A Paradigm of International Environmental Law: The Case for Controlling the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes

The production of large quantities of wastes globally has created a commercial activity involving the transfrontier shipments of hazardous wastes, intended to be managed at economically attractive waste-handling facilities located elsewhere. In fact, huge quantities of hazardous wastes apparently travel the world in search of “acceptable” waste management facilities. For instance, within the industrialized countries alone, millions of tonnes of potentially hazardous waste cross national frontiers each year on their way for recycling or to treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) because there is no local disposal capacity for these wastes, or because legal disposal or reuse in a foreign country may be more environmentally sound, or managing the wastes in the foreign country may be less expensive than at home. The cross-boundary traffic in hazardous wastes has lately been under close public scrutiny, however, resulting in the accession of several international agreements and laws to regulate such activities. This paper discusses and analyzes the most significant control measures and major agreements in this new commercial activity involving hazardous wastes. In particular, the discussion recognizes the difficulties with trying to implement the relevant international agreements among countries of vastly different socioeconomic backgrounds. Nonetheless, it is also noted that global environmental agreements will generally be a necessary component of ensuring adequate environmental protection for the world community—and thus a need for the careful implementation of such agreements and regulations.     

Reinventing Environmental Regulation from the Grassroots Up: Explaining and Expanding the Success of the Toxics Release Inventory

/ The success of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) stands in stark contrast to most other environmental regulations in the United States. Between its inception in 1988 and 1995, releases of chemicals listed on the TRI have declined by 45%. We argue the TRI has achieved this regulatory success by creating a mechanism of "populist maxi-min regulation." This style of regulation differs from traditional command-and-control in several ways. First, the majorrole of public agencies is not to set and enforce standards, but to establish an information-rich context for private citizens, interest groups, and firms to solve environmental problems. Second, environmental "standards" are not determined by expert analysis of acceptable risk, but are effectively set at the levels informed citizens will accept. Third, firms adopt pollution prevention and abatement measures in response to a dynamic range of public pressures rather than to formalized agency standards or governmental sanction. Finally, public pressure ruthlessly focuses on the worst polluters-maximum attention to minimum performers-to induce them to adopt more effective environmental practices. TRI has inadvertently set in motion this alternative style of regulation that has, in turn, dramatically reduced toxics emissions in the United States. By properly understanding the mechanisms that drive TRI's accomplishments, more intentional public policy designs can expand the system of populist maxi-min regulation and achieve even more rapid toxics reduction.     

Ground discarded tires remove naphthalene, toluene, and mercury from water

Ground discarded tires adsorb naphthalene, toluene, and mercury ions (Hg2+) from aqueous solutions. Their sorption properties and kinetics were determined by batch equilibration techniques at 20 degrees C. The isotherms were linear for naphthalene and toluene and their sorption coefficients were about 1340 and 255 (ml/g), respectively. Sorption of the organic compounds by the ground rubber particles was relatively fast (within 30 min). However, the mercury isotherms were non-linear, and its sorption was slow as compared to the sorption of the organics. The rubber particles had a strong affinity for Hg2+. These results show that ground discarded tires are effective in removing organic compounds and Hg2+ from wastewater and other contaminated environments. In addition it would be a useful, environmentally friendly use of discarded tires (one tire per year per capita is discarded in the United States).     

Suburbanization and drought: A mixed methods vulnerability assessment in rainy Massachusetts

This paper presents evidence that water restrictions in suburbanizing eastern Massachusetts towns are becoming more common, controlling for climate. We then assess the relationship between these suburban droughts and residential development. Focusing on the suburbs of Boston, seven towns independent of the Boston water supply system were selected to represent differing levels of sprawl-style growth. Water restrictions are becoming more frequent in all of the towns studied, and models demonstrate that restrictions are increasing in duration, independent of climate. Interviews suggest that residential development is playing a central role in this increasing sensitivity to suburban drought, though other factors are also important. Long-term planning and integration of land-use planning and water management emerged as two key paths for attenuating the impacts of development.     

Application of the Braun-Blanquet cover-abundance scale for vegetation analysis in land development studies

To document environmental impact predictions for land development, as required by United States government regulatory agencies, vegetation studies are conducted using a variety of methods. Density measurement (stem counts) is one method that is frequently used. However, density measurement of shrub and herbaceous vegetation is time-consuming and costly. As an alternative, the Braun-Blanquet cover-abundance scale was used to analyze vegetation in several ecological studies. Results from one of these studies show that the Braun-Blanquet method requires only one third to one fifth the field time required for the density method. Furthermore, cover-abundance ratings are better suited than density values to elucidate graphically species-environment relationships. For extensive surveys this method provides sufficiently accurate baseline data to allow environmental impact assessment as required by regulatory agencies.     

