Minimax Regret Analysis for Municipal Solid Waste Management: An Interval-Stochastic Programming Approach

Abstract

In this study, an interval minimax regret programming (IMMRP) method is developed for the planning of municipal solid waste (MSW) management under uncertainty. It improves on the existing interval programming and minimax regret analysis methods by allowing uncertainties presented as both intervals and random variables to be effectively communicated into the optimization process. The IMMRP can account for economic consequences under all possible scenarios without any assumption on their probabilities. The developed method is applied to a case study of long-term MSW management planning under uncertainty. Multiple scenarios associated with different cost and risk levels are analyzed. Reasonable solutions are generated, demonstrating complex tradeoffs among system cost, regret level, and system-failure risk. The method can also facilitate examination of the difference between the cost incurred with identified strategy and the least cost under an ideal condition. The results can help determine desired plans and policies for waste management under a variety of uncertainties.     

Chemical fluxes in time through forest ecosystems in the UK - Soil response to pollution recovery

Long term trend analysis of bulk precipitation, throughfall and soil solution elemental fluxes from 12 years monitoring at 10 ICP Level II forest sites in the UK reveal coherent national chemical trends indicating recovery from sulphur deposition and acidification. Soil solution pH increased and sulphate and aluminium decreased at most sites. Trends in nitrogen were variable and dependant on its form. Dissolved organic nitrogen increased in bulk precipitation, throughfall and soil solution at most sites. Nitrate in soil solution declined at sites receiving high nitrogen deposition. Increase in soil dissolved organic carbon was detected - a response to pollution recovery, changes in soil temperature and/or increased microbial activity. An increase of sodium and chloride was evident - a possible result of more frequent storm events at exposed sites. The intensive and integrated nature of monitoring enables the relationships between climate/pollutant exposure and chemical/biological response in forestry to be explored.     

Building the role of local government authorities towards the achievement of the human right to water in rural Tanzania

In recent decades, many changes have occurred in the approach to financing and operating water services in developing countries. The demand‐responsive approach is now adopted in many countries in a context of donor‐supported decentralization processes, which gives more responsibility to end users. However, the government's responsibility at different levels is enforced by the international recognition of the human right to water. This paper examines specific actions that build the role of local government authorities in this scenario. A collaboration between an international NGO and a rural district in Tanzania from 2006 to 2009 is used as an action research case study that is representative of local capacity‐building needs in decentralized contexts and rural areas. Three main challenges were detected: i) lack of reliable information; ii) poor allocation of resources in terms of equity; and iii) lack of long‐term community management support from the district. Two mechanisms were established: i) water point mapping as a tool for information and planning; and ii) a District Water and Sanitation Unit Support (DWUS) for community management. The results show how the framework provided by the goal of human right to water helps to define useful strategies for equity‐oriented planning and post‐project support at the local level.     

Predicting molybdenum toxicity to higher plants: Estimation of toxicity threshold values

Four plant species (oilseed rape, Brassica napus L.; red clover, Trifolium pratense L.; ryegrass, Lolium perenne L.; and tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum L.) were tested on ten soils varying widely in soil properties to assess molybdenum (Mo) toxicity. A larger range (66-fold-609-fold) of added Mo concentrations resulting in 50% inhibition of yield (ED₅₀) was found among soils than among plant species (2-fold-38-fold), which illustrated that the soils differed widely in the expression of Mo toxicity. Toxicity thresholds based on soil solution Mo narrowed the variation among soils compared to thresholds based on added Mo concentrations. We conclude that plant bioavailability of Mo in soil depends on Mo solubility, but this alone did not decrease the variability in observed toxicity enough to be used in risk assessment and that other soil properties influencing Mo toxicity to plants need to be considered.     

Levels of household particulate matter and environmental tobacco smoke exposure in the first year of life for a cohort at risk for asthma in urban Syracuse, NY

The Syracuse, NY, AUDIT (Assessment of Urban Dwellings for Indoor Toxics) study was designed to quantify asthma agent levels in the inner-city homes of a birth cohort whose mothers had a diagnosis of asthma. Risk of exposure to particulate matter (PM), particle number and tobacco smoke was assessed in 103 infants' homes. Repeat measurements were made in 44% of the homes. Infants also were examined on a quarterly basis during the first year of life to monitor their respiratory health and urine cotinine levels. Overall geometric mean (GM) values for PM(2.5) of 21.2 μg/m(3) and for PM(10) of 31.8 μg/m(3) were recorded in homes at visit 1. GM values for PM(2.5) and PM(10) in smoking homes were higher at 26.3 and 37.7 μg/m(3), while values in non-smoking homes were 12.7 and 21.2 μg/m(3) respectively. Fifty-four percent of mothers (55/103) smoked at some point in pregnancy (39% smoked throughout pregnancy). Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure occurred in 68% of homes during the infants' first year. Significant to this study was the size- and time-resolved monitoring of PM at 140 home visits and the classification of PM count data. PM number counts ranged from continuously low levels (little indoor activity) to continuously high counts (constant indoor activity), and recorded apparent instances of prolonged repeated cigarette smoking. Wheezing in the first year of life was recorded for 38% of the infants (39/103). Adjusted logistic regression modeling demonstrated that elevated levels of indoor PM(2.5) (≥ 15 μg/m(3)) were a significant risk factor for infant wheezing after controlling for infant gender, mothers' age and education level, season of home visit and presence of carpeting (OR 4.21; 95% CI 1.36-13.03; p=0.013). An elevated level of the nicotine metabolite cotinine in infant urine also was associated with infant wheezing after adjusting for infant gender, mothers' age and education level (OR 5.10; 95% CI 0.96-27.24; p=0.057). ETS exposure was pervasive in the AUDIT cohort and a risk for developing infants in this urban population.     

