Neue horizonte für die chemie

The term ‘sustainable development’ is defined and discussed with regard to its significance and its application in the field of chemistry. This is presented using the synthetic organic chemistry as an example. A review of the history of chemistry indicates clearly the necessity for further developments in the course of concepts involving sustainability. Following the eras of bituminous coal tar and mineral oil in both of the two past centuries, a search for new raw materials and a reduction in the global ecotoxicological potential for danger is being strived for. Critical contemplations are mandatory in order to avoid making this term ‘persistence’ into a keyword. Consequently, one must take into consideration the field of research and development as well as reflecting about the classification of chemical and scientific research projects, and their political as well as social relationships. Aside from the new methods of synthesis, this will also require the formulation of other decision-relevant criteria.     

A new model for climate system analysis: Outline of the model and application to palaeoclimate simulations

We present a new reduced-form model for climate system analysis. This model, called CLIMBER-2 (for CLIMate and BiosphERe, level 2), fills the current gap between simple, highly parameterized climate models and computationally expensive coupled models of global atmospheric and oceanic circulation. We outline the basic assumptions implicit in CLIMBER-2 and we present examples of climate system analysis including a study of atmosphere–ocean interaction during the last glacial maximum, an analysis of synergism between various components of the climate system during the mid-Holocene around 6000 years ago, and a transient simulation of climate change during the last 8000 years. These studies demonstrate the feasibility of a computationally efficient analysis of climate system dynamics which is a prerequisite for future climate impact research and, more generally, Earth system analysis, i.e., the analysis of feedbacks between our environment and human activities.     

Coping Strategies in an Ethnic Minority Group: The Aeta of Mount Pinatubo

The particular problems arising in the aftermath of natural disasters in indigenous societies in the Third World, especially in ethnic or cultural minorities, have until now received only little attention in social scientific research. The potential of such indigenous groups to use their traditional knowledge and behaviour patterns in coping with natural disasters has been badly neglected. The example of the Aeta in Zambales, Philippines, a marginal group who were hit directly by the eruption of Mt Pinatubo in 1991, shows how traditional economic and social behaviour can in some measure determine their various survival strategies.     

Urine concentrations of selected trace metals in a cohort of Irish adults

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Human biomonitoring studies are of increasing importance in regulatory toxicology; however, there is a paucity of human biomonitoring data for the...