Economic cost of mineral supply disruptions: Effects on a small, open economy

The potential impact of short-run disruptions in the minerals market on Israel's small, developed open economy is examined, showing that Israel is potentially capable of a smoother adjustment to external market disturbances. First, the analysis evaluates critical situations within the framework of a normative ‘general equilibrium model’, tracing the impacts of short-run developments in the resources market, and, second, it focuses on specific minerals within a partial equilibrium framework, using economic supply - demand relationships to assess economic damages. The potential damage estimates indicate that significant research and development outlays in the areas of material and process substitution and the capability for a quick build-up of contingent inventories would be justified to prevent the damages which supply disruption might inflict on the economy.     

Environmental legislation, economic growth and risk in minerals development The Bolivian case

This paper examines the General Environmental Law of Bolivia which was recently passed by its Congress. It is a multi-purpose law with two primary objectives: (i) the protection and conservation of the environment; and (ii) the promotion of sustainable development. In this law, environmental benefits are emphasized by stating general principles, not by attempting to define the means. Regulations setting forth the means are left to the writing of subsequent complementary codes. This paper shows that much of the controversy surrounding the legislation disappears when it is seen as a guideline rather than an operational part of Bolivia's industrial policy. In essence, the law addresses environmental awareness in a region that is more anxious than ever to speed economic growth.     

Acid deposition in aquatic ecosystems: Setting limits empirically

The problem of acid deposition and its harmful effects on aquatic ecosystems has created a new branch of science that is called upon to provide the knowledge on which legislative controls can be based. However, because of the nature of existing legislation, which requires evidence of cause and effect between industrial emissions and pollution, and because of science's inability to provide this information over the short term, considerable controversy has arisen about whether sufficient information exists to warrant control measures at this time. Among those who advocate controls, there is genuine divergence of opinion about how stringent the controls must be to achieve any desired level of protection.The controversy has led to an impasse between the scientific and political participants, which is reflected in the slow pace of progress toward an effective management strategy. Resolution of the impasse, at least in the short term, may demand that science and politics rely on empirical models rather than explanatory ones. The empirical model, which is the major proposal in this article, integrates all of the major variables and many of the minor ones, and constructs a three-dimensionally curved surface capable of representing the status of any waterbody subjected to the effects of acid deposition. When suitably calibrated—a process involving the integration of knowledge and data from aquatic biology, geochemistry, meteorology, and limnology—it can be used to depict limits to the rate of acid deposition required for any level of environmental protection. Because it can generate a pictorial display of the effects of management decisions and legislative controls, the model might serve as a basis for enhancing the quality of communication among all the scientific and political participants and help to resolve many of their controversies.     

Sea-level rise: Destruction of threatened and endangered species habitat in South Carolina

Concern for the environment has increased over the past century, and the US Congress has responded to this concern by passing legislation designed to protect the nation’s ecological biodiversity. This legislation, culminating with the Endangered Species Act of 1973, has been instrumental in defining methods for identifying and protecting endangered or threatened species and their habitats. Current legislation, however, assumes that the range of a protected species will stay constant over time. This assumption may no longer be valid, as the unprecedented increase in the number and concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has the potential to cause a global warming of 1.0–4.5°C and a sea-level rise (SLR) of 31–150 cm by the year 2100. Changes in climate of this magnitude are capable of causing shifts in the population structure and range of most animal species. This article examines the effects that SLR may have on the habitats of endangered and threatened species at three scales. At the regional scale 52 endangered or threatened plant and animal species were found to reside within 3 m of mean sea level in the coastal stages of the US Southeast. At the state level, the habitats of nine endangered or threatened animals that may be at risk from future SLR were identified. At the local level, a microscale analysis was conducted in the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina, USA, on the adverse effects that SLR may have on the habitats of the American alligator, brown pelican, loggerhead sea turtle, and wood stork. Prepared by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA; managed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems. Inc. for the US Department of Energy under contract DE-AC05-84OR21400.     

Regulatory aspects

Summary At this time, there is no US legislation that is specifically aimed at regulating the environmental release of genetically engineered organisms or their modified components, either during the research and development stage or during application. There are some statutes, administered by several federal agencies, whose language is broad enough to allow the extension of intended coverage to include certain aspects of biotechnology. The one possible exception is FIFRA, which has already brought about the registration of several natural microbial pesticides but which also has provision for requiring the registration of strain improved microbial pesticides. Nevertheless, there may be gaps in coverage even if all pertinent statutes were to be actively applied to the control of environmental release of genetically modified substances. The decision to regulate biotechnology under TSCA was justified, in part, on the basis of its intended role as a gap-filling piece of environmental legislation. The advantage of regulating biotechnology under TSCA is that this statute, unlike others, is concerned with all media of exposure (air, water, soil, sediment, biota) that may pose health and environmental hazards. Experience may show that extending existing legislation to regulate biotechnology is a poor compromise compared to the promulgation of new legislation specifically designed for this purpose. It appears that many other countries are ultimately going to take the latter course to regulate biotechnology.     

