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Covid-19 and Its Impact on Environmental, Economic And Social Sustainability

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 49243

Special Issue Editors

Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences—DiSTA, Insubria University of Varese, Via G.B. Vico, 46, 21100 Varese, Italy
Interests: resources; renewable energy; environmental sustainability; circular economy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 emergency is affecting many aspects of our life. Obviously, the focus of research is concentrated on the health impact (prevention and treatment). However, there are additional aspects of this emergency that cannot be forgotten, like its relationship with sustainability. During the pandemic, some issues have emerged regarding this concern, such as the role of air pollution and consequently the use of renewable energy sources, as well as the criticalities in the selective collection of municipal solid waste and the risk of infection among the operators not only for the waste and wastewater sectors, but also for many others, etc.

The present Special Issue will promote the production of articles able to analyze the consequences of the pandemic on the recent paradigms related to the environmental, economic, and social aspects of sustainability. For instance, some single-use products, generally fought against in the framework of circular economy, could see a new age due to health protection priorities.

The aim of this Special Issue on “COVID-19 and Its Impact on Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability” is to collect up-to-date research articles that explore and examine issues surrounding this topic and give proposals for a better world, taking into account both the pandemic and the benefits of sustainable strategies.

The Guest Editors will select high-quality research papers to proceed with blind peer reviews. Reviewers will be selected among researchers active in the field, whose works are present in international databases.

In the framework described above, this Special Issue invites contributions from authors which address the following fields:

  • COVID-19
  • Environment
  • Economy
  • Health
  • Impact
  • Social
  • Sustainability 

Dr. Elena Cristina Rada
Prof. Dr. Vincenzo Torretta
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 3180 KiB  
Article
Sentiment Analysis of COVID-19 Tweets Using Deep Learning and Lexicon-Based Approaches
by Bharati Sanjay Ainapure, Reshma Nitin Pise, Prathiba Reddy, Bhargav Appasani, Avireni Srinivasulu, Mohammad S. Khan and Nicu Bizon
Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2573; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su15032573 - 31 Jan 2023
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4330
Abstract
Social media is a platform where people communicate, share content, and build relationships. Due to the current pandemic, many people are turning to social networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, etc., to express their feelings. In this paper, we analyse the sentiments of [...] Read more.
Social media is a platform where people communicate, share content, and build relationships. Due to the current pandemic, many people are turning to social networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, etc., to express their feelings. In this paper, we analyse the sentiments of Indian citizens about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination drive using text messages posted on the Twitter platform. The sentiments were classified using deep learning and lexicon-based techniques. A lexicon-based approach was used to classify the polarity of the tweets using the tools VADER and NRCLex. A recurrent neural network was trained using Bi-LSTM and GRU techniques, achieving 92.70% and 91.24% accuracy on the COVID-19 dataset. Accuracy values of 92.48% and 93.03% were obtained for the vaccination tweets classification with Bi-LSTM and GRU, respectively. The developed models can assist healthcare workers and policymakers to make the right decisions in the upcoming pandemic outbreaks. Full article
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16 pages, 1019 KiB  
Article
Estimating the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Customers’ Dining-Out Activities in South Korea
by Bowon Suh, Shinyoung Kang and Hyeyoung Moon
Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9408; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14159408 - 01 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1798
Abstract
This study classified the types of dining-out activities into three categories: visiting restaurants, using delivery services, and using take-out services to understand how customers’ various dining-out activities were carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used the Theory of Planed Behavior (TPB) [...] Read more.
This study classified the types of dining-out activities into three categories: visiting restaurants, using delivery services, and using take-out services to understand how customers’ various dining-out activities were carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used the Theory of Planed Behavior (TPB) model to analyze the structural relationship between the main factors and three dining-out activities. An online survey method was used to distribute and collect survey link addresses through respondents’ SNS and e-mail and a data analysis was performed on the final 429(85.8%) effective samples. A paired t-test and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to investigate customers’ dining-out activities. This study is of significant contribution in that it compared and analyzed customers’ various dining-out activities using the TPB model, laid the theoretical foundation for related research, and suggested ways to help related industry workers establish marketing strategies under the pandemic. Full article
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14 pages, 853 KiB  
Article
The Effect of COVID-19 on the Environmental Impact of Our Lifestyles and on Environmental Concern
by Luc Van Ootegem, Elsy Verhofstadt, Bart Defloor and Brent Bleys
Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8437; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14148437 - 10 Jul 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1597
Abstract
Since the beginning of 2020, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary to change our lifestyles (e.g., restrictions on transport or travelling and forced telework). This has also changed the environmental impact of our lifestyles. To quantify that impact, we used surveys to [...] Read more.
