Testing the feasibility of a hypothetical whaling‐conservation permit market in Norway

A cap‐and‐trade system for managing whale harvests represents a potentially useful approach to resolve the current gridlock in international whale management. The establishment of whale permit markets, open to both whalers and conservationists, could reveal the strength of conservation demand, about which little is known. This lack of knowledge makes it difficult to predict the outcome of a hypothetical whale permit market. We developed a bioeconomic model to evaluate the influence of economic uncertainty about demand for whale conservation or harvest. We used simulations over a wide range of parameterizations of whaling and conservation demands to examine the potential ecological consequences of the establishment of a whale permit market in Norwegian waters under bounded (but substantial) economic uncertainty. Uncertainty variables were slope of whaling and conservation demand, participation level of conservationists and their willingness to pay for whale conservation, and functional forms of demand, including linear, quadratic, and log‐linear forms. A whale‐conservation market had the potential to yield a wide range of conservation and harvest outcomes, the most likely outcomes were those in which conservationists bought all whale permits.     

Maritime ports and beach management as sources of coastal macro-, meso-, and microplastic pollution

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Plastic pollution is a major environmental issue that affects coasts all around the world. Many studies point out the importance of a better...     

The power and pain of market-based carbon policies: a global application to greenhouse gases from ruminant livestock production

The objectives of this research are to assess the greenhouse gas mitigation potential of carbon policies applied to the ruminant livestock sector [inclusive of the major ruminant species—cattle (Bos Taurus and Bos indicus), sheep (Ovis aries), and goats (Capra hircus)]—with particular emphasis on understanding the adjustment challenges posed by such policies. We show that market-based mitigation policies can greatly amplify the mitigation potential identified in marginal abatement cost studies by harnessing powerful market forces such as product substitution and trade. We estimate that a carbon tax of US$20 per metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent emissions could mitigate 626 metric megatons of CO₂ equivalent ruminant emissions per year (MtCO₂-eq year^?1). This policy would also incentivize a restructuring of cattle production, increasing the share of cattle meat coming from the multiproduct dairy sector compared to more emission intensive, single purpose beef sector. The mitigation potential from this simple policy represents an upper bound because it causes ruminant-based food production to fall and is therefore likely to be politically unpopular. In the spirit of the Paris Agreement (UNFCCC 2015), which expresses the ambition of reducing agricultural emissions while protecting food production, we assess a carbon policy that applies both a carbon tax and a subsidy to producers to manage the tradeoff between food production and mitigation. The policy maintains ruminant production and consumption levels in all regions, but for a much lower global emission reduction of 185 MtCO₂-eq year^?1. This research provides policymakers with a quantitative basis for designing policies that attempt to trade off mitigation effectiveness with producer and consumer welfare.     

Ingestion of natural particulate organic matter and subsequent assimilation,respiration and growth by tropical lagoon zooplankton

Rates of ingestion of natural particulate organic matter and subsequent assimilation and respiration by zooplankton at Enewetak Atoll lagoon (Marshall Islands) were measured using a flow-through system. Maximum daily ingestion rates of carbon and nitrogen, expressed as a percentage of the body content, were 79 and 37%, respectively, for the large copepod Undinula vulgaris; 112 and 65%, respectively, for a group of mixed small copepods; and 61 and 34%, respectively, for the pteropod Creseis acicula. Daily metabolic carbon losses, expressed as above, were 63% for U. vulgaris, 88% for the small copepods, and 50% for C. acicula. Assimilation efficiences of carbon and nitrogen ranged from about 86 to 91%. The above rates are generally higher than in previous reports for similar sized zooplankton in temperate waters, while the daily growth increments, expressed as a percentage of the body carbon content (4.8% for U. vulgaris, 8.6% for the small copepods, and 2.6% for C. acicula), are comparable. It appears that the high rates of ingestion and assimilation of organic matter are compensated by high metabolic losses. These results indicate that at least for carbon, tropical zooplankton may have low growth efficiencies ranging from 4 to 9%.     

Stable Isotope Probing to Confirm Field‐Scale Co‐Metabolic Biodegradation of 1,4‐Dioxane

1,4‐Dioxane, a common co‐contaminant with chlorinated solvents, is present in groundwater at Site 24 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Historical use of chlorinated solvents resulted in concentrations of 1,4‐dioxane in groundwater up to approximately 2,000 μg/L. Starting in 2013, an in situ propane biosparge system operation demonstrated reductions in 1,4‐dioxane concentrations in groundwater. The work detailed herein extends the efforts of the first field demonstration to a second phase and confirms the biodegradation mechanism via use of stable isotope probing (SIP). After two months of operation, 1,4‐dioxane concentrations decreased approximately 45 to 83 percent at monitoring locations in the test area. The results of the SIP confirmed ¹³C‐enriched 1,4‐dioxane was transformed into dissolved inorganic carbon (suggesting mineralization to carbon dioxide) and incorporated into microbial biomass (likely attributed to metabolic uptake of biotransformation intermediates or of carbon dioxide).  ©2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.