Review
Environmental Sciences
Changsoon Choi, Pam Berry, Alison Smith
Summary: Climate change poses risks to natural and human systems, prompting the need for solutions such as green infrastructure (GI). While the climate benefits of GI have been studied extensively, the connections between these benefits, co-benefits, and trade-offs remain unclear. This study systematically reviews evidence from 141 papers to provide a comprehensive overview of these linkages, categorizing GI types along a green-grey continuum for easy access by researchers and practitioners. Furthermore, the analysis includes recommendations for maximizing benefits and minimizing trade-offs to promote climate-resilient pathways through GI.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Thermodynamics
Amir Baniassadi, Jannik Heusinger, Pablo Izaga Gonzalez, Stephan Weber, Holly W. Samuelson
Summary: This paper examines a public housing project in Phoenix, AZ, using various tools to calculate economic, environmental, and health metrics associated with three levels of energy efficiency. Results show that energy-saving strategies may significantly improve financial attractiveness when considering health and climate costs.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ernani F. Choma, John S. Evans, Jose A. Gomez-Ibanez, Qian Di, Joel D. Schwartz, James K. Hammitt, John D. Spengler
Summary: Decades of air pollution regulation in the United States have led to significant benefits, but vehicle emissions remain a concern. Studies on vehicle-related fine particulate matter (PM2.5) have shown increasing health benefits from emission reductions, while the climate benefits are relatively small.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Anna Kajosaari, Tytti P. Pasanen
Summary: This study suggests that exercising in blue spaces and in large natural areas provides additional restorative benefits compared to exercise undertaken in built outdoor environments. Stress reduction and relaxation were most likely to be experienced near blue spaces and in large urban and recreational forests, while nature enjoyment was associated with natural environments of all sizes. These results support a synergistic conception of urban health that acknowledges the diversity of health benefits provided by public open spaces, in particular blue and natural green settings.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2021)
Review
Construction & Building Technology
Ayyoob Sharifi, Minal Pathak, Chaitali Joshi, Bao-Jie He
Summary: This study reviews the health co-benefits of urban climate change adaptation measures and finds that existing evidence is mainly related to some categories while other categories are relatively underexplored. It also recognizes the potential health trade-offs of some adaptation measures which need further study.
SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Erika Garcia, Jill Johnston, Rob McConnell, Lawrence Palinkas, Sandrah P. Eckel
Summary: This study evaluated the benefits of using low-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on respiratory health and air quality in California, and found a slower adoption rate of ZEVs in areas with lower educational attainment. The results showed that the adoption of ZEVs was associated with improvements in air quality and a decrease in asthma-related emergency department visits, but the adoption gap among low-income populations threatens the equitable distribution of these benefits.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Fenghua Liu, Yuhong Tian, Chiyung Jim, Tiantian Wang, Jingya Luan, Mengxuan Yan
Summary: Urban green space plays a significant role in sustainable urban development. Understanding residents' perception of UGS ecological benefits is crucial for improving UGS management and quality of life. This study revealed that residents tend to recognize direct UGS ecological benefits, urban residents have better understanding of UGS benefits, and residents with good self-rated health have higher awareness of UGS benefits.
Article
Environmental Studies
Xinrui Wang, Jian Lin, Xuemeng Sun, Yutong Zhang, Hiutung Wong, Libin Ouyang, Lin Liu, Longfeng Wu
Summary: This study examined the relationships between different types of urban green and blue space (UGS/UBS) and self-reported health (SRH), and the disparities in the health benefits associated with them. Using data from a social survey in Shandong Province and multi-source data including remote sensing land use and vector polygons of parks from map service providers, we found that proximity to parks and rivers positively influenced SRH. For the elderly, proximity to parks and the coverage ratio of total green space and grassland within a 0.5 km circular buffer were significantly associated with SRH. The coverage ratio of total green space and grassland had positive relationships with SRH in the high-income groups. Closer proximity to rivers correlated with better health for youth and females.
