Cathode-anode synergy in molten salt enables in situ CO ₂ fixation, low-carbon metallurgy, and conversion of carbon bulk to CNT.

Long-term consumption of rice containing heavy metal(loid)s poses significant risks to public health, which can be scientifically evaluated through food safety assessment. However, spatial variability and uncertainty in exposure parameters are generally neglected in existing food safety assessment standards. This study focused on rice consumption in 32 provinces of China, and extracted 3376 data points of five heavy metal(loid)s (cadmium, arsenic, mercury, lead, and chromium) and two nutrient elements (copper and zinc) from 408 articles. Probability and fuzzy methods were integrated to cope with the spatial variability or uncertainty and more accurately evaluate the risk. The results demonstrated that long-term consumption of rice that meets the national food safety standards still can cause non-negligible health risks, particularly for children and toddlers with chronical exposure. Arsenic and Cd were found to be the most critical elements, which contribute to 64.57% and 22.38% of the overall human health risk, respectively. Fuzzy assessment indicated that the score in northern China is approximately eight folds of that in southern China, indicating that northern rice has lower risks and better nutrition. Our results demonstrate that the food safety standards need to be tailored according to local conditions with more specific receptor parameters and risk acceptance.

Rice farming threatens freshwater resources, while also being increasingly vulnerable to drought due to climate change. Rice farming needs to become more sustainable and resilient to climate change by improving irrigation drainage systems. Small water bodies, used to store drainage water and supply irrigation in traditional rice farming systems have gradually been abandoned in recent decades. This has resulted in a higher water footprint (WF) associated with rice farming due to increased freshwater usage and wastewater release, also leaving rice production more vulnerable to extreme weather events. Here, we propose how protecting and reactivating small water bodies for rice irrigation and drainage can decrease rice production WF in China by 30%, save 9% of China’s freshwater consumption, increase irrigation self-sufficiency from 3% to 31%, and alleviate yield loss in dry years by 2–3%. These findings show that redesigning rice irrigation drainage systems can help meet water scarcity challenges posed by climate change.