http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/environsc.asp International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Environmental Skeptics and Critics (ISSN 2224-4263); Publisher: International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Address: Unit 3, 6/F., Kam Hon Industrial Building, 8 Wang Kwun Road, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong; Tel: 00852-2138 6086; Fax: 00852-3069 1955; E-mail: office@iaees.org RSS is a means of receiving content across the internet without having to visit websites directly. When you see the RSS tag on a web page, then you know that site offers an RSS feed. You may download a RSS reader (e.g., at http://www.iaees.org/tools/RSSOwl-java.zip). Install it on your computer and create a new folder, and then create a new feed with a RSS feed address, e.g., http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/piaees/rss.xml, then set something. Any update of RSS feed site will automatically reach your RSS reader. If you have subscribed an online journal by RSS, journal contents or articles will reach you once the latest issue is available or the latest article is published. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/online-version.asp International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences The more truth is debated, the clearer it becomes. Science will not proceed without debate and controversy. Wide and in-depth debate and controversy on human's knowledge, attitudes, policies and practices on the environment determines the future of our planet. There are numerous controversial and potentially controversial issues on environmental sciences and practices. Environmental Skeptics and Critics (ISSN 2224-4263) is an international journal devoted to the publication of skeptical and critical articles/short communications/letters on theories, viewpoints, methodologies, practices, policies, etc., in ecological and environmental areas. The journal provides a forum for questioning, disputing, arguing, challenging, critizing and judging known theories, methdologies, practices, and policies, etc., or presenting different ideas. The scope of Environmental Skeptics and Critics is wide and embraces all controversial, non-conclusive or unexplained issues in ecological and environmental areas. Authors can submit their works to the email box of this journal, environsc@iaees.org. All manuscripts submitted to Environmental Skeptics and Critics must be previously unpublished and may not be considered for publication elsewhere at any time during review period of this journal. In addition to free submissions from authors around the world, special issues are also accepted. The organizer of a special issue can collect submissions (yielded from a research project, a research group, etc.) on a specific research topic, or submissions of a scientific conference for publication of special issue. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2012-1(1)/some-thoughts-on-global-climate-change.pdf WenJun Zhang, Chunhua Liu.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2012,1(1):1-7 Many studies discussed climate change without considering the complexity of climate system. In our view, climate system is a complex and non-linear system. It possesses all properties that a complex system will have, such as non-linearity, chaos, catastrophe, multiple stable or unstable equilibrium states, etc. It is increasingly obvious that the equilibrium state of climate system is being broken by destructive human activities. There are several possibilities that global climate will proceed. We would not exactly predict what outcome will finally occur if destructive human activities continue. In the farther future, in addition to the scenario of continuous warming, there is also possibility that the climate would proceed and reach a new stable or unstable equilibrium state, and the new equilibrium state would be realized in a smooth and continuous way, or realized in an abrupt way by jumping or plummeting. Recent years' and the coming tens of years' unusual change in global climate would be a prelude for dramatic climate change in the far future. We found that global annual mean temperature since 1880 has been rising in sinusoidal-type, similar to a superposition of sine curve and exponential curve, in which a periodicity of about 60 years existed and in the first ~40 years the temperature rose and in the second ~20 years it declined or approximately to be constant. Accordingly, we predicted that the global annual mean temperature had reached a peak around 2005, and would decline or be approximately constant until around 2030. Some models, equations and parameters on climate change were also developed based on past hundreds of years' historical records. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2012-1(1)/impact-of-tall-buildings-in-environmental-pollution.pdf H. Hayati, M.H. Sayadi.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2012,1(1):8-11 Today, tall building is a phenomenon that the world particularly large cities are facing. The tall buildings in order to exploit the land with having the negative affects in the environment create new problems including increasing congestion population, environmental pollution, reduce citizen access to fresh air and sunlight. However, regarding to population increasing and land shortage, tall buildings could not be avoided. This paper investigates the relationship of tall buildings with urban air pollution as well as the possible reducing of negative affects of tall building on environmental pollution with respect to geographical position, technical rules, immunization, green space, direct of wind, appropriate distance to other buildings, design in terms of visibility and landscape and urban appearance were reviewed. The study showed that the tall buildings cause increasing the air pollution in large urban area due to changing in wind and its direction and also congestion of tall buildings as a pollution sources. Therefore some techniques to design the tall building must be considered to reduce the negative affects of the tall buildings on environmental pollution. Unfortunately the lack of the construction roles in term of environmental protection and also control of the rules in construction process causing the environmental pollution particularly air pollution. It is suggested that the re-evaluate of the rules with restricted control can improve the air quality in the large cities and also utilization of green spaces in floors and roofs of buildings as environmentally friendly buildings which are attempt to reduce environmental problems. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2012-1(1)/ecological-effect-of-airborne-particulate-matter-on-plants.pdf Santosh Kumar Prajapati.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2012,1(1):12-22 Atmospheric particulate matter is a mixture of diverse elements. Deposition of particulate matter to vegetated surfaces depends on the size distribution of these particles and, to a lesser extent, on the chemistry. Effects of particulate matter on vegetation may be associated with the reduction in light required for photosynthesis and an increase in leaf temperature due to changed surface optical properties. Changes in energy exchange are more important than the diffusion of gases into and out of leaves which is influenced by dust load, color and particle size. Alkaline dust materials may cause leaf surface injury while other materials may be taken up across the cuticle. A more probable route for metabolic uptake and impact on vegetation and ecosystems is through the rhizosphere. Interception of dusts by vegetation makes an important contribution to the improvement of air quality in the vicinity of vegetation. Although the effect of particulate matter on ecosystem is linked to climate change, there is little threat due to un-speciated particulate matter on a regional scale. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2012-1(1)/measurement-of-alpha-diversity-using-Simpson-index.pdf R. Sagar, Gyan P. Sharma.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2012,1(1):23-24 Simpson index, in the form of D=1/Lamda, is frequently cited in ecological literatures. In present study we proposed that 1-Lamda instead of 1/Lamda, for the measurement of alpha diversity could be a better and justified approach. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2012-1(2)/to-be-fractal-or-not-to-be-fractal.pdf Alessandro Ferrarini.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2012,1(2):25-29 Species-area relationship (SAR) is a tenet in ecology. Unfortunately, even in very recent works researchers take for granted what they shouldn't take for granted, that is to say the fractality of such relationship. This is a serious mistake, both from a theoretical and methodological viewpoint. Unvealing non-fractality or multifractality of species-area relationship could mean a lot for conservation purposes of rare and not rare species. Detection of discontinuities in SAR may indicate significant changes in the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity, in particular with regard to different degrees of density-dependent events or interspecific interactions. Methodological tools are already at hand, so I invite scientists to employ them as soon as possible. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2012-1(2)/models-of-climate-warming-impact.pdf Alessandro Ferrarini.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2012,1(2):30-33 Although studies about climate change impacts on plant species are often published on prestigious journals, in particular when they deal with broad areas and numerous species, in this manuscript I advance my doubts on their methodological robustness and, as a consequence, on their results. In particular I focus my attention on two major drawbacks, i.e. the need for a) nonlinear community-based models instead of species-based ones, and b) for the replacement of the potential niche with the future niche in predictive models. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2012-1(3)/a-new-environmental-performance-index.pdf Wan Khadijah Wan Ismail, Lazim Abdullah.