The acceptability of CO2 capture and storage (CCS) in Europe: An assessment of the key determining factors: Part 1. Scientific,technical and economic dimensions

The ACCSEPT project, which ran from January 2006 to December 2007, identified and analysed the main factors which have been influencing the emergence of CO₂ capture and geological storage (CCS) within the European Union (EU). The key clusters of factors concern science and technology, law and regulation, economics, and social acceptance. These factors have been analysed through interviews, a large-scale questionnaire conducted in 2006, and discussions in two stakeholder workshops (2006 and 2007). In Part I of this paper, we aim to distil the key messages and findings with regards to scientific, technical, legal and economic issues. There are no compelling scientific, technical, legal, or economic reasons why CCS could not be widely deployed in the forthcoming decades as part of a package of climate change mitigation options. In order to facilitate this deployment, governments at both the EU and Member State levels have an important role to play, in particular in establishing a robust and transparent legal framework (e.g. governing long-term environmental liability) and a strong policy framework providing sufficient and long-term incentives for CCS and CO₂ transportation networks.     

An empirical examination of the role of attributions in psychological entitlement and its outcomes

Psychological entitlement refers to the phenomenon in which individuals consistently believe that they deserve preferential rewards and treatment, often with little consideration of actual qualities or performance levels. This study examines the influence of psychological entitlement on workplace outcomes, using attribution theory to explain its effects. Results suggested that entitlement perceptions are positively associated with self‐serving attribution styles and that diminished need for cognition mediates this relationship. Self‐serving attribution styles, in turn, were associated with reduced job satisfaction and increased levels of conflict with supervisors. A direct positive relationship between psychological entitlement and turnover intent was also observed. Overall, results suggest that an attributional perspective is useful in explaining and understanding the influence of entitlement perceptions on workplace outcomes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling contra-flow in crowd dynamics DEM simulation

This paper highlights the growing need for a realistic crowd simulation in the design of large venues such as concert halls and stadia. A discrete element method (DEM) technique for modelling crowd dynamics has been developed that represents each person within the model as 3 overlapping circles, a position, orientation and velocity in 2D. Contact forces between elements are included in the model as well as psychological forces, motive forces and moments. The motion of each person is then modelled in a Newtonian manner with a numerical integration time-stepping scheme. The model has been shown previously to work well in predicting egress. In this paper the predicted model behaviour is compared to actual video footage shot at various locations around University Park Campus, Nottingham. It did not match well to the video footage when people are moving towards each other, as in cases of contra-flow on a walkway. In order to improve the model, a general algorithm for ‘avoidance’ was included which appeared to make the model significantly more realistic in these cases. The paper also shows areas for further potential development, such as incorporating people into associative groups such as family or friends.     

The application of a mulch biofilm barrier for surfactant enhanced polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon bioremediation

Lab scale mulch biofilm barriers were constructed and tested to evaluate their performance for preventing the migration of aqueous and surfactant solubilized PAHs. The spatial distribution of viable PAH degrader populations and resultant biofilm formation were also monitored to evaluate the performance of the biobarrier and the prolonged surfactant effect on the PAH degrading microorganism consortia in the biobarrier. Sorption and biodegradation of PAHs resulted in stable operation of the system for dissolved phenanthrene and pyrene during 150 days of experimentation. The nonionic surfactant could increase the solubility of phenanthrene and pyrene significantly. However, the biobarrier itself couldn't totally prevent the migration of micellar solubilized phenanthrene and pyrene. The presence of surfactant and the resultant highly increased phenanthrene or pyrene concentration didn't appear to cause toxic effects on the attached biofilm in the biobarrier. However, the presence of surfactant did change the structural composition of the biofilm.     

Estimating the relevance of engineered carbonaceous nanoparticle facilitated transport of hydrophobic organic contaminants in porous media

Naturally occurring nanoparticles (NP) enhance the transport of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) in porous media. In addition, the debate on the environmental impact of engineered nanoparticles (ENP) has become increasingly important. HOC bind strongly to carbonaceous ENP. Thus, carbonaceous ENP may also act as carriers for contaminant transport and might be important when compared to existing transport processes. ENP bound transport is strongly linked to the sorption behavior, and other carbonaceous ENP-specific properties. In our analysis the HOC-ENP sorption mechanism, as well as ENP size and ENP residence time, was of major importance. Our results show that depending on ENP size, sorption kinetics and residence time in the system, the ENP bound transport can be estimated either as (1) negligible, (2) enhancing contaminant transport, or (3) should be assessed by reactive transport modeling. One major challenge to this field is the current lack of data for HOC-ENP desorption kinetics.     

