Advancing pollution prevention and cleaner production – USA's contribution

In this paper, a brief history is presented of the development of pollution prevention (P2) programs and policies in both the states and by the federal government in the United States. Current trends are then discussed including the evolution of these programs, difficulties maintaining public support and prospects for the future. The 13 papers in this issue are then briefly described. They are grouped in the following four categories:

• •Government initiatives to increase use of P2 strategies and technologies
• •Purchasing initiatives
• •Sector initiatives
• •Program evaluation and measurement

The papers in this issue are representative of much larger activities in each of these categories. Most P2 activity occurs in the states and by the private sector. With the available space it is not possible to adequately represent everything that is going on in all its aspects, including academia. For the future, three grand challenges are described: maintaining public support, competing priorities affecting P2 implementation by businesses, and the challenges of documenting P2 progress.     

Stakeholder evaluation of sustainable development in the life sciences industry

Corporate sustainable development (CSD) can help to force the life sciences industry (LSI) to move from responsibility towards accountability.In terms of sustainability issues, which currently affect and occupy the LSI and their stakeholders, one could speak of 4 generations:

• •The local side-effects of operations, production, distribution and use.
• •The effects and risks of the used and applied technologies and methods.
• •The affordability and access to essential available treatments and products.
• •The necessity and need for new essential products or treatments for neglected diseases.

In order to make corporations accountable, there have been many efforts in the field of evaluation. These efforts mostly remain very general. The problem is however that the different stakeholders have diverse understandings of the various sustainability issues. The paper proposes a 2-phased stakeholder-oriented evaluation method for evaluating CSD-strategies on specific sustainability issues of the LSI in Basel, Switzerland. During the first phase, corporate commitment is challenged against the stakeholders' expectations. In the second phase, relevant stakeholders evaluate the effective corporate performance against the corporate commitment.The evaluation method was extensively tested with the stakeholders of the LSI in 5 case studies on the 4 issue generations. The method turned out to work and delivered interesting insight into managing sustainability issues.     

Sustainable tourism destinations: the importance of cleaner production

“Sustainable tourism destination” is an emerging term used in recognition schemes to promote sustainable development at destinations. This concept, which is still being developed, has the potential to stimulate the implementation of sustainable development through an interdisciplinary, holistic and integrative approach which combines different aspects of existing tools. This article will discuss the following:

• •conceptual definitions for sustainable tourism destinations
• •the need to integrate different approaches and tools for developing sustainable tourism destinations
• •the role which Cleaner Production plays in terms of developing sustainable tourism destinations

Cleaner production has an important role, to ensure that “prevention” is built into the concept of sustainable tourism destinations. It contributes by providing both a general strategy and specific experiences which may enhance other existing tools, concepts and policies. These can be integrated in a synergistic manner to achieve sustainable tourism destinations.     

Implementation-oriented and transformative research—Lessons from a project on conservation and sustainable use of forest resources in Ethiopia

This article draws lessons from a seven-year project on conservation and use of remaining coffee forests in the highlands of South-west Ethiopia. The project investigated the genetic diversity of Coffea arabica in its place of origin as well as economic perspectives of quality coffee marketing. With initially broad multidisciplinary natural and social sciences research a basis was laid for a second phase of praxis and implementation-oriented research in the same region.As a key innovative approach an NGO was established to take over all project management and implementation-oriented work in Ethiopia at the beginning of the second phase. This initiative helped decisively to solve the kind of problems identified in RESCUE (2012): ownership of results developed within R&D, the often missing mandate for science to actively contribute to solutions ‘on the ground’, and problems of cultural and social unsuitability and misunderstanding, which often are at the core of the problem when solutions from scientists are expected.The NGO operated as an intermediary between the involved scientists and other stakeholders from the coffee industry as well as from public administration and the Ethiopian polity. Its overall target was to contribute toward establishment of a biosphere reserve following the UNESCO MAB scheme and to use this scheme for the conservation and use of the remaining Ethiopian coffee forests. This target was achieved: the biosphere reserve has been accepted and accredited by UNESCO and is in operation. In addition, quality coffee from the development zones of the biosphere reserve is being sold on local markets in Yayu, SW Ethiopia.There are important lessons for the future of transdisciplinary and transformative sustainability science that can be drawn from this experience. These lessons concern concrete challenges and chances of research and development geared toward sustainable development:

