US materials policy : A legislative approach

This paper describes a general programme to develop a national policy for materials in the USA, under the leadership of the Committee on Science and Technology of the US House of Representatives. The paper discusses the evolving need for a policy, and describes the foundation for policy provided by the National Science and Technology Policy, Organization and Priorities Act of 1976, and policies proposed in a draft national materials bill. Possible ways of implementing the proposed policy are considered.     

Taxation of uranium mining ventures in Saskatchewan: A policy assessment

The basic objective of this paper is to present a policy assessment of the Saskatchewan Uranium Royalty (SUR). This scheme, as enacted on 1 August 1976, was designed to be an integral part of the province's rent appropriation and economic development strategy. Before the tax regime is addressed directly an overview is given of the resource policy environment within which the impost was developed.     

An economic model of the US aluminium market

An economic model of the US aluminium industry is constructed and estimated with annual data over the period 1960–1978. The authors' analysis shows that both the short- and long-term price elasticities of demand are relatively low, and that demand is highly dependent on aluminium end-use activity. A forecasting exercise is also undertaken, and the errors of forecast calculated.     

Radon from uranium mill tailings: A source of significant radiation hazard?

Calculations regarding the long-term hazards to health from the radioactive gas radon which emanates from the tailings of milled uranium ores are presented here. The absolute and relative risks to the population from mill tailings, as well as technical solutions to the problem of disposal methods which would eliminate or minimize lung cancer risk, are discussed. Since the emission of radon from tailings will occur thousands of years after the projected benefits from nuclear-fission power have been obtained, the problem of present and future hazard from mill tailings calls for increased regulatory consideration.Now at Resources for the Future, Washington, D.C. 20036     

A geostatistical and probabilistic spectral image processing methodology for monitoring potential CO2 leakages on the surface

Remote sensing has demonstrated success in various environmental applications over the past three decades. This is largely attributed to its ability for good areal coverage and continued development in sensor technologies. Carbon dioxide Capture and Storage (CCS) is an emerging climate change mitigation technology where monitoring is vital for its sustainability. This research investigates the use of spectral remote sensing imagery in detecting potential CO₂ occurrences at the surface, should a leakage occur from subsurface reservoirs where CO₂ is stored. Currently, there are no known leakages of CO₂ at industrial storage sites, therefore, this research was carried out at the Latera natural analogue site in Italy, in order to develop the methodology described. This paper describes the use of a popular probabilistic information fusion theory, referred to as the Dempster–Shafer theory of evidence, to analyse outlier pixels (anomalies). Outlier pixels are first determined using a new geostatistical image filtering methodology based on Intrinsic Random Function (IRF), Independent Component Analysis (ICA), and the industry standard parametric Reed–Xiaoli (RX) anomaly detection. Information fusion of detected outlier pixels and indirect surface effects of CO₂ leakage over time, such as stressed vegetation or mineral alterations, assigns a confidence measure per outlier pixel in order to identify potential leakage points. After visual validation using direct field measurements, it was demonstrated that the proposed methodology is able to detect majority of the seepage points at Latera, and holds promise as a new unsupervised CO₂ monitoring methodology.     

Taking Sustainable Cities Seriously: A comparative analysis of twenty-four US cities

After briefly reviewing some conceptual underpinnings of sustainable cities, this paper analyses and compares sustainable cities initiatives in 24 US cities. The central question addressed in the paper is why some cities seem to take sustainability more seriously than others. Numerous demographic, socioeconomic and other characteristics of the cities are correlated with an Index of Taking Sustainability Seriously, which is a composite of some 34 different variables indicating whether each city engages in specific sustainability programmes, policies or activities. Many of the standard explanations, such as the income and wealth of the community, the liberalness of the city and the growth pressures placed on the city, are found to exhibit no correlation with the seriousness of the sustainability effort. What do correlate with the Index are: reliance on manufacturing, where having more residents employed in manufacturing industries is associated with less seriousness; and, the age of the population, where cities with older populations take sustainability more seriously. This has three implications for the future development of sustainable cities. First, some of the cities that might be said to need sustainability programmes the most—cities with heavy manufacturing that are more prone to pollution production—are the least likely to take such programmes seriously. Secondly, as cities' manufacturing bases decline, they should find it increasingly feasible to engage in sustainability initiatives. And, thirdly, as the populations of cities age, policy-makers should also find it easier to support, develop and take seriously sustainability programmes.     