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2012,1(3):39-47 Rapid development and increasing number of population may indicate a good sign for nation's development. However, development sometimes brings negative side effect particularly from environment performance perspective. Environmental Performance Index (EPI) had been introduced since 2006 to depict the environment performance for most of the countries in the world. The index considers ten policy categories associated with environmental public health and ecosystem sustainability. The main mathematics operation in establishing EPI is arithmetic mean of all ten policy categories. One of the weaknesses in the arithmetic mean is the mathematics operation might neglects some extreme values in data. This paper proposed a new EPI using a decision making tool of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Pair wise comparison scales in AHP were utilized to set new EPI for nine ASEAN countries. A new ranking EPI among ASEAN countries showed that Brunei was the highest EPI followed by Singapore. The new ranking may offer an alternative measure in evaluating environmental performance particularly for ASEAN countries. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2012-1(3)/controversies-development-and-trends-of-biofuel-industry.pdf Jun Zhang, WenJun Zhang.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2012,1(3):48-55 Controversies, development and trends of biofuel industry in the world were discussed in present article. First-generation biofuels, i.e., grain and land based biofuels, occupied large areas of arable lands and severely constrained food supplies, are widely disputed. They have been replaced by second-generation biofuels. The raw materials of the second-generation biofuels include plants, straw, grass and other crops and forest residues. However, the cost for production of the second-generation biofuels is higher. Therefore the development of the third-generation biofuels is undergoing. The third-generation technologies use, mainly algae, as raw material to produce bioethanol, biobutanol, biodiesel and hydrogen, and use discarded fruits to produce dimethylfuran, etc. Different countries and regions are experiencing different stages of biofuel industry. In the future the raw materials for biofuel production will be focused on various by-products, wastes, and organisms that have not direct economic benefit for human. Production technologies should be improved or invented to reduce carbon emission and environmental pollution during biofuel production and to reduce production cost. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2012-1(4)/niche-modelling-for-computing-risk-of-wildfires.pdf Alessandro Ferrarini.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2012,1(4):56-60 A forest fire can be a true ecological calamity, regardless of whether it is caused by natural forces or human actions. Although it is impossible to control nature, it is possible to map wildfire risk zones, and thence minimize the frequency of wildfires and prevent damages. Wildfire risk zones are locations where a fire is likely to start, and from where it can spread to other areas. Predictions of wildfires ignitions are critical aspects of biodiversity conservation and management, and they are only possible when a reliable fire risk zone map is available. I suggest in this paper that wildfire ignition risk computed from points of past wildfires obeys the same conceptual and mathematical rules of niche models commonly applied to points of sampled plants or animals. Therefore, niche modeling can also be an inductive approach for an effective and inexpensive computation of wildfires ignition and spreading likelihood. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2012-1(4)/biomonitoring-and-speciation-of-road-dust-for-heavy-metals.pdf Santosh Kumar Prajapati.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2012,1(4):61-64 The present study was conducted for identifying the important heavy metals present in the road dust and at the same time biomonitor them using Calotropis procera and Delbergia sissoo leaves. The study clearly indicated that both the plants can be used as biomonitor for As, Pb, Fe, V, Cd, Cr, Zn and Cu. The heavy metals were estimated using AAS-7000 (Shimadzu). Reason for selecting the plants were their abundance in the area and high air pollution indices. Presence of these heavy metals in the road dust can be attributed to the red soil and more importantly thermal power plants operating in the study area. Since plants are able to capture the road dust, they can also prevent the particulate pollution which is having adverse health impacts for humans. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2013-2(1)/revisiting-plant-conservation-on-wooded-shrines.pdf Anne Fournier, Lassina Sanou.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2013,2(1):1-19 Studies on plant conservation in sacred groves provide mixed results, with some showing their effectiveness while others do not. We argue that beyond the variety of field cases, studies usually suffer from overrating rare species and insufficient consideration of societal data. The sacred sites of Bondoukuy department in Bwaba cultural area (Burkina Faso) were geo-referenced and measured; the most abundant ligneous species were listed and their abundance recorded. Their conservation status and dynamics were assessed based on the core vs. satellite species model of Hanski. Data interpretations relied on the phytogeographical affinities of abundant species and on anthropological knowledge of the Bwaba society. The vast majority of shrines were less than 1 ha, located in or near villages in specific landscape features, and covered with trees. The most abundant species of shrines belonged mostly to local phytochories, but were subject to rather high anthropisation. The results support the concept that wooded shrines preserve local biodiversity, but indicate threats from an invasive alien species. The location and condition of shrines appeared to be constitutive features: the Bwaba system of thought involves a series of sacred sites (with and without trees) located in remarkable features of the landscape, and their way of life has resulted in the proximity of these sites to the villages. The beliefs that promote plant cover conservation do so only to a certain extent and regardless of the species content, which raises the concern that alien species may upset the established communities. These beliefs have led the Bwaba to choose the most humid environments in which to set up their wooded shrines, which is interesting from a conservation perspective. The study advocates for a better consideration of social data to identify the key elements of the dynamics of the vegetation of sacred groves. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2013-2(1)/spatio-temporal-distribution-of-inhalable-and-respirable-particulate-matter.pdf T. F. Ediagbonya, E. E. Ukpebor, F. E. Okiemien, G.E. Okungbowa.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2013,2(1):20-29 A complete description of particle pollution of the air at a particular site encompasses the physical characterization of the aerosol, including the total size distribution and that with respect to chemical composition as well as the variation of these quantities with respect to time. The particulate matter in this region was captured at five different locations using SKC Air Check XR 5000 High Volume Gravimetric Sampler and a respirable foam using I.O.M. (Institute of Occupational Medicine) Edinburg Multi dust sampler. The study was done between the months of December 2008 - October 2009. The spatial variations were significant and remarkable. The correlation of the inhalable fraction and respirable was significantly high (P is less than 0.01). http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2013-2(2)/paradigms-of-global-climate-change-and-sustainable-development.pdf Prabhat Kumar Rai, Prashant Kumar Rai.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2013,2(2):30-45 Combating climate change is intimately linked with peace and resource equity. Therefore, critical link establishment between climate change and sustainable development is extremely relevant in global scenario. Following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, the international sustainable development agenda was taken up by the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD); the climate change agenda was carried forward by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). International and local climate change mitigation policies need to be assessed based on sustainability criteria. The increasing concern over climate change drives towards the search of solutions enabling to combat climate change into broader context of sustainable development. The core element of sustainable development is the integration of economic, social and environmental concerns in policy-making. Therefore, article also analyzes post-Kyoto climate change mitigation regimes and their impact on sustainable development. Wide range of post- Kyoto climate change mitigation architectures has different impact on different groups of countries. Nevertheless, there are several reasons for optimism that sustainable consumption patterns might develop. One is the diversity of current consumption patterns and the growing minority concerned with ethical consumption. Another is the growing understanding of innovation processes, developed to address technological change, but applicable to social innovation. A third reason is the growing reflexivity of communities and institutions. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2013-2(2)/quantitative-structure-retention-relationship-for-organic-pollutants.pdf Kamyar Arman, Ehsan Aghayani.