JUSTIFICATION FOR A REDUCTION IN THE CREST-STAGE GAGE PROGRAM IN LOUISIANA1

The crest-stage gage program in Louisiana was evaluated to determine if the data were adequate for use in developing regional flood-frequency equations and to determine if any crest-stage gage stations could be discontinued. An abundance of data at many crest-stage gage stations and a lack of data for urban areas and flat-slope areas indicated a need for a shift in the number, type, and locations of gages. Correlations and comparisons of annual peak discharges and watershed characteristics of 96 existing stations resulted in the elimination of 72 stations and the addition of one new station, reducing the total network to 25 stations that could be used for future flood-frequency analyses. The adequacy of the reduced network for development and verification of regional flood-frequency equations was tested by comparing a set of regional flood-frequency equations developed using data from the full network with a set developed using data from the reduced network. The results indicate that the crest-stage gage network can be reduced to 25 stations and still provide adequate information for future flood-frequency analyses.     

Environmental logistics engineering: A new approach to industrial ecology

Industrial Ecology is, thus far, the most plausible model for realizing the ideal of sustainability. It dispels the notion that the flow of resources can continue along a one-way street from nature to mankind. Today, it is fairly well-understood that economies and ecosystems are structured and operate in strikingly similar ways. Healthy economies and healthy ecosystems depend on elemental diversity and unencumbered interchanges. Yet, maintaining and sustaining both healthy economies and healthy ecosystems continue to be viewed as disparate goals. How can this unfortunate mind-set be changed? The authors show how logistics engineering could be the best approach to implementing a two-part solution to this environmental business conundrum.     

An Investigation of Environmental Racism Claims: Testing Environmental Management Approaches with a Geographic Information System

The purpose of this research was to explore the concept of an environmental racism claim through the use of several environmental management tools. The EPAs Toxics Release Inventory, Cumulative Exposure Project, and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services' Hot Zone Census Tract Assessment were combined with racial and socioeconomic data to test claims that minorities in South Central Los Angeles are disproportionately exposed to environmental lead. Multivariate analysis indicated that race is strongly associated with the number of cases of elevated blood lead levels in South Central, irrespective of poverty status. Proximity to point sources, a common focal point for studies of environmental racism, was not a contributing factor to health outcomes. Proximity to transportation corridors was consistently the strongest indicator of environmental lead exposure, while median home values were significantly and positively related to elevated blood lead levels. Implications for environmental justice advocates and social and environmental scientists are discussed.     

Spatial trends of polyfluorinated compounds in guillemot (Uria aalge) eggs from North-Western Europe

Polyfluorinated alkyl compounds (PFCs) are a group of chemicals of growing concern that have been detected in biological and abiotic samples worldwide. This study reports the concentrations of a suite of PFCs: perfluorooctyl sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctyl sulfonamide (PFOSA) and perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) in guillemot (Uria aalge) eggs, collected in North-Western Europe, from Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Sweden and two locations in Norway. The highest concentrations of PFOS were found in samples from Sweden (mean 400 ng g(-1) wet weight (w.w.)), which were almost five times higher than concentrations found in Norwegian samples (mean 85 ng g(-1)w.w. from both sample sites). The concentrations found in Icelandic and Faroe samples were lowest (mean 16 and 15 ng g(-1)w.w., respectively). Only Swedish samples differed significantly from the other locations. In general, PFCAs show a different spatial trend than PFOS. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was not detected in any sample and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) was only detected in samples from Sweden. The most abundant PFCA was perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUA) with highest concentrations in samples from Sweden (mean 82 ng g(-1)w.w.), samples from the Faroe Islands had the second highest concentration (mean 57 ng g(-1)w.w.) and samples from Iceland and Norway had concentrations ranging between 18 and 30 ng g(-1)w.w. The original hypothesis was based on the idea that PFC concentrations are the highest close to more densely populated and industrialized areas and lower levels in remote areas. However, the geographic pattern is more complicated than predicted and varies among different PFCs.     

The impact of the 2004 tsunami on coastal Thai communities: assessing adaptive capacity

The suddenness and scale of the 26 December 2004 tsunami and the challenges posed to affected communities highlighted the benefits of their members having a capacity to confront and adapt to the consequences of such a disaster. Research into adaptive capacity or resilience has been conducted almost exclusively with Western populations. This paper describes an exploratory study of the potential of a measure of collective efficacy developed for Western populations to predict the capacity of members of a collective society, Thai citizens affected by the 2004 tsunami, to confront effectively the recovery demands associated with this disaster. Following a demonstration that this measure could predict adaptive capacity, the role of religious affiliation, ethnicity and place of residence in sustaining collective efficacy is discussed. The implications of the findings for future research on, and intervention to develop, adaptive capacity among Thai citizens in particular and collectivist societies in general are discussed.     

