Environmental Pollution Index and economic growth: evidence from OECD countries

Assessment of Toxic Element Contamination in Honey, Milk, and Eggs from Algiers (Algeria) Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS): Exploring Health Implications of Pollution

Consumption of foods such as milk, honey, and eggs contaminated with toxic elements above established norms poses a health risk to the population. This study explores the potential of products from beehives, poultry, and dairy as indicators of environmental pollution caused by toxic substances (Pb, Cd, Hg), seeks contamination sources, evaluates the exposure level, and assesses health risks. Through the analysis of samples from three distinct regions in Algiers, including 30 milk, 30 honey, and 30 poultry egg samples, the study assesses levels of toxic elements (lead, cadmium, and mercury) using ICP-MS and analyzes consumer exposure risk. The analysis of honey reveals levels of Pb (0.282 μg/g) > Cd (0.161 μg/g) > Hg (0.017 μg/g), the analysis of eggs shows levels of Pb (0.399 μg/g) > Cd (0.239 μg/g) > Hg (0.027 μg/g), and the results in milk show levels of Cd (0.250 μg/g) > Pb (0.131 μg/g) > Hg (0.019 μg/g). The risk analysis indicates a risk associated with milk consumption for both adults and children, whereas for honey and eggs, the risk is limited to children only in polluted areas. Future research should expand to other toxic elements in different food matrices in both northern and southern Algeria to evaluate the health risk for African and European consumers.

Pollutant removal in an experimental bioretention cell situated in a northern Chinese sponge city

To assess the viability and effectiveness of bioretention cell in enhancing rainwater resource utilization within sponge cities, this study employs field monitoring, laboratory testing, and statistical analysis to evaluate the water purification capabilities of bioretention cell. Findings indicate a marked purification impact on surface runoff, with removal efficiencies of 59.81% for suspended solids (SS), 39.01% for chemical oxygen demand (COD), 37.53% for ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), and 30.49% for total phosphorus (TP). The treated water largely complies with rainwater reuse guidelines and tertiary sewage discharge standards. Notably, while previous research in China has emphasized water volume control in sponge city infrastructures, less attention has been given to the qualitative aspects and field-based evaluations. This research not only fills that gap but also offers valuable insights and practical implications for bioretention cell integration into sponge city development. Moreover, the methodology and outcomes of this study serve as a benchmark for future sponge city project assessments, offering guidance to relevant authorities.

Testing the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in the transport sector for OECD countries: a dynamic panel threshold approach

This study tests the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in the transport sector for 28 OECD countries from 1990 to 2019. As a novelty, the relationship between gross domestic product (GDP) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the transport sector is investigated with the estimation of the dynamic panel threshold regression based on the generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator by Seo and Shin (Seo and Shin, J Econom 2:169-186, 2016). This approach enables us to test EKC and capture possible nonlinearities between variables. Along with the analysis of the EKC hypothesis, our study also investigates the effects of road petroleum products consumption, renewable energy consumption, and trade openness on transport CO2 emissions. The threshold regression results, where GDP per capita is employed as the transition variable, support the nonlinear relationship between CO2 emissions from the transportation sector and GDP by rejecting the null hypothesis of no threshold effect. This finding indicates the existence of two different regimes, i.e., the lower and upper regimes, based on the optimum value of the GDP per capita. Economic growth damages the environment in the lower regime, whereas it improves environmental quality in the upper regime. Therefore, the results indicate the presence of an inverted U-shaped relationship and support the EKC hypothesis in the OECD transportation sector. As a result, it is concluded that achieving sustainable economic growth is critical for investing in environmentally friendly technologies required to achieve the goal of reducing transportation-related CO2.

