The world conservation strategy: Environmental education and local initiative

Summary In the spring of 1981, Tufts University and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature began teaching the World Conservation Strategy to environmentalists working at the local level. The fourteen-week course that they offered was the first of a series of initiatives to increase public awareness of the need for local action toward the solution of global environmental problems. The success of the first course has encouraged other groups to adapt it to their own social and ecological settings, but there is a pressing need for even more public education. While several aids to teaching the World Conservation Strategy are now being developed to give local conservation educators access to the Strategy, the initiative for bringing the World Conservation Strategy to the public should continue to come from these local leaders. Frank Thibodeau is an environmental biologist and policy analyst with MA and PhD degrees from Tufts University. He is currently a Research Associate in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy at Tufts, preparing a book on the World Conservation Strategy as a foundation for local environmental initiative under the auspicies of IUCN and the World Wildlife Fund. In addition to his writing and teaching related to the Strategy, he maintains an active research program examining the development of national and international strategies for the preservation of genetic diversity. Hermann H. Field, an urban planner and Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, was director of the Planning Office of the Tufts-New England Medical Center in downtown Boston for 12 years. In 1972 he initiated and then directed a new graduate department of Urban and Environmental Policy at Tufts University. Since 1978 he has been Professor Emeritus in Environmental Planning there. In addition to continued involvement in his department he is active on a range of levels in conservation from the local to the international, including membership on IUCN's Commission on Environmental Planning.     

The environmental impact of Chernobyl in the soviet union

Summary The author describes events subsequent to the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident and something of their environmental impact as it affects the Soviet Union. He is somewhat adversely critical of the lack of information currently being released by the Soviet authorities.Dr Zhores Medvedev was born in Tbilisi, and trained firstly as a plant biochemist and subsequently as a molecular biologist in the USSR. He studied the ecological effects of the 1958 Kyshtym nuclear accident in the USSR and published his findings in a bookNuclear Disaster in the Urals in 1979. He is currently a research scientist at the National Institute of Medical Research in London. A comprehensive analysis ofSoviet Agriculture is about to appear in a book of that title under Dr. Medvedev's authorship.     

Oil seeds industry emissions: A case study

Summary This study assessed the contribution of an oil seed industry to the organic loadings of an urban atmosphere, so that more realistic strategies can be developed to control such pollution. Emission measurements suggest that fatty acids, aldehydes and solvent related hydrocarbons are emitted in amounts comparable to or even exceeding anthropogenic organics. Technological options for controlling emissions in the context of the local situation with the data presented are discussed.Paolo Battistoni was born in Ancona, Italy in 1951 and received a degree in chemistry in 1974 at Bologna University. He started his activity at Ancona University where he is a permanent professor of waste water treatments. His research interests have centered on monitoring of organics in ambient air and waste streams and method developments in these areas.Gabriele L. Fava was born near Bologna, Italy in 1945 and received his degree in chemistry from the University of Bologna in 1972. He started his research activity at Ancona University where he is a permanent professor of pollution and environmental control. He has spent research terms at the Iowa State University, USA in 1976 and 1979. His main interest is in the environmental behaviour of toxic substances through physicochemical profiles.     

