Biogas in the United States: estimating future production and learning from international experiences

The substitution of biogas, an energy source derived from biological feedstock, for fossil natural gas (NG) can mitigate the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, making it an attractive renewable energy source in a carbon-constrained future. Although upgraded, pipeline-quality biogas can augment the NG market supply in the United States of America (USA), researchers and energy industry experts have little studied its long-term potential. This report estimates (1) levelized costs of energy for biogas production facilities operating with landfill waste, animal manure, wastewater sludge, and biomass residue feedstocks, (2) feedstock and technology pathway-specific biogas supply functions, and (3) the aggregate national biogas supply potential for the USA by 2040. Under a range of specified assumptions, generation of biogas could be expanded to approximately 3–5 % of the total domestic NG market at projected prices of $5–6/MMBtu, with the largest potential source coming from thermal gasification of agriculture and forest residues and biomass. As market signals have not spurred widespread adoption of biogas in the USA, policy incentives, similar to those used in the European Union (E.U.), may be necessary to increase its production and use. Bioenergy policy in the E.U. and the resulting market penetration achieved there therefore provides important lessons for how biogas markets in the USA can overcome barriers to market expansion and, in doing so, provide substantial climate mitigation benefits.     

A synthesis of current knowledge on forests and carbon storage in the United States

Using forests to mitigate climate change has gained much interest in science and policy discussions. We examine the evidence for carbon benefits, environmental and monetary costs, risks and trade-offs for a variety of activities in three general strategies: (1) land use change to increase forest area (afforestation) and avoid deforestation; (2) carbon management in existing forests; and (3) the use of wood as biomass energy, in place of other building materials, or in wood products for carbon storage. We found that many strategies can increase forest sector carbon mitigation above the current 162-256 Tg C/yr, and that many strategies have co-benefits such as biodiversity, water, and economic opportunities. Each strategy also has trade-offs, risks, and uncertainties including possible leakage, permanence, disturbances, and climate change effects. Because approximately 60% of the carbon lost through deforestation and harvesting from 1700 to 1935 has not yet been recovered and because some strategies store carbon in forest products or use biomass energy, the biological potential for forest sector carbon mitigation is large. Several studies suggest that using these strategies could offset as much as 10-20% of current U.S. fossil fuel emissions. To obtain such large offsets in the United States would require a combination of afforesting up to one-third of cropland or pastureland, using the equivalent of about one-half of the gross annual forest growth for biomass energy, or implementing more intensive management to increase forest growth on one-third of forestland. Such large offsets would require substantial trade-offs, such as lower agricultural production and non-carbon ecosystem services from forests. The effectiveness of activities could be diluted by negative leakage effects and increasing disturbance regimes. Because forest carbon loss contributes to increasing climate risk and because climate change may impede regeneration following disturbance, avoiding deforestation and promoting regeneration after disturbance should receive high priority as policy considerations. Policies to encourage programs or projects that influence forest carbon sequestration and offset fossil fuel emissions should also consider major items such as leakage, the cyclical nature of forest growth and regrowth, and the extensive demand for and movement of forest products globally, and other greenhouse gas effects, such as methane and nitrous oxide emissions, and recognize other environmental benefits of forests, such as biodiversity, nutrient management, and watershed protection. Activities that contribute to helping forests adapt to the effects of climate change, and which also complement forest carbon storage strategies, would be prudent.     

Methylmercury exposure and health effects in humans: a worldwide concern

The paper builds on existing literature, highlighting current understanding and identifying unresolved issues about MeHg exposure, health effects, and risk assessment, and concludes with a consensus statement. Methylmercury is a potent toxin, bioaccumulated and concentrated through the aquatic food chain, placing at risk people, throughout the globe and across the socioeconomic spectrum, who consume predatory fish or for whom fish is a dietary mainstay. Methylmercury developmental neurotoxicity has constituted the basis for risk assessments and public health policies. Despite gaps in our knowledge on new bioindicators of exposure, factors that influence MeHg uptake and toxicity, toxicokinetics, neurologic and cardiovascular effects in adult populations, and the nutritional benefits and risks from the large number of marine and freshwater fish and fish-eating species, the panel concluded that to preserve human health, all efforts need to be made to reduce and eliminate sources of exposure.     

Risk factors for increased BTEX exposure in four Australian cities

Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) are common volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in urban airsheds. Elevated levels of VOCs have been reported in many airsheds at many locations, particularly those associated with industrial activity, wood heater use and heavy traffic. Exposure to some VOCs has been associated with health risks. There have been limited investigations into community exposures to BTEX using personal monitoring to elucidate the concentrations to which members of the community may be exposed and the main contributors to that exposure. In this cross sectional study we investigated BTEX exposure of 204 non-smoking, non-occupationally exposed people from four Australian cities. Each participant wore a passive BTEX sampler over 24h on five consecutive days in both winter and summer and completed an exposure source questionnaire for each season and a diary for each day of monitoring. The geometric mean (GM) and range of daily BTEX concentrations recorded for the study population were benzene 0.80 (0.04-23.8 ppb); toluene 2.83 (0.03-2120 ppb); ethylbenzene 0.49 (0.03-119 ppb); and xylenes 2.36 (0.04-697 ppb). A generalised linear model was used to investigate significant risk factors for increased BTEX exposure. Activities and locations found to increase personal exposure included vehicle repair and machinery use, refuelling of motor vehicles, being in an enclosed car park and time spent undertaking arts and crafts. A highly significant difference was found between the mean exposures in each of the four cities, which may be explained by differences in fuel composition, differences in the mix and density of industry, density of motor vehicles and air pollution meteorology.     