Structure characterization and thermal stabilities of the isomers of the brominated flame retardant 1,2-dibromo-4-(1,2-dibromoethyl)cyclohexane

1,2-Dibromo-4-(1,2-dibromoethyl)cyclohexane (TBECH) is used primarily as an additive flame retardant. 1H NMR spectroscopy and an X-ray structure determination have revealed that a technical mixture consists largely of two (of the four possible) diastereomers, rac-(1R,2R)-1,2-dibromo-(4S)-4-((1S)-1,2-dibromoethyl)cyclohexane (alpha-TBECH) and rac-(1R,2R)-1,2-dibromo-(4S)-4-((1R)-1,2-dibromoethyl)cyclohexane (beta-TBECH), in a mole ratio of approximately 1:1. The two other possible isomers, gamma- and delta-TBECH, were not detected in a technical mixture. The TBECH isomers are thermally sensitive and can easily interconvert at temperatures of 125 degrees C. A thermal equilibrium mixture of alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-TBECH consists of approximately 33%, 33%, 17% and 17% of these isomers, respectively. Separation of all four TBECH diastereomers, with minimal thermal interconversion of the isomers, was achieved by careful selection of GC-capillary column length and injector temperature. Although technical TBECH does not contain the gamma- and delta-isomers, they may still be relevant environmental contaminants since manufacturing processes utilize thermal processes which may induce their formation.     

Global and regional potential for bioenergy from agricultural and forestry residue biomass

As co-products, agricultural and forestry residues represent a potential low cost, low carbon, source for bioenergy. A method is developed for estimating the maximum sustainable amount of energy potentially available from agricultural and forestry residues by converting crop production statistics into associated residue, while allocating some of this resource to remain on the field to mitigate erosion and maintain soil nutrients. Currently, we estimate that the world produces residue biomass that could be sustainably harvested and converted into nearly 50 EJ yr⁻¹ of energy. The top three countries where this resource is estimated to be most abundant are currently net energy importers: China, the United States (US), and India. The global potential from residue biomass is estimated to increase to approximately 50–100 EJ yr⁻¹ by mid- to late- century, depending on physical assumptions such as of future crop yields and the amount of residue sustainably harvestable. The future market for biomass residues was simulated using the Object-Oriented Energy, Climate, and Technology Systems Mini Climate Assessment Model (O^bjECTS MiniCAM). Utilization of residue biomass as an energy source is projected for the next century under different climate policy scenarios. Total global use of residue biomass is estimated to be 20–100 EJ yr⁻¹ by mid- to late- century, depending on the presence of a climate policy and the economics of harvesting, aggregating, and transporting residue. Much of this potential is in developing regions of the world, including China, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and India.     

Managing the cost of emissions for durable,carbon-containing products

We recognize that carbon-containing products do not decay and release CO₂ to the atmosphere instantaneously, but release that carbon over extended periods of time. For an initial production of a stock of carbon-containing product, we can treat the release as a probability distribution covering the time over which that release occurs. The probability distribution that models the carbon release predicts the amount of carbon that is released as a function of time. The use of a probability distribution in accounting for the release of carbon to the atmosphere realizes a fundamental shift from the idea that all carbon-containing products contribute to a single pool that decays in proportion to the size of the stock. Viewing the release of carbon as a continuous probabilistic process introduces some theoretical opportunities not available in the former paradigm by taking advantage of other fields where the use of probability distributions has been prevalent for many decades. In particular, theories developed in the life insurance industry can guide the development of pricing and payment structures for dealing with the costs associated with the oxidation and release of carbon. These costs can arise from a number of proposed policies (cap and trade, carbon tax, social cost of carbon, etc), but in the end they all result in there being a cost to releasing carbon to the atmosphere. If there is a cost to the emitter for CO₂ emissions, payment for that cost will depend on both when the emissions actually occur and how payment is made. Here we outline some of the pricing and payment structures that are possible which result from analogous theories in the life insurance industry. This development not only provides useful constructs for valuing sequestered carbon, but highlights additional motivations for employing a probability distribution approach to unify accounting methodologies for stocks of carbon containing products.