Perceptions matter: household adaptive capacity and capability in two Australian coastal communities

Regional Environmental Change - This paper presents empirical data on household perceptions of capability to adapt to climate hazards and associated capacity needs. Households play an important...     

Long-term land-cover/use change in a traditional farming landscape in Romania inferred from pollen data,historical maps and satellite images

Regional Environmental Change - Traditional farming landscapes in the temperate zone that have persisted for millennia can be exceptionally species-rich and are therefore key conservation targets....     

Downscaling scenarios of future land use and land cover changes using a participatory approach: an application to mountain risk assessment in the Pyrenees (France)

Regional Environmental Change - Better understanding the pathways through which future socioeconomic changes might influence land use and land cover changes (LULCCs) is a crucial step in accurately...     

Do global climate summits influence public awareness and policy preferences concerning climate change?

A survey-embedded experiment implemented around the time of the 2014 annual Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (N ≈ 1200) examined whether such summits are able to increase citizens’ awareness of climate problems. This study finds that exposure to positive or negative cues about the COP increases climate change awareness, particularly among participants who start out with a low level of awareness. Neither positive nor negative cues about the COP significantly affect people’s policy preferences. Our finding resonates with Bernard Cohen’s observation that the mass media may not often be successful in telling people what to think, but they are successful in telling readers what to think about.     

Patterns,correlates, and paternity consequences of extraterritorial foray behavior in the field sparrow (Spizella pusilla): an automated telemetry approach

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology - ᅟMales of fiddler crabs (genus: Uca) construct courtship structures using mud or sand to attract mate-searching females for underground mating. A sensory...     

Hot,Salty Water: A Confluence of Issues in Managing Stormwater Runoff for Urban Streams

Research increasingly highlights cause and effect relationships between urbanization and stream conditions are complex and highly variable across physical and biological regions. Research also demonstrates stormwater runoff is a key causal agent in altering stream conditions in urban settings. More specifically, thermal pollution and high salt levels are two consequences of urbanization and subsequent runoff. This study describes a demonstration model populated with data from a high gradient headwaters stream. The model was designed to explain surface water‐groundwater dynamics related to salinity and thermal pollution. Modeled scenarios show long‐term additive impacts from salt application and suggest reducing flow rates, as stormwater management practices are typically designed to do, have the potential to greatly reduce salt concentrations and simultaneously reduce thermal pollution. This demonstration model offers planners and managers reason to be confident that stormwater management efforts can have positive impacts.     

Taxing Meat: Taking Responsibility for One’s Contribution to Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotic use in animal farming is one of the main drivers of antibiotic resistance both in animals and in humans. In this paper we propose that one feasible and fair way to address this problem is to tax animal products obtained with the use of antibiotics. We argue that such tax is supported both by (a) deontological arguments, which are based on the duty individuals have to compensate society for the antibiotic resistance to which they are contributing through consumption of animal products obtained with the use of antibiotics; and (b) a cost-benefit analysis of taxing such animal products and of using revenue from the tax to fund alternatives to use of antibiotics in animal farming. Finally, we argue that such a tax would be fair because individuals who consume animal products obtained with the use of antibiotics can be held morally responsible, i.e. blameworthy, for their contribution to antibiotic resistance, in spite of the fact that each individual contribution is imperceptible.     

Improving photostability and efficiency of polymeric luminescent solar concentrators by PMMA/MgO nanohybrid coatings

MgO nanocrystals were synthesized and doped with different concentrations in poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) to prepare hybrid organic-inorganic coatings based on polymer nanohybrid thin films. The nanoparticles were found to be spherical with 62 nm diameter as determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The coatings were characterized by spectroscopic tools such as optical absorption, transmission and fluorescence spectroscopy. The prepared nanohybrid films were spin-coated on cost-effective luminescent PMMA substrates doped with highly efficient luminescent dyes luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs). The outdoor photostability tests demonstrated enhanced protection against UVA radiation for coated LSCs compared to bare LSC substrates. The current–voltage characteristics of commercially produced LSC prototypes showed that the poor UV response of monocrystalline silicon solar cell can be improved by for LSCs coated by PMMA/MgO nanohybrid films which act as luminescent down shifting layer (LDSL).