How digital finance affects environmental pollution management: evidence from China

Due to people's insufficient anticipation of the negative impact of highly developed industries and the lack of prevention, global environmental pollution has occurred. These pollutants include air pollution, water pollutants, and land pollution, which not only cause direct damage and impact the ecosystem but also endanger the health of urban residents and economic development. Therefore, researching environmental pollution management is necessary to help solve these imminent environmental problems. In addition, digital finance, based on digital technology, can identify bottlenecks in environmental pollution management, formulate more effective governance strategies, and reduce environmental pollution at the source. In this context, this study uses the environmental pollution data of 287 cities in China from 2011 to 2021. It uses the fixed-effects and mediation effect models to analyze digital finance's role in environmental pollution management. The research shows that digital finance can promote environmental pollution management and play a promoting role through two channels of influence: green technology innovation and government green subsidies. At the same time, the effect of this promotion is more significant in cities in the Midwest and in resource-based cities. The research results propose strategies for government organizations in environmental pollution management, and alleviate current resource and environmental problems, in addition to realizing sustainable urban development.

PM2.5 induce myocardial injury in hyperlipidemic mice through ROS-pyroptosis signaling pathway

Exposure to particulate matters with diameters below 2.5 µm (PM_2.5) is considered a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The closest associations between PM_2.5 and CVDs have been observed in hyperbetalipoproteinemia cases, although the detailed underpinning mechanism remains undefined. In this work, hyperlipidemic mice and H9C2 cells were used to examine the effects of PM_2.5 on myocardial injury and their underlying mechanisms. The results revealed that PM_2.5 exposure caused severe myocardial damage in the high-fat mouse model. Oxidative stress and pyroptosis were also observed along with myocardial injury. After inhibiting pyroptosis with disulfiram (DSF), the level of pyroptosis was effectively reduced as well as myocardial injury, suggesting that PM_2.5 induced the pyroptosis pathway and further caused myocardial injury and cell death. Afterwards, by suppressing PM_2.5-induced oxidative stress with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), myocardial injury was markedly ameliorated, and the upregulation of pyroptosis markers was reversed, which indicated that PM_2.5-pyroptosis was also improved. Taken together, this study revealed that PM_2.5 induce myocardial injury through the ROS-pyroptosis signaling pathway in hyperlipidemia mice models, providing a potential approach for clinical interventions.

Different impacts of democracy and income on carbon dioxide emissions: evidence from a panel quantile regression approach

The current research investigates the linear and non-linear effects of democracy and income levels on carbon dioxide emissions for 72 countries from 1993 to 2019. Considering the possibility that the impact of independent variables on carbon dioxide emissions may vary throughout the distribution of carbon dioxide emissions, the correlations between the variables are studied by the panel quantile regression method. The findings confirm the EKC hypothesis in countries having low and medium emissions and demonstrate an inverted U-shaped correlation between GDP and carbon dioxide emissions. In low- and medium-emission countries, a higher democracy level contributes to environmental quality, while it leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions in high-emission countries. On the contrary, it is remarkable that democracy causes a delay in the turning point of the EKC in countries with low and medium emissions. Furthermore, the results demonstrate an EKC correlation between democracy level and carbon dioxide emissions in countries with low and medium emissions. However, the correlation between democracy level and carbon dioxide emissions, which is inverted U-shaped in low- and medium-emission countries, turns into a U-shaped correlation in high-emission countries. These findings emphasize the necessity of considering the changing impact of democracy according to the emission structure of countries in policymaking.

Exploring the Relationship between Energy and Food Security in Africa with Instrumental Variables Analysis

The well-being of human populations and their sustainable development are strongly predicated on energy and food security. This is even more true of Africa due to often suboptimal food production, undernourishment, and extreme poverty. This article researches the relationship between energy and food security using Cobb–Douglas production functions based on the World Development Indicators data for 28 African countries. The methodological approach includes cross-sectional dependence and unit root tests, instrumental variables two-stage least-squares and generalized method of moments, and panel Driscoll–Kraay standard errors. Results suggest that the promotion of energy security promotes food security. This is possible because food production and distribution are energy-intensive. Therefore, energy is fundamental to achieving food security and zero hunger. The availability, affordability, accessibility, and acceptability of energy can thus help to fix the growing agricultural production shortage in Africa. An important policy focus should be on achieving energy security.

