Effect of air pollution on peri-urban agriculture: a case study

Peri-urban agriculture is vital for the urban populations of many developing countries. Increases in both industrialization and urbanization, and associated air pollution threaten urban food production and its quality. Six hour mean concentrations were monitored for SO(2), NO(2) and O(3) and plant responses were measured in terms of physiological characteristics, pigment, biomass and yield. Parameter reductions in mung bean (Vigna radiata), palak (Beta vulgaris), wheat (Triticum aestivum) and mustard (Brassica compestris) grown within the urban fringes of Varanasi, India correlated directly with the gaseous pollutants levels. The magnitude of response involved all three gaseous pollutants at peri-urban sites; O(3) had more influence at a rural site. The study concluded that air pollution in Varanasi could negatively influence crop yield.     

Environmental leadership plus total quality management equals continuous improvement

Xerox was one of the first U.S. companies to discover that environmentally sound practices not only result in good community relations, but also often more than pay for themselves. This case study describes the application of the quality process to environmental management at Xerox and shows how a focus on prevention, employee involvement, teamwork, and the use of quality principles and tools can improve profitability for any company.     

Applying the baldrige quality criteria to environmental performance: Lessons from leading organizations

Over the last thirty years, we have seen a dramatic shift in values that people and corporations place on environmental responsibility. People have become more aware of how the earth's limited resources are being rapidly depleted. High levels of consumption have resulted in increasing manufacturing and transportation needs which in turn lead to greater energy use, higher usage of hazardous and toxic substances, and decreased air and water quality. Leadership for environmental protection has shifted from vocal environmental advocacy groups to corporate executives. Driven by shifting customer requirements, competitive pressures, and resource conservation technologies, environmental issues are becoming embedded in the fundamental business strategies. In this article we will describe the application of the Malcolm Baldrige quality award criteria to environmental management and show how the focus on quality principles and tools can improve profitability. Examples from the Xerox Corporation and other companies will be provided to illustrate the breadth of environmental improvement initiatives that are being implemented.     

Recent trends and current practices for secondary processing of zinc and lead. Part I: lead recovery from secondary sources.

Implementation of stricter environmental laws and economic reasons has forced all the metallurgical industries to go for eco-friendly technologies to produce metal and other related products. However, generation of wastes is an integral part of metallurgical industries. If the wastes/residues are hazardous in nature, they generally have to be treated or/and disposed of in safe and designated dumping sites. If these wastes/residues are non-hazardous in nature, then they may be suitable for use as secondary raw material to recover metals such as lead, copper etc., which are in growing demand all over the world. The processing of lead secondaries is important because of their relative high metal content, as well as the low energy and cost involved in recovering the metal. This paper mainly focuses on the current practices and recent trends in the secondary processing of lead. Various processes, particularly hydrometallurgical ones, already developed or in the development stages, are discussed. Attempts made by various Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Laboratories including the National Metallurgical Laboratory (NML) and industries such as Binani Zinc to develop eco-friendly processes for the recovery of lead from secondary raw materials are also described.     

Effect of moisture and compost on fate of azoxystrobin in soils

The effect of compost-amendment and moisture status on the persistence of azoxystrobin [methyl (E)-2-{2-(6-(2-cyanophenoxy) pyrimidin-4-yloxy) phenyl}-3-methoxyacrylate], a strobilurin fungicide, in two rice-growing soils was studied. Azoxystrobin is more sorbed in the silt loam (K _f – 4.66) soil than the sandy loam (K _f – 2.98) soil. Compost-amendment at 5 % levels further enhanced the azoxystrobin sorption and the respective K _f values in silt loam and sandy loam soils were 8.48 and 7.6. Azoxystrobin was more persistent in the sandy loam soil than the silt loam soil. The half–life values of azoxystrobin in nonflooded and flooded silt loam soil were 54.7 and 46.3 days, respectively. The corresponding half–life values in the sandy loam soils were 64 and 62.7 days, respectively. Compost application enhanced persistence of azoxystrobin in the silt loam soil under both moisture regimes and half-life values in non–flooded and flooded soils were 115.7 and 52.8 days, respectively. However, compost enhanced azoxystrobin degradation in the sandy loam soil and half-life values were 59 (nonflooded) and 54.7 days (flooded). The study indicates that compost amendment enhanced azoxystrobin sorption in the soils. Azoxystrobin is more persistent in non-flooded soils than the flooded soils. Compost applications to soils had mixed effect on the azoxystrobin degradation.     

Decomposition effects on the mass burning rate of organic peroxide pool fires

The mass burning rate of pool fires of organic peroxides do not vary appreciably with the pool size as have been observed for the hydrocarbons. Instead the decomposition temperature largely controls the same. The dependence of mass burning rate on the decomposition temperatures namely self-accelerating decomposition temperature (SADT) and extrapolated onset temperature measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for organic peroxide pool fires are identified and correlations are developed.     

