Reviews & Analysis

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  • Research on how to support human exploration and eventual habitation of outer space is advancing. However, while its aims are beyond our planet, space bioprocess engineering has practical sustainability applications here on Earth.

    • Gretchen Vengerova
    • Isaac Lipsky
    • Aaron J. Berliner
    Perspective
  • Polyamides are an important class of polymers, yet their fossil-based manufacturing markedly contributes to environmental pollution. A recent breakthrough unlocks a sustainable pathway to recyclable polyamides produced directly from biomass.

    • Antonio A. Castillo-Garcia
    • Katalin Barta
    News & Views
  • Measuring the heath of urban greenery is costly but important. This Review presents the advantages and trade-offs of technology-supported tools to measure the health of urban greenery and highlights the importance of high-resolution urban greenery data to support cities in achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

    • Akshit Gupta
    • Simone Mora
    • Carlo Ratti
    Review Article
  • Global food systems, a major driver of biodiversity loss, are exposed to multiple stressors, including geopolitical shocks like wars. A study now shows the impacts of the Russia–Ukraine conflict on the global food market, and the consequences in terms of cropland expansion and biodiversity harm.

    • Peter Alexander
    News & Views
  • Most glass fibre-reinforced plastics (GFRPs) waste currently ends up in either landfills or incineration facilities, resulting in adverse environmental impacts and waste of resources. Now, a flash Joule heating technology can achieve rapid and effective upcycling of GFRPs waste into SiC, a material that has a wide range of applications.

    • Zhedong Liu
    • Yanan Chen
    News & Views
  • To realize sustainability transitions, there is a need for broad societal support. A study now shows that images can be influential in building that support, even in the case of policy decisions to invest in greener urban transportation, which more sceptical citizens would typically not endorse.

    • Tamara Metze
    • Eduardo Rojas-Padilla
    News & Views
  • Myriad structures, from purpose-built concrete modules to decommissioned petroleum platforms, have been deployed in US waters to create artificial reefs. Assessing their spatial coverage would help marine spatial planning but the task is challenging. Now a study does that and reveals some important ecological insights.

    • Sylvain Pioch
    • William F. Patterson III
    News & Views
  • Whether on a hike, in a remote disaster zone or in your own home, access to clean water is critical. Filtration of freshwater to remove ultrafine particles like micro/nanoplastics, pathogens or other toxic components is unfortunately usually quite expensive, unportable and environmentally unfriendly.

    • Talia Khan
    • Markus J. Buehler
    News & Views
  • International policy is concerned about palm oil-induced deforestation, whereas Indonesia’s government and industry representatives emphasize the role that palm oil plays in support of the livelihoods of millions of smallholder local farmers. This Perspective discusses how smallholders can still be supported without incurring further forest loss.

    • Tania Murray Li
    Perspective
  • The nitritation process, namely the biological conversion of ammonia to nitrite, is a pivotal approach in sustainable sewage management but remains challenging to implement in practice. Now a strategy shows remarkable efficiency in swiftly initiating and maintaining sewage nitritation, even under industrially relevant conditions.

    • Min Zheng
    • Tao Liu
    News & Views
  • The development of electrocatalysts with high activity, selectivity and stability for seawater electrolysis remains a challenge. Through engineering of the host layer, interlayer gallery and surface, CoFe-based layered double hydroxides are shown to achieve stable seawater electrolysis for more than 2,800 h at a high current density.

    Research Briefing
  • Although carboxylated cellulose nanofibres (C-CNFs) hold promise for numerous applications, current production methods are associated with environmental concerns. A type of deep eutectic solvent, comprising citric acid, choline chloride and water, has now been developed for the sustainable and scalable production of ultrafine and long C-CNFs.

    Research Briefing
  • Risks in globally interconnected socio-environmental systems are complex and efforts to study them are incomplete. This Perspective argues that risks should be considered as both a product of these systems and a force that rewires them through a variety of mechanisms.

    • Steve J. Miller
    • Laura E. Dee
    • Eréndira Aceves-Bueno
    Perspective
  • Eco-sensitive river basins are facing pressure to reduce carbon emissions and rapidly grow their economies. Now, a study identifies the exploitable hydropower potential in low-carbon futures, and the risks of relying on large-scale hydropower projects to integrate variable renewable energy in a decarbonized world.

    • Noah Kittner
    News & Views
  • Translating Earth system boundaries across scale involves scientific and normative judgements, with associated assumptions, bias and uncertainties. A protocol involving key building blocks and control steps in translation is presented with focus on businesses and cities, two understudied critical actors.

    • Xuemei Bai
    • Syezlin Hasan
    • Caroline Zimm
    Review Article
  • Adopting technological solutions for water management without considering the complexity underlying human–water interactions can result in unintended consequences. Now a systems meta-model offers a tool to reveal critical human–water links and guide coordinated solutions for sustainable water management.

    • A. Mijic
    • L. Liu
    • K. P. Chun
    Perspective
  • Human changes to freshwater flows affect marine ecosystems, but such impacts are rarely considered in development plans involving dam building and water abstraction from rivers. Now research shows how approaches that integrate flow management and marine fisheries can improve both freshwater and coastal ecosystem sustainability.

    • Thiago B. A. Couto
    • Suresh A. Sethi
    News & Views
  • Quantifications of the impacts of sea-level rise in small island states are urgently needed. Focusing on flooding from sea-level rise, a study now estimates the impacts in terms of cost, land loss and population exposure across all small islands worldwide.

    • Rosanne Martyr-Koller
    • Carl-Friedrich Schleussner
    News & Views