• •Working with implementation-targets as project organizing elements,
• •communication and transfer of responsibility to involved stakeholders,
• •challenges for praxis-oriented syntheses from research results,
• •practical challenges of management and coordination for transdisciplinary projects, as well as.
• •chances for long-term sustainability and use of research and implementation work.

These lessons are described in this article with the overall intention to draw conclusions and to make them more widely available for scientists and project coordinators working in transdisciplinary projects that aim to contribute toward (more) sustainable development.     

Wavering between radical and realistic sustainable consumption policies: in search for the best feasible trajectories

In this article radical change in the context of sustainable development is seen as a long-term process in which steady progress in the right direction is regarded as more essential than quick success. The author argues that pressing for swift radical changes bears a serious risk of becoming counter productive, because:

• pressing for rapid change is often wasteful and may prevent the best possible ways of exploitation of innovations;

• rapid change over a wide front of applications and sectors is usually impossible;

• pressing for rapid changes usually encounters strong opposition from interest groups, thereby risking to get bogged down in acceptability discourses.

Transition management, such as for a transition towards sustainable consumption seems often to presuppose the need for radical changes. Even though the embedding function of transition management is a helpful concept and tool for sustainable consumption strategies, the lack or the negligence of the role of objective functions is a disturbing feature of transition management theories. All in all, the need for radical change should emerge as the transition process unfolds. There is no good scientific reason for a priori claims for radical changes as a kind of new dogma.     

A systemic approach to incorporate sustainability into university courses and curricula

This article is based on an analysis of Lund University that took place during the summer and autumn of 2004 (available for download at www.iiiee.lu.se, click library and publications). The university had experienced a loss of momentum in their progress regarding environmental issues. The purpose of the study was to identify barriers to including sustainability-related content throughout Lund University curricula, and eventually to develop solutions to eliminate/overcome these barriers. The article describes how Meadows' “Places to intervene in a system” [Meadows D. Leverage points: places to intervene in a system. Hartland, VT, USA: Sustainability Institute; 1999] was used as a tool to systematically discover these barriers. The same intervention places are used as a basis for deriving solutions to eliminate/overcome the barriers. The main conclusions of this article are that Meadows list can be a useful tool to

• a.systematically identify and characterise the barriers towards achieving the organisational objective of incorporating SD into courses and curricula;
• b.identify ways to overcome these barriers;
• c.increase chances that these barriers are addressed with sufficient leverage.

The authors also experienced that the work method described here provides excellent fuel for creativity.     

Possible steps to follow for filling the gap between requirements and the real condition in tanneries

The tannery industry, as one of most important industrial activities, faced more dilemmas at the fall of communistic era:

• -Can the branch keep a leading position for the exported products at the national level, under a de-centralized system?
• -Can the industry comply with the new, more stringent environmental legislation?
• -How far is this industrial branch from the European BAT/BATNEC?

Facing a completely new perspective for their development, many industrial units had a limited margin for manoeuvre and those not enough flexible had to shut down.“Economic survival whatever the price” has been the mantra for some good years. The newly presented EU legislation has been raising many difficult and complex problems for the units that managed to survive that they need to prioritize their improvement actions.Combining Cleaner Production (CP) measures with laboratory research for technology upgrades can have a synergistic effect for improving environmental performance and decrease resource consumption. The effects were evaluated for more experimented measures, such as better process control, toxics use reduction, and source separation of wastes. The results demonstrate that real improvements of environmental performance can be achieved and the indicators that were utilized have values that are comparable with those published for “advanced” processes practiced in EU.     