Economic analysis of reform policies for small coal mines in China

Over the last three decades, China’s coal industry has achieved dramatic increases in coal production, both in absolute terms and relative to the world as a whole. This achievement is due largely to its coal policies. Yet facing increasing pressures of environmental sustainability and market transition, the Chinese government was forced to make deep reforms and adjustments to regulate the coal industry effectively. This paper presents an historical overview of China’s coal economic policies, paying particular attention to the current reform policy of closing mines and restricting the yield for the small coal mines (SCMs) in the context of economic theories and methods. We argue that the SCM closure policy would not likely be efficiently enforced if a feasible market mechanism were not built up. The failure of closure policy is due largely to problems of property rights, coal pricing, ownership, and objectives.     

US nonfuels minerals policy

Nonfuels minerals policy in the USA flows from the differential and unique reactions of these industries to general economic policies in the areas of taxation, land use, environment, and international trade. To search for nonfuels minerals policy as direct statements by the US government on nonfuels minerals is futile. Nevertheless, the industries are unique in many characteristics, and the application of these general policies to the minerals industries creates unique situations. This uniqueness has been recognized by a virtually constant policy review over the past 10 years. The current effort is just beginning, and to prejudge now the outcome of this discussion is premature. However, it is not premature to argue that because of the uniqueness of these industries, it may be expected that their problems will be receiving public attention for many years to come.     

The role of the Australian minerals industry in world mineral supplies

Australia is one of the world's main producers and exporters of both fuel and non-fuel minerals. Among the main commodities produced for export are bauxite/alumina, iron ore, and nickel—Australia is also an increasingly important source of supply of black coal, especially for Japan, and is a significant producer and exporter of a number of base metals. Resources are adequate to support a substantial expansion of both non-oil fuels and other minerals. The potential for growth, both in terms of specific commodities and in the overall role of Australia in the world mineral industry, will depend to a very large extent on the cost competitiveness of Australian mining and on continuing inflow of capital.     

The geographic concentration of world mineral supplies

Mineral reserves are unevenly and erratically distributed throughout the world; those countries which were intensively explored in the past — the USA, Canada, the USSR, Australia, South Africa, and a limited number of Asian, African, and Latin American countries — control a large share of many of the industrially important metallic minerals. Current attitudes towards exploration and the mining industry in both the developed and the less developed countries should clearly encourage rather than discourage new exploration. Given an increase in exploration, new reserves may well be found in previously unexplored areas, but any major increase in world mineral supplies will probably come from mining very low- grade deposits and developing new methods of mining and processing non-conventional ores. While it is vital to increase research and development in exploration techniques and mining and processing technology, it is also critical to maintain current levels of consumption and trade by reversing the trend towards trade restriction on the part of some of the less developed countries who are important mineral exporters.     

Developing the scientific basis for assessing cumulative effects of wetland loss and degradation on landscape functions: Status,perspectives, and prospects

The incongruity between the regional and national scales at which wetland losses are occurring, and the project-specific scale at which wetlands are regulated and studied, has become obvious. This article presents a synthesis of recent efforts by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Ecosystems Research Center at Cornell University to bring wetland science and regulation into alignment with the reality of the cumulative effects of wetland loss and degradation on entire landscapes and regions. The synthesis is drawn from the other articles in this volume, the workshop that initiated them, and the scientific literature. It summarizes the status of our present scientific understanding, discusses means by which to actualize the existing potential for matching the scales of research and regulation with the scales at which effects are observed, and provides guidelines for building a stronger scientific base for landscape-level assessments of cumulative effects. It also provides the outlines for a synoptic and qualitative approach to cumulative effects assessment based on a reexamination of the generic assessment framework we proposed elsewhere in this volume.The primary conclusion to be drawn from the articles and the workshop is that a sound scientific basis for regulation will not come merely from acquiring more information on more variables. It will come from recognizing that a perceptual shift to larger temporal, spatial, and organizational scales is overdue. The shift in scale will dictate different—not necessarily more—variables to be measured in future wetland research and considered in wetland regulation.     

