Water management problems in economies in transition

Ambitious programmes of reform in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are threatened by a serious deterioration of the environment. Large-scale damage of the natural environment in many forms, including water pollution has created development barriers which adversely affect the living conditions of current and future generations. Despite similar patterns of environmental policy in the CEE countries compared with their Western counterparts, neither environmental legislation nor economic incentives have produced any significant improvement in water quality over the last 10–20 years. For that very reason in the transition period, it is necessary to identify existing deficiencies in the system and to build up a mixed system of new institutions of water management, more realistic legislation with a strong enforcement system, and market based incentives for water conservation and protection against pollution.     

Development of a high-resolution spatial inventory of greenhouse gas emissions for Poland from stationary and mobile sources

Greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories at national or provincial levels include the total emissions as well as the emissions for many categories of human activity, but there is a need for spatially explicit GHG emission inventories. Hence, the aim of this research was to outline a methodology for producing a high-resolution spatially explicit emission inventory, demonstrated for Poland. GHG emission sources were classified into point, line, and area types and then combined to calculate the total emissions. We created vector maps of all sources for all categories of economic activity covered by the IPCC guidelines, using official information about companies, the administrative maps, Corine Land Cover, and other available data. We created the algorithms for the disaggregation of these data to the level of elementary objects such as emission sources. The algorithms used depend on the categories of economic activity under investigation. We calculated the emissions of carbon, nitrogen sulfure and other GHG compounds (e.g., CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, SO₂, NMVOC) as well as total emissions in the CO₂-equivalent. Gridded data were only created in the final stage to present the summarized emissions of very diverse sources from all categories. In our approach, information on the administrative assignment of corresponding emission sources is retained, which makes it possible to aggregate the final results to different administrative levels including municipalities, which is not possible using a traditional gridded emission approach. We demonstrate that any grid size can be chosen to match the aim of the spatial inventory, but not less than 100 m in this example, which corresponds to the coarsest resolution of the input datasets. We then considered the uncertainties in the statistical data, the calorific values, and the emission factors, with symmetric and asymmetric (lognormal) distributions. Using the Monte Carlo method, uncertainties, expressed using 95% confidence intervals, were estimated for high point-type emission sources, the provinces, and the subsectors. Such an approach is flexible, provided the data are available, and can be applied to other countries.

     

Accounting for Climate Change: Introduction

The assessment of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted to and removed from the atmosphere is high on both political and scientific agendas internationally. As increasing international concern and cooperation aim at policy-oriented solutions to the climate change problem, several issues have begun to arise regarding verification and compliance under both proposed and legislated schemes meant to reduce the human-induced global climate impact. The approaches to addressing uncertainty introduced in this article attempt to improve national inventories or to provide a basis for the standardization of inventory estimates to enable comparison of emissions and emission changes across countries. Authors of the accompanying articles use detailed uncertainty analyses to enforce the current structure of the emission trading system and attempt to internalize high levels of uncertainty by tailoring the emissions trading market rules. Assessment of uncertainty can help improve inventories and manage risk. Through recognizing the importance of, identifying and quantifying uncertainties, great strides can be made in the process of Accounting for Climate Change.     

River flood risk and adaptation in Europe—assessment of the present status

Flood disasters have had a devastating effect worldwide over the past century, both in terms of human suffering and material losses. The study of these events and development of more effective adaptation and mitigation policies has become a priority, both in Europe and other parts of the globe. This paper detects and presents the spatial distribution of river flood risks in Europe. The methodology we developed involves an assessment of three key risk components: exposure, vulnerability and hazard. A topography-based flood hazard map of Europe, identifying low-lying areas adjacent to rivers, is presented and used to identify risk, together with land-use data and damage-stage relationship for different land uses. The study covers river flood risk for the entire European continent. This methodology can be used to determine the level of future risk, using the estimations on Hazard, Exposure and Vulnerability from specific climate and economic development models. Annual average flood damage is estimated for European regions, in absolute monetary terms and in % of regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The results highlight regions where the threat to the economy from river flood hazard is of major concern.     

