Influence of filtration velocity on DON variation in BAF for micropolluted surface water treatment

Biological aerated filters (BAFs) are widely used for the treatment of micropolluted surface water. However, the biological process produces dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), which, as precursors of nitrogenous disinfection by-products, pose potential threats to drinking water safety. Therefore, to control DON in BAF effluent, it is necessary to study the influence of BAF operation parameters on DON production. In this study, the influence of filtration velocity in a BAF on DON production was investigated. Under different filtration velocity (0.5, 2, and 4 m/h) conditions, profiles of DON concentrations along the media layer were measured. The profile at a filtration velocity of 0.5 m/h showed a decreasing trend, and the ones under filtration velocities of 2 and 4 m/h fluctuated in a small range (from 0.1 to 0.4 mg/L). Moreover, the relatively high filtration velocities of 2 and 4 m/h resulted in a lower level of DON concentration. Additionally, 3D excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy was used to characterize DON. It is found that the patterns of DON at a relatively high filtration velocity condition (4 m/h) were obviously different from the ones under low filtration velocity conditions (0.5 and 2 m/h).     

Improve Compliance with Limited Resources by a Three-Group Inspection Regime

Frequent monitoring and relatively high fines are usually necessary to bring about improvements in environmental quality, but more challenging for many countries with limited human, material, and financial resources is to put them into practice. This paper developed a three-group model of a state-dependent enforcement in a repeated game to improve the policy implementation under limited inspection capacities. A certain number of firms are grouped (group 1, group 2, group 3) for different supervision intensity (e.g., the order of inspection probability corresponding to each group is p ₁?<?p ₂?<?p ₃) based on their environmental performance. The optimal policy parameters, such as inspection probability of each group and the probability that a firm found in compliance is moved to a better reputation group, were obtained as the basis for regulator’s policy making. Numerical simulations indicated that the three-group inspection regime can significantly increase compliance rate as compared with static enforcement with the same monitoring probability. Among the number of firms in each group under steady state conditions, group 2 had the most, group 1 was the second, and group 3 had the smallest. Analysis and prediction of a three-group reputation example provided a good experiment for the model. The results give a practical reference for the policy makers with inspection capacity constraints to achieve higher compliance rate.     

Best Practices in Environmental Communication: A Case Study of Louisiana's Coastal Crisis

This mixed-method case study of environmental communication best practices in Louisiana, USA, identifies trends and approaches as informed by environmental psychology. The results provide key insights for environmental communicators, especially communicators in coastal regions. In-depth interviews with both environmental psychologists and environmental communicators showed that both groups emphasized knowing the audience, telling local stories, building relationships with target audiences and targeted messaging. Both psychologists and communicators also frequently mentioned general messaging concerns of source credibility, avoiding controversial terms and talking about issues, impacts and solutions to which the target audience can relate. A representative survey revealed that Louisiana residents are most interested in hearing about how environmental issues such as climate change, coastal land loss and flooding are affecting their own communities. This finding supports the idea that environmental communicators could do a better job tapping into strong place attachment and sense of community among coastal residents to promote action.     

Consumer attitudes on the use of plastic and cloth bags

This paper examines consumer attitudes and behavior on the use of plastic and cloth bags in Eski?ehir, Turkey. To this end, a structural equation model is proposed. Environmental consciousness regarding the use of plastic bags, social pressure, support for the banning of plastic bags, the intention to use cloth bags and behavior to reduce plastic bag use are employed as latent variables in the model. The intention to use cloth bags and the behavior to reduce the use of plastic bags are defined as endogenous latent variables in the structural model. In the conclusion of the study, it is identified that consumers who are environmentally conscious and feel under social pressure, tend to reduce the use of plastic bags and switch to using cloth bags.     

In situ immobilization of cadmium in soil by stabilized biochar-supported iron phosphate nanoparticles

The potential for nanoscale phosphate amendments to remediate heavy metal contamination has been widely investigated, but the strong tendency of nanoparticles to form aggregates limits the application of this technique in soil. This study synthesized a composite of biochar-supported iron phosphate nanoparticle (BC@Fe₃(PO₄)₂) stabilized by a sodium carboxymethyl cellulose to improve the stability and mobility of the amendment in soil. The sedimentation test and column test demonstrated that BC@Fe₃(PO₄)₂ exhibited better stability and mobility than iron phosphate nanoparticles. After 28 days of simulated in situ remediation, the immobilization efficiency of Cd was 60.2 %, and the physiological-based extraction test bioaccessibility was reduced by 53.9 %. The results of sequential extraction procedures indicated that the transformation from exchangeable (EX) Cd to organic matter (OM) and residue (RS) was responsible for the decrease in Cd leachability in soil. Accordingly, the pot test indicated that Cd uptake by cabbage mustard was suppressed by 86.8 %. Compared to tests using iron phosphate nanoparticles, the addition of BC@Fe₃(PO₄)₂ to soil could reduce the Fe uptake of cabbage mustard. Overall, this study revealed that BC@Fe₃(PO₄)₂ could provide effective in situ remediation of Cd in soil.     

