Linking the environmental and social agendas

Summary In the United Kingdom there is no obvious connection between the Department of the Environment and the Home Office, nor indeed with the Department of Social Security. Yet crime rates are rising and social surveys reveal a drop in support for the institutions of governance-moral, legal and political. Other evidence clearly shows that the income and security of the very poor are declining in relation to the better off. There may well be a link between environmental deprivation, poverty and social alienation. This is not an area where heretofore any British Government has noticeably directed its energies. The UK response to the Rio Agenda 21 contains a proposal to create a Citizens' Environmental Initiative, designed ostensibly to bring sustainability to the grass roots. It now appears that this is to be a largely cosmetic exercise of grant aid to worthy local causes. It does not appear to have addressed significantly the opportunity of linking environmental and social agendas via the medium of locally promoted sustainable development. Yet the divergence efficiency and equality of treatment lies at the heart of the contemporary environmental debate. Proposals to price resource depletion and polluting emissions penalize the poor in the name of environmental efficiency. Unless there is an explicit intertwining of efficiency and equity doctrines, the cause of sustainability is doomed to self-inflicted defeat. Ecological taxation offers a solution, so long as the proceeds promote the cause of social as well as environmental justice.The address was delivered at the Global Forum '94 Academic Conference Towards a Sustainable Future: Promoting Sustainable Development Manchester UK (Fig. 1).     

A field test of processed oil shale reclamation strategies designed for minimal use of limited resources

Reclamation of processed oil shale disposal areas in the arid and semi-arid regions of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming faces several challenging problems. Shallow topsoil, harsh climate and limited water supply and low suitability of processed oil shale as a plant growth medium must be addressed if any reclamation plan is to be successful.A prototype reclamation plan that addressed the harsh environmental conditions was proposed early in the development of oil shale in eastern Utah. Studies to validate the reclamation plan were initiated in 1978 on a simulated oil shale disposal area at Anvil Points, Colorado.Four native shrubs, one forb and a grass, were successfully established by planting container-grown transplants into a topsoil-filled V-shaped trench. Supplemental water was provided from an adjacent water harvesting slope. The roots of the transplanted species grew into the adjacent shale from the soil trench, thus indicating their adaptability to the adverse oil shale conditions.Support for this research was provided by the White River Shale Corporation, Salt Lake City, Utah.     

Trace metal analysis of solvents used as fuel in a cement kiln

The kilns used to manufacture Portland cement provide an excellent environment for the safe disposal of certain combustible, hazardous wastes. Moreover, the fuel value of these wastes may yield significant savings in fuel costs.In order to evaluate part of the air pollution potential associated with these fuels, spent solvents were analyzed for trace metals using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. Lead, zinc, chromium, nickel, selenium, cadmium, beryllium and arsenic levels were examined in 55 samples of solvents that had been obtained by a single distillation of unblended spent solvents, 185 samples of undistilled solvents, and 10 samples of coal. All samples of distilled solvents showed metal concentrations near the limit of detection.The mixed, undistilled solvents showed metals concentrations that were relatively higher than the distilled product, and very scattered except for cadmium, beryllium and arsenic, which were always below the limit of detection. The average values (mg/l) for lead, zinc, chromium, nickel and selenium were 42, 58, 30, 14 and 4, respectively.In order to determine the potentialnet increase or decrease of trace metals in the stack gases, ten coal samples were tested. These coal samples were obtained from a nearby cement kiln. The average concentrations for coal were 20 mg/l lead, 38 mg/l zinc, 43 mg/l chromium (corrected), 60 mg/l nickel 2 mg/l beryllium, and <0.62 mg/l cadmium. No determinations were made for selenium and arsenic. Most of the metal content of the spent solvents was contained on or in the participate matter in the solvents. It follows that the supernatant liquid from a settling tank should be a relatively safe fuel for use at cement kilns.     

Regional assessment of plant growth problems for colliery spoil reclamation

The data on plant growth conditions collected for 34 sites in the Barnsley and South Yorkshire Areas of the National Coal Board are analysed using methods of ordination and numerical classification in order to display the regional variations of plant growth characteristics. The potential value of such regional analyses and the manner in which such information could be used by reclamation agencies is discussed and a detailed example is presented for one site. The complete methodology and its limitations are reviewed and the implications for planning of reclamation projects discussed.     

A 10-year survey, 1980–1990, of prenatally diagnosed small supernumerary marker chromosomes,identified by fish analysis. Outcome and follow-up of 14 cases diagnosed in a series of 12 699 prenatal samples

A cytogenetic survey and follow-up studies were made of 14 cases with supernumerary marker chromosomes, identified among 12 699 prenatal samples, investigated at our institution over a 10-year period from 1980 to 1990. FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) techniques were employed to identify the chromosomal origin of the marker chromosomes. Five cases were familial, all derived from acrocentric chromosomes, and all without apparent phenotypic effects in the children. Nine cases represented de novo aberrations. In two cases (one with a marker from chromosome 14 or 22, the other with a ring-like marker derived from chromosome 17), the pregnancies continued and apparently normal babies were delivered at term, but the child with a marker derived from chromosome 17 showed slight psychomotor retardation at 2 years of age. All other pregnancies with de novo markers were terminated. In three cases, significant abnormalities were found at autopsy. One of these had an isochromosome 12p and the phenotype was consistent with Pallister-Killian syndrome. In conclusion, marker chromosome identification, as well as clinical follow-up, is essential for the purpose of improving genetic counselling.     

The ultrasonic detection of an isolated craniosynostosis

The prenatal detection of scaphocephaly, an isolated form of craniosynostosis, is presented. The diagnosis was made at 34 weeks of gestation in a woman with polyhydramnios. The ultrasound appearance and postnatal follow-up are presented.     

The politics of protection: aid, human rights discourse, and power relations in Kyaka II settlement, Uganda

This paper explores the conceptualisation and application of 'protection' by the United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR), Ugandan government, and Congolese refugees in Kyaka II refugee settlement, Uganda. Analysing the origins and consequences of a demonstration against school fees, and drawing on other ethnographic data, it explores how different interpretations of this incident reflect different conceptions of, and approaches to, protection. Ugandan government officials viewed the demonstration as a security incident; Congolese and Ugandan adults responded with increased monitoring and 'sheltering' of children and young people; students justified the demonstration as a legitimate manifestation of their rights; while UNHCR promoted assistance and resettlement. The paper argues that prevailing protection responses, including 'sensitisation', sheltering, and resettlement, are de-contextualised from daily realities and fail to address the underlying power relations that undermine protection. It concludes with recommendations on how international refugee agencies can reorient assistance to address protection concerns in refugee contexts.