Public acceptance of large-scale wind energy generation for export from Ireland to the UK: evidence from Ireland

Although international trade in energy may offer a flexible and cost effective means by which European countries could meet their renewable energy targets, developers in the exporting nation can face local opposition for reasons which are not always clear. Using focus groups and a public survey, we contrast perspectives between local stakeholders and wind farm operators and investigate the community impacts associated with large-scale wind energy for domestic use and export from Ireland to the UK. Although the export of renewable energy from Ireland to the UK is currently on hold, our findings suggest that significant investment is required by the state and wind farm operators in better information provision, trust building, effective instruments to internalise wind farm externalities and co-management arrangements before Ireland can fully capture the benefits of wind exports to the UK.     

Summer Ozone Concentrations in Southern Ontario in Relation to Photochemical Aspects and Vegetation Damage

In the summers of 1960 and 1961, groups from the Canada Department of Agriculture, the Meteorological Service of Canada, and the Canada Department of National Health and Welfare conducted a joint study in a tobacco-growing area along the north shore of Lake Erie. The purpose of the study was to determine the causal agent for weather fleck damage to tobacco crops. A number of air pollutants were monitored and the results correlated with extensive observations of meteorological phenomena and effects on rate of growth and fleck damage to leaves of tobacco plants in experimental plots. Ozone concentrations followed a diurnal cycle, rising a few hours after sunrise, peaking in early afternoon at about 5 pphm, and dropping to a minimum of less than 1 pphm during the night. Other measurements indicated the presence of NO₂ in the order of 1 pphm, aldehydes about 0.2 pphm or lower, and negligible concentrations of SO₂. Cracking of stretched rubber strips followed the ozone values although, in general, the cracking index was greater than could be attributed to ozone (by oxidized KI) alone. The maximum ozone value recorded during the two growing seasons was IS pphm. A dosage of 20 pphm-hr was found sufficient to cause weather fleck or ozone damage to susceptible tobacco leaves. In addition meteorological data could be used to predict weather fleck attacks one to four days in advance.     

Energy recovery from solid waste fuels using advanced gasification technology

Since the mid-1980s, TPS Termiska Processer AB has been working on the development of an atmospheric-pressure gasification process. A major aim at the start of this work was the generation of fuel gas from indigenous fuels to Sweden (i.e. biomass). As the economic climate changed and awareness of the damage to the environment caused by the use of fossil fuels in power generation equipment increased, the aim of the development work at TPS was changed to applying the process to heat and power generation from feedstocks such as biomass and solid wastes. Compared with modern waste incineration with heat recovery, the gasification process will permit an increase in electricity output of up to 50%. The gasification process being developed is based on an atmospheric-pressure circulating fluidised bed gasifier coupled to a tar-cracking vessel. The gas produced from this process is then cooled and cleaned in conventional equipment. The energy-rich gas produced is clean enough to be fired in a gas boiler (and, in the longer term, in an engine or gas turbine) without requiring extensive flue gas cleaning, as is normally required in conventional waste incineration plants. Producing clean fuel gas in this manner, which facilitates the use of efficient gas-fired boilers, means that overall plant electrical efficiencies of close to 30% can be achieved. TPS has performed a considerable amount of pilot plant testing on waste fuels in their gasification/gas cleaning pilot plant in Sweden. Two gasifiers of TPS design have been in operation in Grève-in-Chianti, Italy since 1992. This plant processes 200 tonnes of RDF (refuse-derived fuel) per day. It is planned that the complete TPS gasification process (including the complete fuel gas cleaning system) be demonstrated in several gas turbine-based biomass-fuelled power generating plants in different parts of the world. It is the aim of TPS to prove, at commercial scale, the technical feasibility and economic advantages of the gasification process when it is applied to solid waste fuels. This aim shall be achieved, in the short-term, by employing the cold clean product gas in a gas boiler and, in the longer-term, by firing the gas in engines and gas turbines. A study for a 90 MWth waste-fuelled co-generation plant in Sweden has shown that, already today, gasification of solid waste can compete economically with conventional incineration technologies.     

Niagara region farmers' markets: local food systems and sustainability considerations

This article presents the findings of a survey of farmers' markets customers in the Niagara region of Ontario, Canada. The recent growth of farmers' markets in North America and the association of these markets with local food systems development provoke examination to gain insights into consumer motivations for patronizing these markets, and to then reflect on their potential role within locally oriented and sustainable food production systems. The survey carried out on customers of three Niagara region farmers' markets corroborates previous studies that noted that socioeconomic and cultural factors such as the importance of food freshness, support of local farmers and the local farm economy, and social interaction—embeddedness—are key expressions of people's support and interest in farmers' markets. This work serves to heighten our understanding of consumer attitudes toward direct marketing via farmers' markets, yields useful speculation about these markets and their roles in sustainable local food systems progress, and also raises critical questions about such customer patronage and associated farmers' markets potential in local food system development.     

Well-being for all? The social distribution of benefits gained from woodlands and forests in Britain

Well-being is a positive physical, mental and social state and has increasingly become an area of interest to researchers and policy-makers internationally. This paper presents results from research that analyses the well-being benefits gained by different sections of society through viewing, engaging with, and accessing woodlands and forests in Britain. We draw on 31 studies undertaken since 2001 and present a meta-analysis of quantitative data and a meta-synthesis of qualitative data to explore the range of benefits and associated activities in woodlands, and their social distribution. We also present a state-of-the-art typology of well-being benefits for woodlands in Britain. The findings illustrate the wide range of well-being benefits gained by different social groups through various forms of engagement with and activities undertaken in woodlands. We illustrate the wide range of meanings and values attached to trees and woodlands across different social groups. The evidence also illustrates how carefully designed and targeted interventions can be particularly effective in enabling and encouraging people to visit woodland sites, to participate or get involved in new activities and, therefore, to realise a range of well-being benefits.     

