Applying the precautionary principle to consumer household cleaning product development

Hazardous chemicals are pervasive in household disinfectant products. Many ingredients have established associations with acute and chronic human health conditions as well as with environmental damage. Although these associations are suggested but not proven, they are of great concern. This article describes the application of the precautionary principle to the selection of an anti-microbial active ingredient for a botanical disinfectant when significant uncertainty exists around the hazard and risk of traditional disinfectant active ingredients. We show that application of the precautionary principle does not stifle innovation and facilitates a responsible approach to product development.     

Environmental and economic assessment of a greenhouse waste heat exchange

As the economic costs of energy and the negative externalities associated with the combustion of fossil fuels threaten the economic viability of greenhouses in northern climates there is a renewed interest in the use of waste heat. This paper presents a technical and economic methodology to determine the viability of establishing waste heat greenhouses using the waste heat from industrial processes in northern climates. A case study is presented of an exchange between a tomato greenhouse and a flat glass manufacturing plant, which found the waste heat system is significantly more economic to operate than a purely natural gas system.     

The water supply footprint (WSF): a strategic planning tool for sustainable regional and local water supplies

This paper introduces a new methodological approach of the ecological footprint explicitly addressing the sustainability of water supplies, which we call the water supply footprint (WSF). The WSF calculates the catchment area or water supply hinterland of a certain society and can serve as a strategic planning tool for local or regional water supplies linking the water demand with the water supply in a water supply footprint matrix. Based on regional water balances it estimates how much water can be appropriated for human use in an environmentally sustainable way.The proposed method is tested on the South East Queensland water supply in Australia, an area where water use restrictions are regularly imposed on the population. Applying the proposed method indicates that supply shortages may be avoided by considerably changing the organisation of water supply, thereby reducing and possibly even avoiding the necessity for large-scale supply side measures like additional sweet water reservoirs or desalination plants. In that way it is demonstrated that the WSF method is applicable at an early and strategic stage of water supply planning.     

贵阳市大气颗粒物(PM2.5)污染特征及气象参数的影响

运用连续颗粒物采样仪(URG Model 2000-01J)对贵阳市城区大气颗粒物PM2.5进行了连续3个月(9~11月)的采集与分析,探讨了PM2.5的浓度分布特征、气象条件的影响。结果显示,贵阳市大气颗粒物PM2.5的平均质量浓度为53±27μg/m3,变化范围为3.7~186μg/m3;初步推断大气颗粒物PM2.5的污染来源主要是燃料燃烧、生物质燃烧、汽车尾气等人为源;相对湿度、风速、风向、温度等气象条件是影响大气颗粒物浓度及分布的重要因素。     

Sexual selection on receptor organ traits: younger females attract males with longer antennae

Sexual selection theory predicts that female choice may favour the evolution of elaborate male signals. Darwin also suggested that sexual selection can favour elaborate receiver structures in order to better detect sexual signals, an idea that has been largely ignored. We evaluated this unorthodox perspective by documenting the antennal lengths of male Uraba lugens Walker (Lepidoptera: Nolidae) moths that were attracted to experimentally manipulated emissions of female sex pheromone. Either one or two females were placed in field traps for the duration of their adult lives in order to create differences in the quantity of pheromone emissions from the traps. The mean antennal length of males attracted to field traps baited with a single female was longer than that of males attracted to traps baited with two females, a pattern consistent with Darwin’s prediction assuming the latter emits higher pheromone concentrations. Furthermore, younger females attracted males with longer antennae, which may reflect age-specific changes in pheromone emission. These field experiments provide the first direct evidence of an unappreciated role for sexual selection in the evolution of sexual dimorphism in moth antennae and raise the intriguing possibility that females select males with longer antennae through strategic emission of pheromones.     

Are drivers' comparative risk judgments about speeding realistic?

Introduction

This study focused on comparative judgments about speeding risks among young drivers who have a high risk of being involved in a traffic accident.

Method

We examined (a) how these drivers assess their risk of sanctions and their risk of causing an automobile crash because of speeding in comparison to the estimated risks of other drivers, and (b) how realistic their comparative risk judgments are. We measured the relationship between the drivers' comparative risk judgments, self-reported speeding, and driving-related sensation-seeking. We hypothesized that (a) they would think they have less risk of sanctions and of causing a car accident than others, and (b) their comparative judgments of speeding risks would be linked to self-reported speeding and driving-related sensation-seeking. The study was based on a computerized questionnaire survey conducted with 3,002 young drivers (mean age = 22.3) administered by professional investigators.

