THE W-INDEX FOR RESIDENTIAL WATER CONSERVATION1

ABSTRACT: An index of residential water efficiency - a “W-Index” - can serve as a measure of effectiveness of water conservation features in the home. The index provides a calculated numerical value for each dwelling unit, derived from the number and kind of water-saving features present, including indoor and outdoor water savers and water harvesting or recycling systems. A W-Index worksheet, devised for on-site evaluation of single-family residences in the Tucson, Arizona, region shows that a nonconserving residence with all the water-using features would use 151,000 gallons per year or 148 gallons per capita per day (gpcpd), while the fully conserving model would use 35,300 gallons per year or 35 gpcpd and with water harvesting and graywater recycling systems would have a maximum W-Index of W-160. A Tucson water conservation demonstration home, Casa del Agua, received a rating of W-139, and field tests of about 30 homes in new Tucson subdivisions show values ranging from W-75 to W-100, indicating the incorporation of some water conservation in current new models. By adjustment of some climatic or water-use parameters, the W-Index format can be applied to various types of dwelling units or to other urban areas. The W-Index can be used by individual homeowners or builders to evaluate water efficiency of residential units, or by water providers or water management agencies as a device for promoting and achieving water conservation goals.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon storage in a typical Cerrado of the Brazilian savanna

There may be important biological sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to the global environment, particularly of naphthalene, phenanthrene, and perylene, that originate in the tropics. We (i) studied the distribution of PAHs among different compartments of a typical Cerrado to locate their sources and (ii) quantified the PAH storage of this ecosystem. The sum of 20 PAH (sigma20PAHs) concentrations ranged from 25 to 666 microg kg(-1) in plant tissue, 7.4 to 32 microg kg(-1) in litterfall, 206 to 287 microg kg(-1) in organic soil, and 10 to 79 microg kg(-1) in mineral soil. Among the living biomass compartments, the bark had the highest mean PAH concentrations and coarse roots the lowest, indicating that PAHs in the plants originated mainly from aboveground sources. Naphthalene and phenanthrene were the most abundant individual PAHs, together contributing 33 to 96% to the sigma20PAHs concentrations. The total storage of the X20PAHs in Cerrado was 7.5 mg m(-2) to a 0.15-m soil depth and 49 mg m(-2) to a 2-m soil depth. If extrapolated to the entire Brazilian Cerrado region, roughly estimated storages of naphthalene and phenanthrene correspond to 7300 and 400 yr of the published annual emissions in the United Kingdom, respectively. The storage of benzo[a]pyrene, a typical marker for fossil fuel combustion, in the Cerrado only corresponds to 0.19 yr of UK emissions. These results indicate that the Brazilian savanna comprises a huge reservoir of naphthalene and phenanthrene originating most likely from the aboveground parts of the vegetation or associated organisms. Thus, the Cerrado might be a globally important source of these PAHs.     

Human Dimensions of Forest Disturbance by Insects: An International Synthesis

Ecological disturbances of forests by insects have a complex array of associated human dimensions presenting complications for natural resource decision making and relationships between stakeholders and managers. This article discusses the human context of forest disturbances by insects by reviewing four cases of bark beetle forest disturbance from British Columbia in Canada, Bavarian Forest National Park in Germany, the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, and the north central region of Colorado. Findings and lessons learned from these studies are outlined along with their implications for managing forest disturbances by insects in general. Conclusions focus on the need to assess the broad array of impacts and risks perceived by local residents and the capacity for local action and involvement in managing forest disturbances. Communication and interaction between resource managers and local stakeholders can facilitate the identification of management priorities and potentially reduce some of the risks associated with forest disturbances by insects.     

IMPLICATIONS OF C.A.R.E. VS. SOUTHVIEW FARM ON THE U.S. LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY INDUSTRY1

ABSTRACT: On May 19, 1993, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York found Southview Farm and Richard H. Popp guilty of violating the Clean Water Act on five occasions. The violations were the result of storm water runoff from a site used for disposal of dairy cattle manure from an unpermitted concentrated animal feeding operation. The presiding District Court judge later dismissed the jury verdict, and subsequently a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed the dismissal. The Court of Appeals concluded that the discharges were not exempt as agricultural storm water discharges, and that the manure spreaders involved were point sources. Because the use of animal manures in crop production activities will result, unavoidably, in the discharge of some pollutants to adjacent surface waters, a rational and universally applicable basis is needed to determine when such discharges are point versus nonpoint source. Current statutes and regulations do not delineate clearly such a boundary. To address this lack of specificity, I propose that application rates be based on recommended crop nutrient needs.     

Limited scope for reproductive senescence in wild populations of a short-lived fish

Senescence in wild populations was long considered negligible but current evidence suggests that it is widespread in natural populations of mammals and birds, affecting the survival and reproductive output of older individuals. In contrast, little is known about reproductive senescence in species with asymptotic growth that can keep increasing their reproductive output as they grow older and larger. Using a cross-sectional study, we tested age-related decline in fecundity and relative allocation to reproduction in five wild populations of an annual killifish, Nothobranchius furzeri (Cyprinodontiformes). We did not detect any decline in absolute female egg production over their short lifespan in the wild. Relative fecundity (egg production controlled for female body mass) tended to decrease with age. This effect was driven primarily by a single population that survived 17 weeks, almost twice as long as the median persistence of the other four study populations. There was no decrease in relative ovary mass while in males, relative testes mass actually increased with age. Intra-population variation in relative ovary mass increased in older females suggesting heterogeneity in individual trajectories of female reproductive allocation. Overall, we demonstrate that annual killifish do not experience significant age-related decline in reproductive functions during their very short lifespan in the wild despite the marked deterioration of gonad tissue detected in captivity.