Rice, Carbon Dioxide, Climate Change, And Feeding The Future

This study investigates the relationship between rice yields, climate change, and carbon dioxide (CO2). We integrate gridded climate data in the growing seasons and Asian rice yield data reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization with free air carbon dioxide enrichment (FACE) experimental data. Using those data, we estimate prediction models of rice yields that evolve over time and decompose effects of climate, CO2, and technological progress. The results show that atmospheric CO2 has significantly increased rice yields, with the contribution accounting for 29% to 33% of the observed yield growth. The results also reveal that increases in temperature decrease rice yields in parts of Asia, implying that both CO2 mitigation and climate change are yield growth depressing factors. The finding suggests a potential need for more agricultural research and development investment to offset CO2 mitigation and climate change effects.

Advances in Nanomaterials Sciences and Nanotechnology for Sustainable Development: A Review

The fields of materials sciences have great opportunities to address the challenges of sustainable development of modern societies. The sub-disciplines of materials sciences of interest in this review are nanomaterials sciences and nanotechnology. Nanomaterials possess one external dimension measuring 1-100 nm. They have larger surface area for the same mass than their bulk materials. They are more reactive with effects on their electrical, optical and magnetic properties. Thus, nanomaterials are promising for sustainable development in the areas of energy, water, chemicals, electronics, medical and pharmaceutical industries, CO2 mitigation and agriculture. To this end, this review explores the advances in nanomaterials sciences, nanotechnology and the potential applications of nanomaterials for sustainable development. In this review, 73 peer reviewed articles and abstracts were retrieved. The review considered nanomaterials of carbon, inorganic materials, semiconductors, polymeric and lipid based materials. It has been found that nanomaterials sciences and nanotechnology is promising for potential applications in the areas of environmental remediation, energy, food, agriculture, industry, molecular biology, medicine and in pharmaceutical industries for sustainable development. Keywords: nanomaterials sciences, nanotechnology, sustainable development