Suchergebnisse

ObjectiveIn this COVID‐19 pandemic, there are not many sound studies focusing on the extensive socioeconomic impact ushered in with this disaster. This work aims to understand the thought of the youth, their opinions and understanding of various aspects of the COVID‐19 pandemic.MethodologyUsing a combined qualitative–quantitative approach, Q‐method, we tried to assess people's discernment from different perspectives. This was done through a questionnaire survey method during the national‐level lockdown 1.0 in India.ResultsWe have differentiated the perceptions of youth respondents into seven factors, including six subdimensions, on COVID‐19 pandemic (viz., science, society, environment, economy, politics, and religion). The choices and opinions have been segregated into two major groups: quantitative and qualitative.ConclusionThis work yielded a firsthand ground‐level insight into the comprehensive yet diverse responses from youths regarding the COVID‐19 pandemic in India. There are various topics that arise from this study, for example, misinformation, misinterpretation of science, dubious nature of faith in governance and policy, turbid understanding of strategy, polarization of opinion, and so forth. Following this work of identification, the next steps would be to understand how to mitigate the problems toward betterment in the COVID‐19 pandemic situation or similar widespread crisis events in the foreseeable future.

Societal Impact Statement Bioenergy is a major component of the global transition to renewable energy technologies. The plant and fungal kingdoms offer great potential but remain mostly untapped. Their increased use could contribute to the renewable energy transition and addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 "Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all." Current research focuses on species cultivated at scale in temperate regions, overlooking the wealth of potential new sources of small‐scale energy where they are most urgently needed. A shift towards diversified, accessible bioenergy technologies will help to mitigate and adapt to the threats of climate change, decrease energy poverty, improve human health by reducing indoor pollution, increase energy resilience of communities, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels. Summary Bioenergy derived from plants and fungi is a major component of the global transition to renewable energy technologies. There is rich untapped diversity in the plant and fungal kingdoms that offers potential to contribute to the shift away from fossil fuels and to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) "Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all." Energy poverty—the lack of access to modern energy services—is most acute in the Global South where biodiversity is greatest and least investigated. Our systematic review of the literature over the last 5 years (2015–2020) indicates that research efforts have targeted a very small number of plant species cultivated at scale, mostly in temperate regions. The wealth of potential new sources of bioenergy in biodiverse regions, where the implementation of SDG7 is most urgently needed, has been largely overlooked. We recommend next steps for bioenergy stakeholders—research, industry, and government—to seize opportunities for innovation to alleviate energy poverty while protecting biodiversity. Small‐scale energy ...