping Post-Apartheid: Systematic Review
Authors: Xolisiwe Sinalo Grangxabe, Thabang Maphanga, Benett Siyabonga Madonsela, Babalwa Gqomfa, Takalani Terry Phungela, Karabo Concelia Malakane, Kgabo Humphrey Thamaga, Daniel Angwenyi
First page: 38
Abstract: Illegal disposal of solid waste is a significant issue in many parts of the world, particularly in urban areas. Because of unprecedented urbanization, these areas are crowded, putting pressure on the already inadequate municipal services such as waste management. As municipalities fail to provide adequate and effective waste management services, the expansion and proliferation of informal settlements contribute to the problem of illegal dumping. Apartheid spatial planning produced environmentally unsustainable cities characterized by glaring disparities in municipal resource allocation, disturbingly inefficient transportation systems, and widespread urban insecurity. Therefore, this study examines how the expansion of informal settlement at an unprecedented rate contributes to illegal dumping post-apartheid by conducting a systematic review. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, a literature search from 1994 to 2023 was conducted in the field of waste management. The review focuses on three key aspects: (1) factors that contribute to illegal dumping in townships; (2) waste management laws during apartheid and post apartheid; and (3) waste collection system in townships and spatial planning. South Africa’s inequality is a major contributor to environmental degradation. The situation was exacerbated by efforts to prevent urban migration and forcefully remove black people from cities; apartheid ideology justified the dormitory-like nature of urban townships. In the South African context, the literature reveals that there is a research gap in the application of technologies and effective waste management plans to keep up with the growing number of informal settlements. Furthermore, despite progressive environmental policies, implementation has been ineffective. This study offers valuable evidence on the spatial and temporal dynamics of informal settlements, addressing both the location and time aspects. A robust government-led Community Participation in Solid Waste Management program is required immediately.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-09-11
DOI: 10.3390/challe14030038
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 3 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 20: Global Environmental Health Impacts of Rare
Earth Metals: Insights for Research and Policy Making in Africa
Authors: Habeebullah Jayeola Oladipo, Yusuf Amuda Tajudeen, Emmanuel O. Taiwo, Abdulbasit Opeyemi Muili, Rashidat Onyinoyi Yusuf, Sarat Ayomide Jimoh, Muhammad Kamaldeen Oladipo, Iyiola Olatunji Oladunjoye, Oluwaseyi Muyiwa Egbewande, Yusuff Inaolaji Sodiq, Abdulhakeem Funsho Ahmed, Mona Said El-Sherbini
First page: 20
Abstract: The rise of globalization and industrialization has driven the demand for rare earth metals (REMs). These metals are widely used in various sectors of the global economy with various applications in medicine, renewable energy, electronics, agriculture, and the military. REMs are likely to remain an important part of our global future, and, as production increases, areas contaminated by REMs are expected to expand over the coming decades. Thus, triggering significant adverse environmental, animal, and human health impacts. Despite increased attention on REMs outside China in recent years, there are limited studies exploring REM production, deposits, and associated health impacts in the African context. Proper mine management, adequate safety protocols, sustainable processing methods, and waste handling systems have been identified and proposed globally; however, the nature and scale of implementing these management protocols on the African continent have been less clear. Therefore, planetary health-centered solutions are urgently needed to be undertaken by researchers, policy makers, and non-governmental actors in Africa and across the globe. This is with the overarching aim of ensuring eco-friendly alternatives and public health consciousness on REM exploitations and hazards for future generations to come.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-04-03
DOI: 10.3390/challe14020020
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 2 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 21: A Medical Equipment Lifecycle Framework to
Improve Healthcare Policy and Sustainability
Authors: Bruce Mang, YeonJae Oh, Chabelly Bonilla, Jennifer Orth
First page: 21
Abstract: The healthcare sector is struggling to become more environmentally friendly compared to other industries, evidently seen by the contribution to global emissions. These struggles have elicited some research on sustainable methods regarding the lifecycle of medical devices. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) encourages the reuse of equipment and ethical donations, namely for the sake of the environment and sustainable global health. However, there is a lack of synthesis–multiple greener alternatives to the current healthcare system are developing without a connection to each other, hindering an increase in sustainability. Thus, there is a lack of global organization and standardization in medical equipment lifecycles. Inspired by the findings and guidelines of the Safe and Sustainable Medical Equipment Supply Subgroup (SASMES) of the International Rotary Fellowship of Healthcare Professionals, we created the Re-processing Medical Equipment: Rotarian Research Group for the Environment (Re-MERGE) to expand on these challenges. Re-MERGE follows the life cycle of medical devices in the United States of America through its initial stages of classification and various regulatory pathways, the middle stage of post-market requirements, and the end stage of disposal or donation and reprocessing. Our findings indicate that current medical device end-stages are inefficient, damaging to the environment, and burdensome to donation recipients; however, existing processes can provide improvements to medical device end-stage methods by drastically reducing environmental damage, improving healthcare globally, and increasing sustainability in the field. We identify that more research is needed to connect the implications of different medical device end stages. Additionally, we encourage the findings to be implemented to create more sustainable, effective methods of medical device disposal, donation, and reprocessing.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-04-19