Economic development and environment

Summary While considerable progress has been achieved in understanding and addressing environmental problems over the last 15 years, it is clear that much still remains to be done. Prominent among the concerns calling for further action are the dispersion of toxic substances from a large variety of sources and uses, the accumulating and widespread effects of air pollution, and inefficient management of the natural resource base needed to sustain future economic development. It is increasingly evident that work on these issues must be addressed in their global context, including the developing world.Mr Erik Lykke took up his duties as Director of Environment for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on 5 November, 1984. He is Norwegian, and comes from the Norwegian Ministry of Environment, where he was appointed Director General when it was established in 1972. Before that appointment he held various posts in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the Norwegian Foreign Service, and worked in the Norwegian Embassies in Ottawa and London and the Delegation to NATO.Mr Lykke graduated from the University of Oslo in 1954 (MA in political science, history and sociology) and worked for a short time as a journalist. He was assistant to Mr. Trygve Lie (a former Secretary-General of the United Nations) and Foreign Minister Halvard Lange. He has worked on a number of national committees, dealing with space, nuclear research, research in science and technology, air, acid precipitation, and law of the sea and polar matters.From 1970, up to his appointment as OECD Director of Environment, he was closely involved in the development of Norwegian policy and practice on environmental protection and in international work in this field. He was actively engaged in the preparations for the 1972 UN Environment Conference and the 1972 Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft (he was the first Chairman of the Oslo Commission). He was also Chairman of the UN-ECE and OECD Environment Committees, and has led Norwegian delegations to a number of international meetings and conferences.The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the OECD or of the Governments of its Member countries.     

Synergy,sigmoids and the seventh-year trifurcation

Summary Whereas linear and exponential growth have become relatively familiar metaphors, second-order growth processes, as exemplified by autocatalytic chemical reactions, have not yet entered the vernacular. Derek J. de Solla Price has discussed sigmoid growth, but described it as a three-phase process. It is shown here that these three phases are more apparent than real, with initial slow growth, intermediate rapid growth and ultimate saturation all characteristic of the same second-order process. A model, arrived at by the superposition of several sigmoid curves, is proposed for the periodic critical decision points which occur during the course of a career or the life time of an organization. These decision points correspond to a trifurcation, leading to renewed sigmoidal growth, saturation, or a rapid phase-out.Dr Arthur L. Loeb is Senior Lecturer on Visual and Environmental Studies, Curator of the Teaching Collection in the Carpenter Centre for the Visual Arts, and Acting Master of Dudley House, Harvard University. He was born in The Netherlands and educated in the United States at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University. His doctorate is in Chemical Physics, but through his research contact with Gyorgy Kepes, M. C. Escher and R. Buckminster Fuller, he has been able to embrace the whole spectrum of design. His 40 or so publications show his expertize as well as his exceptional ability in combining the compatible aspects of the arts and the sciences. Prior to his appointment at Harvard University he has been an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Staff Scientist at the Kennecott Copper Company.     

Nitrate controversy and cancer causation: An environmental viewpoint

Summary The environmental problem of excess nitrate in food and drink is discussed. In 1982, Dr Geoffrey Taylor died of cancer primarily of gastric origin. Before his death through TV, radio and lectures he stressed the need for research to ascertain upper safe levels for nitrate-nitrite content, especially in vegetables. Additionally he indicated possible links between cancer causation and the ingestion of nitrate-nitrite-derived nitrosamines. This paper is a tribute to his work.Lecture delivered on April 14th, 1983, to the Environmental Science Dept., Farnborough College of Technology, UK.All communications should be addressed to the author, Professor A. H. Walters at: Sunning House, Sunningdale, Berks SL5 9QN, UK. Professor Harry Walters is one of those individuals that has taken up an active retirement. He is a specialist in food technology, a researcher, educator, author/writer and philosopher. He is the author of two books and 35 major scientific papers.     

Michoacán centre for science and technology education a summary of the project

Summary This paper looks at the problems of science and technology education in Mexico, and proposes ways in which the quality of education at every level can be improved. It advocates an interdisciplinary approach, and from that approach to science education, the development of environmental education.Prof. Gutiérrez-Vázquez received his training in microbiology and biochemistry in the National Polytechnic Institute in his native Mexico City, receiving his degree in 1954. He went from instructor to assistant professor (1950–1960), becoming a full professor, deputy dean and then dean of the Faculty of Biology in the same Institute (1961–1969); he published two books and some 20 papers dealing with the physiology of tubercle bacillus and other mycobacteria, as well as with other topics on microbiology. More recently (1970 to date), he became a full professor in the Center for Advanced Studies of the same Institute, where he has been head of the Department of Educational Research (1972–1981) and carried out research and development projects on science education for children and adolescents. During this period he has published some 20 more books and 30 odd papers, and written more than 80 science programmes for commercial television.     