Foreign Direct Investment, Environmental Pollution and Economic Growth—An Insight from Non-Linear ARDL Co-Integration Approach

The paper examines the impact of foreign direct investment and environmental pollution on economic growth in an emerging economy. We used annual data covering the period of 1986–2020 and the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) to analyze the positive and negative co-integrated variables, and our findings support the asymmetric relationship between foreign direct investment, environmental pollution and economic growth in both the short and long run, as well as a long-run relationship between environmental pollution and economic growth. A one-percent increase in environmental pollution leads to a positive change in economic performance by 0.662 percent. Adversely, a one-percent decrease in environmental pollution leads to a negative change in economic performance by 0.212 percent. Vietnam is an emerging market, and capital needs for economic activities are essential. However, the research results show that a disproportionate impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth is recorded in the long run, and a disproportionate impact of environmental pollution on the economy occurs in both the short and long term. Therefore, the government needs to have policies to attract foreign investment to develop a green and sustainable economy.

Nonlinear Influence of Chinese Real Estate Development on Environmental Pollution: New Evidence from Spatial Econometric Model

Environmental pollution is a problem of universal concern throughout the globe. The development of real estate industry not only consumes huge resources, but also has close ties with high-consumption industries such as the construction industry. However, previous studies have rarely explored the impact of real estate development on environmental pollution. Therefore, this paper employs the entropy method to construct a comprehensive index of environmental pollution based on panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2000 to 2017, and empirically examines the impact of real estate development on environmental pollution. This article uses real estate investment to measure the development of the real estate industry. In view of the high spatial autocorrelation of environmental pollution, this paper selects a spatial econometric model. The empirical study found that: (1) By using the Spatial Durbin Model, real estate development has an inverted U-shaped impact on environmental pollution. Meanwhile, most cities have not yet reached the turning point; that is, with the continuous development of the real estate industry, environmental pollution will continue to increase. (2) Further regional heterogeneity found that the inverted U-shaped relationship still exists in coastal and inland areas. (3) Finally, this article used the Spatial Mediation Model to explain the nonlinear impact of real estate development on environmental pollution, with two important mediating variables: population density and industrial structure. Through the above analysis, it can be observed that real estate development has a significant impact on environmental pollution. Thus, the country and the government can reduce environmental pollution by improving the investment structure, using environmentally friendly building materials, guiding population flow and promoting industrial upgrading.

Linking external debt and renewable energy to environmental sustainability in heavily indebted poor countries: new insights from advanced panel estimators

There are numerous studies on the linkage between renewable energy and environmental sustainability. These studies have tried to show how renewable energy is relevant in curbing the environmental difficulties associated with climate change. However, the role of external debt is seldom considered in the nexus. As such, this study applies advanced estimation techniques compatible with two core panel data issues (cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity) to investigate the role of external debt in the growth-energy-emissions relationship in thirty-three heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) from 1990 to 2015. The findings of the study reveal that economic growth increases emissions thereby degrading the environment, while renewable energy ensures environmental sustainability by abating CO2 emissions. Further findings from the study suggest that external debt increases CO2 emissions in HIPC across the three estimators. The country-wise results reveal that economic growth deteriorates the environment in all the countries except in Burkina Faso, Congo, Mali, Mauritania, Nicaragua, and The Gambia. Also, the result reveals a bidirectional causal relationship between external debt and economic growth, CO2 emissions and economic growth, external debt and CO2 emissions, and renewable energy and economic growth. This study argues that the consumption of clean energy sources and strong institutional quality could help mitigate the trade-offs between economic growth and environmental quality and also curtail the negative effects of external debt on the environment. The limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.