A hierarchical,multi-scale,management-responsive model of Mediterranean vegetation dynamics

Ecosystems of the Mediterranean basin are characterized by a heterogeneous and dynamic landscape mosaic of vegetation formations. This landscape has been shaped over millenia by disturbances associated with agropastoral land use: clearing, grazing and burning, and by regeneration processes of the natural woody vegetation. The ability to predict the effects of management decisions on the structure and composition of the vegetation is essential for present and future land management. To improve this ability we developed a hierarchical multi-scale, management-responsive model of vegetation dynamics.     

Environmental protection, the economy, and jobs: national and regional analyses

The relationship between environmental protection (EP), the economy, and jobs has been an issue of harsh contention for decades. Does EP harm the economy and destroy jobs or facilitate economic growth and create jobs? We address this issue by summarizing the results of the Jobs and the Environment Initiative, research funded by nonprofit foundations to quantify the relationship between EP, the economy, and jobs. We estimate the size of the US environmental industry and the numbers of environment-related jobs at the national level and in the states of Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin. This is the first time that such comprehensive, detailed estimates have been developed.     

轻型机动车尾气排放测试研究

通过在底盘测功机上进行轻型机动车的稳态负荷工况测试和瞬态负荷工况测试,进一步研究轻型机动车尾气排放污染物浓度、发动机输出功率、机动车行驶速度的相关性。并提出了通过计算排放变化率／加速度比例系数来确定稳态工况与瞬态工况的相关关系的方法,这对于I／M检测制度有很重要的技术意义。     

Work-related deaths in Washington State, 1998-2002

INTRODUCTION: In Washington State, 87 workers are killed each year, on average, while in work status. To understand these incidents and to assist in focusing on and development of potential prevention measures, they must be well characterized. METHODS: Work-related fatalities between the years 1998 and 2002 are described by the demographics of the victims, types of incidents, the victims' occupations, and industries and location in which they worked. RESULTS: Motor vehicle- and machinery-related incidents accounted for nearly 33% and 14% of the incidents, respectively. Agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, and mining (n=87), and construction (n=83) had the most fatalities. Fatality rates per 100,000 workers for these industries were 25.7 and 8.7, respectively, compared to the state-wide average of 3.1 fatalities/100,000 workers. DISCUSSION: These data indicate numerous areas for prevention of work-related traumatic injuries and fatalities.     

Crisis in environmental management of the Soviet Union

The prevailing system of environmental management strongly depends on the economic and political structures of a country and is influenced by the current condition of them. Environmental degradation in the Soviet Union has been caused mainly by the political and economic misconceptions listed in this article. With the transformation of its state order to the model of Western democracies, the Soviet Union is experiencing a deep economic crisis of restructuring, reflected in a parallel crisis in its system of environmental management, which is manifest in the form of rapid transformation. This is characterized by the contradiction of the state’s old administrative institutions, which still exist, with the efforts to use market mechanisms of environmental control. Such methods include various fees and payments for the use of natural resources or for pollution and creation of specialized regional funds and banks to finance environmental programs. All these occur in the context of the strengthening of regional sovereignty, the introduction of self-accounting for economic units, the adoption of comprehensive legal enactments, and the setting up of an efficient administrative system of their enforcement. Public activism, as one of the principal actors in this structure, also has undergone quick maturation. Nevertheless the future development of the new Soviet system of environmental control remains uncertain because of the present unpredictability of the overall situation in the short run.     