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2013,2(2):46-57 A quantitative structure-retention relation (QSRR) study was conducted on the retention times of organic pollutants in textile wastewaters and landfill leachate which obtained by liquid chromatography-reversed phase-atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation-mass spectrometry (LC-APCI-MS). The genetic algorithm was used as descriptor selection and model development method. Modeling of the relationship between selected molecular descriptors and retention time was achieved by linear (partial least square; PLS) and nonlinear (Levenberg-Marquardt artificial neural network; L-M ANN) methods. Linear and nonlinear methods resulted in accurate prediction whereas more accurate results were obtained by L-M ANN model. This is the first research on the QSRR of the organic pollutants in textile wastewaters and landfill leachate against the retention time. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2013-2(2)/effects-of-heavy-metals-metalloids-contamination-of-soils-on-micronucleus-induction.pdf Neelima Meravi, Santosh Kumar Prajapati.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2013,2(2):58-62 The present study was conducted in GGV campus, Bilaspur in which heavy metals/metalloids speciation of soil (for Cr, Fe, Ni, Cd and Pb) was performed for assessing the genotoxicity of these metals. The metals concentrations were measured with the help of AAS 7000 (Shimadzu) and the standard solution was prepared using standard metal solution of Inorganic Ventures. The concentrations of Cr, Fe, Ni, Cd and Pb (in ug/100 g soil) were 12.4, 33.9, 3.1, 0.07 and 2.4 respectively. The flowers of Tradescantia pallida plants growing in this soil were taken and their micronucleus (Trad-MCN) bioassay was performed. Trad-MCN bioassay was performed using the protocols established by Ma (1981). The study revealed that at these concentrations of metals micronuclei (stained objects that were smaller than the nuclei and not connected to the nuclei are classified as MCN) were formed. Therefore it can be inferred from the present study that soil of GGV campus is genotoxic for the Tradescantia pallida. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2013-2(2)/spatial-distribution-of-respirable-and-inhalable-particulate-matter.pdf T.F. Ediagbonya, A. E. Tobin, E. E. Olumese, U.E. Asagba, I. E. Uwidia4, O.P. Osarumwensee.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2013,2(2):63-72 Dust particles in the air that can be respired into the nose or mouth during normal breathing are known as inhalable particle. Inhalation decreases gradually with increasing particle diameter. The respirable and inhalable sawdust were collected from nine different sawmills in Benin City from November 2009 to February 2010 using portable programmable SKC Air Check XR5000 High Volume Gravimetric Sampler Model 210-5000 Serial No. 20537 and I.O.M (Institute Occupational Medicine Edinburg) Multi dust sampler, Batch No. 221442/1. The objective of this study is to know the concentration of inhalable suspended particulate matter fraction and the respirable suspended particulate matter fraction in sawmill particulate. The mean concentration range of the respirable suspended particulate matter was 173.61-520.83 g/m3 and the inhalable suspended particulate matter was in a range of 555.56-2,013.98 g/m3. A strong positive correlation existed for inhalable suspended particulate matter and respirable suspended particulate matter. And the spatial variation was significant and remarkable. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2013-2(3)/invasion-ecology-origin-and-biodiversity-effects.pdf John C. Briggs.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2013,2(3):73-81 The history of invasion ecology, with respect to its mid-19th century beginning and its extended relationship with island biogeography, has not been investigated. In fact, most historical accounts begin with the publication of Charles Elton's book in 1958. Since that time, the field has undergone a phenomenal growth until it has become a major specialty area related to ecology, biogeography, and macroecology. Over the years, invasion studies have made significant contributions to knowledge in the areas of colonization, adaptation, biodiversity, evolution, and species relationships. But also, many ecologists became convinced that invasive species were responsible for native extinctions and the loss of biodiversity. However, new studies, based upon documented extinctions and their causes, have shown that invaders are rarely implicated. Instead, successful (colonizing) invaders are almost invariably accommodated by the native species that occupy the necessary habitat. Accommodation results in a gain in species diversity of the invaded area. Diversity gain generally results in a more stable system with higher productivity and a greater resistance to invasion. Furthermore, as the fossil data indicate, invasions may eventually result in additional speciation that adds to global biodiversity. These data provide evidence of a dynamic, global system consisting of successful invasions that extend from high species diversity centers outward to where diversity is less and the competition weaker. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2013-2(3)/empirical-applications-of-an-environmental-stress-indicator.pdf Han-Shen Chen.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2013,2(3):82-96 In this essay, the first aim is to apply the structure of material flow analysis (MFA) and ecological footprint model to construct an environmental stress indicator. Secondly, an impact, population, affluence and technology (IPAT) analysis is used to resolve indicators related to MFA and resource yield productivity. The research indicates following results: (1) The 2007 per capita ecological deficit in Taiwan is 6.3441 square hm.The figures reflect that productivity and life intensity of residents have exceeded the carrying capacity of Taiwan's ecological economic system. (2) Wealth becomes the most important factor in material needs and pollution discharge. (3) Environmental efficiency and ecological efficiency slowed down dramatically, demonstrating that use of resources and total amount of environmental stress stay at a developmental stage. Therefore, if proper measures are not adopted, the current weak sustainability will lead into the vicious circle which departs from sustainable development. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2013-2(3)/forest-and-land-use-mapping-using-remote-sensing-and-GIS.pdf Prabhat Kumar Rai.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2013,2(3):97-107 Remote sensing and geospatial technologies find tremendous application in rapid spatial and temporal monitoring as well as assessment of tropical forest resources and hence in formulation of concrete policy frameworks for their sustainable management. Present paper provides an overview on application of remote sensing in forestry and ecology with a case study which may be further extrapolated in other Indian Himalayan regions of North-East India. The case study used an IKONOS (2001) image, Arc View ver. 3.2, and ERDAS IMAGINE ver. 9.1 in order to investigate the forest/vegetation types/land cover mapping of Forest Research Institute campus (FRI), Dehradun, India (as model system) through visual image interpretation. In the present case study, Chir pine was the dominant vegetation type covering major area of plantation inside FRI campus followed by Sal, Teak, Cassia, Cupressus and mixed vegetation with intermittent built up areas. Since FRI consists of huge plantations, separated in a segmented way, the site was feasible for learners of vegetation or forest mapping in an effective and systematic way. In nutshell, vegetation type/land use mapping through visual interpretation may be a valuable tool in monitoring, assessment and conservation planning of forests. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2013-2(3)/heavy-metal-in-inhalable-and-respirable-particles.pdf T.F. Ediagbonya, E. E. Ukpebor, F.E. Okieimen.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2013,2(3):108-117 Human activities in Sapele are veritable sources of particulate pollution which are exuded into the atmosphere. These activities include bush burning which is one of the pre-planting activities, transportation, gas flaring, incineration of wastes refuse disposal and the use of wood as a source of fuel. The objective of this study is to determine the concentration of the trace metal in particulate matter captured in glass fibre filter paper. High volume sampler was used to collect the respirable and inhalable suspended particulate matter at ten different sites located in Sapele, from December 2010 to April 2011. The foam and the glass fibre filter were analysed for nine (Mn, Ni, Cr, Cd, Zn, Cu, Co, Fe, and Pb) respectively by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (FAAS). The concentration of the respirable particle ranged from 104.17 to 145.83ug/cubic meter while the inhalable concentration ranged from 166.67 to 812.50ug/cubic meter. From the analysis the element Cd was moderately enriched. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2013-2(4)/criticism-of-connectivity-in-ecology.pdf Alessandro Ferrarini.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2013,2(4):118-125 Modelling ecological connectivity across landscape is pivotal for understanding a large number of ecological processes, and for achieving environmental management aims such as preserving plant and animal populations, predicting infective disease spread and conserving biodiversity. Recently, concepts and models from electrical circuit theory have been adjusted for these purposes. In circuit theory, landscapes are represented as conductive surfaces, with resistance proportional to the easiness of species dispersal or gene flow. I observe in this paper that landscape connectivity as estimated by circuit theory relies on a strong assumption that is possibly false, unproven or very challenging to be demonstrated: species dispersals are thought as "from-to" movements, i.e. from source patches to sink ones. To this reason, I offer here a modelling approach to ecological connectivity assessment that is alternative to circuit theory and is able to fix the weak point of the "from-to" connectivity approach. The proposed approach holds also for mountain and hilly landscapes. In addition, it doesn't assume any intention for a species to go from source points to sink ones, because the expected path for the species is determined locally (pixel by pixel) by landscape features. I've called this approach "flow connectivity" since it resembles in some way the motion characteristic of fluids over a surface. Flow connectivity can be applied for conservation planning and for predicting ecological and genetic effects of spatial heterogeneity and landscape change. