Residential Water Consumption,Motivation for Conserving Water and the Continuing Tragedy of the Commons

This paper explores the effect of the perception of externalities (PE) on residential water consumption. Externalities occur when individuals make decisions that harm others, without concern for the impact or feeling a need to compensate for the harm. The aim of this study was to investigate whether PE affects people's motivation to conserve water, and, consequently, the practice of residential water consumption. Two hundred eighty Mexican citizens responded to a questionnaire investigating how they perceived that other individuals in their community wasted water. Respondents were also asked about their motives to conserve water, and direct observations of individual water consumption were recorded. Results were processed within a structural equations model, which revealed that motives to conserve water significantly inhibit water consumption. Since the perception of externalities also inhibits conservation motives, the resulting effect of PE on water consumption is positive. This result means that the more people perceive that others waste water, the less their conservation motives, and, therefore, the more their own water consumption.     

Influence of Fragmentation and Bottlenecks on Genetic Divergence of Wild Turkey Populations

Abstract: There are few empirical studies of the effects of human-induced fragmentation and bottlenecks on the genetic structure of field populations. Assessment of these effects is necessary to evaluate the relevance of predictions obtained from simulation and theoretical models to the management of wild populations. The genetic structure of populations of the Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), which have been heavily influenced by human activities, was examined using allozyme electrophoresis Allele frequencies at four polymorphic loci were estimated for 27 localities using 461 turkeys The estimated proportion of genetic variation resulting from differences among populations (F_st= 0.102) was one of the highest reported for any avian species and was also much higher than that observed between turkey populations that had not passed through known bottlenecks Almost all of the variation (89%) among populations was accounted for by differences between groups of populations with different histories of manipulation Fragmented distributions and population bottlenecks due to human activities appear to have increased genetic differentiation among populations of wild turkeys. This observation agrees with theoretical predictions concerning the effects of isolation and bottlenecks on the genetic structure of field populations.     

Global variability of food waste chemical composition and its consequences on the production of biofuels and chemical compounds

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The use of food waste (FW) for the production of biofuels and value-added compounds is growing worldwide. However, the significant chemical...