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Drylands are under pressure from climate change and population growth. This study finds the sensitivity of dryland vegetation to rainfall changing, with opposite effects in poorer and richer nations.
Water use may be a topic of increased research, but water theft remains understudied. This paper utilizes insights from three international case studies to inform on the systemic failures that sustain water theft.
Neonicotinoid insecticides have the potential to harm non-target organisms. This study finds that, between 2008 and 2014, increased neonicotinoid use in the United States reduced bird diversity, especially grassland and insectivorous birds.
Perfluorochemicals render fabrics water and oil repellent; however, their use poses environmental and health risks. Here, the authors show the rational design of textile finishes with excellent oil repellency without adopting any perfluorinated substances.
Light-responsive smart materials hold promise for a solution to water desalination. Here the authors report an adsorbent based on a metal–organic framework that quickly adsorbs multiple ions from water in the dark, followed by release of these salts on exposure to sunlight.
The most-efficient solar cells use Pb-based halide perovskites; however, their toxicity poses environmental and health risks. Here, the authors report an adsorbent that allows for sustainable Pb management in these devices.
Interaction between international organizations and national governments over 238 World Heritage ecosystems shows patterns of productive and counterproductive dynamics, which yield lessons to improve environmental governance.
Although deserts have been the focus of large-scale solar power development, this study finds that ecosystem services are degraded during such development, with impacts not only on plants and animals, but indigenous peoples as well.
The presence of microplastics in wastewaters used for irrigation highlights the urgency of analysing the possible uptake of microplastics by crop plants. This study shows that submicrometre and micrometre plastic particles from treated wastewater enter the steles of crop plants via a crack entry at sites of lateral root emergence.
Solar-driven interfacial evaporation can be a sustainable process to obtain clean water but device efficiency and simplicity need improving. This study presents a super-wicking and super-light-absorbing aluminium surface with increased efficiency, a simple structure and strong performance.
International trade interacts with Sustainable Development Goal targets in profound ways. This study finds that while trade improves scores for environmental Sustainable Development Goals in developed countries, it decreases them in developing countries, and distant trade is a bigger contributor to scores than adjacent trade between countries.
Urban air quality remained remarkably worse than WHO recommended levels in cities during the first COVID-19 lockdown in China, despite substantial pollution reductions and the high costs of the measure.
Accurate estimates of emissions distribution in a vehicle fleet can help air pollution control. With diesel emissions data from chassis dynamometer tests and on-road remote sensing, this study shows that previous results about a skewed distribution towards the highest 10% emitters may not be correct.
A new database of over 2,700 policies on nitrogen around the world highlights the predominance of policies incentivizing its use or managing trade, and the need for integration to avoid shifting pollution from one sink to another.
Runoff from mountain water sources is critical to some lowland populations. In this Article, these populations are projected to increase from 0.2 billion people in the 1960s to 1.5 billion by mid-century.
Comparing relevant indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals with other indicators of biodiversity trends shows little relation between the two, because the former more strongly reflect socioeconomic indicators.
Coastal wetlands may affect flood risks, as from rising sea level. This study finds that saltmarshes provided coastal defence from historic Northwest European floods.