Economic Benefits of Improvements in Visibility: Acid Rain Provisions of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments

The Acid Rain Provisions (Title IV) of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 call for about a 10 million ton reduction in annual SO₂ emissions in the United States. Although the provisions apply nationwide, most of the reduction will occur in the eastern half of the country, where use of high-sulfur coal for electricity generation is most common. One potentially large benefit of Title IV is the expected improvement in visibility conditions in the eastern United States due to the reductions in secondary sul-fate aerosols. This paper combines available economic estimates of willingness to pay for improvements in visibility with current estimates of the difference between expected visibility conditions in the eastern United States with and without Title I V, to estimate the expected visibility benefits of Title IV. The results suggest an annual value of $2.3 billion (in 1994 dollars) in the year 2010, as a result of visibility improvements due to Title IV in residential areas of the eastern United States. The results also suggest a possible additional annual value for eastern U.S. residents of as much as $1-2 billion for visibility improvements at national parks in the Southeast.     

Drought,water access,and urban agriculture: a case study from Silicon Valley

In California, the growing popularity of urban agriculture (UA) has unfolded against a backdrop of historic drought. While UA is often celebrated as an urban sustainability strategy, it must be able to persist during drought if it is to perform these functions. Using Santa Clara County – the geographic core of Silicon Valley – as a case study, we use interviews and surveys to explore the implications of drought for UA. We show how developing an understanding of water access for UA during a drought requires examining the social and institutional context of water management and use. In metropolitan California, the highly decentralised water supply system combined with the diverse institutional arrangements that support UA create an uneven landscape of water access. Consequently, the pressure to change water-consuming practices – that is, the stress that institutional drought responses place on different water users – is geographically and socially differentiated. Among UA water users, responses to drought have also varied, in part because the possibilities for change are constrained by the sociotechnical arrangements of UA sites and the different purposes of UA.     

Designing and Implementing a Network for Sensing Water Quality and Hydrology across Mountain to Urban Transitions

Water resources are increasingly impacted by growing human populations, land use, and climate changes, and complex interactions among biophysical processes. In an effort to better understand these factors in semiarid northern Utah, United States, we created a real‐time observatory consisting of sensors deployed at aquatic and terrestrial stations to monitor water quality, water inputs, and outputs along mountain to urban gradients. The Gradients Along Mountain to Urban Transitions (GAMUT) monitoring network spans three watersheds with similar climates and streams fed by mountain winter‐derived precipitation, but that differ in urbanization level, land use, and biophysical characteristics. The aquatic monitoring stations in the GAMUT network include sensors to measure chemical (dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, pH, nitrate, and dissolved organic matter), physical (stage, temperature, and turbidity), and biological components (chlorophyll‐a and phycocyanin). We present the logistics of designing, implementing, and maintaining the network; quality assurance and control of numerous, large datasets; and data acquisition, dissemination, and visualization. Data from GAMUT reveal spatial differences in water quality due to urbanization and built infrastructure; capture rapid temporal changes in water quality due to anthropogenic activity; and identify changes in biological structure, each of which are demonstrated via case study datasets.     

Commuting lives: children's mobility and energy use

Globally, the issue of energy use and climate change is at the forefront of many national and international agendas, and also an issue central to children's lives and well-being. This paper examines how children are both affected by and contribute to the problems associated with unsustainable energy use as it relates to the growth of car dependent lives. The paper presents the findings of a study of travel as it relates to the everyday lives of children in the city of Dunedin in New Zealand. The study found that children currently lead complex car dependent lives. This extensive car reliance presents a serious and largely unrecognised challenge to the sustainable planning and management of the urban environment. The move towards more sustainable transportation can bring benefits for both the environment and for children's lives.     