US strategic minerals: Policy options

The USA is becoming increasingly dependent on key strategic metals (such as chrome, cobalt, manganese and platinum-group metals) from politically unstable regions of the world. This dependence is the result of an inconsistent and fragmented US non-fuel minerals policy. Neglect of the US minerals industry has led to a decline in US mineral production and processing capabilities. Options for a comprehensive US non-fuel minerals policy include increased domestic production; increased substitution and recycling; a domestic stockpiling programme; and diversification of, and ensured access to, foreign sources of supply. These four options are examined and recommendations are made for increased mineral surveys of public lands, a regulatory review, domestic production of strategic minerals, tax incentives, conservation, stockpiling, and a foreign policy that will ensure security of supply.     

Initial Screening of Contaminated Land: A Comparison of US and Swedish Methods

Preliminary surveys are used to prioritize between contaminated sites to select those to be investigated more thoroughly. The data-gathering steps are almost identical between countries; however, the assessment procedures differ significantly. In this study, we have investigated 21 contaminated sites assessed as belonging to the high-risk or the very high-risk class using the Swedish Methods for Inventories of Contaminated Sites (MICS). We then applied the US Preliminary Assessment (PA) method to the same sites and compared the results and conclusions from the two screening procedures. In both cases, all sites were recommended for further investigation and the two approaches seem to corroborate one another; however, the PA assessment scores and the preliminary MICS classifications did not correlate. The results obtained with the PA method were easier to explain than the final MICS classification. The PA method also seems more transparent and easier to standardize, although objections could be made regarding the weighting scheme, because the outcome in this study was entirely dependent on the surface exposure pathway. However, to examine this in greater detail, it is necessary to include sites with less contamination: The importance of preliminary surveys in the overall risk management process gives a strong motivation for such an evaluation. Generally, the lack of research and scientific support for the various assessment procedures in use suggests that there is a need for method development, standardization, and validation.     

Environmental policy indicators: A systems model

This article describes and tests a systems theory-based policy indicators model. The framework is used to examine propositions about linkages between states' ecological-spatial characteristics and subsequent selected solid waste management (SWM) -related environmental policies. It was hypothesized that state characteristics of: (1) population density (used as a garbage-per-land area index), (2) population convergence within urban areas, and (3) percent population change in the interval 1980–1985, could jointly explain state variation in both the number and the vigor of SWM policy outputs. Greater levels of spatial pressure were proposed to be related directly to more numerous, more convincing policies. Proposals are grounded in the literature of organizational search theory, crisis stimulation, and technological pressure. Results revealed that the sociospatial model in fact could explain a reasonable proportion of policy variation across states. However, not all hypotheses are supported. Population change shows an indirect, rather than the anticipated direct, relationship with policy output levels. In addition, when used in the model as a pollution intensity index, population density failed to contribute significantly to an explanation of differences in state SWM policy levels. The analysis raises questions about changes occurring over time in the nature and direction of linkages between sociospatial measures and policy responses. This study suggests that strengthening policy indicator models may require questioning key assumptions and theoretical bases, conducting longitudinal studies, and factoring in political, economic, and other policy environment forces.     

Agrarian Ideals, Sustainability Ethics, and US Policy: A Critique for Practitioners

If tacit ethical ideals shape policy and practice, even when practitioners are not fully aware of underlying philosophical assumptions, then philosophical frameworks that support diagnostic, evaluative, and adaptive capacity in the sphere of action are critical to sustainability. Thompson’s agrarian-influenced sustainability framework substantially advances beyond the prevailing triple bottom line approach, as experimental evaluation of biofuels sustainability illustrates. By suggesting that governance of complex social-natural systems lies at the core of contemporary sustainability challenges, Thompson illuminates the critical importance of social capacity for deliberation and choice—a powerful and somewhat unexpected theme requiring more development by philosophers and practitioners alike going forward.     

