Gathering “wild” food in the city: rethinking the role of foraging in urban ecosystem planning and management

Recent “green” planning initiatives envision food production, including urban agriculture and livestock production, as desirable elements of sustainable cities. We use an integrated urban political ecology and human–plant geographies framework to explore how foraging for “wild” foods in cities, a subversive practice that challenges prevailing views about the roles of humans in urban green spaces, has potential to also support sustainability goals. Drawing on research from Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, and Seattle, we show that foraging is a vibrant and ongoing practice among diverse urban residents in the USA. At the same time, as reflected in regulations, planning practices, and attitudes of conservation practitioners, it is conceptualised as out of place in urban landscapes and an activity to be discouraged. We discuss how paying attention to urban foraging spaces and practices can strengthen green space planning and summarise opportunities for and challenges associated with including foragers and their concerns.     

Environmental resource footprinting of drug manufacturing: Effects of scale-up and tablet dosage

The formulation and scale-up of batch processes is one of the major challenges in the development of pharmaceutical dosage forms and at the same time a significant resource demanding process which is generally overlooked in environmental sustainability assessments. First, this paper proposes general trends in the experience curve of cumulative resource consumption of pharmaceutical tablet manufacturing of PREZISTA^® 800 mg through wet granulation (WG) at four consecutive scales in both R&D and manufacturing environments (resp. WG1 = 1 kg/h, WG5 = 5 kg/h, WG30 = 30 kg/h and WG240 = 240 kg/h). Second, the authors aim at evaluating the environmental impact from a life cycle perspective of a daily consumption of PREZISTA^® 2× 400 mg tablets versus the bioequivalent PREZISTA^® 800 mg tablet which was launched to enhance patient compliance. Environmental sustainability assessment was conducted at three different system boundaries, which enables identification, localization and eventually reduction of burdens, in this case natural resource extraction. Exergy Analysis (EA) was used at process level (α) and plant level (β) while a cradle-to-gate Exergetic Life Cycle Assessment (ELCA) was conducted at the overall industrial level (γ) by means of the CEENE method (Cumulative Exergy Extraction from the Natural Environment). Life cycle stages taken into account are Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) production, Drug Product (DP) production and Packaging. At process level (α), the total resource extraction for the manufacturing of one daily dose of PREZISTA^® (800 mg tablet) amounted up to 0.44 MJ_ex at the smallest scale (WG1) while this amount proved to be reduced by 58%, 79% and 83% at WG5, WG30 and WG240 respectively. Expanding the boundaries to the overall industrial level (γ) reveals that the main resource demand is at the production of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API), excipients, packaging materials and cleaning media used in DP production. At the largest scale (WG240) the use of cleaning media during DP production contributes considerably less to the total resource extraction. Overall, the effect of scale-up and learning on resource consumption during DP production showed to possess a power-law experience curve y = 2.40 * x^−0.57 when shifting from WG1 (smallest lab scale) to WG240 (industrial manufacturing). Tablet dosage (2× 400 mg versus 1× 800 mg) did not significantly affect the absolute environmental burden. However, the relative contribution of resource categories did change due to the different production technology. It could be concluded that in meeting social and economic demands by launching the PREZISTA^® 800 mg tablet, no trade-off in environmental burden occurred. On the long term, future research should strive to take into account R&D processes and all services related to pipeline activities taking place prior to market launch and eventually to allocate impacts to the final product.     

沼气农业复合生态系统能值分析

以沼气为纽带的农业综合利用系统对农村和偏远地区可持续发展具有重要意义。本文基于能值流图和指标体系,构建了沼气农业复合生态系统的综合评价框架,并以国家沼气农业示范区广西恭城县为案例,分析养殖-沼气-种植"三位一体"典型沼气农业复合系统的能值投入产出量及其结构,利用能值系统结构功能指标对该系统进行经济生态多元分析,评估其投资率、产出率、环境压力以及可持续性等系统综合表现,并与国内外其他农业系统进行比较分析。系统投入结果表明,恭城县沼气农业复合系统总投入中人类经济反馈在系统中所占比例最大,可更新环境资源次之,其中又以肥料、农药和劳工与管理的投入最大;系统产出表明,目前仍以种植业和养殖业为主导,水产业相对薄弱,而新兴的沼气产业因其低耗高产的特点,发展势头良好;而能值系统结构功能指标表明该农业系统整体具有环境负荷低、产出效率高、可持续性强等优势。依照能值分析各项结果,本文对沼气农业系统优化配置和进一步推广应用提出了参考建议。     

