Hexaclorociclohexano (HCH), pesticida organoclorado mundialmente utilizado, apresenta efeitos tóxicos à saúde humana e ao meio ambiente. Os microrganismos degradadores mais conhecidos são as Sphingomonas sp. Técnicas de biodegradação foram aplicadas em duas etapas. A primeira focou na biorremediação de solo contaminado, de Santo André SP, e foi realizada em biorreatores no Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnológicas (IPT). Experimentos nas fases sólida e semi-sólida apresentaram até 90% de degradação de HCH no solo. A segunda parte, na Universidade de Groningen (RuG), Países Baixos, focou no tratamento de soluções contaminadas usando enzimas selvagens e variantes desenhadas computacionalmente. Mutantes foram construídas, expressadas e purificadas. Ensaios de Thermofluor® mostraram que as variantes estavam enoveladas. Ensaios enzimáticos foram realizados em solução aquosa com b-HCH e dimetil sulfóxido (5%), sendo as amostras extraídas com acetato de etila e analisadas por cromatografia gasosa com detector de captura de elétrons. As variantes apresentaram atividade. / Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) is an organochlorine pesticide used world-wide which shows toxic effects in human health and causes environmental problems. The most known HCH-degrading microorganisms are Sphingomonas sp. Biodegradation techniques were applied in this work, divided in two parts. The first one focused on the bioremediation of a contaminated soil, from Santo Andre - SP, in bioreactors at the Institute for Technological Research (IPT). Experiments were carried in solid and slurry phases, which could achieve around 90% of HCH degradation. The second part was developed at the University of Groningen (Rug), The Netherlands. Contaminated solutions were treated with wild-type enzymes and computationally designed variants. Mutants were constructed, expressed and purified. Thermofluor® assay showed that all variants were well folded. Enzymatic assays were carried in aqueous solution with b-HCH and dimethyl sulfoxide (5%). The samples were extracted with ethyl acetate and analysed by gas chromatography using an electron capture detector. The variants were actives.

This work explores the fragility of the Great Lakes and the environmental degradation we have caused. My main focus revolves around what the EPA considers to be the Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs). This list contains 27 rivers that flow into the Great Lakes, most of which are or have been areas of industrial and chemical pollution. Through installations involving photography, ceramics, and video, I hope to reveal the issues facing the Great Lakes and explore how people can help.

Food security exist when every human being is able to obtain adequate food and be free from hunger. This thesis sets out to explore the moral responsibility of individuals to enhance food security in the world by their consumer choices. More specifically, this research will investigate the negative impact of the meat industry on food security in the world and whether this impact entails a moral responsibility upon individuals to reduce their meat consumption in order to enhance food security. With the capabilities approach and utilitarianism as the theoretical tools, based on the evidence and the method of argumentation, this thesis finds that consumers hold a responsibility to reduce meat consumption as it is highly detrimental to global food security, not only on a moral basis but as a matter of social justice in the world. The emphasis of reduced meat consumption should ideally be of industrially produced sources, as they have the largest impact on both food security and environmental degradation.

We all take the natural environment we encounter during childhood as the norm against which we measure environmental degradation later in our lives. With each ensuing generation, the amount of environmental degradation increases, but each generation in its youth takes that degraded condition as the non degraded condition - as the normal experience. This psychological phenomenon is called environmental generational amnesia, and has just recently been stated as one of the most pressing psychological problems of our lifetime. More meaningful and frequent interactions with the natural environment can clarify the confusion about what Nature really is and strengthen our relationship to it, which in turn could encourage us to preserve natural environments for the coming generations. In this way, being in Nature and appreciating it could prevent environmental generational amnesia. The BA-project Towards Recollection aims to raise the question about environmental degradation as a result of environmental generational amnesia and explore how Nature in an urbanscape could be highlighted through a group of architectural interventions and the sensory experiences of Nature, to work as a tool on our journey towards recollection and in the prevention of one of the most pressing psychological problems of our lifetime.

