The demographics of energy and mobility poverty: Assessing equity and justice in Ireland,Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates

Energy and mobility poverty limits people’s choices and opportunities and negatively impinges upon structural economic and social welfare patterns. It also hampers the ability of planners to implement more equitable and just decarbonization pathways. Research has revealed that climate policies have imposed a financial burden on low-income and other vulnerable groups by increasing food and energy prices, leading as well to global inequality. Similarly, researchers have warned that in developing countries, emission mitigation policies could increase poverty rates and even frustrate progress towards universal access to clean energy. This research explores whether low-income social groups experience a 'double energy vulnerability', a situation that simultaneously positions people at heightened risk of transport and energy poverty. We investigate this 'double vulnerability' through original data collection via three nationally representative surveys of Mexico (N = 1,205), the United Arab Emirates (N = 1,141), Ireland and Northern Ireland (N = 1,860). We draw from this original data to elaborate on the sociodemographic attributes, expenditure and behaviour emerging from energy and transport use, focusing on themes such as equity, behaviour and vulnerability. We propose energy and transport poverty indexes that allow us to summarize the key contributing factors to energy and transport poverty in the countries studied and uncover a strong correlation between these two salient forms of poverty. Our results suggest that energy and transport poverty are common issues regardless of the very different national, and even sub-national, contexts. We conclude that energy and transport poverty requires target policy interventions suitable for all segments of society, thus enabling contextually-tailored, just energy transitions.     

Effect of montmorillonite and humic acid on cotransport of g-C3N4 and lead: The role of triazine ring in lead adsorption and deposition in soil components

In the past few years, Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) has been produced on a large scale and has been widely used because of its excellent optical properties and physicochemical stability. It is easy to ignore the risk of g-C₃N₄ transport in the environment, including soil and groundwater, due to the non-toxicity of metals. Based on this situation, we investigated the effects of pumping flow rate, ionic strength, and the presence of lead (Pb) on the transport behavior of g-C₃N₄ in quartz sand, montmorillonite, and humic acid-coated sand through column experiments. The retention of g-C₃N₄ in the media and the adsorption mechanism of Pb onto g-C₃N₄ were analyzed by FTIR and XPS. The results showed that fast flow rate and low ionic strength were favorable conditions for the transport of g-C₃N₄. The cotransport experiment results showed that Pb reduced the outflow of g-C₃N₄ by more than 50%. Contrarily, 6.95%, 0.43%, and 11.01% Pb were hindered in quartz sand, montmorillonite, and humic acid-coated sand due to the presence of g-C₃N₄. Compared with the uncontaminated media, the recoveries of g-C₃N₄ in Pb contaminated quartz sand, montmorillonite, and humic acid-coated sand were reduced by 0.34%, 5.86%, and 15.34%, respectively. Concomitantly, which were attributed to the special triazine ring structure and the abundant bonding modes with soil components and Pb, g-C₃N₄ particles were easier to deposit in montmorillonite and humic acid-coated sand, and could be used as the carrier to release 6.70% and 5.64% Pb from contaminated quartz sand and humic acid-coated sand.     

Glacial activity and paraglacial landsliding in the Devensian Lateglacial: evidence from Craig Cerrig-gleisiad and Fan Dringarth,Fforest Fawr (Brecon Beacons), South Wales

The tongue-shaped mass of debris and associated ridges on the cirque floor below Craig Cerrig-gleisiad, Brecon Beacons National Park is important and controversial because it has been attributed to more than one glacier advance during the Late Devensian. A new origin is proposed involving landslide development from the collapse of part of the western headwall followed by a single phase of glacier development in the Loch Lomond Stadial (Younger Dryas), which reworked the landslide sediments. Evidence for this landslide, which provides useful criteria for differentiating moraines formed by small glaciers from landslides, lies in tension cracks, backward-tilted blocks and bedrock joints dipping out of the western headwall, together with lateral levées, upstanding termini and angular clasts with only occasional, indistinct striae on the tongue-shaped mass, which is interpreted as a flowslide. Glacier reworking of debris in the upper part of the Cwm Cerrig-gleisiad landslide is indicated by subparallel ridges rising to 20 m above the cirque floor containing abraded clasts (16-32% striated). This interpretation is supported by a comparison with the morphological and sedimentary characteristics of a neighbouring landslide at Fan Dringarth, where no glacier developed in the Loch Lomond Stadial. The existence of paraglacial landsliding has significant palaeoenvironmental implications leading to: (1) erroneously large estimates of equilibrium line depression ($Δ$ELA) in the Loch Lomond Stadial; (2) consequent underestimates of summer palaeotemperatures and/or overestimates of the contribution of wind-drifted snow to glacier accumulation; and (3) larger moraines than usual and overestimation of the efficacy of glacial erosion because of antecedent processes.