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2013-2(4)/environmental-and-socio-economic-impacts-of-global-climate-change.pdf Prabhat Kumar Rai, Prashant Kumar Rai.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2013,2(4):126-148 Climate change is expected to bring about major change in freshwater availability, the productive capacity of soils, and in patterns of human settlement. Likewise, climate change is intimately linked to human health either directly or indirectly. However, considerable uncertainties exist with regard to the extent and geographical distribution of these changes. Predicting scenarios for how climate-related environmental change may influence human societies and political systems necessarily involves an even higher degree of uncertainty. Societies have a long record of adapting to climate risks and, climate changes. Household asset portfolios and livelihood choices are shaped by the need to manage climatic risks, especially in rural areas and for lowincome households. Likewise, disaggregated analysis revealed that demographic and environmental variables have a very profound effect on the risk of civil conflict and hence peace. In nutshell, we can say that there may be multifaceted impact of climate change in its totality. Further, different views, issues and mitigation measures are discussed particularly in Indian scenario. In this direction, The "National Action Plan on Climate Change" was set by Indian Prime Minister which encompasses a broad and extensive range of measures, and focuses on eight missions, which will be pursued as key components of the strategy for sustainable development. These include missions on solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, sustainable habitat, conserving water, sustaining the Himalayan ecosystem, creating a "Green India," sustainable agriculture and, finally, establishing a strategic knowledge platform for climate change. Finally, different steps/approaches pertaining to green, eco-friendly and sustainable technology has been discussed in order to mitigate the impact of global environmental damage originating from increased industrialization and hence appropriately address this global disaster which is being the root cause of North-South debate and global environmental politics. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2013-2(4)/hierarchical-biodiversity-and-environment-impact-assessment.pdf Youhua Chen.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2013,2(4):149-152 In this brief review, the potential environmental and biodiversity impact of South-to-North Water Diversion (SNWD) project in China on regional environments was assessed. I used the hierarchical environmental impact assessment to classify the possible impacts into three orders caused by the construction of SNWD and then presented the current research advances on each order of the impacts. Further impact assessments should be reinforced during the construction period of SNDW project for the sustainable maintenance of regional environment. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2013-2(4)/data-mining-using-multivariate-statistical-analysis.pdf A. Mrutu, G. B. Luilo.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2013,2(4):153-163 Mangrove wetlands are important biological systems that usually filter out organic and inorganic contaminants from the wastewaters before entering the ocean. Our previous work showed that sediments of the Msimbazi Creek wetland are contaminated with heavy metals and the amounts decreased with increasing depth. However, the hidden relationships between the heavy metals and clay particles were not fully understood based on the numerical data. Therefore this work used the data from literature and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software to study how significant the relationships are and predict the sources of heavy metals and clays. The results showed that Cd is the only metal that showed insignificant correlations with other heavy metals (with Pb and Zn) while the rest of heavy metals exhibited significant positive correlation (except Pb vs. Ni). Cluster analysis classified the heavy metals based on the concentration and the first 50 cm cores (0-50 cm) had higher heavy metals and % clay than the second 50 cm cores (51-100 cm). The results from the factor analysis suggests that Pb, Cd, Ni, and clay owe their source mostly from anthropogenic activities while Fe, Co, Cr, Zn and sand come from both anthropogenic and natural sources. These results support our previous suggestions that heavy metals and clays found in this wetland have mostly anthropogenic origin. However, we recommend isotopic tracing studies in order to accurately identify the origins of the heavy metals and clays in sediments of Msimbazi Creek mangrove wetland. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2014-3(1)/first-evidences-of-sexual-divergences-in-flight-behaviour.pdf Marco Gustin, Alessandro Ferrarini, Giuseppe Giglio, Stefania Caterina Pellegrino, Annagrazia Frassanito.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2014,3(1):1-7 We present here the first description of recorded sexual differences in flight behaviour and space use of lesser kestrel Falco naumanni. Lesser kestrel is a migratory, colonial, small falcon breeding mainly in holes and crevices in large historic buildings within towns and villages, or in abandoned farm houses across the countryside. Using accurate GPS data-loggers, we gathered data on the activities of lesser kestrels in the two of main colonies of lesser kestrels in Italy, i.e. Gravina in Puglia and Altamura (Apulia, Southern Italy) and the surrounding rural areas in a 20-days monitoring during the reproductive period. We tested for sex differences in space use (home range's circularity ratio) and flight attributes (5-minute flight length, instantaneous speed, distance from nest, flight altitude above ground level) of 9 monitored individuals (4 males and 5 females). We found significant sexual differences for all the observed traits. Our results demonstrate that female lesser kestrels during the monitoring period employed a lower amount of energy in local movements as measured by four flight attributes that resulted significantly different (and lower) than for males. Compact home ranges for females could represent a maximization of the benefit-cost ratio between prospected surface and distance from nest, i.e. the optimal trade-off between foraging requirements (explored surface) and costs in terms of time and energy (distance from nest). On the contrary, males showed a significantly different space use with very elongated home ranges and mean distance from nest almost three times as elevated as females' one. We argue that the detected sexual divergence was the product of their respective ways to optimize the relationship between resource acquisition and reproductive activity. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2014-3(1)/invasions-adaptive-radiations-and-generation-of-biodiversity.pdf John C. Briggs.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2014,3(1):8-16 When the subject of global biodiversity and its loss through human action became a focal point of conservation biology, there developed an increasing argument about the effects of the invasions of exotic species into native ecosystems. In order to place the current contention in a historical context, evidence from the geologic record has been examined. The record clearly indicates that numerous species invasions, extending from the Paleozoic through the Cenozoic, have led to adaptive radiations significantly increasing global biodiversity. Three invasion induced categories are recognized: (1) global radiations, (2) local radiations, and (3) single species effects. Together, the three may account for much of the biodiversity gain that has accumulated in the intervals between mass extinctions. In contemporary time, it has become apparent that exotic species colonizing a native ecosystem rarely cause extinctions. Instead, the invaders are accommodated by the native species that occupy the appropriate niches or habitats. The accommodation process results in a gain in the species diversity of the invaded area. Over time, local diversity gains can result in global gains as speciation among the invaders takes place. The majority of successful invasions occur via migration of species from centers of high species diversity to places of lesser diversity. The result is a dynamic world characterized by constant movement whereby the high diversity centers increase the diversity of outlying regions. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2014-3(1)/connectivity-ecology-introducing-reverse-flow-connectivity.pdf Alessandro Ferrarini.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2014,3(1):17-23 Modelling ecological connectivity across landscape is pivotal for understanding a large number of ecological processes, and for achieving environmental management goals such as preserving plant and animal populations, predicting infective disease spread and conserving biodiversity. A pivotal topic in connectivity ecology is how to assign realistic resistance (frictional) values to landscape categories. Based on these values and on the dispersal model, a large number of ecological processes can be understood. While in a recent paper I proposed a connectivity model and conceptual framework (flow connectivity) that is alternative to circuit theory, in this paper I propose an advance to flow connectivity that is able to solve this topic. Thanks to the conceptual and operative framework proposed here, named reverse flow connectivity, the subjectivity in ecological connectivity is minimized. Since connectivity is a pillar of metapopulation theory and gene flow, reverse flow connectivity can be regarded as a contribution to different fields of ecology, biology and landscape genetics. Reverse flow connectivity can also be applied to conservation planning and for predicting ecological and genetic effects of spatial heterogeneity and landscape changes. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2014-3(2)/a-review-on-heavy-metal-contamination-in-the-soil-worldwide.pdf Chao Su, LiQin Jiang, WenJun Zhang.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2014,3(2):24-38 Heavy metals in the soil refers to some significant heavy metals of biological toxicity, including mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), and arsenic (As), etc. With the development of the global economy, both type and content of heavy metals in the soil caused by human activities have gradually increased in recent years, which have resulted in serious environment deterioration. In present study we compared and analyzed soil contamination of heavy metals in various cities/countries, and reviewed background, impact and remediation methods of soil heavy metal contamination worldwide. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2014-3(2)/trace-biotic-dispersals-back-in-time-with-flow-connectivity.pdf Alessandro Ferrarini.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2014,3(2):39-46 Connectivity in ecology deals with the problem of how species dispersal will happen given actual landscape and species presence/absence over such landscape. Hence it can be considered a forward (ahead in time) scientific problem. I observe here that a backward theory of connectivity could be of deep interest as well: given the actual species presence/absence on the landscape, where with the highest probability such species is coming from? In other words, can we trace biotic dispersals back in time? Recently I have introduced a modelling and theoretical approach to ecological connectivity that is alternative to circuit theory and is able to fix the weak point of the "from-to" connectivity approach. The proposed approach holds also for mountain and hilly landscapes. In addition, it doesn't assume any intention for a species to go from source points to sink ones, because the expected path for the species is determined locally (pixel by pixel) by landscape features. In this paper, I introduce a new theoretical and modelling approach called "backward flow connectivity". While flow connectivity predicts future species dispersal by minimizing at each step the potential energy due to fictional gravity over a frictional landscape, backward flow connectivity does exactly the opposite, i.e. maximizes potential energy at each step sending back the species to higher levels of potential energy due to fictional gravity on the frictional landscape. Using backward flow connectivity, one has at hand a new tool to revert timeline of species dispersal, hence being able to trace backward biotic dispersals. With few modifications, the applications of backward flow connectivity can be countless, for instance tracing back-in-time not only plants and animals but also ancient human migrations and viral paths. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2014-3(3)/open-science-and-open-source-software.pdf YouHua Chen, XueKe Lu, YouFang Chen.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2014,3(3):47-51 Open science is increasingly gaining attention in recent years. In this mini-review, we briefly discuss and summarize the reasons of introducing open science into academic publications for scientists. We argue that open-source software (like R and Python software) can be the universal and important platforms for doing open science because of their appealing features: open source, easy-reading document, commonly used in various scientific disciplines like statistics, chemistry and biology. At last, the challenges and future perspectives of performing open science are discussed. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2014-3(3)/theories-and-methods-of-community-assembly-succession.pdf WenJun Zhang.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2014,3(3):52-60 Community succession refers to the regular and predictable process of species replacement in the environment that all species had been eliminated or that had been disturbed. Community assembly is the process that species growth and interact to establish a community. Community assembly stresses the change of community over a single phase. So far a lot of theories and methods have been proposed for community assembly and succession. In present article I introduced research advances in theories and methods of community assembly and succession. Finally, continuing my past propositions, I further proposed the unified theory and methodology on community assembly and succession. I suggested that community assembly and succession is a process of self-organization. It follows the major principles and mechanisms of self-organization. Agentbased modeling was suggested being used to describe the dynamics of community assembly and succession. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2014-3(3)/brief-manual-of-technical-specification-for-integrated-control.pdf Na Li, WenJun Zhang, Xin Li.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2014,3(3):61-64 Rice is the most important cereal crop in the world. It feeds nearly half of the population worldwide. Diseases and insect pests are important natural factors that threat rice production in China. Therefore, it is necessary to develop agricultural production standards, which are coherent, scientifically reasonable and easy to perform, especially the standard for prevention and control of rice insect pests. In 2012, China issued the technical regulation for rice disease control. However, so far there is not any systematic technical regulation on control and management of rice insect pests in China. From the perspective of agricultural standardization, we developed the technical specification for the integrated control of major rice insect pests, by collecting and collating extensive literature. This study is just the brief manual of the technical specification. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2014-3(4)/bisphenol-A-toxicological-paradox.pdf Francisco J.R. Paumgartten, Ana C.A.X. De-Oliveira.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2014,3(4):65-82 Despite the overwhelming need for toxicological data on unstudied substances, a search in Pubmed reveals greater than 7300 entries for a single chemical (bisphenol A, BPA), most of which published in the last 25 years. BPA, a component of plastics and resins and a putative xenoestrogen, is certainly the molecule for which there are more studies in the toxicological literature. It was reported that fetal or perinatal exposures of mice to BPA (in the ppb range) alter prostate weight in adult males, and cause persistent changes of mammary gland morphogenesis in females. Several studies, however, failed to replicate these findings. More recently, debate on BPA health risks was boosted by a few cross-sectional epidemiology studies that reported associations between total-BPA (in urine) and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and other health problems. The urine levels, however, reflect recent BPA exposures (within hours), and aforementioned disorders start much earlier in individuals' life. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2014-3(4)/microbial-contamination-of-fresh-seafood-product.pdf Amira Leila Dib, Nedjoua Lakhdara, Elena Espigares Rodriguez, Rachid Kabouia, Elena Moreno Roldan, Miguel Espigares Garcia, Hafida Koutchoukali, Linda Guerraichi, Omar Bouaziz.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2014,3(4):83-87 The seafood products are considered as an important element in the Mediterranean diet and play a significant role in the appearance of diseases and food poisoning. Forty samples of seafood products from various provenances of eastern coast of Algeria were randomly collected from several retail markets at the Constantine region. Total bacterial counts of Aerobic Mesophilic bacteria, Salmonella spp., total and fecal coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, sulphite reducing anaerobes bacteria, Vibrio spp., were measured. 39 samples (97.5 percent) of the seafood product analysed, were inappropriate for human consumption, solely one sample 2.5 percent of sardines were suitable for human consumption. Salmonella spp., was detected in one sample (3 percent of Sardines), Total and fecal coliforms were detected in 39 samples, Clostridium spp. were detected in 5 samples. No strain of Staphylococcus aureus and vibrio were detected. The results of this study constitute an indicator of bacteriological contamination and showed that samples markets were contaminated with potential pathogenic microorganisms. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2014-3(4)/effects-of-heavy-metals-metalloids-present-in-fly-ash.pdf Neelima Meravi, Santosh Kumar Prajapati.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2014,3(4):88-92 In the present work heavy metals/metalloids present in the fly ash emitted from a coal fired thermal power plant was estimated. The effects of heavy metals or metalloids present in the ash on various photosynthetic parameters (fluorescence, Fv/Fm, fluorescence quenching coefficients, relative electron transport rate, photosynthetic active radiation, ETR-Factor absorptance of photons by photosynthetic pigments etc.) were estimated. Heavy metals/metalloids were estimated using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS, 7000 Shimadzu) for Fe, Zn, Pb, Cd, Mo, Cu, Cr, Co and Ni and the standard solution was prepared using standard metal solution of Inorganic Ventures. Various photosynthetic parameters were estimated using JUNIOR-PAM, Chlorophyll Fluorometer, Heinz Walz GmbH, Germany. It was clear from the observed value of Fv/Fm (0.717) that the heavy metals/metalloids present in the fly have negative effects on plants because for a healthy plant Fv/Fm should not be less than 0.75. Similarly other parameters were also adversely affected by the presence of heavy metals/metalloids present in the fly ash that were deposited on the plants leaves. Therefore, the issue of fly ash emitted from thermal power plants need to be addressed in a proper way. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2014-3(4)/effect-of-date-pits-and-orange-pulp-in-rations-composed-of-wheat-straw.pdf N. Lakhdara, H. Benazzouz, H. Bererhi, A. Benattallah, D. Gherroucha, O. Bouaziz.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2014,3(4):93-96 Twenty four lambs of Ouled Djellal breeding from the region of Constantine, Algeria, were assigned randomly into 4 groups, the mean initial weights within the groups, ranged between 37.6+-4.27 and 39.8+-5.41 kg, to investigate the effect of the incorporation of two by-products of food industry, fresh orange pulp, ground date pits in rations composed of wheat straw as roughage, and concentrate as supplement. Four feeding groups were formed, the first group (T1) was fed with wheat straw and concentrate (60 percent/40 percent), the second group (T2) with wheat straw and orange pulp (60 percent/40 percent), for group 3 and 4 (T3-T4), the diet consisted on a mixture of 60 percent wheat straw and date pits at a ratio of (80 to 20 percent) as a roughage in addition to 40 percent orange pulp for T3 and 40 percent concentrate for T4. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein before morning feeding. Values of animal's plasma levels of Ca, glucose, proteins and urea were measured using a UV spectrophotometer. There was no significant difference in all the diets for Ca value, Ca values varied between 8.37 and 10.74 mg/Dl. T4 showed the highest value. Glucose blood content was similar for all the animals with no significant differences. While a very significant difference less than 0.001 was observed in blood proteins level in T3 and T4 comparing to the other groups. When date pits were incorporated in the diet containing wheat straw and concentrate, a very significant difference on urea blood content of lambs was observed (P less than 0.001). http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2015-4(1)/multifaceted-health-impacts-of-Particulate-Matter-and-its-management.pdf Prabhat Kumar Rai.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2015,4(1):1-26 Urban air quality is becoming a serious public health concern at global scale. Particulate matter (PM) pollution is intimately linked with human health. Present review describes the different human health implications associated with PM pollution. PM may derive its origin from natural and anthropogenic sources. Vehicle derived pollutants as well as industrial emissions simultaneously release deleterious fine-grained PM into the atmosphere. Fine PM especially PM2.5 and PM10 are particularly deleterious to human health. Air pollution PM is an important environmental health risk factor for several respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Further, PM is inextricably linked with genotoxicity and mutations. Literature review of the cellular and molecular basis of adverse effects associated with PM is presented in this paper. Finally, management, existing technologies and policy options to reduce or mitigate the adverse health impacts of PM pollution is discussed as an eco-sustainable approach. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2015-4(1)/flow-connectivity-detects-landscape-bottlenecks.pdf Alessandro Ferrarini.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2015,4(1):27-35 In this paper, bottleneck flow connectivity is first introduced. A landscape bottleneck is defined here as the portion of an arbitrary study area which inevitably tunnels a specimen towards the point where it has been detected in situ. In other words, a bottleneck delimits the portion of the study area which forces the specimen to pass through the detected point of presence with, at most, a tolerance distance equal to an a priori defined uncertainty. There is one precise reason for the introduction of bottleneck flow connectivity: when a specimen is detected through in situ observations or GPS devices, it should be possible to derive the portion of the landscape where it can come from. In fact, the detected specimen is usually just one individual of an entire population that is moving somewhere in the landscape. Hence, such specimen can work as a tracker of the whole population if we have the proper methodological tools to turn its detected position into a map where the landscape bottleneck of the detected location is delineated. In case of a species of conservation interest, the application of bottleneck flow connectivity is useful for the individuation and then the conservation of such population. In case of an exotic undesired species, bottleneck flow connectivity can help individuate the location of the population that should be eradicated, starting from few field observations. An applicative example for wolf in the Ceno Valley (Italy) is provided. Bottleneck flow connectivity has thus interesting implications both for the conservation of species of interest, but also for the management of undesired exotic species. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2015-4(2)/paradigm-of-invasion-mechanisms-theories-attributes.pdf Prabhat Kumar Rai.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2015,4(2):36-66 Plant invasion is the second most severe threat to biodiversity after habitat fragmentation. Invasive species are alien species whose introduction and spread threatens ecosystems, habitats or species with socio-cultural, economic and/or environmental harm, and harm to human health. Present review precisely describes the global problems of invasion in different ecosystems, continents and its multifaceted impacts. Plant invasion is now increasingly being recognized as global problem and various continents are adversely affected, although to a differential scale. Quest for the ecological mechanism lying behind the success of invasive species over native species has drawn the attention of researches worldwide particularly in context of diversity-stability relationship. Transport, colonization, establishment and landscape spread may be different steps in success of invasive plants and each and every step is checked through several ecological attributes. Further, several ecological attribute and hypothesis (enemy release, novel weapon, empty niche, evolution of increased competitive ability etc.) were proposed pertaining to success of invasive plant species. However, single theory will not be able to account for invasion success among all environments as it may vary spatially and temporally. Therefore, in order to formulate a sustainable management plan for invasive plants, it is necessary to develop a synoptic view of the dynamic processes involved in the invasion process. Moreover, invasive species can act synergistically with other elements of global change, including land-use change, climate change, increased concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide and nitrogen deposition. Henceforth, a unified framework for biological invasions that reconciles and integrates the key features of the most commonly used invasion frame-works into a single conceptual model that can be applied to all human-mediated invasions. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2015-4(2)/seasonal-variation-of-isoprene-emissions.pdf Pallavi Saxena, Chirashree Ghosh.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2015,4(2):67-80 In the present study, two widely adapted common Indian plant species viz. Dalbergia sissoo and Nerium oleander were examined for normalized isoprene emission rate (NIER) using dynamic flow through bag enclosure technique. An attempt has also been made to evaluate suitability of these two selected plant species for city plantation programmes. Dalbergia sp. has got high isoprene emission (84.67 +- 3.87 ug/g/h) while Nerium sp. has minimum (0.001+-0.17 ug/g/h) during summer season as compared to monsoon season. Thus, Nerium oleander falls under low isoprene emitting category while Dalbergia sissoo, under high isoprene emitting category. The plants having low emitting isoprene rate due to non-functionalization of this light dependent Isoprene-synthase (IspS). Hence, Nerium oleander should be encouraged for further city plantation at roadsides and Dalbergia sissoo should be done on low scale expecting reduction of other harmful pollutants in air. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2015-4(3)/mapping-landscape-impulses-to-species-dispersal.pdf Alessandro Ferrarini.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2015,4(3):81-88 Species dispersal over the landscape is a dynamical issue. By the way, such biotic process is promoted by a static process, i.e. how much each portion of the landscape pushes species dispersal, and towards which directions. In this view, in this paper I add a further skill to Flow Connectivity, i.e. the potential of calculating and mapping the azimuthal impulses of the landscape to biotic flows. Momentum Flow Connectivity is able to produce landscape maps (both vectorial and raster) of impulse strengths and directions to biotic dispersal. The contribution of this new tool to the conservation of priority species and to the eradication of undesired exotic ones is obvious. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2015-4(3)/physico-chemical-parameters-of-different-pond-water.pdf A K Dixit, S K Pandey, R Mehta, NiyazAhmad, Gunjan, JyotiPandey.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2015,4(3):89-95 This research article deals with the study of quality of pond water. Pond water samples were collected from 27 villages of Bilaspur district, Chhattisgarh (India) in triplicate. Samples were analyzed for physico-chemical parameters including pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen (DO). pH ranged from 6.50 - 9.69, Electrical Conductivity ranged from 118.7 - 206.6 umhos/cm, TDS ranged from 165.5 - 254.8 ppm, Temperature ranged from 20.9 - 33.8 cel. degree, Salinity ranged from 5.1 - 6.9 ppt, Dissolved oxygen ranged from 2.41 - 4.8 mg/l. Correlation coefficient (r) was found significant at p less than 0.05 level for the tasted parameters. The result of the proposed study will establish some facts about the use of water for various purposes like domestic and agriculture. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2015-4(4)/species-extinction-Frequency-and-biogeography.pdf John C. Briggs.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2015,4(4):96-105 Documented extinctions, that have taken place among surrogate taxa during the past 500 years, provide useful information about the extent of recent faunal extinctions and their geographic locations. Species extinctions among terrestrial vertebrates (birds and mammals) and invertebrates (insects and molluscs) have generally taken place in space-restricted habitats, primarily oceanic islands. An extinction pathway leads from the high diversity tropics to less diverse, peripheral habitats that function as extinction traps. The pace along the extinction pathway is gradual and its function is similar to a pathway which has been observed in the marine environment. Overall, the low incidence of recent extinctions appears to be a continuation of the minimal rates that were characteristic of the Pleistocene epoch. Thousands of species, represented by small populations on the pathways to extinction, can still be rescued if there is sufficient interest in doing so. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2015-4(4)/multifaceted-impacts-of-climate-change-on-plant-phenology.pdf Prabhat Kumar Rai.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2015,4(4):106-115 The recorded data on climate change over the past century indicate the increase in temperature. Important Biological events, including changes in plant/vegetation/crop phenology, have been investigated globally and found to be intimately as well as inextricably linked with climate change. Timing of life cycle events in relation to environment is phenology. Plants are finely tuned to the seasonality of their environment, and shifts in the phenology provide some of the most compelling evidence that species and ecosystems are being influenced by global climate change. Increase in temperature plays a vital role in germination, vegetative growth flowering and fruiting of plants. Climate change also perturbs the phenology of crop plants intimately linked with socioeconomic livelihood and should be given particular focus in future research. Concomitantly phenology may be linked with ecosystem as well as community dynamics. Future studies should aim to quantify and understand the effects of earlier leaf unfolding and later leaf fall on temperature, soil moisture, and atmospheric composition and dynamics. Moreover, long term data of climate change and its interrelationship is required to predict impact of climate change on phenology and vice versa. Also, modern tools like remote sensing may also play a crucial role in the present context. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2016-5(1)/biomagnetic-monitoring-of-particulate-matter.pdf Prabhat Kumar Rai, BikuMoniChutia.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2016,5(1):1-11 Present study was performed in urban forests of Aizawl, Mizoram, North East India falling under an Indo-Burma hot spot region of existing ecological relevance and pristine environment. Phyto-sociolology of invasive weeds has been performed and results revealed that Lantana camara was the most dominant invasive weed. Further, the air quality studies revealed high suspended particulate matter (SPM) as well as respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) in ambient air of Aizawl, Mizoram, North East India. Bio-magnetic monitoring through plant leaves has been recognised as recent thrust area in the field of particulate matter (PM) science. We aimed to investigate that whether magnetic properties of Lantana camara leaves may act as proxy of PM pollution and hence an attempt towards it's sustainable management. Magnetic susceptibility (x), Anhyste reticremanent magnetization (ARM) and Saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM) of Lantana camara plant leaves were assessed and concomitantly correlated these magnetic properties with ambient PM in order to screen this invasive plant which may act as proxy for ambient PM concentrations. Results revealed high x, ARM, SIRM of Lantana camara leaves and moreover, these parameters were having significant and positive correlation with ambient SPM as well as RSPM. Therefore, present study recommended the use of Lantana camara as bio-magnetic monitor which may further have sustainable management implications of an invasive plant. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2016-5(1)/Eichhornia-crassipes-as-a-potential-phytoremediation-agent.pdf Prabhat Kumar Rai, Mayanglambam Muni Singh.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2016,5(1):12-19 Eichhornia crassipes is a free floating plant found growing in almost all the aquatic environment of Asia Pacific region. The invasive and infesting nature of this plant disturbed the whole environment wherever if present and has become one of the most problematic environmental concern. The current review discussed the cost-effective and eco-friendly way of utilizing this invasive and infesting plant in a way to incur the daily needs and also help in controlling the negative outcome. Development of the technology and used in accumulation and absorption of the heavy metals and other nutrients under phytoremediation from the aquatic bodies, biofuel and biogas production through fermentation and decomposition, fertilizer production through composting / vermicomposting, production of feeds for animal and many more utilities which are beneficial is discussed in this review. The review paper also deals with this multifaceted utility approach of this plant and their application in management. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2016-5(2)/global-biodiversity-loss-exaggerated-versus-realistic-estimates.pdf John C. Briggs.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2016,5(2):20-27 For the past 50 years, the public has been made to feel guilty about the tragedy of human-caused biodiversity loss due to the extinction of hundreds or thousands of species every year. Numerous articles and books from the scientific and popular press and publicity on the internet have contributed to a propaganda wave about our grievous loss and the beginning of a sixth mass extinction. However, within the past few years, questions have arisen about the validity of the data which led to the doom scenario. Here I show that, for the past 500 years, terrestrial animals (insects and vertebrates) have been losing less than two species per year due to human causes. The majority of the extinctions have occurred on oceanic islands with little effect on continental ecology. In the marine environment, losses have also been very low. At the same time, speciation has continued to occur and biodiversity gain by this means may have equaled or even surpassed the losses. While species loss is not, so far, a global conservation problem, ongoing population declines within thousands of species that are at risk on land and in the sea constitute an extinction debt that will be paid unless those species can be rescued. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2016-5(2)/detecting-and-weighting-corridors-of-species-kinetics.pdf Alessandro Ferrarini.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2016,5(2):28-36 Flow connectivity (FC) is a methodology, alternative and in opposition to both circuit theory and least-cost modelling, first introduced in 2013 to realistically forecast biotic flows over real landscapes. FC turns a static frictional map into a dynamical simulation of biotic flows from any source points indicated by the user. In this work, FC is further developed to find a solution to the problem of detecting the true corridors of species dispersals and gene flows. The output of this method is the realistic map of biotic corridors, determined in a bottom-up way by considering the interaction between landscape properties and species requirements, and not in a top-down approach based on the supposed expert knowledge of some researcher. Not only true corridors are mapped, but they are also automatically weighted based on their importance to support biotic flows. The same corridor can bear different levels of importance in different portions of its length. This outcome is pivotal from both conservation and management viewpoints. An applicative example is provided. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2016-5(3)/setting-up-first-components-of-person-and-its-anchoring-to-territory.pdf Anne Fournier.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2016,5(3):37-56 This article illustrates the need for studies on ''cultural ecosystem services'' to be based on ethnographic studies. It presents research conducted among a small, little-known population of savannah farmers, the Seme people of Burkina Faso (in West Africa). According to their concepts, sacred sites of hills and water bodies harbour genies. These genies play a major role in setting in place the essential components of the person during conception and birth and then they watch over the new human being until death. In addition, a flexible form of territorial and social anchoring of individuals and groups as well as the integration of outsiders, are achieved through this category of sites. These sites are related to two other broad categories of sacred sites which together make up a system, the first dedicated to male initiation and the others to agricultural activities. This relationship between Water Bodies and Hills and these other sites appears during a great collective ritual which is held every 40 years or so and which results in a major renewal of society. This is the last stage of male initiation during which the genies, who are initiated with the humans, shift to other categories of sites. These genies, which act as a sort of double, as guardians and censors of humans, thus they accompany or control biological and social reproduction and agricultural production activities. Ad hoc conservation measures of sites located among the Seme which overlook the existence of this relationship among categories of sites are inadequate. They could be useless, or worse, could serve to endorse the destruction of other sites and thus of the entire system. As analogous concepts are found widely throughout West Africa, the lessons learned from these case studies have more than local value. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2016-5(3)/biomonitoring-of-toxic-metals-through-roadside-vegetation.pdf Sweta Tiwari, Sudhir kumar Pandey.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2016,5(3):57-62 The present study describes concentrations of five metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni and Cr) contaminations in Bilaspur city by analysis of three roadside plants (Calotropis procera, Butea monospermae and Saraca asoca). Samples of leaves and topsoil were collected just before the monsoon in May 2015 and analysed for the heavy metal content. Sequences of the concentration of heavy metals deposited on leaf surface in foliar dust and those accumulated in leaf were at the same order: Pb, Cu, Cd, Ni, Cr. However, the concentrations of metals in topsoil were at order of Ni, Cu, Pb, Cd, Cr, respectively. Calotropis procera showed highest capacity to accumulate target heavy metals in terms of their magnitude. Moreover, the order of accumulation of target heavy metals in different plant species studied was Calotropis procera, Saraca asoca, Butea monospermae. The deposition of heavy metals in plant leaves was attributed mainly due to heavy vehicular traffic. The present study clearly indicates that these plant species have biomonitoring potential and can be employed to prevent heavy metal pollution. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2016-5(4)/total-atmospheric-deposit-source-apportionment-A-review.pdf M. M. Ndamitso, A Abdulkadir, F. O. Abulude.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2016,5(4):63-78 Atmospheric deposition as it is known is the transfer of pollutants to living and non-living things around the world. In most areas, there have been health implications. Part of the methods to measure air quality is source apportionment. This determines the types of pollutant sources and their contributions in the environment. The present paper reviews methods used by various researchers in sampling, analyses, source apportionment and results obtained. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2016-5(4)/changes-of-lifestyle-to-build-a-sustainable-environment.pdf Matheus Lacerda Viana1, Luis Paulo Sant'ana, Helen Liepkan Maranhao.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2016,5(4):79-85 The unsustainable use of natural resources is not a current issue and it began since the Agricultural Revolution, which characterizes the change in the relationship between man and nature. The first major environmental impacts emerged and as a result of this new way of life that went from nomadism to sedentary lifestyles, there was an increase of human productive capacity and the emergence of other crafts that were not directly related to food production. This paper provides a complete definition of the key concepts, suggest a few alternatives which people can apply on their daily lives, and relate them to the framework that rules sustainability. The main arguments for this work are that citizens in the developed world can reduce the pressure being placed on the state of the environment and contribute to sustainable development by saving energy and water, reducing waste, and choosing a transportation which emits less pollutants. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2017-6(1)/situation-and-development-of-worldwide-agri-environment.pdf WenJun Zhang, GuangHua Liu.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2017,6(1):1-8 Based on FAO data on agri-environment worldwide, we choose ten major countries to analyse agrienvironment situation and development worldwide. The results showed that China has the greatest agricultural area, seconded by Australia and USA, and third by Brazil and India. USA is the largest country in arable land area, seconded by India, and third by China. Since earlier 1990s, China has become the largest country in the area of permanent crops, seconded by India. Brazil is the largest country in the annual growth of arable land area, seconded by China, and third by Australia. In the area of permanent meadows and pastures, China grows mostly and seconded by Brazil and third by India. India has the largest harvested area, closely seconded by China, and third by USA. Australia is the most fast growing country in area harvested, seconded by Brazil and third by India. China and India are the two countries with most emissions of agricultural CO2 and equivalents, seconded by Brazil, and third by USA. China grows mostly in emissions of agricultural CO2 and equivalents, seconded by Brazil and India, and followed by Canada and USA. China is the largest country of fertilizers consumption, seconded by India, and third by USA and Brazil. China grows mostly in P and K fertilizers consumption. India holds the No. 1 position in the annual growth of N consumption. In general, China and India have the largest amount of emissions of agricultural CO2 and equivalents and fertilizers consumption. Annual growths of arable land area and permanent meadows and pastures of China are also the highest. Agri-environment of China, India, and Brazil has deteriorated significantly. Agri-environment of Australia seems to be deteriorated in the past years. Agri-environment of European countries is relatively optimistic. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2017-6(1)/necessary-steps-forwards-in-landscape-connectivity-and-genetics.pdf Alessandro Ferrarini.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2017,6(1):9-17 Landscape heterogeneity and fragmentation affect how organisms are distributed in the landscape, determine the chance of a patch being colonized, reduce inbreeding in small populations and maintain evolutionary potential. Predicting the way in which animals disperse is pivotal for management and conservation purposes. I discuss here the conceptual and methodological weak points of circuit theory and least-cost modelling, the two most commonly-used methods in the scientific literature. I argue that these two methods, although very brilliant and very well supported by freely-available softwares, make use of six axiomatic assumptions: 1) any landscape can be divided into source and sink areas for any considered species; 2) source-sink areas can be a priori defined by the users; 3) any species adopt a global optimization of its dispersal over any landscape; 4) biotic movements are undirected; 5) stability points along dispersal paths are absent; 6) frictional values based on expert opinion are true-to-life. I argue that these axioms are only realistic for a limited number of species with short-range shifts over lowland (or, at least, patchy) landscapes, and for which frictional values can be realistically defined. I also describe an alternative theoretical and methodological approach, called Flow Connectivity, which can fix such weak points. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2017-6(2)/deaths-from-infectious-and-parasite-diseases-in-Europe.pdf WenJun Zhang.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2017,6(2):18-22 In present study, data of standardised death rates of infectious and parasite diseases per 100000 inhabitants in 31 European countries during 1994-2013 were used to analyze the profile and trend of deaths from infectious and parasite diseases. The results showed that averagely both the standardized (0.16/yr) and relative (0.0003/yr) death rates of infectious and parasite diseases in recorded European countries increased significantly during the recorded period 1994-2013. Luxembourg (1.11/yr) has the greatest annual growth in standardised death rate of infectious and parasite diseases, followed by Czech (0.82/yr), Sweden (0.75/yr), and Norway (0.72/yr). Luxembourg (0.0013/yr) has the greatest annual growth of relative death rate of infectious and parasite diseases vs. total diseases, followed by Sweden (0.0009/yr), and Norway (0.0009/yr), etc. During the period 1994-2013, Portugal (23.49) and Belgium (23.32) are the two countries with the greatest average of standarised death rates of infectious and parasite diseases in recorded European countries, while Slovakia (6.63) and Austria (6.75) are the smallest. According to above analysis of available data so far, infectious and parasite diseases are expected to be even more prevalent in the future, and more attention should be focused on these diseases in management of public health. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/environsc/articles/2017-6(2)/adapt-to-pollinator-decline-in-Nigeria.pdf Thomas Aneni, Charles Aisagbonhi, Victor Adaigbe.Environmental Skeptics and Critics,2017,6(2):23-29 Insect pollinators contribute to agricultural crop yield and beekeeping provides a major source of livelihoods for farmers in Nigeria. This study developed two survey questionnaires and collected data from beekeepers, researchers and government officials to generate quantitative indicators for the purpose of description as a guide to action. Evaluation and characterization of colony bee loses by beekeepers were assessed and surveys conducted in Osun State, Southern Nigeria, consisting of questions related to: the importance of pollinators, including managed honeybees (Apis mellifera), in agriculture and observations on factors associated with pollinator declines; and management of bee mortality. A majority of beekeepers were ignorant of the cause of the death of their colonies. Information from policy makers indicate that population abundance trends in honey bee and other pollinator populations have largely not been documented in Nigeria. This study emphasizes pollination and insect pollinators as drivers of agricultural crop production with a view to providing guidance for sustainable management of pollinators and achievement of green growth objectives.