Since the beginning of 2020, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic made it necessary to change our lifestyles (e.g., restrictions on transport or travelling and forced telework). This has also changed the environmental impact of our lifestyles. To quantify that impact, we used surveys to calculate the Ecological Footprint (EF) and environmental concern of Belgian respondents in 2021 and compared this to the EF-situation in 2017, before COVID-19. We observed that the EF became significantly lower during the COVID-19 crisis. Of course, this change in behaviour is the result of compulsory measures. Therefore, we asked about people’s willingness to reduce the EF permanently, particularly after COVID-19 and on a voluntary basis. We observed that, in 2021, respondents had a strong desire to return to a pre-COVID-19 lifestyle and that they are even less concerned about the environment than they were in the period before COVID-19. Moreover, these results hold after taking into account the effect of different explanatory variables in a multivariate analysis. As a general conclusion, there is little or no evidence that COVID-19 will fundamentally change the environmental impact of our behaviour or our environmental concern if there is no associated public intervention. There is a need for policies that make use of the potential created by COVID-19 (e.g., stimulate working from home and increased cycling). Full article
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16 pages, 5529 KiB  
Article
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Vertical Price Transmission in the U.S. Fresh Banana Market
by Solomon Odiase and Sayed H. Saghaian
Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6354; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14106354 - 23 May 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2295
Abstract
The U.S. imports about two billion dollars of fresh bananas, accounting for over 99 percent of domestic banana consumption annually. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the fresh banana supply chain and caused unexpected price movements along the marketing channel. This research investigated the impact [...] Read more.
The U.S. imports about two billion dollars of fresh bananas, accounting for over 99 percent of domestic banana consumption annually. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the fresh banana supply chain and caused unexpected price movements along the marketing channel. This research investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on price adjustments in the U.S. fresh banana market. A Vector Error Correction (VEC) model was employed to evaluate the speeds of price adjustments along the U.S. banana marketing channel at the import and retail levels, and historical decomposition graphs were used to investigate the magnitude of price adjustments caused by the COVID-19 shock. The results show that the deviation from the long-run equilibrium caused by the shock was corrected faster for the import prices than retail prices. Hence, the speeds of price adjustments were asymmetric in the period of the COVID-19 shock. Additionally, the magnitudes of price changes caused by the pandemic shock were different, leading to increased price margins. These results point to the inefficiency of the banana marketing channel with welfare, policy, and agribusiness implications. Full article
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12 pages, 2409 KiB  
Article
The Occurrence of Heavy Air Pollution during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Beijing, China: Roles of Emission Reduction, Meteorological Conditions, and Regional Transport
by Xiao Yan, Aijun Shi, Jingyuan Cao, Tingting Li, Xuesong Sun, Rui Zhang, Xionghui Qiu, Yanxue Li, Miao Liang, Miao Lv, Chunlan Liu and Jing Wei
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 12312; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132112312 - 08 Nov 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1941
Abstract
To prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and mitigate the epidemic risk, strict lockdown measures were implemented in Beijing during the quarantine period, significantly reducing human activities. However, severe air pollution episodes occurred frequently in Beijing. To explore the occurrence of severe [...] Read more.
To prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and mitigate the epidemic risk, strict lockdown measures were implemented in Beijing during the quarantine period, significantly reducing human activities. However, severe air pollution episodes occurred frequently in Beijing. To explore the occurrence of severe air pollution during the quarantine period, the impacts of emission reductions, meteorological conditions, and regional transport on heavy air pollution were individually evaluated using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. Observations showed that the more unfavorable meteorological conditions which occurred during the pandemic as compared to the corresponding 2019 levels, including higher temperature, relative humidity, and frequency of strong southerly winds, and lower HPBL, led to an increase in PM2.5 concentrations. The model results also showed that the meteorological conditions in February 2020 favored PM2.5 formation. The PM2.5 concentrations were mainly dominated by regional transport, which became more significant in the quarantine period than in 2019, suggesting the importance of joint control on regional sources for reducing heavy air pollution. This study highlights that, although the emissions in Beijing and surrounding regions were largely reduced during the quarantine period, severe air pollution in Beijing did not reduce due to the unfavorable meteorological conditions. Full article
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17 pages, 4644 KiB  
Communication
National Vaccination and Local Intervention Impacts on COVID-19 Cases
by Toni Toharudin, Resa Septiani Pontoh, Rezzy Eko Caraka, Solichatus Zahroh, Panji Kendogo, Novika Sijabat, Mentari Dara Puspita Sari, Prana Ugiana Gio, Mohammad Basyuni and Bens Pardamean
Sustainability 2021, 13(15), 8282; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13158282 - 24 Jul 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4150
Abstract
COVID-19, as a global pandemic, has spread across Indonesia. Jakarta, as the capital of Indonesia, is the province with the most positive cases. The government has issued various guidelines, both at the central and regional levels. Since it began in 2021, the planned [...] Read more.
COVID-19, as a global pandemic, has spread across Indonesia. Jakarta, as the capital of Indonesia, is the province with the most positive cases. The government has issued various guidelines, both at the central and regional levels. Since it began in 2021, the planned new measures, called ‘Pemberlakuan Pembatasan Kegiatan Masyarakat Darurat’, or PPKM emergency public activity restrictions, began with the possibility that the number of active cases might decrease. Accordingly, global vaccinations were also carried out, as they were in Indonesia. However, the first phase prioritized frontline health workers and high-risk elderly people. This study conducted a causal impact analysis to determine the effectiveness of PPKM in Jakarta and its vaccination program against the increase in daily new cases. Based on this test, PPKM showed a significant effect on the addition of daily new cases and recovered cases. Conversely, the vaccination program only had a significant impact on recovered cases. A forecast of the COVID-19 cases was conducted and indicated that the daily new cases showed a negative trend, although it fluctuated for the next 7 days, while death and recovered cases continued to increase. Hence, it can be said that the vaccination program has still not shown its effectiveness in decreasing the number of daily new cases while PPKM is quite effective in suppressing new cases. Full article
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12 pages, 1665 KiB  
Communication
Did Noise Pollution Really Improve during COVID-19? Evidence from Taiwan
by Rezzy Eko Caraka, Yusra Yusra, Toni Toharudin, Rung-Ching Chen, Mohammad Basyuni, Vilzati Juned, Prana Ugiana Gio and Bens Pardamean
Sustainability 2021, 13(11), 5946; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13115946 - 25 May 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3725
Abstract
Background and objectives: The impacts of COVID-19 are like two sides of one coin. During 2020, there were many research papers that proved our environmental and climate conditions were improving due to lockdown or large-scale restriction regulations. In contrast, the economic conditions deteriorated [...] Read more.
Background and objectives: The impacts of COVID-19 are like two sides of one coin. During 2020, there were many research papers that proved our environmental and climate conditions were improving due to lockdown or large-scale restriction regulations. In contrast, the economic conditions deteriorated due to disruption in industry business activities and most people stayed at home and worked from home, which probably reduced the noise pollution. Methods: To assess whether there were differences in noise pollution before and during COVID-19. In this paper, we use various statistical methods following odds ratios, Wilcoxon and Fisher’s tests and Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) with various comparisons of prior selection. The outcome of interest for a parameter in Bayesian inference is complete posterior distribution. Roughly, the mean of the posterior will be clear with point approximation. That being said, the median is an available choice. Findings: To make the Bayesian MCMC work, we ran the sampling from the conditional posterior distributions. It is straightforward to draw random samples from these distributions if they have regular shapes using MCMC. The case of over-standard noise per time frame, number of noise petition cases, number of industry petition cases, number of motorcycles, number of cars and density of vehicles are significant at α = 5%. In line with this, we prove that there were differences of noise pollution before and during COVID-19 in Taiwan. Meanwhile, the decreased noise pollution in Taiwan can improve quality of life. Full article
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23 pages, 2388 KiB  
Article
COVID-19 Risk Assessment: Contributing to Maintaining Urban Public Health Security and Achieving Sustainable Urban Development
by Jun Zhang and Xiaodie Yuan
Sustainability 2021, 13(8), 4208; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13084208 - 09 Apr 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2630
Abstract
As the most infectious disease in 2020, COVID-19 is an enormous shock to urban public health security and to urban sustainable development. Although the epidemic in China has been brought into control at present, the prevention and control of it is still the [...] Read more.