Assessment of six Indian cultivars of mung bean against ozone by using foliar injury index and changes in carbon assimilation, gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthetic pigments

Six Indian cultivars of Vigna radiata L. (HUM-1, HUM-2, HUM-6, HUM-23, HUM-24 and HUM-26) were exposed with ambient and elevated (ambient + 10 ppb ozone (O₃) for 6 h?day^?1) level of O₃ in open top chambers. Ozone sensitivity was assessed by recording the magnitude of foliar visible injury and changes in various physiological parameters. All the six cultivars showed visible foliar symptoms due to O₃, ranging 7.4 to 55.7 % injured leaf area. O₃ significantly depressed total chlorophyll, photosynthetic rate (Ps), quantum yield (F _v/F _m) and total biomass although the extent of variation was cultivar specific. Cultivar HUM-1 showed maximum reduction in Ps and stomatal conductance. The fluorescence parameters also indicated maximum damage to PSII reaction centres of HUM-1. Injury percentage, chlorophyll loss, Ps, F _v/F _m and total biomass reduced least in HUM-23 depicting highest O₃ resistance (R%).     

Impact assessment of a hydroelectric project on the flora in the Western Himalayan region based on vegetation analysis and socio-economic studies

This study provides an overview of the impacts of a proposed hydroelectric power project in the Western Himalayan region in India, using a primary database on floristic diversity and vegetation analysis. The remote sensing data revealed that in the submergence zone only mixed deciduous forest that occupies 807.5 ha area and has a wood biomass volume of 4,027,503 m³ is likely to be lost due to impoundment. A total of 165 plant species found in the submergence zone also occur in the influence and free draining catchment area of the project. In the influence zone of the project area only one tree species (Acer oblongum) is found under conservation threat category, which is also present in the free draining catchment of the project. The project affected population (6716 people) residing in the submergence and influence zone depend upon the surrounding forests for fuel wood, fodder, wild edibles etc., and most likely they will settle in the nearby areas, thus mounting more pressure on residual forests of the influence zone for various forest products. Further, from the vegetation analysis it is evident that several tree species (e.g. Lannea coromandelica, Terminalia alata, T. bellerica etc.), may face more pressure from exploitation as they provide a number of useful products and are represented in lower numbers in the forests of the project area. To compensate for the loss of various goods and services provided by the forests falling in the submergence zone and to offset the increased pressure of the project affected families on the forests of influence zone, a biodiversity management plan is suggested incorporating socio-economic considerations.     

Choices of ecosystem capital without discounting and prices

In the last decade, neo-classical economists have used the Consumption-Growth Based Utility (CGBU) framework to suggestan appropriate discount rate for eco-system capital. The CGBU framework, being based on the simplicity and single-valued nature of man-made capital, is subject to many limitations. Three general limitations of the framework, irrespective of its use for man-made capital or ecosystem capital, paradox of consumption growth, expectations' insensitive utility specification, and insensitivity to the nature of returns, arediscussed. With respect to its use for ecosystem capital, the framework has two limitations: ecosystems cannot be commoditizedand ecosystem capital satisfies differentiated needs, and, hence, gross substitution between different components of ecosystem capital or between ecosystem capital and man-made capital is not possible. Therefore, the rate of discount for ecosystem capital suggested on the basis of the framework is arbitrary. In the context of international security, choices ofecosystem capital are similar to the choices of military decisions. Similar to military decisions, ecosystem choices should be made without discounting and prices. The neo-classicalframework does not have appropriate tools for such decision analyses, and other streams of economics, specifically post-Keynesian economics, may assist decision- makers in analysing ecosystem choices without prices and discounting.     

Differential protection of ethylenediurea (EDU) against ambient ozone for five cultivars of tropical wheat

The antiozonant EDU (ethylenediurea) was used to assess the impact of ambient O₃ under field conditions on five cultivars of tropical wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). EDU solution (0 ppm and 400 ppm) was applied as soil drench (100 ml plant^?1) 10 days after germination (DAG) at an interval of 12 days. EDU-treated plants showed significant increments in stomatal conductance, photosynthetic rate, variable fluorescence, total chlorophyll, ascorbic acid, proline and protein contents and protective enzymes (POX, SOD and APX) activities in HUW468, HUW510 and HUW234 cultivars, while, a reverse trend was observed for lipid peroxidation. EDU application restored grain yield significantly by maintaining higher levels of antioxidants, metabolites and enzymes in cultivars HUW468 and HUW510. Sonalika and PBW343 showed least response of measured parameters under EDU treatment suggesting their greater resistance to O₃. EDU, thus proved its usefulness in screening suitable wheat cultivars for areas experiencing elevated concentrations of O₃.