Cystic fibrosis: selecting the prenatal screening strategy of choice

Cystic fibrosis is a serious disorder. Research into the treatment of affected individuals is in progress, but a cure is not expected in the near future. In this review, we demonstrate that prenatal screening for cystic fibrosis meets the requirements for a worthwhile screening programme. We explain the reasons that have led us to conclude that one approach (‘couple screening’) is the method of choice. The couple-based approach calls for reporting results to the couple as a unit. Only if both parents are found to be carriers is the result designated screen-positive and an amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling offered. This offers a substantial reduction in the proportion of women with unaffected pregnancies with positive results (the false-positive rate) compared with other methods without reducing the detection of affected pregnancies. It also avoids creating a screen-positive group for which no definitive diagnosis is available. This is a problem with other screening methods. The couple method can achieve a 72% detection rate for a 0.1% false-positive rate. The screening method is simple, non-invasive, reliable, safe and reasonably cost effective. Existing programmes have shown that screening using this method is acceptable to health care professionals and patients. Setting up a national prenatal screening programme for cystic fibrosis is timely and should be implemented using the couple screening method. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of travel mode on exposures to particulate air pollution

Monitoring was carried out of particulate concentrations whilst simultaneously walking and driving 48 routes in London, UK. Monitoring was undertaken during May and June 2005. Route lengths ranged from 601 to 1351 m, and most routes were travelled in both directions. Individual journey times ranged from 1.5 to 15 min by car (average 3.7 min) and 7.3 to 30 min (average 12.8 min) whilst walking; car trips were therefore repeated up to 5 times for each single walking trip and the results averaged for the route. Car trips were made with windows closed and the ventilation system on a moderate setting. Results show that mean exposures while walking are greatly in excess of those while driving, by a factor 4.7 for the coarse particle mass (PM10-PM2.5), 2.2 for the fine particle mass (PM2.5-PM1), 1.9 for the very fine particle mass (相似文献   

Terra Preta Australis: Reassessing the carbon storage capacity of temperate soils

Soils developed on the sites of Australian Aboriginal oven mounds along the Murray River in SE Australia, classified as Cumulic Anthroposols under the Australian Soil Classification, are shown to have traits similar to the Terra Preta de Indio of the Amazon basin. Seven such sites were characterised and compared with adjacent soils. The Cumulic Anthroposols contained significantly (p < 0.05) more soil carbon (C), compared to adjacent non-Anthroposols. Solid-state ¹³C NMR spectroscopy showed that the C in the Cumulic Anthroposols was predominantly aromatic, especially at depth, confirming the presence of charcoal. Radiocarbon analysis carried out on charcoal collected from two of these sites showed that it was deposited 650 ± 30 years BP at one site and 1609 ± 34 years BP at the other site, demonstrating its recalcitrance in soil. The charcoal originated from plant material, as shown by SEM, and had high levels of Ca agglomeration on its surfaces. The Cumulic Anthroposols were shown to have altered nutrient status, with total N, P, K and Ca being significantly greater than in the adjacent soils throughout the profile. This was also reflected in the higher mean CEC of 31.2 cmol (+) kg^?1 and higher pH by 1.3 units, compared to the adjacent soils. Based on the similarity of these Cumulic Anthroposols with the Terra Preta de Indio of the Amazon, we suggest that these Cumulic Anthroposols can be classified as Terra Preta Australis. The existence of these soils demonstrates that Australian soils, in temperate climates, are capable of storing C in much higher quantities than has been previously recognised, and that this capability is founded on the unique stability and properties of charred organic matter. Furthermore, the addition of charcoal appears to have improved the physical and chemical properties of these soils. Together, this provides important support for the concept of soil amendment with “biochar”, the charred residue produced by pyrolysis of biomass, as a means for sequestering C and enhancing agricultural productivity.     

Distributions and determinants of mercury concentrations in toenails among American young adults: the CARDIA Trace Element Study

Since data on mercury (Hg) levels in Caucasians and African Americans (AAs) of both genders are lacking, this study aims to present toenail Hg distributions and explore the potential determinants using data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Trace Element Study. Data from 4,344 Americans, aged 20–32 in 1987, recruited from Oakland, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Birmingham were used to measure toenail Hg levels by instrumental neutron-activation method. The Hg distribution was described with selected percentiles and geometric means. Multivariable linear regression (MLR) was used to examine potential determinants of Hg levels within ethnicity–gender subgroups. The geometric mean of toenail Hg was 0.212 (95 % CI?=?0.207–0.218)?μg/g. Hg levels varied geographically with Oakland the highest [0.381 (0.367–0.395) μg/g] and Minneapolis the lowest [0.140 (0.134–0.147) μg/g]. MLR analyses showed that male gender and AA ethnicity were negatively associated with toenail Hg levels, and that age, living in Oakland city, education level, alcohol consumption, and total fish intake were positively associated with toenail Hg concentrations within each ethnicity–gender subgroup. Current smokers were found to have higher Hg only in AA men. This study suggested age, gender, ethnicity, study center, alcohol, education level, and fish consumption consistently predict toenail Hg levels. As fish consumption was the key determinant, avoiding certain types of fish that have relatively high Hg levels may be crucial in reducing Hg intake.