Social cost of environmental pollution and application of counter measures through clean development mechanism: in the context of developing countries

The developing countries i.e., the non-Annex-I countries (parties to the Kyoto Protocol but not responsible to any reduction target yet) in the Kyoto Protocol whose economies are in transition are also allowed to reduce GHG emissions. Among these, the countries that have accepted the Kyoto Protocol may be benefited from CDM projects to promote sustainable development. The developed countries i.e., the Annex-I countries (that have signed the Kyoto Protocol & are responsible to have specific GHG emission reduction target) or the investing countries, in return, have privilege to purchase CER credits (in units equivalent to one tonne of CO₂ gas emission reduction) to meet the emission target as specified in the Kyoto Protocol. The key step in understanding about CDM is to grasp the concept of “baseline” and “additionality”. The “Baseline” is the emissions level that would have existed if a CDM project had not happened. The feature of an approved CDM project is that the planned reductions would not occur without the additional incentive provided by emission reduction credits; this concept is known as “Additionality”. According to environmental additionality concept, baseline emission minus project emission is equal to emissions reduction. “Investment Additionality,” ultimately rejected during negotiation of the “Marrakech Accords” and “Financial Additionality,” are the two important concepts. The concept of trading of CER matches to the idea of Pigovian tax (equal to the negative externality and which is considered one of the “traditional” means of bringing a modicum of market forces) in Economics, making pollution more costly to the polluter, as the polluters have negative cost since they save money by polluting; hence, there are supposed negative externalities associated with the market activity. Economic theory predicts that in an economy where the cost of reaching mutual agreement between parties is high and where pollution is diffuse, Pigovian tax will be an efficient way to promote the public interest and will lead to an improvement of the quality of life measured by the Genuine Progress Indicator and other human economic indicators, as well as higher gross domestic product growth. We can seek a level of pollution such that the marginal savings (MS) to one polluting unit from pollution (−MC) is equal to marginal damage (MD) from pollution over the entire population, since pollution is a public bad i.e., MS (x*) = ∑MD_i (x*) where ∑D_i (x) is the total damage. Though the responsibility of reduction in emission does not lie on the non-Annex-I countries, still effort of maintaining global emission balance can be expected equally from developed and developing countries. The responsibilities of Kyoto Protocol are (a) to reduce global GHG emissions, (b) to bring about sustainable development in the developing countries lie on above two groups since its effect on February 16, 2005. Different polluters have different costs of pollution control. The least costly way of controlling pollution from various sources that reflects different costs of pollution control making the set of environmental regulations to achieve the emission target at the lowest cost makes the regulation cost-effective. Though efficiency is not attainable for many regulations, cost-effectiveness is attainable.     

Long Range Cloud Diffusion in the Lower Atmosphere

Previous attempts to measure heavy metals in air are discussed with particular reference to lead. A polarographic method was developed for lead in air samples taken on glass fiber sheet. Using this method, the distribution of lead across the glass fiber sheet was investigated, and within experimental error, found to be uniform. Air samples from 18 Ontario cities, previously analyzed for benzo [a]pyrene content were analyzed.     

Integrated biological responses of zebrafish (Danio rerio) to analyze water quality in regions under anthropogenic influence

This study analyzed water quality in regions around Patos lagoon (Southern Brazil) that are under anthropogenic pressure. Water samples were collected from five different sites, including one used as a source for human consumption (COR) and others known to be influenced by human activities (IP). Danio rerio (Teleostei, Cyprinidae) organisms were exposed for 24 h to these water samples, plus a control group. It was observed that: (1) reactive oxygen species levels were lower in COR and IP than in the control group; (2) glutamate-cysteine ligase (catalytic subunit) expression was higher in COR than in other sites; (3) exposure to all water samples affected long-term memory (LTM) when compared to control group. Thus, some water samples possess the ability to modulate the antioxidant system and to induce a decline in cognitive functions, as measured by LTM. The obtained results indicate that a combination of variables of different organization level (molecular, biochemical and behavioral) can be employed to analyze water quality in impacted regions.     

Effects of Road Networks on Bird Populations

Abstract: One potential contributor to the worldwide decline of bird populations is the increasing prevalence of roads, which have several negative effects on birds and other vertebrates. We synthesized the results of studies and reviews that explore the effects of roads on birds with an emphasis on paved roads. The well‐known direct effects of roads on birds include habitat loss and fragmentation, vehicle‐caused mortality, pollution, and poisoning. Nevertheless, indirect effects may exert a greater influence on bird populations. These effects include noise, artificial light, barriers to movement, and edges associated with roads. Moreover, indirect and direct effects may act synergistically to cause decreases in population density and species richness. Of the many effects of roads, it appears that road mortality and traffic noise may have the most substantial effects on birds relative to other effects and taxonomic groups. Potential measures for mitigating the detrimental effects of roads include noise‐reduction strategies and changes to roadway lighting and vegetation and traffic flow. Road networks and traffic volumes are projected to increase in many countries around the world. Increasing habitat loss and fragmentation and predicted species distribution shifts due to climate change are likely to compound the overall effects of roads on birds.     

麦草化学制浆造纸的清洁生产工艺

提出了有机麦草加无机化肥的麦草化肥制浆造纸清洁生产工艺,以亚硫酸无机复盐替代钠碱蒸煮麦草制浆造纸,提取黑液中木质类、腐殖酸、无机氮磷等有效成分,将其制备成可固沙保土的新型环保肥料.解决了麦草化学制浆造纸黑液的污染问题,技术经济效益和环保效益俱佳.