In this era of environmental upheaval, this study sought clarity on the matter of green purchasing behavior. How the fashion industry’s specific impact on the environment has affected consumers' attitude towards companies and their collections. It was identified that customers have been requesting sustainable products from their retailers more and more and yet, a conscious willingness to help on the part of the consumer did not necessarily equate to purchasing more sustainable products.  The empirical part of the study was based on a quantitative research approach. The findings and data collection were obtained through an online questionnaire, generating responses from 40 individuals. Deductive reasoning was selected in this thesis as a scientific approach. The research has been done from the consumer's perspective. Furthermore, the collected data that created the hypothesis was analyzed and gathered from existing theories.  The conclusion of this research demonstrated that consumers did possess a willingness to be more conscious of their own climate change footprint by adapting green purchasing intentions such as buying less new clothes at present than 5 years ago. The findings indicated that consumer awareness did not necessarily result in a change in their green buying behavior. Finally, it was found that an unchanged position in consumers' green buying behavior would have been due to a lack of sustainable fashion alternatives readily available. The authors believe that further research is needed to shed light on the divide between consumers' attitude and actual purchasing behavior.

Harvesting of forested wetlands in the Atlantic and Gulf lower coastal plains has the potential to cause intense site disturbance. Often, as a result of poor pre-harvest planning, silvicultural activities are performed on wetland soils highly susceptible to rutting and puddling. Potential decreases in pine productivity have been connected with increased soil strength and decreased aeration that are commonly remnants of site disturbances associated with wet-weather harvesting. A simple and economical rating system is needed to identify soils susceptible to disturbance by various types of equipment. The use of such a system could lower the impact on wetland soils and lower the cost of extensive site preparation methods. Logging efficiency and operational productivity could also be increased by identifying equipment types compatible with site conditions. The purpose of this study was to characterize and model soil strength as a function of soil physical properties and site characteristics. The soil strength model was subsequently used to develop a trafficability hazard index. Forested wetland sites in the South Carolina coastal plain were characterized to develop the trafficability hazard index. The study site consisted of three blocks located on poorly drained loblolly pine plantations. Five sequences of measurements were taken consisting of soil moisture, water table depth, and soil strength. The five sequences of measurements were taken over a wide range of soil moisture contents and water table depths to characterize the effects on soil strength. Bulk density, porosity, texture, organic matter, and hydraulic conductivity were also determined to characterize the blocks and identify effects on soil strength. Evaluating the effects of these properties on soil strength identified two relatively easily determined soil properties that could be used for the trafficability index. Volumetric moisture content and penetration resistance of the A horizon were used due to their relationships with trafficability and ease of determination. Estimates of pressure applied to the soil by harvesting equipment were used to find the limits of the sandy loam A horizon to support various types of equipment. Equipment pressures were compared to soil penetration resistance pressures estimated by soil moisture. The trafficability hazard index presented used general ground pressures for various harvesting equipment, but use of specific equipment pressures would provide the best results. Using the trafficability hazard index, sites with less than optimal conditions for traffic can be avoided or special harvesting equipment can be identified to limit site disturbance. / Master of Science

