Foreign-owned industry in the form of assembly plants, termed maquiladora, has become very important in Mexico to the extent
that it represents the second largest source of foreign exchange and is a valuable source for employment and regional development.
The economic prosperity gained from the rapid growth of the maquiladora industry has been accompanied by increased environmental
and human health risks associated with generation of hazardous waste. Diversification of industry has resulted in the predomination
of those sectors that likely use hazardous substances. The Mexicali-Calexico border region was selected to demonstrate the
potential for environmental and health risks associated with the generation of hazardous waste. Estimates for the generation
of hazardous waste were obtained from 34 maquiladora plants in Mexicali, represented by the electronic and electrical equipment
and parts, mechanical and transportation equipment, and toys and sporting equipment sectors. Repeated detection of volatile
organic compounds in the New River at the US-Mexico border suggests that hazardous waste from the printed circuit board industry
in Mexicali is not being disposed of in a proper manner. Potential adverse health effects, such as carcinogenic and mutagenic
responses associated with the detected volatiles, are discussed. US and Mexico national legislation and the Binational Environmental
Agreement were examined for their adequacy to ensure proper management of hazardous waste generated by the maquiladora industry.
Environmental policy options are presented that focus on: (1) increased environmental accountability of US parent companies
for their maquiladora assembly plants in Mexico; and (2) more integration between US Customs and border states with the US
Environmental Protection Agency to improve the binational management of hazardous waste generated by the maquiladora industry. 相似文献
This paper focuses on the social features of ene rgy production and use in Brazil and discusses the role of the energy policy goals of accessibility, affordability and acceptability in defining a sustainable energy future for the country. The major findings are that social inequalities in Brazil regarding energy use continue to be substantial and important. This can be explained by the fact that, although recent decades have seen significant improvements in energy accessibility all over the country, much more needs to be done to provide affordable, and socially acceptable modern energy carriers to all socio‐economic groups in all regions.相似文献
To assess the ecophysiological traits and the phytoremediation potential of the endemic heather Erica andevalensis,we determined the concentrations of major and trace elements in different plant parts and in rizosphere soils from Riotinto mining district (Huelva,Spain).The results showed that E.andevalensis may grow on substrates with very high As,Cu,Fe and Pb concentrations (up to 4114,1050,71900 and 15614 μg/g dry weight,respectively),very low availability of macro-and micronutrients and with pH values ra... 相似文献
A benefit function transfer obtains estimates of willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the evaluation of a given policy at a site by combining existing information from different study sites. This has the advantage that more efficient estimates are obtained, but it relies on the assumption that the heterogeneity between sites is appropriately captured in the benefit transfer model. A more expensive alternative to estimate WTP is to analyze only data from the policy site in question while ignoring information from other sites. We make use of the fact that these two choices can be viewed as a model selection problem and extend the set of models to allow for the hypothesis that the benefit function is only applicable to a subset of sites. We show how Bayesian model averaging (BMA) techniques can be used to optimally combine information from all models.The Bayesian algorithm searches for the set of sites that can form the basis for estimating a benefit function and reveals whether such information can be transferred to new sites for which only a small data set is available. We illustrate the method with a sample of 42 forests from U.K. and Ireland. We find that BMA benefit function transfer produces reliable estimates and can increase about 8 times the information content of a small sample when the forest is ‘poolable’. 相似文献
Asymmetry in traits of sexual relevance may impair copulation behaviour and sexual performance of males, ultimately resulting
in a fitness cost. Freshwater crayfish males use chelae, a sexually selected trait, to secure and position the female prior
to and during mating. Thus, a relatively large chelae asymmetry, resulting from accidental loss and regeneration of one cheliped
after autotomy, could have great consequences for male sexual behaviour. We studied copulatory behaviour and sperm expenditure
of males paired to a mated female in Austropotamobius italicus, a freshwater crayfish species where both male and female mate multiply and where last-mating males are able to actively
remove previously deposited sperm. We aimed at assessing whether male sperm removal and expenditure varied according to sperm
allocated by first-mating males, and according to copulation behaviour and phenotypic traits (carapace length, chelae length