As the most infectious disease in 2020, COVID-19 is an enormous shock to urban public health security and to urban sustainable development. Although the epidemic in China has been brought into control at present, the prevention and control of it is still the top priority of maintaining public health security. Therefore, the accurate assessment of epidemic risk is of great importance to the prevention and control even to overcoming of COVID-19. Using the fused data obtained from fusing multi-source big data such as POI (Point of Interest) data and Tencent-Yichuxing data, this study assesses and analyzes the epidemic risk and main factors that affect the distribution of COVID-19 on the basis of combining with logistic regression model and geodetector model. What’s more, the following main conclusions are obtained: the high-risk areas of the epidemic are mainly concentrated in the areas with relatively dense permanent population and floating population, which means that the permanent population and floating population are the main factors affecting the risk level of the epidemic. In other words, the reasonable control of population density is greatly conducive to reducing the risk level of the epidemic. Therefore, the control of regional population density remains the key to epidemic prevention and control, and home isolation is also the best means of prevention and control. The precise assessment and analysis of the epidemic conducts by this study is of great significance to maintain urban public health security and achieve the sustainable urban development. Full article
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22 pages, 2994 KiB  
Article
Tourism and Air Quality during COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons for the Future
by Alexandra Monteiro, Celeste Eusébio, Maria João Carneiro, Mara Madaleno, Margarita Robaina, Vitor Rodrigues, Carla Gama, Hélder Relvas, Michael Russo, Kevin Oliveira, Myriam Lopes and Carlos Borrego
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3906; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13073906 - 01 Apr 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4340
Abstract
The pandemic caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (associated to the disease named COVID-19) is having a global impact that affects health, the economy and the environment. These impacts are negative in most of the sectors but benefits also occurred in specific fields. Tourism was [...] Read more.
The pandemic caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (associated to the disease named COVID-19) is having a global impact that affects health, the economy and the environment. These impacts are negative in most of the sectors but benefits also occurred in specific fields. Tourism was one of the most negatively affected economic sectors, and in terms of benefits, the improvement of air quality can be highlighted, with positive health implications. This paper aims to evaluate the impacts on these two particular fields—tourism and air quality—focusing on Portugal due to the relevance of tourism in the country. The research carried out in this paper enables us to find the most critical areas and identifies lessons learnt and recommendations for the post-COVID period. Tourism and air quality data were collected for both 2019 and 2020 and compared in terms of quantitative and spatial analysis. The Lisbon metropolitan area—the geographical area where the capital of the country is located—was the area that suffered the most negative impacts in terms of tourism activity but was also the one where highest benefits in terms of air pollution reduction and human exposure were felt. Recommendations for future strategies are suggested, including new concepts of tourism connected to the environment; the investment in online/virtual tourism activities; promotion of the domestic market; mitigation of the over-tourism problem and using environmental issues, such as air quality, as new attractiveness criteria for tourism destinations. Full article
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12 pages, 2012 KiB  
Communication
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Electricity Production Due to Lockdown
by Yusri Yusup, Nur Kamila Ramli, John Stephen Kayode, Chee Su Yin, Sabiq Hisham, Hassim Mohamad Isa and Mardiana Idayu Ahmad
Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9397; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12229397 - 12 Nov 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2357
Abstract
We analyzed real-time measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), with total electricity production and nationwide restrictions phases in China, the United States of America, Europe, and India due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on atmospheric CO2 [...] Read more.