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Laura Vargas-Parada
Summary: There is a strong relationship between climate and human diseases, and changes in climate may affect disease patterns. Climate modelling can be used to predict future disease outbreaks, but there are obstacles to implementing such systems.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Jiawei Zhang, Miaomiao Liu, Jun Bi
Summary: This study explores the potential carbon peaking paths and health co-benefits for cities in different industrialization stages using ten typical cities in China as cases. The results show that reaching carbon mitigation goals brings significant health benefits to cities and energy substitution plays a significant role in achieving carbon peaking commitments.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Noah Scovronick, David Anthoff, Francis Dennig, Frank Errickson, Maddalena Ferranna, Wei Peng, Dean Spears, Fabian Wagner, Mark Budolfson
Summary: The co-benefit of air quality motivates reduced emissions and requires global cooperation to prevent runaway temperature rise under different climate policy regimes. Even in the self-interested case, air quality co-benefits may lead to high levels of mitigation in certain regions, expanding the range of possible policy outcomes.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Surgery
Andrea Pietrabissa, Patricia Sylla
Summary: The operating room is a significant source of pollution due to various factors like energy consumption, consumables procurement and disposal, and water waste. Taking action to reduce the environmental impact of surgery and slow down climate change has become a priority. The collaboration between SAGES and EAES aims to raise awareness, provide recommendations, and share good practices regarding sustainable and environmentally-friendly surgical techniques.
SURGICAL ENDOSCOPY AND OTHER INTERVENTIONAL TECHNIQUES
(2023)
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Ollie Jay, Anthony Capon, Peter Berry, Carolyn Broderick, Richard de Dear, George Havenith, Yasushi Honda, R. Sari Kovats, Wei Ma, Arunima Malik, Nathan B. Morris, Lars Nybo, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Jennifer Vanos, Kristie L. Ebi
Summary: Heat extremes have serious implications for human health, and it is crucial to understand effective prevention and response measures, particularly in low-resource settings. Relying solely on air conditioning is unsustainable and can further marginalize vulnerable communities. A holistic approach to understanding thermal environments can identify sustainable opportunities to keep people cooler and reduce adverse health consequences of extreme heat.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jacqueline R. Lewy, Casey D. Patnode, Philip J. Landrigan, Joseph C. Kolars, Brent C. Williams
Summary: The article examines the climate impacts of converting the originally planned in-person Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) conference to an all-virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By calculating the travel distances and carbon emissions of registrants, it finds that in-person conferences contribute significantly to carbon emissions, while virtual conferences can significantly reduce them. Therefore, organizations should pay attention to and quantify the climate impacts of conferences.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yang Xie, Xiaorui Liu, Danyang Li, Mengdan Zhao, Zhixiong Weng, Lin Zhang, Meng Xu
Summary: The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau (GBA) metropolitan in China is a leader in environmentally friendly development. However, the health and economic burden caused by air pollution under different climate and end-of-pipe control scenarios has not been evaluated. This study uses various models to assess the health and economic consequences of PM2.5 and O3 pollution. The results show that by implementing end-of-pipe technology and a 1.5 degrees C target, the PM2.5 concentration is expected to decrease by 12.9% and 56.4% by 2050, leading to a reduction in mortality of 7.7% and 35.6%, and a decrease in morbidity of 67.3% and 97.9%. The O3 concentration will decrease by 8.3% and 13.3%, resulting in a drop in mortality of 10.4% and 15.2%, and a decline in morbidity of 10.8% and 15.8%. Additionally, the health loss saved by mitigating PM2.5 and O3 pollution using end-of-pipe technologies is significant, amounting to 31.0 and 9.3 billion USD in 2050, respectively. This suggests that addressing O3 pollution in the GBA is challenging and higher levels of end-of-pipe technology progress should be implemented to achieve significant co-benefits.