DOI: 10.3390/challe14020021
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 2 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 22: The Reemergence of Monkeypox in Nigeria
Authors: Nzube Ekpunobi, Oluwamayowa Akinsuyi, Theresa Ariri, Temitope Ogunmola
First page: 22
Abstract: The emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases caused by viruses continue to be a major public health concern globally, affecting both humans and animals. One such disease is monkeypox, a zoonotic infection caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV) that has recurred in sub-Saharan Africa over several decades. Notably, the 2022 outbreak of monkeypox in Nigeria follows a deadly outbreak in 2017, which was preceded by the disease’s first recorded outbreak in 1978. Epidemiological investigations in 2017 showed no apparent link between human monkeypox cases and the outbreak that year, indicating the potential existence of multiple sources of the virus and limited human-to-human transmission. This underscores the presence of an alternative ecological niche in humans. Furthermore, in some communities in Nigeria, monkeys are regarded as sacred and not hunted or consumed, leading to their proliferation and increased likelihood of MPXV transmission. This mini-review focuses on the occurrence, epidemiological distribution, geographical distribution, endemicity, and possible solutions to reduce the spread of human monkeypox in Nigeria. The implications of this reemergence and the need for effective public health measures to prevent and control outbreaks of monkeypox are also discussed.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-04-20
DOI: 10.3390/challe14020022
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 2 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 23: Forest Inventories in Private and Protected
Areas of Paraguay
Authors: Andrew G. Cervantes, Patricia T. Vega Gutierrez, Seri C. Robinson
First page: 23
Abstract: Environmental degradation in Paraguayan ecosystems relates to anthropogenic intervention and has intensified with wildfires and drought. To help mitigate forest cover loss, the local government created laws, parceled land to private owners, and established protected areas. How differences in land tenure regimes affect dendrology and biodiversity remain to be answered. This preliminary study examined the differences and similarities between three protected area forests (National Park Ybycuí, and Natural Monuments Cerro Koi, Cerro Chorori) and three family-owned forests in Guairá, Central, and Paraguarí of eastern Paraguay. Forty-three transects were established following FAO protocols to examine tree diversity, floristic composition, and complementary vegetation structure information using two biodiversity indexes. Nine hundred and three individuals were registered, representing 92 species, 80 genera, and 35 families. The most abundant families were Fabaceae, Rutaceae, Myrtaceae, and Rhamnaceae; and the most abundant genera were Pilocarpus, Columbrina, Acrocomia, Plina, and Astronium. The most important species were Parapiptadenia rigida, Peltophorum dubium, and Astronium fraxinifolium. Results showed higher species richness and significantly greater tree diversity, but a nonsignificantly larger diameter in private forests compared to protected areas studied. Detected differences were small, indicating a need for additional research of forests with differing land tenure regimes as climate dynamics continually shift and management strategies show effects.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-04-21
DOI: 10.3390/challe14020023
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 2 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 24: Burden and Psychological Distress in
Caregivers of Persons with Addictions
Authors: Mirjana Mikulić, Ivan Ćavar, Darija Jurišić, Ivana Jelinčić, Dunja Degmečić
First page: 24
Abstract: Addiction is a complex psychosocial problem that has significant psychosocial effects on family members. The aim of this study is to gain insight into the burden and psychological distress suffered by caregivers of drug abusers. Ninety-nine caregivers of hard drug addicts participated in this study. The test group consisted of 50 participants and the control group had 49 participants. The participants filled out the General Demographic Questionnaire; Caregiving and the Experience of Subjective and Objective Burden; SCL-90-R; and WHOQOL-BREF. Caregivers of addicts who were preparing to join the community exhibited a significantly higher objective burden, subjective burden, subjective stress burden and greater psychological distress in comparison to caregivers of addicts in the community, and their quality of life was poorer (p < 0.001). The following showed to be risk factors for psychological distress: families with a greater number of children, marital, employment and economic status and duration of addiction. The protective factors were better quality of life, long-term marriage and higher education level of caregivers. Caring for addicts who are living with their families is a significant responsibility and burden for caregivers.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-04-25
