Privileged Narratives and Fictions of Consent in Environmental Discourse

In selecting six keywords from the environmental discourse the authors argue that language's 'double motivation' reveals a dialectical structure through which it simultaneously expresses both a utopian narrative and an ideologically driven myth of totality and consensus. The ambiguity of these keywords is of critical significance to all those involved in the environmental discourse, for without agreement on the meaning of commonly used concepts effective policy development is potentially disabled. The keywords we explore are 'community', 'sustainability', 'globalisation', 'diversity', 'democracy' and 'environment' itself.     

Corporate environmental management study shows shift from compliance to strategy

The Abt study of forty-one mostly Fortune 200 nonservice firms forms a new picture of environmental management. We present data indicating that environmental management is becoming central to corporate strategy and is being managed as an arena of competition rather than as a compliance-driven function. We look at environmental management's new role through four lenses: its relationship to strategic planning; its evolving management structures that show environment increasingly integrated into the main functions of the business; innovation in corporate environmental investments reflecting new drivers beyond compliance; and new management systems and measures of firm-wide performance that demonstrate that environment is being seen increasingly as an arena of competitive concern. We argue that much of the change is driven by three realities. First, as customers integrate environmental values into their conceptions of product quality, they are buying more products with identifiably environmental attributes. This change translates environmental management, historically a cost center, into a potential source of sales revenue, a change which cannot be underestimated. Second, recent life-threatening damage to the global ecosystem and atmosphere reframes environmental management. This moves firms toward a systemic and global approach matched to the globalization of competitive and market concerns, and it places environmental management in the strategic sphere. And third, pollution prevention in its cross-fertilization with total quality management is driving firms to focus on managing environment as an integral part of product management, and is helping them to reassess environmental performance as a contributor to productivity and innovation.     

Strategic environmental assessment as a tool of environmental governance: Scotland's extension of the European Union SEA Directive

The coverage of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) has been extended to all public sector policies, plans and programmes subject to Scottish jurisdiction. Evaluation of the arguments advanced by the Scottish Executive for using environmental assessment as a tool for environmental governance requires an exploration of some of the contested interpretations of the function of environmental assessment at a strategic level. The paper examines the implications of this extension of the European Union SEA Directive in the context of current arrangements to fit environmental assessment into the UK tradition of integrated policy appraisal. It considers the methodological implications of using SEA explicitly for improving public sector decision making at all levels and across all activities. This enables environmental effects to be taken into account at an early stage in the formulation of government policy, through a transparent system of assessment which encourages public participation.     

Which regional features of Danish agriculture favour the corn bunting in the contemporary farming landscape?

Corn buntings Miliaria calandra were abundant throughout arable agricultural landscapes in Europe, but have catastrophically declined since the mid 1970s with changes in farming practice and now give serious conservation cause for concern. Corn buntings declined in Denmark during 1976–1993, but (almost unique in Europe) have since increased (by up to 11% per annum) in some areas without specific conservation recovery actions. Based on breeding bird surveys in the mid 1990s, highest corn bunting densities occurred on mixed agriculture in west Denmark (Jylland); the species was rarer or absent in regions of highest arable land cover. Corn bunting density and extent of rotational and permanent grassland were correlated, but not with spring sown barley (all known to constitute important corn bunting winter habitat). The extent of spring barley rapidly declined in Denmark during the 1980s, but since 1990, most counties have since shown 2–3% annual increases in this crop, except in Nordjylland, where high densities of corn buntings have remained stable. Elsewhere in Jylland, corn buntings have increased in counties supporting highest densities during the mid 1990s, contrasting stable or declining trends in south and east Denmark where densities were originally lower. After dramatic decreases everywhere in Denmark, corn buntings retain highest breeding densities associated with mixed agriculture, especially where grassland and spring sown barley remained in greatest extent. Although purely based on land use correlation and bird surveillance, these results show an association between mixed farming and favourable conservation status of a species now red-listed throughout much of Europe. Further investigations of habitat use at small spatial scales and throughout the annual cycle are urgently required to better enlighten specific recommendations for wider applicability of guidelines for corn bunting recovery actions elsewhere.     

