Assessing the extent and nature of wildlife trade on the dark web

Use of the internet as a trade platform has resulted in a shift in the illegal wildlife trade. Increased scrutiny of illegal wildlife trade has led to concerns that online trade of wildlife will move onto the dark web. To provide a baseline of illegal wildlife trade on the dark web, we downloaded and archived 9852 items (individual posts) from the dark web, then searched these based on a list of 121 keywords associated with illegal online wildlife trade, including 30 keywords associated with illegally traded elephant ivory on the surface web. Results were compared with items known to be illegally traded on the dark web, specifically cannabis, cocaine, and heroin, to compare the extent of the trade. Of these 121 keywords, 4 resulted in hits, of which only one was potentially linked to illegal wildlife trade. This sole case was the sale and discussion of Echinopsis pachanoi (San Pedro cactus), which has hallucinogenic properties. This negligible level of activity related to the illegal trade of wildlife on the dark web relative to the open and increasing trade on the surface web may indicate a lack of successful enforcement against illegal wildlife trade on the surface web.     

Duration and characteristics of metal price cycles

This paper addresses the fluctuations in real metal prices: are they simply random variations or do they display some degree of cyclicality? This study identifies peaks and troughs in the inflation adjusted prices for 14 metals, using monthly average data from January 1947 through December 2007. Duration dependence testing, which is performed on the expansions, contractions, and full cycles, finds many cases in which the duration of these phases are not purely random and have some degree of cyclicality. Additional characterization show that contractions generally persist longer than expansions (in contrast to macroeconomic cycles) that long-term real prices have been trendless, and that the amplitude of price changes over the phases has little regularity. For those performing this type of analysis, the appendices explain the procedures for dating turning points and assessing duration dependence.     

Expert Witnesses and Environmental Ldtigation

Environmental legislation is developing rapidly. In addition, considerable attention is being given to the environmental impact of new technological developments. Governments as well as citizens, often through organized groups are placing unprecedented pressures on many industries and even on other parts of the government. Popular feeling has been extremely strong on such matters and resistance so far has not been strong. This is likely to change substantially and the future may see a rapid increase in the number of environmental suits especially if the continued existence of certain industries is threatened. Expert evidence will be needed to support government legislation and to support actions to preserve the environment. Such measures will have inevitable economic implications and will evoke predictable responses. Reconciling these viewpoints will provide a challenge for the community which will probably depend to a larger extent on interpretation in courts of -law. The ability of various experts to give advice through the legal process will be essential if the most effective compromises are to be found. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the gathering and use of such scientific evidence in environmental lawsuits.     

a critical review of the Effect of Air Pollution Control Regulations on Land use Planning

A study of the potential effectiveness of several strategies for reducing pollutant emissions from aircraft at a busy metropolitan airport has been carried out. This work is based on a model of emission-producing activities at the Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport and emissions from additional sources in the region surrounding the airport. A steady-state Gaussian plume dispersion model, developed previously,^1-4 was used to determine pollutant concentrations at selected receptor sites. The model of the Atlanta airport was assembled to evaluate the results of a field test of one of the strategies (engine shutdown during taxiing) performed there in late 1973. The results of that field test are reported elsewhere.^5,6 A full discussion of the interpretation of the comparison between modeled and monitored pollutant concentrations during the field test and the examination of alternative strategies noted, here are contained in the final report of this project.⁷     

Review of Statistics of Extreme Values with Applications to Air Quality Data Part I. Review

In the field of air pollution control, the rare event is often of more significance than the common event. This is evidenced by the content of air quality standards which define acceptable upper limits of air pollution concentrations and acceptable frequencies with which such concentrations can be exceeded. The principles of extreme value statistics provide important tools for analyzing air quality data in an appropriately significant context.

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First the principles of extreme value statistics are reviewed. The presentation is decidedly utilitarian; no attempt is made to derive more than the simplest propositions. The underlying assumptions of the theory are carefully pointed out and discussed. Particular emphasis is placed on the second largest value and its relation to the largest value. Exact probability distributions, and approximations to them, are derived in terms of the total population probability function. The more familiar and useful asymptotic distributions and their uses are presented and discussed. Part II of the paper will present applications of the theory to air quality data.     

