Diagnosis of famine: a discursive contribution

This paper recommends the incorporation of an additional discursive dimension in famine diagnosis that draws on the number of reports referring to famine in the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)'s ReliefWeb database. Present‐day diagnostic tools already apply the principle of triangulation with multiple indicators; the addition of a discursive diagnostic dimension would enable even more refined analysis, allowing more forcefully for the incorporation of the aspect of change. The newly devised discursive famine indices are used both to identify famines—in Ethiopia (2000), Malawi (2002), and Somalia (2011)—and to analyse key socioeconomic determinants of famine. The study finds that income (or poverty) together with state fragility appear to be the major determinants of cross‐country variations in famine reporting, while political regimes do not appear to have any independent effect. The indices appear largely robust with regard to concerns about cross‐country, semantic, and temporal biases.     

Noncombustion technologies for remediation of persistent organic pollutants in stockpiles and soil

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a set of chemicals that are toxic, persist in the environment for long periods of time, and biomagnify as they move up through the food chain. Combustion technologies have been the principal technology used to destroy POPs. However, combustion technologies can create polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐furans, which are human carcinogens. Two organizations, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International HCH and Pesticides Association (IHPA) have developed detailed reports and fact sheets about noncombustion technologies for POP treatment. This article is intended to update and summarize these reports in a concise reader's guide, with links to sources of further information. The updated information was obtained by reviewing various Web sites and documents, and by contacting technology vendors and experts in the field. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A Model of Intertemporal Emission Trading, Banking, and Borrowing

This paper provides a general treatment of emission trading, banking, and borrowing in an intertemporal, continuous-time model. Using optimal-control theory, the decentralized behavior of firms is shown to lead to the least-cost solution attainable under joint-cost minimization. Explicit solutions for the time paths of emissions and permit prices are derived when firms are allowed to both bank and borrow and when firms are only allowed to bank emission permits. The policy implications of emission banking and borrowing are discussed.     

The Influence of Annual Meteorological Variations On Regional Air Pollution Modeling: A Case Study of Allegheny County,Pennsylvania

The influence of year-to-year meteorological variations on the prediction of annual average ground-level pollutant concentrations has been examined via case studies of Allegheny County, Pa. Twenty-two stability wind roses representing different averaging intervals of from one to seven years were employed in the Air Quality Display Model to predict annual average SO₂ concentrations in two multiple source sub-basins, and from two single point sources representing industrial and utility boiler stacks. Effects of annual meteorological variations were manifested by changes in the magnitude of peak concentrations, the location of peak concentrations, and the geographic distribution of pollutants. For fixed rates of emission, the peak annual average SO₂ ground-level concentration varied by an average of up to 33% of highest values for point sources and 17% for sub-basin complexes. In both cases, there was relatively little change in the location of peak concentration, though occasional directional shifts were noted. In contrast, marked variations were noted in the geographic area exposed to annual average concentrations in excess of several selected values. To aid in regional planning, several methods were formulated which considerably reduced the uncertainty in predicting peak annual concentration for varying degrees of historical data on regional stability wind rose. These methods are-especially applicable to analysis of control strategies directed at attaining annual ambient air quality standards which nominally must never be exceeded.     

Attainment and Maintenance of Particulate Standards in an Industrialized Region

The problems and priorities of air quality maintenance planning will depend in large part on the specific characteristics of a given region. For highly industrialized areas, maintenance planning for total suspended particulate matter (TSP) will pose an especially difficult challenge because of limitations in emissions inventories, modeling capabilities, air quality data, control technology assessments, and current regulatory policy.     

Air Pollution Emissions from Increased Industrial Coal Use in the Northeastern United States

Evaluating the air pollution impacts of energy use in the industrial sector is difficult because of the diversity and multiplicity of sources and a general lack of systematic, up-to-date data collection mechanisms. Fuel-specific energy consumption for a multi-state region is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy PIES model for a base year (1975), together with scenarios for future years. A computer model developed in this study—the Sub-regional Energy and Emissions Model (SEEM)—is applied to disaggregate the regional industrial figures to the county level according to fuel type and industrial category at the two-digit SIC level. The resulting emissions of total suspended particulates (TSP) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) for all industrial categories are estimated at the county level by Incorporating county-specific air pollution regulations in SEEM, and are then aggregated to larger geographical regions. The model has been applied to evaluate the increased air pollution impacts of industrial energy use in the northeastern United States for two alternative 1990 scenarios: (1) the midrange/trendlong PIES projections, and (2) a Coal Replacement Scenario, which assumes a higher percentage of fuel burned in new boilers will be coal. The results are discussed in terms of implications for air pollution control policy.     

The political dynamics of voter retrospection and disaster responses

Natural hazards not only have socioeconomic ramifications, they also have political repercussions. This paper takes stock of the fast-growing area of research linking disasters triggered by natural hazards to voting behaviour. It is based on the central tenet of voter retrospection: voters place emphasis on past events when making their selection. The study uncovers a great disparity in analysis of electoral outcomes in the wake of disasters, part of which can be explained by the different methodological choices of authors. However, the unpredictability of voting behaviour in the aftermath of disasters also points to the relevance of introducing an intermediate variable when elucidating voter movements. This variable should capture the prevailing political discourses that surround disasters, as these are likely to shape the dynamics of voter retrospection. The paper demonstrates the analytical relevance of such political discourses by contrasting political dynamics in Denmark and Sweden following the Indian Ocean tsunami on 26 December 2004.     

Assessing the physiological state of woody plants by parameters of chlorophyll fluorescence in the bark of annual shoots

The relative yield of variable chlorophyll fluorescence in the bark of annual shoots of woody plants was measured with a portable pulse-modulated fluorometer designed for this purpose at the Department of Biophysics (Biological Faculty, Moscow State University). Experiments were performed to study the response of this parameter to external influences (treatment with an herbicide, water loss, etc.). The results demonstrated the possibility of reliably recording the parameters of fluorescence in the annual shoots of various woody plants without damaging these shoots. It is concluded that measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence in the bark of woody plants can be used for analyzing changes in the physiological state of tree stands under the effects of natural and anthropogenic factors.     

不同香蒲种植密度对模拟污水的净化试验研究

在不同种植密度处理下,研究香蒲净化污染水体的去除效果。结果表明：种植密度和处理效果成正比,密度为27株/㎡时,净化效果最好,氨氮、TP、TN的去除率分别为94．81％、77．42％、82．84％。