Parxit,the United States,and the world

<正>1.Introduction And now we have Parxit.On 1 June 2017,President Trump issued the highly unpopular announcement that the United States will withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change.In this brief piece,I will try to explain the reasons for this nearly unprecedented act of foreign policy folly(Ronald Reagan did pull out of the Law of the Sea     

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in domestic indoor dust from Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States

Because of the similarities in European and North American dietary exposure, it has been suggested that the order of magnitude higher body burdens in North Americans may be due to international variations in exposure via ingestion of indoor dust. Furthermore, ingestion of indoor dust has been suggested as a possible source of PBDEs in the blood serum of New Zealanders. Hence, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were measured in domestic indoor dust from: Amarillo/Austin, Texas, US; Birmingham, UK; Toronto, Canada; and Wellington, New Zealand. Concentrations of BDE 209 in two UK samples were - at 520,000 and 100,000 ng g(-1) - the highest ever recorded in a domestic (or office) indoor dust sample. Median concentrations in ng g(-1) were: in Canada 620 and 560 for Sigmatri-hexa-BDEs and BDE 209 respectively; in New Zealand 96, BDE 209 not determined; in the UK 59 and 2,800; and in the US 1600 and 1300. With respect to BDE 209, concentrations were in the order: UK approximately US>Canada. For Sigmatri-hexa-BDEs, the order of concentrations was US approximately Canada>New Zealand approximately UK. Combined with principal component analysis of congener patterns, this suggests that, while North American dusts are contaminated by both Deca- and Penta-BDE commercial formulations, UK dusts are contaminated predominantly by Deca-BDE. The Octa-BDE formulation appears of minimal importance in accordance with available market demand figures. Despite the commercial formulations of PBDEs never having been manufactured in, nor imported into New Zealand, their presence in dusts from that country suggests international trade in PBDE-containing goods is an important pathway effecting their global distribution.     

Ozone control strategies in the United States

Conventional control strategies for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a precursor to ozone, are identified. The control measures have been adopted by states in their efforts to attain the national ambient air quality standard for ozone by statutorily mandated deadlines. An inventory of viable control approaches for VOCs is presented, rather than a discussion of the approaches' comparative merits or of available alternatives. Focus is placed upon the technologies and control measures that U.S. EPA has identified as “reasonably available”, considering such criteria as effectiveness, costs, and associated energy and environmental impacts. These regulatory approaches include such strategies as vapor control in gasoline marketing, low solvent technologies and/or add-on control equipment for surface coating operations, and vehicle inspection and maintenance programs. By adopting these and additional control measures, as required, most states are projecting attainment of the ozone standard by 1987.     

Sustainable engineering education in the United States

Sustainable engineering is a conceptual and practical challenge to all engineering disciplines. Although the profession has experience with environmental dimensions of engineering activities that in some cases are quite deep, extending the existing body of practice to sustainable engineering by including social and cultural domains is a significant and non-trivial challenge. Nonetheless, progress is being made, as a recent study undertaken by the Center for Sustainable Engineering in the United States demonstrates.

Audiences for Science Communication in the United States

ABSTRACT

The US National Science Foundation collects biennial data on views about science and technology (S&T). Analyses have typically focused on the degree to which demographics, knowledge, and attitudes predict S&T support or views about specific technologies or issues. Published efforts do not appear to have focused on identifying latent classes within the data. Initial analyses using latent profile analysis suggests that Americans can be categorized into six substantive audience groups when it comes to views about S&T. These groups vary by demographics, including scientific background and ideology, as well as in views about S&T. Post hoc analyses explore how “class-focused” analyses may provide additional insight beyond what can be obtained from “variable-focused” analyses.     

A survey of environmental radioactivity measurements in the United States

A survey of selected radiochemical laboratories in the United States was conducted to estimate the relative numbers and types of analyses performed nationwide for the measurement of environmental radio-activity and to identify the regulatory requirements which affect the selection of analytical procedures and media. Information was sought from each laboratory regarding its parent facility, whether the laboratory performs its own analyses or contracts them out, and the technical and regulatory requirements for which the laboratory performed analyses.Analyses of water, air-particulate, and soil and sediment samples contribute the greatest workload. Many fewer vegetation, milk, diet, gas, or bioassay samples are processed. The most common measurements, especially for water, are for gross-α and gross-β activity. More than 50 different specific-radionuclide analyses are being performed with varying degree of regularity by the 161 laboratories surveyed. γ-spectrometry is the most frequently used method for specific-radionuclide analyses; the use of Ge (Li) detectors for γ-spectrometric measurements now exceeds that of NaI (Tl) detectors. Other radionuclides for which specific analyses are frequently performed by a large percentage (25–75%) of the laboratories include ⁹⁰Sr, ¹³¹I, ²²⁶Ra, ^238,239Pu, ^234,235,238U, and tritium in water (HTO).