DOI: 10.3390/challe14020024
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 2 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 25: Liminality: Change Starts Within
Authors: Vivianna Rodriguez Carreon
First page: 25
Abstract: Change Starts Within is the welcome title to the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) toolkit. The tools are resources to support the inner growth of individuals and organizations committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This reflection article emerged from reviewing my earlier experiences in inner development while collaborating in the development of the IDGs. Years of continuing inner growth involved going through the liminal stage several times. Evolution is ongoing. Liminality has been conceptualized through different ways of embodying knowing by anthropologists, phenomenologists, psychologists, philosophers, scientists, and spiritual teachers, among others working in transformational processes. Through a lived experience approach, I explore my relationship with the liminal stage. Learning and practicing the “unseen” inner muscle leads to becoming “sensitive” to the subtle qualities. It involves perceiving the world through sensorial qualities, which leads to a conscious action to purposefully commit to what lies along the path to sustainable humanity. At the same time, I notice the limitations for understanding the language of the inner world. The inner world communicates through dynamic manifestations of the lived experience, and when conceptualized in a logical and structured way, it constrains how the animacy of the inner being can be described. The invitation to understand spaces of inner transformation in liminality is to learn to manifest the state of being. The effects of understanding inner development accelerate wisdom and human evolution.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-04-25
DOI: 10.3390/challe14020025
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 2 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 26: How Do Mindfulness Offerings Support
Inner–Outer Sustainability Progress' A Sustainability Assessment of
Online Mindfulness Interventions
Authors: Kira J. Cooper, Robert B. Gibson
First page: 26
Abstract: While there is growing optimism for inner transformations to catalyse systemic shifts towards more sustainable ways of being, no study so far has attempted to assess how well current interventions for inner development address core requirements for collective wellbeing. In this article, we apply a novel assessment framework to examine how mindfulness-based interventions address inner and outer sustainability criteria during a global health emergency. This inquiry informs a growing field of study concerned with leveraging inner transformations for systemic shifts towards sustainability progress. Using three prominent online mindfulness-based offerings as a case study, we demonstrate that mindfulness-based interventions have a broad range of potential desirable to detrimental implications for social and biophysical systems. We conclude by discussing how normative conceptions of inner interventions might be contextualised anew to effectively support more viable, just, and inclusive transformations towards long-term viability.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-04-28
DOI: 10.3390/challe14020026
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 2 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 27: Bitcoin Is Full of Surprises
Authors: Murray A. Rudd
First page: 27
Abstract: Bitcoin has been embraced by many individuals with strong right-leaning views on freedom, property rights, and self-sovereignty. Among left-leaning progressives, Bitcoin is often quickly dismissed as irrelevant or a major source of carbon emissions. Bitcoin seems, however, to be full of surprises. A rapidly advancing body of anecdotal evidence suggests that its adoption may affect causes important to progressives, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, accelerating electrification of economies, alleviating poverty, and supporting human rights for people living under political repression, even though scientific confirmation is lagging. In this paper, I highlight how a Pragmatist perspective can be applied to Bitcoin, a technological and financial innovation that may well reshape how humans perceive and use money, preserve wealth, and structure governance. I first cover Bitcoin’s technological and financial fundamentals and some core concepts of Pragmatism, before outlining how Bitcoin might surprise progressives. Pragmatism offers a philosophical and political grounding for left-leaning “progressive Bitcoiners” who prioritize environmental and social well-being and view inclusive deliberative democracy as the preferred form of governance.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-05-18
DOI: 10.3390/challe14020027
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 2 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 28: Phytoremediation of
Heavy-Metal-Contaminated Soils: Capacity of Amaranth Plants to Extract
Cadmium from Nutrient-Poor, Acidic Substrates
Authors: Henrik Haller, Lesya Pronoza, Mark Dyer, Maya Ahlgren, Louise Bergqvist, Ginnette Flores-Carmenate, Anders Jonsson
First page: 28
