Seat Belt Use in States and Territories with Primary and Secondary Laws -- United States, 2006

Problem

Motor-vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death in the United States. In the event of a crash, seat belts are highly effective in preventing serious injury and death.

Methods

Data from the 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were used to calculate prevalence of seat belt use by state and territory and by type of state seat belt law (primary vs. secondary enforcement).

Results

In 2006, seat belt use among adults ranged from 58.3% to 91.9% in the states and territories. Seat belt use was 86.0% in states and territories with primary enforcement laws and 75.9% in states with secondary enforcement laws.

Discussion

Seat belt use continues to increase in the United States. Primary enforcement laws remain a more effective strategy than secondary enforcement laws in getting motor-vehicle occupants to wear their seat belts.     

Lessons from Integrating Fishers of Arapaima in Small-Scale Fisheries Management at the Mamirauá Reserve,Amazon

Fishers and small-scale fisheries worldwide have been marginalized historically. Now it is clear that integrating fishers in management processes is key to resource conservation, but it is less clear how to do it. Here, based on a literature review and new information, we present and analyze a case in which the participation of fishers in the management process was crucial in recovering an overexploited small-scale fishery for the pirarucu (Arapaima spp.) in the Amazon Basin, Brazil. In 8 years of experimental management, from 1999 to 2006, the population of pirarucu increased 9-fold (from about 2200 to 20,650 individuals), harvest quotas increased 10-fold (from 120 to 1249 individuals), and fishers’ participation in the management process increased and they benefited from increased monetary returns. Additionally, the number of communities conducting the management scheme increased from 4 in 1999 to 108 in 2006, following the demands of fishers and regional government agencies. Based on our analysis, we suggest that the participation of fishers in the management of other small-scale fisheries in the world can be improved by focusing on (1) applying the knowledge and skills of fishers in resource monitoring and management, (2) bridging knowledge systems among all involved stakeholders, (3) collaborating with fishers that are interested in, and capable of conducting, resource conservation schemes, and (4) conducting management under conditions of uncertainty.     

The Properties of Poly(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-Lactide) Prepared by Different Synthesis Procedure

Different synthesis methods were applied to determine optimal conditions for polymerization of (3S)-cis-3,6-dimethyl-1,4-dioxane-2,5-dione (l-lactide), in order to obtain poly(l-lactide) (PLLA). Bulk polymerizations (in vacuum sealed vessel, high pressure reactor and in microwave field) were performed with tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate as the initiator. Synthesis in the vacuum sealed vessel was carried out at the temperature of 150 °C. To reduce the reaction time second polymerization process was carried out in the high pressure reactor at 100 °C and at the pressure of 138 kPa. The third type of rapid synthesis was done in the microwave reactor at 100 °C, using frequency of 2.45 GHz and power of 150 W at the temperature of 100 °C. The temperature in this method was controlled via infrared system for in-bulk measuring. The solution polymerization (with trifluoromethanesulfonic acid as initiator) was possible even at the temperature of 40 °C, yielding PLLA with narrow molecular weight distribution in a very short period of time (less than 6 h). The obtained polymers had the number-average molecular weights ranging from 43,000 to 178,000 g mol⁻¹ (polydispersity index ranging from 1 to 3) according to the gel permeation chromatography measurements. The polymer structure was characterized by Fourier transform infrared and NMR spectroscopy. Thermal properties of the obtained polymers were investigated using thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry.     

Biodegradation of aromatic hydrocarbons by Haloarchaea and their use for the reduction of the chemical oxygen demand of hypersaline petroleum produced water

Ten halophilic Archaea (Haloarchaea) strains able to degrade aromatic compounds were isolated from five hypersaline locations; salt marshes in the Uyuni salt flats in Bolivia, crystallizer ponds in Chile and Cabo Rojo (Puerto Rico), and sabkhas (salt flats) in the Persian Gulf (Saudi Arabia) and the Dead Sea (Israel and Jordan). Phylogenetic identification of the isolates was determined by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The isolated Haloarchaea strains were able to grow on a mixture of benzoic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, and salicylic acid (1.5 mM each) and a mixture of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, pyrene and benzo[a]anthracene (0.3 mM each). Evaluation of the extent of degradation of the mixed aromatic hydrocarbons demonstrated that the isolates could degrade these compounds in hypersaline media containing 20% NaCl. The strains were shown to reduce the COD of hypersaline crude oil reservoir produced waters significantly beyond that achieved using standard hydrogen peroxide treatment alone.     

Sustainable development of deep-water seaport: the case of Lithuania

Introduction  

In 2003, the Japan International Cooperation Agency carried out a development feasibility study of Klaipeda Seaport (Lithuania). The focus in this study was the evaluation of environmental impacts of the port expansion because it is located in an ecologically sensitive area. While the Japanese researchers focused on the environmental impact analysis, they did not provide unambiguous conclusions. The problems remained unresolved and required further, more detailed consideration and deeper analysis.     