Materials Exchanges: An exploratory US survey

We characterise US materials exchanges by means of an exploratory survey, with 63 respondents classified by materials handled, organisation type and implementation strategy. Few respondents handle hazardous materials; instead, most focus on pre-consumer items such as building materials or post-consumer durable goods such as furniture. Non-profit organisations and state/local government agencies predominate in this niche, which fills a gap between ubiquitous for-profit scrap recyclers and used-merchandise stores. There are three distinct implementation strategies: passive listers of materials; active brokers, who become involved in each transaction; and those who take possession of materials for storage and display in a warehouse. Warehouse operations typically have a local focus and a loyal customer base, whereas passive listing services serve larger areas and are undergoing consolidation. Passive listing services appear to be relatively marginal enterprises, although the adoption of Internet technology is improving their viability.     

Uranium stockpiles : Their influence on the market for natural uranium

This article considers the growth in stockpiles of natural and enriched uranium, which have now reached such significant proportions and analyses the effect that the stockpiles might have on the market for natural uranium in the coming years. While stockpiles have not yet reached their peak in absolute terms, they have already passed it in relative terms, ie in multiples of annual demand.     

Building future nuclear power fleets: The available uranium resources constraint

According to almost all forward-looking studies, the world′s energy consumption will increase in the future decades, mostly because of the growing world population and the long-term development of emerging countries. The effort to contain global warming makes it hard to exclude nuclear energy from the global energy mix.     

Balancing environmental and industry sustainability: A case study of the US gold mining industry

Mandatory insurance requirements and/or mitigation fees (royalties) for mining companies may help reduce environmental risk exposure for the federal government. Mining is examined since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory reveals that this sector produces more hazardous waste than any other industrial sector. Although uncommon, environmental expense can exceed hundreds of millions of dollars per development. Of particular concern is the potential for mines to become unfunded Superfund sites. Monte Carlo simulation of risk exposure is used to establish a plausible range of unfunded federal liabilities associated with cyanide-leach gold mining. A model is developed to assess these costs and their impact on both the federal budget and corporate profitability (i.e., industry sustainability), particularly if such costs are borne by offending firms.     

Empowering environmentally-burdened communities in the US: A primer on the emerging role for information technology

This article is a primer on the emerging role for Information Technology (IT) in the Environmental Justice (EJ) movement. It explores current and potential uses of IT by EJ organisations fighting to protect vulnerable local environments and it addresses some of the barriers to more widespread movement efficacy via e-advocacy. We argue a chief but not insurmountable barrier is the disproportionate access to, and knowledge of, the benefits of using IT in the struggle for equitable decisions about environmental impacts.     

Toxicant-induced fecundity compensation: A model of population responses

A mathematical model widely applied in population studies and in assessment of the impact of exploitation on fish populations was applied to assess cadmium toxicity in laboratory populations ofDaphnia galeata mendotae. Over a range of toxicant concentrations, the birth rate of the population increased to balance the death rate and the population compensated for the increased mortality. The model describes the relation between toxicant concentration, toxicant-induced mortality, and equilibrium population size. Compensation for increased mortality is described in terms of the decrease in population size necessary to produce an increase in the birth rate that will balance the increased death rate. The relative capacity of different aquatic organisms to compensate for toxicant-induced mortality is examined and a relation between compensatory capacity and the innate capacity for increase is developed.     

US resources policy: The 1982 report to congress

This paper analyses the extent to which the new Reagan mineral policy will encourage increased US production, substitution, recycling and conservation, domestic stock-piling and diversification of foreign supplies. Major inadequacies of the mineral policy are the transfer of responsibility for research and development from the government to the unprepared private sector, the lack of emphasis on short-term research and development in mineral processing technology, and the lack of coordination between minerals policy and national security and foreign policy. However, overall the policy is a positive step towards reducing the current US minerals supply vulnerability.     

Patterns in natural resource policy: The US experience

Institutional arrangements (formal governmental policies) are the key to many resource problems. However, few efforts have been made to explain changes in natural resource policy over time. This paper traces the changing pattern in US resource policy during the 20th century. Trends in natural resource institutions since 1900 are divided into three distinct periods. Each period is characterized in terms of the criteria used to evaluate policy, the management tools used to implement policy, the role of government in resource policy, and distributional issues of the day. The paper ends with speculation about the source of fundamental changes in resource policy and the role of economists in the policy-making process.