Abstract: Soil pollution is a threat to food security and ecological and human health. Cd is one of the most common pollutants in agricultural soil and, due its human toxicity, one of the most hazardous. Amaranth is a documented hyperaccumulator of Cd and other pollutants, and it is commonly grown in Asia and South America. A considerable amount of amaranth is grown in suboptimal conditions, including nutrient-poor acidic soils. The objective of this experimental study was to examine the capacity of Amaranthus hypochondriacus to extract Cd from a nutrient-poor, acidic substrate that was spiked with different concentrations of Cd (2 and 20 mg kg−1 dw) during a period of 180 days. The plants grown in the substrate that was spiked with 20 mg Cd kg−1 dw did not develop into mature plants, but the plants grown in substrate that was spiked with 2 mg Cd kg−1 dw extracted a significant amount of Cd from the substrate by accumulating it into the above-ground biomass. The Cd levels varied from 113 to 176 mg kg−1 in the stems at the four measuring points, and from 64 to 94 mg kg−1 in the leaves. The concentrations in the plants increased with time and reached a maximal concentration of 176 ± 45 mg kg−1 dw for stems and 94 ± 41 mg kg−1 dw for leaves after 180 days. The mean bioaccumulation factor in the plants was 86 ± 15 after 90 days, 72 ± 12 after 120 days, 105 ± 37 after 150 days, and 99 ± 31 after 180 days, which confirms the previously reported capacity of Amaranthus hypochondriacus to hyperaccumulate Cd. Amaranthus hypochondriacus may, thus, be used to improve ecological and human health by remediating moderately Cd-polluted soils, even in nutrient-poor acidic soils.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-05-30
DOI: 10.3390/challe14020028
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 2 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 29: Fish Consumption Improved Head
Circumference and Mid-Upper Arm Circumference among Infants in Zambia: A
Randomised Controlled Trial
Authors: Given Chipili, Averalda Van Graan, Carl J. Lombard, Evette Van Niekerk
First page: 29
Abstract: Fish is a good source of Animal Source Proteins (ASP). Families from low-income countries with limited access to other animal source proteins can utilize it to improve the nutrition status of infants and young children. The objective of the study was to assess if fish fed during the early complementary feeding period had an effect on improved head circumference (HC) and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) among infants aged 6–7 months. A randomised controlled trial was conducted from April 2019 to January 2020 in the Samfya district, Luapula Province, Zambia. The infants (238) were randomised to either the fish group (intervention) or the sorghum group (control). Every week for a period of 6 months, infants received seven sachets of fish powder and sorghum powder, respectively. Compliance was also monitored during the fish powder distribution. The head circumference measurements were conducted at baseline and once each follow-up month for a period of six months while the MUAC measurements were conducted twice (at baseline and endline). Using statistical software for data science (STATA) (version 16), a linear mixed effect model was used to analyse the data. The results showed that fish improved head circumference for age z score (HCZ) by 0.53 (95% CI: 0.23–0.82), p-value < 0.001, and MUAC by 0.36 (95% CI: 0.13–0.59) p-value < 0.002. Therefore, fish can be used as the main source of protein in complementary foods for infants and young children in low-income communities with limited access to meat.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-06-06
DOI: 10.3390/challe14020029
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 2 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 3: Towards Youth-Centred Planetary Health
Education
Authors: Kate C. Tilleczek, Mark Terry, Deborah MacDonald, James Orbinski, James Stinson
First page: 3
Abstract: This paper presents data and analyses from our Planetary Health Film Lab (PHFL) and its sister project the Youth Climate Report. Qualitative data include semi-structured interviews with youth and their educators and content analysis of films produced by young people (ages 19–25) from six countries (Australia, Columbia, Ecuador, Italy, India, Canada). The educative processes designed for the Planetary Health Film Lab are illustrative of our work to build the field of planetary health education that is with/for young people whose educative projects are mobilized in turn to educate wider audiences and for policy change. The analyses show how youth document and record planetary health concerns alongside responsive projects that are embedded in awareness of climate justice and their interconnected ecological systems. The qualitative content analyses of selected films resulted in three themes: (1) Anthropogenic footprints, (2) Ecological and climate justice, and (3) Collective local/global solutions. Data also illustrates how young people’s participation in educative film projects contribute to the education of others and address related intergenerational justice issues. Implications for the knowledge, ethics and practices of youth-centred planetary health education are discussed as they augment the Framework for Planetary Health. Youth are crucial but overlooked collaborators in redressing planetary health education, an error we begin to correct through transdisciplinary approaches with/for young people who could help define the field.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-01-08
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010003
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 4: Public Health Impact and Health System
Preparedness within a Changing Climate in Bangladesh: A Scoping Review
Authors: Mahin Al Nahian
First page: 4
