Ethological farm programs and the “market” for animal welfare

Ethological farm programs as they exist in Switzerland are compared with environmental farm programs in respect of demand and supply. Because animal welfare is not a public good but rather a relation that causes psychological externalities, the demand for animal welfare has a different standing in economic theory than the demand for a clean environment. The supply of animal welfare by farmers, however, largely follows the patterns known from the delivery of environmental goods. Farm size, age and education, and also family size and capital intensity are influencing variables. The paper concludes that the design of ethological farm programs should be based on broad public discussions as described by deliberation theorists rather than willingness-to-pay studies.     

The Ethics of Constrained Choice: How the Industrialization of Agriculture Impacts Farming and Farmer Behavior

The industrialization of agriculture not only alters the ways in which agricultural production occurs, but it also impacts the decisions farmers make in important ways. First, constraints created by the economic environment of farming limit what options a farmer has available to him. Second, because of the industrialization of agriculture and the resulting economic pressures it creates for farmers, the fact that decisions are constrained creates new ethical challenges for farmers. Having fewer options when faced with severe economic pressures is a very different situation for farmers than having many options available. We discuss the implications of constrained choice and show that it increases the likelihood that farmers will consider unethical behavior.     

Respecting The Autonomy of European and American Consumers: Defending Positive Labels on Gm Foods

In her recent article, “Does autonomy count in favor of labeling genetically modified food?,” Kirsten Hansen argues that in Europe, voluntary negative labeling of non-GM foods respects consumer autonomy just as well as mandatory positive labeling of foods with GM content. She also argues that because negative labeling places labeling costs upon those consumers that want to know whether food is GM, negative labeling is better policy than positive labeling. In this paper, we argue that Hansen’s arguments are mistaken in several respects. Most importantly, she underestimates the demands of respecting autonomy and overestimates the cost of positive labeling. Moreover, she mistakenly implies that only a small minority of people desire information about GM content. We also explore the extent to which her arguments would apply to the US context, and argue that any discussion of the relationship between autonomy and labeling should include not just considerations of consumer autonomy but also considerations of what we call citizen autonomy.     

Human Diets and Animal Welfare: the Illogic of the Larder

Few moral arguments have been made against vegetarian diets. One exception is the “Logic of the Larder:” We do animals a favor by purchasing their meat, eggs, and milk, for if we did not purchase these products, fewer animals would exist. This argument fails because many farm animals have lives that are probably not worth living, while others prevent a significant number of wild animals from existing. Even if this were not so, the purchase of animal products uses resources that could otherwise be used to bring a much greater number of animals into existence.     

Reaction kinetics of waste sulfuric acid using H2O2 catalytic oxidation

The process of recovering waste sulfuric acids using H₂O₂ catalytic oxidation is studied in this paper. Activated carbon was used as catalyst. Main operating parameters, such as temperature, feed rate of H₂O₂, and catalyst dosage, have effects on the removal of impurities from waste sulfuric acids. The reaction kinetics of H₂O₂ catalytic oxidation on impurities are discussed. At a temperature of 90°C, H₂O₂ feeding rate of 50 g (kg waste acid)^?1 per hour, and catalyst dosage of 0.2 wt% (waste acid weight), the removal efficiencies of COD and chrominance were both more than 99%, the recovery ratio of sulfuric acid was more than 95%, and the utilization ratio of H₂O₂ was 88.57%.

Implications: Waste sulfuric acid is a big environmental problem in China. The amount of waste sulfuric acid is huge every year. Many small and medium-sized businesses produced lots of waste acids, but they don’t have an appropriate method to treat and recover them. H₂O₂ catalytic oxidation has been used to treat and recover waste sulfuric acid and activated carbon is the catalyst here. Main parameters, such as temperature, feed rate of H₂O₂, and catalyst dosage, have been investigated. The reaction kinetics are discussed. This method can be economical and feasible for most small and medium-sized businesses.     

Using linear regression to measure bird abundance

This study investigated methods for identifying daily incidence rates for bird species. It focused on relationships between incidence rates, site and season. We used sightings of 23 common resident species routinely reported every month from January 2004 to December 2007 at seven wetland locations in the Thale Noi non-hunting area of southern Thailand. Our findings revealed that the log-linear model gives a quite satisfactory fit, so it appears a suitable type of model for bird abundance. On taking logarithms of the incidence rates though, the zero counts must be replaced by an appropriate constant. Our model suggests that Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) was found at the Thale Noi non-hunting area with the highest incidence rate. In contrast, we found a low mean of model outputs for Lesser Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna javanica) relative to the mean in the data, and this species was not observed on at least 25 % or 3 days per year. These data had a low number of zeros and a large number of various species. Therefore, we recognize a remark on “what is being counted” that it is important to reasonably explain the species abundance in terms of statistical and ecological approaches.     

基于改性凹凸棒土的强化混凝处理高藻低浊原水工艺

针对水厂低浊高藻水的处理难题,研究了改性凹凸棒土(改性凹土)联合聚合氯化铝(PAC)强化混凝的除藻除浊效果。设计实验原水条件为叶绿素a(chl-a)浓度为98.58~110.35μg/L,浊度(5.6±0.5)NTU。考察了PAC和改性凹土的复配投加量、混凝沉淀时间、pH、投加顺序、搅拌速率等工艺参数对Chl-a和浊度耦合去除效果的影响。结果表明,"PAC+改性凹土"对Chl-a和浊度的去除效果明显优于单投PAC的效果。当PAC投药量12 mg/L,改性凹土投药量10 mg/L,沉淀时间20 min时,对Chl-a和浊度的去除率可分别达到92.5%和89.2%,可至少减少40%的PAC投量,且形成的矾花密实,沉降速度快,去除效率高。最适pH范围为7~8。投加顺序应为先投加改性凹土,混合搅拌转数宜慢速,可控制为50 r/min。     

The application of regenerable sorbents for mercury capture in gas phase

Mercury is a well-known toxic element, and flue gas streams emitted from coal-fired utilities are one of the largest anthropogenic sources of this element. This study briefly reviews the proposed technologies for reducing mercury emissions from coal combustion, focusing on an emerging process which involves the use of regenerable sorbents and especially those loaded with noble metals. Among the mercury species formed during coal combustion, elemental mercury is the most difficult to remove from the flue gases due to its low reactivity and insolubility in water. The widespread interest in using regenerable sorbents with metals is due to their ability to retain elemental mercury. With this technology, not only can efficiencies of 100 % be reached in the retention of elemental mercury but also a way to avoid the generation of new wastes loaded with mercury. This study considers the main aspects that must be taken into account when developing effective regenerable sorbents for mercury capture, with special attention to sorbents containing noble metals. The characteristics of this process are compared with those of other processes in a more advanced state of development.