Factors influencing the acceptance of nature conservation measures--a qualitative study in Switzerland

Landscapes fulfil a multitude of ecological and social functions. Due to the fact that both traditional and everyday landscapes today face many different threats, regulatory measures have been undertaken in many countries to protect and further sustainable landscape development. They include legislation as well as economic incentives. In recent years, however, it has become clear that just to have a few laws and to spend money on subsidies is not enough. Factors other than legislation are also essential to further the sustainable development of landscapes. One of the basic factors affecting the success or failure of landscape conservation measures is public acceptance of these measures. Our project took this as its starting point. The objective was to determine which conditions and factors influence acceptance positively or negatively. To this end 22 Swiss who are directly affected by nature conservation measures, in particular by mire landscape and dry meadow conservation measures, were interviewed using qualitative interview techniques. It is shown that perception, communication, and possibilities to participate are the most decisive driving factors influencing the formation of a long-lasting acceptance. Furthermore, acceptance may be based mainly on economic criteria, on usefulness, on ecological or even aesthetic aspects. It can be shown that not all of these motivations lead to a long-lasting acceptance. Ecologically based acceptance seems the most promising because it is founded on general convictions. Economic incentives--though important--seem to generate only superficial acceptance and do not seem to be as important as is usually assumed.     

The risks of radiation

Summary The risks of radioactivity are a really complicated matter, yet they are much better known than are the risks relating to thousands of chemical poisons that occur in our environment. The greatest mistakes are probably made in the definition of safety margins. Except for the bombs dropped in Japan and one other case in the Marshall Islands, there has always—luckily—been a wide safety margin between fallout radiation and doses dangerous to health; the margin has actually been about 1000-fold. The Chernobyl dose of 0.5 mGy/year that we received is only 1/1000 of the acute dose of 0.5 Gy which would cause a slight and nonpermanent change in the blood picture.There is no such safety margin with respect to many air pollutants. The safety standards for sulfuric or nitric oxides, ozone and so on, have been set only just below the level that already causes a health hazard, and these standards are exceeded once in a while. Otherwise, traffic would have to be forbidden and many industrial plants, especially power stations using coal, would have to stop working whenever a low-temperature inversion occurred. Environmental radioactivity does not represent a likely health risk in Finland unless a nuclear war breaks out. Air pollutants, on the contrary, are a real and almost daily health risk that should be carefully considered when decisions about our energy production are being made.In spite of what happened at Chernobyl, global consumption of nuclear power will double by the year 2000, since there are about 140 nuclear power plants presently under construction. It is not likely that another catastrophe like Chernobyl will happen, yet nuclear plant accidents are of course possible, even if their likelihood is diminished by improving reactor safety and even if any eventual damage could be expected to be smaller. If a reactor is hooded by a containment structure, no significant release of radioactive materials should be possible even in case of an accident. However, we must be prepared to protect the population with carefully planned civil defense and radiation protection measures.I would like to sum up all of this as follows: The risks of radiation are a fact, but the fear they arouse is often disproportionate. There are risks related to all other methods of energy production as well; nuclear power is no exception in that respect. It is good that we aim at greater safety, but I hope that false presumptions will not lead us to mistaking a less safe alternative for a safer one.     

Urbanization and mining: a case study of Michigan

The US mining industry is increasingly an industry of industrial and construction minerals production. In 2002, these types of minerals accounted for 80% of the value of non-fuel minerals produced in the USA. Industrial and construction mineral production tend to be smaller operations and nearer urban areas than metallic mining and have somewhat different problems. This paper is a study of the growing impact of urbanization and land-use fragmentation on mining, particularly industrial and construction minerals production. An analysis of the state of Michigan is used as a case study to present the issues and concerns.     

Emergent aspects of environment: A creative challenge

Summary Our environmental situation continues to decline faster than ever. This is demonstrated by, the growing spread of pollution of both the water and atmospheric systems, erosion of topsoil, tropical deforestation, desertification, mass extinction of species, depletion of the ozone layer, and climatic dislocations. Compounding the impact of these problems is growth in human numbers in developing countries, together with the associated factor of extensive poverty. The author asks why our environmental situation should continue to decline, despite a remarkable outburst of awareness on the part of the general public and its political leaders since the time of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. The author concludes that the problem does not lie with inadequate effort, rather with misdirected effort: we persist in tackling the symptoms of problems, rather than the problems themselves, let alone the sources of the problems. The paper broaches these issues within a context of fast-growing interdependence among the community of nations — both economic and ecological interdependence — which presents yet more problems, but also raises many opportunities for creative action.Professor Norman Myers is a consultant in environment and development. He has worked since 1970 on the general subject area of environment and natural resources, with emphasis on species, gene reservoirs and tropical forests. He was undertaken this consultancy work for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, US National Academy of Sciences, the World Bank, OECD, the Smithsonian Institution, UN agencies, World Resources Institute, US National Research Council and IUCN, among other organizations. His main professional interest lies with resource relationships between the developed and developing worlds.Among his recent publications areThe Sinking Ark (Pergamon Press, Oxford and New York, 1979);Conversion of Tropical Moist Forests (National Research Council, Washington D.C., 1980);A Wealth of Wild Species (Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1983);The Primary Source (W. W. Norton, New York, 1984); andThe Gaia Atlas of Planet Management (Doubleday, New York, and Pan Books, London, 1985).Norman Myers is an Advisory Board Member and regular contributor toThe Environmentalist.     

