Best management practices for environmental restoration programs

Based on a review of hundreds of environmental restoration program optimization reviews, this article describes management tools found in successful and efficient remediation programs. Projects that consistently struggled to achieve their objectives were observed to be missing certain, or to have inadequately used, these tools. The tools are articulated as best practices because when they are present and actively used, project shortcomings were minimal. Priority objectives for site owners and project managers include improving efficiency and effectiveness through performance management, reducing resource usage and energy consumption, ensuring protectiveness, and reducing uncertainty in management decision making. Restoring environmental resources damaged by historic waste management practices began in earnest in the late 1960s and early 1970s with the broad recognition of the problems caused by environmental discharges and spills when wastes are not managed appropriately. Under new regulations, soil and groundwater remediation projects could be, and were, conducted within a defined framework. The number and variety of restoration projects that were launched resulted in a slew of projects progressing through the stages of characterization, decision, and cleanup, and more were added to the cleanup process each year. In the 1990s, the Department of Defense noted that many cleanup efforts were projected to incur substantial operational, maintenance, and monitoring costs for decades into the future. This was correctly perceived as an opportunity to optimize those systems and programs, minimize costs, and reduce health and environmental risks. The best practices outlined in this article address management tools that were identified in optimization efforts that led to effective and efficient environmental remediation projects. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Influence of Saharan dust outbreaks and atmospheric stability upon vertical profiles of size-segregated aerosols and water vapor

Vertical profiles of aerosols and meteorological parameters were obtained using a hot air balloon and motorized paraglider. They were studied under anticyclonic conditions in four different contexts. Three flights occurred near sunrise, and one took place in the central hours of the day. The effects of North African dust intrusions were analyzed, whose entrance to the study area took place above the Stable Boundary Layer (SBL) in flight 1 and below it in flight 2. These flights have been compared with a non-intrusion situation (flight 3). A fourth flight characterized the profiles in the central hours of the day with a well-formed Convective Boundary Layer (CBL). With respect to the particle number distribution, the results show that not all sizes increase within the presence of an intrusion; during the first flight the smallest particles were not affected. The particle sizes affected in the second flight fell within the 0.35–2.5 μm interval. Under situations of convective dynamics, the reduction percentage of the particle number concentration reduces with increasing altitude, independently of their size, with respect to stability conditions. The negative vertical gradient for aerosols and water vapor, characteristic of a highly stable SBL (flight 3) becomes a constant profile within a CBL (flight 4). There are two situations that seem to alter the negative vertical gradient of the water vapor mixing ratio within the SBL: the presence of an intrusion and the possible stratification of the SBL based on different degrees of stability.     

Single and combined effects of aluminum (Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>) and zinc (ZnO) oxide nanoparticles in a freshwater fish, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Carassius auratus</Emphasis>

The increasing use of nanoparticles (NPs) worldwide has raised some concerns about their impact on the environment. The aim of the study was to assess the toxicity of metal oxide nanoparticles, singly or combined, in a freshwater fish (Carassius auratus). The fish were exposed for 7, 14, and 21 days to different concentrations of NPs (10 μg Al₂O₃.L^?1, 10 μg ZnO.L^?1, 10 μg Al₂O₃.L^?1 plus 10 μg ZnO.L^?1, 100 μg Al₂O₃.L^?1, 100 μg ZnO.L^?1, and 100 μg Al₂O₃.L^?1 plus 100 μg ZnO.L^?1). At the end of each exposure period, antioxidant enzyme activity (catalase, glutathione-S-transferase, and superoxide dismutase), lipid peroxidation, and histopathology were assessed in the gills and livers of C. auratus. The results show an increase in catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in the gills and livers of fish, especially after 14 days of exposure to single and combined NPs, followed by a reduction at 21 days. An increase in glutathione S-transferase (GST) was observed in gills after 7 days for all tested NP concentrations (single and combined); while in livers, a significant increase was determined after 14 days of exposure to 100 μg.L^?1 of both single ZnO and Al₂O₃ NPs. Lipid peroxidation (LPO) significantly increased in gills after 7 days of exposure to 100 μg.L^?1 Al₂O₃ NPs (single or combined). In livers, LPO increased significantly after 7 days of exposure to all tested concentrations of both single ZnO and Al₂O₃ (except for 10 μg Al₂O₃.L^?1), and after 14 days of exposure to ZnO (10 and 100 μg.L^?1) and Al₂O₃ (100 μg.L^?1)_. The results from histological observations suggest that exposure to metal oxide NPs affected both livers and gills, presenting alterations such as gill hyperplasia and liver degeneration. However, the most pronounced effects were found in gills. In general, this study shows that the tested NPs, single or combined, are capable of causing sub-lethal effects on C. auratus, but when combined, NPs seem to be slightly more toxic than when added alone.     

Environmental performance and spillover effects on productivity: evidence from horticultural firms

This study investigates the effect of environmental investment and related spillover effects on productivity in the agricultural sector by using a panel data of horticultural firms in Andalusia (Southern Spain). The results indicate a positive relationship between firm investment in environmental practices and productivity improvement, also showing the presence of positive environmental spillovers. In a second-stage of analysis, the incidence of environmental factors in firm specific individual technical efficiency is estimated. This analysis also shows the link between environmental knowledge diffusion and horticultural firms' performance.     

Plastics and microplastics,effects on marine coastal areas: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Plastics have become strong environmental stressors of coastal marine ecosystems. Their introduction into the marine ecosystem is subjected to...     

Rethinking the native range concept

A species is not native outside its native range, but native range is not precisely defined. The invasion literature contains wide discussion of the core concepts such as naturalization, invasiveness, and ecological impact, but the concept of native range has received so little attention that a formal definition does not exist. I considered, among other impediments to a formal definition of native range, the sometimes arbitrariness of the spatial and temporal limits assigned to native range. Broad questions that remain include whether invasion theory can be used to define the native range for species without non-native ranges.     

Playing Pollution Games with Thermal Electricity Generators

This paper discusses the economic and environmental implications of a stylised electricity market with transmission grid constraints and shared temporal pollution standards that restrict the joint strategy space of the agents. These are problematic to enforce if individual monitoring is impossible or very expensive. For such situations, we propose a time-dependent (or “open-loop dynamic”), game-theoretic model capable of analysing coupled constraints equilibria, also known as generalised Nash. We compute these equilibria for thermal generators subjected to annual pollution limits and instantaneous grid restrictions for a three-node dc model with a two-period load duration curve. The model illustrates the possibility that well-meaning environmental regulation might harm consumer surplus. It also highlights the cost to efficiency of regulatory attempts to ease the burden of compliance.