We analyzed real-time measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), with total electricity production and nationwide restrictions phases in China, the United States of America, Europe, and India due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on atmospheric CO2. A decline of 3.7% in the global energy demand at about 150 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020 was recorded compared to Q1 2019 due to the cutback on international economic activities. Our results showed that: (1) electricity production for the same period in 2018, 2019, and 2020 shrunk at an offset of 9.20%, which resulted in a modest reduction (−1.79%) of atmospheric CO2 to the 2017–2018 CO2 level; (2) a non-seasonal, abrupt, and brief atmospheric CO2 decrease by 0.85% in mid-February 2020 could be due to Phase 1 restrictions in China. The results indicate that electricity production reduction is significant to the short-term variability of atmospheric CO2. It also highlights China’s significant contribution to atmospheric CO2, which suggests that, without the national restriction of activities, CO2 concentration is set to exceed 2019 by 1.79%. Due to the lockdown, it quickly decreased and sustained for two months. The results underscore atmospheric CO2 reductions on the monthly time scale that can be achieved if electricity production from combustible sources was slashed. The result could be useful for cost-benefit analyses on the decrease in electricity production of combustible sources and the impact of this reduction on atmospheric CO2. Full article
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12 pages, 2583 KiB  
Article
Changes in Air Quality during the First-Level Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic in Shanghai Municipality, China
by Yang Bai, Yi Zhou, Juha M. Alatalo and Alice C. Hughes
Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 8887; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12218887 - 26 Oct 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2620
Abstract
Ongoing rapid urban population growth world-wide has led to serious environmental problems that affect ecosystems and also lower the security and happiness of urban residents about their living environment. The most frequently reported negative impact is a deterioration in urban air quality. In [...] Read more.
Ongoing rapid urban population growth world-wide has led to serious environmental problems that affect ecosystems and also lower the security and happiness of urban residents about their living environment. The most frequently reported negative impact is a deterioration in urban air quality. In this study, we performed a comprehensive assessment of the effects of the city lockdown policy in response to Covid-19 on air quality in Shanghai Municipality, China, and sought to identify a balance point between human activities and improving air quality. The first-level response (FLR) by Shanghai to control the spread of Covid-19 was to launch a lockdown, which remained in place from 24 January to 23 March, 2020. We compared airborne pollutant concentrations in different regions (downtown, suburbs) of Shanghai city in three periods (Pre-FLR, During-FLR, and Post-FLR) and in the corresponding periods in the previous year. The results showed that air quality improved significantly During-FLR compared with Pre-FLR, with the concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO all decreasing significantly. The concentrations of all pollutants except O3 also decreased significantly compared with the same period in the previous year. There were also some differences in pollutant concentrations between the downtown region and the suburbs of Shanghai. However, we found that the concentrations of pollutants rebounded gradually when the restrictions on human activities ended after two months of lockdown. This study provides empirical evidence of the important effect of limiting human activities on air quality. For sustainable and clean future urban management in Shanghai and beyond, central government policy regulations requiring a low-carbon lifestyle and cleaner production in industries should be established. Full article
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29 pages, 8542 KiB  
Article
Atmospheric Emission Changes and Their Economic Impacts during the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown in Argentina
by Tomás R. Bolaño-Ortiz, S. Enrique Puliafito, Lucas L. Berná-Peña, Romina M. Pascual-Flores, Josefina Urquiza and Yiniva Camargo-Caicedo
Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8661; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12208661 - 19 Oct 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3366
Abstract
This work studied the emission changes and their economic effects during the Argentina’s COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. We have analyzed the atmospheric emissions of the main greenhouse gases (GHG: CO2, CH4, and N2O) and other pollutants (NOx, CO, [...] Read more.
