Volume 3 Issue 5, May 2020

The world is not on track to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation by 2030. We urge a rapid change of the economics, engineering and management frameworks that guided water policy and investments in the past in order to address the water challenges of our time.

Increasing pressure for communities to conserve wildlife in mixtures with livestock faces scepticism about whether such management is sustainable. The study by Sitters et al. shows that wildlife–livestock coexistence may be sustainable, but only if megaherbivores are included.

A literature review on transboundary freshwater cooperation and conflict finds the former prevails, followed by non-violent conflict. Despite greater understanding of drivers, analysis of recent events and better datasets are needed.

Cattle are replacing wildlife in many African savannas. This field study finds that wild megaherbivores, such as elephants, increased soil carbon and nitrogen, and hence soil fertility, normally lost when only cattle are present.

Heat waves can pose a threat to biodiversity as heat stress kills sperm cells across the animal kingdom. Here, honey bee queens are found to be vulnerable to temperature changes and the specific stress-response proteins activated in the spermatheca are discussed as potential indicators of heat stress.

A comparison of the recommended dietary guidelines in France from 2001 and 2017 finds that the updated guidelines perform better in terms of health (nutrition) and the environment (food production), albeit with a small increase in cost.

The production of lithium requires the purification of lithium chloride, which is expensive and unsustainable. A new method allows the production of high-purity electrolytic lithium from low-purity lithium chloride using solid-state electrolyte, with substantial reductions in costs and environmental impacts.

Diverse strategies are needed to mitigate climate change. This study finds that storing carbon in soils represents 25% of land-based potential, of which 60% must come from rebuilding depleted carbon stores.

CO₂ mineralization and utilization via alkaline solid wastes shows promise for both stabilizing solid waste and tackling climate change, but evidence of its actual CO₂ reduction potential is scant. This study estimates that CO₂ mineralization and utilization could lead to a 12.5% global reduction of CO₂ emissions.