Valuing lives equally in a benefit-coast analysis of safety projects: A method to reconcile theory and practice

A value of statistical life (VSL) is used in cost-benefit analysis (CBA) as a monetary measure of the benefits to people from small risk reductions that arise from safety projects. Despite its widespread use in a number of countries, the concept of a VSL remains controversial, not least because it implies acceptance of the underlying ethical assumptions of CBA together with the idea that ‘social welfare’ can be measured and aggregated in some manner. In addition, to comply with theory, variable VSLs for different groups within society would be advocated. However, without fail, empirically, it is the case that those countries that employ a willingness to pay based approach to cost-benefit analysis of a safety project appraisal tend to use a single value for that accident context that is independent of the per capita income level, or indeed other personal characteristics, of the sub-group in society to which the safety improvement will actually apply. This article presents a straightforward, but theoretically justified adaptation to the calculation of a VSL which allows empirical practice by policymakers i.e. the application of a “common” VSL for any particular hazard within a given society, to be compatible with a CBA decision making approach.     

Metal-contaminated potato crops and potential human health risk in Bolivian mining highlands

This study assessed metals in irrigation water, soil and potato crops impacted by mining discharges, as well as potential human health risk in the high desert near the historic mining center of Potosí, Bolivia. Metal concentrations were compared with international concentration limit guidelines. In addition, an ingested average daily dose and minimum risk level were used to determine the hazard quotient from potato consumption for adults and children. Irrigation water maximum concentrations of Cd, Pb and Zn in mining-impacted sites were elevated 20- to 1100-fold above international concentration limit guidelines. Agricultural soils contained total metal concentrations of As, Cd, Pb and Zn that exceeded concentration limits in agricultural soil guidelines by 22-, 9-, 3- and 12-fold, respectively. Potato tubers in mining-impacted sites had maximum concentrations of As, Cd, Pb and Zn that exceeded concentration limits in commercially sold vegetables by 9-, 10-, 16- and fourfold, respectively. Using conservative assumptions, hazard quotients (HQ) for potatoes alone were elevated for As, Cd and Pb among children (range 1.1–71.8), in nearly all of the mining-impacted areas; and for As and Cd among adults (range 1.2–34.2) in nearly all of the mining-impacted areas. Only one mining-impacted area had a Pb adult HQ for potatoes above 1 for adults. Toxic trace elements in a major regional dietary staple may be a greater concern than previously appreciated. Considering the multitude of other metal exposure routes in this region, it is likely that total HQ values for these metals may be substantially higher than our estimates.     

Isotopic composition (C & N) of the suspended particles and N uptake by phytoplankton in a shallow tropical coastal lagoon

The spatial distribution of the C/N ratios and variations in δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of suspended particulate matter were used to characterise their source in Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon, Chilika, India. In addition, the significance of re-mineralised nutrients in the primary productivity of the shallow lagoon was also determined through quantification of the subsurface nitrogen uptake conditions at two relatively stable locations in the lagoon. The results indicated that the influence of terrestrial organic matter was the maximum in the northern sector and was relatively limited at the central and southern part of the lagoon. In situ ¹⁵N uptake experiments (daytime) under biogeochemically stable conditions revealed that the N uptake by phytoplankton ranged between 0.24 and 1.01?mM?m^?3?h^?1 during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. New production and regenerated production in the shallow lagoon was also estimated by calculating f-ratios (ratio of nitrate assimilation by phytoplankton to total nitrogenous nutrient assimilation, have been estimated), which varied from 0.52 in the post-monsoon to 0.38 in the pre-monsoon. Lowering of the f-ratio from post- to pre-monsoon indicated a dominance of mineralisation over the new production.     

