Umweltethik und die Realität des Umwelthandelns am Beispiel Klimaschutz

This paper discusses the discrepancy of attitude and behaviour in an environmental protection from the point of view of philosophy. Coming from the classical thesis of moral philosophy, that someone who infringes the ‘good’ has no secure knowledge, it examines how ethical arguments can contribute to get such a knowledge. The result of this study is that the logical power of persuasion alone is not able to acquire such a knowledge; and in order to obtain practical efficiency, ethical arguments should converse to emotional stratifications of personality. Based on the examination of positive feelings for nature, the paper discusses how this can happen.     

Possible health effects of energy conservation: Impairment of indoor air quality due to reduction of ventilation rate

Efforts to reduce the energy needs to heat or cool dwellings have the potential to create new health hazards. Increases in indoor levels of radon and its progeny from the reduction in air exchange rates add a substantial radioactive burden to the general population. Other indoor pollutants reaching critical concentrations in homes with low air exchange rates are CO and NO₂ from unvented combustion in gas stoves and heaters, tobacco smoke, and asbestos fibers. In addition, insulation materials and certain types of furniture may contribute the toxicant formaldehyde diffusing from foam injected walls or chipboard. Risk estimations using linear dose-response relationships show risk factors per kWh saved which are orders of magnitude greater than for a kWh produced by large power plants using coal, oil, gas, or uranium.     

USING INFILTRATION ENHANCEMENT AND SOIL WATER MANAGEMENT TO REDUCE DIAZINON IN RUNOFF1

ABSTRACT: Pesticide runoff from dormant sprayed orchards is a major water quality problem in California's Central Valley. During the past several years, diazinon levels in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers have exceeded water quality criteria for aquatic organisms. Orchard water management, via post‐application irrigation, and infiltration enhancement, through the use of a vegetative ground cover, are management practices that are believed to reduce pesticide loading to surface waters. Field experiments were conducted in Davis, California, to measure the effectiveness of these management practices in reducing the toxicity of storm water runoff. Treatments using a vegetative ground cover significantly reduced peak concentrations and cumulative pesticide mass in runoff for first flush experiments compared with bare soil treatments. Post‐application irrigation was found to be an effective means of reducing peak concentrations and cumulative mass in runoff from bare soil treatments, but showed no significant effect on vegetated treatments.     

Release of sex pheromone and its precursors in the pine sawfly Diprion pini (Hym., Diprionidae)

Summary. The first identification of a sex pheromone of a pine sawfly (Hymenoptera, Diprionidae) dates back almost thirty years. Since then, female-produced pheromones of over twenty diprionid species have been investigated by solvent extraction followed by separation and identification. However, no study has shown what the females actually release. Collection of airborne compounds using absorbtion on charcoal filter as well as solid phase microextraction (SPME) followed by analysis employing gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), revealed an unusual system in Diprion pini, in which the pheromone precursor alcohol, 3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol, is released together with acetic, propionic, butyric and isobutyric acids. The corresponding acetate, propionate and butyrate esters of 3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol were also found in the samples. All esters were electrophysiologically active, and the propionate and isobutyrate were attractive in trapping experiments. Based on these and earlier reported results, it seems that at least in part of its range, the pheromone response of D. pini is not very specific with regard to the functional group, as long as this is an ester.     

Spermatozeugmen und Paarungsverhalten bei Tripedalia cystophora (Cubomedusae)

New observations on the complete life cycle of Tripedalia cystophora Conant have revealed that—because of the radialsymmetrically constructed body of the polyp and its complete metamorphosis into one medusa—the “Cubozoa” are unique in their development, systematics and evolution. the same is true for the sexual biology of their medusae. It has long been known that the female T. cystophora are larviparous; fertilized eggs develop within the gastral pockets into free-swimming planulae. How do spermatozoa approach the eggs inside the female? In laboratory cultures, young medusae could be raised to maturity. Rearing experiments and observations yielded surprising results, revealing a situation which is new for Cnidaria. In T. cystophora, ripe medusae of both sexes can be identified easily by the different colour and structure of the gonads. In the gonads of the ripe male, numerous spermatozoa are joined to form spermatozeugmata of a simple type. Numerous spermatozeugmata form big globular bodies (spermatophores), which develop in small grooves on the inside surface of the stomach. The spermatophores are transferred directly from the male to the female during successive steps of special mating behaviour. The observations confirm that Cubomedusae have reached the peak of medusan specialization.     

Nachweis der an Hausstaub gebundenen Innenraumbelastungen mit dem Leuchtbakterientest

The determination and assessment of mixtures of different and complex indoor pollutants is difficult. This investigation was performed in order to determine the effects of pollutants closely bound to household-dust. The approach ist not the determination of single compounds but of all pollutants (sum parameter). For this reason a new method was developed with which househould dust samples are introduced in the Microtox®-Text System to quantify the effect of pollutants. Some of the methods tested revealed good results, however, further research and investigations on the basis of the data already obtained are necessary.