Is Abolitionism Guilty of Racism? A Reply to Cordeiro-Rodrigues

Gary Francione is an abolitionist: he maintains that we ought to abolish the institutions and practices that support the exploitation of animals. He also believes that veganism is the “moral baseline”—that is, he thinks it’s morally required of nearly everyone in the developed world, and many beyond it. Luis Cordeiro-Rodrigues claims that abolitionism is guilty of racism, albeit “racism without racists.” I contend that his arguments for this conclusion aren’t successful.     

Natural structure in the man-made environment

Summary The paper contains examples of design elements and natural symmetries that have appeared and are now being used in man-made works. The pleasing principles of symmetric structures have been shown in examples of architectural ornament, planning of towns and university campuses. These same symmetries are shown to give coherence to the growth of forms in nature. The paper further discusses how different artists have arrived at their particular choices of natural symmetries to be used whether in planning, architectural structures, town clusters or painting. Dr Arthur L. Loeb was born in The Netherlands and was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University, where he took a doctorate in Chemical Physics. Through his research contact with Gyorgy Kepes, M. C. Escher and R. Buckminster Fuller, he has been able to embrace the whole spectrum of design. He is a sculptor and painter, and has great interest in music. His 40 or so publications show his expertize as well as his exceptional ability in combining the compatible aspects of the arts and the sciences. His present position is Head Tutor at the Department of Visual and Environmental Studies, and Curator of the Teaching Collection in the Carpenter Center, Harvard University.     

Norton’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sustainability</Emphasis>: Some Comments on Risk and Sustainability

Bryan Norton’s 2005 book Sustainability describes a pragmatic approach to environmental philosophy that stresses philosophy’s role as one of mediating between scientific and ordinary language. But on two topics, Norton’s approach is not pragmatic enough. In the case of his discussion of risk, he accedes to a scientific notion that fails to acknowledge the way that ordinary usage of the word risk involves pragmatic links to human action and moral responsibility. With respect to the word sustainability, his analysis fails to acknowledge important scientific work that characterizes the functional integrity of system cycling, opting instead for usage grounded either in economic accounting or in an even less substantive sense of a broad social movement for environmental improvement. On each of these topics, adherence to the pragmatic orientation of Norton’s philosophy results in a different analysis of the concepts in question.     

Information and research systems in the service of decision-making

Summary When people are in government, they are always involved in some type of information communication, but for more than five years now I have been involved with the Congressional Research Service, CRS, an institution which is totally committed to research and transfer of information to the United States Congress. The Congressional Research Service works exclusively for congress—for al the members and all the committees; and CRS’s scope—information, reference and research—covers all subject areas, including environmental issues, which are of congressional interest. The inquiries from members and staff—by phone, letter or in person—exceed 400 000 a year, and the number of requests has increased at an average rate of almost 9 percent each year over the past decade. Small wonder the service employs about 825 people, 550 of whom are professionals. Gilbert Gude is Director of the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, appointed by Librarian Daniel J. Boorstin in January 1977. Mr Gude’s career in public service began in 1953 when he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates; he served as a Member of the Maryland State Senate from 1962–1966, before being elected to the US House of Representatives for the 8th District of Maryland in 1967. During his 10-year career in the House he served as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Natural Resources of the Government Operations Committee and ranking member of the Committee on the District of Columbia; he was also a member of the Select Committee on Aging. Mr Gude’s legislative work concentrated in the areas of urban and regional affairs and environmental issues. He was a key sponsor of the bill creating the C&O Canal National Historical Park and developed a number of legislative initiatives involving the Potomac River. Mr Gude is Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America and a member of the National Academy of Public Administration. He is a former member of Members of Congress for Peace Through Law and former chairman of the 1976 Anglo-American Conference on Africa. Mr Gude received a B.S. from Cornell University in 1948 and an M.A. in public administration from George Washington University in 1958.     