Performance of IUCN proxies for generation length

One of the criteria used by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to assess threat status is the rate of decline in abundance over 3 generations or 10 years, whichever is longer. The traditional method for calculating generation length (T) uses age‐specific survival and fecundity, but these data are rarely available. Consequently, proxies that require less information are often used, which introduces potential biases. The IUCN recommends 2 proxies based on adult mortality rate, = α + 1/d, and reproductive life span, = α + z^*RL, where α is age at first reproduction, d is adult mortality rate, RL is reproductive life span, and z is a coefficient derived from data for comparable species. We used published life tables for 78 animal and plant populations to evaluate precision and bias of these proxies by comparing and with true generation length. Mean error rates in estimating T were 31% for and 20% for , but error rates for were 16% when we subtracted 1 year ( ), as suggested by theory; also provided largely unbiased estimates regardless of the true generation length. Performance of depends on compilation of detailed data for comparable species, but our results suggest taxonomy is not a reliable indicator of comparability. All 3 proxies depend heavily on a reliable estimate of age at first reproduction, as we illustrated with 2 test species. The relatively large mean errors for all proxies emphasized the importance of collecting the detailed life‐history information necessary to calculate true generation length. Unfortunately, publication of such data is less common than it was decades ago. We identified generic patterns of age‐specific change in vital rates that can be used to predict expected patterns of bias from applying .     

Bioaccumulation of perfluoroalkyl acids in dairy cows in a naturally contaminated environment

Beef and dairy products may be important vectors of human exposure to perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), but the understanding of how PFAAs are accumulated and transferred through agricultural food chains is very limited. Here, the bioaccumulation of PFAAs in dairy cows receiving naturally contaminated feed and drinking water was investigated by conducting a mass balance of PFAAs for a herd of dairy cows in a barn on a typical Swedish dairy farm. It was assumed that the cows were able to reach steady state with their dietary intake of PFAAs. Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) with 8 to 12 carbons were detected in cow tissue samples (liver, muscle, and blood) at concentrations up to 130 ng kg^?1. Mass balance calculations demonstrated an agreement between total intake and excretion within a factor of 1.5 and consumption of silage was identified as the dominant intake pathway for all PFAAs. Biomagnification factors (BMFs) were highly tissue and homologue specific. While BMFs of PFOS and PFCAs with 9 and 10 fluorinated carbons in liver ranged from 10 to 20, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was not biomagnified (BMF?<?1) in any of the investigated tissues. Biotransfer factors (BTFs; defined as the concentration in tissue divided by the total daily intake) were calculated for muscle and milk. Log BTFs ranged from ?1.95 to ?1.15 day kg^?1 with the highest BTF observed for PFOS in muscle. Overall, the results of this study suggest that long-chain PFAAs have a relatively high potential for transfer to milk and beef from the diet of dairy cows. However, a low input of PFAAs to terrestrial systems via atmospheric deposition and low bioavailability of PFAAs in soil limits the amount of PFAAs that enter terrestrial agricultural food chains in background contaminated environments and makes this pathway less important than aquatic exposure pathways. The BTFs estimated here provide a useful tool for predicting human exposure to PFAAs via milk and beef under different contamination scenarios.     

Influence of biochar on nitrogen fractions in a coastal plain soil

Interest in the use of biochar from pyrolysis of biomass to sequester C and improve soil productivity has increased; however, variability in physical and chemical characteristics raises concerns about effects on soil processes. Of particular concern is the effect of biochar on soil N dynamics. The effect of biochar on N dynamics was evaluated in a Norfolk loamy sand with and without NHNO. High-temperature (HT) (≥500°C) and low-temperature (LT) (≤400°C) biochars from peanut hull ( L.), pecan shell ( Wangenh. K. Koch), poultry litter (), and switchgrass ( L.) and a fast pyrolysis hardwood biochar (450-600°C) were evaluated. Changes in inorganic, mineralizable, resistant, and recalcitrant N fractions were determined after a 127-d incubation that included four leaching events. After 127 d, little evidence of increased inorganic N retention was found for any biochar treatments. The mineralizable N fraction did not increase, indicating that biochar addition did not stimulate microbial biomass. Decreases in the resistant N fraction were associated with the high pH and high ash biochars. Unidentified losses of N were observed with HT pecan shell, HT peanut hull, and HT and LT poultry litter biochars that had high pH and ash contents. Volatilization of N as NH in the presence of these biochars was confirmed in a separate short-term laboratory experiment. The observed responses to different biochars illustrate the need to characterize biochar quality and match it to soil type and land use.