Abstract: Bangladesh, one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world is also severely exposed to climate change (CC) impacts with a multitude of health complexities. Health adaptation to CC is thus a serious issue in Bangladesh, but not explored properly from a health system and policy environment perspective. In order to address this gap and provide a holistic picture of the overall scenario, this scoping review explores CC impacts on the population health in Bangladesh and discusses the policy environment and health system preparedness against such climatic challenges. A total of 28 articles were reviewed following Arksey and O’Malley’s scoping review framework. A “5-point scale” was devised to assess CC integration in the health sector Operational Plans (OPs). Though the country made significant progress in different health indicators, poverty and income inequality have kept marginal communities out of many health provisions. There are four major stakeholders in the health system. The government sector is handicapped by poor governance, bureaucratic processes, and staff shortages; and primarily focuses on the public sector only. National Health Policy (NHP) governs the health system through 29 sectoral OPs, that put CC as a major cross-cutting issue. About 25% of the OPs have fully integrated CC and other OPs have significant CC co-benefits. In Bangladesh CC was linked to increased morbidity and mortality, diarrhea, cholera, skin problems, respiratory infections, malaria, dengue, kala azar, pre-eclampsia, and hypertension. Significant research gaps exist on child health, migrant health, and mental health. Integration of research evidence into policy, planning and program design is largely absent. However, prioritizing health for the National Adaptation Plan is an essential step towards establishing a climate-resilient health system.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-01-09
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010004
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 5: Education for Sustainability: Understanding
Processes of Change across Individual, Collective, and System Levels
Authors: Pöllänen Elin, Osika Walter, Bojner Horwitz Eva, Wamsler Christine
First page: 5
Abstract: Researchers and practitioners increasingly emphasise the need to complement dominant external, technological approaches with an internal focus to support transformation toward sustainability. However, knowledge on how this internal human dimension can support transformation across individual, collective, and systems levels is limited. Our study addresses this gap. We examined the narratives of participants in the sustainability course “One Year in Transition”, using micro-phenomenology and thematic analysis. Our results shed light on the dynamics of inner–outer change and action and the necessary capacities to support them. This related to changes regarding participants’ perspectives, which became more relational and interconnected. We also showed that participants increasingly seek an inner space that provides direction and freedom to act. The data suggested that this, over time, leads to increasing internalisation, and the embodiment of a personal identity as a courageous and principled change agent for sustainability. Our results complement extant quantitative research in the field by offering a nuanced picture of the entangled nature of inner–outer transformation processes and associated influencing factors. In addition, they point towards ways in which inner dimensions can be leveraged to achieve change, thus filling existing knowledge gaps for reaching sustainability and associated goals across all levels.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-01-11
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010005
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 6: Advancing Environmental Justice through the
Authors: Jennifer B. Rasmussen
First page: 6
Abstract: As our planet faces more frequent and severe environmental threats due to climate change (including threats to biodiversity), environmental justice will be essential to ensure that the costs and burdens of combating these threats are shared equally, borne by all people worldwide in a fair and equitable manner. If the past is any indicator, however, environmental problems—and their “solutions”—disproportionately affect poor communities and communities of color, including Indigenous communities. Despite these past injustices, Indigenous lands, which make up only 20 percent of the Earth’s territory, contain 80 percent of the world’s remaining biodiversity—evidence that Indigenous peoples are among the most effective stewards of the environment. A primary reason for this remarkable statistic is the use and practice of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge; ecological wisdom which has been passed down for generations and has been shown to strengthen community resilience in response to the multiple stressors of global environmental change. While the United States government has been slow to acknowledge the value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge, it has recently begun to incorporate that knowledge into environmental policy in response to the worldwide climate crisis. Continuing the integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge into government environmental policy will ensure that such policies will be more effective at the federal, state, and local levels and more equitable in their application. Western scientists, government officials, and global leaders need to build trusting and co-equal relationships with Indigenous communities by actively listening to all cultures and respecting the many kinds of knowledge systems required to conserve the natural world and all living beings. This paper will address how incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into U.S. policy would help safeguard the environment from further biodiversity loss and other ecological destruction, and advance environmental justice to ensure the fair treatment of all.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-01-11
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010006
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 7: Acknowledgment to the Reviewers of
Challenges in 2022
Authors: Challenges Editorial Office Challenges Editorial Office
First page: 7
Abstract: High-quality academic publishing is built on rigorous peer review [...]