Managing the intractable: communicative structures for management of hexachlorobenzene and other scheduled wastes

This paper explores issues of governance and decision-making structures associated with the problem of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) waste at Botany in New South Wales. From a government perspective, the problem is ‘downstream’ of a well-known national controversy over whether Australia should have a high-temperature incinerator (HTI) to ‘dispose’ of such scheduled wastes. The 1992 decision not to proceed with HTI followed an extensive process of public consultation, which, against the expectations of industry and government, saw the emergence of Australia-wide community opposition. Alternative national management plans were formulated for the treatment of several types of organochlorine waste, with the scheme of these plans first approved in 1993 by the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC). The HCB Management Plan is one of three such plans (the others being for PCBs and organochlorine pesticides). With this, ANZECC established the Scheduled Waste Management Group comprising government officials, and the National Advisory Body (NAB) made up of stakeholders. Officially the NAB had oversight of the HCB problem until 2002 when it was disbanded. As a result of the HTI experience, new community consultation protocols were introduced in association with the alternative management plans. For HCBs, which are confined almost entirely to Orica's Botany site in southeastern Sydney, this led to the establishment of the Community Participation and Review Committee (CPRC), a representative body with review and advisory functions. This paper draws conclusions from this history about government processes of decision making, the role of individual and institutional actors, the central importance of trust, and the democratisation of risk management. Using concepts delineated by McDonell [1991. Toxic waste management in Australia: why did policy reform fail? Environment 33(6), 11–13, 33–39; 1997. Scientific and everyday knowledge: trust and the politics of environmental initiatives. Social Studies of Science 27, 819–863.] we identify swings towards, then away from institutionalised trust. Across two decades, government and industry have placed faith in centrally controlled mechanisms for public participation, hoping to garner trust and legitimate privileged technological solutions. On the ‘backswings’, these processes have seen public trust dissipate in the face of government misunderstanding of the opportunities for effective bureaucratic interventions.     

Global warming and carbon dioxide through sciences

Increased atmospheric CO(2)-concentration is widely being considered as the main driving factor that causes the phenomenon of global warming. This paper attempts to shed more light on the role of atmospheric CO(2) in relation to temperature-increase and, more generally, in relation to Earth's life through the geological aeons, based on a review-assessment of existing related studies. It is pointed out that there has been a debate on the accuracy of temperature reconstructions as well as on the exact impact that CO(2) has on global warming. Moreover, using three independent sets of data (collected from ice-cores and chemistry) we perform a specific regression analysis which concludes that forecasts about the correlation between CO(2)-concentration and temperature rely heavily on the choice of data used, and one cannot be positive that indeed such a correlation exists (for chemistry data) or even, if existing (for ice-cores data), whether it leads to a "severe" or a "gentle" global warming. A very recent development on the greenhouse phenomenon is a validated adiabatic model, based on laws of physics, forecasting a maximum temperature-increase of 0.01-0.03 degrees C for a value doubling the present concentration of atmospheric CO(2). Through a further review of related studies and facts from disciplines like biology and geology, where CO(2)-change is viewed from a different perspective, it is suggested that CO(2)-change is not necessarily always a negative factor for the environment. In fact it is shown that CO(2)-increase has stimulated the growth of plants, while the CO(2)-change history has altered the physiology of plants. Moreover, data from palaeoclimatology show that the CO(2)-content in the atmosphere is at a minimum in this geological aeon. Finally it is stressed that the understanding of the functioning of Earth's complex climate system (especially for water, solar radiation and so forth) is still poor and, hence, scientific knowledge is not at a level to give definite and precise answers for the causes of global warming.     