Identification of Selected Hormonally Active Agents and Animal Mammary Carcinogens in Commercial and Residential Air and Dust Samples

ABSTRACT

In order to characterize typical indoor exposures to chemicals of interest for research on breast cancer and other hormonally mediated health outcomes, methods were developed to analyze air and dust for target compounds that have been identified as animal mammary carcinogens or hormonally active agents and that are used in commercial or consumer products or building materials. These methods were applied to a small number of residential and commercial environments to begin to characterize the extent of exposure to these classes of compounds. Phenolic compounds, including nonylphenol, octylphenol, bisphenol A, and the methoxychlor metabolite 2,2-bis (p-hydroxyphenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane (HPTE), were extracted, derivatized, and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS)–selective ion monitoring (SIM). Selected phthalates, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were extracted and analyzed by GC/MS-SIM. Residential and workplace samples showed detectable levels of twelve pesticides in dust and seven in air samples. Phthalates were abundant in dust (0.3524 μg/g) and air (0.005-2.8 μg/m³). Nonylphenol and its mono- and di-ethoxylates were prevalent in dust (0.82-14 μg/g) along with estrogenic phenols such as bisphenol A and o-phenyl phenol. In this 7-sample pilot study, 33 of 86 target compounds were detected in dust, and 24 of 57 target compounds were detected in air. In a single sample from one home, 27 of the target compounds were detected in dust and 15 in air, providing an indication of chemical mixtures to which humans are typically exposed.     

Building institutions based on information disclosure: lessons from GRI's sustainability reporting

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the best-known framework for voluntary reporting of environmental and social performance by business worldwide. Using extensive empirical data, including interviews and documentary analysis, we examine GRI's organizational field and conclude that since its modest beginnings in 1999 GRI has been by several measures a successful institutionalization project. But the institutional logic of this new entity, as an instrument for corporate sustainability management, leaves out one of the central elements of the initial vision for GRI: as a mobilizing agent for many societal actors. This emergent logic reflects GRI's dominant constituency – large global companies and financial institutions and international business management consultancies – and not the less active civil society organizations and organized labor. We attribute these developments to factors such as building GRI within the existing institutional structures; the highly inclusive multistakeholder process; and the underdeveloped base of information users. From the institutional theory perspective, this case shows how the process of institutionalization is deeply affected by initial strategies of the founders, and how it reproduces existing power relations. From the governance perspective, this case leads us to question the power of commodified information to mobilize civil society and to strengthen governance based on partnerships.     

The future of hydropower in Europe: Interconnecting climate,markets and policies

Hydropower is very important for electricity supply security in the European inter-connexion as well as for the economy of regions (primarily peripheral) that possess water resources. Its future may however be jeopardized by several factors: climate change, the development of new renewable energy, the creation of super and micro-grids, and progress in power storage technology. Energy and climate policy, as well as electricity market design and dynamics play a pivotal role.This article carries out a comprehensive analysis of all these factors and discusses the future of hydropower. This discussion follows an overview of the present situation and of future drivers. The technical, environmental, economic and political aspects of the problem are analyzed with an interdisciplinary approach. The stakes as well as the uncertainties are highlighted.The conclusion is that hydropower has a promising future, particularly in light of emerging sustainable energy policy, but that the risks should not be overlooked. Academics will find a comprehensive interdisciplinary analysis of hydropower in this article, whereas public bodies, communities and hydropower companies can identify the strategic variables that should be taken into consideration in the decision making process. The end of water concessions or authorizations is also evoked.     

Development of a scale of perceived environmental annoyances in urban settings

The construction and validation of an original scale was pursued to measure perceived environmental annoyances in urban settings. This scale included all the potentially aversive situations encountered in the daily lives of city-dwellers. The answers of 926 French respondents to our initial 68-item scale were first analysed. Using statistical techniques, the number of items was reduced to 51 from which the factorial structure was extracted. Seven principal dimensions emerged: feelings of insecurity, inconveniences associated with using public transport, environmental annoyances and concerns for global ecology, lack of control over time related to using cars, incivilities associated with the sharing of public spaces between different users, lack of efficiency resulting from the density of the population, and an insecure and run-down living environment. We also examined these dimensions of perceived environmental annoyances in urban settings according to the sex, age, occupational category and geographical location of respondents. The validated multidimensional scale constitutes a promising instrument for urban research that could usefully be employed in the emerging field at the interface between health psychology and environmental psychology.