Temporary Carbon Sequestration Cannot Prevent Climate Change

Storing carbon in biosphere sinks can reduce atmospheric CO₂ concentrations in the short term. However, this lowers the concentration gradient between the atmosphere and the oceans and other potential carbon reservoirs, and consequently reduces the rate of CO₂ removal from the atmosphere. If carbon is released again from that temporary storage, subsequent atmospheric CO₂ concentrations will, therefore, be higher than without temporary carbon storage. It is thus important to analyse whether temporary carbon storage in biosphere sinks can mitigate climate-change impacts. To analyse that, climate-change impacts need to be quantified explicitly. Impacts can be quantified:

1. as the instantaneous effect of increased temperature
2. through the rate of temperature increase
3. as the cumulative effect of increased temperatures.

The analysis presented here shows that temporary carbon storage only reduces climate-change impacts related to the cumulative effect of increased temperature and could even worsen impacts mediated via the instantaneous effect of temperature or the rate of temperature change. This applies under both high and low greenhouse-gas emission scenarios. Because temporary carbon storage improves some, but worsens other, climate-change impacts, it achieves very little on average. For greenhouse mitigation, it is, therefore, not warranted to provide policy incentives for temporary carbon storage.     

Recent Trends in Residential Energy Use in OECD Countries and their Impact on Carbon Dioxide Emissions: A Comparative Analysis of the Period 1973–1992

In the late 1970s and for most of the 1980s, residential energy use in the OECD underwent significant changes. Many of these changes were a result of more efficient energy use in response to higher energy prices, energy efficiency programs, and the appearance of new technologies for saving energy. This study analyzes these changes and the impact of energy use on carbon emissions in the residential sector for nine OECD countries for the period from 1973 to 1992. The major findings of this analysis are:

1. CO₂ emissions per capita were lower in 1992 in almost all of the countries we studied;
2. The two primary changes were improvements in energy efficiency and a decrease in the share of fossil fuels used for electricity and district heating production;
3. The main source of growth in emissions from residential energy use was increased ownership of electric appliances, where, in spite of important improvements in energy efficiency, ownership grew so rapidly that electricity use (and subsequent emissions) increased;
4. Changes in fuel mix, including both the changes in the share of fuels used in households and the share of fuels used to generate electricity and district heating, led to a decrease in emissions in the nine countries;
5. Increasing the efficiency of electric appliances and further reductions in the intensity of space heating are probably the key elements in a strategy to improve efficiency as a means to lowering CO₂ emissions.

     

Antarktische Meteorite

During the recent years more than 5000 meteorites have been collected in the Antarctic. They are mainly found on the surface of blue ice fields close to the Allan Hills and the Yamato Mountains. Taking into account all available analytical data of these meteorites and considering observations in the field the large number of meteorites found at the Allan Hills site can be explained by several specific circumstances:

1. On the bare ice fields in Antarctica meteorites with diameter less than 1 cm are easily detected.
2. The weathering of meteorites under the climatic conditions of Antarctica is very small. Therefore, higher densities of meteorites can build up on the surface of ice fields with no snow accumulation.
3. Concentration mechanisms due to ice movement and ablation of the ice are active. However, for the Allan Hills sampling site the collection of meteorites fallen on much larger areas is of less importance.

     

The use of word-based models to describe the development of UK acid rain policy in the 1980s

Understanding how environmental policy decisions were reached in the past might help predict policy development in the future. This paper evaluates how well two existing frameworks for decision analysis fit acid rain policy development of the UK Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) in the 1980s. Decision tree analysis assumes a rational approach to decision-making and overlooks the dynamic nature of the decision making process. Trudgill's model identifies barriers to policy development, but it is not possible to identify which are most important. Both concentrate on the role of scientific uncertainty in the acid rain debate. An alternative approach is presented which identifies all possible influencing factors and assesses their relative influence. Whilst confirming the importance of the resolution of scientific uncertainty in this case study, it identifies a number of alternative pressure sources, including independent scientific review, rises in SO₂ emissions, European environmental legislation, and influences within the Government. In all three models, ascribing predictive values to all possible options is a major problem. All models are limited in their ability to describe complex and dynamic environmental problems, and hence have limited predictive powers. Decision tree analysis and Trudgill's barriers model identify how scientific uncertainty is dealt with within organisations, whilst the influencing factors approach puts decisions in a broader, political framework.     