Results

The results confirmed our hypotheses.

Impact on Industry

In order to improve the effectiveness of prevention measures and to evaluate the effect of them, road-safety interventions should take into account comparative risk judgments about the targeted risk behavior.     

Variations in perceptions of danger,fear and preference in a simulated natural environment

Although natural environments can help promote health, they also contain a number of dangers. This study attempted to examine how variations in the physical structure of a simulated natural environment influenced perceptions of both overall and specific types of danger, fear and preference before exploring the relationships between these variables. Three simulated walks through a natural environment differing in levels of prospect-refuge were created for the study. Respondents were randomly assigned to one of the conditions and asked to imagine taking the walk for real. In support of the typology, the results found that the walks with higher levels of prospect-refuge (higher visibility, fewer hiding places and more accessibility) were perceived as less dangerous and fearful and more preferred than walks with lower levels of prospect-refuge. However despite levels of prospect-refuge appearing to impact on the perceived likelihood of encountering a physical danger or becoming lost, they were not found to impact on the perception of encountering a social danger.     

Hydrocarbon emission fingerprints from contemporary vehicle/engine technologies with conventional and new fuels

The present paper presents results from the analysis of 29 individual C₂–C₉ hydrocarbons (HCs) specified in the European Commission Ozone Directive. The 29 HCs are measured in exhaust from common, contemporary vehicle/engine/fuel technologies for which very little or no data is available in the literature. The obtained HC emission fingerprints are compared with fingerprints deriving from technologies that are being phased out in Europe. Based on the total of 138 emission tests, thirteen type-specific fingerprints are extracted (Mean ± SD percentage contributions from individual HCs to the total mass of the 29 HCs), essential for receptor modelling source apportionment. The different types represent exhaust from Euro3 and Euro4 light-duty (LD) diesel and petrol-vehicles, Euro3 heavy-duty (HD) diesel exhaust, and exhaust from 2-stroke preEuro, Euro1 and Euro2 mopeds. The fuels comprise liquefied petroleum gas, petrol/ethanol blends (0–85% ethanol), and mineral diesel in various blends (0–100%) with fatty acid methyl esters, rapeseed methyl esters palm oil methyl esters, soybean oil methyl or sunflower oil methyl esters. Type-specific tracer compounds (markers) are identified for the various vehicle/engine/fuel technologies.An important finding is an insignificant effect on the HC fingerprints of varying the test driving cycle, indicating that combining HC fingerprints from different emission studies for receptor modelling purposes would be a robust approach.The obtained results are discussed in the context of atmospheric ozone formation and health implications from emissions (mg km^?1 for LD and mopeds and mg kW h^?1 for HD, all normalised to fuel consumption: mg dm^?3 fuel) of the harmful HCs, benzene and 1,3-butadiene.Another important finding is a strong linear correlation of the regulated “total” hydrocarbon emissions (tot-HC) with the ozone formation potential of the 29 HCs (ΣPO₃ = (1.66 ± 0.04) × tot-RH; r² = 0.93). Tot-HC is routinely monitored in emission control laboratories, whereas C₂–C₉ are not. The revealed strong correlations broadens the usability of data from vehicle emission control laboratories and facilitates the comparison of the ozone formation potential of HCs in exhaust from of old and new vehicle/engine/fuel technologies.     

SACRAMENTO RIVER FLOW RECONSTRUCTED TO A.D. 869 FROM TREE RINGS1

ABSTRACT: A time series of annual flow of the Sacramento River, California, is reconstructed to A.D. 869 from tree rings for a long‐term perspective on hydrologic drought. Reconstructions derived by principal components regression of flow on time‐varying subsets of tree‐ring chronologies account for 64 to 81 percent of the flow variance in the 1906 to 1977 calibration period. A Monte Carlo analysis of reconstructed n‐year running means indicates that the gaged record contains examples of drought extremes for averaging periods of perhaps = 6 to 10 years, but not for longer and shorter averaging periods. For example, the estimated probability approaches 1.0 that the flow in A.D. 1580 was lower than the lowest single‐year gaged flow. The tree‐ring record also suggests that persistently high or low flows over 50‐year periods characterize some parts of the long‐term flow history. The results should contribute to sensible water resources planning for the Sacramento Basin and to the methodology of incorporating tree‐ring data in the assessment of the probability of hydrologic drought.