The blog features posts from first-year students taking the LEC.101 Global Environmental Challenges module at the Lancaster Environment Centre. All the posts are based on published research studies and were originally written as a piece of coursework – and what better than a piece of coursework that can be turned into something immediately useful? The…
By William Loughlin – ‘Renewable technologies are considered clean sources of energy, optimal use of these resources minimise environmental impacts’ [1]. With increasing threats of climate change is renewable energy (RE) really up to the task of filling our insatiable thirst for energy? Furthermore, the current global energy demand being fulfilled ‘14%’ [2] by renewable energy (RE) …
By Charlotte Beckett – Deforestation has been a growing issue in the Amazon rainforest for decades, but in the past year levels of deforestation soared to an unprecedented level not seen in 15 years [1]. Deforestation is recognised worldwide as a method that is destroying the biodiversity of our Earth – a vital component of…
By Charlie Willis – Food security and human health are under threat from microplastics in our oceans. But to what extent? The journal article; ‘Marine microplastic debris: An emerging issue for food security, food safety and human health’ by Gabriel et al. (2018) addresses the scale of the microplastic impact regarding marine-life and subsequently its…
By Anya Nanning Ramamurthy – COVID-19 has dominated media, and changed our way of life for nearly two years (Figure 1), but this has not been felt evenly by everyone. For instance, COVID-19 mortality rates are higher for men [1], and older people and some ethnic groups are more vulnerable [2,3]. Those with certain pre-existing…
Clean water projects, such as the Rajasthan drinking water project, significantly improve community health and wellbeing, but is this at the cost of gender equality development? Rajasthan is a large state in North India. Despite containing ten percent of India’s land area, Rajasthan only produces one percent of the country’s water resources. [2] Rajasthan is…
By Alisa Reid – Plastic pollution is a critical long-term problem with ~400Mt produced annually [1]. Microplastics are an important contributor; classified as <5mm in diameter. There are two classes; primary (manufactured at size) or secondary (eroded to classification size) [2]. This pollution is challenging to successfully mitigate as their size often enables them to…
By Guy Boonyarakyotin – Dreams of sustainable development are often accompanied by images of skyscraper greenhouses or groundbreaking technologies of renewables and electric vehicles. Our growing populations and demand for resources are also becoming a testament to our need for better ways to use our dwindling resources. This, however, makes it easy to forget our…
By Talia Treble – Mangrove Forests, as coastal ecosystems, store vast amounts of carbon whilst providing resources and protection for communities stricken by the impacts of climate change [1]. With the importance of storing ‘blue carbon’ [2] becoming increasingly recognised, the destruction of these environments is fast becoming a global environmental challenge. Blue Carbon Blue…
The Himalayas have been nicknamed the ‘third pole’ [1] as the region is home to the largest number of glaciers outside of the polar regions, but Himalayan glaciers are facing pressure from climate change. Himalayan climate is rising faster than the Northern Hemisphere average [1], causing the large volumes of ice found in the Himalayan…
By Ella Vincent – Environmental justice (EJ) is a concept in geography that hasn’t been around for long, because of this, it’s an increasingly popular theme that becomes more prevalent each day across the globe. EJ is based upon the ideals that everyone has the right to equal protection from environmental and public health laws…