Household, hotel and market waste audits for composting in Vietnam and Laos.

In Da Nang and Ha Long, Vietnam and in Vientiane, Laos, there was interest by local authorities in separating and composting waste in order to reduce environmental and health problems at the local landfills and to produce a soil conditioner for local agricultural use. To assist in the planning of composting projects, three studies were carried out to estimate waste quantities and composition. 1. A 9-day audit of waste from 45 vendors in a market in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The total quantity of waste and the quantity in each of nine categories were estimated for each of six different types of vendors. 2. A 7-day audit of waste disposed by three hotels in the tourist area of Ha Long, Vietnam. Waste quantities were estimated in total, on a per guest basis, and in three main categories: compostables, recyclables and miscellaneous. 3. A 7-day audit of waste collected from 74 households in Da Nang, the fourth largest city in Vietnam. Waste from each household was separated into compostable and non-compostable waste. Over 60% of each waste source comprised compostable waste and this was considered significant enough to warrant further planning of composting operations.     

对摩尔(MOLE)可编程探测系统的双盲现场评估

双盲测试是一种经典的测试方法,适用于测试结果依赖人的影响或解释的情况.本文记录Sandia国家实验室对MOLE可编程探测系统进行双盲测试的整个过程,包括测试准备、测试设计、测试参数设定、进行测试、测试结果分析和讨论.     

The effects of quality improvement practices on team effectiveness: a mediational model

Researchers have been challenged to specify the processes that quality improvement (QI) practices could be expected to generate and to explain how they might contribute to organizational effectiveness. This research article meets that challenge through a study of 97 teams in the health care field. The authors developed a ‘Quality Improvement Practices Index’ and showed that QI practices could be differentiated from traditional team‐level variables, and that such practices affect both directly and indirectly (through team‐level variables) team effectiveness. Two models were tested using structural equation modelling. It was found that the perceptions of the impact of QI practices on team effectiveness varied depending on who was assessing the team's performance—members of the team or managers who were external to the team but responsible for the team's performance. The authors discuss the implications of these results both for researchers and practitioners. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chemical Stability of Capped Dredged Material Disposal Mounds in Long Island Sound, Usa

Geochemical analysis and visual inspection of cores collected from capped dredged material mounds revealed that in many cores, cap material was clearly distinguishable, both visually and chemically, from mound material. Contaminated dredged sediments were disposed in Long Island Sound eleven and seven years prior to sampling, and capped with uncontaminated dredged sediments. Core data provided no conclusive evidence of physical disturbance of, or chemical migration from, the contaminated mound sediments. Obvious chemical gradients of contaminant concentrations, which we propose are indicators of chemical migration, were not detected in the cores. Heterogeneity of the cap and mound sediments in some cores made the interface less distinct. We postulate that the preservation of spatial variability of sediment texture and associated contaminants observed within dredged material mounds is a result of the dredging process. Preservation of the textural and contaminant history of dredged sediments within finegrained cohesive cap materials provides evidence of the absence of physical or chemical disturbance.     

Antarctic krill aggregation characteristics from acoustic observations in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean

The distributional features and physical characteristics of 4830 krill (Euphausia superba Dana) aggregations detected acoustically in the Southwest Atlantic between 26 January and 21 February 1981 are described. Results are compared with aggregations detected in the Indian Ocean. Aggregations in the Atlantic were larger, closer to the surface and to each other than in the Indian Ocean. Similar patterns in the distribution of aggregation spacing along survey transects were found in the two areas, although the pattern of spacings in the Atlantic indicates differences in the scale of aggregation. Serial interdependence of aggregation variables was minimal in the Atlantic, with aggregation thickness, length and spacing showing weak inter-relationships. Weak functional association, between water depth and aggregation thickness was evident. Investigation of variability in aggregation structure in relation to prevailing environmental conditions gave equivocal results and no clear association between any aggregation variable and prevailing hydrography was observed. The implications of these results for future studies on krill aggregation are discussed in relation to a conceptual framework which was developed from the present results and aimed at linking krill aggregation characteristics to environmental features.     

Use of polymeric sub-micron ion-exchange resins for removal of lead, copper, zinc, and nickel from natural waters

This research investigated the removal capacity of polymeric sub-micron ion-exchange resins(SMR) for removal of lead, copper, zinc, and nickel from natural waters in competition with natural organic matter(NOM). Polymeric SMR particles were created and tested to ensure that they were adequately dispersed in the solution. They removed little NOM(10%or less) from river water and wastewater, indicating that competition from NOM was not a major concern. SMR were able to remove 82% ± 0.2% of lead, 46% ± 0.6% of copper, 55% ±20% of zinc, and 17% ± 2% of nickel from river water spiked with 500 μg/L of each. Similarly,in wastewater, they were able to remove 86% ± 0.1% of lead, 38% ± 0.8% of copper, 28% ± 1%of zinc, and 11% ± 1% of nickel.