Economic resilience to natural and man-made disasters: Multidisciplinary origins and contextual dimensions

Economic resilience is a major way to reduce losses from disasters. Its effectiveness would be further enhanced if it could be precisely defined and measured. This paper distinguishes static economic resilience—efficient allocation of existing resources—from dynamic economic resilience—speeding recovery through repair and reconstruction of the capital stock. Operational definitions are put forth that incorporate this important distinction. The consistency of the definitions is examined in relation to antecedents from several disciplines. The effectiveness of economic resilience is evaluated on the basis of recent empirical studies. In addition, its potential to be enhanced and eroded is analyzed in various contexts.     

Remediating RDX-contaminated ground water with permanganate: laboratory investigations for the Pantex perched aquifer

Ground water beneath the U.S. Department of Energy Pantex Plant is contaminated with the high explosive RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5 triazine). The USDOE Innovative Treatment and Remediation Demonstration (ITRD) program identified in situ oxidation by permanganate as a technology fit for further investigation. We evaluated the efficacy of KMnO(4) to transform and mineralize RDX by determining degradation kinetics and carbon mass balances using (14)C-RDX. Aqueous RDX solutions (2-5 mg L(-1)) and RDX-contaminated slurries (50% solids, w/v) were treated with KMnO(4) at 1000, 2000, 4000, and 20000 mg L(-1). Treating an aqueous RDX solution of 2.8 mg L(-1) with 20000 mg KMnO(4) L(-1) decreased RDX to 0.1 mg L(-1) within 11 d while cumulative mineralization proceeded for 14 d until 87% of the labeled carbon was trapped as (14)CO(2). Similar cumulative mineralization was obtained when Pantex aquifer material was included in the solution matrix. Other experiments using 4000 mg KMnO(4) L(-1) showed that initial RDX concentrations (1.3-10.4 mg L(-1)) or initial pH (4-11) had little effect on reaction rates. Attempts to identify RDX degradates and reaction products showed that N(2)O was a product of permanganate oxidation and constituted 20 to 30% of the N balance. Time-course measurements of a (14)C-RDX solution treated with KMnO(4) revealed few (14)C-labeled degradates but through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis, we present evidence that 4-nitro-2,4-diaza-butanol is formed. Aquifer microcosm studies confirmed that the transformation products not mineralized by KMnO(4) were much more biodegradable than parent RDX. These results indicate permanganate can effectively transform and mineralize RDX in the presence of aquifer material and support its use as an in situ chemical oxidation treatment for the Pantex perched aquifer.     

Rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) collected during the long term ecological research in a Hungarian oak forest

Along term ecological research was carried out in a Hungarian oak forest, in "Bükk" National Park starting with 1972. During the faunistical studies 3,602 insect species and more than 200,000 individuals were collected. The dominant orders were Coleoptera (1,051 species), Lepidoptera (803 species), Hymenoptera (470 species) and Diptera (400 species). The relative species abundance (RSA) for all insects collected in all years of sampling period suggests a rather J shape curve than a not clear scaling property. This means that we were able to identify almost three quarters of the insect species from one ha European oak forest during the survey (from 1987 to 2003), and two third of the staphylinides expected. Considering the staphylinid fauna a total number of 160 species and 4,022 individuals were collected. The most widely occurring species in dominance order were: Ocypus biharicus, Pseudocypus mus, Atheta gagatina, Philonthus quisquiliarius, Oxypoda acuminate, Platydracus chalcocephalus, Atheta crassicomis, Latrimaeum atrocephalum, Haploglossa puncticollis, Philonthus succicola and Anotylus mutator. The pooled value of alpha diversity was 1.51. The Shannon-Weiner Index (H') was relatively high (3.29) in comparison with other studies.     

Uncommon heavy metals,metalloids and their plant toxicity: a review

Heavy metals still represent a group of dangerous pollutants, to which close attention is paid. Many heavy metals are essential as important constituents of pigments and enzymes, mainly zinc, nickel and copper. However, all metals, especially cadmium, lead, mercury and copper, are toxic at high concentration because of disrupting enzyme functions, replacing essential metals in pigments or producing reactive oxygen species. The toxicity of less common heavy metals and metalloids, such as thallium, arsenic, chromium, antimony, selenium and bismuth, has been investigated. Here, we review the phytotoxicity of thallium, chromium, antimony, selenium, bismuth, and other rare heavy metals and metalloids such as tellurium, germanium, gallium, scandium, gold, platinum group metals (palladium, platinum and rhodium), technetium, tungsten, uranium, thorium, and rare earth elements yttrium and lanthanum, and the 14 lanthanides cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lutetium, neodymium, promethium, praseodymium, samarium, terbium, thulium and ytterbium.     

Golden Eagle fatalities and the continental‐scale consequences of local wind‐energy generation

Renewable energy production is expanding rapidly despite mostly unknown environmental effects on wildlife and habitats. We used genetic and stable isotope data collected from Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) killed at the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area (APWRA) in California in demographic models to test hypotheses about the geographic extent and demographic consequences of fatalities caused by renewable energy facilities. Geospatial analyses of δ²H values obtained from feathers showed that ≥25% of these APWRA‐killed eagles were recent immigrants to the population, most from long distances away (>100 km). Data from nuclear genes indicated this subset of immigrant eagles was genetically similar to birds identified as locals from the δ²H data. Demographic models implied that in the face of this mortality, the apparent stability of the local Golden Eagle population was maintained by continental‐scale immigration. These analyses demonstrate that ecosystem management decisions concerning the effects of local‐scale renewable energy can have continental‐scale consequences.     

Farmer Participation in U.S. Farm Bill Conservation Programs

Conservation policy in agricultural systems in the United States relies primarily on voluntary action by farmers. Federal conservation programs, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, offer incentives, both financial and technical, to farmers in exchange for adoption of conservation practices. Understanding motivations for (as well as barriers to) participation in voluntary programs is important for the design of future policy and effective outreach. While a significant literature has explored motivations and barriers to conservation practice adoption and participation in single programs, few studies in the U.S. context have explored general participation by farmers in one place and time. A mixed-methods research approach was utilized to explore farmer participation in all U.S. Farm Bill programs in Indiana. Current and past program engagement was high, with nearly half of survey respondents reporting participation in at least one program. Most participants had experience with the Conservation Reserve Program, with much lower participation rates in other programs. Most interview participants who had experience in programs were motivated by the environmental benefits of practices, with incentives primarily serving to reduce the financial and technical barriers to practice adoption. The current policy arrangement, which offers multiple policy approaches to conservation, offers farmers with different needs and motivations a menu of options. However, evidence suggests that the complexity of the system may be a barrier that prevents participation by farmers with scarce time or resources. Outreach efforts should focus on increasing awareness of program options, while future policy must balance flexibility of programs with complexity.