Sustainability in the USA and New Zealand: explaining and addressing the implementation gap in local government

This paper describes the frustrating reality of sustainability implementation in the USA and New Zealand (NZ), an early adopter of sustainability mandates. Local government has a key role in implementation, but has been slow to uptake sustainable practices. We surveyed senior planners in small to medium-sized local government agencies in both countries to identify which features of local government support (or hinder) sustainability in practice.

Environmentally sustainable practices are not well entrenched in either country. In the USA, the framing of sustainability and public support are significant predictors of implementation. However, sustainability is rarely a priority. In NZ, local government capacity is the main driver of implementation. We recommend that planners promote sustainability values, reconcile economic development goals with sustainability (e.g., green economy model), and translate public support for sustainability into institutional priorities. NZ localities also need increased capacity and US localities need continued Federal and State support.     

Direct and indirect effects of weather experiences on life satisfaction – which role for climate change expectations?

This paper deals with the effect of (1) damage experience from extreme weather events and (2) expectations concerning future climate change on subjective well-being (SWB). We use data from a large representative survey carried out amongst German households. The effect of experienced weather events on the SWB of the heads of households is significant only in the case of heat waves; the same cannot be said for storms, heavy rain, and floods. Concerns about future climate change in households have a substantial negative impact on current SWB. In addition, we divide the impact of experience into direct and indirect effects of damage, deduced from the impact of experience on expectations regarding future climate change. Both direct and indirect effects of weather experiences are quantified. It becomes apparent that the indirect effect is significant, but small when compared to the direct effect.     

Non-market economic valuation of the benefits provided by temperate ecosystems at the extreme south of the Americas

The island of Navarino, Chile, located at the extreme southern end of the Americas, is one of the few regions in the world with undivided and only slightly transformed temperate forests. Currently, fundamental issues are being addressed, such as how local fuel wood demands will be met without destroying primary forests and how a sustainable tourism industry may be developed. This study aims to inform these planning processes by providing data on the economic valuation of several non-market benefits provided by the temperate ecosystems of Navarino Island that have relevance to the local population. We focus this valuation on landscape esthetics, nature access restrictions, esthetic and ethno-symbolic benefits at the species level and the existence value of non-vascular endemic species. A choice experiment was applied to a sample of local residents (n = 230). Decisions about future development strategies were influenced by landscape esthetics being threatened by progressing levels of tourist infrastructure, nature access restrictions in favor of both economic and conservationist concerns, continued visits of an ethno-culturally important hummingbird, the protection of a moss endemic to the sub-Antarctic forests and species diversity. From a non-market valuation perspective, local residents favor a low-impact tourism development scenario. Little is known about the monetary value of Chile’s temperate forests. Knowledge of the economic value of Navarino’s temperate forests facilitates the understanding of local natural resource management at the microlevel and assists in formulating conservation policies at the regional and national levels.     

Comparing the Community Composition of European and Eastern Chinese Waterbirds and the Influence of Human Factors on the China Waterbird Community

We compared the European and eastern Chinese waterbird assemblages and checked whether the effects of human disturbance could be detected in the assemblages’ composition. For the different Chinese provinces, we expected to find a negative effect of economic development on the mean bird species mass and on the proportion of bentivorous, piscivorous and insectivorous bird species. We also expected to find relatively fewer large species in the Chinese assemblage. Species rank–abundance curves were relatively similar, but China had significantly more species with smaller body masses. The China assemblage was characterized by relatively higher abundance of heavy-bodied species, contrary to our expectations. Mean bird body mass decreased in China with increasing disturbance and increasing gross domestic product (GDP). For coastal provinces in China the percentage of bentivorous, piscivorous and insectivorous bird species declined with increasing GDP, maybe through the increased use of pesticides or fertilizer.     

Composition and parameters of household bio-waste in four seasons

Bio-waste makes up almost half portion of municipal solid waste. The characterization of household bio-waste is important in determining the most appropriate treatment method. The differences in composition and parameters of bio-waste derived from urban settlement (U-bio-waste) and family houses (F-bio-waste) during the four climate seasons are described in this paper. Twelve components and 20 parameters for bio-waste were evaluated. The composition of U-bio-waste was almost steady over those seasons, unlike F-bio-waste. U-bio-waste was comprised mainly (58.2%) of fruit and vegetable debris. F-bio-waste was primarily made up of seasonal garden components. The amount of variation among seasons in both type of bio-waste increased in sequence: basic parameters < macro-elements < potentially toxic elements. Spearman’s correlations among proportions of individual components and parameters of bio-waste were found out. Results of this research could be utilized to support another composition and parameters of bio-waste and be suitable for establishing bio-waste processing.     

