Environmental democracy in action: The Toxics Release Inventory

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) created by the 1986 Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act initially received limited attention. During the early years of its implementation, the TRI has become the basis for a national experiment in voluntaristic problem solving among citizens and industry, but that process of environmental democracy hinges on citizens' ability to actually acquire, understand, and apply the new data on industrial toxic emissions. A national study of TRI-using organizations in the public and private sectors reveals that effective citizen access depends in part on the efforts of intermediary public interest groups to bridge individual needs and right-to-know data. Although the TRI has had early success as a supplement to conventional command and control regulation, questions exist about the extent to which state and federal government should or must provide special efforts to make environmental information access work for citizens.     

The costs to farmers and estate owners of public access to the countryside

This paper considers the external costs of public access on privately‐owned farm and estate land in Scotland. The increased costs and reductions in income associated with public access are found to be highly variable and site‐specific, with the main effects on land in areas of high population density or high scenic quality, or with recreational attributes. Although costs were on average higher for estates, reflecting their larger area and recreational potential, on a per‐hectare basis the costs of access were greater for the farm sector. Whilst much of the public access exists through de facto rights on open‐access land, there was evidence for an increasing commercialization of open‐air recreation, particularly with respect to more specialized activities. The discussion considers the extent to which the costs of access for land managers are reflected in policies determining the public provision of countryside access.     

JUSTIFICATION FOR A REDUCTION IN THE CREST-STAGE GAGE PROGRAM IN LOUISIANA1

The crest-stage gage program in Louisiana was evaluated to determine if the data were adequate for use in developing regional flood-frequency equations and to determine if any crest-stage gage stations could be discontinued. An abundance of data at many crest-stage gage stations and a lack of data for urban areas and flat-slope areas indicated a need for a shift in the number, type, and locations of gages. Correlations and comparisons of annual peak discharges and watershed characteristics of 96 existing stations resulted in the elimination of 72 stations and the addition of one new station, reducing the total network to 25 stations that could be used for future flood-frequency analyses. The adequacy of the reduced network for development and verification of regional flood-frequency equations was tested by comparing a set of regional flood-frequency equations developed using data from the full network with a set developed using data from the reduced network. The results indicate that the crest-stage gage network can be reduced to 25 stations and still provide adequate information for future flood-frequency analyses.     

The British road to post war planning: the forty‐year journey to the 1947 town & country planning act

This paper analyses the currents which gave rise to the 1947 Town & Country Planning Act. It describes the main statutory events in the first half of the 20th century and considers the progress made in implementing the legislation. It is argued that, while the 1947 Act was a major advance on what went before, it is not a significant departure.     

‘The good district’: Newbury as a seed‐bed for success

This study analyses the behaviour of high technology and new firms in the Newbury District of Berkshire in terms of employment, location, genealogy, and local economic impact. It finds that encouraged by good communications networks and a ‘resident electronics establishment’, the direct, as opposed to the indirect, employment consequences are generally encouraging, but not widely replicable. Moreover, the general picture of employment growth masks important differences in labour demand across occupations, particularly with respect to ‘traditional male’ skilled manual workers.     

Will science parks generate the fifth wave?

The paper examines characteristics of science parks in the face of employment decline, raising doubts about the scale of their success. The paper re‐examines previous research on the existence and causes of long waves of economic growth and decline and concludes that if these are not generated by innovations in production, then it should not be surprising that science parks have not lived up to expectations.     

SHORT-TERM FORECASTING OF SNOWMELT RUNOFF USING ARMAX MODELS1

ABSTRACT: Time series models of the ARMAX class were investigated for use in forecasting daily riverflow resulting from combined snowmelt/rainfall. The Snowmelt Runoff Model (Martinec-Rango Model) is shown to have a form similar to the ARMAX model. The advantage of the ARMAX approach is that analytical model identification and parameter estimation techniques are available. In addition, previous forecast errors can be included to improve forecasts and confidence limits can be estimated for the forecasts. Diagnostic checks are available to determine if the model is performing properly. Finally, Kalman filtering can be used to allow the model parameters to vary continuously to reflect changing basin runoff conditions. The above advantages result in improved flow forecasts with fewer model parameters.     

Opencasting — putting the environment at risk?

Opencast coalmining has been undertaken in Britain since 1942, but national policy towards its role in the energy market has fluctuated, and today there is a growing awareness of its detrimental impact on the environment. This paper explores the changing policy background since 1974 and, through an examination of recent planning appeal decisions, assesses the weight placed on the competing factors underlying the present formulation of government policy. It is submitted that at present government has failed to formulate a coherent policy in terms of land‐use and that the cost of this failure is a continued erosion of the environment.     

EFFECTS OF DIVERSIONS ON THE NORTH AMERICAN GREAT LAKES1

ABSTRACT: Water level fluctuations of the Great Lakes often have created regional controversies among the states and Canadian provinces that share this vast resource. Even though the 100-year range of their water levels is only four to five feet, episodes of high and low Great Lakes water levels have been a recurring problem throughout the twentieth century. The possibility of increased diversion and consumptive use has exacerbated the existing conflicts over how to manage this water resource. A research project evaluated the effects of interbasin diversion on the Great Lakes system and on the industries that depend on the maintenance of historical water levels, namely hydropower and commercial navigation. The simulation approach employed in this research and some of the important findings are presented. The approach is similar to that used in recent government studies of Great Lakes water level regulation. Several significant modifications were made specifically addressing the diversion issue. Aggregate annual impacts to hydropower and shipping resulting from a diversion of 10,000 cubic feet per second were found to vary from 60 to 100 million dollars. Increases in impacts as a function of diversion rate are nonlinear for the navigation industry.