This book brings together in a single volume a grand overview of solutions - political, economic, and scientific - to social and environmental problems that are related to the growth of human populations in areas that can least cope with them now. Through progressive adaptation to social and environmental changes projected for the future, including population growth, global warming/climate change, water deficits, and increasing competition for other natural resources, the world may be able to achieve a fair degree of sustainability for some time into the future.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.

Through out the current period of educational change, Geography education has also changed. The innovations may be the starting point to affect conceptual change and paradigm shifts. Geography education assimilates and integrates knowledge, skills and scientific methodologies. The ten articles in this book illuminate a wide range of topics of interest to Geography education. In their article, Skarstein and Wolff discuss how the interplay between the environment, society and economy pillars of sustainability thinking play out on scales of time, space and multitude and how geography teachers can support the students’ understanding of sustainability. Yli-Panula et al. analysed used teaching and learning methods to find out good ones for promoting sustainability in geography. The same idea can be found in Duffin's and Perry’s article on Place-Based Ecology Education. In their article, Dür and Keller discuss the topics of quality of life, sustainability and global justice based on the goals of Education for Sustainable Development. Evaluation is an important part of learning. It is reviewed by Schauss and Sprenger regarding climate change education. The following two articles deal with students' views of landscapes worth conserving. In both studies, students expressed concern about the state of the environment. Yli-Panula et al. found that the Mexican students seldom considered their own activities in relation to the environment while Yli-Panula et al. stated that only some of the Finnish and Swedish students act as observers while others actively care for their environment. The remaining three articles deal with teaching methods and models. Benninghaus et al. present a benchmark method, which allows statements about the quality of the maps/diagrams in general. Álvarez-Otero and De Lázaro y Torres, on the other hand, describe their Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge model. Kopnina and Saari discusses student assignments reflecting on the documentary film through critical pedagogy and ecopedagogy.

This book focuses on the Earth’s carrying capacity to service the needs of its human populations as well as preserve the ecosystems that provide natural resources that sustain life and support human activities in 2020 and later in the century (2050 and beyond). It addresses the two principal factors that challenge the limits of the carrying capacity: growing populations/demographic moves and global warming/climate change. It also covers the effects that these factors have on water availability, food security, sanitation and natural resources. The status of these basic needs that sustain life and societal activities with respect to population increases and global warming driven climate changes are discussed on two time frames. One with respect to the 2020 and the other with measured and computer guided projected future impacts later as the century progresses to 2050 and later, Attention is given to Africa, Asia, and somewhat for South America because of their projected increases in population. The purpose of the book is to provide those in decision-making roles and those that advise them with a sound set of facts and figures to think about to support their decisions/actions. A secondary purpose is to present data that stresses the need to act now, firmly and with investment to plan to adapt to changing conditions rather than wait until forced to do so. The book also discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world’s societies and how they have reacted. The book will be of use to students in first/second year of college/university programs in Environmental Sciences/Studies, demographics, and ancillary fields such as agriculture science, urban/land use planners, political science, public health, and consultants at academic and professional levels.

This book discusses existing and future global problems of physical, chemical, biological and societal origins faced by increasingly populated cities and mega-cities, and options to mitigate or eliminate them. In nine chapters, the book focuses on rehabilitation and redevelopment projects aimed at converting shantytowns/slums into well serviced neighborhoods via secure housing, clean piped water, adequate access to sanitation, and other amenities for good living conditions. Examples of rehabilitation (restore capacity, structures, efficiency) and redevelopment (redesign, rebuild, attract investment) are addressed in detail, as are the sources of major financing to support such projects and proposals. The final chapters also discuss problems faced by countries with contracting populations, and their viable solutions. The book will be of interest to academics, city planners, land-use planners, NGOs, and designers /architects specializing in urban development and redevelopment.

Metal nanoparticles, ranging from 1 nanometer (nm) to 100 nm, possess unique physical, chemical, and biological properties, driving significant scientific and technological advancements. Traditional methods for producing these nanoparticles, such as physical and chemical synthesis, are often costly, time-consuming, and hazardous to health. In response, green synthesis has gained popularity due to its non-toxic, eco-friendly, and cost-effective approach. This method uses plant materials and microorganisms to produce stable, biocompatible nanoparticles. As a result, green synthesis is becoming a promising alternative for the development of metal nanoparticles. Synthesizing and Characterizing Plant-Mediated Biocompatible Metal Nanoparticles describes the domain of synthesizing and characterizing plant-mediated biocompatible metal nanoparticles, exploring numerous applications from fostering a sustainable environment to diverse nanotechnological applications such as drug discovery, cancer treatment, and beyond. It further addresses a broad spectrum of societal and technological challenges and related issues, thereby assisting stakeholders in making informed decisions within this rapidly evolving field in our dynamic and contemporary scientific society. Covering topics such as antibiotics, nano-fertilizer, and wastewater treatment, this book is an excellent resource for policymakers, industry professionals, academicians, researchers, graduate and postgraduate students, and more.

This book discusses in detail the science and morphology of powerful hurricane detection systems. It broadly addresses new approaches to monitoring hazards using freely available images from the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Sentinel-1 SAR satellite and benchmarks a new interdisciplinary field at the interface between oceanography, meteorology and remote sensing. Following the launch of the first European Space Agency (ESA) operational synthetic aperture radar satellite, Sentinel-1, in 2014, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data has been freely available on the Internet hub in real-time. This advance allows weather forecasters to view hurricanes in fine detail for the first time. As a result, the number of synthetic aperture radar research scientists working in this field is set to grow exponentially in the next decade; the book is a valuable resource for this large and budding audience.