Behind the Paper
The real stories behind the latest research papers, from conception to publication, the highs and the lows
Filtered by: Sustainability
Favorability towards natural gas relates to funding source of university energy centers
Our study in Nature Climate Change is the first to consider the policy positioning of university-based energy centers using a “text as data” approach. Analyzing one million+ sentences, we find that reports written by fossil-funded centers are more favorable towards natural gas than renewables.
World needs ambitious 0% new plastic waste target by 2040
The UN is being urged to make a bold pledge and set a target of zero for new plastic pollution by 2040 in its upcoming Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution. Plastic production and subsequent pollution are key drivers of climate change, the focus of discussion at COP27 in Egypt this week.
Protected area personnel and ranger numbers are insufficient to deliver global expectations
An apparently simple question about how many people work in the world's protected areas became a complex four-year investigation. The results have major implications for efforts to ensure conservation of at least 30 per cent of the planet.
The Circular Economy in China: achievements, challenges and potential implications for decarbonisation
Much has been said about a circular economy in China - yet, a paper on underlying drivers and limitations has been missing and addressing net zero carbon too. It is also timely witnessing geopolitical tensions over supply chain security and interest in China's internal structures.
Portable and High-yield Atmospheric Water Harvesters for Emergency Water Supply
By 2025, almost two billion people will live in areas with absolute scarcity. To alleviate worldwide water shortage, scientists at Shanghai Jiao Tong University have developed a low-cost and scalable hygroscopic material and deployed it into a portable water harvester for a stable water supply.
Randomised national land management pathways for net-zero emissions: An Irish case study
Global scenario modelling to achieve “net-zero” emissions lacks national resolution, especially in the agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector. This makes effective climate policymaking extremely difficult. Using Ireland as a case study, we have assessed 850 randomized scenarios of activity combinations for Ireland’s AFOLU sector in the year 2050 and evaluated associated greenhouse gas fluxes to the year 2100, using a GWP100 net-zero greenhouse gas definition.
Do dietitians in Canada prescribe carbohydrate restriction? A survey of knowledge, use and barriers
Before 2020, diabetes nutrition care excluded carbohydrate restriction but growing evidence supports this approach now included in Canada’s Clinical Practice Guidelines. We assessed the knowledge, use and barriers of dietitians to improve diabetes nutrition care in Canada.