Interspecies and interregional comparisons of the chemistry of PAHs and trace elements in mosses Hylocomium splendens (Hedw.) B.S.G. and Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt. from Poland and Alaska

Comparative biogeochemical studies performed on the same plant species in remote areas enable pinpointing interspecies and interregional differences of chemical composition. This report presents baseline concentrations of PAHs and trace elements in moss species Hylocomium splendens and Pleurozium schreberi from the Holy Cross Mountains (south-central Poland) (HCM) and Wrangell–Saint Elias National Park and Preserve (Alaska) and Denali National Park and Preserve (Alaska). Total PAH concentrations in the mosses of HCM were in the range of 473–2970 μg kg^?1 (dry weight basis; DW), whereas those in the same species of Alaska were 80–3390 μg kg^?1 DW. Nearly all the moss samples displayed the similar ring sequence: 3 > 4 > 5 > 6 for the PAHs. The 3 + 4 ring/total PAH ratios show statistically significant differences between HCM (0.73) and Alaska (0.91). The elevated concentrations of PAHs observed in some sampling locations of the Alaskan parks were linked to local combustion of wood, with a component of vehicle particle- and vapor-phase emissions. In HCM, the principal source of PAH emissions has been linked to residential and industrial combustion of coal and vehicle traffic. In contrast to HCM, the Alaskan mosses were distinctly elevated in most of the trace elements, bearing a signature of the underlying geology. H. splendens and P. schreberi showed diverse bioaccumulative capabilities of PAHs in all three study areas.     

Exposure of PM2.5 and EC from diesel and gasoline vehicles in communities near the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach,California

The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the entry point for almost half of all cargo containers entering the United States. The use of diesel trucks to move Port-related goods has raised significant public health concerns associated with black carbon and other air pollutants. It is difficult to reliably estimate people's exposure to vehicle-related pollutants due to the narrow impact zone of traffic, usually within 200–300 m downwind of major roadways. Previous studies suffer from the lack of traffic count data on surface streets and the lack of neighborhood-level population data. We examined seasonal and annual average exposures of particulate matter less than 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) and elemental carbon (EC) at a neighborhood scale for communities heavily impacted by diesel trucks near these ports. We assembled a traffic-activity database that distinguishes gasoline and diesel vehicles on both freeways and surface streets, by consolidating information from several sources, including our own field measurements. The CALINE4 model was used to estimate residential exposure of the study population to PM_2.5 and EC. Parcel property data were used to allocate Census block group (BG) population to increase spatial resolution. The annual average PM_2.5 and EC exposure due to local traffic was 3.8 and 0.4 μg m^?3, respectively. On average, surface streets contributed a little more than freeways (55% vs. 45% for EC and 57% and 43% for PM_2.5). Light-duty vehicles contributed significantly more than heavy-duty trucks for PM_2.5 (61% vs. 39%), but slightly less than heavy-duty trucks for EC (49% vs. 51%). Community mean population exposure was similar using parcel, census block, and BG population data, but extreme values and standard deviations varied significantly at different spatial resolutions. The intake fraction for the study population was in the range of 1.0–2.2 × 10^?5 by vehicle type, roadway type, and season.     

Retrieval of Carbon monoxide profiles over Indian region using MOPITT data

Vertical profiles of carbon monoxide (CO) over the Indian region have scarcely been monitored. Satellite sensor, Measurement Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) provides profiles of CO using a global retrieval scheme, which converts measured radiances to CO mixing ratios. In this study we have developed a regional retrieval scheme, valid over the Indian region, which employs Line-By-Line (LBL) calculations over a tropical model atmosphere to generate a Look-Up-Table (LUT) forward model function and uses a regional a priori dataset of CO along with seasonally variable emissivity to invert the MOPITT radiances to CO profiles. This baseline study provides an approach to optimizing retrievals for specific regional applications. A case study was carried out over a forest fire prone region in Northern India from February to April 2005 to validate the retrieval algorithm. The results are in agreement with the fire maps generated from MODerate resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS). The shape of the CO profiles over the region matches quite well with the vertical structure of CO during the INDOEX campaign, especially during the polluted month of April. Inter-comparisons with the MOPITT data product indicate some discrepancies in the lower troposphere, especially during the forest fire season. Future studies with in-situ measurements may be able to diagnose these disparities.