Climate Change and Population Growth in Timor Leste: Implications for Food Security

The climate in Timor Leste (East Timor) is predicted to become about 1.5 °C warmer and about 10 % wetter on average by 2050. By the same year, the population is expected to triple from 1 to 2.5–3 million. This article maps the predicted changes in temperature and rainfall and reviews the implications of climate change and population growth on agricultural systems. Improved cultivars of maize, rice, cassava, sweet potato and peanuts with high yield performance have been introduced, but these will need to be augmented in the future with better adapted cultivars and new crops, such as food and fodder legumes and new management practices. The requirements for fertilizers to boost yields and terracing and/or contour hedgerows to prevent soil erosion of steeply sloping terrain are discussed. Contour hedges can also be used for fodder for improved animal production to provide protein to reduce malnutrition.     

The 1999 Fresno Particulate Matter Exposure Studies: Comparison of Community,Outdoor, and Residential PM Mass Measurements

ABSTRACT

Two collaborative studies have been conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) and National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory to determine personal exposures and physiological responses to par-ticulate matter (PM) of elderly persons living in a retirement facility in Fresno, CA. Measurements of PM and other criteria air pollutants were made inside selected individual residences within the retirement facility and at a central outdoor site on the premises. In addition, personal PM exposure monitoring was conducted for a subset of the participants, and ambient PM monitoring data were available for comparison from the NERL PM research monitoring platform in central Fresno. Both a winter (February 1-28, 1999) and a spring (April 19-May 16, 1999) study were completed so that seasonal effects could be     

Contribution of the components of graduated licensing to crash reductions

PROBLEM: It has been established that graduated licensing systems lead to crash reductions among beginning drivers. What is the contribution of the various components of graduated licensing to these reductions, and how can their effectiveness be increased? METHOD: Literature review and synthesis. RESULTS: Extended learner periods, nighttime restrictions, and passenger restrictions have contributed to crash reductions. Presently there is insufficient evidence concerning the contribution of seat belt or cell phone provisions, or contingent advancement penalties. DISCUSSION: There is more to learn about graduated licensing and its component features. However, there are ways to increase the contribution of all the components through stronger laws and greater compliance. With the right kind of community commitment and focus, substantial further reductions in young driver crashes are achievable. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The results can guide states in establishing graduated licensing systems that maximize crash reductions.     

Adaptive Management: From More Talk to Real Action

The challenges currently facing resource managers are large-scale and complex, and demand new approaches to balance development and conservation goals. One approach that shows considerable promise for addressing these challenges is adaptive management, which by now is broadly seen as a natural, intuitive, and potentially effective way to address decision-making in the face of uncertainties. Yet the concept of adaptive management continues to evolve, and its record of success remains limited. In this article, we present an operational framework for adaptive decision-making, and describe the challenges and opportunities in applying it to real-world problems. We discuss the key elements required for adaptive decision-making, and their integration into an iterative process that highlights and distinguishes technical and social learning. We illustrate the elements and processes of the framework with some successful on-the-ground examples of natural resource management. Finally, we address some of the difficulties in applying learning-based management, and finish with a discussion of future directions and strategic challenges.     

De-novo formation of dioxins and furans and the memory effect in waste incineration flue gases

The formation of dioxin (polychlorinated-rho-dibenzodioxins - PCDD) and furan (polychlorinated dibenzofurans - PCDF) in waste incineration flyash in relation to temperature has been investigated in a bench scale reactor. The PCDD/PCDF released into the exhaust gases of the reactor and trapped in a condensation and vapour phase adsorption system were also determined. The concentrations of PCDD/PCDF in the flyash were analysed in detail for all congeners and isomers including the mono-, di- and tri-PCDD/PCDF. De-novo synthesis of PCDD/PCDF was clearly seen in the flyash with large changes in concentrations of PCDD/PCDF with only small changes in temperature. Exhaust gas PCDD/PCDF were detected at all temperatures, with the maximum emission occurring at a flyash temperature of 350 degrees C, where the equivalent of over 42 times the total dioxin/furan concentration of the original flyash was lost to the vapour phase per unit mass of initial flyash. Although the desorbed species were mainly the lower mono- to tri-congener group of dioxins and furans, the desorbed dioxin/furans had a considerable toxic equivalent value.     

Social learning in a policy-mandated collaboration: community wildfire protection planning in the eastern United States

Policies such as the US Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HFRA) mandate collaboration in planning to create benefits such as social learning and shared understanding among partners. However, some question the ability of top-down policy to foster successful local collaboration. Through in-depth interviews and document analysis, this paper investigates social learning and transformative learning in three case studies of Community Wildfire Protection Planning (CWPP), a policy-mandated collaboration under HFRA. Not all CWPP groups engaged in social learning. Those that did learned most about organisational priorities and values through communicative learning. Few participants gained new skills or knowledge through instrumental learning. CWPP groups had to commit to learning, but the design of the collaborative-mandate influenced the type of learning that was most likely to occur. This research suggests a potential role for top-down policy in setting the structural context for learning at the local level, but also confirms the importance of collaborative context and process in fostering social learning.     

Characteristics of particulate matter emissions from toy cars with electric motors

Aerosol emissions from toy cars with electric motors were characterized. Particle emission rates from the toy cars, as high as 7.47 × 10⁷ particles/s, were measured. This emission rate is lower than other indoor sources such as smoking and cooking. The particles emitted from toy cars are generated from spark discharges inside the electric motors that power the toy cars. Size distribution measurements indicated that most particles were below 100 nm in diameter. Copper was the dominant inorganic species in these particles. By deploying aerosol mass spectrometers, high concentrations of particulate organic matter were also detected and characterized in detail. Several organic compounds were identified using a thermal desorption aerosol gas chromatography. The mass size distribution of particulate organic matter was bimodal. The formation mechanism of particulate organic matter from toy cars was elucidated.

Implications:?A possible new source of indoor air pollution, particles from electric motors in toy cars, was identified. This study characterized aerosol emissions from toy cars in detail. Most of these particles have a diameter less than 100 nm. Copper and some organics are the major components of these particles. Conditions that minimize these emissions were determined.     

Automated riverine landscape characterization: GIS-based tools for watershed-scale research, assessment, and management

River systems consist of hydrogeomorphic patches (HPs) that emerge at multiple spatiotemporal scales. Functional process zones (FPZs) are HPs that exist at the river valley scale and are important strata for framing whole-watershed research questions and management plans. Hierarchical classification procedures aid in HP identification by grouping sections of river based on their hydrogeomorphic character; however, collecting data required for such procedures with field-based methods is often impractical. We developed a set of GIS-based tools that facilitate rapid, low cost riverine landscape characterization and FPZ classification. Our tools, termed RESonate, consist of a custom toolbox designed for ESRI ArcGIS®. RESonate automatically extracts 13 hydrogeomorphic variables from readily available geospatial datasets and datasets derived from modeling procedures. An advanced 2D flood model, FLDPLN, designed for MATLAB® is used to determine valley morphology by systematically flooding river networks. When used in conjunction with other modeling procedures, RESonate and FLDPLN can assess the character of large river networks quickly and at very low costs. Here we describe tool and model functions in addition to their benefits, limitations, and applications.