A novel, organocatalytic and environmentally friendly protocol for the synthesis of polysubstituted tetrahydrofurans from trivial starting materials has been described. By employing 2,2,2-trifluoroacetophenone-mediated oxidation, which utilizes H2O2 as a green oxidant, we introduce a sustainable procedure that embraces the principles of green chemistry for the production of substituted tetrahyd...

In September 2015, the international community came together to agree on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a plan of action for people, the planet, and prosperity. Ambitious and far-reaching as they are, they are built on three keystones: the elimination of extreme poverty, fighting climate change, and a commitment to fighting injustice and inequality. Critical to the achievement of ...

Nations in the 21st century face a complex mix of environmental and social challenges, as highlighted by the on-going Sustainable Development Goals process. The "planetary boundaries" concept [Rockström J, et al. (2009) Nature 461(7263):472-475], and its extension through the addition of social well-being indicators to create a framework for "safe and just" inclusive sustainable development [Ra...

Recent expansion of the scale of human activities poses severe threats to Earth's life-support systems. Increasingly, protected areas (PAs) are expected to serve dual goals: protect biodiversity and secure ecosystem services. We report a nationwide assessment for China, quantifying the provision of threatened species habitat and four key regulating services-water retention, soil retention, sand...

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for a comprehensive new approach to development rooted in planetary boundaries, equity, and inclusivity. The wide scope of the SDGs will necessitate unprecedented integration of siloed policy portfolios to work at international, regional, and national levels toward multiple goals and mitigate the conflicts that arise from competing resource deman...

Multi-component coupling reaction (MCR) is a powerful synthetic tool for the synthesis of biologically active compounds. Development of such multi-component coupling reaction strategies in visible light has been of considerable interest, as they provide simple and rapid access to a large number of organic molecules through a sustainable path. An efficient and green protocol for the synthesis of...