Context-dependent evaluation of climate change policies: competing policies,knowledge and emotions

Climate change policies can compete with policies on other social and environmental problems for limited economic resources. This paper investigates the potential influence of alternative policies on citizens’ preferences for climate change policies. A contingent valuation study was implemented to estimate the impact of observable and unobservable contextual effects of competing polices on climate change valuation. Individuals are also investigated about their endowment of knowledge and emotional reactions to such problems. The results show that citizens’ valuation of climate change policies crucially depends on the context-dependent competing policies. The valuation rises as the number of competing policies increases. This increment becomes economically significant when the competing policies are related to specific problems such as forest fires and development. In addition, the valuation also rises with the amount of knowledge endowed by the individual about the climate change problem, and with the experience of negative emotions such as fear and sadness.     

Use of spent substrate after Pleurotus pulmonarius cultivation for the treatment of chlorothalonil containing wastewater

Lignocellulosic materials are used as substrate for the cultivation of the edible mushroom Pleurotus pulmonarius. After two or three flushes of mushrooms, the spent substrate is discarded although it still has an important enzymatic activity that can be used for several purposes. In this study, we sought to determine the technical feasibility of using spent substrate from P. pulmonarius to degrade chlorothalonil. Reaction mixture was prepared with 6 ml of pesticide aqueous solution (2 mg active ingredient/l) and 3 ml of enzymatic extract obtained from spent P. pulmonarius substrate. The enzymatic reaction (27 °C, pH 7.4) was conducted for 1 h with sampling at 15 min intervals. The effect of storage time and temperature (freezing or refrigerating) of spent substrate and enzymatic extract, respectively, on the activity over chlorothalonil was determined. Freshly obtained spent substrate extract was able to reduce 100% of the initial concentration of chlorothalonil (2 mg/l) after 45 min of reaction. Storage time had a negative effect on the stability of the enzymatic activity: with spent substrate stored for a week, chlorothalonil concentration was reduced in 49.5% after 1 h reaction and with substrate stored for two and three weeks, the degradation efficiency decreased to 9.15% and 0%, respectively. Cooling and freezing the spent substrate extract also had a negative effect on chlorothalonil degradation.     

Mapping non-conventional atmospheric drinking-water harvesting opportunities in Central Eurasia: The case of Kazakhstan

Drinking water scarcity is becoming an urgent problem worldwide, and it affects developing and developed countries alike. Kazakhstan is not an exception and has its primary sources of drinking water (groundwater, rivers, and lakes) continuously depleted and polluted; moreover, the country will be close to its exploitation limits within the following decades. However, modern technologies allow us to harvest drinking water from unintegrated sources, like the atmosphere. Therefore, it is crucial to research which non-conventional technologies can be used to obtain drinking water from unintegrated sources for the country, considering the cost, viability of use through the year, and local climate conditions. Thus, the present assessment was performed for the 14 demographic regions in Kazakhstan and two city-states, and a map depicting the most feasible technology for each region is presented, including their levelized cost per liter. Seven mature technologies were found to be feasible in Kazakhstani year-round climates. However, Air AW₃ technology and Artificial Glaciers (AG) were the most cost-effective for family-size and village-size solutions, respectively. The water provided via utility pipelines proved to be the most cost-effective manner, when available, to supply drinking water at a family-size scale, but found a less expensive competitor in the AG technology for village-size solutions. Moreover, the lack of utility water pipelines in some Kazakhstani regions, principally countryside rural areas, makes it vital to deploy and implement these alternative water-harvesting technologies to guarantee the future water security of these regions.     

Groundwater Vulnerability Assessment for Organic Compounds: Fuzzy Multicriteria Approach for Mexico City

This study was based on a groundwater vulnerability assessment approach implemented for the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA). The approach is based on a fuzzy multicriteria procedure integrated in a geographic information system. The approach combined the potential contaminant sources with the permeability of geological materials. Initially, contaminant sources were ranked by experts through the Analytic Hierarchy Process. An aggregated contaminant sources map layer was obtained through the simple additive weighting method, using a scalar multiplication of criteria weights and binary maps showing the location of each source. A permeability map layer was obtained through the reclassification of a geology map using the respective hydraulic conductivity values, followed by a linear normalization of these values against a compatible scale. A fuzzy logic procedure was then applied to transform and combine the two map layers, resulting in a groundwater vulnerability map layer of five classes: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. Results provided a more coherent assessment of the policy-making priorities considered when discussing the vulnerability of groundwater to organic compounds. The very high and high vulnerability areas covered a relatively small area (71 km² or 1.5% of the total study area), allowing the identification of the more critical locations. The advantage of a fuzzy logic procedure is that it enables the best possible use to be made of the information available regarding groundwater vulnerability in the MCMA.     

Effects of warm water inflows on the dispersion of pollutants in small reservoirs

The effects of the warm water discharged by a nuclear power plant (NPP) into a small reservoir are studied. A case study is presented (José Cabrera NPP-Zorita Hidráulica Reservoir) with experimental data of the reservoir stratification and predicted data of the dispersion of radioactive pollutants from operative or accidental releases. The vertical and longitudinal temperature profiles, electrical conductivity and transparency of the reservoir water were measured for an annual cycle. The results indicate that the continuous warm water discharge from the NPP causes permanent and artificial reservoir stratification. The stratification is significant within 1500 m upstream and 1000 m downstream from the warm water outfall. The pollutant dispersion has been predicted by using a flow model based on N(T) perfect-mixing compartments in series with feedback. The model parameter, N(T), is calculated from the longitudinal diffusion coefficient. The prediction of pollutant dispersion by means of this model shows that the stratification slows down the vertical mixing in the whole water body, and reduces the reservoir volume that is effective for the dilution and dispersion of pollutants. This means that, in the case of a radioactive pollutant release, the reservoir radioactivity level could increase significantly.     

