An overview of emissions trading and its prospects in Hong Kong

With the approval of the Chinese central government, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) decided to participate in a regional emissions trading (ET) pilot scheme in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. This scheme, instead of aiming to curb global warming, is geared mostly toward reducing air pollutant (that is, SO₂, NO_x, RSP, and VOCs) emissions by 20–55% by 2010, thus improving air quality in the region. Both the HKSAR and the Guangdong Provincial Governments will impose emission caps on their respective power plants in the region and allocate emissions credits to them. This study explores the background of this regional ET scheme and correlates it with the emissions reduction scenario to provide more details for assessing its applicability to Hong Kong and Guangdong Province. Although practicing ET in the PRD region presents many challenges, establishing an appropriate ET scheme is of paramount importance for Hong Kong, as well as other cities in the PRD region, to achieve a sustainable air quality.     

Ecosystem Services Provided by Agroecosystems: A Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of this Relationship in the Pampa Region,Argentina

The development of an analytical framework relating agricultural conditions and ecosystem services (ES) provision could be very useful for developing land-use systems which sustain natural resources for future use. According to this, a conceptual network was developed, based on literature review and expert knowledge, about the functional relationships between agricultural management and ES provision in the Pampa region (Argentina). We selected eight ES to develop this conceptual network: (1) carbon (C) balance, (2) nitrogen (N) balance, (3) groundwater contamination control, (4) soil water balance, (5) soil structural maintenance, (6) N₂O emission control, (7) regulation of biotic adversities, and (8) biodiversity maintenance. This conceptual network revealed a high degree of interdependence among ES provided by Pampean agroecosystems, finding two trade-offs, and two synergies among them. Then, we analyzed the conceptual network structure, and found that both environmental and management variables influenced ES provision. Finally, we selected four ES to parameterize and quantify along 10 growing seasons (2000/2001–2009/2010) through a probabilistic methodology called Bayesian Networks. Only N balance was negatively impacted by agricultural management; while C balance, groundwater contamination control, and N₂O emission control were not. Outcomes of our work emphasize the idea that qualitative and quantitative methodologies should be implemented together to assess ES provision in Pampean agroecosystems, as well as in other agricultural systems.     

Metabolic signatures associated with environmental pollution by metals in Doñana National Park using P. clarkii as bioindicator

Bioindicators can reflect the effects of pollutants on their metabolism, being widely used to assess environmental stress. In this sense, the crab Procambarus clarkii has been previously proposed to monitor the contamination in Doñana National Park (southwest Spain) using conventional biomarkers. In this work, a metabolomic approach based on direct infusion mass spectrometry, which allows an easy and quick study of a large number of metabolites in a single run, was used for pollution assessment of this area, considering the biological response of this organism to contamination. In addition, metal accumulation in crab tissues was determined. Thus, the integrated analysis of metabolomic and metallomic data enabled the study of metabolic response of the organism against pollution. Several metabolites were discovered as potential biomarkers of pollution, such as decreased levels of carnosine, alanine, niacinamide, acetoacetate, pantothenic acid, ascorbate, glucose-6-phosphate, arginine, glucose, lactate, phospholipids, and tryglicerides, as well as elevated levels of acetyl carnitine, phosphocholine, choline, and uric acid. In this way, metal-induced toxicity could be related to metabolic impairments, principally oxidative stress, metabolic dysfunction, and dyslipidemia.     

Emission profile of 18 carbonyl compounds,CO, CO2, and NOx emitted by a diesel engine fuelled with diesel and ternary blends containing diesel,ethanol and biodiesel or vegetable oils

The impact of vehicular emissions on air depends, among other factors, on the composition of fuel and the technology used to build the engines. The reduction of vehicular emissions requires changes in the fuel composition, and improving the technologies used in the manufacturing of engines and for the after-treatment of gases. In general, improvements to diesel engines have targeted not only emission reductions, but also reductions in fuel consumption. However, changes in the fuel composition have been shown to be a more rapid and effective alternative to reduce pollution. Some factors should been taken into consideration when searching for an alternative fuel to be used in diesel engines, such as emissions, fuel stability, availability and its distribution, as well as its effects on the engine durability. In this work, 45 fuel blends were prepared and their stability was evaluated. The following mixtures (v/v/v) were stable for the 90-day period and were used in the emission study: diesel/ethanol – 90/10%, diesel/ethanol/soybean biodiesel – 80/15/5%, diesel/ethanol/castor biodiesel – 80/15/5%, diesel/ethanol/residual biodiesel – 80/15/5%, diesel/ethanol/soybean oil – 90/7/3%, and diesel/ethanol/castor oil – 90/7/3%. The diesel/ethanol fuel showed higher reduction of NO_x emission at a lower load (2 kW) when compared with pure diesel. The other fuels showed a decrease of NO_x emissions in the ranges of 6.9–75% and 4–85% at 1800 rpm and 2000 rpm, respectively. The combustion efficiencies of the diesel can be enhanced by the addition of the oxygenate fuels, like ethanol and biodiesel/vegetable oil, resulting in a more complete combustion in terms of NO_x emission. In the case of CO₂ the decreases were in the ranges of 5–24% and 4–6% at 1800 rpm and 2000 rpm, respectively. Meanwhile, no differences were observed in CO emission. The carbonyl compounds (CC) studied were formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, acrolein, acetone, crotonaldehyde, butyraldehyde, butanone, benzaldehyde, isovaleraldehyde, valeraldehyde, o-toluenaldehyde, m-toluenaldehyde, p-toluenaldehyde, hexaldehyde, octaldehyde, 2,5-dimethylbenzaldehyde, and decaldehyde. Among them, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, and propionaldehyde showed the highest emission concentrations. When ternary blend contains vegetable oil, there is a strong tendency to increase the emissions of the high weight CC and decrease the emissions of the low weight CC. The highest concentration of acrolein was observed when the fuel contains diesel, ethanol and biodiesel. With the exception of NO_x, the use of ternary blended fuels resulted on the increase in the emission rates of the studied compounds.     