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-01-18
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010007
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 8: Adopting a Statistical, Mechanistic,
Integrated Surveillance, Thermal Biology, and Holistic (SMITH) Approach
for Arbovirus Control in a Changing Climate: A Review of Evidence
Authors: Habeebullah Jayeola Oladipo, Yusuf Amuda Tajudeen, Iyiola Olatunji Oladunjoye, Sheriff Taye Mustapha, Yusuff Inaolaji Sodiq, Rashidat Onyinoyi Yusuf, Oluwaseyi Muyiwa Egbewande, Abdulbasit Opeyemi Muili, Taofeekat Oluwatosin Adigun, Emmanuel O. Taiwo, Mona Said El-Sherbini
First page: 8
Abstract: Arbovirus control depends on accurate projections of likely changes in the arthropod vector species, essential to inform local and global public health authorities. According to the WHO Assembly and the Global Vector Control Response (GVCR), by 2030, the burden of vector-borne diseases, particularly arbovirus infections, is expected to be greatly decreased. However, anthropogenic drivers, including climate change, insecticide resistance, and a lack of operational local databases for risk management of emerging and re-emerging arboviruses, hinders effective implementation plans. This article presents a statistical, mechanistic, integrated surveillance, thermal biology, and holistic framework (termed SMITH) to discuss how temperature variations affect the biological transmission, replication, extrinsic incubation period, nutritional behavior, distribution, and survival (TRENDS) of arboviruses. Future transdisciplinary research that involves knowledge translation between local and global communities is required for early detection and risk management of the growing threat posed by arboviruses for human, animal, and planetary health.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-01-22
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010008
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 9: Traditional Foods, Globalization, Migration,
and Public and Planetary Health: The Case of Tejate, a Maize and Cacao
Beverage in Oaxacalifornia
Authors: Daniela Soleri, David Arthur Cleveland, Flavio Aragón Cuevas, Violeta Jimenez, May C. Wang
First page: 9
Abstract: We are in the midst of an unprecedented public and planetary health crisis. A major driver of this crisis is the current nutrition transition—a product of globalization and powerful multinational food corporations promoting industrial agriculture and the consumption of environmentally destructive and unhealthy ultra-processed and other foods. This has led to unhealthy food environments and a pandemic of diet-related noncommunicable diseases, as well as negative impacts on the biophysical environment, biodiversity, climate, and economic equity. Among migrants from the global south to the global north, this nutrition transition is often visible as dietary acculturation. Yet some communities are defying the transition through selective resistance to globalization by recreating their traditional foods in their new home, and seeking crop species and varieties customarily used in their preparation. These communities include Zapotec migrants from the Central Valleys of the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca living in greater Los Angeles, California. Focusing on the traditional and culturally emblematic beverage tejate, we review data from our research and the literature to outline key questions about the role of traditional foods in addressing the public and planetary health crisis. We conclude that to answer these questions, a transnational collaborative research partnership between community members and scientists is needed. This could reorient public and planetary health work to be more equitable, participatory, and effective by supporting a positive role for traditional foods and minimizing their harms.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-01-29
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010009
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 10: Planetary Health Requires Tapestry
Thinking—Overcoming Silo Mentality
Authors: Susan L. Prescott
First page: 10
Abstract: Most people know the fabled story of the elephant and the “six blind men”, with each of them separately examining a different portion of the mysterious object before them and drawing a different conclusion without awareness of the whole picture—which could have been gleaned by sharing information with their neighbours (Figure 1) [...]
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-02-09
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010010
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 11: Intergenerational Deliberations for Long
Term Sustainability
Authors: Llinos Haf Spencer, Mary Lynch, Gwenlli Mair Thomas, Rhiannon Tudor Edwards
First page: 11
Abstract: Grŵp Cynefin, a social housing association in North Wales, United Kingdom (UK) with other partner organisations, had a vision to create a community Hub in the Nantlle Valley to strengthen and support the health and well-being of the local community through the provision of a range of traditional and preventative services. Social prescribing (SP), which is a non-medical support using community assets, would be a part of this new innovative Hub. SP activities would be co-designed and co-produced by current community members. Drawing on the principles of citizens’ assembly deliberations and Future Design, four focus groups (n = 16) were conducted to develop sustainable strategies for SP activities as part of the proposed Hub. Deliberations on the perspectives of future generations were considered along with current community needs. Findings from the focus groups imply that current members of society are open to the concept of taking an inter-generational approach when designing SP activities to address the social and economic needs of the community along with integration of traditional and preventative community health services. Deliberations highlighted that the proposed Hub could strengthen communities and support community health and well-being, by providing a place to socialise and acting as a single point of access for community services, which could promote social cohesion in line with the Well-being for Future Generations (Wales) Act. Applying a long-term thinking approach to citizens’ assembly deliberation design offers a voice to the interests of future generations, providing inter-generational equity.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-02-11
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010011
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 12: Remote Sensing from Different Sources for
Crop Growth Monitoring in the Area of the Lower Northern Mississippi
Authors: Yanbo Huang, Gary Feng, Haile Tewolde, Mark W. Shankle
First page: 12