Effects of Urban Spatial Structure,Sociodemographics, and Climate on Residential Water Consumption in Hillsboro,Oregon1

House-Peters, Lily, Bethany Pratt, and Heejun Chang, 2010. Effects of Urban Spatial Structure, Sociodemographics, and Climate on Residential Water Consumption in Hillsboro, Oregon. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(3):461-472. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2009.00415.x Abstract: In the Portland metropolitan area, suburban growth in cities such as Hillsboro is projected to increase as people seek affordable housing near a burgeoning metropolis. The most significant determinants for increases in water demand are population growth, climate change, and the type of urban development that occurs. This study analyzes the spatial patterns of single family residential (SFR) water consumption in Hillsboro, Oregon, at the census block scale. The following research questions are addressed: (1) What are the significant determinants of SFR water consumption in Hillsboro, Oregon? (2) Is SFR water demand sensitive to drought conditions and interannual climate variation? (3) To what magnitude do particular census blocks react to drought conditions and interannual climate variation? Using ordinary least squares multiple regression and spatial regression methods, we found that base use, representing indoor water use, is dependent on household size and that seasonal use, representing external water use is dependent on both education level and the size of the property’s outdoor space. Spatial analysis techniques determined that although the water demand of the study area as a whole is not sensitive to drought conditions, certain individual census blocks do respond with a higher magnitude of water use. The most climate-sensitive census blocks tend to contain newer and larger homes, and have higher property values and more affluent and well-educated residents.     

Population Trends in Pacific Oceanic Sharks and the Utility of Regulations on Shark Finning

Accurate assessment of shark population status is essential for conservation but is often constrained by limited and unreliable data. To provide a basis for improved management of shark resources, we analyzed a long‐term record of species‐specific catches, sizes, and sexes of sharks collected by onboard observers in the western and central Pacific Ocean from 1995 to 2010. Using generalized linear models, we estimated population‐status indicators on the basis of catch rate and biological indicators of fishing pressure on the basis of median size to identify trends for blue (Prionace glauca), mako (Isurus spp.), oceanic whitetip (Carcharhinus longimanus), and silky (Carcharhinus falciformis) sharks. Standardized catch rates of longline fleets declined significantly for blue sharks in the North Pacific (by 5% per year [CI 2% to 8%]), for mako sharks in the North Pacific (by 7% per year [CI 3% to 11%]), and for oceanic whitetip sharks in tropical waters (by 17% per year [CI 14% to 20%]). Median lengths of silky and oceanic whitetip sharks decreased significantly in their core habitat, and almost all sampled silky sharks were immature. Our results are consistent with results of analyses of similar data sets. Combined, these results and evidence of targeted fishing for sharks in some regional fisheries heighten concerns for sustainable utilization, particularly for oceanic whitetip and North Pacific blue sharks. Regional regulations that prohibit shark finning (removal of fins and discarding of the carcass) were enacted in 2007 and are in many cases the only form of control on shark catches. However, there is little evidence of a reduction of finning in longline fisheries. In addition, silky and oceanic whitetip sharks are more frequently retained than finned, which suggests that even full implementation of and adherence to a finning prohibition may not substantially reduce mortality rates for these species. We argue that finning prohibitions divert attention from assessing whether catch levels are sustainable and that the need for management of sharks should not be addressed by measures that are simple to implement but complex to enforce and evaluate. Tendencias Poblacionales de Tiburones del Océano Pacífico y la Utilidad de Regulaciones sobre Cercenamiento de Aletas     

Pathways to urban sustainability

The concept of sustainable development has become very much in vogue in the past decade. We have also observed a shift in the interpretation of this concept from a global perspective to a meso perspective—that is, at a local, regional or sectoral level. This paper aims at highlighting the urban dimension of environmental issues. After a sketch of urban pollution problems and of tools for economic analysis, the notion of urban sustainability will be advocated as a meaningful analytical and policy concept. Next, the main focus of this paper will be on a typological approach to urban sustainability issues on the basis of three characteristic angles, viz. strong and weak sustainability, absolute and relative decoupling and the spatial ecological footprint. Various methodological issues will also be discussed, while the paper will conclude with some perspectives on policy issues. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Overcoming Contradictions Between Growth and Sustainability:Institutional Innovation in the BRICS

