Climate change: linking adaptation and mitigation through agroforestry

Agriculture is the human enterprise that is most vulnerable to climate change. Tropical agriculture, particularly subsistence agriculture is particularly vulnerable, as smallholder farmers do not have adequate resources to adapt to climate change. While agroforestry may play a significant role in mitigating the atmospheric accumulation of greenhouse gases (GHG), it also has a role to play in helping smallholder farmers adapt to climate change. In this paper, we examine data on the mitigation potential of agroforestry in the humid and sub-humid tropics. We then present the scientific evidence that leads to the expectation that agroforestry also has an important role in climate change adaptation, particularly for small holder farmers. We conclude with priority research questions that need to be answered concerning the role of agroforestry in both mitigation and adaptation to climate change.     

建筑工地事故的经济损失与最有效的安全投资（香港经验）

本文论述了对因建筑工地发生的事故而导致承包商的经济损失的一个调查情况。作者对１８个建筑工地发生的６１８起事故进行了调查，每一个建筑工地，其安全状况指标是用总的等量损失工作日除以总的所需工作日来评价。通过这１８个例证，可以得到建筑工地事故损失与安全状况指标两者之间的关系。类似的，可以获得安全投资与安全状况指标两者的关系、从这两条曲线中。承包商可以决定对建筑工地的最适宜的安全投资。建筑项目的最小安全投资为建筑总投资的０．５５％。这时，在最适宜点之处安全投资要比总的事故损失大得多。     

DESIGN OF A DIVERSION SYSTEM TO MANAGE THE FIRST FLUSH1

ABSTRACT: To manage the first flush of storm runoff in urbanized areas, a diversion box and detention basin system has been proposed for a new storm sewer system or for retrofitting an existing system. A software package for a personal computer has been developed to facilitate the analysis and design of the system. Hydrographs and pollutographs are generated at the inlet and outlet of the diversion box and the detention basin. The peak outflow and peak pollutant concentrations are compared with the allowable outflow and pollutant concentration for urban stormwater quantity and quality management. The model is developed for both analysis and design purposes.     

First-trimester diagnosis of hydrolethalus syndrome in a Chinese family

We report a case resembling hydrolethalus syndrome in a Chinese family. Fetal polydactyly, syndactyly, encephalocele and cardiac malformation were detected on ultrasound examination at 12 weeks' gestation. Termination of pregnancy was performed, and postmortem examination confirmed the findings. This is the first report of a first-trimester prenatal diagnosis of hydrolethalus syndrome in the Chinese population. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bird's‐eye view of the environmental attitude types in the sustainable consumption context

Environmental attitudes are considered to be important factors that influence sustainable consumption. Typically, attitudes fall into two main types: a general environmental attitude (GEA) and a specific environmental attitude (SEA). This study found that the effect of the SEA is stronger than the GEA in regard to sustainable consumption behavior. Also, when analyzing the purchasing behavior of green products, the SEA is a more appropriate and consistent predictor of behavior than the GEA. The study suggests a more operationalized and salient definition of the intended meaning of the term “environmental attitude,” and also advises researchers and marketing professionals to use a framework that contains both types of environmental attitudes in order to better understand what drives the attitude–behavior gap in green consumer behavior.     

Enabling youth to advocate for workplace safety

Work-related injury rates for Canadian youth (ages 15–24) are alarmingly high compared to adult workers even though youth are less likely to be performing hazardous jobs. This paper reports on a document analysis of youth workplace safety education initiatives sponsored by national and provincial/territorial governmental and non-governmental agencies. Web-based documents were analyzed through the theoretical lens of self-advocacy. The self-advocacy framework highlights how youth can be agentic in altering high-risk workplaces by publicly articulating their own interests, needs, and rights (Test et al., 2005); thus, self-advocacy is a critical component in studying educational programs for youth safety. The analysis revealed that instruction on workplace safety identifies safety issues to workers and tells youth to work safely but does little to promote self-advocacy in young workers.     

Hydrologic and Water Quality Functions of a Disturbed Wetland in an Agricultural Setting1

Abstract: In 2006, we collected flow, sediment, and phosphorus (P) data at stream locations upstream and downstream of a small degraded wetland in south‐central Wisconsin traversed by a stream draining a predominantly agricultural watershed. The amount of sediment that left the wetland in the two largest storms, which accounted for 96% of the exported sediment during the observation period, was twice the amount that entered the wetland, even though only 50% of the wetland had been inundated. This apparently anomalous result is due to erosion of sediment that had accumulated in the low‐gradient channel and to the role of drainage ditches, which trapped sediment during the wetland‐filling phase. In the case of total P, the inflow to the wetland approximately equaled the outflow, although the wetland sequestered 30% of the incoming dissolved reactive P. The discrepancy is almost certainly due to net export of sediment. Many wetlands in the glaciated midwestern United States are ditched and traversed by low‐gradient channels draining predominantly agricultural areas, so the processes observed in this wetland are likely to be common in that region. Knowledge of this behavior presents opportunities to improve water quality in this and similar regions.     

VOC composition of current motor vehicle fuels and vapors, and collinearity analyses for receptor modeling

The formulation of motor vehicle fuels can alter the magnitude and composition of evaporative and exhaust emissions occurring throughout the fuel cycle. Information regarding the volatile organic compound (VOC) composition of motor fuels other than gasoline is scarce, especially for bioethanol and biodiesel blends. This study examines the liquid and vapor (headspace) composition of four contemporary and commercially available fuels: gasoline (<10% ethanol), E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline), ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD), and B20 (20% soy-biodiesel and 80% ULSD). The composition of gasoline and E85 in both neat fuel and headspace vapor was dominated by aromatics and n-heptane. Despite its low gasoline content, E85 vapor contained higher concentrations of several VOCs than those in gasoline vapor, likely due to adjustments in its formulation. Temperature changes produced greater changes in the partial pressures of 17 VOCs in E85 than in gasoline, and large shifts in the VOC composition. B20 and ULSD were dominated by C₉ to C₁₆n-alkanes and low levels of the aromatics, and the two fuels had similar headspace vapor composition and concentrations. While the headspace composition predicted using vapor-liquid equilibrium theory was closely correlated to measurements, E85 vapor concentrations were underpredicted. Based on variance decomposition analyses, gasoline and diesel fuels and their vapors VOC were distinct, but B20 and ULSD fuels and vapors were highly collinear. These results can be used to estimate fuel related emissions and exposures, particularly in receptor models that apportion emission sources, and the collinearity analysis suggests that gasoline- and diesel-related emissions can be distinguished.