Factors affecting farmers’ use of organic and inorganic fertilizers in South Asia

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Fertilizer, though one of the most essential inputs for increasing agricultural production, is a leading cause of nitrous oxide emissions from...     

Major Climate risks and Adaptation Strategies of Smallholder Farmers in Coastal Bangladesh

Environmental Management - Rural households in South Asia’s coastal deltas face numerous livelihood challenges, including risks posed by climatic variability and extreme weather events. This...     

Moving Towards Sustainable Development? Integrating Economic Development and the Environment in Local Authorities

The recent growth of interest in sustainable development has led to the incorporation of the concept into policy making at a variety of scales. In all cases particular emphasis is placed upon the local scale as the focus for the implementation of policy and initiatives and especially upon local authorities as the major contributor to this process. There has been little assessment, however, of the extent to which local authorities either can, or are, undertaking such initiatives. This paper examines: the potential role that local authorities can play in integrating economic development and the environment; the forms of response and initiatives that are currently in place, drawing upon survey evidence from urban local authorities in England and Wales; and some of the limits to local authority action.     

Prenatal sonographic diagnosis of Malpuech syndrome

Malpuech syndrome (MS) is a rare autosomal recessive syndrome featuring pre- and post-natal growth deficiency, mental retardation, facial dysmorphism, cleft lip and palate (typically midline or bilateral), caudal appendage, renal malformations and male genital abnormalities. A prenatal diagnosis of MS was made in this fetus based on the family history and a combination of conventional and 3D prenatal ultrasound findings. The family were consanguineous with an affected first child. Prenatal ultrasound in the second pregnancy demonstrated bilateral cleft lip and palate in association with intrauterine growth retardation on serial prenatal ultrasound scans. Dysmorphic facial features and a small penis consistent with the diagnosis were confirmed on 3D scanning. Post-natal examination of the neonate confirmed the diagnosis of MS. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first prenatal diagnosis of this syndrome. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Remote Sensing Tools Assist in Environmental Forensics. Part I: Traditional Methods

This is part one of a two-part discussion, in which we will provide an overview of the use of aerial photography, topographic mapping and photogrammetry in environmental enforcement actions. The visualization of spatial relationships of natural and man-made features can focus the scope of environmental investigation, and provide a simple, yet quantitative, historical record of changes in conditions on a site. Aerial photography has been used in environmental remote sensing since the early part of the 20th century. Aerial photos are valuable tools for environmental assessment because they provide objective, detailed documentation of surface conditions at a specific time. Furthermore, they can generally be obtained even in cases where access on the ground is denied to investigators. From aerial photos, precise quantitative information can be collected using photogrammetry. Such measurement and positional data can be produced in digital format for input into a Geographic Information System (GIS) for computerized analysis and display. Other information derived from aerial photographs requires specialized photointerpretive skills and experience. These include the recognition of vegetation mortality, oil-spill damage, and the ecological quality of water bodies. The location, extent and historical change of hazardous waste sites can be documented on topographic maps. These maps are often created from aerial photographs, and display the extent and location of real-world features by symbolizing them. The major advantage of maps over aerial photos is that maps can show things that are not visible from the air, while omitting unnecessary and distracting information. Because maps are derived products, they may contain bias in content and presentation, and they must be backed up by careful documentation and quality assurance protocols.     

Water Mass Balances for the Solaire and the 2020 Tower: Implications for Closing the Water Loop in High‐Rise Buildings1

Abstract: Building water mass balances were performed for one 150‐story conventional building scenario for comparison with three scenarios of the 2020 Tower, a hypothetical 150‐story high‐rise building with on‐site wastewater treatment and reuse. To ensure that the assumptions for the hypothetical building are appropriate, a one‐year water balance was also conducted of the existing 27‐story Solaire building that partly closes the water/wastewater loop, meters major water flows and implements low‐flow/water conserving fixtures and appliances. For comparison, a conventional 27‐story building scenario with the same low‐flow/water conserving fixtures as the Solaire but no water reuse was also assessed. The mean daily indoor water use in the Solaire was 246 l/(d cap) which exceeds mean daily water use found in the literature. The water mass balances showed that an urban high‐rise building needs another source of water even when potable reuse water is produced because of losses during water end use and treatment (i.e., evaporation, water in treatment residues). Therefore, water conservation (i.e., modification of human behavior) and water efficiency improvements (i.e., equipment, appliances and fixtures) are important major factors in reducing the municipal water needed in all scenarios.