Abstract: Remote sensing monitoring of crop growth began from airborne photography to assist in crop pest management and has evolved into monitoring from satellites, manned aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and ground-based systems for crop production process modeling, optimization, and control. In recent years, for crop growth remote sensing monitoring, apart from satellites, manned aircrafts, and ground-based systems, UAVs have been developed and widely used for low-altitude remote sensing of crop fields to uniquely provide a cost-effective, flexible tool for field crop growth remote sensing. Additionally, their data create a critical layer between all other remote sensing platforms. This paper overviews the use of remote sensing from difference sources, especially airborne remote sensing from manned aircraft and UAVs, to monitor crop growth in the area of the lower northern Mississippi from the Mississippi Delta to the Black Prairie, one of the most important agricultural areas in the U.S. In this paper, three sites typical in the area are demonstrated for remote sensing monitoring of crop growth, and the issues and challenges are identified and discussed for future opportunities to integrate remote sensing data from different sources to improve crop monitoring in this area and surrounding areas.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-02-14
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010012
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 13: Relationships of First-Trimester Body Mass
Index and Weight Change with Persistent Organic Pollutant Concentrations
in Pregnant Canadian Individuals
Authors: Marianne Levesque, Mariame Ouedraogo, Romina Fakhraei, Alysha Dingwall Harvey, Elizabeth Bratton, Mark Walker, Linda Dodds, Laura Gaudet
First page: 13
Abstract: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxic chemicals with demonstrable effects on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. The associations of early pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and antenatal weight changes with circulating POP concentrations are poorly understood in the Canadian context. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between maternal BMI in the first trimester, weight change from pre-pregnancy to 6–13 weeks of pregnancy, and first-trimester plasma POP concentrations among Canadian pregnant women. We analyzed data collected as part of the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals (MIREC) study and evaluated POP concentrations based on first-trimester BMI and early gestational weight change categories. We tested for overall differences using Kruskal-Wallis tests. The associations between first-trimester maternal BMI, weight change, and plasma concentrations of 41 POPs were evaluated using censored regression models. After controlling for potential confounders, first-trimester plasma levels of multiple POPs differed significantly across BMI categories, with the highest concentrations in underweight/normal-weight individuals and the lowest in class III obese individuals. Our findings provide preliminary evidence of higher circulating POP levels in individuals with obesity and align with previous findings of an inverse relationship between circulating POP concentrations and BMI in pregnancy. Future studies should prospectively evaluate the interplay between weight change and POP concentrations throughout pregnancy to inform gestational weight gain recommendations for pregnant individuals with obesity.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-02-16
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010013
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 14: Challenges in Sustainable Beef Cattle
Production: A Subset of Needed Advancements
Authors: Jason A. Hubbart, Nathan Blake, Ida Holásková, Domingo Mata Padrino, Matthew Walker, Matthew Wilson
First page: 14
Abstract: Estimates of global population growth are often cited as a significant challenge for global food production. It is estimated that by 2050 there will be approximately two- billion additional people on earth, with the greatest proportion of that growth occurring in central Africa. To meet recommended future protein needs (60 g/d), approximately 120 million kg of protein must be produced daily. The production of ruminant meat (particularly beef cattle) offers the potential to aid in reaching increased global protein needs. However, advancements in beef cattle production are necessary to secure the industry’s future sustainability. This article draws attention to a subset of sustainable beef cattle production challenges, including the role of ruminant livestock in meeting global human protein needs, the environmental relationships of advanced beef cattle production, and big data and machine learning in beef cattle production. Considering the significant quantities of resources necessary to produce this form of protein, such advancements are not just a moral imperative but critical to developing advanced beef cattle production practices and predictive models that will reduce costs and liabilities and advance industry sustainability.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-02-20
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010014
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 15: Team Mindfulness in Online Academic
Meetings to Reduce Burnout
Authors: Carol Nash
First page: 15
Abstract: Burnout, a negative job-related psychological state common with health professionals, results in valuable healthcare research loss. Team mindfulness, promoting work engagement, represents an aspect effective in reducing burnout. In a series of diverse-membership academic meetings intended to reduce research burnout—employing writing prompts, doodling, and continuous developmental feedback—team mindfulness was demonstrated when conducted in person. Therefore, whether team mindfulness is evident when meetings are held online is relevant. During the first eighteen months of COVID-19 limitations requiring these meetings to be online, it was previously reported that team mindfulness was diminished. Question-asking, submitted doodles, and feedback responses were analyzed for the following year of the same group, both quantitively and qualitatively, and with respect to COR theory, to determine if the result persisted. Team mindfulness was also compromised in the second year with respect to the entire group but not regarding the individual relationship with the facilitator. For a diverse-membership group to demonstrate team mindfulness, it is suggested that creating and using avatars similar to those used in online games might be effective. To continue the successful aspect of team mindfulness found online for this group or similarly designed groups, a one-on-one meeting between participant and facilitator is recommended.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-03-02