Natural materials for treatment of industrial effluents: comparative study of the retention of Cd, Zn and Co by calcite and hydroxyapatite. Part I: batch experiments

This work explores the heavy metal retention capacity of materials developed from minerals that are abundant in nature, with low cost and minimum environmental impact. To accomplish this objective we have: (a) characterized commercial samples of calcite (CA) and hydroxyapatite (HAP)--including their surface properties (BET area, electrophoretic mobility, SEM, and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy); and, (b) qualified and quantified the interaction of Cd, Zn and Co with calcite (CaCO3) and hydroxyapatite [Ca5(PO4)3OH] through batch experiments, in a range of metal concentrations (4Zn>Co and Cd>Zn approximately Co, respectively. Retention increased with pCa and pH and could be modeled by: (a) a non-ideal ion exchange mechanism (Me/Ca) for the adsorption of Cd, Zn and Co onto CA; and, (b) a mechanism of non-ideal ion exchange and specific adsorption (Me/Ca and identical with PO4O-Me) in the case of HAP. The pH dependence is indirect in CA and is related to its solubility changes (pCa increases with pH, and so does sorption of Cd, Zn and Co). Both materials, HAP and CA, can be used for heavy metal retention. The former has better performance for water treatment due to its greater efficiency for the retention of Cd, Zn and Co (over two orders of magnitude per gram of material) and its lower solubility in a wide range of pH (6相似文献   

Molecular composition of leaves and stems of genetically modified Bt and near-isogenic non-Bt maize--characterization of lignin patterns

Transformation of crops, including maize (Zea mays L.), with the cry1Ab gene from Bacillus thuringiensis to combat lepidopteran pests results in pleiotropic effects regarding lignin biosynthesis. Lignin patterns in stems and leaves of two genetically modified Bt-maize varieties (Novelis T and Valmont T) were studied along with their non-Bt near-isolines (Nobilis and Prelude, respectively). Molecular-level based thermochemolysis using tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) in combination with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to quantitate the total lignin contents and to identify monomeric lignin subunits including p-hydroxyphenyl (P), guaiacyl (G), and syringyl (S) moieties. The results were supplemented and confirmed by cupric oxide oxidation. The stems of the transgenic lines had higher concentrations of total lignin than the respective isogenic lines: Valmont T/Prelude by 18% and Novelis T/Nobilis by 28%. In contrast, differences in the total lignin concentration of leaves between the transgenic and the respective near-isogenic lines were marginal. There were significant modifications in the ratio of p-hydroxyphenyl/guaiacyl/syringyl molecular marker units of stem lignin between transgenic and isogenic lines. The guaiacyl units (in particular the G18 marker) accounted chiefly for the higher total lignin contents in the transgenic lines. The leaf lignin patterns did not show significant differences in molecular markers between isogenic and transgenic lines. TMAH-induced thermochemolysis--conducted in both the on-line and off-line modes--provided detailed information on the molecular composition of lignin, thus proving superior to the established "wet chemistry" methods of lignin determination.     

Participation in the convention on migratory species: A biogeographic assessment

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) is a Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEA) focused on species that regularly travel across international borders. Despite covering an important group of species, CMS is under-utilized compared to other conservation-focused MEAs. CMS suffers from a lack of participation across North America and most of Asia. Our goal is to illustrate differences in species richness and average range-size across signatory and nonsignatory nation-states using range–diversity plots. We also show differences in the cost of CMS membership relative to species patterns to highlight which countries may be discouraged from becoming CMS signatories. Despite containing many CMS species, large economies such as the United States, Russia, and China are not members of the convention. To facilitate migratory species conservation into the future, CMS should seek to fill gaps in participation, potentially directing recruitment efforts toward nonsignatory states that would receive the largest benefit at the lowest relative cost.     

Solar-driven photocatalytic treatment as sustainable strategy to remove pesticide residues from leaching water

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - We have demonstrated the potential leaching of eight compounds, one insecticide (flonicamid) and seven fungicides (myclobutanil, penconazole,...     

A new approach to road accident rescue

Objective: This article develops and validates a new methodology and tool for rescue assistance in traffic accidents, with the aim of improving its efficiency and safety in the evacuation of people, reducing the number of victims in road accidents.

Method: Different tests supported by professionals and experts have been designed under different circumstances and with different categories of damaged vehicles coming from real accidents and simulated trapped victims in order to calibrate and refine the proposed methodology and tool.

Results: To validate this new approach, a tool called App_Rescue has been developed. This tool is based on the use of a computer system that allows an efficient access to the technical information of the vehicle and sanitary information of the common passengers. The time spent during rescue using the standard protocol and the proposed method was compared.

Conclusion: This rescue assistance system allows us to make vital information accessible in posttrauma care services, improving the effectiveness of interventions by the emergency services, reducing the rescue time and therefore minimizing the consequences involved and the number of victims. This could often mean saving lives. In the different simulated rescue operations, the rescue time has been reduced an average of 14%.