Factors influencing voting by the united states congress on the national energy act

A myriad of factors, both economic and political, influenced the voting by members of the United States Congress on the 1978 National Energy Act. Determinant factors considered in our analysis included the percentage of residents in the Congressman's district residing in the central city or on farms; the percentage of residents who belong to labor unions; the average level of education of the residents; oil, coal, and natural gas production in the state relative to total domestic production. The results, determined by means of logit analysis, indicate that the impact on low-income energy consumers, the effect on overall employment, the impact on farmers, and the benefits to energy interests, as well as ideology and the subjective perception that the need exists to do something about the energy situation in the United States, were all important explanatory factors.The author is an economist with the United States Department of Energy. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the policies of the Department of Energy or the views of other Department of Energy staff members.     

The Seventh Kew Environmental Lecture: Our global future: climate change

The Kew lecture provides a major contribution to contemporary environmental views. The Hon. Timothy E. Wirth is US Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs and he is responsible within the US State Department for overseeing environment, population, human rights, refugee, narcotics and related programmes. He was elected to the US Senate from Colorado in 1986 and served until 1993 when he chose not to run for re-election. He was, previously, a Congressman for 12 years and was voted one of the 25 most effective Members of Congress. In 1992, he served as national co-chair of the Clinton – Gore presidential campaign. The lecture was delivered at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, on 15 September 1997.     

Oversight of shale gas production in the United States and the disclosure of toxic substances

With the encouragement of shale gas production in the United States, governments have considered a range of legislative and regulatory proposals to manage health and environmental damages that may accompany extraction activities. Exceptions adopted by Congress to major federal environmental legislation have meant that individual US states have deemed it necessary to provide oversight through regulations to protect people and safeguard environmental quality. In responding, states have legal structures under which drilling firms may not need to disclose the toxic substances used in fracturing wells. Yet, with increasing numbers of drilling sites, more people are at risk from accidents and exposure to harmful substances used at fractured wells. To provide for meaningful health and safety protection, governments may need to reevaluate legal provisions offering trade secret protection for toxic substances used in fracturing.     

The mine permitting process

A comparison is presented between environmental regulations and the regulatory institutions of Chile and the USA. There are two important points to the comparison. First, is one system more efficient than the other? Second, does each system result in a comparable level of environmental protection? While an answer to the latter question requires a baseline of data that is currently unavailable, the question of efficiency can be addressed. The Chilean system is found to be more centralized than that of the USA, with more definitive timelines for the permitting process. The US system is more complex and offers more opportunities for public participation in the permitting process. An unequivocal statement as to which is best or most efficient depends on one's perspective regarding the trade off between economic development and environmental quality.     

US strategic minerals: Policy options

The USA is becoming increasingly dependent on key strategic metals (such as chrome, cobalt, manganese and platinum-group metals) from politically unstable regions of the world. This dependence is the result of an inconsistent and fragmented US non-fuel minerals policy. Neglect of the US minerals industry has led to a decline in US mineral production and processing capabilities. Options for a comprehensive US non-fuel minerals policy include increased domestic production; increased substitution and recycling; a domestic stockpiling programme; and diversification of, and ensured access to, foreign sources of supply. These four options are examined and recommendations are made for increased mineral surveys of public lands, a regulatory review, domestic production of strategic minerals, tax incentives, conservation, stockpiling, and a foreign policy that will ensure security of supply.     

Choosing restorative environments across the lifespan: A matter of place experience

Past research on restorativeness has emphasized mainly the potential of natural environments. In our hypothesis, built environments are also likely to be recognized as restorative places. In this study, focusing on restorative experiences more than on environments alone, attention is drawn on the relative importance of the four restorative components proposed by “attention restoration theory”—being-away, extent, fascination, compatibility—in leisure experiences of people at different stages of the lifespan, and on the characterization of these experiences in terms of relaxation and excitement. We also take account of the time available for restoration and the context in which the need for restoration may emerge, according to three models of the relationships between work and leisure: spill-over, compensation and segmentation. Results show that natural and built environments can have different restorative potentials in relation to the stage of the lifespan and to the time available for restoration; moreover, in people's perception, the four restorative components differ from each other in their relative importance. The social and affective dimensions came out as important features of restorative experiences. Finally, relaxation and excitement in leisure patterns were shown to be differentially related to work characteristics. Briefly, restorativeness emerged as the result of a global “place experience”.