Evaluation of the impacts of mine drainage from a coal waste pile on the surrounding environment at Smolnica, southern Poland

Mine drainage impacts from a coal waste pile at Smolnica, Poland have been monitored. Groundwater in an unconfined aquifer downgradient from the pile has near-neutral pH, but high concentrations of sulfate (up to 3,827 mg/l), chloride (up to 903 mg/l), and sodium (up to 2,606 mg/l). Concentrations of iron and manganese are elevated only locally, and concentrations of other metals are low. The behavior of sulfate seems to be conservative in the downgradient aquifer, and gypsum may only be precipitating locally. Concentrations of iron and manganese seem to be controlled by the precipitation of ferric oxide and hydroxides and rhodochrosite, respectively. Complete neutralization of mine drainage by carbonates is consistent with high concentrations of calcium (up to 470 mg/l) and magnesium (up to 563 mg/l) and also with high strontium concentrations of up to 3.08 mg/l, observed in groundwater downgradient from the pile. Hydraulic head profiles at two sites within the river bottom sediments indicate upward flow toward the river with large local differences in groundwater recharge. Water chemistry profiles in the river bottom sediments and geochemical modeling suggest conservative behavior of Na, Cl, and SO₄ and precipitation of Fe and Mn at the groundwater/river water interface. Mine drainage enters the Bierawka River and causes increasing sulfate concentrations. In contrast, concentrations of sodium and chloride in the Bierawka River decrease downgradient from the pile because water in the river upgradient from the pile is already highly contaminated by these species from the discharge of mining waters. Concentrations of Fe and Mn in the river water are low, as a consequence of the precipitation of Fe and Mn oxide and hydroxides. Direct geochemical modeling was able to reproduce measured concentrations of conservative species (e.g., Na, Cl, and SO₄), but errors for metals and Ba were relatively large. In addition, calculated P_CO2 values in the river water are very high, suggesting that equilibrium with atmospheric P_CO2 and P_O2 has not been reached, and at least some reactions should be modeled as kinetic processes. High concentrations of Na, Cl, and SO₄ contribute to the contamination of the Odra River, which is joined by the Bierawka River farther downgradient, thus limiting the use of river water for recreation and other purposes.     

Environmental Modeling and Methods for Estimation of the Global Health Impacts of Air Pollution

Air pollution is increasingly recognized as a significant contributor to global health outcomes. A methodological framework for evaluating the global health-related outcomes of outdoor and indoor (household) air pollution is presented and validated for the year 2005. Ambient concentrations of PM2.5 are estimated with a combination of energy and atmospheric models, with detailed representation of urban and rural spatial exposures. Populations dependent on solid fuels are established with household survey data. Health impacts for outdoor and household air pollution are independently calculated using the fractions of disease that can be attributed to ambient air pollution exposure and solid fuel use. Estimated ambient pollution concentrations indicate that more than 80% of the population exceeds the WHO Air Quality Guidelines in 2005. In addition, 3.26?billion people were found to use solid fuel for cooking in three regions of Sub Saharan Africa, South Asia and Pacific Asia in 2005. Outdoor air pollution results in 2.7?million deaths or 23?million disability adjusted life years (DALYs) while household air pollution from solid fuel use and related indoor smoke results in 2.1?million deaths or 41.6?million DALYs. The higher morbidity from household air pollution can be attributed to children below the age of 5 in Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia. The burden of disease from air pollution is found to be significant, thus indicating the importance of policy interventions.     

Climate Change in the Media: Poland’s Exceptionalism

Poland is the largest hard coal producer in the European Union (EU), and remains very dependent on coal for its energy. Despite the significant long-term implications of EU mitigation policies for the Polish economy, coverage of climate change and policy in the Polish media remains very low. This study of the coverage both in print media and on television of the 2013/2014 Assessment Reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows that the volume of coverage in Poland was much lower than in other European countries. The article explores possible reasons for the “exceptionalism” found in the Polish media.