A moving target—incorporating knowledge of the spatial ecology of fish into the assessment and management of freshwater fish populations

Freshwater fish move vertically and horizontally through the aquatic landscape for a variety of reasons, such as to find and exploit patchy resources or to locate essential habitats (e.g., for spawning). Inherent challenges exist with the assessment of fish populations because they are moving targets. We submit that quantifying and describing the spatial ecology of fish and their habitat is an important component of freshwater fishery assessment and management. With a growing number of tools available for studying the spatial ecology of fishes (e.g., telemetry, population genetics, hydroacoustics, otolith microchemistry, stable isotope analysis), new knowledge can now be generated and incorporated into biological assessment and fishery management. For example, knowing when, where, and how to deploy assessment gears is essential to inform, refine, or calibrate assessment protocols. Such information is also useful for quantifying or avoiding bycatch of imperiled species. Knowledge of habitat connectivity and usage can identify critically important migration corridors and habitats and can be used to improve our understanding of variables that influence spatial structuring of fish populations. Similarly, demographic processes are partly driven by the behavior of fish and mediated by environmental drivers. Information on these processes is critical to the development and application of realistic population dynamics models. Collectively, biological assessment, when informed by knowledge of spatial ecology, can provide managers with the ability to understand how and when fish and their habitats may be exposed to different threats. Naturally, this knowledge helps to better evaluate or develop strategies to protect the long-term viability of fishery production. Failure to understand the spatial ecology of fishes and to incorporate spatiotemporal data can bias population assessments and forecasts and potentially lead to ineffective or counterproductive management actions.     

When experts disagree: the need to rethink indicator selection for assessing sustainability of agriculture

Sustainability indicators are well recognized for their potential to assess and monitor sustainable development of agricultural systems. A large number of indicators are proposed in various sustainability assessment frameworks, which raises concerns regarding the validity of approaches, usefulness and trust in such frameworks. Selecting indicators requires transparent and well-defined procedures to ensure the relevance and validity of sustainability assessments. The objective of this study, therefore, was to determine whether experts agree on which criteria are most important in the selection of indicators and indicator sets for robust sustainability assessments. Two groups of experts (Temperate Agriculture Research Network and New Zealand Sustainability Dashboard) were asked to rank the relative importance of eleven criteria for selecting individual indicators and of nine criteria for balancing a collective set of indicators. Both ranking surveys reveal a startling lack of consensus amongst experts about how best to measure agricultural sustainability and call for a radical rethink about how complementary approaches to sustainability assessments are used alongside each other to ensure a plurality of views and maximum collaboration and trust amongst stakeholders. To improve the transparency, relevance and robustness of sustainable assessments, the context of the sustainability assessment, including prioritizations of selection criteria for indicator selection, must be accounted for. A collaborative design process will enhance the acceptance of diverse values and prioritizations embedded in sustainability assessments. The process by which indicators and sustainability frameworks are established may be a much more important determinant of their success than the final shape of the assessment tools. Such an emphasis on process would make assessments more transparent, transformative and enduring.     

Energy–growth nexus revisited: an empirical application on transition countries

This study investigates the energy–growth nexus for transition countries analysing Granger causality between GDP growth per capita and energy use per capita. For this purpose, 17 countries located at Central and Eastern Europe and Caucasian region are chosen and a panel dataset consisting of these countries for the available period of 1990–2011 is studied. In the study, Granger causality is investigated using bootstrapped panel causality approach proposed by Konya (Econ Modell 23(6):978–992, 2006). The approach gives consistent results in case of cross-sectional dependency and heterogeneity of slope coefficients between countries. Causality is examined for two scenarios: one with a trend and one without a trend. The results reveal that, in general, there is no causality running between energy consumption and economic growth, yet there is causality running from energy consumption to economic growth for some countries and sign of the relationship is always negative. Therefore, increases in energy consumption harm economic growth.