Challenges posed by climate change: is environmental protection an ethical issue?

Climate is one of the more complex physical systems in nature, its behaviour being fundamentally non-linear and chaotic. In assessing the potential risks from climate change and the costs of averting it, researchers and policymakers encounter pervasive uncertainty. Sceptics demand to get rid of the inherent uncertainties, and some experts, on the other end, keep sending out messages of catastrophic scenarios hoping that this will increase people’s awareness of the danger we face. The recent admission of a mistake in IPCC’s Climate change 2007 report (promptly broadcast by all the major media groups and newspapers from Jan. 20th 2010 onwards) made by the head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—that Himalayan glaciers could melt away by 2035 (the IPCC claim of 2035 is wrong by over 300 years.)—has already brought a damage to the IPCC’s reputation that is likely to be considerable. But in this paper, perhaps risking being provocative and paradoxical, instead of looking for the right answers to what we think are inevitable uncertainties, we intend to search for new questions that may lead to a new way of thinking and may bring about new lifestyles and behaviour for citizens and firms.     

The importance of monitoring and evaluation in adaptive maritime spatial planning

Adaptive maritime spatial planning (MSP) uses monitoring and evaluation of the effectiveness of spatial and temporal management measures to promote understanding and improve planning and decision-making. An adaptive approach to MSP involves exploring alternative ways to meet management objectives, predicting the outcomes of alternative management measures, implementing one or more of these alternative management measures, monitoring to learn about the effects of management measures, and then using the results to update knowledge and adjust management actions. A monitoring and evaluation plan should be designed to be both cost effective and comprehensive. The process of setting and assessing performance metrics requires that the ecological and socio-economic objectives of the spatial management plan must be clearly stated up front for management actions to reflect those objectives accurately. To evaluate the effectiveness of a MSP plan, a range of ecological, socio-economic and institutional indicators need to be developed and monitored.     

Technologically enhanced 210Pb and 210Po in iron and steel industry

Iron and steel manufacture has been ranked as the largest industrial source of environmental contamination in the USA; the wastes generated in their production processes contain heavy elements that can be a source of contamination, and natural radionuclides that can produce an occupational and/or public radiological impact. In this work the potential occupational effective dose rate (μSv/y) due to inhalation in four integrated steel-making factories from Egypt has been evaluated, by assuming a well defined scenario and with basis in the ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po activity concentrations determined in ore and wastes collected in the aforementioned factories. Activity concentrations, in Bq/kg, of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po, and leachable Pb and Fe were measured using gamma-ray spectrometry based on HPGe detector, alpha particle spectrometry based on PIPS detector, and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Levels of ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po in the range of <DL-4238 and 1-5660 Bq/kg, respectively, were found. According to the assumed scenarios, the occupational exposures by inhalation are much lower than the recommended annual effective dose limit, although the environmental impact due to waste storage and/or use should be considered based on case by case evaluation.     

Projecting Climate Change Effects on Forest Net Primary Productivity in Subtropical Louisiana,USA

This study projected responses of forest net primary productivity (NPP) to three climate change scenarios at a resolution of 5 km × 5 km across the state of Louisiana, USA. In addition, we assessed uncertainties associated with the NPP projection at the grid and state levels. Climate data of the scenarios were derived from Community Climate System Model outputs. Changes in annual NPP between 2000 and 2050 were projected with the forest ecosystem model PnET-II. Results showed that forest productivity would increase under climate change scenarios A1B and A2, but with scenario B1, it would peak during 2011–2020 and then decline. The projected average NPP under B1 over the years from 2000 to 2050 was significantly different from those under A1B and A2. Forest NPP appeared to be primarily a function of temperature, not precipitation. Uncertainties of the NPP projection were due to large spatial resolution of the climate variables. Overall, this study suggested that in order to project effects of climate change on forest ecosystem at regional level, modeling uncertainties could be reduced by increasing the spatial resolution of the climate projections.     

Priorities for Improving the Scientific Foundation of Conservation Policy in North America

Abstract:  The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) can enhance conservation of biodiversity in North America by increasing its engagement in public policy. Toward this end, the North America Section of SCB is establishing partnerships with other professional organizations in order to speak more powerfully to decision makers and taking other actions—such as increasing interaction with chapters—geared to engage members more substantively in science-policy issues. Additionally, the section is developing a North American Biodiversity Blueprint, which spans the continental United States and Canada and is informed by natural and social science. This blueprint is intended to clarify the policy challenges for protecting continental biodiversity, to foster bilateral collaboration to resolve common problems, and to suggest rational alternative policies and practices that are more likely than current practices to sustain North America's natural heritage. Conservation scientists and practitioners can play a key role by drawing policy makers' attention to ultimate, as well as proximate, causes of biodiversity decline and to the ecological and economic consequences of not addressing these threats.