Monitoring organic contaminants in eggs of glaucous and glaucous-winged gulls (Larus hyperboreus and Larus glaucescens) from Alaska

Gull eggs have been used to monitor contaminants in many parts of the world. The Seabird Tissue Archival and Monitoring Project (STAMP) is a long-term program designed to track trends in pollutants in northern marine environments using seabird eggs. Glaucous and glaucous-winged gull (Larus hyperboreus and Larus glaucescens) eggs collected in 2005 from seven Alaskan colonies were analyzed for organic contaminants. Concentrations ranged from below detection limits to 322 ng g⁻¹ wet mass in one egg for 4,4′-DDE and differed among the samples collected in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering and Chukchi Seas. Chick growth and survival rates may be affected by the contaminant levels found in the eggs, but the eggs should be safe for human consumption if they are eaten in small quantities. STAMP plans to continue collecting and banking gull eggs for future real-time and retrospective analyses.     

A new approach to managing work-related road traffic injury: The development of a health investment framework

Objective: Statistics indicate that employees commuting or traveling as part of their work are overrepresented in workplace injury and death. Despite this, many organizations are unaware of the factors within their organizations that are likely to influence potential reductions in work-related road traffic injury.

Methods: This article presents a multilevel conceptual framework that identifies health investment as the central feature in reducing work-related road traffic injury. Within this framework, we explore factors operating at the individual driver, workgroup supervisor, and organizational senior management levels that create a mutually reinforcing system of safety.

Results: The health investment framework identifies key factors at the senior manager, supervisor, and driver levels to cultivating a safe working environment. These factors are high-performance workplace systems, leader–member exchange and autonomy, trust and empowerment, respectively. The framework demonstrates the important interactions between these factors and how they create a self-sustaining organizational safety system.

Conclusions: The framework aims to provide insight into the future development of interventions that are strategically aligned with the organization and target elements that facilitate and enhance driver safety and ultimately reduce work-related road traffic injury and death.     

Perfluorinated phosphine oxide and sulfides as extractants for heavy metals and radionuclides

New highly fluorinated monodentate and bidentate phosphine oxide compounds of the type {CF(3)(CF(2))(n)CH(2)CH(2)}(3)PO (n = 5, 9) and [{CF(3)(CF(2))(5)CH(2)CH(2)}(2)P(O)CH(2)CH(2)P(O){CH(2)CH(2)(CF(2))(5)CF(3)}] have been prepared. Their ability to extract a number of metals and radionuclides from aqueous solutions into perfluorinated solvents has been established and the extractable species investigated. All extractants extract the metals As(V), Cd(II), Co(II), Cr(VI), Hg(II), Pb(II), and Sn(II) with >75% removal. In addition, the radioisotopes (90)Sr(II), (133)Ba(II), and U(VI) have been investigated, whilst (59)Fe(III) has been used to model the extraction of plutonium. (133)Ba(II) shows a high distribution ratio for monodentate phosphine oxides, whilst for UO(2)(2+) and (59)Fe(III) bidentate phosphine oxides are superior.     

Spectroscopic approaches for phosphorus speciation in soils and other environmental systems

In the past decades, environmental scientists have become increasingly involved in developing novel approaches for applying emerging spectroscopic techniques to complex environmental matrices. The objective of this review is to convey the most common chemical species of phosphorus reported for soils, sediments, model systems, and waste materials based on analyses by four spectroscopic techniques: X-ray absorption near-edge structure, nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Unique information is provided by each technique at a level of specificity that depends in part on matrix complexity. The X-ray absorption near-edge structure and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques reveal inorganic and organic P species in intact environmental matrices or in chemical extracts, whereas the Fourier transform infrared and Raman techniques can provide more specific bonding information about mineral or adsorbed P species in model analogs of matrix components. The most common P species in soils and sediments as indicated by spectroscopy are hydroxyapatite and octacalcium phosphate minerals, phosphate adsorbed on Fe- and Al-oxides, pyrophosphates and polyphosphates, phosphate mono- and di-esters, and phosphonates. Continued advancements in spectroscopic methods should improve speciation-based models of P mobilization and transformations in the environment.