Ethics, morality, and the psychology of climate justice

Climate change is increasingly understood as a social justice issue by academics, policymakers, and the public; however, the nature of these perceptions and their implications for cooperation and decision-making have only recently begun to receive empirical attention. We review emerging empirical work that suggests that morality and justice perceptions can serve as both a bridge and a barrier to cooperation around climate change and highlight two critical areas for future development, identifying psychological processes that promote and impede climate vulnerability and that enhance equity in the design and implementation of climate solutions. We argue that conceptualizing climate justice as a multidimensional process addressing both social and structural barriers can stimulate new psychological research and help align disparate approaches within the social sciences.

Products of anaerobic phloroglucinol degradation by Coprococcus sp. Pe15

Under anaerobic conditions, resting cell suspensions of Coprococcus sp. Pe15 degraded 1 molecule of phloroglucinol to 2 molecules of acetic acid and 2 molecules of carbon dioxide. The organism metabolized the flavonoids rhamnetin and quercetin anaerobically in 20% rumen fluid medium but failed to grow under similar conditions at the expense of any of 39 other aromatic or flavonoid compounds tested.

Isolation and identification of rumen bacteria capable of anaerobic phloroglucinol degradation

Eight strains of rumen bacteria capable of degrading phloroglucinol (1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene) under anaerobic conditions were isolated from enrichment cultures of the bovine rumen microflora established in a prereduced medium containing 0.02 M phloroglucinol. Five of the strains were facultatively anaerobic Gram-positive streptococci which were identified as Streptococcus bovis. Three strains of obligately anaerobic Gram-positive cocci were assigned to the genus Coprococcus. Anaerobic cultures of the Streptococcus bovis strains in a 40% rumen fluid medium initially containing 0.02 M phloroglucinol degraded 50-80% of the substrate within 2 days, whereas cultures of the Coprococcus strains degraded more than 80% of the substrate under the same conditions. The Streptococcus bovis strains were incapable of degrading phloroglucinol in brain heart infusion or in the medium of de Man, Rogosa, and Sharpe (MRS broth) incubated aerobically.