Wetland Mitigation Compliance in the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan

The Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) is generally responsible for the implementation of federal Clean Water Act wetland regulations. It therefore plays an important role in the protection of wetlands within the United States. Unfortunately, past evaluators of ACEs implementation of these regulations found low rates of regulatory compliance. However, the fact that two states have taken responsibility for the implementation of these regulations within their boundaries provided the opportunity to assess whether one of these states might be doing a better job of enforcement. This paper reports on compliance with some of these regulations within one Michigan region. We evaluated permittee compliance with paperwork filing requirements related to wetland mitigation projects. Sixty-seven percent of county road commission permittees were out of compliance with at least one filing requirement. Forty percent of private and non-county government permittees were out of compliance. Our results therefore suggest that serious problems exist with Michigans implementation of wetland regulations. They do not suggest that compliance in this state is significantly better than in states under ACE administration. We believe that increased agency monitoring and enforcement would improve compliance.     

USE OF STATE ESTIMATION TECHNIQUES IN WATER RESOURCE SYSTEM MODELING1

ABSTRACT. A relatively straightforward illustration of the potential uses of State Estimation techniques in water resources modeling is given. Background theory for Linear and Extended Kalman Filters is given; application of the filter techniques to modeling BOD and oxygen deficit in a stream illustrates the importance of model conceptualization, model completeness, uncertainty in model dynamics and incorporation of measurements and measurement errors. Potential applications of state estimation techniques to measurement system design; model building, assessment and calibration; and data extension are explored.     

Food Supply Chain Governance And Public Health Externalities: Upstream Policy Interventions And The UK State

Contemporary food supply chains are generating externalities with high economic and social costs, notably in public health terms through the rise in diet-related non-communicable disease. The UK State is developing policy strategies to tackle these public health problems alongside intergovernmental responses. However, the governance of food supply chains is conducted by, and across, both private and public spheres and within a multilevel framework. The realities of contemporary food governance are that private interests are key drivers of food supply chains and have institutionalized a great deal of standards-setting and quality, notably from their locations in the downstream and midstream sectors. The UK State is designing some downstream and some midstream interventions to ameliorate the public health impacts of current food consumption patterns in England. The UK State has not addressed upstream interventions towards public health diet at the primary food production and processing stages, although traditionally it has shaped agricultural policy. Within the realities of contemporary multilevel governance, the UK State must act within the contexts set by the international regimes of the Common Agricultural Policy and the World Trade Organization agreements, notably on agriculture. The potential for further upstream agricultural policy reform is considered as part of a wider policy approach to address the public health externalities issuing from contemporary food supply chains within this multilevel governance context.     

State interventions and natural resource management: A study on social interfaces in a riverine fisheries setting in Kerala, India

This article attempts to analyse the social interface between formal institutions and local fishing communities along the Pamba‐Achankovil River Basin in Kerala, India. It examines primarily the nature of the relationship between state agencies and traditional fishing communities in the context of (i) enforcing certain formal regulations of resource use and (ii) implementing resource enhancement programmes. The article also analyses the nature of social interfaces that emerge when local level formal organizations, such as cooperatives and gram panchayats, take up resource management or community welfare schemes on behalf of the traditional fisherfolk in the study region. Social interfaces can be understood in terms of social processes, such as cooperation, accommodation and conflicts between various actors involved in fisheries management. The article is based on ethnographic fieldwork. Interview guides and focus group discussions were the primary tools of data collection. The findings show that the relationships between formal institutions and traditional riverine fishing communities lack mutual trust. Conflicts between fishing communities and state agencies emerge when the formal institutions threaten or contradict those elements of local culture that sustain livelihood needs. Conflicts and discontent with a particular formal institution can also lead to the modification or violation of coexisting institutional arrangements.     

Federal and state management of inland wetlands: Are states ready to assume control?

As inland wetlands face increasing pressure for development, both the federal government and individual states have begun reevaluating their respective wetland regulatory schemes. This article focuses first on the effectiveness of the past, present, and proposed federal regulations, most notably the Section 404, Dredge and Fill Permit Program, in dealing with shrinking wetland resources. The article then addresses the status of state involvement in this largely federal area, as well as state preparedness to assume primacy should federal priorities change. Finally, the subject of comprehensive legislation for wetland protection is investigated, and the article concludes with some procedural suggestions for developing a model law.