Sustainability of biophysical soil and water conservation measures undertaken on communal land remains a challenge. This research was conducted in the two watersheds of Legambo district, Ethiopia, using a conservation project implemented as disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change. The study examined relevance and appropriateness of conservation measures and identified factors affecting sustainability. Findings show that population growth is high and crop production is the major source of income for all households. Crop income levels varied significantly (P<<0.01) with wealth status of households. Droughts, floods, crop diseases and frost are hazards that frequently occur in the area. Some conservation measures implemented were considered by communities as inappropriate. Low community participation, poor planning and unclear objectives and use rights, weak enforcement of by-laws and lack of maintenance of structures are the major challenges. Integrating family planning, enhancing participation of women, clarifying responsibilities and benefit sharing arrangements, enforcement of rules and building capacity are suggested to improve effectiveness and sustainability of conservation measures / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Environmental degradation presents itself as a major challenge for a variety of countries. This fact is due to the increased knowledge obtained regarding the changes that the global environment has suffered. This phenomenon can be understood as the destruction, damage or wearing that is generated in the environment by human activities and inherent to nature. In this sense, many of the changes originated from environmental degradation are consequences of agricultural activities, and in the Brazilian scenario, this issue also arises from livestock exploration, given the importance of this type of activity for the country. Environmental degradation can be measured by the creation of an Agricultural Environmental Degradation Index (IDAA). Due to the impacts of environmental degradation caused by livestock activities, there are changes occurring regarding the rural development of the localities, because the rural environment is in a reality closer to the occurrence of this phenomenon for this type of activity. Within the context of Rio Grande do Sul, there is a lack of studies that measure environmental degradation. In order to characterize the agricultural environmental degradation in Rio Grande do Sul and also fill this gap in the literature regarding the relationship between this phenomenon and other aspects of development of the regions, the research problem of this study can be summarized as follows: what is the pattern of agricultural environmental degradation of the cities from Rio Grande do Sul and how this phenomenon is impacted by factors of rural development in two distinct periods of time. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the pattern of agricultural environmental degradation of the cities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and see how this pattern is affected by the factors of rural development in these same cities in two different periods of time. In this sense, the methodology used was the Agricultural Environmental Degradation Index (IDAA) as a proxy for agricultural environmental degradation and the technique of factor analysis was used to find the determinants of rural development of cities in the state. In order to study the impact of these factors on agricultural environmental degradation of Rio Grande do Sul, a regression model with panel data was estimated by the method of Fixed Effects. The values of agricultural environmental degradation for the mesoregions of Rio Grande do Sul shown to be high for the two years studied, and the central-eastern mesoregion presented the greatest degradation averages, with IDAA values of 84.58% in 1996 and 85.16% in 2006.Referring to its scale, this mesoregion also showed the worst results, with 47.62% of its cities with degradation patterns with scales of degree above the average value in 1996 and 2006. Regarding the variation of agricultural environmental degradation in the two years surveyed, there is a small variation in the value of the index from one year to another, ie, only 0.02%.The factors of rural development found in Rio Grande do Sul were Conditions of Housing and Rural Education (F1), Structure and Performance of the Agricultural Sector (F2); Leverage and Correction of Rural Production (F3), Agricultural Production Area (F4); Rural Electricity (F5) and Economic and Financial Rural (F6).In the relationship between IDAA and the factors, all coefficients were statistically significant. F1, F3 and F5 presented a positive relationship with degradation, demonstrating that the more developed the regions are, in relation to these aspects, the greater the levels of degradation, which are justified, respectively, by the environmental dilemma of Rio Grande do Sul, because of the overuse of these practices and the irrational use of electrical resources. In the contrary, F2, F4 and F6 showed a negative relationship, justified, respectively, by agro-ecological assumptions, by concerns regarding environmental issues and the inverse relationship between degradation and the economic aspect. / A degradação ambiental apresenta-se como um grande desafio para uma diversidade de países. Isso é decorrente do maior conhecimento que se obtém sobre as transformações que o meio ambiente mundial vem sofrendo. Este fenômeno pode ser entendido como a destruição, deterioração ou desgaste que é gerado no meio ambiente a partir das atividades humanas e inerentes à natureza. Neste sentido, muitas das mudanças oriundas da degradação ambiental são consequências da atividade agropecuária, e, no cenário brasileiro, essa questão tem também grande parcela decorrente da exploração da agropecuária, em vista da importância desse tipo de atividade para o país. A degradação ambiental pode ser mensurada por meio da criação de um Índice de Degradação Ambiental Agropecuária (IDAA). Devido aos impactos da degradação ambiental oriundos das atividades agropecuárias, ocorrem alterações no desenvolvimento rural das localidades, pois o ambiente rural está em uma realidade mais próxima da ocorrência desse fenômeno por esse tipo de atividade. Dentro do contexto do Rio Grande do Sul, verifica-se a escassez de trabalhos que mensurem a degradação ambiental. A fim de caracterizar a degradação ambiental agropecuária no Rio Grande do Sul e ainda preencher a lacuna na literatura quanto à relação entre esse fenômeno e outros aspectos do desenvolvimento das regiões, o problema de pesquisa deste trabalho pode ser sintetizado da seguinte forma: qual o padrão de degradação ambiental agropecuário dos municípios gaúchos e como esse fenômeno é impactado pelos fatores de desenvolvimento rural em dois períodos distintos de tempo. Portanto, o objetivo geral deste trabalho foi o de analisar o padrão de degradação ambiental agropecuário dos municípios gaúchos e verificar como esse padrão é impactado pelos fatores de desenvolvimento rural desses mesmos municípios em dois períodos distintos de tempo. Neste sentido, foi utilizada a metodologia do Índice de Degradação Ambiental Agropecuária (IDAA) como proxy para a degradação ambiental agropecuária e a técnica de análise fatorial para encontrar os fatores determinantes do desenvolvimento rural dos municípios gaúchos. A fim de estudar o impacto desses fatores na degradação ambiental agropecuária do Rio Grande do Sul, foi estimado um modelo de regressão com dados em painel por meio do método de Efeitos Fixos. Os valores de degradação ambiental agropecuária para as mesorregiões gaúchas mostraram-se elevados para os dois anos estudados, e a mesorregião Centro Oriental apresentou as maiores médias de degradação, com valores de IDAA de 84,58% em 1996 e 85,16% em 2006. Referente à sua escala, essa mesorregião também apresentou os piores resultados, com 47,62% dos seus municípios com padrão de degradação com escalas de grau acima do valor médio em 1996 e em 2006. Com relação à variação da degradação ambiental agropecuária nos dois anospesquisados, nota-se uma pequena variação no valor do índice de um ano para o outro, isto é, de apenas 0,02%. Os fatores de desenvolvimento rural encontrados para o Rio Grande do Sul foram Condições de Moradia e Educação Rurais (F1); Estrutura e Desempenho do Setor Agropecuário (F2); Alavancagem e Corretivos da Produção Rural (F3); Área de Produção da Agropecuária (F4); Energia Elétrica Rural (F5); e Econômico e Financeiro Rural (F6). Nas relações entre o IDAA e os fatores, todos os coeficientes demonstraram significância estatística. Os fatores F1, F3 e F5 apresentaram relação positiva com a degradação, demonstrando que, quanto mais desenvolvidas as regiões nesses aspectos, maiores serão os níveis de degradação, justificados, respectivamente, pelo dilema ambiental do Rio Grande do Sul, pelo uso excessivo dessas práticas e pelo uso irracional dos recursos elétricos. De maneira contrária, os fatores F2, F4 e F6 apresentaram relação negativa, justificada, respectivamente, pelo pressuposto agroecológico, pela preocupação com as questões ambientais e pela relação inversa entre degradação e o aspecto econômico.