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010015
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 16: Nature Connection: Providing a Pathway from
Personal to Planetary Health
Authors: John Zelenski, Sara Warber, Jake M. Robinson, Alan C. Logan, Susan L. Prescott
First page: 16
Abstract: The vast and growing challenges for human health and all life on Earth require urgent and deep structural changes to the way in which we live. Broken relationships with nature are at the core of both the modern health crisis and the erosion of planetary health. A declining connection to nature has been implicated in the exploitative attitudes that underpin the degradation of both physical and social environments and almost all aspects of personal physical, mental, and spiritual health. It is increasingly clear that the entwined challenges of biodiversity loss, climate change, and human health cannot be addressed without addressing selfishness, greed, apathy, and the value systems that created these global problems. Calls for a spiritual and cultural transformation recognize that “inner” development is important and necessary for meaningful “outward” transitions with a shared purpose for wiser, more sustainable societies. Many of these emotional and spiritual assets appear to be facilitated by a connection to nature, which is also strongly associated with community cohesion, prosocial attitudes, and pro-environmental actions. Restoring the human connection to nature may therefore provide a critical common pathway to promote the physical and spiritual wellbeing of individuals and communities as well as personal and social environmental responsibility. In this paper, we summarize and reflect on the discussions of the Nova Network planetary health community with respect to nature-based solutions as pathways to promote both personal and planetary health with a more mutualistic mindset. These discussions spanned biological to psychological interactions with nature—including the critical relationships with environmental microbes that influence the physical, emotional, and behavioral aspects of health. We consider the ways in which stronger relationships with nature promote “inner assets” to support “outward actions” for personal and planetary health.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-03-05
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010016
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 17: Developing Trusted Voices for Planetary
Health: Findings from a Clinicians for Planetary Health (C4PH) Workshop
Authors: Michael Xie, Vanessa Góes, Melissa Lem, Kristin Raab, Tatiana Souza de Camargo, Enrique Falceto de Barros, Sandeep Maharaj, Teddie Potter
First page: 17
Abstract: Climate change, biodiversity loss, and other environmental changes are rapidly impacting the health of people worldwide, but many clinicians and other health professionals feel unprepared to deal with this burgeoning issue. During the Planetary Health Annual Meeting held in Boston in late 2022, the Clinicians for Planetary Health (C4PH) working group hosted a workshop that highlighted the latest findings of clinicians’ attitudes towards climate change, connections with the related fields of lifestyle medicine and integrative health, lessons learned from implementing “one minute for the planet” in a rural Brazilian clinic, and the benefits of clinicians prescribing time in nature for their patients. This article ends with a few suggestions for healthcare providers to begin implementing planetary health into their professional practice.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-03-08
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010017
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 18: Mobilising the Next Generation of Planetary
Health Leaders: The Dynamism of Youth Engagement in Malaysia
Authors: Saidatul Maisarah Faiesall, Sarah Hanani Ahmad Tajuddin, Andrew Jason George, Nur Hazirah Marzuki, Oliver Lacey-Hall, Jemilah Mahmood, Gopalasamy Reuben Clements, Renzo Guinto
First page: 18
Abstract: With planetary health gaining traction as a global movement and problem-solving approach, this trans-disciplinary field is well-placed to provide an exciting and dynamic platform to promote engagement with young people. Previous studies have shown that although there is great energy and passion from youth, the global planetary health community struggles in sustaining young people’s motivations and engagement in today’s crowded physical and online environments. Planetary health advocates are also dealing with an increase in climate anxiety that has taken a toll on the emotional and mental wellbeing of young people. Here, we review our experience in engaging youth groups and networks in Malaysia through a four-pronged approach (consultation, facilitation, capacity-sharing, and evidence-building), as well as challenges commonly faced by the planetary health community in educating and building a youth movement. After a year of engagement, we found that mobilising the next generation of planetary health leaders requires a change in existing power dynamics to a capacity-sharing model, an emphasis on clear, simplified, and effective communications that utilise the mainstream youth spaces (e.g., social media), and hopeful messages to counter apathy and anxiety into action.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-03-10
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010018
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
- Challenges, Vol. 14, Pages 19: An Overview of Renewable Energy
Technologies in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa and the Rural
Households’ Energy Poverty Coping Strategies
Authors: Patrick Mukumba, Shylet Y. Chivanga
First page: 19
Abstract: Despite technological innovation and vast renewable energy sources in rural areas, a significant number of rural households are living in energy poverty, and there is a pressing need to come up with strategies to mitigate this. This paper presents an overview of the energy sources in the Eastern Cape Province, the status of renewable energy technologies and the household energy poverty coping strategies in rural areas. The analysis of this study is based on conducted studies on renewable technologies in the Eastern Cape. This paper aims to help to provide a deeper understanding in the selection of the most appropriate renewable energy technologies suited to rural households’ energy needs and to fill the knowledge gap existing in renewable energy technologies to make it easier to map a way forward into the households’ energy poverty coping strategies in the Eastern Cape.
Citation: Challenges
PubDate: 2023-03-22
DOI: 10.3390/challe14010019
Issue No: Vol. 14, No. 1 (2023)