Progress and Privilege: A book about environmentalism meets the press

In August 1982, Anchor Press publishedProgress and Privilege, a book by William Tucker. Tucker's thesis was that environmentalism represented the ideas of aristocratic conservatism translated onto a popular scale, and that it had entwined itself with the protection of social and economic privilege. The book was riddled with fundamental errors of fact and of logic, but it also was literate and superficially impressive. It was widely reviewed. An examination of 23 reviews shows this: Most of the reviews in daily newspapers were written by laymen who couldn't analyze Tucker's arguments or recognize his mistakes. Most of the reviews in specialized publications were done by competent analysts who brought some special knowledge to their work. With the latter group of reviewers,Progress and Privilege fared poorly.     

Project approval,environmental assessment and public participation

Summary Assessing the desirability of large scale resource development is an extremely complicated process. In the past, the presumption has been that economic criteria were decisive. Lately, however, we have accepted the idea that social and environmental factors will affect the design and procedures of development, and, in extreme cases, may even indicate the abandonment of a project. Public input and formal environmental and social impact assessment have been accepted in principle, and the challenge is to incorporate them within an orderly and expeditious governmental decision process. This is a case study of such a process for Esso Resources Canada Limited's proposed heavy oil project at Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada. P. S. Elder was Gold Medallist and Law Review Editor upon graduating from the Faculty of Law, University of British Columbia (1965). Following his call to the Bar and graduate work at the University of London (London School of Economics), he was an aide to various Canadian federal cabinet ministers (1967–70) and taught law at the University of Western Ontario (1970–73). In 1973 Professor Elder joined the Faculty of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada where he teaches legally related subjects. He has written widely in environmental law and policy, and public participation. In his free time Elder engages in municipal and provincial politics     

In defence of the inuit world-saving a way of life

Summary The author describes how the philosophies of the World Conservation Strategy are particularly applicable to the Inuit, or Eskimo, peoples of the Arctic. A trans-national conservation strategy has been established to safeguard the culture, livelihood and interest of these people. The requirements and structure of this strategy are briefly outlined.Finn Lynge was born in Greenland in 1933. He was initially trained as a priest, but subsequently became Director of Radio Greenland, until 1979, when he became Member of the European Parliament until Greenland's withdrawal from the EEC in 1985. After a few years as co-ordinator of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference Environmental Commission (ICCEC) he has now become Consultant in Greenlandic Affairs for the Danish Foreign Office. He has published two books;Bulldozer track, on Greenland's cultural policies, andBird, Seal and Human Soul, on Greenlandic folklore.     

Public attitudes on environment,energy and the economy — Implications for policy

Summary During the last ten years environmental quality and energy have emerged as important national issues right along with the economy. The central proposition appears to be that environmental concerns are inversely related to concern about energy and the economy. The common assumptions about public perception of the trade-offs between environmental quality, economic growth, and energy production are shown to be invalid. In any event it is unlikely that public policy makers will find themselves strongly pulled by a highly polarized public.David J. Rosen is an assistant professor in the Department of Human Ecology, Cook College of Environmental and Agricultural Sciences, Rutgers University (U.S.A.) where he teaches in the interdisciplinary International Environmental Studies and Human Ecology curricula. While formally trained as a political scientist (Ph D, Rutgers University, 1975) for the past six years his research on energy and environmental matters has become increasingly interdisciplinary. The subjects of his work have ranged from the international energy system to the provision of solar energy incentives by state government. He has also served as a consultant to government and private organizations on a number of energy and environmental projects.     

LIFTING THE VEIL FROM TRANSNATIONAL MINERAL CONTRACTS: A REVIEW OF RECENT LITERATURE

The author reviews the recent literature on mineral contracts focusing on Smith and Wells' Negotiating Third World Mineral Agreements. He uses the outline of that book to offer a critique of some aspects of the negotiation process and of the position of the negotiating parties, with particular emphasis on most recent forms of agreement.     