and relative chelae asymmetry) of second-mating males. Second-mating males did not adjust their ejaculate size in relation
to first-mating male ejaculate, nor to the first-mating male’s sperm removed. Moreover, the amount of sperm removed by second-mating
males increased with increasing first-mating males ejaculate size, and first-mating male sperm remaining after removal did
not correlate with the original first-mating male ejaculate size. Interestingly, the amount of sperm removed by second-mating
males decreased with increasing relative chelae asymmetry, while increasing with male body size. However, second-mating (but
not first-mating) asymmetric-clawed males produced larger ejaculates than symmetric-clawed ones. Importantly, the proportion
of second-mating male sperm remaining after the two matings did not vary with relative chelae asymmetry nor with body size
of second-mating males. Thus, small, asymmetric-clawed crayfish males appear to adopt sperm allocation tactics that allow
them to fully compensate for their inferior sperm removal ability. 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Urban tropical lagoons are often impacted by eutrophication, metal, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination, but the toxicity of their... 相似文献
Objectives: Pedestrian crashes are a critical problem in Latin American countries. However, little research has been published about pedestrians and even less about their behaviors in a naturalistic context. The objective of the present research was to explore risky pedestrian crossing behaviors in traffic intersections in an argentine city (Ushuaia). It is focused in different stages of the crossing process, traffic code violations, and other potentially risky behaviors such as distractions. A high frequency of risky behaviors among pedestrians was expected. Moreover, according to previous findings, it was hypothesized that men and younger pedestrians would show riskier behaviors.
Methods: Participants were 802 pedestrians (53.9% females) observed at several intersections (with and without traffic lights) in the city of Ushuaia. Behaviors were codified following a standardized observation protocol. Observers documented information on behavior previous to, during, and after crossing. Gender and age were also registered. Data were gathered through video recording. Frequency analyses of observed behaviors were conducted for the total sample, as well as by gender and by age group. A general crossing risk index was calculated to facilitate comparisons between the genders and age groups. We conducted an analysis of variance to evaluate gender and age differences for this index.
Results: A high proportion of risky behaviors were observed among pedestrians. The majority of pedestrian waited in the street (as opposed to on the sidewalk) before crossing, did not comply with traffic lights, or crossed outside the crosswalk. A large number of pedestrians were distracted while crossing. Men presented higher scores on risky behaviors than women. No differences were observed by age group.
Conclusions: The high level of risk behaviors during the different stages of street crossing is worrisome and reinforces the idea that pedestrians are responsible for many of the conflicts with motorists. Many of the risky behaviors seem to be associated with gender, which is in line with the previous literature showing more risk behaviors among men than among women. No differences were found for age group. Findings are interpreted considering some features of the Argentine road culture. 相似文献
Many renewable resources for the generation of electricity, such as hydropower and wind power, are dependent on climatic factors. Reservoirs have been created to overcome the stochastic nature of river flows and to make water supply more reliable. However, reservoirs are affecting the ecological status of river ecosystems, e.g., by modifying the flow regime, triggering discussions regarding the discharge of reservoirs. In Brazil’s northeast region, the installed capacity for wind power generation has increased substantially in recent years. Setting up a modeling system for simulating wind power and hydropower generation in this study, it is analyzed whether wind power generation, peaking in the dry season, can help to achieve a more environmentally oriented flow regime in the Sub-middle and Lower São Francisco River Basin. Simulated higher discharges from reservoirs during the rainy season and lower discharges during the dry season, representing a more natural flow regime, will reduce hydropower generation in the dry season. Under recent conditions, the resulting gap in electricity generation can only be partially covered by wind power. A large share needs to be generated by thermal power plants or be imported from other regions in Brazil. The planned future increase in installed wind power capacity can change this picture; the demand for electricity generated by thermal power plants and imported will decrease. Adopting an integrated approach for hydropower and wind power generation, the flow regime in the Sub-middle and Lower São Francisco River Basin can be modified to improve the ecological status of the river system. 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The main objective of this study was to assess the possible effects of airborne particulate matter less than 10 μm in diameter (PM10)... 相似文献