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Purpose – Description of the effects of the revolution in neuroscience and other areas of biology that can help to explain the roots of some portion of violent crime. The chapter reconsiders the role of brain chemistry in social behavior and violent behavior. To illustrate the interdisciplinary complexities entailed when linking brain chemistry to policy decisions concerning violent crime, this analysis has four main stages: first, why might SiFs (H2SiF6 and Na2SiF6, jointly called “silicofluorides” or SiFs) be dangerous? Second, what biochemical effects of SiF could have toxic consequences for humans? Third, on this basis a research hypothesis predicts children in communities using SiF should have increased uptake of lead from environmental sources and higher rates of behavioral dysfunctions known to be caused by lead neurotoxicity.

Design/methodology/approach – To illustrate the implications of the new issues involved, this chapter focuses on a public policy that inadvertently seems to increase rates of violent crime. Since violent behavior is one of the effects of lead neurotoxicity, the hypothesis is tested using multiple sources of data including rates of violent crime studied using a variety of multivariate statistical techniques (including analysis of variance, multiple regression, and stepwise regression).

Findings – Various data sources point to greater violence among individuals with greater exposure to SiFs.

Originality/value – Testing hypotheses linking neurotoxins to violent behavior reveals the generally unsuspected value of analyzing human social behavior and public policy from the perspective of evolutionary psychology.

Financial assurance rules, also known as financial responsibility or bonding requirements, foster cost internalization by requiring potential polluters to demonstrate the financial resources necessary to compensate for environmental damage that may arise in the future. Accordingly, assurance is an important complement to liability rules, restoration obligations, and other regulatory compliance requirements. The paper reviews the need for assurance, given the prevalence of abandoned environmental obligations, and assesses the implementation of assurance rules in the United States. From the standpoint of both legal effectiveness and economic efficiency, assurance rules can be improved. On the whole, however, cost recovery, deterrence, and enforcement are significantly improved by the presence of existing assurance regulations.

This chapter examines the UK and the Nigerian approach to reducing emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the environment as a result of gas flaring utilising the market-based regulation. Determining how different jurisdictions fare in the quest to reduce GHG emissions associated with the oil and gas industry is essential because: policy makers have realised the advantages of market-based regulation over the command-and-control regulation; and in the light of various pledges different countries have made in different forum to reduce the emission of GHGs, particularly in the wake of the recently held Paris climate change conference.

Library-based approach is used, providing conceptual and theoretical understanding of climate change, GHG emissions and various market-based regulatory tools utilised in the United Kingdom and Nigeria in regulating emission associated with operations in the oil and gas industry.

The study reveals the significance of environmental regulations that encourage region integration and flexibility in the implementation of environmental policies. Moreover, it finds that the Paris Agreement re-affirms the utilisation of market-based regulations and indicates a future for investment in the oil and gas industry.

The study revealed that there are lacunas in regulations and strategies for the implementation of environmental regulations which need to be addressed in order to achieve zero or a significant decrease in gas flaring.

This study provided an ample opportunity to theoretically examine market-based regulatory tools utilised in the oil and gas industry in a developed country in relation to a developing country.

This chapter presents mathematical model for geothermal energy allocation. The objective is to a find the minimal length of connections between sources and demand points. The problem is formulated as a transportation problem. The model presented in this case study finds optimal assignment of energy sources to urban areas, with full demand for energy satisfied in all districts using one type of energy.

Plastic waste is one of the long-standing global issues in the recent era. Unfortunately, India is one of the countries which has been affected by the mismanagement of the use of plastics. India has recorded a substantial growth in the production of plastic and is considered a country of increased consumption of plastic. Due to the absence of an appropriate waste collection and segregation process, it has created the major issue of waste management and discarded used plastic items used for packaging application. There are various plastic waste management laws and programmes that have a cascading effect on almost every sector of business. In 2016, two years after the new union government took power in New Delhi, The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has made some improvements in rules for the collection, segregation, processing, treatment and disposal of the waste. In the pandemic era, effective plastic waste management became more important than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic has created an increased demand for single-use plastic because of pressure on the already out-of-control global plastic waste problem. It is recorded to be large, and the magnitude of this pandemic related to mismanaged plastic waste is unknown. However, understanding the changing landscape and alarming need for effective plastic waste management, the government of India has proposed certain changes to prohibit imports, handling, manufacturing and use of single-use plastics in the country. This is in line with the government's intent to phase out single-use plastic by 2022. Considering this, this chapter highlights the changes in the rules and regulations in India related to plastic waste management and its effects on various sectors of business.

The study aims to contribute to the debate on how to identify and manage an organization’s sustainability-related resources and processes by understanding the impact of business activities on the environment and evaluating actions to ameliorate their impacts. Within this debate, and specifically taking into consideration the opportunity to support circular economy actions and initiatives, the study focuses on integrated reporting (IR) practices. In detail, this study advocates the joint use of IR principles with the dynamic resource-based view (DRBV) of the firm, adopting their representation of resources and impact of the business activities to identify environmental friendly “hot spots” in organizations. The framework is illustrated through two exploratory case studies.

The anti-apartheid movement represented a cornerstone for socially responsible investors in the 1970s and 1980s driven by the willingness to promote lasting social change. What happened next in terms of socially responsible investing (SRI) in the free South Africa? This chapter explores the local development of SRI in South Africa post-apartheid.

An in-depth literature review combined with a content analysis 73 SRI funds’ investment mandates were undertaken to investigate the local development of SRI in South Africa over the period 1992–2012.

Mechanisms of local divergence and global convergence have both shaped the phenomenon of SRI in South Africa. SRI in South Africa represents a melting-pot of societal values anchored in a local developmental and transformative political vision, some local and global Islamic religious values, and worldwide SRI and CSR homogenisation trends.

This chapter is the first attempt to outline the mechanisms of local divergence and global convergence that have moulded SRI in a democratic South Africa.

This chapter addresses the need for groundwater resource management in the arid and semiarid zones of Uzbekistan, broadly and specifically the potential to prolong the functional life of water wells by rehabilitating capacity and developing new methods and devices for cleaning and protecting well filter screens. The urgency of this concern is felt most deeply in areas lacking potable water, most notably the larger Aral region. If achieved, the result will facilitate access to adequate supplies of potable water in a region where the surface waters are seriously depleted and polluted. Springs that once bubbled to the surface to form oases were surrounded by life in the desert. Perhaps reliable water wells are the basis of tomorrow's new oases.