As part of a larger study to quantify and map ecosystem services in southeast Australia, we estimated carbon stored in biomass
and soils and the net ecosystem carbon exchange between the land surface and the atmosphere in the Australian Capital Region
(ACR). Our aim was to understand and quantify how different human-modified landscapes provide an essential ecosystem service:
the exchange and storage of carbon in the landscape. Using a remote sensing based modelling methodology, we obtained values
of Net Primary Productivity (NPP), total carbon in soil and biomass and carbon turnover from meteorological and terrain inputs
and vegetation attributes. We obtained a set of maps of NPP, total carbon (C) storage and C-turnover for the ACR. We superimposed
a land use/cover map to assign the uptake, storage and release of carbon to different land use/cover types. Our results support
the hypothesis that human-intensive land uses significantly affect the ability of terrestrial ecosystems to provide an important
ecosystem service in the form of carbon storage. 相似文献
Although the use of the insecticide γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) is now prohibited in many countries because of its hazardousness, stockpiles of γ-HCH still exist. In this study, we subjected γ-HCH to mechanochemical (MC) treatment with a planetary ball mill in the presence of CaO to investigate the feasibility of using this method for the treatment of γ-HCH stockpiles. We confirmed the degradation of γ-HCH and investigated the degradation mechanism. The major intermediates were identified to be 1,3,4,5,6-pentachlorocyclohexene (γ-PCCH) and chlorobenzenes (CBzs). Analysis of the steric structure of γ-HCH and identification of the degradation intermediates suggested that successive dehydrochlorination led to the formation of trichlorobenzenes. Products of further degradation (dichlorobenzenes, monochlorobenzene, and benzene) were also detected. Surprisingly, methane and ethane were also detected, which suggests cleavage of the C-C bonds of the cyclohexane ring and hydrogenation. All of the chlorine atoms in the γ-HCH could be transformed into inorganic chloride compounds by the MC treatment with CaO. Our results indicate that γ-HCH can be completely dechlorinated by MC treatment. 相似文献
Extreme weather and climate-related events affect human health by causing death, injury, and illness, as well as having large socioeconomic impacts. Climate change has caused changes in extreme event frequency, intensity, and geographic distribution, and will continue to be a driver for change in the future. Some of these events include heat waves, droughts, wildfires, dust storms, flooding rains, coastal flooding, storm surges, and hurricanes. The pathways connecting extreme events to health outcomes and economic losses can be diverse and complex. The difficulty in predicting these relationships comes from the local societal and environmental factors that affect disease burden. More information is needed about the impacts of climate change on public health and economies to effectively plan for and adapt to climate change. This paper describes some of the ways extreme events are changing and provides examples of the potential impacts on human health and infrastructure. It also identifies key research gaps to be addressed to improve the resilience of public health to extreme events in the future.
Implications: Extreme weather and climate events affect human health by causing death, injury, and illness, as well as having large socioeconomic impacts. Climate change has caused changes in extreme event frequency, intensity, and geographic distribution, and will continue to be a driver for change in the future. Some of these events include heat waves, droughts, wildfires, flooding rains, coastal flooding, surges, and hurricanes. The pathways connecting extreme events to health outcomes and economic losses can be diverse and complex. The difficulty in predicting these relationships comes from the local societal and environmental factors that affect disease burden. 相似文献
Elementary schools in four areas of Greater Chattanooga were selected for a study of the effects of community exposure to nitrogen dioxide. One area, in close proximity to a large TNT plant, had high NO2 exposure, another had relatively high suspended particulate exposure, and two areas served as “clean” controls. The similarity of the economic levels of the High-NO2 and Control areas and the moderately lower economic level of the High-Particulate area were documented. Pollutant concentrations for NO2 gas, suspended nitrates and sulfates, total suspended particulates, and soiling index were measured at stations located within the study areas. Ventilatory performance of second-grade school children in the High-NO2 exposure area was significantly lower than the performance of children in the Control areas. The data suggested that ventilatory performance was adversely affected only when an NO2 threshold was exceeded but that above this threshold no further impairment of performance could be detected. 相似文献
Our attitudes toward human culpability for environmental problems have moral and emotional import, influencing our basic capacities for believing cooperative action and environmental repair are even possible. In this paper, I suggest that having the virtue of forgivingness as a response to environmental harm is generally good for moral character, preserving us from morally risky varieties of pessimism and despair. I define forgivingness as a forward-looking disposition based on Robin Dillon’s conception of preservative forgiveness, a preparation to be deeply and abidingly accepting yet expecting human error. As with other virtues, however, preservative forgiveness is available to some of us more than others; in the second half of this paper, I consider the deep challenge posed by rational pessimism, especially on the part of those who have been given many reasons not to hope for the very moral improvements for which they strive. I conclude that for those of us with the power roles and personal resources especially conducive to environmental activism, preservative forgiveness inclines us to remain engaged in environmental activism with fellow flawed human beings, recognizing our own mutual depredations while committing us to cooperatively respond. 相似文献