The recent accelerated growth rates or efforts to emulate countries that have achieved a rapid pace of economic growth are widely acclaimed as means to uplift millions from poverty. In so doing, however, this rapid economic growth is most likely to coincide with unsustainable levels of consumption, place excessive pressure on life support systems and terrestrial sinks and foreshorten options for the future. Rather than pursuing the "Environmental Kuznets Curve" (EKC) hypothesis that higher income will bring with it the means to reduce the impacts of greater consumption, ecological economists assert that buying our way out of future scarcity with fast growth is indeed contradictory with sustainability. To better understand these contradictions and explore potential institutional innovations that may enable developing nations to better confront them (in effect, "tunneling under" the EKC), this article refers to recent experience in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Beginning with a brief comparative summary of major development and environmental indicators, pressures on resources and society in each of the BRICS are discussed, followed by identification of institutional and policy frameworks each country has evolved to confront the challenges of growth and sustainability. The article closes with general conclusions for further research and information sharing among developing nations.     

Environmental Awareness, Economic Orientation, and Farming Practices: A Comparison of Organic and Conventional Farmers

/ This study examines similarities and differences between organic and conventional farmers. We explore the factors that underlie farmers' conservation attitudes and behaviors, including demographic and farm characteristics, awareness of and concern for environmental problems associated with agriculture, economic orientation toward farming, and self-reported conservation practices. A series of intensive personal interviews was conducted with 25 farmers in Washtenaw County, Michigan, USA, using both qualitative and quantitative survey methods. The findings indicate that both groups of farmers share a concern for the economic risks associated with farming, although the organic farmers reported a significantly greater concern for long-term sustainability and a greater willingness to incur present risk to gain future benefits. Organic farmers expressed a greater awareness of and concern for environmental problems associated with agriculture. Organic farmers also scored significantly higher on a multifaceted measure of conservation practices, although both groups had a fairly high adoption rate. Implications of these findings are discussed, relative to economic risks of farming, implications for new farmers, effectiveness of conservation education and government programs, and impact of farm size and crop diversity.KEY WORDS: Environmental attitudes; Conservation behaviors; Organic farming; Agricultural sustainability     

The transition in Dutch water management

Over the past decades, the Dutch people have been confronted with severe water-related problems, which are the result of an unsustainable water system, arising from human interventions in the physical infrastructure of the water system and the water management style. The claims of housing, industry, infrastructure and agriculture have resulted in increasing pressure on the water system. The continuous subsidence of soil and climate change has put pressure on the land. Hence, the nature and magnitude of water-related problems have changed. Longitudinal research of relevant national policy documents reveals that the water management regime has changed its water management style over the past 30 years from a technocratic scientific style towards an integral and participatory style. We have investigated if the historical development in Dutch Water management can be characterized as a transition. Based on longitudinal research through an integrated systems analysis, document research and expert interviews, we have reconstructed the historical narrative by using the transition concepts of multi-level and multi-phase. This research indicates that the shift in Dutch Water management can be characterized as a transition. This transition is currently in the take-off stage and near the acceleration stage. This is a crucial stage as long as the considerable gap between the strategic macro-vision and the practical implementation at the micro-level remains. As long as these levels are not compatible (modulation), the transition will not be completed successfully. Transition management as multi-level governance model should therefore be adopted to facilitate the modulation.     

Uncovering the Connections Among Sustainability, Governance and GDP

This paper examines the connections among sustainability, governance and GDP, using the data from 123 countries. Sustainability is found to be related with GDP in two contradictory ways. On the one hand, growth in GDP strengthens a nation＇s ability to maintain favorable environmental conditions into the future. On the other hand, GDP growth is built on more consumption of natural resources, and therefore generates a larger ＂foot-print＂ on the Earth. Governance plays a key role in sustainable development. However, it is not helping to reduce our footprint on the Earth. In fact, good governance is linked to a larger footprint. This reflects our materialist value and human impulse. When a society prefers the comfort and wellbeing of human beings to the welfare of its environment, democratic governance might be used as an effective tool against nature.