The power and pain of market-based carbon policies: a global application to greenhouse gases from ruminant livestock production

The objectives of this research are to assess the greenhouse gas mitigation potential of carbon policies applied to the ruminant livestock sector [inclusive of the major ruminant species—cattle (Bos Taurus and Bos indicus), sheep (Ovis aries), and goats (Capra hircus)]—with particular emphasis on understanding the adjustment challenges posed by such policies. We show that market-based mitigation policies can greatly amplify the mitigation potential identified in marginal abatement cost studies by harnessing powerful market forces such as product substitution and trade. We estimate that a carbon tax of US$20 per metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent emissions could mitigate 626 metric megatons of CO₂ equivalent ruminant emissions per year (MtCO₂-eq year^?1). This policy would also incentivize a restructuring of cattle production, increasing the share of cattle meat coming from the multiproduct dairy sector compared to more emission intensive, single purpose beef sector. The mitigation potential from this simple policy represents an upper bound because it causes ruminant-based food production to fall and is therefore likely to be politically unpopular. In the spirit of the Paris Agreement (UNFCCC 2015), which expresses the ambition of reducing agricultural emissions while protecting food production, we assess a carbon policy that applies both a carbon tax and a subsidy to producers to manage the tradeoff between food production and mitigation. The policy maintains ruminant production and consumption levels in all regions, but for a much lower global emission reduction of 185 MtCO₂-eq year^?1. This research provides policymakers with a quantitative basis for designing policies that attempt to trade off mitigation effectiveness with producer and consumer welfare.     

Application of environmental DNA analysis to inform invasive fish eradication operations

Environmental DNA (eDNA) detection of non-native species has considerable potential to inform management decisions, including identifying the need for population control and/or eradication. An invasive species of European concern is the Asian cyprinid fish, topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva). Here, eDNA analyses were applied at a commercial angling venue in southern England to inform operations aiming to eradicate P. parva, which had only ever been observed in one of the venue’s seven unconnected angling ponds. Eradication of P. parva was initially attempted by repeated depletion of the population using fish traps (crayfish traps fitted with 5 mm mesh netting) and the introduction of native predators over a 4-year period. The very low number of P. parva captured following these eradication efforts suggested a possible population crash. Conventional PCR analysis of water samples using species-specific primers was applied to all seven ponds to confirm that P. parva was present in only one pond, that the eradication attempt had indeed failed and that the species’ distribution in the pond appeared to be restricted to three bankside locations. The continued presence of P. parva at these locations was confirmed by subsequent trapping. Water samples from an adjacent, unconnected stream were also analysed using the eDNA methodology, but no DNA of P. parva was detected. The results suggest that further management action to eradicate P. parva be focused on the pond shown to contain the isolated P. parva population and thereby eliminate the risk of further dispersal. This study is the first to apply eDNA analysis to assess the efficacy of an eradication attempt and to provide evidence that the species was unlikely to be present in the other ponds, thus reducing the resources needed to control the species.     

Fishery livelihoods and adaptation to climate change: a case study of Chilika lagoon, India

Climate change combined with human activities poses significant risks to people’s livelihood especially in developing countries. Adaptation at the community level is of crucial importance in enabling them to respond to the direct and indirect effects of changes in climate. In a case study of fishing communities in Chilika lagoon, India, the focus is made on understanding climate change adaptation at the community level and scaling it up into the policy perspective through application of Sustainable Livelihood Approach. This article challenges the research and policy community to encourage the identification of locally negative constraints and positive strengths toward climate resilient communities in rural areas.