This work studied the emission changes and their economic effects during the Argentina’s COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. We have analyzed the atmospheric emissions of the main greenhouse gases (GHG: CO2, CH4, and N2O) and other pollutants (NOx, CO, NMVOC, SO2, PM10, PM2.5, and BC) from various sectors such as private road transport, freight, public transport, agriculture machines, thermal power plants, residential, commercial, and governmental from January 2005 to April 2020. We focused on the months with the greatest restrictions of COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina (March and April 2020). The results show emissions reduction up to 37% for PM10, PM2.5, and BC, consistent with observed from satellite images and up to 160% for NOx, CO, NMVOC, and SOx. However, the residential sector has increased their emissions by 8% for the same period. As a consequence, 3337 Gg of CO2eq of GHG emissions were reduced, corresponding to a 20% reduction compared to the same period in 2019. Besides, a 26% reduction in gross domestic product (GDP) was observed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results show that each Tg of GHG reduction was associated to a 0.16% reduction of the GDP from the analyzed sectors. Thus, without a voluntary reduction in consumption associated to significant cultural and technological changes, reduction in GHG would still be associated with deepening inequalities and asymmetries between high and low consumption sectors (i.e., with better (lesser) education, health, and job opportunities), even within countries and cities. Full article
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14 pages, 3367 KiB  
Communication
Air Quality Implications of COVID-19 in California
by Shuai Pan, Jia Jung, Zitian Li, Xuewei Hou, Anirban Roy, Yunsoo Choi and H. Oliver Gao
Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 7067; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12177067 - 30 Aug 2020
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4488
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected human health and the economy. The implementation of social distancing practices to combat the virus spread, however, has led to a notable improvement in air quality. This study compared the surface air quality monitoring data from the [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected human health and the economy. The implementation of social distancing practices to combat the virus spread, however, has led to a notable improvement in air quality. This study compared the surface air quality monitoring data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA)’s AirNow network during the period 20 March–5 May in 2020 to those in 2015–2019 from the Air Quality System (AQS) network over the state of California. The results indicated changes in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) of −2.04 ± 1.57 μg m−3 and ozone of −3.07 ± 2.86 ppb. If the air quality improvements persist over a year, it could potentially lead to 3970–8900 prevented premature deaths annually (note: the estimates of prevented premature deaths have large uncertainties). Public transit demand showed dramatic declines (~80%). The pandemic provides an opportunity to exhibit how substantially human behavior could impact on air quality. To address both the pandemic and climate change issues, better strategies are needed to affect behavior, such as ensuring safer shared mobility, the higher adoption of telecommuting, automation in the freight sector, and cleaner energy transition. Full article
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13 pages, 3768 KiB  
Review
The Implications and Effects of Medical Waste on Development of Sustainable Society—A Brief Review of the Literature
by Costel Bucătaru, Dan Săvescu, Angela Repanovici, Larisa Blaga, Ecaterina Coman and Maria-Elena Cocuz
Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3300; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13063300 - 17 Mar 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4725
Abstract
The sustainable development of humanity imposes precise norms regarding the management of natural resources, their extraction, use, and the introduction in a complex, innovative circuit of the waste resulting from exploitation. The paper deals with some aspects related to the sustainable management of [...] Read more.
The sustainable development of humanity imposes precise norms regarding the management of natural resources, their extraction, use, and the introduction in a complex, innovative circuit of the waste resulting from exploitation. The paper deals with some aspects related to the sustainable management of general medical waste on the one hand and the medical waste specific to the COVID-19 pandemic, on the other hand. Medical waste requires special treatment given its impact on the environment and on humanity. The management of activities related to its storage, transport, destruction is an important point in the sustainable development of mankind, especially in the current context of the pandemic. Medical waste is in a continuous increase in quantity and involves many effects in various activity fields. Through a scientometric study in the Web of Science—WOS database, the authors identify clusters of keywords, analyze the articles identified in the WOS and identify the main research directions and existing concepts. Corroborating and interpreting the results obtained, three significant trends of approach to medical waste are identified: M—management (1); E—exposure (2); and D—distribution (3). An extensive map of the concepts is made, a narrow map of the concepts used, and a theoretical map of the concepts. The link between medical waste and the development of a sustainable society is demonstrated, and it is possible to open new research directions. The scientometric research undertaken on 1192 WOS articles that were published in 2020 led to the selection of 32, focused on issues related to hazardous medical waste, especially of COVID-19 patients. Following this approach, the authors were able to see, by comparison, the different forms of management of this waste in different countries, thus being able to contribute to the creation of procedures for the collection, storage, and destruction of this hazardous waste, with direct influence on the environment. Full article
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