Exploitation of Fenton and Fenton-like reagents as alternative conditioners for alum sludge conditioning

The use of Fenton’s reagent (Fe2+/H2O2) and Fenton-like reagents containing transition metals of Cu(II), Zn(II), Co(II), and Mn(II) for an alum sludge conditioning to improve its dewaterability was investigated. The results obtained were compared with those obtained from conditioning the same alum sludge using cationic and anionic polymers. Experimental results show that Fenton’s reagent was the best among the Fenton and Fenton-like reagents for the alum sludge conditioning. A considerable e ectiveness of capillary suction time (CST) reduction e ciency of 47% can be achieved under test conditions of Fe2+/H2O2 = 20/125 mg/g DS (dry solid) and pH 6.0. The observation of floc-like particles after Fenton’s reagent conditioning of alum sludge suggested that the mechanism of Fenton’s reagent conditioning was di erent from that of polymer conditioning. In spite of the lower e ciency in the CST reduction of Fenton’s reagent in alum sludge conditioning compared to that of polymer conditioning, Fenton’s reagent o ers a more environmentally safe option. This study provided an example of proactive treatment engineering, which is aimed at seeking a safe alternative to the use of polymers in sludge conditioning towards achieving a more sustainable sludge management strategy.     

Hurricane storm surge in Volusia County,Florida: evidence of a tipping point for infrastructure damage

Storm surge often is the most destructive consequence of hurricanes and tropical storms, causing significant economic damage and loss of life. Many coastal communities that are located in high‐risk areas vis‐à‐vis hurricanes and tropical storms are prepared for moderate (between six and eight feet) storm surges. Such preparation, though, is not commensurate with more severe, but less frequent, storm surges (greater than eight feet). These gaps in preparedness have serious implications for community resilience. This paper explores elements of the vulnerability and resilience of coastal communities during major storm surge events, drawing on Volusia County, Florida, United States, as a case study. It simulates the impacts of five hurricanes (Categories I–V) and their associated storm surges on local infrastructure systems, populations, and access to resources. The results suggest that Volusia County is subject to a ‘tipping point’ , where surge damage from Category IV storms is significantly greater than that from Category III and lower hurricanes.     

Estimating PAH sources in harbor sediments using diagnostic ratios

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous in the global environment and are subsequently transported into aquatic sediments. As PAHs are formed by various processes, source identification using diagnostic ratios can provide insight to PAH emission sources to distinguish between pyrogenic and petrogenic PAH sources. PAH diagnostic ratios were applied as a forensic source apportionment technique to assess aggregate historical sediment data from 31 small craft harbors (SCHs) across Nova Scotia, Canada. Multiple diagnostic ratios suggest that PAHs present in Nova Scotia SCH sediments are pyrogenic (combustion) in origin, while consistently suggesting that coal‐related PAH sources are potential dominant specific sources. National Institute of Standards and Technology Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) were used as reference for coal tar, urban dust, and diesel exhaust particulates in ratio applications. The SRM for coal tar was most similar to Nova Scotia SCH sediments in multiple ratio applications. Diagnostic ratio results were corroborated by comparing the PAH profile of sediments to source profiles from the literature. Results indicate that Nova Scotia SCH sediments follow global trends by exhibiting a dominant pyrogenic PAH signature, and the specific coal‐related PAH signature of Nova Scotia SCH sediments may be influenced by contamination inputs related to historical industrial coal mining and combustion activities in the province.     

Food-chain transfer of zinc from contaminated Urtica dioica and Acer pseudoplatanus L. to the aphids Microlophium carnosum and Drepanosiphum platanoidis Schrank

This study examines the food-chain transfer of Zn from two plant species, Urtica dioica (stinging nettle) and Acer pseudoplatanus (sycamore maple), into their corresponding aphid species, Microlophium carnosum and Drepanosiphum platanoidis. The plants were grown in a hydroponic system using solutions with increasing concentrations of Zn from 0.02 to 41.9 mg Zn/l. Above-ground tissue concentrations in U. dioica and M. carnosum increased with increasing Zn exposure (p < 0.001). Zn concentrations in A. pseudoplatanus also increased with solution concentration from the control to the 9.8 mg Zn/l solution, above which concentrations remained constant. Zn concentrations in both D. platanoidis and the phloem tissue of A. pseudoplatanus were not affected by the Zn concentration in the watering solution. It appears that A. pseudoplatanus was able to limit Zn transport in the phloem, resulting in constant Zn exposure to the aphids. Zn concentrations in D. platanoidis were around three times those in M. carnosum.