Sustainable development as a framework for developing country participation in international climate change policies

The paper presents a number of ideas on how climate change policy implementation in developing countries can be supported by alternative international cooperation mechanisms that are based on stakeholder interests and policy priorities including broader economic and social development issues. It includes a brief review of current development policies, technological research and promotion efforts, and climate change that demonstrates that mutual policy initiatives undertaken by governments and the private sector actually have major positive impacts on climate change without being initiated by this global policy concern. Furthermore a number of examples are given on how future development objectives in Brazil, China, and India jointly can support economic and social goals and global climate change concerns if these goals are taken into consideration and supported by international cooperative mechanisms. The paper proposes international cooperative mechanisms that can support the implementation of integrated development and climate change policies. The mechanisms include an international sustainable development (SD) and Climate Finance Mechanism (SDCFM), technology development and transition programmes, technology standards, and other measures.

Antifungal activity of the pygidial gland secretion of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Laemostenus punctatus</Emphasis> (Coleoptera: Carabidae) against cave-dwelling micromycetes

The antifungal potential of the pygidial gland secretion of the troglophilic ground beetle Laemostenus punctatus from a cave in Southeastern Serbia against cave-dwelling micromycetes, isolated from the same habitat, has been investigated. Eleven collected samples were analyzed and 32 isolates of cave-dwelling fungi were documented. A total of 14 fungal species were identified as members of the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium, Alternaria, Cladosporium, Rhizopus, Trichoderma, Arthrinium, Aureobasidium, Epicoccum, Talaromyces, and Fusarium. Five isolates were selected for testing the antifungal activity of the pygidial gland secretion: Talaromyces duclauxi, Aspergillus brunneouniseriatus, Penicillium sp., Rhizopus stolonifer, and Trichoderma viride. The microdilution method has been applied to detect minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimal fungicidal concentrations (MFCs). The most sensitive isolate was Penicillium sp., while the other isolates demonstrated a high level of resistance to the tested agent. L. punctatus has developed a special mechanism of producing specific compounds that act synergistically within the secretion mixture, which are responsible for the antifungal action against pathogens from the cave. The results open opportunities for further research in the field of ground beetle defense against pathogens, which could have an important application in human medicine, in addition to the environmental impact, primarily.     

Evidence,politics and power in public policy for the environment

Despite a recent emphasis on ‘evidence based policy’ accompanied by an abundance of ‘green’ policy instruments, experience from the European Union and OECD countries shows that decisions which truly aim to balance environmental considerations with social and economic ones remain thin on the ground. Moreover, many policies seem to fall short of, or directly contradict what the available ‘evidence’ suggests is required. This is a synthesis paper bringing together literature from the fields of political science, geography, sociology and science and technology studies to outline some of the obscurities relating to the use of scientific evidence in environmental decision-making. In this paper, we suggest that an exploration of three key inter-related issues is necessary to develop a richer understanding of why evidence and policy interact as they do. These are the nature of evidence itself; the normative, moral or ethical ‘politics’ of policy-making; and the operation of power in the policy process. Our primary goal is to bring various literatures together to better conceptualise the evidence–policy relationship. In so doing, we outline specific challenges for knowledge producers who set research priorities, and design and direct research projects. We also highlight significant implications for policy decision-making processes.     

Regulating carbon emissions from indirect land use change (ILUC): U.S. and California case studies

As lifecycle emissions accounting becomes more widely used in policy, it is important to understand how it has been applied. This paper analyses policy-making for two U.S. fuel regulations—the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS)—that were pioneering not only in using life cycle assessment (LCA) in performance-based environmental regulations, but especially for including emissions from indirect land use change (ILUC). The case studies in this paper focus, in particular, on the decision to include ILUC in lifecycle emissions accounting. Tracing the development of these policies shows the key role of environmental policy entrepreneurs in advocating for ILUC emissions accounting during policy formulation. Moreover, it highlights a paradox in the use of science: although ILUC policy proponents were motivated by best available research, they were also politically enabled by scientific uncertainty and lack of understanding. Understanding this political dimension of decision-making is valuable for scholars as well as practitioners facing similar decisions.