Distribution, fate and formation of non-extractable residues of a nonylphenol isomer in soil with special emphasis on soil derived organo-clay complexes

Anthropogenic contaminants like nonylphenols (NP) are added to soil, for instance if sewage-sludge is used as fertilizer in agriculture. A commercial mixture of NP consists of more than 20 isomers. For our study, we used one of the predominate isomers of NP mixtures, 4-(3,5-dimethylhept-3-yl)phenol, as a representative compound. The aim was to investigate the fate and distribution of the isomer within soil and soil derived organo-clay complexes. Therefore, (14)C- and (13)C-labeled NP was added to soil samples and incubated up to 180 days. Mineralization was measured and soil samples were fractionated into sand, silt and clay; the clay fraction was further separated in humic acids, fulvic acids and humin. The organo-clay complexes pre-incubated for 90 or 180 days were re-incubated with fresh soil for 180 days, to study the potential of re-mobilization of incorporated residues. The predominate incorporation sites of the nonylphenol isomer in soil were the organo-clay complexes. After 180 days of incubation, 22 % of the applied (14)C was mineralized. The bioavailable, water extractable portion was low (9 % of applied (14)C) and remained constant during the entire incubation period, which could be explained by an incorporation/release equilibrium. Separation of organo-clay complexes, after extraction with solvents to release weakly incorporated, bioaccessible portions, showed that non-extractable residues (NER) were preferentially located in the humic acid fraction, which was regarded as an effect of the chemical composition of this fraction. Generally, 27 % of applied (14)C was incorporated into organo-clay complexes as NER, whereas 9 % of applied (14)C was bioaccessible after 180 days of incubation. The re-mobilization experiments showed on the one hand, a decrease of the bioavailability of the nonylphenol residues due to stronger incorporation, when the pre-incubation period was increased from 90 to 180 days. On the other hand, a shift of these residues from the clay fraction to other soil fractions was observed, implying a dynamic behavior of incorporated residues, which may result in bioaccessibility of the NER of nonylphenol.     

Occupational exposure to rubber vulcanization products during repair of rubber conveyor belts in a brown coal mine

Several hundred chemical compounds were found in workroom environments in the rubber industry, but most of the published exposure data relate to the production of tyres; information from the "non-tyre" sections are very limited, if any. This study was carried out to identify chemical substances and measure their air concentrations in the repair shop of a brown coal mine in which damaged rubber conveyor belts were repaired. GC-MS and HPLC analysis of stationary air samples resulted in identification of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons to C12, PAHs, alcohols, phenols, ketones, heterocyclic nitrogen and sulfur compounds. Quantitative evaluation of occupational exposure included determination of organic compound vapours collected on charcoal (GC-MSD), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HPLC), N-nitrosoamines and other amines (GC-NPD) and DNPH derivatives of aldehydes (HPLC) in the breathing zone of workers representing all job titles. The concentrations of investigated compounds were very low. Carcinogenic substances: N-nitrosoamines, benzene, PAHs were not present in workroom air in concentrations exceeding limits of detection of the analytical methods being applied; concentrations of methylisobutylketone, tetrachloroethylene, naphtha, aromatic hydrocarbons, phthalates and aldehydes were much lower than the respective occupational exposure limit values. The results indicate much lower exposure than that reported in the production of tyres and other fabricated rubber products.     

An Effect of Salt Concentration and Inoculum Size on Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Utilization by Two <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sphingomonas</Emphasis> Strains

Due to its widespread use and water solubility, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) has the potential to find its way into various water or soil ecosystems. Despite the fact that many bacterial species with the capacity of utilizing PVA have been found and described, the influences of some environmental factors on their capabilities to biodegrade PVA have not been adequately studied. Therefore, study was made of the effects of two environmental factors on PVA degradation exhibited by two Sphingomonas strains. Both strains originated from common wastewater treatment plants, and proved to be considerably sensitive to increased inorganic salt concentrations; in brief, 13.3 mmol/l either of phosphate or chloride ions significantly delayed the degradation process or inhibited it entirely. In contrast to such halosensitivity, both strains were able to rapidly utilize PVA under suitable conditions, even when low inoculum sizes were applied. Initial cell densities, ranging from 10⁰ to 10⁷ cells/ml, were used in two series of degradation trials and PVA degradation occurred in all cases; merely delays extending over several days in the degradation process were noted when inoculum sizes of 10⁰–10³ cells/ml were applied.     

Future land use and land cover in Southern Amazonia and resulting greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soils

Regional Environmental Change - The calculation of robust estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions due to agriculture is essential to support the framing of the Brazilian climate change...