Thesis (LLM. (Development and Management Law)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Refer to the document

Orientador: José Augusto de Lollo / Banca: Arnaldo Yoso Sakamoto / Banca: Wallace de Oliveira / Resumo: Os geoindicadores são instrumentos de pesquisa definidores dos processos dos sistemas ambientais, bem como da pressão externa, das modificações e de suas conseqüências sobre os demais sistemas interligados. Na pesquisa sugeriram-se a proposição de dois geoindicadores bases da lista proposta por Berger (1997): "Erosão de solos e sedimentos" e "qualidade de água de superfície". Definiram-se estes por meio de indicadores ambientais e da metodologia P-E-R (Pressão-Estado-Resposta). A bacia hidrográfica do Córrego da Onça em Três Lagoas/ MS, instrumento da pesquisa foi escolhida por possuir seu uso e ocupação da terra segmentada espacialmente, e processos de degradação da qualidade da água e do solo em estágio avançado, devido principalmente à ocupação urbana e falta de métodos conservacionistas na área rural. Os resultados revelaram a aplicabilidade da metodologia proposta inicialmente. Como considerações, se destaca que a degradação na bacia hidrográfica do Córrego da Onça é resultado do uso e ocupação da terra, e que o meio físico da bacia condiciona para que esta degradação aconteça. / Abstract: The geoindicators are research instruments defining the processes of environmental systems, as well as external pressure, the changes and their consequences on the other interconnected systems. In the research suggested the proposition of geoindicators two bases from the list proposed by Berger (1997): "Erosion of soils and sediments" and "quality of surface water". Were defined by these environmental indicators and the methodology P-E-R (Pressure-State-Response). The watershed of the Stream of Onça in Três Lagoas / MS, research instrument, was chosen for his own use and occupation of land space segment, and processes of degradation of water quality and soil in an advanced stage, mainly due to urban occupation and lack of conservation methods in rural areas. The results showed the applicability of the methodology proposed initially. As above, we observed that the degradation in the watershed of the Stream of Onça is the result of the use and occupation of land, and that the physical environment of the basin is not the main factor for degradation occurrence. / Mestre