Review of Statistics of Extreme Values with Applications to Air Quality Data

In the field of air pollution control, the rare event is often of more significance than the common event. This is evidenced by the content of air quality standards which define acceptable upper limits of air pollution concentrations and acceptable frequencies with which such concentrations can be exceeded. The principles of extreme value statistics provide important tools for analyzing air quality data in an appropriately significant context.

Part II of the paper presents applications of the theory to air quality data. First, application is made to decisions regarding the length of air monitoring experiments and the length of data records for dis-person analyses. The theory is then applied to the analysis of long term air pollution data collected by the South Coast Air Pollution Control District. The interrelations between extremes from monthly and annual samples are noted and are shown to be consistent with theory.     

Body mass index and serum chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin and dibenzofuran levels

Several studies have found that current levels of 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in serum lipids are related to age with older persons generally having higher levels. To account for this age pattern, reference ranges based on national samples have been established in order to allow determination of background levels for regional studies. In several studies, body mass index (BMI), has also been associated with current 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin levels with increasing body mass index related to increasing levels. We measured lipid-adjusted serum levels for all 2,3,7,8-substituted dioxins and furans in 62 chemical manufacturing workers with chlorophenol exposures and 36 workers without chlorophenol exposures employed at the same location. We then assessed the impact of age and BMI on the serum levels of all these compounds in the presence of other potential confounders. We found that both factors are important independent determinants of serum levels of 2,3,7,8-substituted dioxins and furans. Specifically, age and BMI are both important factors for assessing background levels of 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, 1,2,3,7,8 pentachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and the calculated total toxic equivalency. BMI, but not age, is important for assessing background levels of higher chlorinated dioxins and some hexachlorofurans. We conclude that age and BMI are both important considerations when comparing a potentially exposed group to a referent group, or to national norms. Further, age and BMI may also be important in epidemiology studies where back-extrapolation from current dioxin levels is used to assess historical chlorophenol exposure.     

Assessing and monitoring semi-arid shrublands using object-based image analysis and multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis

Arid and semi-arid shrublands have significant biological and economical values and have been experiencing dramatic changes due to human activities. In California, California sage scrub (CSS) is one of the most endangered plant communities in the US and requires close monitoring in order to conserve this important biological resource. We investigate the utility of remote-sensing approaches—object-based image analysis applied to pansharpened QuickBird imagery (QBPS/OBIA) and multiple endmember spectral mixture analysis (MESMA) applied to SPOT imagery (SPOT/MESMA)—for estimating fractional cover of true shrub, subshrub, herb, and bare ground within CSS communities of southern California. We also explore the effectiveness of life-form cover maps for assessing CSS conditions. Overall and combined shrub cover (i.e., true shrub and subshrub) were estimated more accurately using QBPS/OBIA (mean absolute error or MAE, 8.9 %) than SPOT/MESMA (MAE, 11.4 %). Life-form cover from QBPS/OBIA at a 25?×?25 m grid cell size seems most desirable for assessing CSS because of its higher accuracy and spatial detail in cover estimates and amenability to extracting other vegetation information (e.g., size, shape, and density of shrub patches). Maps derived from SPOT/MESMA at a 50?×?50 m scale are effective for retrospective analysis of life-form cover change because their comparable accuracies to QBPS/OBIA and availability of SPOT archives data dating back to the mid-1980s. The framework in this study can be applied to other physiognomically comparable shrubland communities.     

Fire resistance of passive fire protection coatings after long-term weathering

Passive fire protection (PFP) systems are widely used by the oil, gas and chemical industries to protect offshore and onshore facilities against the effects of fire. However, there are concerns that the performance of PFP systems in a fire may have deteriorated because of weathering and/or that corrosion of the protected item may be taking place beneath the PFP systems. In May 1987, Shell UK began a long-term PFP weathering programme at a maritime test site using furnace tests to assess the fire performance of the materials. The programme was handed over to the Health and Safety Executive in October 1999 and was continued and extended to include the more severe jet fire testing of weathered specimens. This paper describes the effects of weathering on six epoxy intumescent PFP products and one cementitious PFP product in common use. The results are discussed in relation to alterations in physical form, corrosion of the substrate and changes in fire resistance.