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Views on climate change, climate action and mental health, in young people with and without existing depression symptoms: a qualitative study
No full textBackground
Youth mental health is in crisis. Climate change has the potential to tip more young people into depression and anxiety. Knowing how young people with and without depression symptoms view climate change could guide interventions to mitigate against climate induced mental health issues.
Materials and Methods
We carried out in-depth, semi-structured interviews with (N = 27) young people aged 18–25 (Mage = 20.3 years). Participants were grouped as healthy controls (C, N = 16, < 16 score on Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, MFQ) or had high depression symptoms (HD, N = 11, ≥ 27, MFQ). Using thematic analysis, we explored participants views on climate change, climate action, climate messaging, climate agency and mental health.
Results
From the interviews, eight key themes emerged: (1) Negative environmental events – Climate change was understood as ranging from weather changes to natural disasters. (2) Mental health impacts – Most participants reported increased anxiety and depression, with the HD group being more pessimistic about climate change prevention. (3) Benefits of action – Focus on individual efforts. (4) Non-disruptive vs. disruptive actions – Preference for non-disruptive solutions. (5) Hope and Fear in climate messaging – balance is needed. (6) Local and global action – Emphasis on combining both approaches. (7) Leadership – Responsibility placed on politicians, institutions, and environmentalists. (8) Shared responsibility – Families, educators, governments, and celebrities all have a role in climate action.
Conclusion
These findings offer valuable insights into the perspectives of young people with and without existing symptoms of depression. Notably, identifying differences—such as varying levels of climate pessimism—based on depression status highlights the importance of climate communication strategies that not only effectively address climate change but also safeguard youth mental health. This is important as those with existing depression symptoms may be more vulnerable to the psychological impacts of climate change
Environmental and economic impacts of using brewers spent grains for animal feed and anaerobic digestion
No full textOver 130,000 tonnes of brewer’s spent grains are generated annually in the UK. Most brewer’s spent grains are utilised as a low-carbon animal feed, although anaerobic digestion provides economic benefits, through generating heat, energy, and biofertiliser. This study addresses a research gap by comparing both the economic and environmental impacts of using brewer’s spent grains for animal feed versus anaerobic digestion. Specifically, it explores replacing brewer’s spent grains-derived cattle feed with either high-carbon soya or UK-grown field beans, including dietary implications on methane generation and indirect land use change.
Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing were used to evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of utilising all brewer’s spent grains generated in the UK for anaerobic digestion, as opposed to feeding cattle. Anaerobically digesting brewer’s spent grains and using soya feed to replace brewer’s spent grains as a cattle feed increased greenhouse gases by 39 Kt of CO2eq, while a field bean diet reduced emissions by 27 Kt of CO2eq. Additionally, the brewer’s spent grain cattle diet required 6 and 8 thousand hectares less land than the field beans and soya diets respectively. However, anaerobic digestion of brewer’s spent grains proved more profitable, offering an annual net economic benefit of £16 million. Thus, policy mechanisms such as an eventual ban could be introduced in order to phase out use of imported soya as an animal feed in the UK. Moreover, additional consultancy support, or interest free loans could be provided to facilitate breweries incorporating onsite anaerobic digestion
Type-like: the special case of stencil work
No full textIn this chapter, type-like stencil work is tracked over time to locate and evaluate its history. Instances of the opposite, when type becomes stencil-like, are also considered
Biases in medical decision-making: a cross-medication comparison
Full text linkIn this paper, we investigate whether cognitive biases in medical decision-making differ across types of
medications when objective risks of side effects are held constant. Using data from a survey and a stated-choice
experiment, we compare hypothetical medication-taking responses across four medication choices, including
vaccines and therapeutic interventions, and four combinations of trials and side effects. Our main findings
suggest that individuals are generally rational and prefer medications with lower risks, but responses to
risk information differ systematically by medication type. In particular, individuals are more susceptible to
salient side-effect information, especially for vaccines, even when overall risk levels are identical. Examining
individual-level sources of variation, we find that many of these vaccine-specific distortions are substantially
reduced once we account for vaccination hesitancy and illness-related anxiety, while other correlated individual
characteristics also play an important role in explaining heterogeneity in medication-taking behaviour
