Volume 2 Issue 11, November 2019

The global rush to develop the ‘blue economy’ risks harming both the marine environment and human wellbeing. Bold policies and actions are urgently needed. We identify five priorities to chart a course towards an environmentally sustainable and socially equitable blue economy.

A freight carbon offset presents an opportunity for transport operators and their customers to invest carbon offset capital within the freight transport sector itself, accelerating the transition to a more sustainable global transport network.

The ecologist C. S. Holling was a visionary of change in nature and society.

The Sustainable Development Goals elegantly capture humanity’s shared aspirations, but it’s at the national level where the rubber hits the road. Progress is possible across multiple goals but challenges to comprehensive achievement remain.

Phosphorus recovery is as important for closing the phosphorus cycle as its discovery 350 years ago was for food production. A new analysis highlights costs and benefits of creating value from the wastes generated by our food systems and modern lifestyles.

Real-time control of combined sewer systems and green infrastructure can be used to reduce flooding. In this Perspective, the authors simulated the use of integrated stormwater inflow control to dynamically activate infrastructure in Copenhagen, Denmark, to substantially reduce combined sewage emissions.

A study of over 250,000 pregnant women in Beijing, China, finds that missed abortion is associated with the concentration of four major air pollutants. The association is not linear but becomes stronger with higher concentrations.

Reducing herbicides exposes crops to yield losses from weeds. This study on winter wheat and barley finds that more even weed communities reduce yield losses by suppressing dominant weeds.

International shipping is a major emitter of greenhouse gases, but quantifying responsibilities has been difficult. This study uses satellite-observed data on vessels to determine the emissions from and subsequent health impacts of US–China bilateral trade of goods.

Sustainable processes for the synthesis of new clinical candidates is a priority in pharmaceutical manufacturing. This study presents a web application to predict the likely efficiencies of proposed synthetic routes before their evaluation in the laboratory.

A simulation nesting global and Australian scenarios on how to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals finds that working on all goals jointly has added benefits. In the path to achieve the goals, the last stages will be the most challenging.

Agriculture depends critically on phosphorus fertilizer from rock phosphate. This study finds environmental and health benefits from instead recovering phosphorus from secondary sources, such as sewage and manure.