A Water Allocation Decision‐Support Model and Tool for Predictions in Ungauged Basins in Northeast British Columbia,Canada

Pressures on water resources due to changing climate, increasing demands, and enhanced recognition of environmental flow needs result in the need for hydrology information to support informed water allocation decisions. However, the absence of hydrometric measurements and limited access to hydrology information in many areas impairs water allocation decision‐making. This paper describes a water balance‐based modeling approach and an innovative web‐based decision‐support hydrology tool developed to address this need. Using high‐resolution climate, vegetation, and watershed data, a simple gridded water balance model, adjusted to account for locational variability, was developed and calibrated against gauged watersheds, to model mean annual runoff. Mean monthly runoff was modeled empirically, using multivariate regression. The modeled annual runoff results are within 20% of the observed mean annual discharge for 78% of the calibration watersheds, with a mean absolute error of 16%. Modeled monthly runoff corresponds well to observed monthly runoff, with a median Nash–Sutcliffe statistic of 0.92 and a median Spearman rank correlation statistic of 0.98. Monthly and annual flow estimates produced from the model are incorporated into a map‐ and watershed‐based decision‐support system referred to as the Northeast Water Tool, to provide critical information to decision makers and others on natural water supply, existing allocations, and the needs of the environment.     

Linking river, floodplain, and vadose zone hydrology to improve restoration of a coastal river affected by saltwater intrusion

Floodplain forests provide unique ecological structure and function, which are often degraded or lost when watershed hydrology is modified. Restoration of damaged ecosystems requires an understanding of surface water, groundwater, and vadose (unsaturated) zone hydrology in the floodplain. Soil moisture and porewater salinity are of particular importance for seed germination and seedling survival in systems affected by saltwater intrusion but are difficult to monitor and often overlooked. This study contributes to the understanding of floodplain hydrology in one of the last bald cypress [Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.] floodplain swamps in southeast Florida. We investigated soil moisture and porewater salinity dynamics in the floodplain of the Loxahatchee River, where reduced freshwater flow has led to saltwater intrusion and a transition to salt-tolerant, mangrove-dominated communities. Twenty-four dielectric probes measuring soil moisture and porewater salinity every 30 min were installed along two transects-one in an upstream, freshwater location and one in a downstream tidal area. Complemented by surface water, groundwater, and meteorological data, these unique 4-yr datasets quantified the spatial variability and temporal dynamics of vadose zone hydrology. Results showed that soil moisture can be closely predicted based on river stage and topographic elevation (overall Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient of efficiency = 0.83). Porewater salinity rarely exceeded tolerance thresholds (0.3125 S m(-1)) for bald cypress upstream but did so in some downstream areas. This provided an explanation for observed vegetation changes that both surface water and groundwater salinity failed to explain. The results offer a methodological and analytical framework for floodplain monitoring in locations where restoration success depends on vadose zone hydrology and provide relationships for evaluating proposed restoration and management scenarios for the Loxahatchee River.     

SOME STATISTICAL OBSERVATIONS1

ABSTRACT: Some of the statistical techniques and results presented in publications in hydrology and water resources are, at best, misleading and, in other cases, plain wrong. The author discusses examples that he has found in recent publications. One reason for the number of doubtful papers may be simply that the total number of papers is increasing so fast; seven new journals in hydrology and water resources have been issued in the last few years.     

The Seventh Kew Environmental Lecture: Our global future: climate change

The Kew lecture provides a major contribution to contemporary environmental views. The Hon. Timothy E. Wirth is US Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs and he is responsible within the US State Department for overseeing environment, population, human rights, refugee, narcotics and related programmes. He was elected to the US Senate from Colorado in 1986 and served until 1993 when he chose not to run for re-election. He was, previously, a Congressman for 12 years and was voted one of the 25 most effective Members of Congress. In 1992, he served as national co-chair of the Clinton – Gore presidential campaign. The lecture was delivered at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, on 15 September 1997.