Wrong touch regulation: the limits to effective regulation of approved mental health professionals
Full text linkApproved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs) hold essential decision-making authority on whether individuals will be subject to compulsory detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 (as amended 2007) in England and Wales. Despite exercising profound coercive powers affecting individual liberty, the regulatory architecture surrounding AMHP practice is fragmented and diffuse, with oversight distributed across the Care Quality Commission, Social Work England, and multiple professional body regulators, and with no single body holding end-to-end accountability for decision quality. The dominant regulatory approach in contemporary UK health and social care is Right-touch Regulation (RTR), developed by the Professional Standards Authority and articulated through successive iterations since 2009. RTR presents itself as a model of proportionate, targeted, and risk-based intervention: a 'third way' between heavy-handed oversight and regulatory absence. The central claim of this article is that Right-touch Regulation, as currently utilised by the PSA, is structurally unsuited to AMHP oversight. The model presupposes conditions that are not present in AMHP governance. Situating RTR within broader regulatory theories (responsive regulation, smart regulation, and harm-based regulation), the article reviews what RTR claims as lineage but omits in practice. The conclusion argues that, until the preconditions for proportionate regulation are established (visibility, ownership, feedback), the language of Right-touch continues to legitimate a system that does not effectively regulate at all
The influence of plant soil moisture stress on solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence efficiency across Africa
No full textSolar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) provides an indirect, physiologically linked signal associated with photosynthetic light reactions, positioning it as a powerful tool for monitoring vegetation function. However, interpreting SIF signals is challenging because SIF depends not only on absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) but also on fluorescence efficiency (ε), with changes in ε often dominating SIF variability under environmental stress. This study examines the response of ε to soil moisture availability (β) across diverse African ecosystems, addressing a knowledge gap in continental-scale SIF interpretation. Utilizing satellite-based TROPOMI SIF measurements combined with soil moisture estimates from the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) model, we analyse how ε varies with β across multiple land-cover types. We test two core hypotheses: (i) that ε varies systematically with soil moisture availability, and (ii) that the strength of this relationship is dependent on land cover type. To achieve this, we compare a baseline SIF model with an enhanced model that explicitly incorporates soil moisture. Results show that ε tends to increase with soil moisture availability, with the strongest responses observed in croplands and grasslands, and weaker responses in evergreen forests and wetlands. These differences reflect underlying ecosystem water-use strategies and rooting depths. In semi-arid systems such as the Sahel and Southern Africa, accounting for soil moisture improves the representation of SIF dynamics, while in humid regions such as the Sudd Swamp and Okavango Delta, it adds little explanatory power or may introduce error. These findings emphasize the ecosystem-specific nature of the relationship between water availability and ε, and support the need for context-dependent interpretation of SIF across African landscapes
The role of dry intrusions in breaks of the Indian summer monsoon
Full text linkThe Indian summer monsoon (ISM) is crucial to over a billion people since it supplies over 75% of the country’s annual precipitation. Significant intraseasonal variability in rainfall affects people, with breaks responsible for causing water shortage. It is known that dry intrusions play a role in breaks; however, it is not well understood compared to their role during progressions of the onset and withdrawal of the ISM. In this study, we use observations and the ERA5 reanalysis to understand the role of dry intrusions in breaks during 1940–2023. We develop an index based on moisture deficit to identify dry intrusions, and find that most breaks are associated with dry intrusions emanating from arid regions to the west and northwest of India. These dry intrusions begin to enter India around a week prior to the middle day of breaks, reaching their peak strength over northwest India and adjoining eastern Pakistan two to three days prior to the middle day of breaks. Vertical profiles reveal that these are mid-level dry intrusions, which are similar to those driving the direction of the withdrawal of the ISM. As breaks evolve, these dry intrusions deepen throughout their horizontal extent and descend into the country, stabilising the troposphere and creating an unfavourable environment for deep convection. We also find that extended breaks have stronger dry intrusions as precursors. Thus, this work helps establish a causal relationship between mid-level dry intrusions and breaks. The results could help improve forecasts of breaks, ultimately benefiting stakeholders in improving long-term planning